Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-11-04
Smith the Poet.

annals of the literary police. Mr.. Smith is left
without the faiptest rag of reputation, and for
our own part, thanks to the Atheneum, we do
not believe that he is capable of uttering the
humblest sentiment of ordinary life without bor-
rowing both thought and words from some pre-
decessor.
We are firmly convinced that if he had to de-
sire domestic to unfasten one Of his (Smith's)
boots, he would steal his expression from Shaks-
peare, and say-"Undo this button" (K. Lear,
Act ", Scene IlI) 1t is almost supererogation
to help case so clearly made out, but as in the
course of Mr. Punch's own reading, he has
chanced to light upon few passages which Mr.
Smith has appropriated, and which have escaped
his reviewer, Mr.. Punch will complete the good
work by subjoning them.
The plagiarislns, in the following cases, are
even more apparent than the majority of those
exposed by the Athen@um, al.d have the addi-
tional feature of being the fruit of plunder from
books which it is rather probable Mr.. Smith
may have seen, and not from antiquated and
forgotten rubbish, which in all likelihood he
never came across, and which nobody but q
bookworm, with motive, is ever likely to come
across twice. At the same time, Mr.. Punch as.
sures Mr.. Smith that this exposure is made in all
kindness of feeling, and in the earnest hope that
by proving to young poet that lie is utterly
without merit of any kind, he may be excited to
cultivate his genius, prune his irregularities and
emulate the inmortals
In Mn, SMITHS City Poems, he says:
"And bees are busy in the yellow hive
What says DR.. WArTs9
"How doth the busy 1usy 1se"
Mr. SMITH
"The age demands Ar hero"
LORD BYRON.
81 rant hero, an uncommon want"
Mr. SMITH.
"And these be my last arords."
SIR WALTER SeoTT.
"Were the lust apords of Marmion."
Mr. SMITH.
ga sigA and curse together"
SIR WALTER SoorT.
"And draws his last sob by the side of his dan'."
Mr.. SMITH.
"Earh gives her slow consent"
Old Hundredth Psalm.
"With one consent let all the sarh."
Mr.. SMITH.
"And islands in the lustrous Grecian SEAS"
LORD BYRON.
'The Isles of Greece, the Ales of Greece"
Mr.. SMITH.
"Each star that hoinkHng in the sky"
Original Poems for Infant Minds.
"Tpinkle, tsoinkle, little star"
Mr.. SMITH.
~ look not forward unto darker days."
DIR. CHARLES MAoKAY.
"There's good time coming, boys"
Mr.. SMITH.
"Now sound trumpets."
ALFRED TENNYsoN.
"Blosc, 6ugles, 6loso, set the wild echoes flying"
Mr. SMITH.
'Gudled on yonder lofty pine"
Nursery Song.
"Hush-a-by baby, on tue tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock"
But enough The same process by which the
Athen@um has been enabled to accumulate
proofs of Mr.. Smiths dishonesty, would equally
aid Mr. Punch, but the work has now been done
by the Twin Critics-done, too, in kindred spir-
it, and the public, despite its weak admiration
for Mr.. Alexander Smiths freshness, pathos, and
vgor, may take the solemn assurance of the
Atheneum, and of Punch, that there is no sim
gle word in all Mr.. Smiths poetry that has not
been previously used by somebody else.-Punch.
Reverence.
Where is the reverence OF the olden tmeY-
Men with gray hairs, women with wrinkled ia
ces, and some who have not so far advanced in
life, speak of it as q thing that was, and they
mourn that they do not see it noW-a-days.-
Once, age was respected, because it was age
without regard to riches or titles; the very chill
dren in the street paused as the old man totter-
ed by them, leaning on his stick, his long white
hair futtering in the wanton breeze, and his
dim eyes lighting up at the sight of their pleas
ant smile.
We were visiting lately in q family where
were several pretty girls. Beautifully attired,
well educated, literally loaded with accomplish
ments, for they could sing, dance, play, embroi-
der, chatter French translate Latin, sing Ital-
ian, and withal were very handsome. The door
opened and in came an old lsdy-very old. She
looked about her as she slowly moved forward
not head bowed in token of her presence-no
one moved to give her seat.
Louise whispered one, give grandmother
q chair"
81 shant; she might as we'll stay up stairs"
was the ungracious reply.
Presently one of them (ashamed at our dsap-
proval, for we immediately arose and conducted
the aged woman toward our own chair) offered
her the seat with rockers, but she declined it,
preferring to take what was given ungrudging-
ly. During all her stay, these very genteel
young ladies noticed her no more than If she
was not in the room, except when she made an
odd or ungrammatical expression, they Uttered
and ridiculed it among themselves.
0, it was thoroughly revolving to see this
crown of grey hairs despoiled its glory, mock
ed by these thoughtless creatures. And soon
those trembling feet would be treading the verge
of the grave, and the mould would crumble and
fall on coffin, and they would think of her as
the Old Woman whose presence was nuisance
"a check upon their pleasure-one who was al
ways quoting old-fashioned songs or singing
them through her nose. whose hoiney gown
with its crossed handkerchief was distasteful to
their fashionable eyes, and of whom even the
matron would say-"Well, really, mother was
growing so very childish, could hardly mourn
that she was gone"
Thus it is and this is the way that many of
the aged are treated at the present day. Their
sorrows, their tears, their sacrifices, their hum
BILE, hard tolls for children who have grown to
manhood, are all forgotten, and those to whom
thew have given birth, are ashamed of them
Alas! that it should be so-that while God, the
great being to whom we owe all that we are,
treats the grey hairs with reverence, calling
them crowns of glory, we insult them in our
conduct toward them both in public and in pri-
yate. Let no one who has any regard for his
own character, his own purity and integrity,
treat the aged with irreverence-they stand We
ry near to God.
THE S1Kus-Half million OF hardy and war;
like people have occupied the Puniab for three
centuries. They held their sandy Northern de-
sert against the English hundred years after
the Hindoos of the Southern plains had submit
ted. While the "red cross flag" waved over its
millions of docile Hindoo servants, the sturdy
Sikh kept on raising cashmere shaws and plum