THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, MAY 17, 1908.
11
A Sailor's Lop: Iterollcctlons of Forty Yearni
of aval Ufe. by Kobley L. Evans, Kear
Adniiral. U. S. N. I. Appleton & Co.,
New York CUy.
Rear Admiral Evans is so much in the
public eye and its heart as well that :
the enterprise of the publishers must
be conceded in sending to the pacltic
Coast at the present time this handsome
book, dated 1901, and consisting of 4fjp
pages, dealing with more than 40 years
distinguished service afloat and ashore
of this doughty old Admiral, better and
more popularly known as "Fighting Bob"
Evans.
Kvans says he was born in 1846. and
after schooling at Washington, D. C, an
offer was extended to him to enter An
napolis, on the invitation of Mr. Hooper,
who was then sa delegate in Congress
from Utah.
Kn route to Salt Lake City, with a num
ber of companions, Gvans, who was then
only 33 years of age, was introduced to
rettl warfare at the hands of Indians
who attacked the party, wounding Evans
with an arrow. "The arrow went
through the tendon of my left ankle,"
he explains, "and it also penetrated
through the ribs of my mule, making
him perform many new tricks, much to
my discomfort."
At the outbreak of the Civil War the
male members of the Evans family found
their sympathies divided, the future Ad
miral's younger brother enlisting in the
Washington Artillery and serving un
der Pelhatn.
Robley D. Evans' cadet war experiences
centered in the struggle for the posses
sion of Fort Fisher, and here is the
baptism of Are which eventually made
"Fighting Bob."
At this moment I saw Colonel Lamb, the
Confederate commander, gallantly standing
out on the parapet and calling his men to
(ret up and shoo! the Yankees. I considered
htm within easy rangn of revolver, so took
a deliberate i'hot at him. As I fired, a hul
let ripped through the front of my coat
across my breast, turning me completely
around I felt a burning sensation, like a
hot iron, over rny heart, and saw something
red coming out of the hole in my coat,
which I took for blood. I knew, of course,
that if a bullet had gone through this por
tion of my body I was done for: but that
was no place to p-top. so I went on at the
head of my company. As we approached
the remains of the stockade I was aware
that one particular sharpshooter was shoot
ing at me. and when we were a hundred
yards away he hit me in the left leg, about
three Inches below the knee. The force
of the blow was so great that I landed on
my face in the sand. I got a silk handker
chief out of my pocket, and with the kind
assistance of my classmate. Hoban Sands,
soon stopped the blood, and went again to
the front as fast as I could.
About this time the men were stumbling
over the" wires which they cut with their
knives they proved to be wires to the torpedoes-
over which we had charged, but
thev failed to explode. My left leg seemed
asleep, but t w as able to use it. The
s-t:ckade. or what remained of it, was very
near, and I determined to lead my company
by a tlbiik through a break in it, and then
c I. urge over the nngle of the fort, which
now looked very difficult to climb. I men
aced to get through the stockade with
st ven others, when my sharpshooter friend
sent a bullet through my right knee, and
1 realised that my chance of going was
settled. I tried to stand up, but i was no
ue; my legs would not hold me. and be
sides this 1 was bleeding dreadfully, and i
knew that was a matter which had to be
looked to.
When I received the wound in my right
knee I began at once to try to stop the
tlow of blood. 1 used for the purpose one
of the half dozen silk handkerchiefs with
which I had prvlded myself, but I was so
tired and weak from loss of blood that I
was some time doing the trick. In the
meantime my sharpshooter friend, about 35
yards away, continued to shoot at me. at
the. same time addressing me in very forc
ible but uncomplimentary language. At
the fifth hot. I think H was. he hit me
strain, takfng off the end of one of my toes,
tearing off the sole of my shoe, and wrench
ing my ankle dreadfully. I thought the
bullet had gone through my ankle, the pain
tv as so Intense. For some, reason. I don't
kn nv why, this shot made me unreasonably
angry, and. rolling over in the sand, so as
to face my antagonist. I addressed a evv
brit remarks to htm: and then. Just as
none one handed him a freshly loaded
musket. I tired, aiming at his breast. I
knew all the time that I should kill him If
1 shot at him. but had not intended, to do
so until he shot me In the toe. My bullet
went a little high, striking the poor chap
In the throat and passing out the back of
bis neck. He staggered around after drop
ping his gun, and finally pitched over the
parapet and rolled down near me. where
be lay dead. I could see his feet as they
Ir-Jvted over a pile of sand, and from
their position knew that he had fought his
lat fight.
The most realistic description of bat
tle .Held that I remember up to now is
that given in "The Red Badge qf Cour
age." a novel which has achieved an
international reputation as a war epic.
