The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1899-07-14

universally admired. By many it
j. classed with THE Burial Of Sir
John Moore, " and Gray "Elegy. "
| am inclined 10 think that, in
chasing il with these admitted
types of pure poetry, its merits are
greatly oyer-estimated believe
that a critical examination will show
that the thought il secondhand,
the sentiment false and in several
instances the meter j. lame and the
rhetoric bad. Take several of the
stanzaS:
Tell me not IN inourniul numbers.
"Life T. but an empty dream ~
And the soul l. dcadthat slumbcr-.
And things are not what they seem.
The lat line Of this stanza, a.
every reader has doubtless expert
enced, is metrically bad. The
fault is owing to the forced empha-
sis we are compelled to place on
the unemphatic word "and. " This
is a small fault, however, in com
pari>on with the utter nonsense the
line conveys. What does it mean
l. il to the ''soul that slumbers, "
that 'things are not what they
seem. or to the one who asserts
that Life il but an empty dream?"
In either Gaze the idea is hackney
ed and common place.
Life j. real Life j. earnest
And the grave : not IL goal.
Dust thou art 10 dust returne-t.~
was not spoken Of the soul
The grave il certainly the goal Of
physic i life To say that it Is not
the goal Of spiritual life is begging
the question, and a bold platitude
besides.
Not enjoyment. ana not sorrow,
J. our destined end or way
But 10 act that each Tomorrow
Finds a. further than 10 day.
can easily see how enjoyment
may be an "end;r can conceive,
with some difficulty, | confess, how
"sorrow" may be an lend !" but !
find il utterly impossible to imagine
how either enjoyment" or 'Sor-
row. can be way
Art t. long. and time j. fceting.
And our hearts. though stout and brave
Stililikc muiiicd irlms beating
Funeral marches 10 the grave.
The thought in the first line can
certainly be traced back a. far a.
Horace and, for aught ! krow it
may be traced a great deal farther.
1t is expressed by Chaucer in The
Parliament OF Foules' much better
than ty Longiellow The lyf so
short. the craft so long te lerne. "
This line should be printed with
quotation marks. The remainder
of the stanza consists of a curIouslv
mixed metaphor. "Our hearts"
are respoken o. as courageous purposes
("stout and braveH) }, and az phys
ical OF gans ("mufiied drums -.
Inth worlds broad field Of battle.
In th. bivouac Of life,
Hc not like dumb driven cattle
BE hero n the strife
am inclined to think that this
Is the first instance onrecord Of cat
tie being on a field of battle
What purpose the poet had in put
ting them there. except to get
rhyme for battle | fail 10 see.
But the stanza is open to more
serious criticism. The sentiment is
fa,se. 1t is not true, as lntimated,
that unless we are heroes-''great,
illustrious, or extraordinary per
sons we shall be "dumb, driven
cattle. y The sentiment i worse
than false; ii is nIischievous. Ii
exciteS in young people the desire
to become prominent or central
in some remarkable ac
ton or event. The true and noble
ends of life, the performance Of ,
duty and the discovery of truth. are ,
lost sight Of; and in Their place is
substituted a feverish anxiety to at
tract attention, an unwholesome
craving for notoriety; in other '
words, young people are encouraged
BY their sentiment, and it j. the
OF the whole poem, To un-
der value real worth. and to strive i
after that thing OF gilt and tinSel-
popular applause. i
The same idea i prominent in {
.he seventh and eighth stanzas n
Lives of great men an remind u
We cai. make our lives sublime. (
And. departing leave behind us /,
Footprints on the sands Of Time.
FOOTPRINTS that perhaps another.
sailing DER life'~ solemn main.
furlon and shipw reckcd brother.
seeing. shall take heart again.
| am always reminded by these
footprints Of dear old Robinson
Crus1e, and have always found it ,
difficult to realize how any "forlorn !
and shipwrecked brother" seeing
what fril htened the old sailor, could
.stake heart again Moreover. the