The Republican journal., 1883-03-01

1863, these words Of Professor Dayidson's may
be considered prophetic.
| In 1866 Mr.. Harris became connected with il
publishing house il New Orleans, in which city
the writer first made his acquaintance. His
duties Were light and much of his time was de-
voted to reading and to literary ventures. Hi,
tastes then inclined him to versitication, and
he published quite Il number of poems in the
New Orleans newspapers most of them anony-
mously. The following poem, which fairly re-
Neals hi, literary qualities at that time, was
published in the New Orleans Times. January,
| 1867:
THE OLD AND THE NEW.
Shake hands with those who are going,
Kiss the lips that are raised to be kissed
| For the life of the Old Year is flowing
And melting away in the mist,
4 shadow is over the water.
| And silence lies prone on the hill
| And the echo comes fainter and shorter
From the river that runs by the mill.
Greet the New Year with music and laughter,
Let the Old shrink away with a tear
| But we shall remember hereafter
The many who die with the year.
| Aye. we shall regret and remember
! Mary, and Maud, and Irene.
| Though the SWift-falling snow of December
| Lies over them now as Il screen.
And the alternate sunshine and shadow
Sweep over their graves with a thrill
| Irene is asleep in the meadow.
| And Mary and Maud on the hill
| But the life of the Old Year is flowing.
And melting away in The mist,
| Clasp the hands of those who are going,
| Kiss the lips that arc raised to be kissed,
He returned to Eatonton, Ga, in May, 1867.
Hi loyc Of nature manifcsts itself in a letter
written in that month. lie says: Il have been
ruralizng for week past, out in the places
where grain grows and birds sing" During
| that year he contributed an article to SCOTS
| Monthly. entitled 'Cutfre at Home" a poem
TO the Moon" to the Ladies Home, and
| poem to the Southern Home journal. While
waiting for som ching TO turn up in the way of
regular employment he ''nur>ed novel in his
| BRAIN" as many young writer has done be-
! fore him. The novel has not been published,
! bat may yet be forthcoming. A novelette, from
! his pen was recently announced to appear in
The Century. On the 18th of December, 1867,
he writes to Il friend from Forsyth, Georgia :
| II shall probably turn my attention wholly to
| prosc-a, it pays better. Shall try tale after
the new school of English fiction" His private
letters, by the way, reveal Mr.. Harris in a most
| favorable light. In the ups and downs Of his
early life the latter no doubt predominated, yet
he never lost confidence in himself; never was
! bitter, cnviOus or respondent. If he failed in
| one direction he 1T once tried another. Praise
he estimated ut is real value; and no amount of
aduatien turned his head, or caused him to
vary his own critical estimate of himself. He
| rcjoiced i'll the success of others. and was quick
to see tile merits Of those about him. For eX-
| ample. when told that gentleman who had
read one of his poems had declared it TO be
more mert0rious than anything written by
| Flash or Thnrod, he uttered Il vigorous pro
test, and thus expressed his high estimate of
Iimrod. an estimate subsequently confirmed
| by critics generally:
| Flash may not please every one, but there is
| not that man living who, possessing any literary
| taste. can read some of TimrodS happier eff
forts, and not give him the palm of being the
| first poet in the South. Poor Timrod. He is
dead nOW but his name will live while there is
! a true taste cXtant AS a man of the world. he
was nothing; is poet he was everything. He
was a poet by nature and by culture-one of the
few who can sing for their own ediication and
not for fame; Phomela in the Desert, and
! might pursue the figure further and speak of
| the breast against a thorn; for poor L. had
troubles. But these only made him sing the
| louder. And now the people of his native state
are reSretting that they did not show their APP
| probation for him while he lived.
| In reply to enquiries concerning two Georgia
! ltte'Ut@"rS, he writes from Forsyth:
sydney and Clifford Laner are two brothers,
| born and raised in Macon, Georgia. Clifford is
| very young, but promises good things. Sydney
~ the cleYerest, as you say-in fact, he is gen
lus His novel. Tiger Lilies is vigorous and
original; his poems. published from time to
| time in the Round Table, o,e p0ems-quaint
unique and characteristic. Besides all this he is
the most accomplished flute player in America,
and composes as he plays. There is something
weird and mysterious, rayshing and entranc-
! ing, in his manner of playing. 1t is absolutely
| Impossible for me to describe it to you. One of
| his descriptions of tlute-playng in Tiger Lii
les" comes near telling how he does it, but you
should hear him to appreciate. He is good,
| modest young man, and charming in manner.
Mr.. Lanier died about one year ago in Balti-
more.
February 1868. finds Mr.. Harris still bent in
following literature profession, and decided
| upon prose, with the determination to ascertain
| his speciality in that direction by following his
| impulses. In June of that year he was working
at the case, ana had thoughts of trying his for
tune in New York. He yet adhered to his
purpose of making poetry subsidiary to prose
in his literary work. and to cultivate all three
of its branches-t the tale, the essay, and the re-
view. He was looking about him for material
for novel and thinking of preparing series
Of papers on 1.-The Humour of the Old Mas
tiers" and papers on Joe Brenan,"" Amercan
| Epcureanism,' etc. At this time he had in
| prospect ali editorial position on a paper to be
| established at Savannah, Georgia, and on the
| 18th of July he writes that he thinks he ''was
cut out for paragraphing journalist" This
was prophetic, a. shall see. The newspa-
| per project comes to naught, and in October,
| 1868, Mr.. Harris was still at the case in a ceun-
| try newspaper office, but longing for the liter
| AIRY life i'll wider sphere, though in a private
letter of this date, he says he shall give up ru-
ralizing with regret. Just two years later the
desired opening was found, and Mr.. Harris Sc
| cured employment on the Savannah Morning
| News. Though journalism was not his choice,
| he went manfully TO work. and i'm a very short
time had made well deserved reputation as
Photographer, and became one of the best known
of the younger journalists of Georgia-bright
| fellows, many Of them. His suant sayings I'M
der the head of Georgia Affairs, were widely
quoted, and his duties as associate editor were
well performed. He married Savannah lady,
and after some seven or eight years service on
the News removed to Atlanta, Georgia. and
| joined the editorial staff of the Constitutions of
| that city. 1t was here he discovered his spe-
| cialty-here that "Uncle Remus,' was first in
| traGIIcpU fine puh1ia
ready appreciation, and this stimulated further
efforts in the same direction, until a book was
produced whose originality and value, aside
from its amusing quanues, nave been generally
recognized.
Stanley I. Pullen has sold his inter est in the
D.a,tln ,,lD u