Wabash express. [volume] (Terre-Haute, Vigo Co[unty], Ind.) 1841-186?, 1858-09-29

ture payss Alas the poverty Of poets is pro.
verbal. There have been more poem, cempo-
sed in attiss than in Boadoirs. The straits OF
men % letters have afforded food for the sati-
rist and fun for the million
Dumas. and his creditors. Dickens. aud his
creditors. Lamartine. aud his appeal TO the
pockets Of this generation. are themes for men
Of business, and capital, to gioar over. Tat
tered elbows. aud poeticsl bfains. are not ex.
aetly anonymous, but the one. invariably
suggests the other.
When a poet becomes rich in this worlds
goods. the muse begins to play him false. and
be is no longer the poet he was before. Fill
thy lucre plays sad havoc with the divine az
hatus; and the jingle Of dollars. is not at all
in harmony with the jingle Of rhyme. When q
poet, with Pleihorie purse. (ifthere was ever
poet in tina, condition. presents himself to the
ParnassiaR ladies, he encounters frowns where
be had expected smiles; and TO their honor be
it said, he 6nds that their favors are not to be
bought. Beyond the reach then. Of the al.
mighty dollar. is located the empyrean sphere
Of Poesy.
Few persons. Before entering upon the pro
fessiou Of Literature, pause to enquire, "Does
it Psyf" 1t seems sadly antagonistie to true
poetic feeling, the hard reality Of pay. or no
pay. With abandon, which to the ian on
change, seems akin TO madness, the poet yields
to the facinatioas Of the muses. With an eve
charged with unearthly fire. he woos the tune
full nine. And. when once a man plunges.
neck. or nothing, into verse-when once he
places his foot upon the enchanted borders Of
Imaginary Realms-when once he tastes the
nectared sweets Of noesy--he is gone. The
shouts of friends. The sneers Of enenies the
pinchings Of poverty. the menaces Of the FL
ture. all fail to deter him from his course. He
Is, from thenceforth. COINED to his idols. and
the world had as we'll "let him alone" Nor
would the hum-drum plodder OF earth-the
sinister coiner Of dollars--the material man OF
the world--wonder at his reckless abandon.
could they only for one moment, realize the
magical power of the grand images which
beckon the poet on. Could they but behold,
as be beholds them, the stately and glowing
crestions of his maddened brain--the superb
idols of his rapturous adoration-which line
the cleaning aisles through which he god.
like tramps-and the startling mysteries
which spring up. as by erchantment, along
his glorious pathway. they would forgive him.
And then the goal-the magnificent goal,
which ends the glorious vista. aud which the
ever yearning poet essays to reach. Grander
than a temple Of stalactites, more gorgeous
than the pavillions of the sun, brighter than
the clouded srchway of tie moon. is the
Heaven domed Temple of Fame.
No wonder then. that the poet goes painting
on his way. No wonder that his ear is deaf to
the cries Of those. who see not as he sees. and
dream not as he dreams. No wonder that he
sneers at poverty, and that the wants Of his
body unheeded in that exciting race. No
wonder that he, Of all others, does not stop to
inquire. does it pay?
Aud does payf Not in dollars and cents.
Not ia marble fronted palaces. and glittering
equipages. aud purple and gold; but in hap
piness aud love. and in the peace which pass J..
es understanding. H. this does Literature
pay. It's payments are sure aud far exceed
ing the riches this world can give.
The true poet is naturally simple hearted
and pure. and expects to 6nd Others so. And
the shock he receives. when he discovers The
harshness, and uncongeniality. of the world
he had believed so beautiful, is always the be.
ginning Of his poetry. He turns from the
world as 1t is, aud tuning his Tyre, consoles
himself by singing Of it. as it should be-
And thus, sorrow nurses him for his-calling
Shocked at the Real. he becomes a dweller in
the fairy realms of the Ideai,-and from bis
sad heart. come those plantive and touching
songs, which the world, not unfrequently
pause to heat.
And behold he is more than repaid. Life
has double meaning TO him. The sublime
mystery of death. resolves itself into Golden
Gateway to the Great Beyond. He is akin to
God. He energies from sorrow. into beatitude.
He claims affinity to Nature. old ocean sings
him lullabys. and the babbling brook. sylla.
bles him rhymes. He is en- rapport with the
Spirit Of the Universe. Landscapes smile as
they arrange themselves before his eye. Soil.
tude whispers to his ear. The stars silently
con stellate themselves for him to look upon.
His soul is attuned to the harmony Of the
Universe. His blood pulsates to the Univer-
sal Heart.
And through joys that money could not buy.
and hopes beyond all price. aud the gentle up
lifting Of the natural man into The stature OF
the spiritual man. the poet is ilteo Tor the
joys Of Heaven. And when the plelhorc al
derman, or the cunning ,radesman, or the su :
pereillious man often inquiries OF the poe,
sneeripgiy. If his profession pays:-he lifts
his luminous eye. and his great heart swells
while h. answers that it does. For the true
poe, has
"Rsiscd pile
To wisdom. ard then vor-hip> ard then keeps
Habitual court. And cvcrv morn and night
Light. up pure incense st the holy shrine,
Aud takes ssethsr step. towards Heaven and Gos.'
IL On he ieth inst the Leeompton De
mocraey held District Convention in the