"
Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" is technically a finer poem
than anything Tegner has written, but it lacks the deep virile bass, the
tremendous volume of breath and voice, and the captivating martial lilt
which makes the heart beat willy nilly to the rhythm of the verse.
The popularity which Tegner gained by "The Scanian Reserves" was the
immediate cause of his appointment to a professorship at the University
of Lund, and his next notable poem, "Svea," which won him the great
prize of the Swedish Academy, raised him to a height of fame which
naturally led to further promotion. According to the curious custom of
Sweden, a professor may, even though he has never studied theology, take
orders and accept the charge of a parish. He is regarded as being, by
dint of his learning, in the regular line of clerical promotion; and the
elevation from a professorship (though it be not a theological one) into
a bishopric is no infrequent occurrence. There was therefore nothing
anomalous in Tegner's appointment (February, 1812) as pastor of Staefvie
and Lackalaenge, and his subsequent promotion (February, 1824) to the
bishopric of Wexioe.
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