The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-04-18
Warrington Correspondence.
y Is wAsuvWurnN nriI IN 1874

desiring or expecting that the army Of the
Potomac would, under it's new auspices, if
never before, bring forth some portion of
the results so fondly anticipated by hope
full, forbearing and generous nation. Be
yond anything which / have witnessed
here before, in q residence of years now
numerous enough to be spoken of as "sev-
eral,' the months since the Fredericks-
burg battle have fingered out season of
storm and mud, altogether unprecedented
I-incessant and unrelieyed. Now, for the
first time, there is promise of solid earth.
For three days it has not rained or showed.
The sun has shone, say, half the time, and
the dry land begins to appear.
SORROWS together, adding, presume, all
his execrations Of the loyal government, or
| the distilled essence of them all, and pub
lished them in book called "The Prisoner
of State.v. The book is published by Carl
ton of New York. This book may not land
| it may) contain any thing technically in
fringing the law, and may therefore, right
fully be allowed to appear under that large
latitude which we are taught to cherish,
denominated ''the6berty of the press" 1t
is probable, therefore that sensible man,
would not suppress it. Neither would a
sensible man, if loyal, land sensible man
could hardly be otherwise than loyal,) give
aid or comfort to those engaged in the
spread of Copperhead lucubrations and dis
loyal reunion for money. Mr.. Carleton
either publishes the book because he SYM
pathizes with the author, or as a specula
ton. If he chooses to speculate in litera-
ture especially designed to damage his
country, and animated by no other spirit
than that Of hostility to it, or if Copper
let him be confined to that avocation, and
enjoy it. But sensible loyal men should
note who give currency to such literature,
and let them alone. Mr.. Carleton pub
fishes some other very good things. But
he publishes little or nothing desirable
which some one else does not publish
When anything he issues is wanted, let
loyal people search for the same book with
some other publishers imprint. Respect
able publishers, whose hearts are altogeth-
er sound, must be very few, who would
give the sanction of their names and char
acter to the publication of a book filled
with Mahony's rancorous hostility to the
country in such a perilous crisis.
Since am on literary topics, let me ex-
press my now greatly aggravated vexation
that favorite monthly will continue to
keep Mrs. Howe for it's stock poet. refer
to the Atlantic, one of the most readable
monthlies ever issued in the English lam
most readable. The editors are discrimi-
mating and sound-judging men. Whatever
their friends of the Boston circle may affect,
out of personal kindness, they know she is
not poet; they know that herstuff, though
sometimes enough permeated with poetic
fire to make it passable, is nevertheless
seldom, if ever, real poetry. She has poetic
sensibility, with an intense longing to be,
and a vehement determination that she
will be, poet. But she has not poetical
power of expression adequate even to her
sensibilities, while the vision and the poet
ic genius-the aggregate poetic power-are
plainly none of hers. Just such vigorous
verse as almost every cultivated literary
person, with equal labor and equal ambi-
ton to be a poet, may write as she writes,
and none other. Do, Messieurs of the At
tdntic, recast your poetic personnel, and if
the estimable and exceedingly patriotic
Mrs. Howe must write, land she seems to
be of that class who really must do so, for
her own qualification if for nobody else's,)
let her write prose. We may actually get
to liking her in that capacity. But an orig
inal good natured tolerance of her, as a
poet, has, by long sutferance, been aggrava-
ted up to a sort OF testy disagreeableness, a
moderate degree of hate, and we don't want
to quit the atlantic for the sake of getting
rid OF her.
How little sense great men often show in
transacting the most important business
If a plow-jogger, at fifteen dollars a month
should fail in his orders, given or received,
for the lack of definite understanding or
perspicuity of language, Of which promi-
nent commanders are guilty in great emer-
gencies, he would be kicked off of the pre-
misses for stupidity. The Report of the
Committee on the Conduct of the War dis
closes such faults i'll abundance. For in
stance: After Pope's defeat here, Gen. Hal
leck wanted Mcclellan to go above, follow
ing the line OF the river, so that he could
keep a closer watch upon Lee, and at the
co mo Iivna rarnon hafyu
and Washington. Mcclellan wanted to go
farther north. After having got some dis
lance from Washington, Halleck sends
word to Mcclellan that he is "getting 100
far OFF," Mcclellan thought he meant off
from Washington, and SO slowed-up, that
being his excuse for not using the legs of
his army more energetically. Halleck ex-
plains by saying he meant off from the
river. And so, between the two, from mere
negligence in the language Of a brief order,
they made botch of it, and the purposes of
both were compromised.
Again: Burnside. proposed to take hit ar
my down to Fredericksburg, and wanted
the pontoons down here by the time he ar
rived, SO that his plans might not be baked.
If they could not be got there in season, it
was of the highestimportancet that he sho'd
be informed OF it, as soon as it could be as
certained. The movement of the pontoons
was the pivot of the whole affair. Halleck
der. Burnside gave it, but supposed the
execution of all such orders as were to be
attended to from this point, would be at
tended to faithfully by officials here. And
SO, after canvassing the whole subject, and
agreeing upon all the substantial points,
the matter of definite and particular under
standing about, and attention to, the one
| thing upon which the whole movement de-
pended, was neglected. Burnside trusted
| to the common sense of Halleck and Meigs.
Halleck and Meigs are great men. They
don't attend to small things. They give
orders to subordinates. If subordinates
fail, they are to blame. The great men
have given the proper orders. 1t is true,
| the movement OF the pontoons was small
detail; but just then it was as great as the
character and success of the whole move
ment, and should have commanded the
watchful and incessant personal attention
of the highest officials. But thaturgent and
anxious attention was not given. Was not
the neglect of it stupid, senseless, criminal?
Look at the results!
Again, and worse: The success of the at
/ I<~1 H.,