But surely another war classic exists in
this description by Evans of carnage,
where he was picked up by a marine
named Wasmouth, who was in a few
minutes shot through the neck, dying
there and then:
After Wasmouth was killed I soon fell
asleep, and when I awoke It was some time
before 1 could recall my surroundings. The
tide had come in. and the hole in which I
was lying was nearly full of water, which
had about covered me and was trickling into
my ears. I could see h. monitor firing, and
apparently very near, and the thought cam
to me that I could swim off to her if I
only had, a bit of plank or driftwood, but
this 1 could not get- it was plain enough
that J should hpjii be drowned ltko a rat
in a hole unless I managed to get out
somehow. Dead and wounded men were
lying about in ghastly plies, but no one to
lend me a helping hand. By this time Z
could not use my legs in any way. and when
1 dug r.iy hands into :h r.iits of my prison
and "tried to pull myself out the sand gave
way ar.i left n:i- stiii lytnr :n the water.
Finally I made a strong effort, and rolled
myself sideways out of the hole. When I
got out I saw a marine a short distance
away, nicely covered by a pile of sand, and
firing away deliberately at the fort. I
c .tiled to him to pull me in behind his bar
of sand, but h deWined, on the ground
that the rebel fire was too sharp for him to
AAARION COOK
expose himself. I persuaded him with my
revolver to change his mind, and in two
seconds he had me in a place of safety
that Is to say. safe by a smalt margin, for
when he ttred. the rebel bullets would snip
the sand within a few inches of our heads.
If the marine had known that my revolver
was soaking wet, and could not possibly
be fired, 1 suppose I would have been buried
the next morning, as many other poor fel
lows were. As soon as I could reach some
cartridges from a dead sailor lying near
me, I loaded my revolver, thinking It might
be useful before the Job was rir-ybed.
When I was jerked in behind this pile of
sand, I landed across the body of the only
coward I ever saw in the naval service. At
first.! was not conscious that there was a
man under me. so completely had he worked
himself into the sand ; he was actually ""be
low the surface of the ground. The moni
tors were firing over us, and as a shell came
roaring by he pulled his knees up to his
chin, which hurt me, as it jostled my broken
legs.
I aaid, "Hello. Are you wounded?" "No,
sir." he replied; "I am afraid to move.'
"All right, then." I said; "keep quiet, and
don't hurt my legs again."
The next ahelt that came over he did the
same thing, and the next, notwithstanding
my. repeated cautions. So I tapped him be
tween the eyes with the buft of my revolver,
and he was quiet after that. The poor crea
ture was so scared that he would He still
and cry as the shells flew over us. As 1
said before,, he was the only coward I ever
saw in the naval service.
At the beginning of the Spanish Amer
ican War, when Evans came more or
less into the spotlight, some people were
crude enough to ask, "Who is this 'Fight
ing Boh' Evans, anyhow?" The hero's
Civil War record had then been tem
porarily forgotten, because a new gen
eration of thoughtless young folks had
grown up in the meantime. Rather than
quote from Admiral Evans' more recent
experiences I have thought it better to
furnish an extract or two showing how
"Fighting Bob" received the name he is
best known by his admiring countrymen.
As has already been indicated, the book
under review is dated 1101. Now that
Admiral Evans will shortly have abun
dant leisure on 'his retirement from active
naval service, and renewed health as
well, it is to be hoped that he will take
the opportunity before long to brmg his
"log" up to date.
4y
Prisoners of Chance: The Stsry of What Be
fell tieoffrey Benteen, Bordermun,
Through His I-ove for a Lady of France,
by Randall Parrish. $1.r0. illustrated. A.
i'. McCturg & Co., Chicago.
Geoffrey has so much courage of the
bulldog type that this novel which deals
with the long continued fight between the
Spanish and French for the ultimate con
trol of the Ijouisiana Valley, possesses
high charm for its mastery of adventure
and devil-may-care wandering.
One striking incident is where Geoffrey
helps in the escape of the Chevalier
Charles de Noyan from a Spanish flag
ship, to the remote forests of the Far
North. The two fugitives are accom
panied by Mme. d Noyan who had been
in love with Geoffrey before a misun
derstanding had parted them. Then she
had married tne Chevalier. To ahow the
sty If of. writing Mr. Parrish uses in de
scribing a tight a. style which recalls that
of Mary Johnston in "To Have and to
Hold" or .Conan Doyle I quote an ad
venture which .Geoffrey hg with a bold
Spanish officer who intercepts the
wanderers as th?y are about to cross the
Ohio iver:
Senor. I said, in studied courtesy, stop
ping suddenly and confronting him, I have
hunted across this wilderness more than one
season, and dislike being stopped now by
Spanish decree. Nor do I comprehend your
right in this matter. Have you warrant for
opposing peaceful passage to the Ohio?
