Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1915-06-25
WALTER MALONE
A Beautiful Tribute 10 a Mississippi Born Poet.

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He was a man of many moods, a universe in himself. of
which the heart was the central sun, around which all else
revolved. Eminent as a jurist, distinguished as II man of
letters and famous as a poet, to those who knew him init
mately he Was greatest as a man. His humanity was bound
,ss, his charity and generosity frequently crossed the
threshold of imprudence. He hated cant and cruelty with an
intensity that was in strange contrast to his gentleness and
~amiabiity. The unfortunate and wayward, and especially
among the young, were his especial care, aud he was intoler-
ant of SNUG convention that would condemn. In Gods
nandiwork there was no waste or wastrel, Every human soul
had a value. No matter what the history or outward appear
Ance, concealed there was always the germ of an Augustine
or a Magdalene, and his hand was always extended to defend
and assist the erring and his judgment was always: GO
and sin no more; neither will | condemn thee" He enjoyed
no immunity from vicissitudes nor cared he to play the part
of the 'tiresome saint" He was refreshingfy human.
Withal, contact with him was evocative, and made one feel
the wo. ds: BLESSED are the pure in heart, for they shall see
Cod As a poet, and from a most unpromising beginning,
ne made a bond-woman of fame. Per aspera ad astra was
his life struggle. His work was serious and artistic, and he
chung to his ideals with a loyalty worthy an Oriental devotee.
Opportunity, - by no means his best lyric, introduced him
to the world at large. A conjuncture of circumstances was
responsible for this. 1t was supposed to be answer to the
verses on the same subject by the brilliant ingalls, Of Kan
sas. This is an error. When opportunity was written
he had never seen or heard of the Ingalls, lines, and when he
did see them, he recognized that they were a none too skill
full paraphrastlc ira nslation of an apostrophe to opportu-
nny in one of Machiavelli's plays, and the great Florentne
was conventional and followed the trend of almost all
writer's from Pliny to Wordsworth. The old Latins pictured
opportunity as wearing a forelock which must be grasped,
because there was only badness behind, and this idea was
carried down on the stream of literature. In his
"Opportunity' Malone faced about and breasted the stream
and turned it back. His was the song of hope. 1t was a new
voice and 1T was inspiring and heartening. The W orld took
i up and millions of copies were printed and distributed
His greatest and most sustained work is his "DeSoto,'
Lacking six weeks, seven years were spent on this work
the same time that it took Gray to complete his "Elegy,
Bunyan his "Plgrim's Progress" and Tasso his Jerusalem.
These were years of incessant labor. Discursive reading
and investigation in this and other countries. Selecting ant
excluding. Writing and rewriting. Gliding and inserting
Applying and condensing. Building and spelling. Work
incessant and laborious, but a work of love. This is una
voidable. Pope achieved a Hellenic perfection as a versi
fer by touching and ~retouching his lines as long as he lived
Not one line in Goldsmith's Traveller remains as origin
ally written. Byron's changes were long a pest to tn
s printing houses, In 'DeSoto'' Judge Malone addresse
e himself to posterity, and posterity must render the fna
appraisement. Local pride and the fervency of persona
, affection are a menace to Judgment but it is small hazar
. to say that, as an epic writer, Malone is likely to be apprais
) ed as a greater Tennyson and a lesser Milton. He was at
o disadvantage because the field had been p~re-empted. He wa
at a disadvantage because's DeSoto's audience was unf
for the ~loftiness of his theme and language. He was at
disadvantage because people no longer believed in 'supel
natural machinery and he was compelled to conciliat
= skepticism by making his hero dream. Nevertheless frol
the first line to the last the school man and the rhetorical
may scan with scrutiny and in vain to find flaws save wher
they are deliberately inserted. just as dscords are mserte
by the great musical composers. His life's work is over an
he has left it as a heritage to the world. To his friends h
e has bequeathed a wealth of sweet and imperishable meme
It ries.
The whieness of has soul and thus men Ger him wept"