The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-05

great and varied poetic power. These bal
lads give vivid pictures of the life of the
soldier. East and West tells how a
brave Anglo-Saxon and a brave native
mountaineer respect each others courage
and is almost as fine as SCOTS Combat
of Fitz James and Rhoderick Dhu"
The volume of Kipling's poems contains
also some of the best sea songs ever writ
ten. They have the true sailor ring and
they fire the blood of any one who can
follow their nautical phraseology. In the
ballad of the Bolivar the sailors sing
how
Overloaded, undermined meant to
founder, we
Euchred God Almighty's storm and bluff
ed the eternal sea-"
And I know of no expression of the
longing for the sea that comes over the
heart of sailor after he has been too
long ashore more powerful than the poem
in which the mariner says:
''The days are sick and cold and the skies
are gray and old,
And the twice-breathed airs grow damp.
And I'd sell my tired soul for the buck
ing, beaming sea roll
OF a black Bilbao tramp
Can you hear the crash on her bows,
And the drum of the racing screw. -
las she ships it green on the old trail,
AS she lifts and sinks on the long trail,
the trail that is always new?
"Oh, the blazing tropic night, when the
wakes well of light
That holds the hot sky tame
And the steady forefoot SHORES through the
planet powdered floors
Where the scared whale flukeS in flame:
Yes, the old lost stars wheel back.
That blaze in the velvet blue,
They're all old friends on the old trail.
They're Gods own guides on the long
trail, the trail that is always new"
With this longing for the sea by the
sailor I class the picture of the Eng
lishman's inconsistencies amid the ever
lasting glare of the tropie sky and the
luxuriance of tropic vegetation for the
dull skies and stern landscape of his ma
tive land.
The English nation as a nation takes life
seriously and is grave and God-fearing,
and some of Mr.. Kipling's knsfolk have
been distinguished above their neighbors
for the depth and fervor Of their piety
That his own religious feelings were
strong and vital is evident from that SOL
emn admonition to his country and that
devout prayer TO Almighty God-"The Re-
cessional."
He is not easy reading. One needs to
have a fund of miscellaneous knowledge
and an acquaintance with the places and
classes he describes to enjoy him 90 the
full. He is too audacious and irreverent
for delicate nerves. He has few subdued
tints and soothing effects. The stirring
life of adventurous men is his general
theme and he will be enjoyed by those who
shake their sides over Jack Falstaff and
Don Quixote. He is not milk for babies
but soldiers beef seasoned with a good
deal of garlic. When your soul Graves a
strong meal and you want to know the
life of camps and their reckless tenants:
when you want to realize what India
means; when you want to go not only TO
a new world geographically but to n
world of new ideas and sensations, steep
yourself for week in Kiplng. Looking
at his extraordinary versatility and power.
il is natural to attempt some conjecture
as to its origin. Is il the union of the
temperate and the torrid zones-the mix
ture of English and Indian traits? Do the
bold metaphorical language, the strong
plots and vivid personalities of these
stories come from familiarity with the
grandest and most beautiful scenes in ma.
ture, from the towering. snow-clad Hima-
layas and the fertile plains of Bengal?
Charles William Pearson.
Northwestern University, Evanston, III.