PS 3515 J.P88 na 1893 Copy 1 I I ItJ IVl'L'lww 'w 3Y A. Clifford Hawes, LIBRARY OFCONGRESS^I i^p'?^^''_ icMriB^ f Shelf ./)ig/I^ m:^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. f t 7 m me ''oecie. n Ei^i^t Canb^. New Bedfokd, Mass., 1893. .AssMs Copyright 1893 BY A. CLIFFORD HAWES. Printed by Paul Rowland Jr., new bedford, mass. o nhntc. PAGE CANTO 1 5 CANTO II i6 CANTO III 2^ CANTO IV 38 CANTO V 49 CANTO VI 60 CANTO VII 71 CANTO VIII ^2 SlZ^ |^^5^ ^^yoetic. CANTO I. ^-^merica should be proud of her young men And I have no doubt but she is; hung then Should be all the boodlers, harmful intriguers, And toasted be all the bicycle leacruers. Boosted should be all the good ones to better Positions, and I'm pleased to give a letter Of introduction to any such, to be handed To a great-gun friend before they get stranded. For a fine sight go to Lucerne and see Thorwaldsen's Lion, compared with a sand flea It is a grand monument, a noble chiseling; — Be sure and see it when 'tis not drizzlina:. 5 THE MUSE POETIC. Seems so it rains here quite all the time hence my Warning. The moistures during summer dense lie Twixt Mounts Pilatus and Righi yet, royalty Goes here, here Americans show their loyalty. Ah ! life is not that we had wished for it, It changeth each day as we age, nor fit Does it with the yesterdays of men still, — Don't mistake — I don't say 'tis worse a ten-mill. As dreary as the Swedish Kalmar Castle, Lighter than anrae or a tinsel tassel, More solemn than either great Bull Run battle Is the fact that we are past the child's prattle. You watch in the innocent child's play how, Just Hke an old hen at roost in a hay-mow. And flickering heat-waves 'tis quite void from care Like, again, the white bear and cubs in some lair. VIII. Our great men belong to no particular Age or generation. — this is articular, Understand, from all my previous conceptions And I'll have it printed upon captions. CANTO I. IX. Mens agitat molem, this has been long settled And is as old, perhaps, as pewter-metaled Skillets, spoons, bowls and plates or, a platter And as forceful as our best base-ball batter. It smacks more of talent and of learning When one beyond worldly things is discerning ; Go write up or else study anemology Or, to mankind, make some sort of apology. Go trap a lobster right here in our bay. Whether the day be pleasant or quite lowery. Then dissect the same by each part and particle, And create then, a terse paper or article. Cease all your persiflage, go chat with a dervis And learn oriental customs and the service ; Now weld to paper your thoughts m a treatise. When you will find, what to the world, a treat is.. But the trend of men's minds ever varies, Like the colors do of many canaries And, too, the douc and the little humming-bird This I have studied e'en more than I've heard. 7 THE MUSE POETIC. Some have high motive while others are only Ancillary, but I have seen people lonely Because so high up in position and rank, Yet they weren't czars, nor men who to excess drank. They were so high up that no one was quite good Enough for them — sad, very. What kind of blood. Presume you, courses thro' such veins .' Not th' best By long or all odds, nor bluest here doth rest. We are apt to think more and better of others Great virtues than our own, but what bothers It.-" It is right to think so, it spurs us On and so the world gains more from us thus. Or, again, it is quite often true that a great Man is far more honored and adored in state, In a country other than his own yet, while It seems strange to us. we must not stop to smile. It is likewise a known fact that whom we Admire we must not think to assume he Is the lesser thankful for it. — still further That he'll be sorrowful like was old Werther. CANTO I. A man must certainly have other and higher Attainments than ourselves, and with the true fire Of genius possessing, to move us. He that Shall have swaved us must have with the gods sat. Byron says that "some good lessons are also Learnt from Ceres and from Bacchus. " ' Tis all so, Perhaps, but Bacchus too oft got drunk to Suit me — I'd rather asjree with a monk true. Go read Herbert Spencer on Justice and See whst he says on a womans ( no bland Thoughts from his pen) "political rights." I agree With him perfectly in this far as I see. I've formed a plan not to agiee with any One in quite everything and care not a penney What they say of it. A man who says ' yes ' To everything puts us in much distress. He convinces us that he knows but little Anyway, and he had better go and whittle Out the Goddess of Liberty and send It to a World's Fair, then he'll be on the mend. THE MUSE POETIC. Or, at least, people will suppose th:at he Knows somethi7ig. I've been thinking of the fat fee Some lawyers get — it must be a nice thing To know law and thus a good surplus bring. I don't often philosophize like this But it seems nice to tliink one can when his Mind wills; ah! learning, that"s the stutfl it moves The whole world from out its old, wornout 2:rooves, I've just been looking inside the Browning Home in Venice; strange place that with frowning. Plain walls and strict simplicity. His ways Were different from mine and, too, his lavs. I should have said I saw his home by picture. But never mind, its just as well I'm sure; Mistakes will creep in and of course I'm human Though quite different from an old woman. XXVIII. Then, too, only this afternoon I have seen (In picture) some old china plates and been Studying about them. Some of them are sold For high prices and go to some stronghold. CANTO I. Some old china is lovely, videlicet: Faience Delft jars, or e'en my jelly set — But I don't care always to b^ pouring over China any more than to be picking clover. Let's have learning e'en if we can't have else Thence, forthwith, we sh dl shine like little smelts. Now that Boulanger is dead, certain factions Will, I have no doubt, criticise his actions. But his army reforms were notably good And of vast variety it is understood. He was brave in war, a leader of his men. Also had a lance thrust in his side when,— When he was in an engagement with the Annamites His rashness ( this is no myth a Thousand years old ) was remarked on all sides And he was prompt and active as the Fall tides. This poke in the left side, which I speak of, Was under the