Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-01-03
"When I was wont to meet her
r. ,ta efI.nt ~nnIy nlaCRQ

"When I was wont to meet her
In the silent woody places
OF th.. land that Elv.. ME birth
We stood tranCc,l in long embraces
Mixed with kisses swccter. sweeter
Than anything on earth
"a shadow fits before me
Not thou. but Ike I" thee.
All. God. that II were possible
For one short hour To see
The souls We loved. that they might
tell us
What and where they be-
When Dantree began. Toms eyes
had been swimming lazily about the
bay, but the first quatrain brought
them ut bound to the readers face.
word. Line after line rang through
him like trumpet call, waking old
echoes, stirring and stabbing him, I'M
til the whole man tingled with the
rushing OF long stagnant blood. And
now came stanzaS that went no deeper
than the ear, while those three ran
their course through every vein. Yet
when he next caught up the thread 1t
was his own soul still speaking. The
very story was now his own.
ALAS for her that met me.
That heard ME softly call;
Came glimmering through the laurels
At the quiet evenfall
In the garden by the turrets
OF the old manorial hall"
lie had turned his head. 4 blue mist
hid the world. but through it shOne a
poignant vision Of Claire Harding
among the WILDWOOD fir trees-in the
autumn evenings long ago. And this Is
how the tears came back into Tom
Erichsen's eyes, to show him that his
soul had lived through a nights BUSH
ranging and four months of Major
HOneybones iron gang.
Daintree looked on with jealous
scorn That few stray verses in the
Annual Register should put fire and wa
ter In eyes which the combined Hours
Of Exile" and of "Idleness" some
times left In such very different stated
1t was CALLING thought, and 1t show
ed itself In such black looks that Tom
was constrained to cut his first heart
felt Outburst very short indeed. So he
hastily added that the poem appealed
to him particularly. He need not ex-
plain why.
II see," said Daintree mot alto
gether ON its merits, eh? I'm glad to
hear It," And his face llghtened a
little.
II don't know" said Tom humbly.
ut was on its merits, l think. Surely
1t must appeal to every miserable man.
Oh. it's all. all therein such words!
Come. sir. don't you think it fine your
selfY'
"Fine." said Daintree. "is a word
which the critic does not employ IN
advisedly. Your fine poem Is not spas
m0dic. 1t takes a meter and sticks to
it-as do. for example, and as Byron
did. You don't catch me or Byron
writing poems with no two stanzas
alike in form! No. Thomas. the verdict
Is not tflne.' but that the lines have .
certain merit don't deny"
"WhO wrote themr asked Tom after
. pause.
Ills name is Tennyson." replied the
poet. you have never heard 1t be-
fore, dare say, and shouldn't be sur
prised II you were never to hear It
again. There were fair things In his
last book, but, upon the whole, I am
afraid the production you 20 admire
may be taken as representing his high
water mark. which Is q sufficient COM
mentary upon the rest. understand.
however. that he is a very young man.
% we must give him a chance. When
hs b my age he may do very much
better II he perseveres. as have done.
Now. my notion Of treating susA .
theme" said Daintree, "you have heard
before. but you shall hear II again"
And with that he drew Hours ok
Exile" from his pocket and read with
sets Of "Stanzas to Clarinda," while
the terrier gaxed up at him with eyes
Of devoted sympathy and admiration.
and Tom fed his upon feathery emer-
aid branches and turquoise sky as he
reluctantly decided that the klndest Of
men was In some respects the most
egregious also. Suddenly-to his horror
the reading stopped. He had been
caught not attending! He lowered his
eyes. and they fell upon the snowy
wings Of full rugged ship just clear
ing the woody eastern point of the bay
and sailing slowly and majesticaily on.
Both men sprang to the waters edge.
Daintree's book lay In the sand. The
ship was now clear of the point, stand.
Ing to the north of Shark island with
the light breeze upon her counter. q
noble vessel Of coo tons. flying the red
nvciUr. NJ hos ,,noyr