The next book, _Captain Craig_, rather disappointed the eager expectations of the poet's admirers; like Carlyle's Frederick, the man finally turns out to be not anywhere near worth the intellectual energy expended on him. Yet this volume contained what is on the whole, Mr. Robinson's masterpiece--_Isaac and Archibald_. We are given a striking picture of these old men, and I suppose one reason why we recognize the merit of this poem so much more clearly than we did sixteen years ago, is because this particular kind of character-analysis was not in demand at that time. The figure of the man against the sky, which gives the name to the work published in 1916, does not appear, strictly speaking, till the end of the book. Yet in reality the first poem, _Flammonde_, is the man against the sky-line, who looms up biggest of all in his town as we look back. This fable teaches us to appreciate the unappreciated. Mr. Robinson's latest volume, _Merlin_, may safely be neglected by students of his work. It adds nothing to his reputation, and seems uncharacteristic. I can find little in it except diluted Tennyson, and it won't do to dilute Tennyson. One might almost as well try to polish him. It is of course possible that Mr. Robinson wished to try something in a romantic vein; but it is not his vein. He excels in the clear presentment of character; in pith; in sharp outline; in solid, masculine effort; his voice is baritone rather than tenor. To me his poetry is valuable for its moral stimulus; for its unadorned honesty and sincerity; for its clear rather than warm singing. He is an excellent draughtsman; everything that he has done has beauty of line; anything pretentious is to him abhorrent. He is more map-maker than painter. He is of course more than a maker of maps. He has drawn many an intricate and accurate chart of the deeps and shallows of the human soul. CHAPTER VIII VACHEL LINDSAY AND ROBERT FROST Lindsay the Cymbalist--first impression--Harriet Monroe's Magazine--training in art--the long vagabond tramps--correct order of his works--his drawings--the "Poem Game"--_The Congo_--_General William Booth_--wide sweep of his imagination--sudden contrasts in sound--his prose works--his interest in moving pictures--an apostle of democracy--a wandering minstrel--his vitality--a primary man--art plus morality--his geniality--a poet and a missionary--his fearlessness--Robert Frost--the poet of New England--his paradoxical birth--his education--his career in England--his experiences on a farm--his theory of the spoken word--an out-door poet--not a singer--lack of range--interpreter as well as observer--pure realism--rural tragedies--centrifugal force--men and women--suspense--the building of a poem--the pleasure of recognition--his sincerity--his truthfulness.