The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-05

ness 1t was his genius speaking. His
faith ever was firm--more SO toward the
close Of his life than at any other time.
THE Prayer Before Planting Trees"
represents his spiritual attitude.
Malone attempted no new or rocco
forms in his verse The old simple
forms appealed to him and he avoided
the grand style. He was essentially
the poet of today and found an album
dance Of material In commonplace things
Of everyday life which he exalted and
glorifled, His literary Judgment was
founded on aesthetic perception, but he
spent no time In polishing and per-
iecting particular lines, couplets triplets
or quatralns TO make them quotable
Tennyson and Pope we're never through
touching and retouching particular parts
of their work and as q result the die
tionarys have more short quotations
from these two poets than from any
other 10 or 20, Neither was he careless
like Byron, who threw his words apon
paper as they happened to fall and sent
them from him boldly
Malone songs sung themselves, one
would think, unconsciously, they are
SO natural. He was too proud and
too sincere and honest to resort to trick
cry or anything adventurous to attract
attention. Hence he has given us much
to faseinate and nothing. to perplex. OF
his widely circulated and much-pralsed
poem, Opportunity, he was never
enamored. He was rather ashamed Of
II. as one would be who had written
best seller or who was considered
the champion kelly pool player OF the
town. "Opportunity's" appeal was wide
but not discriminating, 1t was pro-
nounced a great poem, but he knew, as
the discerning know, that as poetry II
ranks very low In the scale and when
] told him that while its philosophy
was admirable--a rich pearl that had
been walked over for long and which
no one had the good fortune to stoop
down and pick up--but that Its literary
craftsmanship barely saves II from be-
lng doggerel, he agreed with me, OF hts
lyrics he had not the fondness which he
had for his epic, "Desoto," which should
be to the South what Drayton's Polyol-
blon Ia to England--a treasure house OF
history geography, poetry and accurate
description OF early days that may not
be found elsewhere
With this exception which the char
acter Of the task rendered imperative,
Malone made few or no incursons into
the past as Is done In the literature
OF all countries. He was Of the pres
ent and reflected the present in his
writings, the older the present volume
becomes the more valuable 1t will be.
While never desiRnedly didactlc, his
poems teach many valuable lessons to
the heart, They are Of the same piece
with his ordinary conversation among
friends No private library should be
without this book ana no public IL
brary is complete wanting 1t, 1t rep
resents a great deal Of work scattered
over a short and busy life. His boy
hood poems are worth having and pre-
serving for while he was very young
when he began writing he was really
never child In thought and feeling
Many poems in the collection are worthy
Of special mention but will refer to
but one, I'm Praise Of Righteous
War" written when this country was
In doubt and mystifcation over the
pigmy kaiser, who was rising like a
colossus of wrath and destruction. His
keen perception permitted him TO see
before anyone else did what was com
ing and his words were clarion call
to the nation For one who knew him
SO wen and who had talked so often
with him over his work writing about
these poems is a difficult task because
the heart insists on usurping the place
of the intellect and affection submerges
the critical faculty. On the whole he
has left behind him a work of which