The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-12
Books and Authors
SUNG BY THE DEAD

SUNG By THE DEAD
The coronation ode,s written by Rev. L.
MacLean Watt, a aclergyman Of the Church of
Scotland lPresbyterian), which received the
first prize offered by Good. Words for the best
ode on the coronation of Edward VII, Is GER
tainly, from purely poetic standpoint, a very
admirable and impressive piece OF literary
work. 1t shows more of the communion with
the unseen realities than the ode of Bliss
Carman, who competed also for the first prize.
AS a coronation ode, however, it Is rather too
weird and eerie and funereal for an occasion
jubilant and hopeful in It's very nature. Mr.
Watt brings from all seas and lands the souls
Of Britadn's dead defenders In most effective
way.
The windows are silent all, and dSdarkened; the
And the dying starlight fickers, dimly wan.
But know that the town is full OF the;
shadows OF marching men,
Though never trace of their passing shall
wait the dawn,
And never on earth, except In dream, shall
their faces gleam again
Then these ghostly marchers. pressing on
s..to the beat of phantom drum, /" proclaim
their purpose to attend the coronation:
- We have burst our prison,
For kings to be hailed halle, an and r,san crowned
To gather, and guard him round
For a kings to be crowned in the minister
And the bravest should be there.
Then the phantom drums beat loudly as the
ghostly marchers declare their sacrifices for
England, God and flag.
Thin red lines OF pulsing lives were the
-7sss. thread of it,
Pulsing lives that bIed away for its sake be-
meath the spread Of 1t, sss-sTz
Till the wide sea knew 1t,
And the winds of the wide world blew II,
And sthe host Of England followed the flag
till earth trembled under the tread Of it
The death OF Queen Victoria is the theme of
several stanzas by the ghostly marchers. and
the invocation to the king is near. the end.
emphasized thus: s5.ss9
Lone isles, isles beloved. crowned with the
~ prayers Of the free, sr
Throned on the waters. backed by the noun
tains gazing over the sea.
Ye for whose sake E.Es.-7 Aur-.
Brave spirits brake,
For whom our fathers fell
In stranger climes, -
In danger times, -
Or where deep-sea billows swell. -
Lone rocks at whose feet
The wan tides meet, a..te. Ss4.E5
And the surges break and sing, -
Stand firm as Of yore,
For the race ye bore,
And the man ye have crowned as king.
l. =
The prayers of the dead have bound you.
T. And wherever the lone seas beat and cry
From the shores OF the werld your sons are
| ready
TO come at your call, and, calm and steady
I)lf need be, die.
In the Watt ode the living 7ares practically
excluded. The conception of calling MP the
\ hosts Of the dead to gather at the coronation
to bring all the patriotic influences, and i'm
pulses OF the ages to bear upon the king at
! the minister is impressive, and the Celtic i'm
| agination easily works into the cadence the
weirdest OF details and readily hears:
r. the throb of a Thousand marching feet,
i And ever, as they come,
The fs:nt, dull, guiding pulse Of distant
NEW BOOKS
Told by the Deaths Head. By Maurus
X Jokai. Translated by S. 3. Boxes: Illus
/ { trated Akron, Ohio: The Saalfeld Pub
Il fishing Company. Price IL.
A weird and dreadful tale in some respects.
yet a tale brimning with adventure and ro-
Emantic incidents, the alleged story told by the
skull OF Hugo Won Haherntk, found enclosed
in a metal casket swinging from an iron bar
in the foundry of Ehrenbreitsen fortress OF
Cotlenz, when the Germans were hotIy be-
sieged by the French in 1888 Hugo was tried
,ttfor treason, as it was discovered that he was
Gpots'r his mortars threw into the French ean4p
land receiving silver thalers in bombs thrown
lby the French Hugo was found guilty con-
demned and executed. In his story, related
Eby his skull, he shows that he was not alto
gether responsible for the crimes he had
Icommitted as what he called his "blood COM
Trade had occupied his body when he was
manipulating the fire pots reasonably In the
fortress. Sometimes he got into the blood
comrade's'' body, and vice versa The story
lis necessarily full of curious situations, and
lit is one of Jokai's best.
The French Revolutions. By Thomas
+ Carlyle. Complete In One Volume. New
York: The Federal Book company.
The publishers Of the '.LuDton'' series OF
STANDARD literature are providing the public
with excellent reading in fiction, history, poe
l:try and art in rnaroon cloth. gilt top, limo
volumes and fair letter press eaI so cents a
8. volume Caryle's French Revolution" to
j. be sure is not the best. history of that bloody
and tumultuary event. for 1t is not as accurate
!. as history should be and Is not relied upon
las trustworthy book of reference. His
E"Frederick the Great" is prolonged adula-
J; |tion of brute force and defense of tyrant.
1.-The French Revolution is full Of descrip-
: tions replete with Gar1ylean robustness and
verbal glgantesqueness, and there is huInor
. |enough in 1T to make a lNtobe change from
Etears to smiles. 80
An Analytical Key to Some of the
/ Common FlOsyering Plants of the
Rocky Mountain Region. By Aven
Nelson, professor of botany in the Uni
i versity OF Wyoming. New York; D. Ap-
3pleton & Co. 3El.
The author of this volume intends this work
as an Introduction to the study Of the botany
of the Rocky mountain region. TO prepare the
: student for the better use Of a manual II
! includes only the commoner species. There
!. Eare 5000 species Of indigenous Towering
! plants in the region indicated. Of which only
9 "a few hundred are included, which the author
!, thinks will prove useful in the region from
s Montana to Mexico at least The descriptions
are brief, but appear to embody all essential
Information. --Se,.S
THE MAGAZINES
e Municipal Journal and Engineer shows
L photographically how Washington is to be
81 made .tThe City Beautiful" under the pres
E emit plans, which are detailed. Students OF
q public ownership will be interested In Mr..
L Barnes account of the successful working
!, of the light and power departments oi
sEHealdsbiIrg Cal, where power Is transmit