Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1893-01-15
Walt WHITMAN. POET.

Walt Whitman dreamed great
dreams, told great truths and uttered
sublime thoughts. lie beld aloit tho
torch and bravely led tho xay.
AS you read the marvellous book, or
the person, called "Leavcs OF Grass
you feel the freedom OF the antique
world; you hear tho voices Of the
morning OF tho fret great singers
voices elemental as those Of sen and
storm. Tho horizon enlargcs, the
heavens grow auiple, limitations are
forgotten-the realization OF the will,
the accomplishment OF tho idoal seem
to DO within your power. Obscrru-
tioas become petty and disappear.
Tho chains aud bars arc broken and
the distinctions OF cns,c arc lost. Tho
soul is in tho open mir, under the blue
and stars Tho flag Of nature. Creecs,
theories and philosophers ask to DO
examined, contradicted, reconstruct
ed. prcindices disappear, supersti
tiOHo Suulol uuu jury" hbN'S"eSS'
The sacred places become highways,
duties and desires to clasp hands and
become comrades aud friends. Au-
thority drops the scepter, the priest
the inter, and the purple falls from
kings. The inanimate becomes ar
ticulate, the meanest and humbles
things utter speech, and tho dumb
AID ~yoiceless burstinto song. A feel.
ing OF Independence takes possession
OF tho soul, tho body expands, the
blood flows full and free, superiors
vanish, flattery 10 n lost art, and life
becomes rich, royal, and superb. The
world becomes n personal possession,
and the ocean, tho continents and
considerations belong to you. You
are in tho center, everything rndintes
from you, and in your veins beats ard
throbs the pulse OF universal life.
You become u river careless and free.
You wander by the shores Of all seas
and hear the eternal psalm. You feel
tho silence OF tho wide forest, and
stand beneath tho iutertwiued ana
oveT nrching boughs, cntranced with
symphonies OF winds and woods. You
nre horne on tho tides Of eager and
swift rivers, hear tho rush mud roar OF
cataracts as they fall beneath tho
seven hued arch, and watch tho
anrlno M thau pirCltnr cnnr Won
traverse gorges dark and dim, and
climb tho SCARED md threatening
cliffs. You stand in orchards where
tho blossoms full like snow, whero tho
birds nest aud sing, and PAINTED moths
mako aimlcss journeys through the
happy mir. You live tho lives Of
those who till tho earth. and walk
amid the perfumed fields, hear tho
renpers' song and feel tho breadth and
scopeo of earth and sky. You nro in
the great cities, in the midst Of null
titudes, Of the endless professions.
You are on the wide p.Bins-the
prairies with hunter md trapper
with savage and pioneer, and you feel
tho soft grass yielding nnder your
foet, You sail in many ships, and
breathe the free air OF tho sea, You
traverse many roads and countless
paths. You visit palaces and prisons,
hospitals and courts; you pity kings
and %convicts, and your sympathy
goes out TO all tho suffering md in
sano, tho oppressed and %enslaved, and
v TO the Infamous. You hear tho
din Of labor, all sounds OF factory, field
and forest, OF oil tools, Instruments
and machines. You become familiar
with men and women OF all employ
monts, trades and professions with
birth and burial, with wedding feast
md funeral chant. You SEQ tho cloud
and flame CT war, and you enjoy tho
inclfa5le perfect days OF poace. In
this n book, in those wondrous
"Lsayes OF Grass," you find hints aud
suggestions, touches and fragments,
OF MI thore ia Of life, that lies between
tho babe, whose rounded cheeks
dimple beneath his mothers laugh
ing, loving eyes and the old man, snow
Drowned, who, with q smile, extends
his hand to death.-lRobort q. Inger-
soll.