The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-01-22

--TT|NTN = ~ =" ! IL y -
b~s,4us- II the poor health have had
for some weeks / purposed cvuelud-
ing what / desired to write 81 INV
old friend of the long ago-rheophiiu~
II. IhI3. - Raleigh. "a poet 81
| genuine order ur North Carol na Is
barren. FOR he surely equals any rivals
/. would not b. tifleult 10 mention the
poets That stood ,htefeSt IN hiS au~c-
tons To Tell this Would not require
That poetic notices he preHX.d 81 his
own stanzas. ANY one who has read
SymrathetIealiy. shelly ana Poe. ana
Keats. and Tennyson. can TRACE The Ia
ruenrs Of their rich. abundant and nee
GUITAR gen as upon the intellectual
habituGes Of oar poet. But ] do not
think him q copyist IN any offensive
sense. The defects and e~XCvlienclsS 81
n : writings are the author s-the laf-
Ter much preponderating. Indeed
there IS not as much VaTeleSsnes~.
crudeneSs trdCrable among them. as j.
10 be found in the works of Doets Of
unquestioned fame-partlcularty
youthful ones. In urging that Mr., Htll
was greatly impressed with the pros
auctions OF other writer's. ! only mean
that his own mind Was Influenced per-
liaps saturated and toned by whHt
these great men OF genus have ac-
coInplished. | would not ms nuate or
urge hat he has been their selvile
imftatOr. or L. At he is n mere buf-
rover, is unoriginal. j could not say
mat unless / deny him the very thing
that / contend for-that ne y a true
poet. As his V@lumc II verse shows.
But il is apparent, | think. from n ;
poems that, the "mclodiouS f~lutcuotes
OF keats's most rare. beautiful and en-
%trancing verse. with its superb
thoughts SO symmetr.caliy imposing.
and that the marvellous Tyre of Shell
ley. tuned in Heaven and struck by =
hand so SURPRISINGLY bold and cunning.
tI-4- Al4 = 49, 800 s4r4
and eternal melody" We're shaken
from its strings. had awakened in Mr.
Hi some OF those ideas ana emotions
which have enabled him to produce
some uoems that his admiring North
Carolina friends viii always cherish.
Poc's very rich and rare genius. (of
which / hope to write soonD. and the
dainty elegance" and critical insight
and fastidiouSnesS as we'll as reflective
muSing and great energy manifested at
times of T~ennySon. greatest Of all Eng
FISH poets of the last Sky or seventy
years, may have had their influence
in inspiring and shaping to some eN-
tent the bias Of HllIs poems. n even
the structure of his verses. But Mr..
Hill has originality. BY no means is
he a flat and flatulent coDV.st. Many
complex Influences united in develop
ing his genius, and yet he has written
q StanZa sometimes Oh sung a refra.n
now and then. that was 50 fresh ana
natural in its beauty that ! could but
feel in reading it that here at least
| can not trace any Of those subtitle in
fluence over mind by a higher mind.
The mind OF Mr.. Hill is sometimes
gay ana rollicking sometimes sad
nay. downright %gloonv. something
desperate. Poe's marvellous Raven
and that splendid tragic. perfectly fin
ished story by the same rare author
'"The Fall of the House of Usher
must have made u deep impression
upon his mind, and aided no little in
giving direction and tone to his in
spirat.On. Even in some Of his most
joyous pieces, when he sings merri,V
for a few slaves, he gives expression
to sentiments that uggest disaster
smack of suicide. and smell Of the
graveyard. But, then there are other
poems utterly free from all faint Of
hypochondria, in which nobl and
elevated thoughts are expressed IN Ian
guage at once beautiful and felecitous.
Indeed, it would seem to me that when
he penned some OF the poems. his
mind was illumined to the rich efful-
gence that streams from the Cross OF
the Redeemer. and his heart was
checred by the sweet. endearing con
solutions Of the pure religion Of Jesus.
The mind that conceived The star
Above the Manager" or the Hope OF
Heaven" was surely not then a prey
to morbid fancies and depressing fears,
but was illumined with the Light Of
Heaven. was imbued with deeD reli-
giOus sentiment. perhaps controlled by
inspiring. genuine spiritual principle.
To me, The Star Above the Manager"
is replete with charm, and must rank
with the true poetry of our Southland.
Its length forbidS my copying it here.
| regret tina | can not undertake a
regular ANALYSIS of his writings. much
less an elaborate. clear. exhaustive
critique. / have not the ability. for |
a n no nnnt &C have said nnTptOfnrG !
He should not be forgotten Or over
looked in future discussions of South
ern poetry. | would be gratified to see
a real critic with true poetic taste and
insight, present a candid and elaborate
discussion of his volume. | would Ike
to see some Of the readers of all | have
said of him become familiar with his
best productions for many have a rich /
flavor Of Their own.
| would like TO accomplish
Worthily one thing-to present pas
sages taken here and there. But it is
difficult to do th+s-to make such se-I
lections as Will impress the mind and
excite admiration. But there is diff
fiCulty in the way as certain thoughts
read in their connections impress the
mind and captiVate the taste, but when
read Independently. as mere excerpts.
fail to maintain the T power and fasci-
nation. Some writer's are far more
quotable thar others. Shakespeare,
among poets, eXcels all others. and
Dickens, among G0VelistS. has furnish
ed more sayings" than any other fic-
tive author. hundreds Of adages and
thoughts have now passed into the cur
rent language of the people that orr
ginate with the greatest of all abso-
lutely creative brains.
In 1852. our author published q 1T
tie volume entitled "Hesper and other
Poems" Beyond a few readers in his
native State, it met with but little if
any attention. Some of the more
scholarly and tasteful gentlemen in
North Carolina received him kindly.
The then editor Of the Nirg MAN
Southern Literary Messenger DIR.
Bagby. damned it, without even a
glimpse of the benefit of faint praise
The poem "Hesper' has inert. | think.
There are melody and inspiration in
II. l give only a part for lack OF
space:
"Methinks some bright unearthly gem
Fell from his flashing diadem.
For, when he winged his flight afar
Through the enchanted air.
4 light remained,-Thc Eyening Star