He stared at me in undisguised amaze
ment at my boldness, a grim smile on his
hard, set face
"Aye. I have, fellow," he finally retorted
angrily, tapping hi hilt. " 'Tis In this scab
bard at my side."
"Then draw it, senor," I exclaimed,
throwing forward my long rifle menacingly.
"And may (rod stand with the better -man."
1 have a conception that at the moment
he believed he was being confronted by a
erased man, yet there was in my face an
expression quickly teaching "him otherwise,
and, with a swift 'twist, he flashed his
sword forth into the sunlight, standing on
guard.
"Por Bar!" h growled savagely, "you
must be in tie bet tsr than a fool to hoist
that club. It will give me pleasure to teach
you better manners toward a grandee of
Spain."
"Grandee Or not," I retortd, angered at
bis implied contempt, "i may teach you a
trick, senor. ith that same club, never
learned in your Spanish fencing clubs."
It was swift, intense fighting from the
word, he proving a past-master of his
weapon, yet my stiff rifle barrel was no
mean defense against his lighter blade, with
a reach preventing his point from touching
my body, and sufficient weight to bear down
the thin, murderous steel whenever the two
came into contact. It had been long prac
tice with me, having pickea up the pretty
trick from a French souave when I was a
boy. so I swung the iron as if it were a
single stick ; and. In truih. I know of no
better fence against the stroke of a straight
sword, although fencing masters, I have
heard, make light of it. Nevertheless it was
new experience to this Span-ard, and it did
me good to note how It angered the fellow
to be held back by such a weapon. He
made such stress to press in behind my
guard that he began to.pa.nt like a man
running a hard race.
Nor did T venture to stun a blow in re
turn, for. In simple truth this soldier kept
me busier with parry .and feint than any
swordsman before, while he tried every
trick of his trade, not a few of them strange
to me. So X bided my time, confident he
must make an opening for nt return if he
kspt up such furious attack, and thus, with
retreat and advance, hack and guard, thrust
and parry, we tramped up a wide bit of
ground, while ' tbere was no sound of the
struggle, except our hard breathing, with
now aryi then a fierce curse from him as
his flashing steel nicked on my gun barrel,
or flew off into thin air just as he thought
to send its deadly point home.
Such fighting is wearing even to seasoned
nerves, and the dasxle of the sun botherei
tn.v eves, vet ha h-ad oressed na bar
scarcely more than" a couple ofV yards when
bis dancing blade slipped stealthily up my
brown barrel, suddenly nipping the loose
sleeve of my doublet. As It pricked into the
cloth, scraping the skin of my forearm, I
let the fellow have the end of the muzzle
full in the side. It was noi the best spot
for such a thrust, nor could I give it
proper force, yet I think I errfeked a rib,
from the way the Spaniard drew back, and
the sudden pallor of his face; indeed, so
ghastly white he. got, I thought him done
for, and lowered my barrel carelessly. He
was mqre of a man than I had reckoned on,
or else his pride made him averse to ac
cepting defeat, for. with one quick spring,
like a wounded' tiger, he was inside my
guard, his ugly point rasping into me just
beneath the shoulder.- Saint Andrew! It was
an awkward touch, especially as the tough
steel held, the punctured flesh burning like
fire; but fortunately the fellow was in too
great pain himself to press nis advantage,
and, as we clinched and went down to
gether. I chanced to be on the top, throt
tling him with right good will.
That which followed was but a small
matter, yet I left him there, waiting the
discovery of his comrades, in as comfortable
a posture as possible, cdnraent he could
give no alarm. That Spaniard was. a brave
man, and I have ever had respect for such.
gome Ladies in Haste, by Rohert W. Cham
bers. Illustrated. $1.50. D. Appleton &
Co., New York City.
If anyone reads to the end this delight
ful hit of comedy, without smiling there's
something wrong withiiis mental make
up. "Some Ladies in Haste" is built on
the lines of Mr, Chambers' earlier ro
mance, "Iole," bat it is more ingenious
and clever. Besides, it's a sure cure for
the blues, and is a continuous laugh. It's
the most original thing in Spring fiction.
Mr. Chambers again turns to his rich,
young men of aristocratic clubland in
New York City, fashioning the central
motif in one William T. Manners, who
engages in mental suggestion of the ab
sent treatment kind in making different
people fall in love with each other, if
he. so wills it. At first, ne is an aristo
cratic, idler, who through his monocle or
single eyeglass gazes indifferently from
the windows of his clubhouse at passing
pedestrians. He is bored, and finds that
time hangs very heavily on his hands.
What's to be done? Work doesn't, appeal
to him, and he has a few tons of surplus
money which he has inherited. He dab
bles in , hypnotism, and like a flash the
Idea of mental suggestion occurs in shap
ing the future of people in love affairs.
