The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1886-02-20
EN VI Is

| celebrated UcrS0nageS Oh the lovely VIC
man line. Into the nature OF each poet
is early born the divine proportion of
| beautiful ideal. An ideal that is imma-
| ture. scarcely moulded, in a fu,.us state,
| and pliahle, but which becomes the mas
! ter Of him. and Subdues his life to its
perfection. Such an ideal did Milton see
| in the teaching of the lessons that would
purge the sins OF a nation. Such an
! ideal did Chaucer Zee i'll the Gelatlrg of
! incidents that would lend character Of
beautiful simplicity to the rudely con
| Structed annals of his country. such an
! ideal did Tenny son see in the poetizing
of the chivalry. of the kni&hthood, and
| the quaint picturesquen@ss of medieval
| England Such an ideal did Whitman
see in the yawping of his barbaric yawp
over the houSetopS of the land, in build
| ing up in whatever lives came under the
healing of his balm the serenely noble
creedS of comradeShip that are only an
| o her name for social democracy and
universal conservatism. Aud such an
! ideal did joaquin Miller see in the rym-
thcal idealZation Of that which is so
pure ard eunobling in those women who
possess the rare and cnviable character
| isticS of inward moral Suhimity and out
ward luvclincsS OF form Al d face len
uySOnS pictures of beautiful women have
| long held the attention ri the public, as
have those of BIyard TAS lur and the
French Wrists the admiration of their
readers: but of late have found in the
simple hearted poet of the NlcrraS a class
of work which neither TenuySon nor the
others have cqualcd lou can read of
joaquin MIXERS woman and simply feel
the peace of some beautiful thought de-
scend upon you. There is no passion, no
| firing of the blood that turns the purest
mind from its channel of chaste thinking
| to the surging sea of lust. Although he
| handles woman in every stage, nude or
iii costume, thero is still i'll all he says Of
her that splendid virtue that only the
! trueSt of poets can drape about their
words. \ poet, by the way, is great
| epicure among words. He is among the
verbs and pruuGuus like a millionaire at
a barqnet. He has no appetite for any
thing but that which is most delicate,
and he generally chooses the sale dishes
of the feast and lets the bulky viands
which are termed wholesome pass
| him 10y without tasting. 80 it is with
the poet. if he be at all conventional.
Whitman would take the opposite ground
in this question, bat Miller would brave
ly defend me in my theory. You will
have before learned that the one is as
positively unconventional as the other is
sacredly conventional. And SO with this
excellent Judgment and art in the proper
use of words Joaquin Miller has brought
IA certain remarkable perfection and pc
cdllIrity into use in his treatment OF the
subject of woman. When he looks upon
a woman it is. first, her soul: second, her
mind: third, her heat: fourth, her hair,
her eyes. her grace aud stature. s. you
y
the mother of Christ, rather than as
That's thu loose and the leud. | cannot
imagine what eyes are those with which
he locks at woman. L Iey are certainly lit
until the sparkle by the fires of heart
that burns with the hottest love for the
creatures Of the sex he SO exalts. In
him are united The traits of a man who
has seen much joy in wild haunts of the
world, who has SIoried in the sunset is
over the bald mountains of the West,
who has locked through the great gaps
of the Colorados as they open to the
west ward rolling sea like the gates OF
Ilea! zen, who has gazei at nature in Der
varied stages Of crudeneSS and refine
meut, and those OF one who has seen the
life within life. down whose sun Drowned
checks have rolled tears as bitter as any
that we've ever the emblems of a wronged
and dishouored love, who has claSped
children to a '#thcgly breast and who to-
day Leads fair daughter, the last living
linz between him aud the forgiven wo-
man who brought his woe upon him, as
well IS he can through the weary wind
ings Of life in America without any too
much means to Keep the wolf from the
door. And he has seen so many women.
He has locked into the eyes of the wo-
man in almost every part of the world,
from the bronZsd daughter of the desert
that sweeps il endless seas of sand
about TIE bases Of the pyramids to the
dark-eyrd damsrls who dance to sound |
of SiIvrry {, mbals among the lemon
blossoms &C France and Spain. And |
from The healthy Gretchens of Goethe'S |
fair Germany to the gay Highland |
M.ry'> of Bpln'S honny Scotland. |
How justly he estimates woman in the
tollowirg:
Strangely wooing are the worlds above us, |
Strangely h"autiir.l i, the Faith of Islam,
Strangely sweet are the songs of solomon, |
Strangely tender are the teachings of Jesus, |
Strangely cu'd is the sun on the mountains, |
Strangely mellow is the moon in old ruins, |
Strangely pleasant are tine stolen waters,
Strangely simple and unwooing is virtue,
Strangely lighted is til" North nj ght-region, |
Strangely Strong are the streams i'll the |
ocean
StraI grly rIuc are tie tales of the Orient,
Strangely winning is dark-eyed widow,
Strangely Maynard are the ways of lovers,
Bat, stranger than Il. are the ways of wo-
mon.
For an example of bis power in de-
Scrbing the beautiful in woman, will
refer You to- AZ extract from The Sea
Kings Bride.
\ great, sal beauty, IL whose eye,
Lay all the loves OF Paradise.
o had You loved her sitting there,
Half hidden in Aer loosen d hair
Why, YOU had loved her for her e>es,
Their large and melancholy look
of tenderness, ana we'll rnist9ok
Their love for light of Paradise
Yea, Iovr,! her for her large dark eyes;
Yea, loved her for her brow's soft brown; |
Her hand as light aS Heaven, bars
Yea. loved her for her mouth. Her mouth |
Was roses glther'd from tie south,
The warm south side Of Paradise,
And brrathcd upon and handed down,
Bv angels on stair of stars.