style had impressed me extremely; and I now think that, in one or two passages, it transcends Mr. Spencer's . . . . generally more spirited, more elevated paraphrase—especially here:
The corse is on the bier.
Like croak of toads from lonely moor,
It slowly meets the ear.
On a cold bier a coffin brings,
Their slow pace measur'd to a strain
Sad as the sadest night-bird sings.
[She comments at length to the advantage of the Taylor version, but adds the following sentence]: But the Spencer paraphrase, rich in general superiorities, need not grudge to its rival the transcendence of one or two passages.[1]
Far more important than these letters of Miss Seward are those of men soon to bring in a new era in literature. Lamb, writing to Coleridge July 17, 1796, asks:
Have you read a ballad called 'Leonora' in the second number of the 'Monthly Magazine'? If you have!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is another fine song, from the same author (Berger), in the 3rd No., of scarce inferior merit.[2]
We have no word of Coleridge in reply to Lamb, and he was in such personal difficulties himself that he may not have answered.[3] Later, however, while in Germany, Coleridge was in correspondence with Taylor regarding the latter's poem and praised it highly. He and Wordsworth had disagreed as to the value of Bürger's poetry, Coleridge supporting it enthusiastically. The correspondence shows that Wordsworth also knew Taylor's translation of the Lenore. He wrote:
We have read 'Leonora' and a few things of Bürger; but on the whole we were disappointed, particularly in 'Leonora' which we thought in several passages inferior to the English translation. 'Wie donnerten die Brücken'—how inferior to
- ↑ Letters, IV, 230 f. The last line of the Taylor quatrain does not quite agree with that in the Monthly Magazine, and Miss Seward makes no attempt to reproduce the archaic spelling.
- ↑ Lamb's Works, ed. by Lucas, VI, 38. The mutilations of Bürger's name in this period are minor evidences for the prevailing ignorance of German. Lamb also gives the name of Taylor's version incorrectly. The other "fine song" is Bürger's Des Pfarrers Tochter, called by Taylor in his translation The Lass of Fair Wone, but later in his Historic Survey, The Parson's Daughter; see Robberds, Life, I, 157.
Possibly this was the first time Coleridge's attention had been called to the new Monthly Magazine. But he was soon a contributor, printing poems in the September (inserted by Lamb) and October numbers; see Letters of Coleridge, ed. by E. H. Coleridge, I, 179, footnote. Lamb also contributed, according to the Life by Lucas, I, 124. - ↑ See the Introduction by Dykes Campbell, in his ed. of Coleridge's Poet. and Dram. Works, 1893.