Aggressive, young business men who
have hitherto lived solely for the acquisi
tion of the nimble dollar, suddenly find
themselves possessed of a vague desire
to see the sun rise, to catch butterflies,
to listen to the plaintive "moo"' of the
cow in a word, to be a real communicant
at Nature's shrine. And somehow, into
the picture creeps young women, who
have forsakeh the weary round of aris
tocratic dances and dinner parties, be
cause they, too, feel an overpowering de
sire to be Nature students and be loved.
One girl, on her own wooded estate in
one of New York's suburbs, dresses up
as a heathen goddess with queer robes
and bow and arrows, and is met by a
young man disguised as Pan, "blowing
his whole love-smitten soul into his fife."
Other atflicted young men fall in love
with cooks.
Once, as Manners sits at his club win
dow, a pretty girl passes and he hurls
after her this mental suggestion:
Now, you are very pretty and delightful
to look at, but you probably think trivial
thoughts most ofg the time, and you have
been brought up with false notions of the
world. Go out and see the sun rise. Go
listen to the speckled tomtit. Get busy
with nature and the living romance of the
free world. You dance too much: you culti
vate too assiduously the comparatively un
important . Be a real girl a charming,
frank, natural, fearless, disinterested, in
telligent girl. Give yourself the sensation
of an original idea. Take an interest in the
resources of those simpler pleasures now
banned as obsolete by a fretted, pampered,
over-ambitious, and Intellectually degenerate
society where wealth is r.
But after reading only one or two chap
ters, it is easy to discover that in writing
such a practical jote as "Some Ladies in
Haste, Mr. Chambers' mainpurpose was
to satirize the mental-suggestion fad that
is so fashionable just now, and, inciden
tally coin a few ducats. For, even novel
ists must live.
Ned: Niggei an Gent'man. By Judge Nor
man . Kittrell. Price. $1.50. The Neale
Publishing Company, New York City.
The writer of this very readable South
ern story of the Civil War and the re
construction days which followd, is judge
of the 61st Judicial District of Texas. Ned
is an elderly negro who is body servant
to Colonel Hamilton Marshall, a planta
tion owner. T4ie Colonel and avMr. Stand
wick, the latter being .a visitor from
Maine, hold numerous conversations re
garding the war, the future of the South,
etc. while Ned contributes his share
in delicious amusing dialect. When Mr.
Standwlck is about to return home, after
a 'prolonged visit, he and Ned talk about
inscriptions on gravestones, and Ned asks
that hese words be carved on his grave
stone, after he is dead: "Ned: Nigger an
Gent'man."
The Tw of the Federal and State Con
stitutions of the United States, by Pro
fessor Frederic Josup -Stimson. $o-D0. The
Boston Book Co.. Boston, Mass.
r Frederic Jesup Stimson is professor of
comparative legislation in Harvard Uni
versity and in this learned book of 386
pages, while in a general way what he
says is intended lor the citizen, student
of politics, lawyer and instructor, yet he
states that it was written primarily for
his own use in his classes at Harvard
University. He considers that coustitu
tional law, like the law of labor and fre
contract, is in this country a live science.
This book like a certain country named
by Caesar is divided into three . arts:
First A broad, historical essay, not
technical. Is given on -points of " consti-
tutional law which are now publicly ;
talked of. Book II presents a chronolo-
gical digest of important statutes refer
ring to English constitutional principles
and also a table of excerpts from great
constitutional documents, arranged chro
nologically, showing their growth from
Magna Charta to the Massachusetts bill
of rights. Book III is made up of a com
parative presentation of the 46 state con
stitutions annotated with the correspond
ing provisions of the Federal Constitution.
Professor Stimson is of the opinion that
,lthe great political question of the law
and jurisdictional, not political, relation
of the states to the Federal Government,
the right of the states to their own cus
tomary law and their own police power,
has once more to be fought over.".
A conveniently arranged index ends the
book, which has "learned" and "law"
written all over it.
Sidereal Sidelights. By Charles Z.. Brewer.
Price, 40 cents. Balance Publishing Com
pany. Denver, Colo.
Introducing this thoughtful little book
on what is called "the new thought" and
a plea for socialistic conditions, is a sug
gestive poem on the title page:
In a can of waste from an oyster . cafe
A. pearl was thrown out to the swine one
day.
And was rooted around by a. swinish snout
Till it fell in the mouth, but it soon came
out;
For, weighted in the balance of swinish
taste.
Twas rejected and counted as worthless
TvaMe.
Then it lay in the filth and dirt of the sty
Till discovered one day by tttte glance of
the eye.
And, polished and ground, its value was
more
Than all of the swine it was cast before.
One of the principal doctrines evolved,
in the book is tTiat "one of the chief
bulwarks of the abomination of compara
tive desolation which still casts its
shadow over the earth, is the old. heart
roofed system of private property.' and
the author is of the opinion that social
ism is coming whether we like it or not.
