279: 18. Mosby... Mahone. Colonel John S. Mosby was one of the most daring guerrilla chiefs on the Confederate side in the Civil War. General William Mahone rose to be one of Lee's division commanders, and particularly distinguished himself in the fights around Petersburg, Virginia, near the close of the war.

279: 19. If Wilder's wild brigade or Morgan's men.

General Wilder was

a Union cavalry leader, whose operations were often directed against General Morgan.

General John H. Morgan was a bold Confederate cavalry raider, who operated mainly in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. He was killed at Greenville, Tennessee, near the close of the war.

280: 2. Sheridan . . . Cleburne. General Philip H. Sheridan was one of the ablest and most famous Federal cavalry leaders. He was at the head of Grant's cavalry at Appomattox.

General Patrick Cleburne, a Confederate general, sometimes called "the Stonewall of the West," was killed at Franklin, Tennessee, in 1864.

The prophecy contained in this poem, that if ever the United States should become engaged in a war with a foreign power, the veterans of both sides in the Civil War would stand shoulder to shoulder, was amply fulfilled in the Spanish-American War of 1898.

WILL HENRY THOMPSON

280. The High Tide at Gettysburg. A spirit of the broadest patriotism breathes through this poem written by a Confederate soldier about the greatest battle of the Civil War. In genuineness of feeling, in intensity, in vividness and vigor of both thought and expression, it is probably surpassed by no poem dealing with the Civil War. It seems to reach "the high tide" of the verse inspired by that great struggle.

280 15. Pickett. General George E. Pickett, who made the last and fatal charge of the Confederates at Gettysburg. General Lee had pushed forward into Pennsylvania, in 1863, and met the Federal forces at Gettysburg under General Meade, and, after three days of fierce fighting, was forced to retreat southward. This battle was the turning point of the Civil War. The fortunes of the Confederacy steadily waned, and culminated in Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox, in 1865.

281 2. Pettigrew. General James Johnston Pettigrew, an accomplished Confederate officer, who was killed in a skirmish on the retreat from Gettysburg. His North Carolina brigade took part in Pickett's charge. He traveled widely in Europe before the Civil War, and took the part of Italy in her war against Austria. He wrote a book about Spain and the Spaniards. His early death was greatly lamented.

281: 3. A Khamsin wind. A hot, dry wind common in the deserts of Africa.

281: 6. Kemper. General J. L. Kemper, wounded at Gettysburg; afterward governor of Virginia.

281 7. Garnett. General R. B. Garnett, killed while leading Pickett's charge.

281 10. Armistead. General L. A. Armistead, killed in Pickett's charge. He had also seen service in the Mexican War.

281 20. Doubleday. General Abner Doubleday, a well-known Federal general, and also a veteran of the Mexican War.

LATER PERIOD

THE poetry of this period reflects the spirit of the age. It displays, for instance, strong, sincere liking for all out-of-door things, a deep interest in social problems and in questions of human conduct, and a sober consciousness of national responsibility. On its lighter side, it is brightened by grace, sparkle, nimbleness of wit, and adroitness of manner. But whether the theme be grave or gay, there is always present a strong sense of form. The apt word, the illuminating phrase, the musical cadence, the quick and unexpected play of the fancy- these are qualities generally present. Though there is undoubtedly absent some of the fire and deep feeling of the preceding age, for the impulse given to poetic emotion by the Civil War has grown fainter and fainter, - yet there is in the poetry of this period a great deal that is admirable, both in spirit and in workmanship.

What the future may bring forth, no man knows. The present is an age of vast industrial expansion, and very often it seems to care little for poetry; but this impressive industrial progress may be preparing the way for an outburst of imaginative expression later on.

HENRY VAN DYKE

283. Tennyson. Dr. van Dyke is one of the most enthusiastic students of Tennyson in America. He also enjoyed the intimate friendship of the great poet, and for this reason, as well as for others, he was peculiarly fitted to write this graceful, musical, and sincere lament.

284. An Angler's Wish. These verses will meet a quick response from every one who lives most of his days within four walls, but who in his heart loves "God's blessed out-of-doors."

286. The Song Sparrow. Dr. van Dyke has a faculty of making the very small things of earth contribute to the good cheer of the world. His

whole-hearted joyousness in life shines through everything he writes, and is one of his most attractive qualities.