heart ( all the}' that seek love Know what the heart is ) and, I think, much like The Saviour's when they to a cross Him did spike. THE :MUSE POEIIC. Boulanger survived this and went to France To recouperate. I should Hke to have tlie lance I'd send it to Washington and place it In a museum so you could not efface it From memory ; perhaps I'd stand it up beside Abe Lincoln's cane, or put it right inside The case with the Grant mementos and some Other famous things, that are rich and handsome. Then it would "echo through the halls of time," As Longfellow, who was born in our clime. Has so aptly said. Longfellow ! — he was a good Man, I reverence him and all my country should. I'm going to have this one long poem, perhaps The longest I shall ever write, old Sir Papps Will be only second to it ( this is fiction For there is no such man in this jurisdiction ) , But we'll suppose there was, like old Long John Of the western pork-packing center, upon Which we so much depend — all except the Jews For this is a race that always pork refuse. CANTO I. Take for instance, a beautiful child's idea That the stars are windows through which my dear Sees the inmost heavens ; is not it pretty? And shes the daintiest child in the citv. I do not say that the thought is correct, From no book nor authority can you detect The fact, and about the same I shall never hurtle Simply because I have brains that are fertile. XLI. I cannot say if the next century w-ill Beat this ; when certain chemicals sent fury, ill As it may seem, into the heavens and produced Rain, my hopes of nineteen hundred reduced. Go take a donkey ride thoughout old Cairo, See the lazy Cairoeans smoking hasheesh — go ! See the lovely Saracenic architecture, Softly rich; it is a beautiful picture. Smell the fragrant air, scented with hibiscus, Poinsettas and bougainvillea and discuss A dainty coffee in one Mooski street bazar. - And this is orientalism not afar. 13 THE MUSE POETIC. Enter Gizeh Museum and see the oldest Of the whole world's statues, and the boldest ; Boldest because they are the most immortal. From old tombs and such thev have been brous^ht all. This is the land of the Nubian sais who's Ever with the hareem carriage, like a muse And poet. Here the eunuch, surely no higher race, Flourisheth, black as the coal in your fire-place. And thus I have done with the old city Cairo, Now go to your club and play at faro. Let there be peace throughout the land and a Plenty of high polish like that on a landau. Like the ' ifs ' that hinder us, or like ships that Kick the waves, like the marketman who dipts fat, When trying out lard and slips occasionally, Are most men, — that is to speak or rationally. It does obtain to higher ends without let Or hindrance to well mark your pith outlet Or, saying otherwise, tendency for good, Together with your claims for living, — for food. 14 CANTO I. What would you that I deliniate furtlier. About the Arctic explorers and the fur the Fellows bring down to us for our own uses. Or of grapes, gourds, guavas and their lone juices? I will make eyes of my fingers and grope Through some old coal mines with the cherished hope Of finding — but did I say coaH just have It read diamond, 'tis grander like a conclave. 517^ ^U^e ^oeti. CANTO II. @et thee away, thou fickle hours of idleness, None shouldst thee covet, thou art not bliss ! He who wouldst woo thee loses all his happiness And steeps his soul with folly when he hath this^ Whose thoughts run back to former days dwells not With me today for I go on, not stopping On my quick'ning pace, like the oak trees' rot, For either noble prince or lordly king. Let us descant aloud to the sick souls who Hate the very sound of our voices and, thereby. Turn their wrath into a cult and thus imbue Them with an ongoing rectitude sturdy. i6 CANTO II. I like the teacher who follows his teachings, To such an one I am no detester ; The preacher, too, who follows his preachings And the man who does not easily fester. There is a health of the soul and a health Of the body and I sometimes think he hath The one who least thinks so, as if by stealth He hath been given, so that he lose not faith. I must make appeal to mem'ries' store-house So that bathos will not creep in the poem And make me feel that Tve gone back to trouse Before I've e'en finished the shorter proem. VII. It is neither my aim nor ambition Nor intention to dwell too much at length On the proem lest the lines afterward spun Excel not in their high and Attic strenafth. The night is ,come ! The sable, starless and Moonless night ! My pretty-eyed love and my Rose-kiss'd cheeked love with her round, dimpled hand Doth bide where the exotic furze doth lie. 17 THE MUSE POETIC. When some great truth our maiden vows dislodge And thus our souls to higher walks restores We shouldst not cavil, but, with amity, torge On accepting the wise measure and lores. Mav the fires erotic promote unselfish Ways, laying quite low vain contumely. Keeping us from coldness of the shell-fish ; Thus we are to abduce toward diuturnity. If we as poets would like to sell our work Some great work shouldst we pen of pure fiction, (Note you what folk "round book-stores lurk And what they buy) nor care much for diction. Beneath the stark embrasure of the much Cankered wall of the castle a lover dropt His gauntlet, while on a very vain debauch, — Chill the night and in the glove maybugs hopped. They (the maybugs) tho"t their new home very strange So manv little rooms issuing into One grand dance (.'') hall and, round in a short range, They gathered bugs and fire-flies not a few. CANTO II. The fire-flies were to furnish wonted light And betoken figures for the dancers, But some over-frolicsome bugs got tight And did not dance through the college lancers. XV. They found quite near the gauntlet a small flask, (Not the kind that gunners use in quailing), Yet the contents dwindled with a like small task And one drew a bilbo and was railing. One, a petit-maitre, ( for he was one Of these,) began to blab and to bicker ; Turning the tables for a little fun He showed some trinkets and c-an to dicker. Thej' danced until the " wee sma' hours " as Burns Has it, in fact until the sun began To rise. Now the knight for the glove retiirns And each frisky, blithe bug away has ran. But, I have dropt into a lower strain Of poetic thinking for we shudcltr At the thought of bugs as we do, again. At ships at sea without sails or rudder. 