Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-08-12
Have We a Poet Among Us?


such pcrsi>tency aS now. The bril-
liant achievement Of Admiral Dewey
at Manila was an inspiration which
developed incipient symptoms of the
divine craze all over the land, to which
the opportunity for plays upon the
name Of the gallant commander al
fordcd Il wide scope for witticism a.
well as sublimitv of thought and mel
ody OF meter
That We have 4 vcritablc case Of this
phase OF cacoethfs scribcndi, is appar
cnt from the poem entitled "Unclc
Sans Great Mis>ion," which appears
on the fourth page of this issue OF the
STANDARD. 1t is given for what it is
worth, and there surely is no wanting
in length Tor Il broad base upon which
to rear 4 popular judgment.
1t is not the intention to review the
production, as the writer of these COM
ments does not assume to he literary
critic, especially while dealing with
the labors of those who persist in
mounting Pegasus whenever they
commune with common mortals Far
he it from the writer to disparagc the
attempt of budding genius, or to cast
a straw in the way of lofty aspirations.
But it will be remembered that as
great poet as Byron was lampooncd
by the Scotch reviewers, and it was
probably owing to their uncharitablc
strictures-made it will be noted in
quite different spirit from these
COMMENSURATE the chrysalis which
environcd genius was burst asunder
and the butterfly of poesy Immediately
found wings and scared aloft in ma
jestic song! The people must Judge
of the merits of the achievement; we
having done our full duty in present
ing the result in most extended form.
1t may be noted, however, that one
special requisite OF classic verse is not
wanting in the poem under considera-
tion-that delightful uncertainty Of
meaning which prods the intellect on
to make some effort at comprehension.
Were Shakespeare clearer to the casual
reader, the writings of the great poet,
it is safe to say, would lose half their
charm. The mind delights to revel in
the realms of mystery, where the
senses are beguiled and soothed as it
were into comatose condition by the
lethargic spell of smooth.moving meas
ure and the delightful recurrence of
musical rhythm. The vague indefi-
niteness, the charming uncertainty,
this appeal to imagination, as it were,
is shown in the fourth verse, which !
for convenience we quote:
Spain has tried to win fame,
Close by our nations shore;
But this we know she cannot do
For eight or nine years more.
Just when Spain tried to win any
thing more than infamy is one of these
unexplained adjuncts of the poem, and
the probabilities that are suggested
after the lapse of very short space OF
time open up long, dim vista of pos
sibilities.
The pathos OF the following stanza
we fear is somewhat marred by the
antithesis of this proposition. def
niteness that might just as well, in our
judgment, have been omitted.
The poet says:
The Maine, she was monster
That lay with starbOard side
Towards the starving Cubans-
At nine o'clock she died.
Now what effect the starboard side"
Of the monster" had upon " the starv-
ing Cubans," is likewise left to conjec-
ture; and if we were qualified to ex-
press an opinion, we might suggest
that the line
At nine o'clock she died"
is rather tame expression to employ
when describing the appalling force of
several hundred pounds OF gun-cotton.
The old expression, GA gentleman
and scholar" will gain new force
from the statement that a collegiate
course and the reputation of being "a
scholar good and fair" is a necessary
qualification for striking back at an
insulting foe, as note the following:
Uncle Sans a collegiate,
A scholar good and fair;
And on April. twenty second day,
war he did declare.
Exception must, however, be taken,
even though poets have license to
change history to suit themselves, to
the statement that Dewey " footed his
own horn," as is plainly implied in the
following verse:
Soon after this message came
From Dewey far away;
He told US of his victory,
While at Manila Bay.
Now the fact is that Dewey cut the
cable, to keep from telling what he
had done, and it was only after days of
delay that others told of his gallant
conduct and placed upon his brow the
laurels of victory. We feel that we
must insist that the facts he not per-
verted in this instance.
But limited space admonishes us
that we cannot pick all the plums
from this delicious pudding and hold
them up for public delectation, no
matter what pleasure might be found
in the task. We cannot close, how