The morning call., 1894-04-24
HIS CHARACTER BY A NEIGHBoR.

C0lueH Odlo hdll yesterday afternoon.
The audience was composed almost en-
tirely of ladies. 1t was the beginning OF
the second days session.
Willard B. Harrington, the chairman of
the congress. presided, introducing first
Professor A. G. Newcomer of Stanford
University. who read an elaborate paper
on ''Fhe Characteristic and Tendency Of
American Literature"
The review of the great American
writers was gone over quite rapidly, and
comparisons made between some of the
most famous. During the seventeenth
century he discovered no truly great liter
airy genius. The same was true of the
revolutionary period. Yet some Of the
poetry and patriotic songs which grew out
of that era, such as The Star-spangled
Bann er" aud so Oh, were sublime.
Before the autobiography of Benjamin
Franklin was written, however, we had
no literature This is the most promising
field on earth. however, for literary effort,
the speaker asserted, owing TO the diver
sity OF interests aud The heterogeneous
population of the State and nation.
Boston claims To be literary center,
vet ii has no right TO such claim. Grea;
writer's do not flock there as do the great
Paris. Our men who stand SO high in
their art cannot be classified, nor have
they a fellowship that could be denomi-
mated as distinct schools. An Edinburgh
critic had sought TO do so. but failed.
Who, for instance, could be tackled on to
Emerson, to LongfelloW, to Hawthorne,
or Pope or Poe? Each virtually stands
alone As yet the American genius has
not been able to group the diversties of
American life. but must be content to
deal with features that come under their
individual notice. In fact our lltera ture is
as widely different as the Cape Cod fishing
boat differs from the California wine
press or the HOOSier scboOlIeacher from
the most eminent professor. Great stress
was lad uDon the simple beauty of Walt
Whitman+s works ana the scope of sub
iects treated by him.
G. Gilbert Dexter followed with "Remi-
niscences of Longfellow."
The speaker was neighbOr and friend
of the great bard during the latter's life
time. He began feeIngly with Long
fellow, only one LongfeilOw," and then
gave some touching "reminiscences of the
life and character OF the deceased, upon
whom he heaped encomiums with a
warmth and ardOr that left one to believe
that he was almost standing over the bier
OF the departed. He went over the seven
teen wears that LOngfellOw spent al a pro-
historic house ana furnishings that mad be-
fore been occupied by General Washing
ton. TIE adverse criticisms which were
hurled against "HiaWatha" almost caused
the poet 10 lay down his pen forever, but
fortunately he did not, ana now he lives In
fame, while his defamers slept in unlel-
tered graves. He was paid $50 for "Hia-
watha" in 1856 by the kuicker booker Mag
azine, but not many years later the
Hanging of the Crane" brought $1,000.
One Of Longfellow's latest and sweetest
poems was one that had never been pub
Iished in his works. but was the private
property of the speaker. 1t was entitled
''Via Soletaria," and was read to the au-
dience 1t was addressed to his loved one
who had gone before.
The paper by Chairman Harrington was
devoted To Journalism in the United
States" BE criticized the spirit Of the
daily press severely. 1t was TOO sensa-
matter. What was wanted was more
bTeVity and a higher moral tone. How
ever, the public seemed TO demand what
they are getting
Many efforts have been made to estab-
fish large papers such as Horace Greeley
and William Cullen Bryant presided over,
but tho ledger accounts showed that they
did not pay, and that they have 10 furnish
what the market demands or quit.
The weekly press was compHmented for
q general advancement, but the country
press. he alleged. was at a standStill.
The evening session OF tue congress was
largely attended by ladies and gentlemen
Of literary minds, who had come TO be in
structed or amused as the case might be.
They were not disappointed.
General L. II. FOOte read a carefully
prepared paper on What Is Poetry?"
The generals views are rather icOnoclas-
tic. and in his we'll chosen way he struck
some hard blows at the traditional divinity
of the Muse. He holds to the opinion that
almost anything can be turned into poetry
by skillfuly manipulating the VEGA bulary.
Still he thinks a poem should be food for
thought. In this connection be said:
Poetry is the wtcheIy OF expression.
Poetry, IN common with prose. may be the
product of spiritual exaltation, but its
valid distinction pertains solldly 10
structure. 1t has two essentials, thought
and form The form is characteristic but
thought has other and more royal roads
for its triumphs. 1t finds voice in the
grace and grandeur OF architecture; it
speaks IN he canvas ana IN the marble; ii
thrills in the Tyre as we'll as 10 the lyric.
Poetry can lay claim to n o special c0ncep-
tion; it is simply form Of expression.
Without the form IL would be prose, and
with the form il might be poetry" lie
gave as an example of the rendering into
rhyme and fmeter sBulwer Lytton's
description of the sleep of youth. Id short,
poetry, according to General Foote, is sin-
ply prose rendered into rhythm and har-
monlOus sounds.
Great thoughts, splendidly clothed.
will sometimes come Ike fash and mar
shall themselves in perfect array. but more
frequently the genius which produces the
Immortal verse Is the genius OF labor.
Longfellow once said that be thought
tWenty-four hours for single word"
Iroiessor q. NJ. Richardson of the State
University followed with a critical and
historical review of 1.-THE Traditional Bal
lad. he exploited the ballads aud fGlk-
lore Oh the civilized nations and showed
DOW the layoriles are known to all
tongues. As an example he quoted the
old New England ballad of "Tarrantv. Nv
Son, who had been on visit to his erano.
mother. he was taken i'll and reouested
his mother TO prepare his bed. When
asked what he had for supper he repIied
that his grandmother had given him cells
fried in butter, and that the cells were
striped and streaked and came from The
corner of a haystack. He had been given
snakes 10 poison him. This ballad. witt.
few changes. was known among all Euro
pean nations and languages. 1t is Pro
lessor Richardson's opinion that all the
old ballads were originally dancing songs