The age-herald., 1897-09-28
BY MRS. GEORGE c. BALL
'W W'

idyllic or elegiac in ther nature, often have 8 hand fight before they win the worlds dull ear When, however, poems appeal simply and directly to the hero.c side of man, and are at the same time alive with the true essence of poetry, and possess also the spirit of humor, they are almost certain to achieve quick success. Of course, poems possessed or these qualities are rare, but when they exist they are invircfble. But the Pike County Ballads do possess these quail ties, and therefore, Jim Bludso,' the man who died for men, and Little Brooches are known wherever the Eng fish language is spoken. The poem call- ed 'Banty Tim is fer some reason less we'll known, though in our opinion 1t is both one of the most humorous and the most heroic of Col. Hays ballads" After quoting several stanzas from "Banty Tfm," and commenting on it as "a poem which goes straight to the heart" the Spectator continues:
 From purely literary point of visw the Pike County Ballads are extreme y interesting. They are the seed from which many flowers have sprung. Bret Harte, following Lowell used the dialect poem, and with notable success, but not fer heroic themes. Tine Heather Chi nee is pure comedy. Col. Hay was a,- most the first poet of modern times to use it with other than a humorous in- 
 grown and prospersd greatly. 'Gunga Din and many other notable barrack- room ballard has followed Tilmon Joys accounE of the struggle at Nicksburg. | We do not of course, mean that MT. Kipling has in any sense been an imita- | tor, but the mixture of the heroic and | the humorous in dialect verse was first successfully achieved by Col John Hay. He first showed the poets what a greet opportunity lay open to them.' Tgha Sport a a ao1Ia1lU kind yya1s1C for "Castilrian Days" saying, among other things:
 ''Tha book has a quality of humor which it Is difficult ito analyze or de- l scribe, but which is quite delightful. | There is no straining after the comic, no elaborate attempt to be funny or sly CT clever, but through the book runs a. SO. t | of ripple of shrewd, and vet good-tem- pered, criticism of things spanish which 1 is most pleasant. There is a gool deal l which reminds us of the best French writing in these touch-andgo pictures of | Spain especially in their gai.ty and lightnass of treatment But beyond th.s l there a purely English qual.ty. a quality which has many subdivisions, | but which, not being an analytical race, we are content to class generally as hu- mor."
 A very pathetic story is sent out from Washington, D. C., regarding the meet ing a few days ago of ex-Govs rnor Will liam Sprague, of Rhode Island, and two of his daughters, from whom he has been separated for eighteen years. Ever since the divorce was granted, which annulled Governor SpHague's marriage to the celebrated beauty and wit. Mrs Kate Chase Sprague, his three daugh- ters, Bthe1, Kitty and Portia have been the constant companions of their moth- CT There has bean no intercourse be- | tween Governor Sprague ard his daugh- | ters. and they were reared to think of him as a cruel husband, and heartless 1 father Now, that the youngest child. l Portia, is 20 ysars of age, and is sup | porting herself in one of the depart | ments aa Washington, she decided to
 know something of hsr father regard
 less of her mothers opposition With
 this end in view Portia wrote Governor | Spragua, imploring him to meet her at | Washington, and telling him of her
 longing to know him. The touching ap- peal had the desired effect. Governor | Sprague, who still resides al. his famous | Narraganseitt Pier home.-Canonoilet-
 immediately went to Washington, whsre
 Kitty and Portia both eagerly awaited | him. It was several minutes before
 Rhode Islands War Governor could i control himself sufficiently to speak to {! his daughters, whom he had not seen l sinca they were wee, toddling children. This touching interview has been kept profound secret from Mrs. Kate Chase 1 Sprague, whose indignation and chagrn can readily be imagined. especially when i it is learned that Governor Spragu. had | the temerity Ito introduce his daughters | to the second Mrs Sprague. There is
 bans possibility that Kitty and Portia
 Sprague may accompany the.r father
 to Europe during the autumn Can
 onchet Is now offsred for sale, and it is
 reported that the second Mrs. Sprague
 who is an accomplished vocalist-wiil
 appear in the opera Aida this winter,
 at Milan, Italy. Governor Sprague
 seems to have had peculiar genius for
 marrying unsettled, and unsettling
 wives.
 That beautiful American woman
 Madame BaIrios, whose husband has
 been Dictator of Guatemala for several
 years, is now in imminent danger of be-
 ing murdered by the insurgents who
 have rebelled against her husbands au-
 thorfty. Her home is constantly guard
 ed by hundreds of soldiers. Madame
 Bardos was one of the beautiful bellss
 of New Orleans previous to her xsarr.-