The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-01-04
"rHE OTHER SIDE"

'The Other Side" An historic poem-By Vir.
ElnlS frazer Boyle. Cambridge: Printed ut
the Riverside Press, 1898 n
Is to Confederate soldiers, living
and dead, and to the women of the
South" that this poem is dedicated.
me author has already received dis;
Junction rs apoet. Her songs, pure in
note and enjoying in sentiment, have
been heard throughout the land. She
mas won recognition as an artist
through the exceeding merit of her
work. She has the faculty of seeing
Che, beautiful in the life of the people
among whom she has been reared.
But whether dealing with the homely,
the heroic or the tragic, whether in.
; dulglng her genius for accurate and
charming description, or giving her
fancy vein in lyric or epic, Mrs, Boyle
mas always demonstrated intellectual
lty and exquisite taste and perfect
technique. AS daughter of a brave
Confederate soldier, it was natural
chat she should have undertaken to
lay a wreath upon the grave of, the.
Oontederacy-a wreath, every flower
OF which should he eloquent of affec.
Uon and truth. This she has done in
The Other Side" 1t comprises only
about l 200 lines. but it as complete as
narrative as it is superb as an eulogy.
The artistic quality of the verse is such
as to give dine expression to the pstri-
otto impulses of the writer. There is
TO redundancy. Volumes of history
A1e crystallized IN lines. The poem is
dlvi ted into three parts, bearing the
captions Divergent Lines, 1.-THE
Prisoner OF State" and "Reconstruc.
tion.p An example of the authors
skill ia preserving the poetic form,
while giving comprehensive recital
OF an epochin history, may be found
IN the first forty seven lines of the
poem: '' Z; y
Across the waters of,the elder world.
Upon the ancient land Of lore and song
Two foster brothers smiled Ia .chidish'play
And'knelt beside an English mothers knee
The one was gentle aud mystic bloom
Lay on the olive cheek and dewv Zip,
ThGtmirrored III their opec purity
The joyous, Loving heart that beat within.
And one was grave; tn ) curve of youth was hid
Beneath cloak OF sternuess. and the eye
Eraught with the pertent of the coming time,
Looked keen aud hardened fro m narrow brow
That marked the branching of the parent tree
and SO they grew, nursed by divergent themes
Beside the ancient fountain of the race,
TIL their ghthood-graved upon their shields
The legends Cavalier" and Puritan. "
When turning from the mother heart tn at dealt
Unfairly with the children of her love
The one led on, by conquest's glittering train,
The other for tae easing OF a Vall.-
Upon the borders OF the western world
These brothers met, as warders OF the land.
They chose, and If perchance the goodly land
THAT fell to Jacobs lot was fair. twas WELL
For on the bleak frontier with sturdy strength,
The iron -sinewed sau delvrd and throve;
Aud burning IF IN expressions blist'ring brand,
The hot blood surging through his corded veins
The alien drove his flying scourge and babe
The reds kin led Ishmael seek The setting sun.
Wneh right divine" became feudal wrong.
These brothers snapped the leading-strings in
twain,
They m lde compact on the fl ED of blood.
Upon thu wave that swept across the sea
They poured the honest sleet of rebel ball:
Enthroned powers trembled in their wrath,
And rage guaw5d the ermine of king,
On high, by force of dauntlesS rebel will
And rebel arms on glory parchment writ.
Thera fl 4shed the white star of achiev vment
flung
Upon toe stirring records OF the world.
The British crimson fade from the field
Through lifting smoke, where ships go down to
sea:
mid stacking arms. a lusty sholt arose,
That gave grand Republic to the wor Id.
Here is the whole story in few
words. Few writer's could have put
80 much into such brief space. 1t is
almost Homeric. And thus does she
proceed down to the beginning of the
civil war, setting forth accurately the
counter influences, motives and inter-
ests in their gradual development
until the spark descended that set the
land in fame. How the South sprang
to battle is thus described, and in ev-
cry syllable is there bugle note:
Yea, whit charge was there!-ihe wondering
woFl9
stood still in silence, and the beating pulse
THat TINES the arteries OF nations, leaped,
THRILLED with the greatness OF the civil shock!
" tat mattered half-starved legions, thinning
ranks
vaor closed the lines where valor fell,
hOnor kept the hunEer-W0lf unseen,
ia the vitals of the Southern host
the smoke that wreathed the battle plain,
] reached the flames that swept the lordlv
homes
] dwelling places then were human hearts,
Dixie was an altar raised to God!
4 "a would she yield?-her valiant arm beat back
) swelling horde that poured against her
beart.
TIE thinning ranks rehlled, the graybeard came,
Aud death gave up bis own little while;
Then from his pillow where he dreamed, the
child
Leaped into manhood in a single night
The South had need of men, and childhood died,
To leave memory, golden curl,
An nonored name upon the roll of war;
For even "seed corn" went to save the stalk.
However, in making selections that
illustrate the authors style one may
be conten! with almost any page, for
at no time does the meter Of the mat
ter halt. The rhetoric is very brilliant.