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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
ever; for the simple reason that the themes which he has chosen for his muse neither require nor would admit of the higher flights of the Pindaric and Epic muse·. Had he cultivated ·poetry as an art, and made it the vehicle of his constitutional vehemence, his ardent love of liberty and devoted patriotism, without doubt his poetry would have been characterized by all that boldness of thought, vigor of expression and fierce ardor which so abound in his political writings. Then might his verse indeed have glowed with the scathing lightning of Churchhill or rang with the clarion tones of Korner. '\Ve have some indication of this indignant energy in the opening stanzas ·of Sally Riley; and also of martial spirit in the following stanza which the warrior Bard of Germany might not have blushed to write.-
"Speed, speed the day when to war I hie! The fame of the field is inviting; Before my sword shall the foemen fly; Or fall in the flash of its lightning. Away with song, and away with charms!- Insulted Freedom's proud avenger, I bear no love but the love of arms, And the bride that I woo is Danger.
But Poetry has never been the study and pursuit of Gen Lamar. He has indulged in it, only in .moments of leisure and relaxation, when the stormy passion of the heart had subsided into the tranquil affec- tions of social and domestic life. Hence his themes are almost in- variably of a peacdul and gentle nature, suggested by circumstances of the moment; and his sole inspiration, the friendship, love and beauty that surrounded him. As a poet, therefore, of accident, and not by profession-as one who has only tuned an unambitious harp for the momentary gratification of those he loved and respected-is he to be judged; and without hesitation we proclaim it, that he is not sur- passed by any American poet within the walk which he has chosen for himself. For flowing language, harmony of verse, fidelity to nature and a deep out-pouring of the heart-a heart overflowing with love, gratitude and tenderness-he has but few superiors in any country. The truth of this will be felt by all, who, in perusing the volume shall give ,vay to the instincts and impulses of nature, and judge of its merits-not by the arbitrary and hypocritical canons of the school, but, by the effects actually produced and the pleasurable impressions which it leaves behind. There is indeed a simplicity and earnestness and a deep, unaffected pathos in the poetry of Lamar which can scarcely fail to go to the heart of every reader that has a heart to be touched. In corroboration of this, we would instance all those pieces which relate to domestic afflictions, such as the latter part of Sally Riley, his Elegi.acs, the lament for Loretto and above all the soul touching lines on the Death of his daughter. One of the most gifted sons of the South, in sending this poem to the Southern Literary 1\Iessenger for publication, pronounces it the best production of the kind since the celebrated lines of :Mason on the death of his wife.- Nothing could be more unjust in making a comparative estimate of Gen. Lamar's poetry than to say, that it wants the wit of Halleck, the satire of Holmes, the sparkle of Willis arnl the scholastic elaboration of Longfellow. All this may in part be true; and yet none of them has
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