He alpo thinks that Jesus was by birth
and training a member of the working
class, and that Jesus probably belonged
to the carpenters' union. Some of the
views enunciated startle with their vigor
and radicalism.
Handy Pete. By Thomas Buckman. The
Ncuner Company, Los Angeles, Cal.
Harks back to economic studies of Bel
lamy or Wells, and worth reading because
of its boldness of design and originality.
Capitalists who loved the acquisition of
gold better than they loved their souls,
leave to explore a distant unexplored
island, where they hear there is. gold to
be , had for the picking of it up, and
Peter Handy, also known as "Handy
Pete" for his skill and readiness as a
worker, goes along as servant. The ex
plorers are shipwrecked on the gold Isl
and, and it turns out that as gold doesn't
rule and as Pete corners the visible sup
ply of shell-fish, he stands out as the
virtual ruler of the island, by his native
shrewdness and superior strength. The
social problem is worked out in a clever
way.
Cowboy Ballads. By Bronco Bill. R Y.
McBride. Los Angeles, CaU
In brown paper covers, this collection
of poems written by one who was cor
poral in Company Q. Rough Riders
(Roosevelt's), goes the limit to 81 pages.
Dialect anl queer spelling help the gen
eral humor. In one poem "Heney," the
redoubtable Assistant District Attorney of
San Francisco, is written about in so
ruthless a fashion that I am sure the
only reason he doesn't sue the bronco
one for libel, is because the poet belongs
to Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
The Meaning of the Times, by United
States Senator Albert J.' Beveridge. The
Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, Ind.
This readable volume of 431 pages con
tains 28 selected public addresses madfe
by Senator Beveridge during the past ten
years, and shows how his style and po
litical vision have grown, if anything can.
Senator Beveridge. is now a National fig
ure and the hook which tells his thoughts
affords an admirable opportunity to be
come acquainted witii the man and the
man in public life at long range. An
introduction is wrjtten by Dr. Albert
Shaw.
J. M. QUBNTIN.
IN LIBRARY AND WORKSHOr.
?ix colored, amusing postal cards, price
30 cents', and devoted to dogs, have reached
The Oreronian from Paul Elder & Co., New
York. Sent to your friend who likes dogs
will surely tickle his taste and win an ap
proving smile. The best dog picture is that
of three dogs of debonair look, singing
this serenade: "For It's always fair weath
er when good fellows get together."
Algernon Charles Swinburne's "The, Duke
of Gandla." a tragedy of the time of the
Borglas, was reviewed in The Oregonian
May 3. The picture of Mr. Swinburne
shown on this page, is fashioned after a
painting of the poet when he was consider
ably younger- Oddly enough this is the
style of picture Mr. Swinburne, who is now
71 years old, likes to have linger the longest
In the minds of his American readers.
Miss Evelyn Groesbeeck Mitchell. A. B.
M. S., announces the advent of her help
book on "Mosquitoes." It tells how to wage
victorious war against the mosquito race in
general, and against that worst of his bad
breed, the pest-spreading anophehes. By
putting into effect the measures mainly
simple and Inexpensive measures they are
recommended by Miss Mitchell, it will often
be found that those who are tortured by
these exasperating insects may free them
selves from the infliction.
At last Thomas Hardy has completed his
prodigious Naipoleonic drama," "The Dy
nasts," a work which has engaged his at
tention to the exclusion of ail e.- for
years. It is in three parts (the first part
was published four years ago, and the sec
ond part in 1900) and contains 19 acts and
130 scenes, while the number of characters
runs Into hundreds. There are critics whose
opinions carry weight, who compare "The
Dynasts" with such masterpieces as
Goethe's "Faust" and the "Prometheus
Bound" of Aeschylus.
An indication of the increasing vogue of
living American poets appears in the an?
nouncemen-t that in Boston are nearly ready
for publication five volumes, limited to 240
sees, of the works of Madison Cawein. of
Louisville. Ky. Mr. Ca-wein has lately been
declared by William Dean Ho wells, writing
in the North American Review, to be "of
the kind of Keats and Shelly and Words
worth and Coleridge, in that truth to ob
servance and experience of nature and the
joyous expression of it which are the domi
nant characteristics of his art."
. Miss Marion Cook's Illustrated memo-book,
entitled "A Week of Hoses." with pro
gramme of events during the Portland Rose
Festival will be ready in a few days. The
first issue will be 5000 copies with more o
follow, and the cover design, of which a
representation is given on this page, was
drawn by Miss Cook. The half-tones of
Portland scenery are made from photo
graphs taken by her. The whole will form
a -pretty souvenir to send to Eastern friends,
along with a copy of The Oregonian describ
ing the beauty of "rose week" here in the
city of roses.