19 THE MUSE POETIC. Gallants, I fancy, have no predilection For such as these and they are unanimous. To a man, that they have no jurisdiction To hold forth, much "2;ainst the bugs animus. He, the noble lo\er I mean of course. When he had found the much tinseled gauntlet Saw it worn in spots but, yet, not much worse Than when 'twas lost : but just a little wet. The ignoble marauders manifested No outward show of displeasure till he Left the scene of revelry. Man is tested In like manner, yet with tranquillity. If I should introduce some hellenisms The effusion would not be popular. But yet the production would be like prisms On chandeliers to the particular. I've sat in Congress and heard debators Debating on debates of national Importance and they did, to our haters, Hurl conceptions of gist most rational. CANTO II. I've heard speeches, as I said, in Congress By such men as Reed, the mental giant, I was sorry when I made my egress He was so manly and self reliant. I may be ever so good a linguist But need the soul to voice the same And e'en the much needful element, — gist And without these the argument were lame. O make me a cenobite just for the Space of tonight that I might solace my Soul in that extreme quiet and succor Receive for the sins which dost inward lie. XXVII. I've just been throwing off a few verses To see if my pen was suitably nibbed, — You know what th' singer does when rehearses He. Note, I've to the pen, these lines ascribed. Things we often see we deem are common Not thinking that, perhaps, people come miles To view them, the protestant and mommon, The Jew, the catholic and the gentiles. THE MUSE POETIC. Do not cast les doux yeux at your friends For I am going to try and be a Poet. And now and then an Attic sentence lends Dignity, if it didn't I'd forec:o it. 'Tis wise not to want what you cannot have, The wanting oft will cause inward chafing Like the moralist's theorizing, ( to save Us), over theses falling from their high fling„ Happiness is to be found in action So occupy the time with useful cares. Do not let yourselves be bound in faction, Don't sit les bras croises, — go pull tares. Death! What is it? It is a going out, An efflux of the spirit from the body, A mingling of the spirit with devout Oneness with God, the clay with parts soddv- All nature is putting on a new growth. The sun's beams glow adown with much avid Of nurturing force and seemeth quite loth In its sapient course the earth to rid. CANTO II. The dickens lake us if I would demit To cog a friend or strut with vain hauteur He is a very bogus thing, to wit : — He were fittest he that is quite demure. Go eat a choke-pear for thy belly ache. Or, hang ambition by distresses' door ! Now I intend the present age to wake And to advance, at once, some modern lore. Our poesy must be grammatical, Infused with Platonic wisdom or naught Wilt seem our verses, much less Attical, And we hadst missed what we hadst greatly sought .xxxvii. Then shalt we have honey from Hymettus, Much fine gold from California and Spices and colognes odoriferous, Pearls from the deep and gifts both rare and grand. Life is a problem which we all must solve ; Look at old Nature, see how she performs. She tempts us and is the last to absolve ; Of perils and shocks she thus us informs. THE MUSE POETIC. 5ome trees demand much room, some not so much They that are fragrant we grant an extent But, yet, all of the trees have Nature's touch ; With the shady the sweet-scented are blent. I do not intend to make this canto Of such great length as to tire the reader Or the compositor for I can't ( oh That's a slip ) if I wouldst be a leader. XLI. If I should condescend to write some long, Dry essays or theses for moralists' To theorize o'er the sale'd not be strong. But vet I'd have of books some moral lists. What ever I do I, vvith the sophists, Cannot agree and they must be dealt with Something more stringent than merely soft fists ; The same doth occupy my neareth kith. Methinks he were a dullard quotha, he That banters in badinage and straight thinks It were e'en the exordium, if he Will, to good breeding ; it hast leady clinks. 24 CANTO II. It may seem strange to the superficial And I do not care an English farthing Or Persian daric, in man, the facial Bent on character is not a far thing. Not that tiie world be round but that the world Is is what I am going to at length Discuss, certes, not so much the sphere hurled Spherically, as the great peoples' strength. The country, Europe, strong in it's armies. Old Rome with her papal celibacy ; While we look to Rome our eyne awry is Toward Asia with Mount Everest racy. Germany, France, Italy in paintings, Itily especially in sculpture And its grandiose tinted skies which clings To the viewer and dost his soul immure. England hast done much in literati. The United States likewise and in great Inventors which I will have to rate i' The ascendant of — but I always hate 25 THE MUSE POETIC. To make boast of my own country for I Am an American, saturated With Americanism, and proud of my Native land which I've not over rated. England with her Shakspeare, her Lord Byron ( Of whom Westminister was much too small His ashes to contain, — at least held on To this thought) and others I'll soon recall. (fi §\]Q [^u^^ .^b^ti^. CANTO III. Ijfn ihis canto I mean to show up men in Their true hght and I don't care a ten-pin If the}' want to reply to it wliy they can. We are admired more thus than if we ran. And I would have the public think well of me, Even if the same could not always love me. I shall probably treat lightly on politics, If I can my mind on Apollo fix. Perchance an apothegm I may weave in If I can get a nice woof to heave in But, I sha'n't go so far as a harnspice IS'or, e'en yet so far as to harass this. 27 THE MUSE POETIC. Naught shall tempt my pen save what I will it, (I should like, under Sam, a good billet). Naught shall hamper my footsteps for I wont Have it, not a hamper of wine if I say don't. Let's have republicans and democrats and no Third party. 