DEATH OF LORD TENNYSON. (By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) (PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7487, 8 October 1892, Page 2

DEATH OF LORD TENNYSON. (By Electric Telegraph. —Copyright.) (PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

Received October 7, at 10.30 a.m. London', October G. Lord Tennyson died at 1 30 this morn ing. 3ir Andrew Clarke, M.D., describes the death scene as the most beautiful he ever witnessed. The deceased's bed was surrounded by members of his family, and the room was in darkness, except that brilliant moonbeams lighted up the face of the dying poet. Received October 7, at 7.30 p m.

London, October 6. Sir Andrew Clarke states that Lord Tennyson's death was chiefly due to natural decay, but was assisted by influenza and suppressed gout. Only three hours before the final scene the last moments of the laureate were cheered by a telegram from the Queen, the receipt of which evidently gave him great pleasure. The remains will be buried in Westminster Abbay, close by Browning's grwe. It is expected that Algernon , » Swinburne will be the next laureate.

Received October 8, at 1.5 a.m. London, October 7. The Press, commenting on Lord Tennyson's death, laments the loss of one of England's sons. The foreign Press pub lisheg appreciative notices. Hallam Tennyson, son of the late poet will write his father's biography. Many shutters in the West End of London were closed, and the church bells tolled. Sir Edwin Arnold, Lewis Morris, and Alfred Austin have published poem^ in memory of the departed laureate. The Queen has telegraphed to Lady Tennyson, expressing her deep regret.

Alfred Tennyson (Lord Tennyson), D.C.L., F.R.S., Poet Laureate, third son of the late Rev. G. C. Tennyson, tho elder brother of the late Right Hon. C. Tennyson D'Enycourt, was born in 1809, at his father's parsonage, at Somerby, Lincolnshire ; his mother, who died in 1865, being a daughter of the Rev, Stephen Pytche. He was educated by his father, and in due course proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1829 ho gained the Chancellor's Medal by ;\ poem in blank verse, entitled " Timbucktoo." With the exception of a volume of poems published in conjunction with his brother Charles, when they were boys, and a prize poem, composed whilst an undergraduate at Cambridge, Mr Tennyson did not publish anything till 1830, when " Poems chiefly Lyrical " appeared, and from 1842 the steady and rapid growth of his famo may be traced. The two volumes then issued were in fact merely a republication, but the most important poems were those added to his former productions. It was at once apparent that the author of the " Morte d' Arthur," "Locksley Hall," the "May Queen," and the " Two Voices," was entitled to take the first rank among English poets, a reputation which was, more than sustained by the two great works which followed. So well known and popular, indeed, had Mr Tennyson become after the publication of "In Memoriam," in 1850, that it seemed only a matter- of course, upon the death of Wordsworth, in 1850, that the privilege of wearing " the laurel gveeneD from the browa of him who uttered nothing base "

ahouM be oflfered to Mm. Thfa was fclftft the year of Ins marriage to Emily, daughter of Henry Sellwood, Esq., of Berkshire, and niece of Sir John Franklin, by whom he had two sons, Hallam and Lionel. The "Ode on the death of the Duke of Wellington " was published in 1852, on the morning of the funeral ; and since that occurrence few events of more than ordinary interest in the eyes of Englishmen have taken place without eliciting from the Laureate some poem worthy of the occasion. He has written "Poems chiefly Lyrical," published in 1830; "Poems," in 3832; "Poems," 2 vols., in 1842 ; " The Princess, a Medley," in 1837 ; "In Memoriam," issued anonymously, in 1850, being a series of elegies — a tribute of affection to the memory of Arthur H.illam, a spn of the eminent historian, and the chosen friend of the poet in his earlier days at Cambridge ; "Maud, and other Poems," in 1815; "The Idylls of the King," in 1858; "Enoch Arden, and other Poems," in 1864; "The Holy Grail, and other Poems," published Dec. 5,1869; "The Widow, or the Songs of the Wrens," in 1870; and Gareth and Lynette," in 1872. In 1879 Mr Tennyson republished " The Lover's Tale," a poem which was originally printed in 1833, but soon withdrawn from circulation. In the re-issue it is accompanied by a reprint of the sequel, a work of the author's mature life, " The Golden Supper." After this followed " Ballads, and other Poems." Among his dramatic compositions are : " Queen Mary," 1875 ; " Harold," 1876 ; " The Cup," a play which was represented at the Lyceum Theatre, Jan 3, 1881, Mr Irving taking the principal character (as was also " Queen Mary ") "The Falcon," produced by Mr and Mrs Kendal ; and "Promise of May," a drama in three acts, brought out at the Globe Theatre, Nov. 11, 1882. " A Concordance to the entire Works of Alfred Tennyson," published in 1869, is a remarkable proof of the Laureate's great popularity. At the Commemoration of 1855, the University of Oxford, giving expression to the universal feeling of England, conferred on the poet the honorary degree of D.C.L., and the Fellows of his own college, Trinity, Cambridge, endorsing the judgment of the sister university, subscribed to purchose his bust (by Woolner), which they have placed in their library, and in 1869 they unanimously elected him an honorary fellow of the college. In Dec, 1883, Mr Tennyson accepted a peerage as Baron Tennyson of Aldworth, Sussex, and of Freshwater, Ible of Wight. Since then he has published "Beket," "Tiresiaa 1 and other Poems," and at the end of 1886 "Locksley Hall— Sixty Years After," and in his 81st year he has lately produced another volume, "Demeter, and other poems," which has been very popular with both the English and tha American public. — Men of the Time.