These new books have been received:
"The Last of the Houghtons," by, Richard
Wallace Buckley. $1.50, and "Comrades
Four," by Rev. Edward R. Rich (Neale
Pub. Co., N. Y ) "John Wesley's Conversion
and Sanetiflcation." by Carl F. Eltzholz
(Jennings & Graham, Cincinnati. O.) Mr.
Rich"s book tells of four Confederate sol
diers who went through the Civil War, and
the story has a social, reminiscent vein
that lifts it from the ordinary. Mr. Rich
Is now dean of Trinity Cathedral. Easton.
Md., and during the Civil War he was a
member of Company E. Firwt Maryland
Cavalry, Confederate army.
The representative of an Eastern news
paper recently called on Joaquin Miller at
his home in the Oakland bills, and offered
the poet a handsome sum if he would write
a poem for immediate delivery, commemor
ating that newspaper's -Mh anniversary. It
so happened .that the reporter "struck" the
poet when the latter was in a bad mood,
because in his absence wild oats had dared
to grow up and desecrate the poppy-bed In
his pet garden. Mr. Miller wai vigorously
wielding a cythe. and when he learned the
scribe's errand, he mopped his commanding
brow, caressed his flowing whiskers, and
said:
"Young man. My flowers mean more to
me than lucre. My chief income la the
deUebt thax my robes and lilies yield. Tha
THE BRIBED LEGISLATOR
BY WILLIAM B. CONWAY
This remarkable poem comes to The Oregonian from an esteemed subscriber's scrap book. The sender thinks it
not without application to Oregon at this time. It was written 70 years ago by Mr. Conway, editor of the Ebensburg
(Pa.) Mountaineer, and was inspired by the exposure or a. legislator who had been bribed to vote In the Interest of
state banks.
Of all the crimes with which the tempter's art,
Has blackened and denied the human heart;
The meanest meanness, and the vilest vile.
The basest baseness, and the deepest guile,
That ever tinged the conscious cheek with shame.
Destroyed a character, or damned a name,
The crime of crimes is clearly that which must
Result, per se, from violated trust!
Though trusts are various (as all agree,)
In weight, extent, importance and degree,
Yet still the principle involved in each,
(We care not what dishonesty may preach.)
The principle is recognized as just.
That 'every fairly delegated trust,
Which as a trust is mut'lly believed,
As such imparted, and as such received, -(Despite
of all the arguments which waive,
The scruples. from the conscience of a knave,
However deep in subtle tactics skilled,)
Should be in truth and honesty fulfilled: .
This is the" doctrine equity proclaims.
Sustained by learned and venerated names,
And this the doctrine to which truth has given
The broad, approving seal of righteous Heaven.
Destroy the sacred principle and then
Can justice dwell among the sons of men? .
Could peace and Order here consent to dwell,
Or would not earth itself become a hell?
Of all the trusts which can to man be given,
(Not to include the ministry of Heaven)
Those trusts-are clearly greatest, which relate.
To man considered in his social state;
Those public trusts, which clearly must embrace,
The weal or woe of thousands of his race,
These trusts are truly sacred, and as such, '
Corruptions vile, contaminating touch
Cannot pervert them, without spreading ill.
Beyond the basest purpose of the will.
Sad ills alas! which in their scope must urge
Their dire effects to the remotest verge
Of that society,, thraugh which they spread,
Like bitter waters from a fountain head.
The legislator, who receives a bribe
Direct, or indirect, through all the tribe
Of casuistic quibblers should unite
Their deepest skill "to prove that black is white,"
That legislator violates his trust,
Becomes defiled, and ceases to be just!
'Tis true, no man can deem it very strange
When mere opinions undergo a change;
But when opinions plainly manifest
The facts and principles on which they rest,
And trusts are thus confided clearly then,
Opinions test the honesty of men!
'Tis true, the bribed apostate may proclaim,
A host of fafcts to palliate his shame
Facts well prepared to meet his wretched case, .
And mitigate the horrors of disgrace.
Yes, he may prove, or try in vain to prove.
That scruples rose reluctantly to move
His artless mind which had alas! to strive
Against the fact that two and two make five!
Thus to "conclusions" he was "forced" to come,
And darkly wrote his artful letters home;
To prove his conscience is not made of flint.
He drops a sly preliminary hint;
Suggests his "doubts," which finally prevail,
And then he halts in "matters of detail."
He deprecates the spirit of the times,
And speaks of "party," as he should of crimes;
He modifies his motions, day by day,
As for a total change, he paves the way,
Is anxious still to justify his views,
And still defends himself, though none accuse.
And when he hears the biting, taunting jibes,
This sensitive recipient of bribes
Retorts, and plunges deeper in the toils,
And proudly bears his infamy and spoils.
Before high Heaven, he plays his frantic pranks,
Abhors corruptions! and supports the banks!
