The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-02-16
THE POET OF THE SIERRAS
JOAQUIN MILLER CAPTIvATES AN
INDIANAPOLIS AUDIENCE.
james whitcomb RiIey's Characteris-
tie Introduction Of the Man with
the Leonine Beard.

There was mingled interest and curiosity
in the appearance of Joaquin Miller at Ply
mouth Church last evening. This Poet of
the Sierras as he is termed has long been
known TO the literary world. but no matter
how well his writings known. per-
sonal. word-of-mouth encounter was much
desired. and il was that for half an
hour before the lecture n line of men and
women waiting to buy tickets stood from
the ticket window 10 the street and the
wide vestibule was filled. Mr.. James Whit
comb Riley preceded Mr.. Miller to the plat
form and after brief moment TO look over
the audience. Mr.. Riley arose and intro
duced the lecturer in these words:
Enthusiastic love and pride for ones
own country is. of course. natural to the
citizen Of any nation, whether he be happily
home dweller or unhappily an alien. But
OF all natlonalities, there seems 10 be
little warmer love and little higher pride
I'm our feelings for this lovely land of ours
America. 1t may be that this excess of
love and pride is occasioned by our coun-
tryS comparative yOuthfuness. Our yet
young years may not have quite freed us
from the over-sentimental and susceptible
characteristics peculiar TO the callow age.
Small matter If indeed our love and glory be
A fault since we are only conscious OF II as
a blessing. With reverential joy, therefore,
we yield ourselves to this most fervid spirit
or home-love and loyalty. Since the mother
country gave us up as incorrigiblc and we
were made TO depend upon our own re-
sources. we have likewise been largely
forced TO depend upon our own apprecia-
patriots, we impetuously love and glorify
our country-all it's home-wrought laws and
institutions. all its heroic founders and pre-
servers of the past, all ITS vast peoples and
wise leaders of the golden age of Now.
'Steadfastiy, too. with our growth phys
zeal. We feel that we have been growing in
y-spiritually-ideally. on this
new soil immortals have been bred-great
rulers, statesmen, orators; great teachers.
nni nd
great sculptors; great romancers and poets
not many OF these latter, but
a sacred few. LongfellOws voice will lead
the chorus worshipfuliy. nobly. grandiy;
and then. in easy call of his inspiring ut
terance. the bugle-rnging note of the truest
American voice that has yet thrilled the
echoes of our wild. free land, and wakened.
too. the admiration and acclaim of the old
world-the voice of the native singer, all
untaught of schools. who dared sing he
felt and in the dazzling fire of whose song
the sneering critics light went sputtering
out like wet match.
We'll! who shall lay hand on my harp
but me-
Or shall chide my song from the sounding
The passionate sun and resolute sea,
These were masters, and only these.
These were my masters. and only these;
And these from the first 1 obeyed, and
they
Shall command me now, and 1 shall obey
As a dutiful child that is proud TO please
NO marvel that our country is proud of
this proud child of hers-this restless, wan
dering child of hers. who in all lands has
sung her dawning glory and his own
changelesS loyalty to her. This singer, out
of the wilderness. with rupt face set
hailed and welcomed Their at kindred
hands and hearts of William Morris. Brown
Ing. the Rossettis. Ruskin Carlyle, George
Eliot and the master-ma ster. Alfred Ten
nyson.-The old worlds welcome To the new
worlds seer and his melodious message.
With all the worlds pride in him, even
i'm him here to-day in Indiana, his native
State. as 1t is yours and mine? Our proud
est halest greeting at this homecoming o.
our fellow-citizen, Joaquin Miller.
Mr.. Miller was warmly greeted 1t was
a simple and gentle gospel which this dis
ciple of the mountain peaks delivered to
his class of students. There were men and
women before him noted in letters and law
and they were all children in the lessons
not in books which he gave them. The
teacher of teachers taught only of the lilies
of the field. and the lessons are as fresh
to-day as they were then. Mr.. Miller said
Il was an old teacher, my father
before me at Liberty" and when he said
Liberty he meant the little station not so
many miles from the Hooser capital. Mr..
Miller has class "of little brown men out
where the goes down." students who
are natives of Japan, and four of them
fought in the recent Japanese-Chine
war One OF his students is noted as a poet
The lessons not in books which he gave
last night are the ones which he gives TO
these little brown men. The first lesson is
requirement OF silence. land | have some
women in the class" said he. I'VE throw
away our time like princes: we talk too
much: life is short and talk is long, con-
slider how much we save by silence. We
have some teachers and Gill have some liz
erature when we put aside our great lum-
bering English" He advocates the use of
only short words OF one syllable baby
Saxon words. There are 7000 different
words in the Bible. From these few the
speaker mentioned the growth of diction-
cries until the latest, which has 100000. He
feared the people would be drowned as
were the Japanese I'm their book of a half
million words. Mr. Miller quoted some lines