Franklin, Mass. Endowed Boarding School for young women and young men. Fine buildings, delightfully located in a beautiful town. For Catalogue, address the Principal, ARTHUR W. PIERCE, Franklin, Mass. Boston & Maine Railroad. LOWEST RATES FAST TRAIN SERVICE BETWEEN BOSTON and CHICAGO. ST. LOUIS, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS AND ALL POINTS WEST, NORTHWEST, SOUTHWEST. Pullman Parlor or Sleeping Cars on all Through Trains. For tickets and information apply to any principal ticket office of the Company. D. J. FLANDERS, Gen'l Pass. & Tkt, Agt. BOSTON. LEWIS WINSLOW NEWELL, Business Manager F. W. BURNHAM, Mailing Clerk C. E. TAYLOR, Subscription Agent THE ATTITUDES OF BROWNING AND TENNYSON TOWARD DEATH NELSON LYMAN LOBDELL In order to make a good comparison, the things compared must have some points of likeness on which the comparison may be based; points of difference are of course assumed. Tennyson and Browning differ from each other in so many points and agree in so few as to make such a comparison rather difficult. However, in those subjects which they both treated there may be found sufficient agreement to warrant such a comparison. The idea of life, and especially that of old age, is so closely related to the idea of death as to require consideration in this connection, for the idea which one holds of life is likely to influence largely his idea of the future. Then, again, on his idea of the life to come will depend his attitude toward death as something to be dreaded or something to be welcomed. Browning's "Rabbi Ben Ezra" and Tennyson's "By an Evolutionist" and his "Ancient Sage" will be taken as the basis of this comparison. Browning felt that this life has a great value in itself as well as being a preparation for the future. His doctrine is not one of asceticism. Man's body was given him to enjoy, and is an aid rather than a hindrance to the development of his spiritual nature. "Let us not always say, 'Spite of this flesh to-day I strove, made head, gained ground upon the whole'; Are ours, nor soul helps flesh now more than flesh helps He commends the restless spirit of youth in its yearning after something higher, even though it be beyond attainment and unsatisfactory when attained. He makes old age the crown of youth and the best of life. It is something to be looked forward to with joy. "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand Who saith, 'A whole I planned, Youth shows but half; trust God; see all, nor be afraid!' Man is clay in the hands of the potter, God, and is being moulded by the experiences of this life into the perfect cup to grace the master's lips. To Tennyson, on the other hand, this life is of no great value in itself, and is simply a preparation for the future. The flesh is to be despised, as it is a weight upon the soul which hinders its development. "The Lord let the house of a brute to the soul of a man, And the Lord, 'Not yet; but make it as clean as you can, In answer to the question of the man as to what old age has done for him, the latter replies: "Done for thee? Starved the wild beast that was linked with thee eighty years back. Less weight now for the ladder-of-heaven that hangs on a star." He makes old age a dull, worthless period, something to be looked forward to with dread, and to be avoided as long as possible. "The years that made the stripling wise Undo their work again, And leave him blind of heart and eyes Thus he shows that in old age the body loses its powers of endurance and the mind weakens. The result is that the man is despised by those who once honored him, and he becomes a burden to those who once loved him. Such a state is certainly not to be anticipated with joy. Both Browning and Tennyson believe in immortality. The former assumes it without serious questioning; while the latter, after going through all the philosophy on the subject, sees no sound proofs either for or against it, but feels within himself something that tells him that this life is not all. The following lines from "The Ancient Sage" express pretty well his conclusion: "For nothing worthy of proving can be proven, Cleave ever to the sunnier side of doubt, And cling to faith beyond the forms of faith!" Both assume the recognition of friends in the life to come, but here again Browning expresses the stronger note. He is sure of meeting and knowing his wife. Following out this idea, one would naturally expect Tennyson to approach death with some trepidation; while Browning, on the other hand, would naturally welcome it as the means of gaining that immortality that he has been looking forward to as the crown of his life. But such is not wholly the case. To Tennyson it is the most peaceful event in the world, simply a passing out of this life as the full tide to the sea. There is a tone of quiet resignation pervading the whole. He is not sure as to what the future may bring, but his hope is strong. "I hope to see my pilot face to face Browning, on the other hand, meets death, whom he calls "The Arch Fear in a visible form" in a state of defiance. Death as the last enemy stands in the way of his attainment of the crown of immortality which is waiting him. He enters the last fight with the eagerness of youth. "I was ever a fighter, so-one fight more The best and the last." As a man of honor he disdains the more quiet mode of death which benumbs the sense and bids one "creep past." He is for living the full force of life to the last, and thus not missing anything that it has to give. After the brief but decisive struggle comes a state of peace and rest that reminds one of Tennyson's "Turning again home." Then comes the meeting with his beloved wife and a complete resignation to God. There is no note |