The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-02-16
Select 4oetrp.
KERAMOS.


der various national types Considered simply q
a realistic description Of ceramic wares and thei
magical skin. But iE is far more than this-it
an imaginative poem Of the highest order, Intel
preting the subtle analogy which connects Al
with nature and human life.
Tara. fRvn NY Srheeff Tkrn round and round
HTtAosz pause lsithosta sound:
So pins nc flying suorid Gssagi
This Gay. sss7 mfzad sria mari and saIsd.
FblIosrs he nsoiion a fae Aaad;
For soEeBHH Jol7oas and some conRaad,
Though az cre made n oiayi
Thus sang the Potter st his task
Beneath the blooming hawthorn-tree,
While Ger his features. like mask.
The quilted sunshine and leaf shade
Moved, as the boughs above him swayed,
And clothed him, till he seemed 10 be
A figure woven in tapestry,
30 sumptIOusly was he arrayed
In that magnificent attire
Disable tissue faxed with FIRE.
Like magician he appeared.
A conjurer without book or beard:
And while he piled his magic art
For Il was magical 10 me-
stood In silence and apart
And wondered more and more 20 see
That shapeless, lifelezs mass Of clay
Rise up TO meet the masters hand.
And now contract and now expand,
And even his slightest touch obey;
While ever In q thoughtful mood
He sang HIS ditty. and at times
Whizfled tune between the rhymes,
As melodious inferindc-
Tlnsa, farm. my trhc1fg Al things mud change
10 samcthing aesr, 10 sonlething sirunge:
Kothflg that Is can pdnsc or stay.
The moon sriR srax, &c noon tcf1 tc1ne,
The mist and clouds srilf farm % rain.
The ruia &c niss and eioedsd0aiH.
Tb-moST0sr Be today.
Thus still the Potter sang and still,
BY some unconscious act Of wfil
The melody, and even the words,
Were intcrmingled with my thought,
As bits Of colored thread are caught
And woven into nests of birds.
And thus to regions far remote,
Beyond the oceans vast expanse.
This wizard In the motley coat
Transported me on wings Of song,
And by the northern shores Of France
Bore me with restless speed along.
N4AAA aAAlAl = AtlAH AIak &EEllA1 70 "
A mingiing OF the land and sea?
This land OF sluices. dikes and dunes7
This water-net that tesseilates
The landscape7 This unending maze
ofgardens, through whose iattieed gates
The imprisoned pinks and tulips gaze;
Where in long summer afternoons
The sunshine, softened by the haze,
Comes streaming down a. through screen;
Where over fields and pastures green
The painted ships float high in air,
And over all and everywhere
The sails Of windmills sink and soar
Like wings of sea-guils on the shore?
What land is thIsg Yon pretty town
Is Delhi with all is wares displayed;
The pride, the market-plaee, the crown
And centre OF the Potter's trade.
seel every house and room is bright
With glimmers Of reflected light
From plates that on the dresser shine;
Flagons to foam with Flemish beer,
or sparkle with the Rhenish wine,
And pllgrim-aasks with feurs-de-lis.
And ships upon a rolling sea,
And tankArds pewteF-topped. and queer
With grotesque mask and musketeer
Each h0spitable chimney smiles
A welcome from its painted tiles;
The parior walls. the ehamberhoors,
The stairway aud the corridors,
The borders Of the garden walks,
Are beautiful with fadeless flowers,
That never droop in winds or showers,
And never wither on their stalks
TtiEH tlfTE, my trheoi An iife is brief:
Fhai aosg e bud srf1 soon Be lcgf
WAat note e ieqltriR soon decay:
The sriHd biotrs eat, the trfnd biotrs aresf:
Thehae eDgs ~ ne ro5in'sAez
VIII soon hare trtngs and beak aud break.
And JfsEtier and ~ array.
Now southwark through the air glide,
The song my only PURSUANT.
Ans see aeross the landscape wide
The blue Charente. upon whose tide
The belfries and the spires ofsaintes
Ripple and rock from side 70 side,
As when an earthquake rends its walls,
AS erumbling city reels and falls.
Who Is IL in the suburbs here,
This Potter working with such cheer,
In this mean house. this mean attire,
His manly features bronzed with FIRE.
Whose igulines and rustic wares
Scarce find him bread from day to day?
This mailman As the people say,
Who breaks his tables and his chairs
To feed his furnace fires. nor cares
Who goes unfed II they are fed,
Nor who may live If they are deadi
This aIchemist with hollow cheeks.
And sunken. searching eyes, who seeks
BY mingled earths and ores combined
With potency Of fire. to find
Some new enamel hard and hrsvhf
His dream, his passion. his delight?
o Palsy within thy breast
Burned the hot fever Of unrest;
Thine was the prophets vision, thine
The emulation, the divine
Insanity Of noble minds
That never falters nor abates.
But iabors and endures and waits.
TN Ell that Il foresees. 1t finds,
OR what il cannot find, greatest
Tsrn, tara, myteAaol! This oufhen jar
4 touch cuRnsake, a touch oaH mar:
AHd shaH q % dc Potter say.
What mdkez thoHs Thou had no handg
Is mon trho ttfnk 70 understand
4 suoTid By their cnoutor planned
Who tefssT Is than Biey.
SILL guided ny lne dreamy song,
As in trance float along
Above the Pyrenian chain
Above the field and farms OF Spain,
Above the bright NajorcaE isle
That lends is sostened name to art,
spot dot upon the chart
Whose little towns. red-roofed with tile,
Are ruby-lustred with the light,
OF blazing furnaces by night,
And crowned by day with wreathes Of smoke.
Then eastward waited in my fight
ON my enchanters magic cloak,
sail across the Tyrrhene Sea
Into the land of Italy
And DER the windy Apennines,
Mantied and musical with pines.
The palaces the princely halls,
The doors Of houses and the walls
Ofchurches and Of belfry towers.
Cloister and castle, street and mart,
Are garianded and gay with flowers
That blossom In the fields Of Art
Here Gubbio's workshops CLEAN and glow
With brilliant irridescent dyes,
The dazzling whiteness OF the snow,
The cobalt blue Of summer skies;
And vase and scutcheon, cup and plate,
In perfect finish emulate
Faenza, Florence, PesarO.
Forth from Urbino's gate there came
youth with the angelic name
OF Raphael, in form and face
Himself angelic, and divine
In arts Of color and design.
From him Francesca Xanto caught
Something Of his transeendant grace.
And into fietile fabrics wrought
Suggestions ofthe masters thought
Nor less Maestro Giorgio shines
With madre-perl and golden lines
OF arabesques and interweaves
His birds and fruits and flowers and leaves
About some landscape. shaded brown,
With olive tints ON rock and town
Behold this cup within whose bowl,
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