Still for "democracy" he rants and raves,
Vilest of hypocrites, and worst of knaves!
Appeals to his "constituents!" ah, why?
For they confirm his damning infamy!
If that base man detestable appears,
On whom the orphans' cries and widows' tears
Make no impression; from whose callous heart,
No sigh of pity, or remorse, can state;
Who basely cheats the mute, confiding dead,
And drives the orphans forth to beg their bread,
In sorrow and in wretchedness to roam,
Expelled by fraud, from happiness and home!
If fraud, like this must ever be despised.
Can greater frauds, though artfully disguised,.
Be less detested, less abhorred? because
The fraud in making not in breaking laws, '
Has been committed? Then, if this be true,
The world may bid integrity adieu!
Is that base man the guiltiest of men,
Who fires some cottage, in the lonely glen?
Is he not baser? Equity exclaims.
Who wraps a city in devouring flames?
And if a watchman, who his guilt can tell
That lights the torch and utters "All is well?"
And so the legislator: It he would
Take every ill and countervailing good.
Which man enjoys, or suffers, here below,
And justly balance human weal and woe.
We must proclaim that man to be the worst,
The most detestable the most accursed,
To heave on states the greatest weight of ill;
The bribed apostate, who on states would draw.
The -greatest curses in the forms of law!
The sad effects his villainy imparts.
May reach ten thousand times ten thousand hearts!
Ah, think of this, in weighing public crimes,
Which injure other men, in other times.
Ah, think(of this, with jealousy and fear.
Nor deem the writer wantonly severe;
Crimes which to sorrow,. slavery and scorn.
Doom freemen's children's children yet unborn.
These are not trifles "trifles light as air," 1
As bribing bank directors are aware.
If these be trifles, why did Freedom's son.
The great, the good, the Godlike, Washington,
Devote his life to vigilance and toil,
To rear a temple on Columbia's soil,
Beneath whose high and bright and hallowed dome,
Freedom -might find a shelter and a home,
Where every lovely virtue might appear.
Bright as heir native Heaven's unclouded sphere,
Whence Peace and Order might protection draw,
From Truth and Justice, Liberty and Law!
If these be dreams, or trifles, if you will.
Ah, why did Warren bleed on Bunker's Hill?
The Judge the Magistrate we won't describe.
Nor e'en the editor, who takes a bribe;'
The difference consists in this brief view,
The evil each, within his sphere, may do.
The principle's the same 'tis understood.
From libel suits to gallant Cilley's blood;
Pure blood! by bribes and base corruption spilt.
Whilst bribing bankers fla.unt in pride and guilt!
In pride and guilt! whilst lo! th widow's tear!
And hark! the orphan's wailings-strike the ear!
Ah, who but God , can estimate their payi?
They cry , to Heaven! Nor will tney cry, in vain!
The man who takes a bribe would strip the dead,
Or rob the orphan of bis crust of bread;
So lost to justice, equity and right,
This man would steal the aged "widow's mite;"
Is well prepared for every .kind of fraud,
Would sell his Country, or betray his God,
Pillage the palace of the King of Kings,
"Or strip the gilding from an angel's wings!"
On sad events, now passing, do reflect;
Freemen! be firm, and stern, and circumspect!
Let none be trusted, who for office pants
To pamper vulgar, artificial wants;
Let every idle, vain and vicious drone
Live if he can but trust not such a one.
Remember what time's musty record saith,
That Carthage fell and fell by "Punic Faith!"
The man who is unfaithful to a trust,
However small is vitally unjust,
And he who is unjust in little things,
Would be a villain in the courts of kings.
Present a bribe, and down his virtue falls,'
In courts, or camps, or legislative hails!
"The Bribed Apostate! Blot his hateful name
From each and every scroll of honest fame.
Let no man trust him none forbear to shed
Contempt, and deep dishonors on his head;
Let scorn still point her finger and her jibes,
And say: Behold the consequence of bribes!
Let guileless children, as he passes by,
Shrink from his touch, and shudder at his eye;
Let lovely women loathe him with disgust, '
And shun him like the reptile in the dust;
And, whilst he lives, let infamy alone,
Claim the Bribed Legislator as her own;
Until he dies, and sinks into the grave,
To poison worms that feed upon the knave.
There 'midst the storjjis, let hideous Furies foul,
Hold nightly revels, and In concert howl;
Let hissing reptiles make that spot their home,
And be the watchful guardians of his tomb;
And when he goes to hell, let devil, stare.
And ask him, who the devil sent him there?
And feel the insult deep, severe and keen,
To see a fiend pre-eminently mean,
'Midst better devils rudely ushered in,
A foul, appalling prodigy of sin;
And In Hell's fiercest, hottest, furnace cram'd
Let him be damned! Superlatively damned!
