Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-02-20


footed queen"
lin the vault Of Heaven
Moves with peaceful motion"
ali assuring. Lieutenant j. G.. Sobral,
naval attache of the Spanish legation,
settled the matter. He spake. and all
war clouds vanished like mist before a
MONDAY sun.
No. there will not be war. Timld wo-
men and children may retire at night
absolutely confident that they will not be
rudely awakened in the morning by the
noise of the booming of great guns borne
on the wings Of the sea breezes. Wives
whose husbands have not passed over 10
the shady side of the militia muster line
may continue to keep their tears OF part
ing in reservoir Mothers who have sons
old enough to conquer or be crippled
for their country. and maidens who have
pre-empted the affections OF young
men may follow suit. Only spectators
who have made corners on pocket hand
kerchiefs and proprietors of scalded nose
lotions need prepare to weep.
The United States might take the
I4dnNtS vi bniobihS NhN DA'hAoH tASN
tail, on tweaking the Russian bears pro-
boscis, ON plucking a feather from the
double-headed eagle of Austria-Hun-
gary, on ruffiing further the already
much tousled plumage of the single
headed bird Of Germany, or on chipping
the battle-axe of France. There might be
something left of us after a scrape with
one Of these Powers. In challenging con-
illusions with any one of them, we might
be justified by the declaration
Thou know'st, great son,
The end of wars uncertain"
But fool with chessman of Spain.
Neverl That would be madness. Should
we have the temerity to provoke HOSTILE
ties with that country, there could be no
uncertainty about the end. Lieutenant
Sobral, who knows more than any other
man on the face of this green earth-and
that S. what caused the disaster to
the Maine-is satisfied that In the event
of war between this country and Spain
he would be given command of a Spanish
ship. knowledge is power" and power
is commensurate with knowledge. By that
token, Lieutenant Sobral, even were his
ship no larger than a Chesapeake oyster
pungy, would have power to annihi-
late us. Need more be said in sup
port of our contention that there'll be
no war?
Lieutenant Sobral, when last heard
from, did not want war, and, of course,
this will be great relief to the country.
But it would be a greater relief to the
country were he out Of it, Some lingo
might rub him up the wrong way, and
who knows that his ''trenchant blade,
Toledo trusty," which,
For want Of fighting was grown rusty,
And ate into itself for lack
OF somebody to hew and hack"
would not spring from its scabbard?
Think OF the appalling consequences, ye
foolish Americans, and when the Lieu
tenant is around whisper anything you
have to say against Spain soft and low"
t- ---------------------
A book has appeared in Paris in which
the author. it is said, attempts. in seri-
Gus fashion, to explain what the School
of Symbolists and Decadents aimed to
do and how they went TO work to do it.
The Nation tells us that the book is in
teresting, but prefaces that declaration
with the pleasing intelligence that the
Symbolsts and the Decadents are pass
ing. Many Of them, says the Nation,
can no longer excite the enthusiasm they
once awoke in tender hearts and not
overstrong brains. Verlaine himself, the
Nation adds, is not enjoying quite such
a reputation as was manufactured for
him, and it may well be that he in turn
will pass out of sight like many another
better and purer poet. He will leave some
lines to be quoted in anthologies. as one
quotes Villon, but 1t is possible that this
will prove the limit Of his fame. And
of the other less notorious writer's who
at one time attracted so much attention,
what shall remain? What Of Maeter-
linck? OF Moreas2 OF Mallarme? These
have striven after and occasionally at
tanned new and quaint combinations Of
verse or words or letters. but they have
not renovated poesy and they have not
displaced the ancient idols. They have
often been absurd, usually uninteligible.
More absurd than most of the produc-
lions Of the Symbolists and Decadents,
are the claims of their devotees that they
understand these productions. If the
author of the book noticed in the Nation
has really given plans and specifications
Of what the school has been driving at,
his work will doubtless prove a revelation
to the school itself.