1 his splitting up is no grand show, — I don't approve of it, it only makes one more String to the bow. The third geis swallowed like Noah. Of this I'll further speak in the next canto And I may tell what doth make the ant grow, But I'm not so sure of this as to promise And I wouldn't be thought fickle like a storm is. As innocent as cradled babes are the winds That waft my thoughts throughout the world to minds Of thinking people.. Let them remain so Then I'll have no reason to disdain show. The heart is the seat of all love ; it is The piece of furniture invaluable to this Vast universe ; it is the pivot round which Moves the world. It is like a wood-bound ditch. 28 CANTO III. IX. I'll go up above the clouds and look down, And study thin air and things we jointly own ;: I'll stray from things common to the poetical And arrange them in order alphabetical. There is one street in Rome, the old Corso, That delighteth the mind perhaps, more so, Because of its antiquities. In this, You've seen, I've spared many an aphaeresis. XI. For artistic merits we must not o'erlook The Piazza Colonna, standing in nook. This old shaft is so round as well as straight As to be noticable at anv rate. I've been thinking of a place where there are Paintings, — they are in Palazzo Sciarra, And are by Claude, Raffaelle and Titian, Men whom, by their great skill, were patriciarn- XIII. If I had the means I'd go and see them, Thus you'd cross the Atlantic and bestem Her tides ; and you could go by water all The way and not descend a waterfall. 29 THE MUSE POETIC. There is one thing, I would start in the spring Or summer, for style this is just the thing, — And over there you want to be thought well of, Just as the angels are far up above. XV, There's another thing about travelling, let Me state right here : it is unlike a ringlet For it hasf an end and the world will, too, But I shouldn't care for that more than mildew. Yet another thing is this : that brains win The world's laurels, just as a man reins in His horse after a race, and it is certain Spiritual worth raises heaven's curtain. It is a high and noble line of thought To be ever the seekers after good, fraught Not with trifling disposition toward others, For this sometimes tends to detract, and bothers. I have not yet wrote up my politico- Economic conceptions ; O ! let it go Some, perhaps, might say but 'tis too important For that, and so, also, is a quadrant 30 CANTO III. In point of fact, be it remembered, that Anarchism can not, nay, it shall not fat And stay in the land ; we must have order, we Must have law, while yet our country is free. You must agree with me, or you have no homes ; They fall to earth and so our very states' domes. It is a viper and must sure be crushed Lest our hearths" fires are forever hushed. I'll speak in highest terms of aught that's right, And crush beneath my feet (and that at sight ) All that seems to me wrong ; contrariwise, The people would ignore me and de.^pise. Who bears the high insignia of office Mus-t be modest, nor neglect to dofif his Hat, e'en to tiie lowly, honoring the badge I, ( If lis me ) wear ; no less must the Magi. Sand-flies a flying, or sand fleas a fleeing I sha'n't discuss ; I'd rather be freeing My mind on more weighty aft"airs and things, Like angels' wings and serpents' and spiders' ^stings. 31 THE MUSE POETIC. The mean, the tricky and miserable Government of Russia's like a miser able, Only, to count his gold. Read Kennon's papers And see how this foul government capers. I have explicit confidence in Kennon, He speaks so honesdy, and when men don The fearlessness and strength of purpose, which He has, he's cherished in some favored nitch. I don't mean that Kennon is great and will Be remembered in marble through the still, Future ages, but, he has done much to Enlighten us on Russia in a touch true. The old-time priest. Jerome, the satirical Tacitus, (yet this is not a miracle ), And old Suetonius, who was cynical. Underwent much neath many a pinacle. So did Innocentius and old Hylas Undergo much and, too, there was Silas. Others are recluses, anchorites, cenobites. And it has been .said did the Isrealites 32 CANTO III Likewise did Kennon ; — think of the snow drifis And low temperature he found ! A crow shifts About oft times because of cold, — not so he For on he went like a qood knot dory. Kennon has told us much of Siberia, — God bless him ! Now let him go to Liberia And learn of that country some of its wa^s, When he returns we have got some new craze. But never mind the craze, we all adrniie Pluck, push, perseverance, a man of fire. Chine, chin ( the last not in the vulgar though ) And rejoice when one doth evil over-throw. God speed Kennon on in his good work for Humanity, and against who shirk law ; Aid him in his efforts to alleviate Suffering, crush injustice with a lever weight. I never did, nor would, describe anything That wasn't proper and never a penny ring Or, again : nothing that was slab-sided, Knock-kneed, or crab-toed, or crab-hided. 33 THE MUSE POETIC. XXXIV. I might touch on some monohthic slabs, But I haven't time, and some mythic blabs About the gods of old, or forgotten Cities, or the product of the South, cotton. And I might one day write some plays as did Shakspeare, but I am as one who has rid Himself of so much irksomeness, besides One must have more time than with me abides. But I liad rather have a tilt at arms, Or see a pretty mirage down at the farms. Or visit a neighboring bailiwick And call on some friend, or else mail a brick. I did not mean to say thai though ; I'll take It back, it was a mistake, so just make It read r^avz'i? a brick, ?i gold brick you must Understand ; and thence nroceed with true trust. The bible does not instruct us how we are To spend our time, — the hero, saint and seer, And I feel I must be entertaining if I Am anything but not to tend to vilify, 34 CANTO III. God bless IMcKinley and his bill, God bless The souls that have relieved us of distress. Who have sought to relieve, or who shall seek What I am driving at Til just give a peek. Read George's 'land scheme' and his 'single tax' Ideas, read Lowell and his jingle facts. They are for our progress pure and simple ; They are helps, not to look at like a dimple. We all have our ideas but don't all vent Them, — some peoples thoughts are like a ball spent Already. We all should frame our thoughts in subtle Words and have them polished as a shuttle. Of Phaedo, Aristippus and Antistb.enes You must agree the one was, if you please. The highest and the ne.xt was the latter ; Moralitv comes first, then duty, then clatter. But I suppose there are those that would place Duty above morality yet, in the face Of this, morality is llrst ; But there is An high duty that is kinship with bliss. 