St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-03-21
From our regular correspondent


t TIE Porto Rican Bill.
From our regular correspondent.)
' A large concourse of people assen
j bled at the Lafayette Opera hou:
! upon Friday afternoon, March 16tl
: under the auspices of the Longfelloy
f Memorial Association. Presiden
Mckinley and other distinguishe
guests were present. DR.. Mackay
Smith, who presided, said that thi
meeting and occasion commanded
the approval of every class of citizen
ship, to commemorate the achieve
ments of American literature anC
render homage to him who was on
of its noblest representatives, anc
perhaps the most popular and best
beloved poet, Henry W. Longfellow
A band of Carlisle Indians. who ex
pect to visit the Paris Exposition
furnished the music. Titkala, or
Red-bird, a Dakota Indian girl,
dressed in costume, recited an extract
from, "The Famine" Miss Long.
fellow, the daughter of the poet, was
present. Senator Depew, who made
the principal address, said that this
city, the home of the national capt.
toll, should be the center of national
life; no better representative of the
younger literature of our country
could be found, he thought, than
Longfellow. One thought impressed
him in seeing the bust of the poet in
Westminster Abbey, was that what
ever may be the difference between
the various nationalities in which
the English-speaking races are d.
vided, in the upper ether of the mind,
we are all of one blood, OF one race,
of one aspiration, and the aspirations
of the English-speaking nations are
the best hope of civilization and HUI
mainly" Longfellow was a poet of
the home. Milton's Paradise Lost"
is called the greatest of English
poems, but many fail to
understand it. There are many So
cieties formed to study Browning in
this country, and they sent the poet
essays revealing things in his poems
that he never dreamed of; that was
chiefly true in Chicago; but all, old
and young, understand Longfellow.
Rear Admiral Stewart felt that such
statue would be eminently appro-
pirate for the man whose sweet
thoughts were woven into poetry,
beautiful and inspiring, and it would
afford a public recognition of genius
and OF scholarship. Secretary Long
:losed with beautifuland eloquent
ribute to his memory and endorsed
he movement. He said, wherever
loving heart beats, wherever a
wanders, wherever family
ircle gathers about the Preside, the
grateful tribute of a common senti-
nent responds to his memory and to
lis living verse;" Subscriptions were
allied for and Congress has been
'sked to appropriate a site for the
tatue.
General Joe Wheeler of Ala
,ama has returned from the Philip.
lines, and now wishes to return
o Congress. He thinks the
var is over, only ambuscades are
requent and dangerous, but he re-
'orts the soldiers as doing fine work
md they are healthy and strong as
ould be expected, for the officers take
xcellent care of the soldiers.
The offer of our government to do
in the interests of peace be-
ween England and the Beers has
'een politely declined. Montague
White, who represents the Transvaal
government, has been in this country
ONE little time, trying to create
ointment for and in favor of the
3oers. He was advertised to speak
,efore the National Geographic So
iety Friday night. He explained
hat the Washington newspapers
lad mixed up his statements and
wrongly reported him as criticizing
President Mckinley and the methods
If the administration, in his talks in
1arious cities in New York state.
This led people here to feel that it
vas very poor policy for him to come
'ver here and mix up in American
He said he was not pre-.
pared to give regularlectur neither
lad he any stereopticon views to
show which was quite a disappoint-
nent to the audience. He reminded