The Brookhaven leader., 1885-10-15

He Induiges In Q Good HUNDRED
Reply 20 Criticism.

expressed . wish that he should con-
tinue his desultory notes OF travel,
he proposes occasionally TO do 90.
or course these simple annals OF
travel possess only . local interest.
They are not expected to attract the
attention Of those Who dwell in che
whirling busy marts IL trade. The
merchant politician, offiee-seeker,
and the professional man are absorb 4
ed With the mercantile. political and
general news that comes 10 them dai
ly on the lightnings wing, from every
part Of the habitsbie globe, and 1t is
not likely that they take much in
terest in anything concerning the
plain, hard-working honest people
who dwell in peaceful independence
on their little homesteads, far re.
moved from the engines whistle.
Far be it from the IN complain Of this
1t is as it should he. There should
ne no pref between town and
country. Each is necessary to the
other. The town can't do without
the country and the country can't
do without the town.
have been somewhat amused by
two criticisms on my last batch Of
notes. The frst was q reflection on
my memory Of the Poets, and came
from my own little school boy. He
said that in quoting from "The For
est Hymn" used the word woods.
when the word used by Bryant in
the text Is groves. l had to &C.
knowledge the the corn, but what
is the difference? If there be none.
am justly chargeable with ig-
norance in using the wrong word2
My boy said the difference is that
groves means . smaller number OF
trees than woods. Wayfsrer leaves
your good readers to decide this
momentous question on which, fort
unately the destiny Of the nation
does not hang.
The other criticism was by q
scholastic divine of great historical
and biographical knowledge. He
said that Mr.. Lincoln was in nc
sense of the word poet and that he
did not write the beautiful hymn
beginning with the line quoted, "Oh
why should the spirit of mortal be
lproud? Now in saying as
did that favorite hymn OF Mr..
Lincoln" l by no means intended
to be understood as meaning that b.
wrote the poem. merely intended
to state the fact that when Pres
ident Of the United States, surroun
ded by sill the glory and grandeur
OF that high place, commander il
chief Of a million of veteran soldier.
under arms, he was often known t,
repeat that hymn so suggestive o
humility and dependence on . great
! er king than any mortal ruler. Bu
by the way,I will remark en- PEASANT
that according to Judge Arnold, tn,
intimate friend and recent biogra
pher of Abraham Lincoln, this rough
hewn native kentuckian, reared il
: Lhe hack woods OF Illinois, had b,
nature, much OF the divine afflatus
of the more cultured children O
song. Under the surface current o
his occasional hilsrity, his amusing
jokes, his inexhaustible supply o
illustrative, original stories ran d
vein of genuine poesical beauty
over~ha,iowe'l, at times, by sadnes,
and melancholy.
An, how shall b" careful her"af
ter how | NEEDLE with the Poets. II
my younger days 1 prided myself il
possessing somewhat accurate
knowledge Of the sacred dwellers or
Parnassus, from Homer all the way
down through the long line Of Brit
ish and American Bards. But pc
etry is only for the young. We old
boys must stick to facts. I know
of but one line Of poetry l shall dare
hereafter to quote and that is one
from the finest of England's verse
"Homeward the plowman plods
his weary way" This line
the schoolmen inform me can be
transposed and read in twenty -four
different ways and still the same ex
act meaning be preserved. dc
not assert this to be 80, but leave
that question for our girls to debate
the boys rather play ball, Al
all events l am safe in quoting tina,
line as it is next to impossible, to
he wrong, and then it lie appropriate
to the pastoral farm life l am de
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