The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-05-29

Thus it is that the poetic history of its author.
which does not appear to have been told. is
uniquely interesting 1t Is about as peculiar as the
story Of a poet well could be. In the Law College of
Cornell University to-day there lectures daily to large
classes of students a venerable man of seventv-sevcn
who for years has been known as one of the ripe and
powerful legal minds of the country. In 1880 he
was appointed an Associate Judge Of the Court of
Appeals TO I'LL an uneNpired term OF SIX months: was
reappointcd to I'LL an unexpired term of one wear.
and was then duly elected for the full term of four
teen wears. In 1903 he was too near the age limit for
reelection. In 1901 he accepted the post of Dean of
the Law College at Cornell. with which college he
had been connected from its earliest beginnings
as counsel and patron. He filled the post Of Dean
until the burdens became too great. and then
became Professor of History and Evolution Of Law.
which post he still fills actively.
This patriarch of Scvcntv-Scycn. driving through
a binding Snow-storm for a mile. to deliver his lee
lures. is a sight of valued activity in old age which
one does not often see. His extraordinary grasp
upon life is shown in his remark: Why. | would
rather lecture to those boys than do anything else
- the I'D" Herein is a love Of the law which
has been a lifelong passion. When | am too old
for work. - he adds. Il shall settle down in nv IL
hrarv. There are twentv-onc hundred volumes
there which represent the careful selection of a life
time-my only extravaganza. There is not a book
on the shelves which was not carefully read
and weighed before II found a place there. and
they represent a charm that will ever be I'M
failing.
As the Judge sits in his library. where forty wears
ago he composed the poem. his delicatcly cut fca-
lures and high forehead reveal the poet quite as
much aS the lawyer. If not more SO. His salient
possession OF the poetic faculty was manifest during
his course at Yale, in his cditorship Of the Yale Lit
erary Magazine, and such songs of his as Gather
We Smiles" Smoking Song" Nathan Hale" and
" Linonia, were long popular at his Alma Mater. He
had equal gifts as an i%mpromptu speaker. and a. SEN
Tor took the Commencement Grafton. the lawyer and
the poet in him beginning their struggle thus early.
After graduation, however. he devoted himself
entirely to the law. Il had a great love Of the law"
he says; and As for the profession Of literature.
while | cannot say that | feared it. | had no great
respect for il. The law dominated nv imagination.
and such literary gift as | had WAS chaStcncd and
choked down 10y the graver study" Admitted to
the bar. he began t." practise in his birthplace.
Ithaca, where his father had been a lawyer before
him. and steadily rose to the honorable position
which has been described.
None the less. the poetic faculty would not bc
chokcd. and this eminent Judge has been a poet all
his life. He smiles as he places before YOU a ponder
Gus bundle OF typewriter manuscript. 1t con-
siStS entirely OF poems. and would or will make a
volume OF from three to four hundred pages.
All my life | have written verses whenever | felt
like 1t, he SAYS. They were usually inspired by
National incident Of interest. as in this case
He hands you a poem called AT Breakfast which
thrininglv describes Admiral Dcwcv'S battle at
Manila, and with a touch of sardonic humor de
scribcs the shot and shell which formed the break
of the ships of Spain. Its buoyant ring, its
tone OF patriotic enthusiasm, are perhaps even more
remarkable than its technical perfection. as the
production of a man and a Judge at
The Blue and The Gray" was the only poem l
ever published, he saws. Il did not feel that the
publication of poems was compatible with the dig
of a Judge of the Court Of Appeals. None the
| have written poetry all my lfc-light and
grave, short and long. as you see. Whether or not
they will ever be published | cannot say. | must
think that over, - he says. smiling.