, 1874-10-18

village in Dunfriebhire SEQ: land, Bome twenty
nine years ago. 1t may readily be suEmiscd that
| Alexander Anderson received but limited edu
| cation. Nor does 1t eeem that he was more anx-
ious than other boys to improve his hr1ef titne
| at school; for, speaking Of the SPOT nhero in
| childhood he wandered, he says:
I zee It still, the vezy same
As wien, D sInooth-faced, sturdy dudef,
went to school, aud, to my shame.
Grew tired Of knowledge, and had to sutEer.
Willie receiving the rudiments Of educa-
| tiop, he was not remarkable for ANYTHING
| above the common, except being rather stiff to
1--WE in wien cneaeed IL those encounters to
which boys are mora or lees addicted. In bis Pc
| cuIiarly- humorous way he says: !" I fought my
rivals like fool, nnd thrashed them, for knew
| no better" And here l would remark that the
child was father to the man. ~ his aiter-achleve-
| nents in language and literature show.
! From boyhood be passed to beardlesa youth.
aud then first-ove shed its rosy light over him,
maxim; his brain and bosom glow, and aronsinS
the poetic fire, thereby enabling him to sing. III
real Dyronc straius. his woes to every listening
tree. But these whims Of ho: and tickle youth
passed ..way With the PASSING years, aud the poet
| soon found his heart saving to him:
Thy manhood now must have healthier strife,
| And horea Of higher beams,
| And more Of work in thy daily life,
And less Of the early drexns.
| THIS was q manly way to look forward to what
Mr. Ardersou saw uust inevitably be 3 life OF
manual labor. and is characteristic OF. almost
every verse that l1as fallen from his
| lipa, In fact, to my thinking, there has
not been Il Scotch poet since the days
| Of Burns, in whose writings tue true ring OF
manly Independence is so conspicuous IS IN
| those OF Alexander Anderson. This Is not ahown
! forth, however, in an arrogant manner, 1ut IN
| tue spi-it OF one who has generous impulses,
| aud who is hopeful and cheerful, having the
moral courage to keep on the even tenor OF bis
way. whatever may belide him. He has so far
shown tho world that. though he can soa: into
tho higher realms of soul and lnteNect, lie 1s SILL
lifted for the common uses Of Life, and Is not
afraid to meet the u,ateral exacti0ns Of work
,nemau's existence because they are unpleasant,
but rather delights in thinking lie is . working
man, able to fashion watchword for his toll1ng
fellows, that will help to cheer them On TO h1shef
aims aud nob!er deeds.
Our oct frat cpmmeuced to work IN quarry.
but passed from this to the railway, and il 3.
present but an humble son Of toll. WORKING with
lck and shovel on the Glasgow South
western line, and living WITH MS pa-
rents in the peaceful littls village wherein
lie was born. After reading most o: tho En-
glish cIaesics, ard making himself we'll ac4uaini-
I'd with modern literature. 'Surfaceman (th's
Was row his occupation. and is the nom de plunc
under which ho writes) took fancy to learn
irlted productions By foreign authors N their
own tongue. Mastering thus, be passed on to
German, Italian ana Spanish. in succetslon,-
learning item all to the perfection required to
enable NiE1 to feaQ tQell pouhhs Lib A0 1teo4A
was no ordinary achievement, considering the
disadvantages he had to contend against; aud,
when allicd to tue ability of speaking to the
world from the broad level Of humanity. is Ger
.ainly worthy Of our love and admiration.
.Surfaeeman" began very early to string his
fancies into 1hvme; but it Was not till he be-
came contributor to the Peoples Friend that
he came upier my notice. Sinca then have
often enjoyed the beauty Of his Thoughts, and
been char med by the purity OF his teach'ngs-
had hn fS7ar
ings Of their nature drawn out by his
poems OF the affections and have also had their
1isible faculties touched By his exquisite humor.
He often writes with great pathos and tender
ness, but most Of his poems are Of cheering
nature, such as his ''S Song OF Labor" which
commences thus:
Lot ua sing, my toiltng brothers, with ou1 rough. rude
That ssal I've, MI Us, in the after-ages, wrong
Bu. forever hrob and whisper strength to NERVE cur
As they 10 iii our footsteps and the space We leav'
What though hand and form be rugged. letter then
have never % heald th.t Nature changed the color of
The God above hnth 1nads US one in hesh and blood
with kings. - ...,..-
But the lower is ous. and al the force OF roasher
Then my Lrothers. sing to Labor AZ the sun-browned
giant stands.
Like Atlas, WITH the world speaking ID NE m1entS
hands,
B.awny- armed, and broed, and swarths, keeFing in
In the arch Ct lie lie Keystone, that the world may
thunder on.
The foregoing is piece which, I am certain.
neither Tennyson nor Longfellow would feel
ashamed of. Az has been said, - 1t is poem
no one can read through without being conscious
that genuine poet penned the lines and that
. hne sri1lt, that might yet ee touched to finer
issues, Of which this WAS but the half-fulhlled
promise, was actually singing. all unconscious Of
lis powers"
throbbjnz i'm, ulses OF this in4ulring age, and
WHO is likely to chant pcan over our victories as
dgolaycd 10 the t:iumps Of Science in this event.
full e1a OF the world'u history that poet is Sur
faceuan" Indeed, that mighty monster, the
steam-engine, seldom flares along cur view Win
out reminding us OF Lis address to his fellow
Toramen:
Arm to a,, and let the metals Into proper range be
Let us shape lie iron pathway for the monster coming
Make IS footing sure and steady hssins for thing
Rolling out his seven-esgued PAGES smoother than =
Drawing city unto city, ftngtng, with his grasp Of
Nations into shape and method, til hi, muse'ss .hats
O what ltrengh shal1 be his portion IN the coming
When bis anesa swell and zpen into firm and perfect
He shall lo the united monster 1oat- Axe tauser,
Busy peoples to each other, only with an izon thread
There is hearty earnestncrs about ''Sulface-
mans Ioc,ry which ut orco engages the read
cr'e attention, and keers him speil-bound till he
reaches the end Of the poem. II this can be
taken as mark OF merit, he rises above d good
many Of our modern poets OF some Of whose pro-
duct1ons it is necessary to read page after page
before we can feel in the least interested.
As will be seen from the pieces which have al
4oua in.
cases. been co1o1ed by the nature Of his calling.
THIS has teeu the cago in every age and among
all uat1ons. from the time OF hun who sang
" the tale OF Troy divine" down to the present
day, and go it should be. Before the poet can have
an effect on the world, the world must f1st have
AL effect on the poet. How else could any age
OF people produce man who will speak forth
earnestly aud melodously what the heart Of It
means: This, suppose. is the reason why
pool, so TINT they may know from experience
What it really 1s to Ive by the sweat Of their
brow.
Il wnnld he m injustice to pAss over without