The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-08-21
The Hon. Thomas f. Lane as a Poet

questions.
The Hon. Thomas +. Lane as a Poet.
1t is with a mingled feeling of pride
and self-congratulation that every Jer-
sevman learns that our esteemed fellow
citizen. the Honorable Thomas Flabber-
CAST Lane, editor, statesman and assist
ant guardian of the nations cash, is
a poet of sky-blue accomplishments.
The only dreg in their cup of felicity IS
the thought of the great delight the
Honorable Thomas has deprived them
of all these years by hiding the reful-
gence of his poetic fire under the bushei
of politics. The latest outpouring OF
Mr.. Lanes genius is to be found IN a
recent number of the Orange Herald"
in the shape of a letter from Washing
ton upon the situation there, which con-
veys a warning against that wicked city
couched in poetic language of the John
owen O'Connor order.
ITO fully appreciate the situation IN
Washington says Mr.. Lane, "one must
imagine himself aboard a hltherto sea-
worthy vessel on which the rudder has
failed to respond to the touch Of the
helmsman for so many days, that II
has been driven out of the trackless
paths of the mighty ships and IS wltnout
machinery to prevent 1t from psing
tossed hither and thlther py Inc WioiS
beating waves
Can anything be more eloquent than
this, either in design or execution? Was
such originality of conception ever dis
played before?
IT has been stated that this simile
was once used by a fellow in Massachu-i
sets who set himself up for a poet
and wrote some stuff about sailing on
Oh. Ship of State, and people hanging
breathless Upon its fate and shocks and
rocks and Tapping sails with rents made
by gales, and a lot more, but there is
no doubt that the story was put in cir
~culation by the race-track people for
the purpose of injuring Mr.. Lane with
his constituents.
Where in all the writings of the poets,
either ancient and modern, can be found
a more forcible simile than "a hitherto
seaworthy vessel on which the rudder
has failed to respond to the touch of
the helmsman,' or one which more
strongly suggests the need of soap in
the stern post?
Further along in his charming prose
poem Mr.. Lane lavishes upon an I'M
worthy public this bit of Homeric meta
phor with a dash of S-hakespearian Eng
lish in it to give it favor
The decks are crowded with terror
stricken passengers, anxious lest each
succeeding moment may bring to their
ears the dread crash of the breakers on
some surf-beaten shore; the rigging. Is
filled with lookouts eagerly scanning
the horizon for succor and ever and
anon giving out the glad cry, "A sail!
A SAIL" that only leads to deeper des-
pair when it is discovered that the an
nouncement is without foundation; be-
tween decks a couple of faithless mem
bers of the crew are endeavoring to in
cite a mutiny, in the hope that they may
obtain complete mastery of the vessel
to turn it into a pirate craft with which
to prey on the m of all the ma
tons.
What could bring to the minds eye
more wildly the horde of Office seekers
who besiege the various departments
than this deck load of passengers anxi-
Gus lest each succeeding moment may
bring to their ears the dread crash of
the k in which all their hopes
will be wrecked? Observe the delicacy
of the warning conveyed to the way
back patriot about to visit the National
Capital, in the line which portrays the
lookouts eagerly scanning the horizon
for suckers"
Note, too, the fnesse with which the
rural visitor is warned against the poker
joints, where they stack the cards in
those beautiful lines which set forth the
wickedness of the dealers between
decks
Having thus done his duty toward his
hayseed constituent, Mr.. Lane, with that
worldly wisdom for which he has always
been noted, proceeds to square himself
with the Washington police in this poetic
flight
While all these events are Transporting,
however, it must not be imagined that
the officers of the ship are idly trust
ing to fate or blindly %confiding In for
tune for a successful ending of the voy-
age. Brave hearts and willing hands
are laboring zealously to repair the
breaks that the repeated storms have
caused; and their efforts go far to inspire
with confidence the almost hopeless
throng huddled in groups on the hurri-
cane deck.
Verify. the Honorable Thomas Flab-
bergast Lane is a genius of great YER
satility, the next manifestation of which
will be eagerly looked forward to by
every resident of Summit with the prob
able exception of Anthony Comstock.
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