Reviews

R460100C.  Dramatic Romances and Lyrics.

The Oxford and Cambridge Review, January 1846, p. 102.

As reprinted in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 11, 371.

We are much pleased with this number of Bells and Pomegranates; Mr. Moxon has not favoured us with the six which have preceded it. We wish every success to so cheap, and yet so good, a publication.

Mr. Browning has many faults which, were we disposed to be severe, might be mentioned with proper censure; but his beauties are exceedingly more numerous, and on these we are better pleased to enlarge. These short poems appear to us to happily combine many of the characteristics of real poetry, and more especially its simplicity. We give one extract, and very cordially recommend this, we suppose we must call it a Serial, to our readers.

I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and He;

I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all Three;

“Good speed!” cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew;

“Speed!” echoed the wall to us galloping through;

Behind shut the postern, the light sank to rest,

And into the midnight we galloped abreast.

Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace

Neck by neck, stride for stride, never changing our place;

I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight,

Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right,

Rebuckled the cheek-strap, chained slacker the bit,

Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit.

’Twas moonset at starting; but while we drew near

Lockeren, the cocks crew and twilight dawned clear;

At Boom, a great yellow star came out to see;

At Düffeld, ’twas morning as plain as could be;

And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the half-chime,

So Joris broke silence with, “Yet there is time!”

At Aeschot, up leaped of a sudden the sun

And against him the cattle stood black every one,

To stare thro’ the midst at us galloping past,

And I saw my stout galloper Roland at last,

With resolute shoulders, each butting away

The haze as some bluff river headland its spray.

Reviewed:

Bells & Pomegranates. No. VII. Dramatic Romances & Lyrics (RB), London: Edward Moxon, 1845.

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