New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-15
IN FIELDS AND GARDENS.

rhora is one division in Mr.. Ernest McGa1Iey
volume of Poems" Dodd. Mead & Coz 70 whlch
be gives the title of my Chapter ana III ""ien
ne tact,y asserts that he. too. has had his emo
t,onal crises; that for him. also. there are
thoughts that lie beyond the near hoii~o" "a
familiar things Nevertheless. those tno"e"''
have not moved him to write his most charac-
teristic verse. The mood OF the latter IS ','e
,,,ooa If q ouatrain in my Chapter" wherein
Mr. McGaffey observes that. he disdains 'ile
mower of woman If he can but have the "oous
GA ee,ds for himself a gun over his shoulder
gray marsh-wastes and burning sun. Inc
sentiment Is trite and Mr.. McGaffey has not EN-
nod,ad n in verse good enough to do himse1 JUS
t,ca but the citation of its point Is expeoleh'
because IL directs attention to the point OF view
held by many versifers. They sing OF love anu
fate now and then. but they are ottehes' oo"'O
at the feet Of the sylvan goddess ehuie'"'
ber annanaces of floral beauty. painting-as well
&C .bev can-her portrait. II Mr.. McGaney Is
~. ca cour,lv so flattering, some or MS EEL
low-worshippers, 1t Is because ne mas eo"s"'
much of his inspiration in the west "herc 'he
,,rairies are filled with things in stern contrast
n the roses and daffods OF moro iuxuriouS
,ords His local color is. in the long run. his
.,.o,oost ouaIitv He is interesting: his pages
are turned with respect and sympathy. because
80 oon ur,te verses like the following California
Idyl":
A road-runner lodged in the chaparral
Asa coin will slip from the hand OF wizaro'
A black wasp droned by his sun-pakeu ceii
While fiat on the stone lay a Nlle-ereeh ii@"i ~
And wolf In the rift of sycamore
Sat gray as a monk at the mission uooi'
A soeehen scratched mong the cactus spike.
And high in the sky was the noon sun
glamour, -, .,..
While steady as ever rose anv-strike
Came the rat-tat-tat of a yellow hammer
And shy quail lowered his crested head
To the dust-lned sweep OF dry creek . oeu'
And ont of the earth tarantua crept,
On his hairy legs to the roads white leVei'
with ewes where demons malice slept
IVA The eeneral air of an unclaimed devil.
while a rattlesnake by the dusty iran
Law coiled in mat OF mottleo Scale
Then the gray wolf sprang on the sagehen mere
And the lizard snapped at the wasp ana caught
While the spider fed to his sheltering lair
AS though shadowy foeman sought MN;
And the road-runner slipped from the ""'''Oe
..iArd struck his beak through the rattlesnake
Th,. Is not pretty, but the observation which it
.,,ers e true and the pictorial faculty which 1t
illustrates is admirably controlled. The gifts
which Mr.. McGaffey spends in the delineatlon OF
The West are placed by Miss Ztela Cooke at the
serv,ce OF the South In the best poem OF her htte
hook entitled "A Dorc Reed copeland q Da!''
She has written in her Sunrise In an Aiapa"ia
Canebrake" some descriptive lines OF remarkaoe
warmth and grace. Possibly they seem 100 opu-
lent in color as the chant proceeds, out py '"e
time the last line Is reached there is sucn sense
Of veritable nature conveyed to the reader tnat
all objection to the poets rhetoric vanishes Al
cor oil she is singing q Southern scene and she
hos warrant for her vivid tones. She adds to
har truth moreover so delicate feeling, an
erdor so winning, that her picture OF the sunrise
a. s,ud,ed with a sensation bordering on delight
Miss Cooke employs florid scheme OF color Wheh
IT Is required, but she knows when 10 WORK VIII"
restraint There are one or two tribes OF ahecoote
IN this collection, when Polly Takes the AIT
"Nancy's Way" and Miss Nancys Gown
These are all cleverly drawn vignettes. sprlghtiy
smooth and touched with neat vein OF humor.
II Dr. Richard Burton had more humor IMAM ne
exhibits in his Dumb In June (Copelaho G
Day). a booklet printed In the same series Win
"A Doric Reed" he might awaken more sym
pathy than he really secures. He does not seem
70 realize when he is talking platitudes, as In
Masks" or when he is merely trivial ana oui III
his effort to be blithe and airy. in Across the
Fields TO Anne" There is no reason why Snakes
neare should not be imagined as he is imagined
in the latter verse but DR.. Burton Is not the man
N do Il He is moi, def enough graceful enough
for the task Dealing with nature. however, ne Is
occasionally spontaneous and persuasive Wood
witcherv'' does not suggest the divination which
its author would fain exert. but 1t is well-turned
verse and when, from time to time DR.. Burton
rises to its moderate height, he gives moments
pleasure.
II.