35 THE MUSE POETIC. Mare lerisium is about seventy-eight Thousand square miles, and we think in this state That that is some space. It is quite a large Plain isn't it.' larger than a barije or targe. I dote on gcilden and silvern sun-sets. And like the e.xercise that a run gets, And hate things nonsensical and foolish. Not only that when they seem quite ghoulish. I like to study the winds' velocity, But 'tis my way to hold with animosity Aught that's disheveled, lest it be artistic Then it must be removed from the fistic. I don't believe in doing, or of being Good simply for some reward, or feeing A waiter for extra attention, although I have a retinue wherever I go. But, I suppose it is quite different With me, unlike the man that doth suffer rent To accumulate and servants' hire accrue. Or his dollars to dwindle down to a few. 36 CANTO III. 'Tis an accretion that we want and must have, Of all the good things obtainable, save Good snuff, which I abominably abhor As much, perhaps, as a thrust from a saber. I'm going to relate some startling things in The fifth canto ; — 3"0u know a cartling brings in On the summer sea-shore some dainty tots. Well, 'twill be akin to that or painty cots. S^^ l^u^e .(^betie. CANTO IV. (^;his reducing of ones thoughts to writing Requires time, — //me and very much of it. But rd rather write than do reciting And it might be said I really love it. Lih I ought to have said for we cannot Love inanimate objects and scarcely Some animate, — yet I mean no complot Nor, yet, would I turn from truth aversely. If I have not I must make the time to Learn metaphysics and ideation ; The one, methought, would aid me to rhyme true, The other, to divine a new creation. CANTO IV. IV. I don't believe in metempsychosis Neither think the soul regresses to chaos, But hold to the thought in my way submiss, It hies above, without being verbose. Japan with its Japanese in carving, Profound in their art, ( not the kind which we: Yankees do Thanksgiving Day when halving Turkeys ), but ivory, — fine, infinately. England had her famous family Tudor, And Cowper, Johnson, Pope, Southey, Dryden^ Gens dc I el ires who never mains pudor Betrayed, so why should I them deride then ? A virtuous action needs no liquidating, it is of Itself liquidated. It ivcre because It were natural and high with pure love In its naturalness, — needs no applause. Queen Margaret when she kissed Poet Chartier. Finding him one day sleeping, said to her Maid. "I kiss not the man I," said the fair, "Kiss the soul that sings, "' we thus her revere^ 39 THE MUSE POETIC. So it is with us, we think not so much Of the outward man as we do the more Beautiful, inner self, which is the good crutch Which restores the world with the newest lore. Now the difterence twixt old Pompeii And Pompeii unearthed is much vaster In fine artistic grandeur, the way I See, than a rusty from a new castor. But what will show my simile better, With more averment, is a sterile tramp Twixt a sterling, thrifty money-getter, (I speak thus so as to show up the scamp). Or, far better still, at Monte Carlo The gilded hell-hole called the Casino From, — well I don't know what, — my dog Carlo Who follows on whene'er I horseback 2:0. I've studied sun-sets and brilliant moon-lights, Royal Worcester ware tea-sets and lamp Lights (electric) and think natural sights Exceed those of an artificial stamp. 40 CANTO IV. I never compare artists with arlis^ts Or poets witli poets save in a way Of all fairness to each and it consists In posing each on turrets ( by-the-way ). Of course some turrets are of greater height Than others, but I can't help that, it should Be thus, for could you hold that I were right In placing Shelley where great Shiller stood ? I shall not here attempt to define which One I hold in highest estimation ; It may come out in time ( here lies the hitch ), Naiale solum bears on the relation. The soul shines through the mind and radiates In all directions and, just so sure is The heart mirrored in the vi.sage the fates Decree that the waves shall beat on the shores. I should be very unwise If I should Forget that there is in man an instinct For truth yet I hold falsehood is the hood Of knaves and the gallows is their precinct. 41 THE MUSE POETIC. Shelley, of Anglo-Saxon abstraction, Was a Briton from his crown to his sole ; Born of a countrv of which, in action, Is conservative, yet it hath a soul. Let us not show our backs to men but our Fronts, so we maintain our manliness though All the world go wrong, thus with our high power Shall we have friends, true friends ; this do we know. We must learn to be magnanimous then Do I forget all animadversion. All sorrowing heart qualms we cease I ken And, ergo, we issue a new version. If I lose a friend because I perform Today a wiser and nobler action It is well it is so for through the storm I have gained real friends that men do not shun. 'Tis morn ! The sun revives the sluggard from His bed of woe and Nebla ( whom my Muse Hates) comes from his sulphury depths to strum His Phorminx and to chance his woeful ruse. 42 CANTO IV At first thought I, in no wise, considered His talents worth mentioning, yet, there is. Or, rather was, ( though 'twas nipped in the bud ) A book of his written on old Venice. Some underlying growth of mental sway And clearness, which dost make bold to assert Itself Aonian in its light way And tending, showed which we must not pervert. Up in old Venice down \n the market Place I shall lay a scene little short of The romantic, in some points, and stark it Will be. not in antithesis, but love. The Dramatis Personae are Patrice, A "winsome wee thing", rosy and sprightly, Graceful and slight and, withal, very nice And her Mamma Hester less sightlv. The day was very sultry and avid When Nebla strummed his aforesaid Phorminx, Drawing his afflatus from the sacred Song he sang to priest, merchant and sly minx. 43 THE MUSE POETIC. XXIX. The day would surely make a sphinx turn pale Of fright at sun stroke but Patrice sidled Toward the player. The music, like