Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1868-06-18
va Md Poet.
A Correspondent in Brooklyn sends th'

3 nv r.haiinis ences, aDine Jpe ~ SON low
vsprs includk thAf somewhat 4pted chaf
sctAr McDoiald Clarke poetic seih llllatl1
y Somewhat odd faneies. who kept The
town lauehing While jhe was sometimes
starving ~ ~ ~ ~ u a
His poetic figure is before me as l saw 1t
in Broadway. There he stood near ST.
pedestal the curbstone, his pose
and style the faNorite attitude Of the classic
Napoleon, with arms folded. But his head
rested not upon his bosom but was lifted TO
the stars; on his feet were no two boots or
shoes. hut one boot and one. sshasesslEhis.
eccentricity, more than the character OF
his verses, caused his soubriquet ott'the
Mad Poet IT ~ rNlY
Now. why Mcdonald favored this one
ness of articles generally duplex, was qtllte
the talk Of the town, as much so as the
curtailment Of the tail Of the cur Of Alei-
blades in the days Of gossipy Rome Alci,
b;ades- oaye reason. i'f Mcdonald
never did, at least SO far as have heard
There were mystery symbol poetry, hu-
manity, many social problems in that one
boot and one shoe. The boys kicked al
these to the winds, and said Mcdonald was
sscracked." The boot might have been
cracked and, SO minht the shoe, hut q more
whole-souled fellowthnn McpnnldA never
knew 1ET9Cri i,.fi
| have some of his verses with whichl ne
bespangled tbepewspapersNo OF the time.-
There have been some poets who wrote ier
the million, but l am confident McDonald
never obtained half the dsuIn. 4 His topics
covered all creation, and he was somewhat
in the clothes4liIie. One OF his lnvocatons
to heroic purchaser to deal with tailor
proclaims that when he is fitted, .o'
'..His royal spanish cloak he'll fling 1tE d!
IN the face Of the stormy weather.
Another much admired eouplet little
hangs upon the clothes line, but reaches
the dignity of a majestic personihcatlon, -
He is walking ON the Battery and somewhat
mixed up the stars with tailors, aspects are
apt to do He breaks out into this spiendld
conceptions " '..'. tlas '
Twilight has drawn her mantle round,
And pinped itwith silver star. /,
A Bohemian of the present day would
run into the ground, by crudely Stating
that Madame Demorest made the mantle
and Tiffany sold the star, but Mcdonald
delieately called the poem g Evening, and
leaves the rest to the sympathetic imagina-
ton. . ''rW. sTl
Years had rolled on, and I had not seen
Mcdonald. I heard incidentally that he
had married an actress, who led him peeu-
iarly to feel that all the world was her
stage, and he only superntmery
This did not alter his benevolent views
of human nature, nor of the most sacred
of all ordinances. In the lecttring era, he
came out with lecture on Love and Mat
rinony," which captiyated the oyster-house
wits and critics of Gotham; who attended
with their lady1oyes and gave him over
flowing audiences. tri ,sl ..ral
When New York was exhausted he
turned his attention to Brooklyn. He se-
cured Classical Hall, then the fashionable
place for such exercises, and placarded and
advertised extensively. The evening came,
bright and pleasant, and there were three
persons In the house, all told-two editors
and the ianitor-all "dead-heads." | shall
never forget the amazed look with which
he surveyed the long line Of empty benches
This soon gave way however, to the ac-
customed sun-burst Of his cheerful aspect
and he mounted the rostrum and pro
noupced his whole, performance, stretching
over the space of an hour, with good man
ner and emphasis. He came down at the
close, saluted his three auditors, said some
iocose things, bnt nothing of discourage
ment, and vanished, promising to see me
next day. OF this famous lecture recol-
lect but one point He Is declaiming
aeainst common ideas and false taste in re-
gard to female beauty. Hear Mcdonald:
There are some people (said hey who ad-
mire delicate little girls with jimpy waists, !
and infinitesimal feet which run in and ont
beneath their fur-belOws like rats and mice,
bnt. there the lecturer became the impas"
stoned orator. giue me he girl 1rih G 'ndtst
like a cotton bdg and foot hke dtl0'lnder.
He called to see me the next day, and
for what purpose do you suppose2 It was
to propose a repetition of the lecture. His
hopeful and ebullient nature had found
special reasons for his i'll success which
would be overcome ON second expert
ment. Before settling this point he
drifted "By-the-by, how did you like
the lecture ?" | praised its general tenor
and salient points, but l ventured to re-
mark that detected in certain passages
4 sad and monotonous undertone. 1H /
cave r',said he, 'there it is, there it is
thought so, felt So Now, Colonel, look
here There is no use in trying to conceal
it, I am, you know, perfect child OF ma
ture. l always was 80. Now you must
have understood my situation. Look at it.
I had come to Brooklyn expecting to see
the house crowded from pit to dome
What did 1 encounter. Ye gods / thought
was in the wrong place; had got into the
after It WAS dismissed But
there we're yourself, and A., and B..
pardon me- all dead-heads, } and having my
gun ready, I thought would FIRE it off.
But all the while rnnning through the lee
ture was Toom-hire,I ianitor, fbill-sticker, ;
mo money, and such like things, which
took from il all force and spirit. But yoil
mnst hear me again under better circurh-
stances / must actas I feel. Oh, Colo
mel sometimes / feeilI feel ei4f9 feel (here
he was Searching for simile, and got it).
ike the eternal lightning, ana, at other
times like a farthine candle" Give to this
the roar Of buIlof Basliaw, and