- FRANCIS "THOMPSON ON GEORGE 3IBREDITIL
[To eta EDIT011 OP TRH Seeceires.") Sni,—Pit a- let-ter from -needs Thompson to " Katharine- Tynan.," quilted' in this-Spectator of March' so; he makes some very uneozn- Plitnexitary:criticistee.on Meredith's misuse of 'the-metrical devise' of omitting- syllable*, observing that such omission-should properly be," the exception- notothe system- of the metre." "Meredith," • he me; " uses' it to constitute the metre,' and therefore stereotypes it inmost obvious and mechanical fashion." And again :- "Meredith'' regularly omits the same syllable; in the same' pesition, iii-everyeingle fine; producing nopenduluta-like monotony' of insistent beat; instead of the variety- which • our ancestors employed the device -to effect. For instanbe
`Lovely are the turves of the white owl snooping; Wavy in the dusk lit by one large star.'
And- that triple- actent is iterated; with clockwork precision in .e-eety.lineo.till it becomes -a 'hot ror, -contrary to the most delicate principle of rhythmic music."
"Love in the Villey,": the poem referred to, contains two' hundred and eight lines, and " the triple accent "—ekemplified in the words "one large star 7 in the above quotation—occurs twelve' °M : Even if we assume that Francis Thompson; when econplaieing, of its- occurrence "in* every single line " and " in .every line," really meant " in every - alternate line," the fact remains that his reniarks are quite ridiculously incorrect and ; unjust; and it is rather them that your reviewer should imply'iO that he concursin them by,describing the pasehge in which • they Occur as," a most acute -piece of criticism."' I do not deny; the acuteness,-but a iiroreenfortirnate choice .then "Loie in the' calleao" eoulazlitertil,,,V-hate iken• made-to ittnstrater ThOrapSon's‘ argument. That poem, indeed; might well have been quoted in support of it, as -the triple -accent" is so vary much " the exception net the system- of the metre."—I am, Sir, do.,
Cnastra Srascuee.
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