The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-11-14

WMU @Ac ~SSuoSUtuS0 " 1SSO<iAtG SukGkuSx to the neglect of the women but the phrase "twenty> eight years of womanly iiie y IS hardly synonymous ~itA '.twenty- eight women" And who is this mys;SEi- ous "she, and what Is she doingg Is she engaged in the unmaidenly act ol watching the men bashe2 lf there is any sugsestiveness here except the sug- gestiveneSS cf an unclean mind, it ii not apparent
 By this tune the reader Is in a positive whirl but the poet continues to exhibit has wax.works, and introduces the butch. er-boy, the blacksmith, and possibly the baker and the candlestick maker. He next sees a negro driving dray, and from him he goes by the usual degrees to the wild gauder leading his flock. A lit tie further on, the pure conualto sings in the organ loft," and "the carpenter dresses his plank" Another eonvulsion seizes the writer at this luncture, and he gives us catalogue of all sorts of people and professions. He jumps from q steam boat to ball, from ouc oi the sea sons to one of the states. A, one time he is in Missouri, and a, another in a strees-car. There is no telling where he will a,ight nex'.
 It would not be profitable to carry the analysis further. It is evident that the Song of Myself Heads nowhi,heT, and that it is the unsystematic, anpruned ex. prcssion of very peculiar mind. A few more quotations may be pardoned, as showing to what extremes language can go. For instance, this abrupt paragraph ; "Who goes there hsnkcrins, gross, mystical, | nude;
 How is 1t that extract strength from tue hcel eA,ih
 It IS, oi course impossible foI the reader to say who goes there. Possibly he doesn't care As for the second question, that may be respectfully referred to the phySiologist, who can answer 1t to any mans satisfaction. One fails to see what the bard is hankering after, aad why he is nude. Th9 connection between his being mystical and his eating beef IS also a mystery, from which he has not lifted the veil. Again he says:
 "t do not snvel that snivcl the world over, | That months are vacuums, and the ground
 but walloW and hlth.h
 In one place he says, "l know tha, l am deathless," and in another declares himself materialist. He speaks of the sea as the " howler and scooper of storms" He finds the scent of the arm pits "aroma finer than prayer" These quotations might be strung out cndlessly, but they would afford merely cumulative proof of ths fanksst kind Q! rebellion aSasns. common sense. 1t IS not to be denied that at times the reader detects the gleam of the diamond in this mass of rubbish. The poet has evidently though, and read of many things, but his com. men,s convey hint of indigestion. When one finishes reading the "Song of My self," it is impossible for him to give a rational review Of what it is, and what i, is intended to teach. It is a failure, be cause tho writer has neglected that very art which he professes to despse. The word " art" which is as wide in its sig. nificance as the heavens, has often been degraded by careless thinkers into a syn onym oi form, when it is in reality the execution of truth. Thought is never val. uable unless il is clear and comprehen- sible. An obscure thought is hueless, tasteless, and devoid of nourishmeut. II Mir Whitm ans thinking is obscure, it is not worth the preserving. On the other hand, his thoughts may be true and clear, but he may lack fitting expression, just as a man may have a perfect conception oi harmony and have no voice for song. IL is Tn giving adequate, tangible expression to clean, valuable thinking, that the writer or poet justi6es himself He should have something to tell, and he should tell it. Unless he can do so. he has no business posing as a poet. Shakespeare found the English language and the es- tablished modes of composition spacious enough for his uanscendest genius Cicero, Virgil, aud Horace were not tram meled by the polished completeness ol Latin. Dante could express all his thoughts in artistic Italian, while Goethe and Schiller never thought of reselling against the rules of German grammar and the accepted modes of composition The man who has a story 10 build will never fail for want of verbal tools if he falteys, it will be because he knows not how to use them. 1T he has a message to deliver, wings are convenient; but he must know how to Ay with them. We have a right to insist that a definite sub ject or story shall be selected. and th at 1t shall be developed artis,ioaliy. and in | suNA way aS to Dc kI6sPCo. WucD 1 Wagner, the musical revolusionist, set about the consummation of his theories, every musician understood perfectly what his theories were, though many sngrily doubted and denied that music could TO- spond to the call he made upon it. In all his labor there were system, consecutive ness, and art otherwise, he would have failed. Has Mir. Whitman enunciated an intelligible theory1 He speaks vaguely about poetry being written un- der the influence of our democratic in- sttutions- We'll and good. Now, Dame Columbia may insis, on fiee though, and free speech be, she is not maudlin, nor incoherent. Her head is clear, her mien seif-reliant, her actions brisk and ami mated, her perception acute, and her imagination warm and glowing. There 1 is nothing confus<t Or airnless about her