[1 We subjoin the passage of scripture paraphrased by Miss Davidson, and also another paraphrase which has been ascribed to the Hon. R. H. Wilde of Georgia. Our readers can compare and decide between them.
"And Ruth said, entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go: and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried."
| Nay, do not ask!—entreat not—no! O no! I will not leave thy side, Whither thou goest—I will go— Where thou abidest—I'll abide. Through life—in death—my soul to thine Shall cleave as fond, as first it clave— Thy home—thy people—shall be mine— Thy God my God—thy grave my grave.] |
We present an extract from a piece called "Woman's Love," as a specimen of Miss Davidson's management of blank verse, a form of poetic diction which Montgomery thinks the most unmanageable of any. The fair authoress might not herself have experienced that holy passion, but she certainly knew how deep and imperishable it is when once planted in the female bosom.
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"Love is A beautiful feeling in a woman's heart, When felt, as only woman love can feel! Pure, as the snow-fall, when its latest shower Sinks on spring-flowers; deep, as a cave-locked fountain; And changeless as the cypress' green leaves; And like them, sad!—She nourished Fond hopes and sweet anxieties, and fed A passion unconfessed, till he she loved Was wedded to another. Then she grew Moody and melancholy; one alone Had power to soothe her in her wanderings, Her gentle sister;—but that sister died, And the unhappy girl was left alone, A maniac. She would wander far, and shunned Her own accustomed dwelling; and her haunt Was that dead sister's grave: and that to her Was as a home." |
We have italicised such of the lines as we think breathe the air and spirit of genuine poetry. The snow flake has often been used as the emblem of purity; but the snow flake reposing on beds of vernal blossoms, is to us original as well as highly poetical. The "cave-locked fountain" too, with its lone, deep, and quiet waters, seems to us to express with force that profound and melancholy sentiment which the writer intended to illustrate.
We shall conclude our selections with the one addressed to a lady whose singing resembled that of an absent sister.
| "Oh! touch the chord yet once again, Nor chide me, though I weep the while; Believe me, that deep, seraph strain Bore with it memory's moonlight smile. It murmured of an absent friend; The voice, the air, 'twas all her own; And hers those wild, sweet notes, which blend In one mild, murmuring, touching tone. And days and months have darkly passed, Since last I listened to her lay; And sorrow's cloud its shade hath cast, Since then, across my weary way. Yet still the strain comes sweet and clear, Like seraph-whispers, lightly breathing; Hush, busy memory,—sorrow's tear Will blight the garland thou art wreathing. 'Tis sweet, though sad—yes, I will stay, I cannot tear myself away. I thank thee, lady, for the strain, The tempest of my soul is still; Then touch the chord yet once again, For thou canst calm the storm at will." |
We beg the reader to bear it in mind that these are the productions of a young, inexperienced, and almost uneducated girl, and that they are not to be tried by the tests which are usually applied to more matured efforts. In conclusion, we will say in the language of Dr. Morse, her biographer, "that her defects will be perceived to be those of youth and inexperience, while in invention, and in that mysterious power of exciting deep interest, of enchaining the attention, and keeping it alive to the end of the story; in that adaptation of the measure to the sentiment, and in the sudden change of measure to suit a sudden change of sentiment, in wild and romantic description, and in the congruity of the accompaniments to her characters, all conceived with great purity and delicacy, she will be allowed to have discovered uncommon maturity of mind; and her friends to have been warranted in forming very high expectations of her future distinction."
We are pleased to learn that it is in contemplation by Miss Davidson's friends, to publish a new and improved edition of her works, with various additions from her unpublished manuscripts.