The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-29

Il is not expressly so stated. but we imagine
that he probably thought that these celeb
rifles were almost unnecessarily lavish In
the matter Of epigram. There was Miss
Short, for example. who promptly took
him under her wing and gave him some
advice. She had reputation as humor-
list and, according to the author, her flash
ing wit was, to her, q sort OF spade-bayonet,
with which she in some way entrenched
herself when not piercing her enemy
She promptly gave young Mr.. Hartley
jab or two.
Poets are my penchant," she began.
But not in the wild state he replied.
That's just It'll" lamented the lady. I'VE
can't get at you wild-you're all az I'M
satisfying as-as the caribou up In the
Park. You either get blue-penciled out
OF existence or pink-teaed and petted out
Of decency'"
This. for beginning, was doing pretty
well, and young Mr.. Hartley must have
thought that he was in for q thoroughly
intellectual evening.
You're like our California plums," she
went on genially; you have all the bloom
rubbed OF before we can get hold Of you"
Mr.. Slater, the publisher, said that the
trouble with genius in our age was that
it had to be picked green, like wat ermelons,
80 as not to spoil on the market, and a
ttred-Iooking young man with Turkish
cigarette suggested that the poet ought
to wear his hair longer. Another celeb-
rity suggested the advisability Of his
"sneaking back to London and landing
on us again In velvet and rufles and pre-
Raphaelte get-up-with hint to the re-
porters beforehand. Yet another play
fully warned him ito cultivate the camel-like
capacity for hoofins the Desert of Dreams
on. say, three square meals a week" Miss
Short, at this point, put in some neat work
with her spade-bayonet. She turned with
considerable scorn upon the celebrities.
All acidulated nonsense, my dears-
and there are too many little home made
Aristophaneses running around America
already
With that she bore the young poet away
Like harbor tug swinging out liner"
and talked with him in . quiet window
seat. He was half afraid Of women and
they liked it. 1t Ia recorded OF him that
he once spent four hours in . PUNT ON
ter's daughter, and that fair and fruit
leesly challenging damsel was moved to
remark afterward to friend; 1t 3 80 much
keener chasing the bee than having the
bee chase you" II seems TO have been
this young mans fate to be target for
epigram on both sides Of the water.
But what Of the Silver Poppy that gives
It's name TO Mr.. Stringer's novel? This
was the title OF soul-stirring book sup
posed 10 have been written by Miss Cor
della Vaughn, who was also at the party.
or course tho poet met her, and, of course,
she Immediately let loose an epigram
Great men, she said. ARE rugged and
lonely, like lighthouses BUT very use
full" They were up on the roof in tho dark,
and when they shook hands at parting
ieeting. f-phosphorescent luminousness
flashed from her eyes and 1t seemed to Mr. |
Hartley almost as II his fingers had pressed |
the hidden button Of an incandescent light. |
Theirs was a brief and an unhappy love. |
She was from Kentucky and "The Silver |
Poppy which she was supposed to have |
written, was described by Mr.. Slater, the |
publisher. as having set the Hudson on !
fire. Other publishers besieged her for |
manuscripts and poets indted melancholy |
verses to her sad. sad crown OF golden |
hair" while a celebrated sculptor made |
a bust OF her and declared that she had the |
only Greek nose in America.
Epigrammatio extracts from THE Silver
Poppy are printed at the head Of Mr..
Stringer's chapters, and from their quality |
we should say that the work must have |
been oorker. "Our Manhattans Of the |
mind always have their Boweries of the
blood Is one Of these cryptic utterances.
and another tells us that 1T is the ebb- |
tide of love that shows the mud-fia OF |
the SOUL Cordelia, though she posed |
as the author Of this epoch-maker, and |
lived luxuriously upon her royalties, was |
In reality wicked takir When the poet |
found her out he packed his steamer trunk |
and left for London.