The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-07-17
THE BATTLE OF THE POETS.
4 MOST EXTRA ORDINIK LTBELSUIT
IN CONRT IN LONDON.

, IoNpoS. July IL have been attending
md watchine for three days the most famous
tbsI trial OF the year In England, a suit 10 winch
moro uubiic morality has been involved thah III
any anywhere since the Beecher trial. lhere |
rere nut I'm as evidence, discussed by COUNSEL |
and read before the Jury, whole library Oh tue
works OF Lord Southeast, Messrs. Swinourne' |
Rossetti, Maurice, O'Snaughnessy, Buchanan,
walt whitman, and Indirectly the poems oil the |
late VI. Charles Baudelare OF Paris; whie the
style OF MIR Gladstone and that OF CARDINAL
Manning were Indirectly alluded TO on one or
two occasions. All these gentlemen, Cardinal
Manning excepted, were In more or less close
attendance upon the proceedings, while mighty
host OF tho authors OF London came aud went
10 talk, to see. and to be seen.
The case was tried in the Common Pleas d.
vision Of Westminster Hall, occupying part Of
Juue ~, June 30, and July 1, before Mr.. Justice
Archibald and special jury. For Mr.. Buchanan,
the plaintiff. appeared MIR. Russell, .. c..
famous large-bodied, large headed man. For
the Ertmtncr newspaper, which was accused OF
publishing the libe and for Mr.. A. g. Swim
burne, who had written the libel, appeared that
gre test OF legal war horses, Mr.. Hawkins, &C,
and three lesser lawyers. Hawkins ia PIC
ture" in himself middl e-sized man. WIN the
kind Of face tyuicay given by painters anu
scuiptors To- an indian warrior; In this case, not
bronzed but white-white az lepers. IL was
face Of cruel patience In the broad lever mouth.
with its lowering quiet smile. and yellow eagles
ave., and Roman nose. Tie Judge and Ill tue
LAWYERS wore gray horsehals wigs but NJ haw-
kins's Wig was nike none Of the rest. The two
Bat curls Of il hanging down behind were more
heavily loaded with iron wire all ITS curis had
sharper, closer curves than the ordinary wigs
had 1t set closer to MIR. Haw kinss head than Is
usu IN such cases; and II was white. with
deathiy. unnatural whiteness, like his face
whittier than any fuller ON earth could white II.
THE FLEsnLY SCHOOL.
Mr. Russell rose to open the case Tor the plain
ia. for tue poet buchanan. tie looked round
the court room, wainscoted with OLD oak half
way to the ceiling, packed with pCrsDiring poets.
with mighty and dripping brows, with the tair
faces OF uushei ladies, with the sorely cramped
elbows u the scrioes Of tue press. lie looked
toward tue oak canopy, toward the crimson
hansings, toward the rampant lion aud the am
bilious unicorn that cavorted over the Judge
MY LORD, the pldinttH, NV client, Mr.. hooort
OF poetry ana prose 10y proiessiun. He mas
reached eminence In his vocation. Unsought on
bis part, he has received through tue hands Of
Dir. Gladstone an ava ard rom the Royal Literary
Fund. lie has tried, 50 Tar as II In MN. to live
peaccably with all IN II. But. my Lord, there
sTraug up some fuw years agu school OF English
poets whose writings are disrraCed by IN amount
OF sensualism and suite indecency, common
enough perhaps In France. but fortunately rare
10 the works VI Engl~h uuets. MI. bucnandn
Ia the course Of ms business - critic, ami
notably In an article Ia the Contemporary fuaga.
sine, has mad occasion 10 stismatlze this school
OF poetry by the name OF The fieshly SCHOOL
and to uoint out as ITS worst oneudVrs VIZ. swim
burne, MI hossettl. vi. Maurice, Ar. - ShauSh-
messy, aud Ot"ers OF lcsset note. Nj. Bdcntntn.
to use his own words, wishing 80 avoid the az
taCks OF literary MpnawA-,' had the criticism re-
ferrt u to Published under a ieigucd name, that
Of Thomas Maitland. Hut the article created
such III lug that Mr.. Buchanan felt called
upon to come forward aud ayow its authorship,
hvow that he was thomas Maitland. MIR. swim
burne then replied to the article by another
called Under the Microscope,' in which, my
Lord, he seems to have exhausted every epithet
OF abuse to be found IN the language: hin;s
after that seemed to quiet down Till 1878. In
int year the Messrs. rIuoner published an
anonymous poem .lled j mas Fisher poem
- al tar tFtanN In nor to
the sentiments OF my client. Thereupon the
poem was attacked with yigor in the ErdmiHer.
