Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-15
ToADsIss TO FAME,

of Mobile, Alabama. BIT knowing the
fixed belief Of universal snobdOm thai
a southern man could write nothing
worthy of praise, and, curious, perhaps
TO note the fnfiuence Of q name, John
.Fonyth,A A. Bernard, Colonel Reynolds
>. A. Requief, and Richard B. Owens
requested Mr. Meek to write poem anc
attribute it to some foreign poet. Mr.
Meek retired to his room, and, in thre'
or four hours, wrote the magnihcen.
r.,rn, Hr5-. Il was printed and en-
closed to a Northern magazine as fol
lows:
From the Manchester iEngland Gnardian-i
The recent ode Of the Poet Laureate
Alfred Tennyson, upon the fatal chargl
of Balaklava, has been generally admit
ted to be a piece of such spiritless dog
gerel that every true Englisman mus
have blushed at the Performance. Th'
subject having been mentioned to on
gifted y0GIE-swnsman, Alexandei
smith, be, by request, pepned the fol
lowing glowing poem, which does ample
Tiistiee 10 the theme, and Is worthy q
take its place in English martial xcrs'
with Hohenlindea, The Battle Of II,
Baltic, The Burial Of Sir John Moore
etc. Such are the "songs" Of a nation
which are more DOtent than its laws:
BLLAKLAVA.-- m
on. the charee al BalaklavRf
on, thai rash and fatal charged
Never was a dercer, braver,
Than that charge at Bataklava,
On the battles bloody marge.
All the day the Russian columns,
Fortress h1gS ahd ltAklng banks,
Poured their dread, destructive volumes
On the French and English ranks
On the gallant allied ranksi
EartL enrSky Seemed rent asunder
By tho loud, incessant thunder
When a strange, but sto.T command
Needles, needless, rash cOTmand-
Came 20 Luran's little oaud-
Scarce six hundred men and horses
OF those vast c-oHtendtne torce-
"England's LOST unless you save her;
Charge the pass Of Balaklava!"
OR, That rash u fatal charge,
the battles bloOGy margel
Far away h Russian Eagles
soar DER smoking hili and dell,
And their hord~~ like bowling beagles,
Dvnse and countless hound them yG'.
laundering cannon, Gee1-y mortar,
sweep the held in every quarter!
Never. inc the days Of Jesus
Trembled 50 the CnersOn@E&
Here behold the Gallie Lilies
StOu' St. Louis's golden Lilies
# Float as onst atOld Ramaaes! -
Ard Seside them.lOi the
England's proE4 @aeonquered Lion
with her trophieo CrNss is hylngl
Glorious standards-shalt they waver
On the field Ca Balaklavaf
No, by heavenst at that command
sudden, rash, but stern commaudl
Charges. Lucanis little band!
Brave SIX hunSredil o! they charge
ON the battles o1oody marge.
Where the nv ded cannon play
Where the Cars fierce cohorts rally
COssack, kalmuck, savage kali
Down that gorge they Twoep away!
Down that lew ThermOpyl@.
Flashing swords anu helmets se
URSc-ReRth the iron shower.
40 the SraZen lannon's jaws,
Heedisss OF their deadly poHef,
Pres they without fear or pause,
To the very cams stsws!
Gallant Nolan, br-EG as Ao-ond
At the field Of RoncesvaLes,
DasbSS dow the fatal valley
Dashes on the bolt o. death,
Shouting, with his latest breath,
:. Charge then, g~allantsi do not waver!
Charge the pass OF B~alaklayaT'
Oh, that rush and fatal charge,
On the battles bloody margs!
Now the bolts OF vollied thunder,
Rend that little band asunder,
Steed and rider wildly screaming,
Screaming wildly, sink away.
Late 50 proudly, proudly cleaning,
Now but ~lifeless clOds Of clay
Now bur bleeding clOds OF clayl
Never, since the days OF Jesus,
saw such q sight the C-hersonesusi
n remnant, brave six Hundred
Presses onward, onward, onward!
TIL they storm the bloody pass
TIL, like brave LeOnidas,
They storm the deadly pass!
COssack, kalmuck, Kali,
In thai wild, shOJ-rended valley
with fire and blood, like
Awful pass Of ~Balaklava!
Oh, tina rash n fatal charge,
on the battles bloody marge!
For now Russias rallied forces
Swarming hordes Of COssack horses,
.Trampling Ger the reekfng cOrSes-
Drive the thinned assailants back
Drive their feeble remnant back
Ger their late heroic tracki
Vain, alas how rent and sundered,
Vain your struggles, brave Hundred
sThrict our lie asleep,
In that valley dark and deep.
Weak and wounded yOu retire
From that hurricane Of fire
tempestuOus storm Of hre!
no soldiers, hrmer, Drawer.
Ever tnOd a field Of fame,
the knights OF Balaklava-
Homo to each hero's name!
Yet their country long shall o
her ranks 50 rashly shOrn,
50 calamity but madly shOrn,
In that fierce and fatal charge,
on the battles bloody marge.
So soon as this poem made its appear
ance the Northern critics at once went
INTO ecstacies over the extraordinary
genius it displayed. AS the product Of
N English poet it was copied, Landed,
md eulogistie criticism exhausted upon
by papers and critics who would have
been blind to a. its beauties, and inca
pable Of perceiving any Of its merits, if
had been given to the world yer the
signature of an American and a South
srner. After it had been sufficiently
Despattered with Northern praises, Mr..
Meek reclaimed his own property, and
old the story for the benefit of those
who, "havingno judgment Of their own,
ire content to take any sort OF stuff as
N emanation of genius 20 that its au-
.horship is ascribed to a celebrated it,
terateur.n But the richest part of the
Oke has recently occurred. The poem
has been revived, rePublished, as a
PRODUCTION that viii enshrine the name
4 Alexander Smith in a halo of fadeless
plendOr, while the author, A. B.
deck, sleeps in an obscure grave at Mo-
Tile, robbed Of his fame. Such is life.
When q poet achieves success every
hing he writes is pronounced beautiful
nd sublime, while genius bushes un-
cen. Many have uttered poetical sen
unappreciated, which, ifgiven as
he newly discovered poem Of Shake
peare, would set the world ali sgog,