And why not damned! for such transcendent
crimes?
Yes, damned eternally, ten thousand times!
Ebensburg, Pa., March 2 8, 1838.
poetry they breathe is a thousand times
more beautiful than any I could dare hope
to write. Thy need my care. I have no
time to earn money."
The reporter is expected to recover this
Fall.
Mrs. Humphry Ward, the English novel
ist, has arranged for the publication by
Houghton, Mifflin & Co. of the first complete
and uniform edition of her writings. This
is literary news of the greatest interest to
Mrs "Ward's countless American readers,
who will be only too glad of the opportun
ity to obtain her books in an adequate and
pprmanent style. Following the excellent
edition of George Eliot's works, which has
just been issued in Boston, this set of Mrs.
Ward's writings will place on the lists of
these publishers the complete works of
the two greatest Englishwomen of recent
times. "Some special illustrative features
are being planned for Mrs. Ward's works
which will add greatly to the interest of the
new edition.
Books Added to Library
Out of Babies' Mouths.
Dr. Garrit J. Kollen, the president of
Hope College, at a dinner in Holland,
Mich., recounted some quaint juvenile
definitions.
"They are definitions. said Dr. Kol
len, "given by little 'Children in exam
inations. Some of them, I think, are
rather good. Some show unconscious,
some intended humor."
And with that preface he began:
"'Perspiration When the heat
makes you cry all over.
" 'Fan A tains to brush the warm
off with.'
" 'Monkey A little boy with a tail.'
" 'Clear soup A quart of water
boiled down to a pint to make it
strong.' " The Budget.
will so Into circulation May 18: .
BIOGRAPHY.
Catherine of Siena Saint Catherine of
Fina and her times; by Margaret Robert!.
190.
Mahan From sail to ateam; recollections
of naval iire. iu7.
DESCRIPTION" AND TRAVEf
Dampier Voyages; ed. 'by John Masefield.
loos.
Okey Old Venetian palaces and old Vene
tian folk. 1107.
USEFUL. ARTS.
Boilermaker Laying out for boilermaker
and sheet metalworker... 1907.
Connecticut train lng-chool for nurses A
handbook of nursing. Rev. ed. 100ft.
Cook Practical poultry-breeder and feeder.
Ed. 13. n. d.
KlsJer The metallurgy of gold. Ed. 5,
enl. 1900.
Graham Wireless telegraphy for amateurs,
n. d.
Parr Electrical engineering measuring in
strument. 1903.
Peer Polling, ensilage and stable construc
tion. 1906. ,
Richards Sanitation in daily life. 1907.
Star buckModern plumbing illustrated.
1907.
Suplee The mechanical engineer's reference
book. Ed. 3. rev- 19u7.
Van Slyke Modern methods of teMlng milk
and mttk products. Rav. ed. 1907.
Wllloughby Milk, iu production and uses.
1903.
Woodworth Grinding and lapping tools,
processes and fixture. 1907.
V HISTORY.
Oman The great revolt of .1381. 1906.
FINE ARTS.
Lethaby Westminster Abbey and the
King's Craftsmen. 1906.
Martin Monographs: Garrick. Mac ready,
Rachel and Baron Stockmar. 1906.
White How to do bead-work. 1904.
FICTION.
Bjornson In God's Way. 2 v.
Canfield Gunhild; a Norwegian-American
episode.
Castle & Castle Flower o" the orange and
othrr tales of bygone daya.
Fog-azarrc The Politician.
Maartens, paeud.) The new religion; a
modern novel.
SCIENCE).
Lankester The kingdom of man. 190".
Laurie The food of plants. 1907.
Marshall Mosses and lichen. 1907.
Masse e A text-book of plant disease cauatd
by cryptogamic parasites.- Ed. 3. 1907.
Pages Aquaris. 1W8.
SOCIOLOGY.
Gorst JThe children of the nation; how their
health and vigor should be promoted by the
state. 19u7.
Hord Internal taxation in the Philippines.
1907.
I -a re son Rloyd for the three upper grammar
grades. 1907.
Malvery The soul market. 1907.
Solomon Theory of educational sloyd. EM.
4. 1907.
BOOKS ADDBD TO THE REFERENCE PB
PARTM BNT.
American society of civil engineers Tran
sactions, v. SO. 1907.
Brennan Brennan's handbook; a com
pendium of useful legal Information for busi
ness men. 1907.
Burke Peerage. Ed. 70. 1908-
Gillette Earthwork and Its cost. 1903.
Star buck Modern plumbing Illustrated.
1907.
United States Continental Congress. Jour
nals; 1774-178it. v. 10. 1908.
BOOKS ADDED TO THK JUVENILE DE
PARTMENT. Davis Nature stories for youngeM readers.
I,ucas, ed. Another book of verses for
children.
Marshall Simple electrical working models.