The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-02-16

mingled with the pathos of tho dying
grasshopper sufferer, which has even
won tho approval of English bards aud
wrung with sympathetic anguish the
sluggish pulse of their tough old
briskets.
Yet Mr.. Peacock at times rebels at
fate and says that n slow and niggardly
public will one day hate itself for not
helping him pay his rent, and that when
his wild thrush song IS still in death
many a tardy reader of his Looping verse
will come to shed the scalding and the
unavailing over the wind swept grave
of the silent bard, or in uncomfortable
remorse to kick loose tho moss agates
that border the lowly mound.
Perchance he is right. Publics are I'M
grateful Out of $50 admirers who have
come to gazo on me at my country home
and stay to dinner this summer only
eight had read my new history of the
United States. and of that number six
had borrowed the book of other people
One admirer tied his horse to japanese
maple, which cost me 50, and the beast
ate the bark all off. not having been fed
since Lent.
Mr.. Peacock is self made poet and
composes better with tho window open
and his tongue out little way on the
left hand side. He likes the breeze to
blow against his hot temples, and jug
of hot water at his feet, with which he
mixes little reddish liquor from the
drug stores of Kansas. Then the warm
Peruvian bark blood will mantle in his
cheek and the lcng, graceful verses come
boiling out like the graceful links of
rosy sausage at Mr.. Armour's great
abattoirs in Chicago
| admire Thomas Brewer Peacock be-
cause he does not get irritated over my
free criticisms. He comes to me with
the old warm grasp of the honest hand
and the old twinkle in his eye, no mat
ter how untrammeled my remarks ON
his verse may be. That shows a sweet
disposition not usual with the average
poet.
This leads me to refer to James Whit
comb Riley, my old partner and comrade
in the show business. | notice that some
warm admirer gives Riley the place left
vacant by DR., Holmes. This is surely
unqualified praise, yet we must pause to
think how different the two men We're.
While the Hoosier poet may easily com
pare the size of their audiences, DIR.
Holmes humor was of different and
more strictly Massachusetts character.
He did not care so much for practical
humor as Riley does. He would be con.
tent with pun or a conundrum, while
Riley enjoys practical humor.
For instance, | remember one night
when our manager thought that any
thing in the line OF ale, wine or most
any kind of alcoholic or malt liquors
would cast gloom over the performance
on tho following day SO he spoke to the
hotel people about it, and q convention
of bell boys and barkeepers was instruct
ed to send nothing but clean shirts and
farinaceous food to No lS2.
Mr.. Riley has n keen sense of humor,
and finding that his room communicated
with $50, and that the man who had
1870 had gone out TO make night Of it,
Mr. Riley stepped in there and at odd
times used the bell of lS0 with great
skill, thereby irritating the manager sc
that he returned to New York on the
following day,
Holmes had none of this dry, crisI
humor, hut cared moro for a subtle anC
delicate play upon words than play
upon lecture manager or hotel pro
prietor.
Yesterday | met an old citizen Of
Hudson, Wis, who asked mo all abou
Mr.. Riley. He seemed to feel great i'll
terest in both of as, SO | asked him /
he read our books.
NO." he said. II never read mucl
after erry one of ye, but saw ye whel
Riley visited ye here at Hudson for
few weeks, and both of ye was out OF
the lawn with an umbrella apiece, an,
o plug hat, playin two old cat with
yarn ball in a pourin rain, and | says 4
myself surely Hudson is favored spot
for | never saw two such d---d fool
in one inclosure. and no charge for ad
mission.
But we were then less than 40 year
Of age. We are more serious now.
Still Riley Is different from Holmes
Once on the state fair grounds ut In
dianapolis an elderly Hoosier came n
to our manager and said:
Excuse me, but amt that littl
bench leg feller over there the Hoosie
poet?"
Yes" says Mr.. Walker, 'but h
can't hear much of anything in one ear
and the other is plum gone. On tha
side he hasn't heard his own loudes
thoughts for years II you speak TO hin
You must let your voice ont. "
So thu man with tha onnnaras haI