the wail Of a Hindoo, the gathered throng diddled. I said Patrice sidled toward the player ; Twas much the same as in the jungle when The king of beasts is pounced on by the slayer Save less cautiously and there was no fen. His voice seduced her heart it was so sweet And people from the Grand Place of St. Mark, Stopping their gondolas, listened at his feet To the mellifluous tones till it was dark. Now the tones were modulated and now They rose up loftily to the blue sky. At first it seemed as if he knit his brow With enmity then, forthwith, he mounts high. He lilted out like merry birds afield Nor realized the pangs of heart he caused. But when the song had ceased Patrice did yield, (Strange thing too) and gave him i charm emboss'd. 44 CANTO IV Of course he knew her not, but, her carriage, Her dark e_ves and her fine chiseled features Did much for her finally, in marriage Ending like unto good, worthy creatures. Now I'm going to be paradoxical For I must state the matter just as "twas, — As the evening advanced she made a call On Nebla, 'tis my tenet, without cause. But Nature, at times, mysteriously Works, and in this tesselated city As well as others, though less seriously Than those of far greater capacity. The flowers which she brought to him were orchids Which was more in keeping than fine trousers, Diamond rings, silk handkerchiefs or kids ; These are for revellers or carousers. He took the matter well at heart, thought and Considered the same whether or no some Other fair one had not a prior demand On him, trusted his conscience then wrote home. 45 • THE MUSE POETIC. But one moment, — they sat and munched new figs And pistachios, talked o'er things epicene, And not the persiflage of fooHsh prigs ; Lampooned no one and all went on serene. There is a something in man's voice which we Respect or disrespect, and in a /crdy's Manner which we must admire and which we Adore, like to keen-eyed Turkish cadies. There is a something in mens' hearts which yearns For the ideal whether it be lor books, A noble wife, a home ( the false it spurns ) Fine old bronze urns, or, ancient shepherds' crooks. 'Twas thus with Patrice, 'twas so with Nebla When he laid the matter before Flester. His plea was fair and he felt far abler Than from a bout in Greecian palestra. Here begins my epithalamium, My wish for their unshaken prosperity. Let their wine of life be pure, naught of stum Be needed, knowing not asperity. . 46 CANTO IV. Behold the sunny features of Patrice And those of him who leads her to sacred Hymen's Altar, — the one twain of Venice! O, peace rest on each young and tawny head. No not iawny for his was a jet black, But the word seems catchy so I weave It in the hymenean as I lack News of the tour, and here I will it leave. What thoughts occupied them at this moment, Suppose you, after the trying ordeal, After the prebend to the priest is spent ? Does not the newness seem to them ideal ? Orion in his stellary height peeps Down with eye askant into the bridal Chamber and on the fairest bride that sleeps ; He showeth forth to them both his pride all. Let the goodly inheritance of their Fathers visit the children and, also, The children's children making their lives fair. If thoughts be pure they cannot well fall so. 47 THE MUSE POETIC. The ancient general who, conquering The world, and sighing because of no other Worlds to conquer must needs have felt the sting Of conscience or sure found life a bother. Not so with these young, earnest Italians Who were much wrapped one in the other, nay,. Not so ! They knew not much of battalions, Cared less for wars than for some noble lay. k ^%i^ i^osti- CANTO V. I've changed my mind about writing up on the Third party ; I'm now going out to sup on a Dish fit for gods, cultured men and fine women Together with governors and high seamen. II. The matter is indefinately deferred, And, unHke the man who said that he heard Him looking, I am more correct when I say, A book's page is too small — don't think me icy. I must, of necessity, crowd out much which Would instruct but, like she who drops a stitch At times am I just now, yet unlike her, Vou can't tell i' the poem ; how does this strike her 49 THE MUSE POETIC. IV. Let us decide to treat all dumb animals With kindness, and have bullets for cannibals. For my part I am fond of pets, the horse. For instance, and perhaps the birds no worse. The advocacy of arbitration doth mean An higher civilization and it is seen That peace congresses tend in no less degree Toward tranquillity and high liberty. Litters of pigs or pups are well enough, I suppose, in their places, but the stuff Isn't there ; they can't hold a candle to chemistry, Tetralogy, a soothsayer or history. I'd rather freeze out a political enemy, Or drown out a musk-rat than have any. my Friends, of the stygian about me ; or go Mend disruption, or hear Handel's Largo. Here are a few topics for some good novels : Two Men, Two Women, One Man with Two Shovels, A Cat in a Garret, A Dog and a Goat, And A French Nurse, With Two Children, Alloat. 50 CANTO V. Two Young Ladies from Texas at Welsley, A Greek God, and, The Young Girl's Name was Leslie ; How could He ? Something as Nice as Honey, She Went, and. What Did He Do With His Money ; A Thing of the Past or Future, Which ? A Super-Human Strength, and. Ah ! There's tlie Hitch ; I have evolved others and will recite them, — Here's a good one: How Could He Indict Them? XI. O ! how can I leave this, Lm chockfull of Subjects, — here's one now : The Cork Bull Above, And again : Her Consecrated Faith, and, Ammi, To rhyme to mammie, Sammy and clamy. It is primal and final with me not to have One word fill short of the mark. It is brave, I presume, to say not one word, but 111 Vary that a little, saying, only once in a while. This is more consonant I think, at lerst It should be, as to good white-bread is yeast. I don't hide behind a reredos, what I Say is open thus avoiding being sooty. 