Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-07-08
Encouragement to American Poetic Talent
$500 Premium.

SOOO t'feEulums
IMPRESSED as am with the controlling in
/ fluenee which is exercised by the fine arts
arts upon the direction and destiny of human
affairs, it has given me infinite pleasure to
witness the bountiful manner in which from
time to time, painting and statuary have been
| encouraged and rewarded by the Councils of
the Nation. ..
But, while this acknowledgment is due to
the discerning and worthy patrons Of these
noble, it is an equal source of humiliation and
| sorrow to behold the apparent apathy and in
difference with which they seem to regard the
| incomparably more valuable creations of
poetry.
To see them adorn the walls of the Capitol
with the glowing revelations of the pencil, and
decorate the public grounds with the costly
chef 'euvres of the chisel is an omen of
good which will be hailed and applauded by
| all as cheering pledge of the progress of re-
| inement. But, whilst they lavish their thou
| sands upon those immobile products of canvass
| and marble and bronze, they offer no reward
| for the more exalted, more enduring and re-
| newned ovations of the pen No fostering
| hand from these high places has ever yet in
| vited the Promethean fire of poetry to animal
| the history of our country, which, with all its
harmony of form and wonder of proportion,
| lies asleep around the humble vault of Mount
Vernon, ready to spring into life and beauty
at the first kindling touch of this genial in
| spiration.
1t surely were q work of supererogation to
| introduce the proofs that crowd the records of
| the past to show how far above all other stands
| the divine art'' of poesy What are all the
! paintings statues, and regalia of Versailles
| of Fontainbleau and the Tuilleries. compared
| with the. Marseilles Hymn" What the
kingly panoply of gold and gems heaped up
| in the Tower of London what the collections
| n 10 Aood tins hal
| lowed shrines of Westminster Abbey, when
| compared with the songs of Burns, and Dib-
| den, and Campbell? Or what has the world
| that we would take in exchange for q Hail
Columbia" and the g Star-Spangled Banner?'
Well might the British statesman exclaim
let me but write the ballads Of nation.
| and l care not who makes its laws.
AS far as the living breathing man is above
| the cold insensate marble that is made to re-
| present him; as far as the radiant skies of
summer are above the perishable canvass to
which the painter has transferred their feeble
| resemblance, so far is poetry above all other
| arts that have their mission to console and
| elevate and inspire the immortal mind of
| man.
| In view of these facts, and considering the
| lamentable paucity of patriotic songs in my
| distinguished and beloved country, and with
| the hope of being the humble means of pro-
| per public feeling upon this interesting sub
| ject, have been induced to offer. and dc
| hereby offer. the sum of five hundred dollars
as prize for the best National Poem, Ode or
Epic.
| The rules which will govern the payment
| of this sum, are a. follows
LIST. [ have selected without consulting
them) the following persons to act as judges
or arbiters of the prize thus offered, namely:
The President of the United States
Hon. A. o. P. Nicholson, of Tennessee.
Hon. Chas Sumner, of U. S. Senate.
Hon. r. M. L. Hunter, do
| Hon. JAS c. JONES' do
Hon. j. R: Chandler, of U, S. H. Reps.
Hon. Addison White do do
Hon. Thos II. Bayly, do do
Hon D. T. Disney do do
Hon. J. P. Kennedy, Secretary of the Navy
D. J. W. c. Evans, of New Jersey.
D. Thos. Saunders
e Gen R. ' Armstrong . -.
DR.. G. Bailey, u 'n' 'eSs
|, W. W. SeatOn.
Prof. Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution.
VIM. Seldom, late Treasurer of the T. S.
Rev. G. NJ. Butler, Episcopal Church
Rev. r. r. Gurley, Presbyterian Church
Rev. S. S. Roszell, NJ. E. Church
Rev. Mr.. Donelan, Catholic Church
I'd These gentlemen. or any three Of them.
are hereby authorized to meet at the Smith
sonlan Institutute, on the second Monday of
December next, at such hour as they may ap-
point, and there proceed to read and examine
the various poems which may have been re-
ceived and to determine which of them is
most meritorious and deserving of the prize
And 1 hereby bind myself to pay the sum
aforementioned forthwith to whoever they
shall present to me as the person who has
written, within the time prescribed. the best
National Patriotic Poem. and upon the repre-
sentation that he or she is an American citizen
Sd. All communications must be sent to me
at Washington post paid) before the first
Monday in December next with full and
complete conveyance of the copyright to me
and my heirs and assigns forever.
4th. l hereby bind and obligate myself to
sell the poems thus sent to me as soon as prac-
ticable. for the highest price, and to give the
proceeds to the poor of the city of Wash
ingtOn.
9Th No poem will be considered as subject
to this prize which shall not have been writ
ten subsequent to this date and received be-
fore the first Monday in December next
r. W. LATHAM
WASHINGTON, FEB 10, 1853 feb. IL
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