By Mr.. swino Irne Tue following Is tue attack,
my Lord:
Tals anonymous poem i said By the London CORE
sponiers y D. 'ne rOth IL e'nsr NJ: hoosft buch.n
rails oy this doube.sided suppositl,n the WEIGHT Of
That me author, VII. hever he lisa seoteam4n may
no honor III 6's orn county Il must be saii on The
from 1S a'0 csn poPas worst Ss ad soS
n.gs o,en ssa ny tensSa s naive Tssre
the report thai ni- tisner 4. other OF an,s's
tism rather than vi the equally numerous csguisc-
81 out oi III, way 10 stu.e the fie Ky sSSco Sow
Inc hero OF this poem mas we've On soue Of tne tea
closely Win MIR Buchan :, erabitug nicely
Tor en, inmate vouptuousness and oesat Ia that W
tuptuuuruess which Is mauy.
But. my Lord. this "a only a beginning My
client mas been attacked again and a.ain. In
December another article was published, ia
which II was said That Mr. buchanan range II
vision Oscilliies between the Seven Dials and
Land OF LIrne.' He Is said to De the child Of
I'll incestuous connecilOn-L cbild
Whom gr-en.faced Envy, SICK and sore
To many -chilaed Dulness bore
dc is called a tnief just huddled
Gu, Of the dross AMI scum Of niturc
Win mimi and heart aud fancy muddled'
He Is called "a poly-pst u lonSmous lyrst and
nbeller lie Is called 'poetlcule aud a
tdyllst OF the gutter He is called a 'sSulk
aud Captain shuttle on ami he Is asked TO
Robert buchanan Ny Lord, Mr. buchanan did
not write the poem Jonas Fisher; he IL a
moral man and moral writer; and we 90 not
think that to use language lac this ABOUT him
aud lbeous."
THE Plaintiff TEsrIFIEs.
This, the substance Of Mr. Russel's speech be-
Ing got through. Mr.. Buchanan was pat 10 the
witness box and testified under the direct ex-
animation OF his counsel to the truth Of tue
lActs above stated. The Scotch poet Is q mi J.
die sized fair-nared. iair-bearded, little eyed,
spect cleo man, with tendency Ia bigness
under the wais'blnd. HIS features are small aud
Ieg4lar; dis brow good and well displayed 10y
brushing the hair back his eyebrows have a
way Of going up which suggests scornfuness. but
ls probably only an effect OF nervousness and
even shyncss. Unlike IN the OF or literary aud
professional men IN court, VINO wore the frOck
coat Of uoruiug dress. MI. Buchanan STOOD up
IN shooting jacket Of dust colorrd tweed. His
tacAle s4-ss-ted the tourist aud spoltsnI4 n
tfom tue " l.. nd Of Lorne;' but the nervous
lpg al ne ram Of the witness box, aud the uerv-
ou', uu-ued lace. thesr showed that something
u"rc -eu-l. th7n the average Hlgh land squire
NAl ialleu INTO The clutches Of Mr. Hawkins.
rNbEh FIRE OF EXAMISATIoE.
as lilwHins rose 70 begin tho cross-ex ,mina-
loH, thele /" t. seat rustic aud lIget IN court.
hI' s"ihpul"e Dlue eyes cleaned out from his
thlhi "hlte lace Enthusiastically Vicious. His
eyes ana those VI Buchauan, wnicn mad uD to
FMS avoided each other, met now; aud the
oue putt IooAed arsenic, the other looked
ttIychnne. woman and poet cannot hide
tueH spl cs. Buch nan was tbs first to turn
away no grouped his ewes, liftlng the bTows ~
tuht hauR ~ " nervous Wv he bis. swim
ourne spoke 10 Il WHISPER to Hawkins, who was
tuillhg nh every O4Y Ia GENIAL manner, that
ieeihei 20 take every Que Ia the court room into
hs confidence IA view OF some quiet fun that
was Just gong 10 be. the yellow ewes shone
WIN tue suGnIest fraukurss; yet when they
bxed finally on Dir. Buchanan, and when the
bhlnng HOS addressed him with tue FIRST ques-
non % q1iet, silvory voice. ia Jugnt thai the
yellow gloves Ciutcned at tue bar II the witness
box a. II their owner had received a bloN ia.
STEAD OF smile and hOft word. Mrs. Lu-
Chan u sat IN the centre Of the room. She IS tue
Original 81 tue LIttie Ailiner," Onr 81 her hus-
bahd's poems, aud IL was necess ~ to know
TIL. lu otder TO understand the fun ana almost
hehdish malice Of Air. HaN kins ia certain refer
huce- hc m de TO this poem. Mrs Buch anans
Is small, thin oval fIce, with delicate chin
and uOuth, she was very ptle: her lips
Opened, and her bre tn almost failed her at
UllN al