51 THE MUSE POETIC I'm fond ot horse-beck riding, and to straddle A prime, first quality pigskin saddle Is my delight being far from tittle-tattle, The which is vainer than some little cattle. Here are some subjects for songs, ( much depends On good subjects, perhaps than the ends ). She Was My Only Love, Her Coveted Hope, Shoo ! They Are Catholics, and, Love-Lighted Scope. He Kissed Her on Each Cheek, O ! Why Should He.' Unloved and Unsought, Ouvricr, and, Would She.' An Old Rebound Copy, and, Bound in Vellum. Gilt Top Uncut Edges. Here Dog Go Smell Um ! He Wooed to Win, Born of Despair, Qiidqiie Chose, Suuni Ciiique, An Inventive Head, What are Those .' Verisimilitude, She's a Baby, Oh No ! Nine Out of Ten, and. Three Girls and One Beau. Some Ancient Legislation Humbugs and Inconsistencies, She Played in The Band, Business Then Pleasure After, Nomenclature, His High and Sure Aim, and, Slow Men Pay Sure. 52 CANTO V. Grandly He Thought Nobly Carried Out, Rout The Villain, Twice Thrice, She's Grown Very Stout, A Jug Full of Pleasure, High Up, Menace, She Was in a sense Poetic, and, Lawn Tennis. This, I believe, closes up the song business. Now I'll — O! here's another one: And His Dress; Now I will resume the plot if plot there Be with all iny great ability and care. It is just, it is right, it is legal To have the latter for some novels regal But they are intended for some sweet, short Songs, no drinking songs though, but full of thought. XXII. Sesquipedalian my words have never been That, if you study me. you have plainly seen ; With just enough o{ facetiae not to be silly, And I haven't once brought in popes or a filly. The Vale of Tempe I might treat on, yet it Is too eerie for my pen, I might get it Broken, and vales and things of this sort charm me Not ; not that I think though that they'd harm me. 53 THE MUSE POETIC. They don't amount to shucks or Hannah Cooke, If I must tell you, and before e'en a book Was thought of, the ancient bards had described The Tempe on parchment, thus I'm circumscribed. They did it well too, all praise be to them ; They have their reward from way stern to stem. Theirs was inherent worth, an inborn thing, An inspiration roused them and did sting. But, while I think of it, I've seen parchment As old as the hills ; you know what an arch meant. Erected by ancients, wasn't it quite strong ? Built to s/av, unlike a real old slave's wrong. XXVII. The parchment was wrote on way back m B. C, And was very well preserved as we see Or, rather, I saiv. It was in New York, And in a buildins: where crowds come to talk. It is a beautiful sight to see man Pay homage to man as I've heard Zerrahn Pay homage to Handel. You should have heard Him reasoning, followed him word on word. 54 CANTO V. The exiled bell of Uglich 1 think is pretty Aged, cast in fifteen ninety-three ; I'm not witty Either, if it is not historic, too, — You know, perhaps what did Shakspears' Yorick do. There's many a worthy man in exile in Siberia ; read up on this and th" next style gin. Some of the exiles exist only in byres ; Russia's officials are consummate liars. Tetrastich I've done writing, I'm going to Write long poems hereafter, I'm throwing due Only where it belongs, when I say, my forte Lies in that direction where there is thought. I would not wallow in the stink of shame. Nor would I ever marry an old dame. Not e'en if she's endowed with ability, For it doesn't taper toward utility. What a blessing is the instantaneous Photography, 'tis untemporaneous And not like, what I am pleased to call trowsers — How the styles change, they're so unlike carousers. 55 THE MUSE POETIC. With this mode of taking pictures you can catch Old nervous women, horses and yachts on th' stretch, Crooks, birds flying, the enemy running away, Twinkling stars and lightning at close of day. Mad dogs chasing cats, and cats catching rats, Pole jumping, and boys and girls watching bats. Vaulting and many things that I cannot think Of, — O ! and a man jumping off a brink. A man, too, in the act of mixing drinks. And deer grazing, cattle and a fleeting minx ; In fact it revolutionizes from an art View. Now paintings will look dif'rent in the mart. It takes each leaf on wielding trees, each crest On tossing waves, a bird on leaving nest. Each swaying floweret so )0U can almost Count them but not a soul when it is lost. Let the best horse win, that is my mottoe, Let the best cyclist too, for he ought to. From squirrels' jump to the end of the road, Though, the cart horse can take the biggest load. 56 CANTO V. I despise the one who will have scrimages Over old wooden gods and graven images, And I hold aloft quite from curio hunters — The new things I'm fond of off new counters. The sinking sun like the embers on a Slumbering, smouldering hearth looks ; it doth don a Dreamy mien like unto a distant, soft-toned Bell tolling in the ears of the soft boned. "Honor thy father and thy mother " not, Understand, "that thy days may be long" but Because they are "thy father and thy mother;" For thy being you must thank no other. Because you are accountable to them for Your very existence. Now do you blame law.? Nay, you do not. And because, again, it Is best, as sometimes we put milk with rennet. XLIII. I would have you think the lamp of Aladdin Shone bright o'er me as the glory of Saladin, And were as merry as an old Scottish Halloween, or lively waltz, or a schottische. 57 THE MUSE POETIC. Unknown to misanthropy, nor quizzical Yet, the possessor of a being physical. Read up in Asphodel and old Vishnu And an apostle to all those who wish new. I do not lay any claims to an aphorist, And I do not know as yet, if Sappho kiss'd, But presume she did sometime, and I am As unknown to antiphrasis as Siam. I do apocopate sometimes, to be sure, But not often, yet that is the embrasure Through which I shoot my wit and, through the which I often see my way clear to a new stitch. XLVII. I judge a man's religion by what he does And not by the church he may attend ( the cause I sha'n't state here), and not by his transgressions — Then 'tis tt;;religion, nor his possessions. Our hearts run out in sympathy for the good Of all ages, and we owe much to the mood Of our forefathers, the founders, pioneers, And inbringers, and they may well have our cheers. ^ 58 CANTO V. I'd be in touch with refinement and beauty If it cost a leg, since I think it duty, And Mnemosyne I'd get on the right side of As one must to see properly a pied dove. This subjunctive canto must now be ended. Just the same as things more earthly ; blended I have thoughts of moment and they are serried. Still, I've meditated and not hurried. M)\2^ fl;u^ i^oeti- CANTO VI. 