The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-18

munication to the New Orleans
 Star from James R. Randall, the venerable author of Maryland. My Mary land.'
 On a Saturday night recently, In com pany with MT Edward D. Seghers, l started from New Orleans for the pur- pose of revisitIng my old home in Pointe Coupee, which I had not seen for forty five years. Many and varied were my emotions at the prospect of this pilgrim age, for in that parish my whole after life was pivoted.
 MT. Oliver st. Dizier. a leading mer- chant and man of affairs in New Roads kindly drove me along the False river read. incidentally pointing out to me the change made residentially. Good. gentle Madame Vinges cottage is untouched, and so is MT. Hubert's store. The ma jority of the plantation houses are either new or remodeled. Some have utterly disappeared along with the sugar houses. The grand live oaks that rose majestical- ly in the yard of MT. Bergeron still stand gigantically. Of the old Poydras college nothing is left but holes and trenches where the building and pillars once stood erect.
 That was a melapcholy spectacle for me, and 1 gazed wistfully upon those va cant spaces. Here, almost SIS young as my pupils l joined in their games. Ohes Alexandre Labry, still alive, and youth ful father and grandfather in New Or leans, nearly killed me with brick. pr. Iamirault healed the wound, but l Will bear the scar to my grave. In that old cottage l one day wrote the poem of My Maryland.
 In 1858 I was a clerk in the ship broker age house of Meeker Knox x Co. My father once a rich merchant, with meet or vessels, had extensive commercial re- lations with Mr MeeSer, who, at the in- teryention of my dear college friend John Iaurans invited me to take a clerical position with him. From one of the Wild est parts of Florida l made my way 10 New Orleans Some very romantic mel dents caused me to desire change or scene, and again dear John Laurans ad- vised me to become professor at the Poydras college, in Pointe Coupee, seV- eral miles distant from what Is now New Roads, on the False river.
 1 accepted and while there in April 1S61 l read in the New Orleans Delta the news of the attack on the Massachusetts troops as they passed through Baltimore. This account excited me greatly. l had long been absent from my native city, and the startling event there Influenced my mind. That night l could moi dismiss from my mind what l had read in the paper About midnight l rose, lit can dle and went to my desk Some power ful spirit appeared to impress me and al most invountarily l proceeded to write the song of My Maryland" l remember that this idea appeared first to take shape as music in the brain-some wild air that I cannot now recall. The whole poem was dashed off rapidly when once begun II was not composed in cold blood, but under what may be called contlagration of the senses, if not an inspiration or the intellect. No one was more surprised than l was at the widespread and instan- taneous popularity of the lyric had been 80 strangely stimulated to write.
 l read the poem the next morning to the college boys and at their suggestion sent ii to the Delta, in which 1t was first printed and from which it was copied into nearly every southern journal
 Published in the last days of April, 1S6l when every eye was fixed on the border states, the stirring stanzas appeared in the very thick of time. It was my good fortune to be the instrument through which the south spoke. By natural reaction. these lines helped to fire the southern heart To do their work well these words needed to be welded to mu- sic It was left for lady of Baltimore Miss Hetty Cary. later the wife of Prof. H. Newell Martin, to lend the lyric the musical wings it needed to enable 1t to reach every camp fire of the southern armies.
 The house of Mrs Martins father was the headquarters for the southern sympa- thizers of Baltimore. Correspondence, money, clothing, supplies of all kinds went thence through the lines to the young men of the city who had joined the Confederate army.
 Mrs Martin tells how the enthusiasm of the girls who worked and the boys who watched for their chance to slip through the lines to DiXie's land found vent and Inspiration in such patriotic songs as could be made or adapted to suit their needs. The glee club she continued, was to hold it's meetings in our parlors one evening early in June and my sister, Miss Jennie Cary had charge of the pro- gramme on that occasion. With school girls eagerness to score success, she resolved to secure some new ardent eX- pressions of feelings that by this time were wrought up to the point of explosion. In vain she searched through her stock of songs and aids; nothing seemed in- tense enough to suit her. Aroused by her tone of despair. l came to the rescue with the suggestion that she should adopt the words of Maryland, My Maryland I produced the paper and began declaim- ing the verses 'Lauriger Hortius.' she exclaimed. and in a flash the immortal song found voice in the stirring air so perfectly adapted to It. That night, when her contralto voice rang out the stanzas the refrain rolled forth from every throat present without pause Or preparation, and the enthusiasm communicated itself with such effect to crowd assembled beneath our open window to endanser serious ly the liberties of the party"
 few weeks later, shortly after the battle of Manassas. when MT. and Mrs. Martin and her sister were guests of General Beaureguard at his headquarters they were serenaded by the famous Wash