The Washington times., 1901-08-11

or section of country A poet need not
blush to own that his unusual qualities
are the product of a certain phase of
civilization. and it is impossible to con-
ceive of Mr.. Coogler as having grown
anywhere but in the particular soil which
produced him. 1t is significant that @.
Ragsdale McClintock, author of The
Enemy Conquered; or, Love Triumphant
that idvl of Elfonzo and Ambulinia, to
which Mark Twain devoted so much de-
lighted attention, was a native of Sun
flower Hill, South Carolina while Mr..
Coogler dwel!s in Columbia. of the same
State. The two have many qualities in
common. 1t must be confessed-with re-
gret, perhaps. but still confe ssed-that
this latest collection of lyrics does not ap-
peal to one with quite the force of the
earlier volumes. There seems to be some
thing lacking. The best, perhaps, is this:
TOAST TO CTAUNCEY DEPEw.
Here's to the who loves his God,
And loves his country, too,
Who never faters at his work,
And knows Just what to do.
The man of years with snowy locks
still wet with summers dew
Here's 20 the honorable man of wit,
Chauncey NJ Depew.
original cadence of some of the author s
earlier poems 1t might truly be said of
his metres that the sound fits the sense.
as in the famous passage from Virgil, de-
scriptive of the salloping hoofs of horses
"ouadrupeedante putrem, sonitu
quatit ungula campum.
One can almost hear the feet gallop in
their mad career through some of the
lines of Mr.. Coogler.
1t may be that, like Tennysoh and other
poets of worldwide fame, Mr.. Coog.er
has come to that stage in his career where
he should abandon the lyric for some
more ambitious form of work A Coog-
lerian epic would be worth considerable
study. Columbia S. c.: ]. Gordon Coog-
lerl
The Frigate Constitution" by Ira N
Hollis. is a detailed history of this IA
nous old battleship, written in pic
turosque and interesting style. The au-
thor rightly says that her history is his
tory of the navy during its most critical
period. The book is copiously illustrated
with pictures of old-time sailing ships
and portraits of the officers connected
with the Constitution during her eventful
career. Mr.. Hollis draws a curious par
allel between the Constitution and the
Monitor. pointing out that both were in a
sense forlorn hopes, both left harbor just
before change of orders arrived and
both achieved great and unexpected vic
tories. The effect of the destruction of
the Guerrero is thus described:
In order to comprehend the exulta-
tion over this victory it is necessary
only to consider the state of the coun-
ment of the port from which the Con-
stitution had sailed. The summer of
~ had presented gloomy outlook.
Incompetence reigned on land and
the campaign against upper Canada
had proved an utter failure General
Hulfs surrender on land occurred only
few days before Captain Hulls
triumph on the sea. Nothing was ex-
pectod Of the navy Many merchant
ships were shut up in Boston and
trade was dead The open talk OF
secession and the dismal prediction of
disaster served only to Intensity the
gloom. The appearance of the Consti-
tuition was like a bright CLEAN in the
darkness. We were rot absolutely
impotent after all. even against the
greatest sea power of the world and
ship for ship, we had nothing to fear
The charm was broken. Here was
something over which all sections alike
could rejoice. in which all parties
could unite, and which belonged to the
country as whole. II IS small won
der that some people seemed to have
gone mad.
Captain Huh and his officers were
received with open arms. A dinner in
their honor was given at Faneuil Hall
on September 5. They were marched
up State Street in procession with
many OF Boston's leading citizens of
both Political parties. and thousands
lined the sidewalk to see them. The
repast was what the Palladium called
an excelleL' dinner 1t must have
toasts were drunk From these the
following have been selected as an
evidence of the turn given to public
opinion:
y" The American Nationally dan
ger from abroad ensure union at
home
"'Our Infant Navy.-we must nur-
ture the young Hercules in his cradle
II we mean to profit by the labors of
=" The Victory We Celebrate.-An
invaluable proof that we are able TO
defend our rights on the ocean
No Entangling Aliances.-We
have suffered the injuries and insults
of despotism with patience. but its
friendship Is more than We can bear
THE surprise and gloom produced in
England over the disaster to their
arms was equalcd only by the in
ability to 'zplain ii. One English
newspaper reached this conclusion:
FROM II the theory may DE- GIlNu
that a contest with the Americans is
more worthy of our arms than We at
first sight imagined The London
Times added: 1T is not merely that
an English frigate has been taken
after what we are free to confess may
be called a brave resistance, but that
It has been taken by new enemy-an
enemy unaccustomed to such triumphs
and likely to be rendered confident by
them. He must be a weak politician
who does not see how important the
first triumph is in giving tone and
character to the, war. When other
victories followed the despair of the
British nation over the loss of few
ships was pitiful. They simply could
not understand that they were fighting
against people OF the same blood and
sea traditions, who had acquired ex-
traordinary readiness and resource by
nearly two centuries Of warfare
against the wilderness Their news
papers and even their naval historian
James. could not find words vile
enough to describe us. and reference to
our frigates as manned by a handful
of bastards and outlaws seemed to ex-
press their measure of contempt
But little space is naturally devoted TO
the career of "Old Ironsides" after the
close of the war of 1872. and her active
period of service. One fails to see why
MT. Hollis should declare her last work,
that of suppressing the slave trade, IAN
inglorious task" 1t may have been a
fight against inglorious antagonists, but
there was certainly nothing particularly
ignoble In the business itself. Boston:
Houghton, Mifin & Co. sl.5O)
General Meade" by Isaac r. Penny
packer, is the latest volume in, the Great
Commanders series. 1t is illustrated
with maps, and particular attention is
devoted, of course. TO the military ele-
ment in the biography. The details of
Meade's campaigns are carefully explain
ed and recorded, AID comparatively little
attention is given to his personal history
and character. The general tone of the