The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-06-05

"There is a time to laugh" said tho
wisest of the kings. Johnny Reb found
that time in season-and out!
When famine was his messmate at the
camp fire side, walking with shoeless
feet that tracked with blood one of Jack
sons haunts; sleeping in freezing mud
under one short blanket, or lingering In
some fetid and inadequate hospital after
a big victory-the confederate ever had
his Joke at others and himself
That very tension-mental and moral
which brought forth poets, grand and full
matured from the brain of the SOUTH
made wits as we'll The spirit of whole
race was on edge for the entire four
years; the suspense hope. despair or tri-
umph naturally burst in to sound and
naturally that sound was song or an
epigram, when it was not a confederate
Yell
To even touch upon the details of the
humor of the war would demand a pub
fishing house and a library for storage
The poetry would demand possibly more
storage room, and woul not. perhaps
be as well worth it. For the numbers
came" but many of the poets-as was
to be expected-rather limped than lisp
ed In them. But, ragged, limpng or
empty-like their authors-each poem bore
the impress of earnestness and viril
strength. Great poets there were among
them-shining wheat of song amid the me-
ar1c chair. Tennyson pronounced Thomp-
sons "Latane" to be the most classic
poem written on either side during the
war Margaret Prestons "Ashby" Is a
battle dirge of Greek cast Hakin's Here
Without Name" is a perfect little Idyl;
and there are others that deserve to live
and will-for their poetic value Father
Ryan and James Randall have left poems
that Shall go sounding down the ages,
despite the amenability of one to the
charge of clap trap, of the other to So
called "fanaticism."
Dirges and poems for the great dead
were the most popular form; but the COM
ic essays pushed them hard for numbers
and distsnced them for popularity. When
| issued the pioneer volume of South
Songs'-on New Years day. following tho
surrender had glanced over more than
5000 poem of all sorts; and these repre-
scented perhaps variety of those printed
in our newspapers and occasional maya
zines. Only about one-tenth of these could
be seriously considered as models worth
preservation; ard many even then, were
Implications OF theme.
But the wits and the wags could not
be preserved Would they could have
been, jolly genial, gallant gentlemen that
many of them werel Who that had dad
dy or daddy's friend in the arm Of north
ern Virginia, has not heard the names Of
Dan Tucker, Gray Latham, Agnes Ran
dolph. Gage McCarty, George Bagby. Will
lie Myers and their genial brotherhood.
Who has not heard of that famous Mo
sale Club" where they met tie brightest
women of the south. in Richmond homes,
and discounted with spontaneous and gem
uine wit. the "Nocses Ambrosanae." Fa-
nous Tom Ochtree was claimed to be a
witt but his forte was stupendous au-
daclty, tho ne had Imagination enough
for ten poets. / never heard him make
an epigrsm and he told q story badly
but he did the most original and unheard
of things any man ever conceived. But
Latham and Randolph and Bagby were
spontaneous wits. Originality dubbed out
of then-free irresponsible. perennial.
Latham, like Ochiltree acted his jokes.
One night, in the early war, he was halt
ed by the provost guard in Richmond
town. and asked for "A furlough His
companion displayed his. but the gallant
artillerist was minus. He sized up the
Patrol. waved his hand with iordly dis