Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-08-08

| wAs aroused nom his slumoers ~ore nv
| this way. The Hon. jacob Hess, Of the
Subway Communication, VS. sccostsd the
oshsr day by feliow-nsnbsr ~
the surf 1t Long BrancA, put
hs WAS prepared, having tns
golden peanut that sshsrally bangles
fen his watch chain 10 his mouth. II
the challenging party cannot produce
ths emblem il required By one who has,
be IL called on 70 pay the penalty, and
in this case II took the form Of very
elaborate dinner 1t the West-End Hotel.
Msllahap. the trainer and hacker Of
Herald, the new sspirant for fistic hon.
ors, tucked bis ivory peanut into his ear
one night while acting rs master Of cere-
| monies at fistic gathering, and 90 Was
not caueht when Peters, the wine-mer.
| chant, challenged him. The emblem Of
the Club is becoming common in ell cir
cles. The imitation is generally 10 gold
and worn as . watch charm.
There is quito an excitement among
the dudes In the Knickerbocker because
some tradesmsn has obtained q list OF
| the members and forwarded them to
the club address his business circu-
lar. 1t is against the rule in the Club
that its Ietter-boxes should DO used for
advertising purposes, and generally all
advertising circulars are destroyed by
the wholesale; but in this case the
willy tradesman used square tinted en-
velopes, such as ladies generally use,
and the superscription was IN slender,
tall, fashionable, feminine chirography,
and the disappointment Of the receivers
may have heightened their sense OF Club
etiquette.
A BATTLE AMONG THE BARDs.
1t has been known for somo time in
literary and club circles that bad feel.
ing existed between two well.known
poets Of this city, Mr.. Edgar Fswcett
and Mr.. r. Ii. Stoddard. Mr.. Stoddard
has recently opened hostilities with
vigorous attack in New York evening
paper, which has arrsyed nearly oil the
local hterati on one side or the other.
Mr.. Edgar Fawcett's new book Of
poems, Romance and Revery," pub
lished BY Messrs. Ticknor & Co., Of
Boston, is q volume of three hundred
pages, and perhaps as exquisitely bound
and printed as any book which has ap-
peared in this country for several sea-
sons.
In o review Of this work Mr.. Stod-
dard asserts that Mr.. Fawcett is simply
an artiflcer in verse, being "clever"
and nothing besides, and that he rep
resents everything which criticism has
for many years agreed to call the re-
verse of poetry. Naturally it has been
thought that Mr.. Fawcett might have
certain "opinions " regarding the JUS
tice and injustice of this assault, and
recently. on being consulted with re-
gard to his feelings in the matter, the
author Of " Romance and Revery" VOL
unteered to say:
"HE WOULD KILL ME-"
eyes, saw the notice in the Mail
and Egpress. have never injured Mr..
Stoddard in any way whatever, except
If that be an injury by cutting his &C
qusintsnce at the Lotos Club, in New
York, some eight years ago. Stoddard
was then connected, if mistake not,
with the same evening paper as now.
He had been writing few rather inso-
lent squibs about my work, and on that
especial evening he sent q mutual ac-
quaintance to ask me If I would cross
the rooms and speak with him. I re-
fused to do so, point blank, although l
sent DO uncivil message. The whole
matter was one Of quite to much indif-
ference on my side for me to dream Of
being either uncivil or otherwise. Stod-
dard, however, as subsequently heard,
became very furious, and swore many
round oaths to the effect that he would
kill me- Ny informant told me that
this muIderous declaration alluded not
to my own life, but to that Of my first
book Of poems, Fantasy and PASSION
which had recently appeared. Stod-
dard certainly made savage attempt
to kill that book-and succeeded
about as well as his venomous spirit
usually does succeed In such cases. He
wrote three or four notices Of the poems
in different journals, all easily traceAble
to the one acrid source. Since then be has
persistently sought to injure my stand
ing as an author by his absurdly poi
sonous assertions. In the present case
nv book was not sent for review to tho
Mail and Erpress. But Stoddard,
with 9 dignity and honesty which l
need not point out, assumed that the
book had been sent him, and placed the
firm.name of the publishers at the end
of his despicable little screed. If
were the Messrs. Ticknor & Co.
should resent so palpably fraudulent
q proceeding. For myself, Mr.. Stoddard
may revile me for page of the journal
which he represents 30 unworthily.
l have never held but one opinion Of
him. He is a poetaster Of trivial
abilities, consumed with disappoint-
ment at the just GOODNESS with which
his monotonous blank verso and bis
tepid, fimsy little lyrics have always
been received. Ambition wed with
mediocrity is always a matter for CON-
passion but when the elements Of
spite, envy, and hate enter into such a
combination poetical failure in any in
dividual can scarcely be pitied by even |
the most charitable observer"
PRETTY PERSONAL.
Mr.. Fawcett furthermore said, and |
with considerably more scorn than an
hoysnce: ~ saw on article over Stsd- !
dard's signature in the Mail and En-
press only q few weeks ago, and noted |
one sentence Of it because it struck me
as so shsmslsssly hypocriticsl. TIE |
sentence was this No man who is !
worthy Of the name Of b critic ever
writes from q persorAl MOTIVE And
yet Stoddsrd went out Of his way, as
have shown, to 'criticise book
which he had no possible right
to touch, II the ordinary courteous
usage between publishers and news
papers is to be held Of the slightest 90
count. Docs not Mr.. Stoddard here
most openly convict himself Of . per.
sonal motives' As for his being