The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1886-06-10

PREFACE TO TIE VOLUME.
Poetry is its own excuse for being,
And Poems are begOtten and not made,
Being OF one substance with the poets SOUL: l..
The living germs, lowered with perpetual life.
Are in the mind. till vivifying Love,
Clasping the poet in divine embrace.
Which. fed and cultured, grows to its own
Like aeyslops, and nd, harmonious No, spirit,
A glory and comfort to the world!
Suggest ion Is the law OF Poetry.
Poetry is tie spirits iiEhtning, which reveals,
BY vivid flashes of electric Thought.
that dread, 'iivine gratuity named life;
FathOm'esS yearnings, mysteries infinite,
Self wars, soul-iriumphs. wlIite-hot agontes,
AS lightning bursts reveal the infinite night,
Fathomless skies Of cloud. vast scopes ot earth,
Wide sea exp,nscS. looming mountain heights,
Deep-yawnihg CULTS and rivers. plains and
woods
Poetry is the language Of the skies.
The Heavens commune In musical discourse;
All lives must live to music or must perish;
The law Of deathless life iS Harmony.
The Poets pen is the cnchanter's wand; !;
The he % masters ai Baton an and 6 the painter Brush,
Tripod and trident and diviners rod.
All arts In one; whatever is, is his.
Price, One Dollar per Volume.
For sale in worthngton at BARRIERS Drug
and Stationery store. Smiths Drug and sta
tiOnery Emporium, and at the ADVANCE office.
Parties ordering by mail supplied from the
ADVANCE Office 1T $t.05 per volume.
From the Minneapolis Saturday SPECTATOR
4 MINNESOTA POET.
Many Minneapolitans will remember with
pleasure Of the delightful surprise which greet
Ell them at the celebration OF the 2UOth ami
% tne rcc cf Of
machine ma'le-tO-Order kind, proved to he
strong bright and worthy of the Occasin. The
author who read It, instead Of being Of the
mo- ~ .fA
supposed to be. stood forth broad cheSte'l,
good voice and commanding air and presence:
In the little book before us are these lines and
many other poems OF equal merit The poem
Consolation, which gives the name to the val
ume, is not happily named, as such title re-
calls the thousand and one crude attempts to
heal wounds Of the heart with plasterS consist
Ing Of little pi"us honey andmuch gall and
Here are some specimens OF efforts of The an
thor to
''gain. like bards Of old. the power divine
To put 4 lifc's quintcsscnce in a lmc.'
I'm the sweet company Of Gods solltudes
Through velvet fields saw the rivers run
Aud white towns shining In the mellow sum- ="
This Is true poetry. Less pleasing are tie fol
! lowing lines, where he speaks OF 'forest harps
with muititud nous roar" Other examples
might be cite'l Of his lapse from high and
true imagery to something much Inferior. Here
| Is 4 fragrant case of 1t:
''The crashing thnn er split tn eternal walls,
And rumblcd down the sky like rolling balls"
But these lapses are rare. AS a general thing
| the tone is high aid we'll sustained The extracts
from those sections Of the poem headed 'Love'
ami Religion" which we give elsewhere. are
of high merit. The extract also which we head
THE New Age'' Is filled with religious radical
! ism which has inspired so many OF the wOrl,i' 3
helpers.
ure and style Of Tennyson's "In Mem oriam:"
"Whatever may in Time befall
! Must end n love rirht nf 1Ask
Today is better than the past,
| And love must own and govern all.
And from earth. dust and to,, and strife.
| And from life's transient pains and cares,
| The race constructs the unseen stairs.
And climbs unto the perfect life.
Though skeptic as to creeds. lie mas firm faith
In immortality:
There is a life beyond, else life on earth
And hope are gwen dying & soul to mock.
Why freight the ship with gems Of priceless
1t"% $SS$S S$'!y'""s Sc" we strike deaths awful
'Very Good" is true to name, despite the
mixed metaphors in the line in which some one
is '.ripened, toned down and purged by pain,
Among the Poems Of the War Period" that
named Equality" is probably the best. He
| says:
1.-THE many strike to show
! The innate majesty OF man;
The people are the heroes nOw.
And have been since the world began,
1t will be seen that Minnesota has in Mr.. Nil
Ter poet Of strong feeling aud fine fancy bu
eye and revise it thoroughly. His work l.
stronger In some respects than that of Jame
G. Clark, but it lacks the rare finish and melo
published in book form. These two poets wi
be remembered with high honor when thous
ands of men who think making verses poor bus
mess compared with making money Will D<
dead and FORGOTTEN.
i EXTRACTS FROM "CONSOLATION."
Keep faith In Love. the cure Of every curse
The strange, sweet wonder Of the uniyerse!
God loves lover, and while time shall roll, -.
This wonder, Love, shall save the human soul !!
Love is tn hearts condition: grave or gay.
And youth or age. alike must own its sway.
Age crowns the head with venerable snow,
But Life and Love forever mated go;
Along lifes far frontier the aged move,
One foot beyond, and nothing left but Love,
} And when the Soul its mortal part resigns
The perfect world of Love around 1t shines!
RELIGION.
As " hen little child. returned from play,
Finds the door closed and latched across Its way
Against the door, with infant push and strain,
It gathers all its streng b and strives In vain;
And lifts the iron latch with easy hands;
Then, as he lightly draws the door aside,
, He hides behind 1t, while with baby pride,
Flushed and rejOiced 20 think what 1t has done
So when men find, across life's rugged way.
Strong doors cf trouble barred from day to day
And strive with all their power of knees ant
| hands,
: Unseen within their heavenly father stands,
And lift each iron latch, while men pass thrO
Flushed and rejOiced to think what they can do
TIE NEW AGE.
Roll on, o SLOW. wheeled Years! and brin
the day
When men shall gather wealth to give away:
And spring to help when tempted nature falls,
As when builder drops from city walls;
| When to do good alone men shall be bold.
And seek out Suffering as they seek for gold: