Mower County transcript., 1890-04-09
THE RHYM,No MANIA.

THE RHYMlNo \ MANIA.
Or. Holmes Gives Good Advioo to Those
Who Are AFFLICTED with 1t. "-5f
Poetry is commonly thought to be the
language of emotion. On the contrary,
most Of what is so called proves the ab-
sence OF all passionate excitement. It
Is cold-blooded, haggard, anxious wor-
rying hunt after rhymes which can be
made serviceable, after images which
will be effective, after phrases which
are isonorous--all this under limitations
which restrict the natural movements
II fancy and imagination. There is
} secondary excitement in overcoming
The difficulties OF rhythm and rhyme,
40 doubt, but this is not the
emotional heat excited by the subject
II the ''poet's" treatment. True poetry,
;he best of 1t, is but the ashes of
burnt-out passion. The flame was in
she eye and in the check, the Goals may
30 still burning in the heart, but when
We come to the words it leaves behind
1t, little warmth, oinder or two Just
SAAAAAASAA"Ss uAUOA VllO uCuU NSuSS-t0ut
is all We can look for. When it comes
to the manufactured article, one is sur
2rised to find how we'll the motrical
artisans have learned to initiate the real
thing. They catch all the purchases of
;he true poet. They initiate his metrical
'orms as q mimic copies the gait Of the
person he Is representing.
Now am not going to abuse these
same meter ballad-mongers," for the
obvious reason that. as all The Teacups
know, l myself belong to the fraternity.
don't think that this reason should
hinder my having my say about the bal
iad-mongering business. For the last
thirty years have been in the habit of
receiving q volume OF poems or a poem,
printed or manuscript will not say
1aily, though sometimes receive moro
than one In day, but at very short in
;ervals. have been consulted by hun
lreds OF writer's of verse as to the merit
d their performances, and have often
advised the writer's to the best OF nv
ability. OF late have found it impos-
'ible to attempt to read critically all the
AoSA"Ay pAOAuSVAOAo, AL VCISo uuu III
prose, which have heaped themselves
IN every exposed surface of my library,
ike snow-drifts along the railroad
:racks-blocking my literary pathway,
70 that can hardly find my daily pa
2ers.
What is the meaning Of this rush into
:hysning of such multitude of people,
If all ages, from the infant phenomenon
% the oldest inhabitant?
Many of my young correspondents
nave told mo in so many words, II want
20 be famous" Now it is true that of
I'll tho short cuts to famo, in time of
>eace, there is none shorter than the
:oad paved with rhymes. Byron woke
Up one morning and found himself ia
nous. Still more notably did Rouget dc
Isle fill the air of France, nay the
whole atmosphere Of freedom all the
world over, with his name waited on the
wings of the Marseillaise, the work of a
single night But if by fame the aspi-
ant means having his name brought be-
'ore and kept before the public, there is
much cheaper way of acquiring that
<ind of notoriety. Have your portrait
aiken as "Wonderful Cure of Des-
2erate Disease given up by all the doc
;ors." You will get fair likeness of
yourself and a partial biographical no.
lice, and have the satisfaction, if not of
promoting the welfare of the communi-
~, at least that of advancing the finan-
,ial interests of the benefactor whose
An hac rivan
lotoriety. If a man wants to be famous,
ne had much better try the advertising
loctor; than the terrible editors, whose
waste-b basket is as Unsuitable as the tom
porary stomach of Jack the Giant
killer.
"You must not talk 50, "said Number
Five. II know you don't mean any
wrong to the true poets, but you might
be thought to hold them cheap, whereas
you value the gift in others-in your
self too, rather think. There are a
great many wonderland some men
who write in verse from natural in
stinct which leads them to that form of
expression. If you could peep into the
portfolio of all the cultivated women
aAuohs youi aC4 uAlhCaACoS' Jou "oulu De
surprised, believe, to see how many of
them trust their thoughts and feelings
to verse which they never think of pub
fishing, and much of which never meets
any eyes but their own. Don't be cruel
to the sensitive natures who find
music in the harmonies of rhyth and
rhyme which soothes their own souls, if
it reaches no farther. ."-Oliver Wendell
Holmes, in Atlantic.
FRESH SNAKE STORIES.
New and Carefully Assorted Lot of Ser
pentine Anecdotes.
We weary of seeing in our contem-
poraries divers and sundry snake stories
annaarinp wear after wear without Yaria-