Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-09-03

'froune5 come not single
They tread each others heel
but carry us back very pleasantly 10 the
the good old days Of yore," when Mr..
SAKE was resident of Burlington, the
genial editor of the .Sentinel, the ever
recurring Democratic candidate for Gov
ernor, and the peerless Vermont poet. Speak
ing of his standing candidacy for the governor
ship until, indeed, he came to be quite gen.
orally dubbed Governor" SAKE, remember
having been present once at a Democratic
State convention held at Burlington, on
which occasion he had been for the third or
fourth time nominated for Governor. Ma
turally he was called upon for speech. He
made one, very gracefully and handsomely
acknowledging the honor rendered, and ac-
cepting the nomination. The FREE PRESS
reporter of that date very properly repre-
sented his as the only speech delivered on the
occasion worth hearing or reporting. In
that speech remember that, with q gravity.
surpassed only by the felicitous phrase EN-
ployed, he called upon his fellow Dem
ocrats to rally and strive that for this
once at least, this form and ceremony of
nominating u candidate for Governor prove
not farce. The remark, in view of the
fact that, as he himself must have well
known, there was not the ghost of a chance
for success, seemed to the writer, and l ap-
prehend, must have been relished by the
humorous orator himself, as one of his very
best Jokes.
To the rising generation of Burlingtonians
the name at the head of this article is as IN
familiar, and stands for as much of myth,
or "glittering generality" as though the
man whom it represents had not for years
been citizen of their city, walked its streets.
and, in his own inimitablc way, entertained
and edited its people. How well do the
citizens of Burlington, Of quarter of a GEN.
fury ago, remember the poets charming
home on Union street. How well do they
remember the poet himself-bis stalwart
form rising, like Saul's head and shoulders
above his brethren. Erect and broad-chest-
ed as grenadier, he was q splendid speci-
men, physically, of the Green Mountaineer,
giving little hint indeed at that time, that he
was at last to be for so many years, the sore
ly afflicted invalid he is.
Mr. SAKE holds an enviable rank IN Our
country as poet, but, in my judgment, by no
means as high as he deserves. In my opinion,
in his own allotted sphere-as a brilliant wit
and genial humorist-he is simply peerless.
Whose epigrams flash with scintillations of
lluCL lOttlO mt, VI tllu-, 81 NNAAlNiOeoLN ~
the memory, as do many that dropped from
his pen? Here is one. presume it has
never been preserved, though feeble retiec
ton of it has been retained in his lecture
poem on the Press. 1t seems to have been
struck off in response to the more vigorous
tIiuII lOtC iitiiifzitIOu r-CfI
subscriber TO discontinue his paper;
"A Free Soil patron of the Sentinel
Politely bids Us send the thing 10 hell
Atmely hlnt- lis proper We confess,
y change of residence demands change of al
dress.
It shall be sent, If Charons mail viii let it.
Where the subscriber Will be sure 10 get it,"
But Mr.. Sake was something more than a
vita good joker. have heard him COM
plain that it was one Of the crosses which 4
man famed for wit must bear, that he seldom
gets full credit for his work. however excel
lent or credita5le, outside of this field-a no.
ton which he has so well commemorated in
his well-known Comic Miseries." The fact
is that while The Proud Miss Mcbride
takes rank with either Hoods or Holmes
best humorous pieces, his Chapel Bell is
not unworthy either of Wordsworth, or of
Bryant in their own vein. Mr.. SAKE once told
me that his own favorites among his poetic
productions was 'Spes est Yates" and
Growing Old"-the latter having been
written at sitting he said, and ITO order
supply having been definitely prescribed. 1t
was great treat to hear him, as it was once
my privilege to do, with characteristic elo-
quence and enthusiasm, expatiate upon the
rationale of this latter poem-truly matchless
in It's way.
But Mr.. SAKE is, or was, something more
than even poet. lie was once an attorney,
and was one Of the most graceful and accom-
plished orators. He is Il master of one of
the most juicy, melliiluous and incisive of
prose styles. 1t is greatly TO be regretted
that the poet has not enriched our prose lit
erature, as apparently he might have done
out of his exuberlnt stores of learning and
rcflections-fo be it known, Mr.. :. is
truly scholarly man, and is not only
one of the most versatile AMI
accomplished critics, but Il most vigorous
thinker and has clean cut and intelllgent
opinions On all living subjects. Finally,
perhaps, MIR SaNe's browning gift is that of
talk. | do no; say conversation the con
signifies or implies mutual talk. Mr.. SAKE,
like ColeriGse, and certain other great con
versationists, requires only good listeners
intelligent, apprcciative hearers. | am of
the opinion that Mr.. SAKE. in his prime, was
one of tho most gifted takers OF his time.
Once reused, it seemed as if all the powers
Of his brilliant and versatile genius came into
iull play. | remember that a company of us
college students once interviewed him in
formally in shoe store. He was in one of
his best moods and for the space of consid-
erably over an hour, interrupted on our part
onty =, Ia 70 "a III .,' i,,,inn,s I,'oy ~
.ei , Suiit W ~ NV S III, nne Of Nv.
70 i.unl ~ J,l,a,. u',,,iai No
ms. 'Sinh ap -. ,,,,. snr,,,nn :,
IN, "In1 -, ~ ~ iho I;tnaT,;,,
VI, CT :, ~ Tho Icc,,,-c ,Iatformw
la, liza. ~, 80 nnrirHI,.J ,h1t must my
s.in,,I A. Snyc how. hec, in
AiaS INA, "n ', H.
sbould las was the case also with poor
Iood') have himself through manifold do