The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-01-03


saw him thrown from the even balance F
which he habfcuaIIE nnaiutatned-
The summer preceding Afr. Ingalls,
election 70 the senate was warm "a more
senses shan one. The liberal Fsepub- ]
1feau movement. headed by Horace
Greeley was On taking from Us many OF
ths old war hcrse6s Of the parts. I=av-
Irg big scars in the ranks, Wl.icl sadly +
worried our leaders Fresh fraui Wis
cousin I BECAME 2 delegate q tie greas
Law Cnce convention of 1879 whien
rsguIIuated Lowe Phillips and Cobb for
Ceugrcss- The story OF that convention
ras long since ceased TO be fnteres ting
or .niuortaut. But this much 1 must
tell. air INGALLS, WAS made permanent
chairman. I came up from Montgomery
county. very youga1ul ana very VeE1-
ant having behind me only SIX months
residence IN the state I had never seen
Alr. IrEaIis but had been ca4ftvated
by his articles in the Kansas Magazine
Il was, / think. on the evening OF the
FIRST day that the convention adjourned
over untI 10 or II O'Clock the following
day After breakfast Z was IutrCd ucsii
20 Mr. ingalls,. and we sat together in
front OF the Ellre1ge house. enjoying
the bright sumner sun and air. Theu-
how Ii came about / knew not we
started for walk down Massachusetts
1Telue- .@er1re We came back 20 the
convention we had talked about many
thiuEc-hus not one word Of 3oufcs.
Books and literature occupied 2 place
in Gus hearts that morning far above
the preaching struggle in the con-
Tie following winter he was elected
senator, and held his seat for eighteen
years.
I shan not discuss his career IN the
senate In the public records It is aus-
ply disclosed He was q great senator.
houored By his fellow rnembers. who
made him president protein. and look
ed % e him as the best presiding OIL
Ger IL thar body
Great men almost without exception
have aue sense Of humOF. To prove
this, Shakespeare aloHe suffces. A bra
ham Lincoln would have broken down
under the tremendous strain Of the
war, had not merclfuI Providence en-
ablad him to see the humorous side Of
daily events The humor Of Senator IN
gals was Of a most subtle character.
Els mind was 50 alert that he could not
wait the slow progress Of ordinary hu-
nor. but must burst forth suon1au eOus-
~ in sudden and unexpected flashes OF
without an equal in the senate. 4
Esrnsyrl wanna sena Tor once made an at
tack on Kansas. Instantly Ingalls, rose
TO reply. and not content simply TO de-
rend ms own state. he dashed straight
into the weak points of PsuuSv Iva mia
To stand On t1z defensive was never MS
way He said aIr. President Pennsyl-
vali1a has produced but two great men.
Benjamin Franklin Of Massaehuse
ana Albert e4allatlns Of Switzerland
Nothing was left for the Pennsylvania
senator but to beat retreat
He was scholar. and all his tastes
"a ere scholarly and refined HIS kuoNl-
edge OF WORDS ard his unerTIlE sE5I
in choosing always the right one were
proverbiaI In debate L believe he was
superior 70 John Randolph who. in his
day, was the terror Of his opponents. H
was such q splendid fighter tnar many
people think of him simply as the great
master ct InVectlVz and OF 3itzless sar-
easrn5 but read Blue Grass or his ar
rtcle on Albert Dean Richardson or his
oeauclful tribute to Ben Hill and the
kindly elements Of his ma l1re become
strongly and sWeetly visible.
IN my study hangs q frame which en-
closes an autograph copy of the great
est or American s0nuers I am not at
all certain that IT is NOT the greatest
sonnet in our language The sonnet is
nsn4y ARTIFICIAL form OF versifcatiGu
with rs mechanical regularity OF fot1r-
Teen lines. and IS therefore the ca fest
KIND Of a poem to write You set tae
clock. and when It has run down you
nave the sonnet. which almost alway.f is
a mere piece Of automatic verse signl-
tying nothing But because il is easy.
the sonnet is the most difficult Of Al
forms OF verse How MANY good SON
nets nave been written IN the English
language Only few, and they only
by the great ones. Shakespeare did ev-
ervrhiug better than anyone else in ST.
the world But how many OF Sha xes-
peare's sonnets do you remember? In
almost every one there are flashes o.
genius that mark them as Shakespeare
legitimate offspring but many Of them
are involved and hard TO understa nd.
Mr.. ingalls, was once visiting me in To-
peAa. and We ARRANGED TO take rfae
tle next morning Up the west bank Of
lne AaF- into the country Of the bluffs
and meadows. On the top OF a bluff we
stopped and looked cur on the beautiful
landscape touched with the rlloruing
hght-such landscape ae Is known
turned 70 me, waving his hand outward
20 mat scene Of surprising beauty. and
began reciting the famous thirty i7-sf
sonnet Of Shakespeare
Fun many a glorious morning have 1
Platter The mountain tops with SOW
ereign eye,
kissing with golden face the meadows
Gliding pale streams with heavenly
alchemy"
Re knew ana loved the sonnet. bar
ne also knew It's limitations. That Ele
critical judgment could never have been
led into nhe folly OF giving to the world
an ordinary commonplace sonnet which
Is the last iufruity Of shallow minds.
--A--F ola hesDE1re. the great souuats
OF our langl1a eH were written by Milton
Wordsworth, Keats ard Mrs Browning.
with one or two by Laudor Leigh Hunt
ana Lowell Bur hen try to think
OF one superior or even equal to -Ou-
portuuity ~ seek IN vain
As have said. The sonnet hangs in
my study. written in his bold large hand
ana rs read it Z thousand reeuaorias
etv"a upon me From the sordid en-
ylronment of this great commercial city
/ Warl him q sa1 farewell and beg that
TOO may be couEtef with those who
1aKe loved kansas and believed in her
to the uttermost
GEORGE r. PECK
chicago November So. 1902
Mss Chapfn's Book
Miss Anna Alice Chaplin is new
writer with volume Of emotional short
stories apply entitled -Dfscords-" she