'hat would you now, ihat I discuss Shiller? Well, then in this third unprudish canio I shall make ready to blow a shriller Blast for fame, show who did the folk rant o" 11. Frederick von Shiller, of extraction Teutonic, not only held fine thoughts but Well knew how to bring them into action ; Swam in deep waters like the halibut. I shall not wage a lengthy discussion Lest I incur a foul ignominy. An incubus or, perchance, concussion And would, methought, savor rather winy. 60 CANTO VI. Then I would ne'er give hire to a proxy; Though I might save a pen it's no puncto And then, by some, I might be thought foxy And in my art I would be quite skunked too. I had far rather write a long prologue Than a shorter criticism, on a man Whom I must admire, (or an epilogue). For high achievements as solid as pan. I'd rather the Russian Kremlin describe Or, the Cathedral of the Assumption, Than to be a biographical scribe If even, had I the merest presumption. The Kremlin with its strange, chimerical, Tsarika Room with its deep embrazured Windows and massive gilt girders recall Other centuries, — thus they are assured. VIII. Then the old Terem with its banquet hall And rare plate, which is displayed when the Tsars Pay their visits, on a buffet. Some tall Crudences are shown and fine graven gold jars. 6i THE MUSE POETIC. The Terem in true old Muscovite style Is quite different from the cold facade, In masonry of stone, that dost lie file On file which can stand many an enfilade. We must remember this, that Schiller, schooled In early life in studies which did not Befit the man, together with being ruled Too rio;idlv soon made him grieve his lot. These grievings and misgivings ripened to Displeasure for Stuttgard. His preceptors Were too narrow thinkers for the boy who In after-life, was honored by scepters. XII. He became at once the glory and pride Of all Germany as did the great bard Goethe, his contemporary. Side by side They lie at Weimar entombed with regard. Thousands make pilgrimage to the little Chapel, where they are enshrined, and flowers strew O'er their oaken coffins, yet my tittle Of encomium doesn't their full worth shew. 62 CANTO VI. Sliiller was of no common clay and he Was notable for pathos and, as it Suited him, invective; tranquillity Was his ; he admired the grand more than wit. XV. "Round their coffined clay in this Grand Ducal Vault ( to show the difrence 'twixt accident Of birth and Genius ) you see, when you call. Bronze caskets of dukes, forgotten ere they went Finished my panegyric I now wend On to new thought-fields and shall, no doubt, trump Some conception which might, perhaps, portend The folly or wisdom of a camel's hump. The good ventures of men if they be but Successful shall be attended by our Plaudits, but, if unsuccess prevail what Are they to do but to use newer power ? To offer up some doleful wail as Dirge Of Menephtah I am not given ; 'tis grander Far, perchance, we in the mood feel, to urge Thoughts on Persian Satraps or, salamander. 63 THE MUSE POETIC. XIX. O thou quivering, beautious insect Wondrous fly of charming presence, O thou Butterfly sylphlike, airy integral detect I somewhat of fantasy in thee enow. Ought not we men to think that as our best Thoughts are not of ourselves that they are from The divine.'' Two souls meet: it is the behest If they be counterparts there is no strum. In all these quatrain stanzas I have not Discussed the giant dread Cormoran, nor. Will I for I do intend that my plot Shall teem throughout with men of rythmic law. Cormoran, who swooped down on th" purlieus Of Marazion, with the advancement Of thought had naught to do, like Orpheus. He, the fell monster, on pillage was bent. 'Tis not so difficult a thing to learn To love a manly man, one who can free The slave, quell a riot yet, who can never spurn To nurse the leper or, to limn fine tracery. 64 CANTO VI. XXIV. The world is getting old and so are we. Some people are as smart as whips and steel-traps While some have the poise and alike parity Of the inventors who invent new eel-traps. P^or a weird and romantic pass, I trow, Nothing can exceed Fern-tree Gully, Gippsland Lest it be Eucalyptus Forest though. And even then they are both on the same land. The one is the more parasitical While the other a horseman could wtU ride thro"; The bell, lyre, whip-bird, ( to be analytical ), Break the quiet when new sentiments betide you. The magpie and parrakeet charm the ear, Tease the imagery in their blent songs And rosellas. lories, marvelous to hear. Share their honors with the various throngs. The swoln, upwelling notes lend eclat to The land where few brumal winds carouse, nor. Is this all for it doth produce virtu In one and high respect for Nature's law. 65 THE MUSE POETIC. Resplendent hued orchids grow and flourish And abound which offers the criteria That a hot cUmate conduces to nourish A hke vegretation in large area. Golden wattles contribute their quota Of beauty and fragrance yet their accretion Than the magnolias is not an iota More astounding nor, yet, their completion. Just to heighten the effect I will here state That the bell-bird's mellifluous notes swell Tlirough the still air ; only at sunset abate The complete delusion through hill and dell. One thinks "tis church bells tolling from afar, The low, soft rings that float upon the ear Till some well-advised friend, lest he mar The effect, says gently, no vestal bells you hear. At night-fall booms the bittern along some Sedgv bank, the curlew's wail, the crane's harsh Civ hears the rapt listener, until, doth come Another break of day along the marsh. CANTO VI. Enchant the soul, speak to the higher mind, (A sort of tether, just like marriage bontls ) Prettier than sugar when il"s refined. In writing poetry "tis the true Poet's aim To escape all verbiage and, Dante E'en dealt much in systole which, I would claim, Gives lively interest unlike andante. I never attempt to describe a thing, Unless I am well versed in the matter, And all this would quite much dishonor bring And savor much of the monkev's chatter. Perhaps the grandest of all the world's great Forests, and certainly the one of large Oaks and beeches, the one where men ot state Rode to the hunt and made wild boars their targe, And deer, and wolves, and l.cais, is Fontainebleau. ( It was cherished by great artist Millet, And seemed to him as