The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-04-23
A DREAM OF PARNAssUs.

The Era of Cheap Books and What the
Immortals think About it.
| slept where the moon, serenely bright
ShOne full in my face through summer
night;
With Fielding and Moore and Shelly and
And Shakespeare and Milton-a goodly
With Addison, Dryden, and others, quite
Too numerous to mention;
And there the worthless one and all,
Whom we the "classical authors" call;
Beneath the shade of Parnassus tall,
On Pegasus Place, in Helicon Hall,
Were holding a big convention.
Virgil was sitting beside Voltaire,
Boccaccio chatting with Dumas, pere,
And Pope cnrled up in the corner there,
While old Sam johnson was in the chair.
Wall-eyed and grim, with carroty hair,
And lie said, "Of course you are al aware
Of the latest earthly advices:
The publishers seem to be going to smash
Beneath the great economy lash,
For the Book Exchange is cutting dash
Exceedingly reckless and awfully rash,
In selling for almost nothing for cash,
And running regular prices!
81 hold in my hand letter fiom four
American publishers who feel sore,
And they speak for a score or possibly more
Who live by a traffic in printed lore.
l read: We pray from this earthly shore
Ye authors Of old, attend us
0, give us lift in this hour of need,
For the publishing business is going to seed
The Book Exchange is making with speed
AS many books as the folks can read,
And selling disgracefully low, indeed;
1t cheapens your fame-fOr you we plead =
Ye talented ghosts, defend us!"
What word shall VIC send to this earthly
bandit"
Then Scott, with Good Literature in hand,
Arose (amid cries of "Take the standby
And said, "Tl'is scheme will possess the
land;
No good is the Harper or !Scrib,er brand
While Alden shows that lie can command
The brains of sage and scholar:
A shilling for Pope-good binding on;
The same for the poems of Tennyson
Six cents for your Pilgrims Progress, John
For the Had, thirty cents; and Don
Quixote for half dolar'
Then Chaucer said, ~ am rather old,
But I'm mighty glad this day to be told
How cheap my Canterbury Tales are sold,
And the poets and wits of the Queen Anne
fold,
Steele the bright and De Foe the bold.
Berkeley the sober and Swift the scold,
From the time Of Sir Walter Raleigh;
Sh.kcspears works, and Smollett's and
Sterncs.
Bacon Bolingbroke, Byron and Burns;
And Darlington Lord Macaulay."
Charles Dickens said, "'Twould be foolish
Good luck Of mortals cause regret;
For the price Of a theatre ticket they get
Mlilman's Gibbon-thc perfect set
Dante and Virgil, two shllings net
For dollar Adam Smith on Debt
And Mill on the Laws of Nations;
And l see by this wondrous circular
Sent up BY tho Book Exchange that for
Three cents you can got the Seven Years
For dime King Henry Of Navarro,
And for thrice the price Of a good cigar
Will. Shakespeare's Inspirations
Then Goldsmith rose and expressed it thus
lit is simply case OF de gnstibus,
But see no reason for all this fuss,
For publishers never did much for us,
While needy, Summer and Winter;
Therefore, confreres, hold this view:
The high-price houses are doubtless blue,
But unto the man our thanks are due
Who sends our thoughts each palace through,
And into the humblest cottage too,
For the Many are always more than the Few
And the People are more than the
Printer!"
A slight shade rose-'twas Edgar Poe
WHO said, "Fve been talking here with
De Foe;
We agree, and tile ancicnts have told MS so
That who makes two printed leaves to show
Where only one did formerly grow
Ii as good a man as we want to know
And this letter here, from the realms below
Reveals its earthly animus;
move it be not rcccivea!" About
A thousand voices removed all doubt;
Ben Jonson and Hallcck and Hood spoke out
Kit North and Irving and Father Prout.
Mid storm of cheers and mighty shout,
And the motion passed-nnanimous!