It depicts the earnest
upward impulse of the soul- an impulse not to be subdued even in
Death. Despising danger, resisting pleasure, the youth, bearing the
banner inscribed "Excelsior!" (higher stilll) struggles through all
difficulties to an Alpine summit. Warned to be content with the
elevation attained, his cry is still "Excelsior!" and even in
falling dead on the highest pinnacle, his cry is still "Excelsior!"
There is yet an immortal height to be surmounted- an ascent in
Eternity. The poet holds in view the idea of never-ending progress.
That he is misunderstood is rather the misfortune of Mr. Langtree tree
the fault of Mr. Longfellow. There is an old adage about the
difficulty of one's furnishing an auditor both with matter to be
comprehended and brains for its comprehension.
HAWTHORNE'S TWICE-TOLD TALES
By Nathaniel Hawthorne. James Munroe & Co.: Boston
WE HAVE always regarded the Tale (using this word in its popular
acceptation) as affording the best prose opportunity for display of
the highest talent. It has peculiar advantages which the novel does
not admit. It is, of course, a far finer field than the essay. It
has even points of superiority over the poem. An accident has deprived
us, this month, of our customary space for review, and thus nipped
in the bud a design long cherished of treating this subject in detail;
taking Mr.
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