The Portland daily press., 1873-06-04
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM In ADVANCE.
Emotional Poetry.

We've made it up with the Poet IL
wrote to us the other day. sa,ing that ba
would overlook the past and would like soma
money. He enclosed poem. and boped wa
, would pay for 1t at the usual rates So VIC
called In our valuable sub-edtor and read
MN the poem, as follows:
Ihe years fly, and mock us in frino
We ween Sy aSsT snosts tney come and are gono;
p ana smile when the win er is flown
Du Tears wake not dead flowers to living
| en- smiles are far sadder than te1rs:
ana nope and the sunlight, deceiving,
| are lost IN the gloom Of the wears
1Aa, and dIg ,s dass saw What mes on the morrow,
tr;5 q ~ lne nights say Our shadow profound
hidea terror and mystery anl sorrow
| wraps them close as q mantle around"
That's enough" said our sub editor,
glancing dolefully at the mass of remaining
manuscript, "ifyou print all that, we shan't
have room for the book-notices, or your arti.
Gle on the Credit MObilier; and besides that's
too objectionably dismal" So we didn't
print that poem, but wrote to the Poet-en-
closing him some money and promising more
if he would oblige us with some lines of a
mole cheerful description. By return mail
we received the following:
ECSTASY.
''The gold of the morn shall be scattered-
Ana the wild whirng dance Of the stars
In derious circles through heaven
Shall break down the nieht-cnud's black bars
Rejoice in nv marvellous madnessi
The fame that Is lit in my brain
Shall burn through the nncnunted cvclea-
And the song that sing shall remain!"
We paused-''tbe rest of this poem isn't of
this mild, ratioualistic sort "said we,' it's ev;-
dently written under considerable cerebral ex-
citement-too much for our columns" "It
must be very imaginative then" said the sub
editor Gan extravagant moon and stars dane
ing break-downs is as much as can enjoy at
once" But we printed those two verses
for il wouldn't do to off nd the Poet again,
you know. The next lay our Model Subscriber
called to see us-with gentleman that we
didn't know. but who had an expression of
slightly e> asperating compassion on his face
as he shook hands with u.s. That man asked
us all sorts Of questions-sometimes he shook
his head and said softly ssBad sien-very,"
and then he would ask us another question.
We had just concluded that he was either
census man or slightly crazy, when h. took
leave, and went into the sub-edisor's room.
We lstened-and heard the stranger say
calmly HE has lucid intervals-doesn't he
pretty quiet to-day?'' she isn't pretty
quiet we shouted as the truth flashed upon
us-that man was one of the experts of the
Lunatic Asylum. We went for him, and
were about to put him out, when the sub-ed-
itor suggested moral suasi IN. So we told
him that that poem was by TO means an ex-
ponent of our personal views-that what
brain we had was fireproof, without man
sard, and fully covered by insurance. THE
sub-editor murmured assurance as the cor
rect term, but we ignored him). We said
that though calmly cheerful, the subscription
list of the Weekly did not warrant such uu-
limited jubilation on our part. Then he
apologized for his mistake, and departed,
leaving Behind him, however, in an ela5or-
ately casual manner, a little tract on ''Total
Abstinence" How are the Truly Good mis-
Judged!