The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-06-26

1t Is a revised edition of former pub
lshed poems with many new ones added
which now appear for the first time
in print Acknowledgements is made to
the publishers of Harper's Weekly, The
Arena, The Bookman, The Critic The
Outlook and other prominent journals in
which many of the poems have appeared
from time to time. Mr.. Malone is ma
tive of Mississippi After graduating at
the University of Mississippi in 1887 he
removed to Memphis and began the prac-
tice of law. and is now. though still
a young man. one of the most promi-
nent and successful lawyers of that city.
The author has also devoted several
years to purely literary work in New
York city. Last summer Mr.. Malone
spent travelling abroad, and many of the
glories of the old world touched his po-
etic and idealistic temperament and
found immediate expression. Such an
one is 1.-The Fallen Gods" of the Brit
ish museum. beginning:
THE careless crowds IN hurry pass
them by,
The Fallen Gods who reigned in years
of yore;
All, who would think that gods like
Or see their glories fade evermore
Here Juno dreams with slowly crumb-
ling charms.
And Hermes trips on slender shattered
feet;
Here Venus mutely lifts her broken
arms,
Her smile though half erased. still
strangely sweet"
Another called THE Sleeping Idlers''
will graphically recall the pitiable idlers
of st. James park. The opening stanzas
run:
Stretched on the grass the weary out
casts lie:
No one disturbs them in their heavy
sleep;
Though London like an ocean thun-
ders by,
1t leaves them stranded In It's onward
sweep
These are the men who lost the game
These are the men whom Failure calls
her own.
Success forsook them in the selfish
strife,
With broken blades and banners over
thrown.
Here lie the vanauished on battle
More vast than any history's page can
Bowed in defeat, they drop the spear
and shield
And only beg for quarter from the
foe"
Trave little Holland appeals to all on
account of its individuality and pictur-
esqueness, and here we have one of Mr..
Malone's daintiest verses:
"A land of straight canals, of quaint
old towns
Fat cows. fine horses roaming level
leas;
OF poplar bordered roads. of dykes
and downs,
And fisher-boats a-sail on misty seas.
land Of wind mills and of wooden
shoes. -
Stock-trodden marshes. meadows white
with sheep.
When salt sea winds their vital force
And salt sea pillows rouse the soul from
sleep.
The land which batting sluggards,
drones and slaves,
Faced tides and tyrants since its life
began.
Brave little conqueror of the ocean
Brave little Champion OF the Rights Of
Mani
The sunny land of Italy is full of sem
timent and poetry to the dreamer and
Mr. Malone has written some of his
choicest verses there. I quote a few
stanzas Of poem entitled Lake Como"
"Around me rise the gray-green olive
trees,
The palm, the pine the lemon and the
fig;
spray of honeysuclxle scents the
breeze
A dangle from slim acacia twig
Bronz. green with moss this Triton
fountain plays,
While red and orange fishes swim be-
low;
Like blushing nymphs a-peep through
misty sprays.
I see the scarlet robed geraniums glow"
After similar stanzas in rymthic beauty
descriptive Of the lake and environs, a
sudden storm Is. described in the conclud-
ing lines: 3as
''Yet beauty such as this must end at !
And so tempest gathers in its might.
The thunders roll, trees shiyer in the |
And angry lighnings pierce the shudder-
ing night
Sheet after sheet, the furious torrents
fall,
Flame after flame thsS swords of heaven
flash.
The locust boughs are snapped against
the wall
The fisher boats against the beaches
dash.
Night like a passion mad Elizabeth.
Smites day. her Essex loved in bygone
years.
Then horror stricken at her darling's
death.
Pours on his grave a torrent of her
tears"
The two longest poems in the volume
are entitled Ponce de Leon" and Mar
oissus," which are characterized by dra-
matte beauty and grace. Mr.. Malones |
previous works are Songs Of North and |
South" Songs of Dusk and Dawn |
and 1.-THE Coming Of the King" There |
is musical rymth and naturalness with !
dainty imagery in all of Mr. Malones !
songs which make them beautiful.
Koreans at Home" by Constance J.
D. Taylor
Cassell & Company, London
In the preface to this attractive little |
volume the author, who is a Scotswoman. |
says that 1t is an attempt to set down |
few facts connected with the little
known land of Korea. as we'll as i'm |
pressions gathered during several visits |
TO that country. In an EASY conversa- |