EUGENE FIELD

287. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. It is not too much to say that nobody in American letters has surpassed Eugene Field in writing graceful, tender, and endearing verses about children.

289. Little Boy Blue. Field was a master of both tears and laughter, which are often not far apart. This poem shows him at his best as a master of simple pathos. The thought is as old as humanity, but it never loses its interest when deftly expressed.

EDWIN MARKHAM

290. The Man with the Hoe. The central idea of this poem was suggested to Mr. Markham by the famous picture, "The Man with the Hoe," by the French painter Millet (1814-1875). It represents a French peasant standing in the field leaning on his hoe. His back is bent with toil and his face is devoid of intelligence or hope. He is "stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox." The vacant stare betrays an inheritance of ceaseless work with scant reward.

To the casual observer, the picture suggests little more than a life of toil unrelieved by any softening influence; but it suggested to Mr. Markham a very old question,- Why are the fortunes of men so unequal? If man is created in the image of God, why should some men always be hewers of wood while others sit clothed in purple ? Mr. Markham sets this down to the tyranny of rulers who oppress the ignorant, and he warns these rulers that a day of judgment will surely come. There is nothing novel about such opinions, but in this poem they are expressed so vividly, and with such sincere feeling, that the reader's imagination is stirred and his sympathies aroused.

291: 7. Plato, an ancient Grecian philosopher, who reasoned much about the immortality of the soul.

Pleiades, a cluster of seven stars in the constellation Taurus.

JOHN VANCE CHENEY

292. The Man with the Hoe. A Reply. Mr. Cheney does not think that the inequality of man is due entirely to the oppression of rulers. He suggests that there are certain laws of nature which operate in their appointed ways; that those who rise do so by merit, and that those who fall are lacking in capacity; and that, after all, the laboring man has rest and peace after his labor-pleasures often denied to kings. These ideas are no more

novel than those expressed by Mr. Markham, but they are set forth in terse, apt, and vivid phrases, and not without human sympathy.

Mr. Markham's poem seems somewhat influenced by the socialistic unrest of the age. Socialism would abolish competition in life, and reconstruct society on the basis of equal ownership of property. Mr. Cheney's poem, on the other hand, takes the conservative position that nature's laws should be left to work themselves out without too much meddling by man.

Neither poem solves the problem, of course, nor is it ever likely to be solved until the coming of the millennium.

EDITH MATILDA THOMAS

294. Mother England. The complex feeling of an American woman of many gifts is effectively set forth in these lines. In them there is neither servility nor boastfulness; but there is admiration, dignity, and love. The emotion expressed is no less real because it is touched with reserve.

295. The Mother who died Too. Miss Thomas has the unusual gift of being able to express tender emotion without lapsing into sentimentality. She does it with restraint, with phrasing at once delicate and firm, and with absolute precision.

JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

296. The Old Man and Jim. These verses, written in the Hoosier dialect, have a homely pathos that makes an effective appeal to all hearts.

298. Ike Walton's Prayer. The theme of this poem is old, but the desire for contentment is as old as the world, and is felt by every one; and when expression is given to this feeling in language that appeals simply and directly to the imagination, it is sure to be widely appreciated.

EUGENE FITCH WARE

301. Quivera-Kansas. This poem was written to celebrate the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the first arrival of Europeans upon the soil of Kansas, which is a part of a region once called Quivera by the Indians. The Spaniards came up from Mexico in search of cities and gold, but they made no permanent settlement in what is now Kansas. It was left for the sturdy Anglo-Saxon to turn the wilderness into rich fields of corn and wheat, and to build towns and cities and railroads.

301 6. the restless Coronado. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, a Spanish soldier, probably went to Mexico in 1535 with the viceroy Mendoza. In 1540 he headed an expedition to the North, with a small army of Spaniards and Indians, to seize Cibola, a province in New Mexico, which was said to

contain cities of fabulous wealth. Coronado, finding neither cities nor gold, was persuaded by a plausible Indian to pursue his explorations eastwar into Kansas. Here he found plains filled with buffalo instead of rich cities. Finally the Indian confessed that he had lured him and his followers into the desert to bring about their ruin. Thereupon the lying Indian was promptly hanged. The Spaniards, broken by privations and hardships, returned discontentedly to Mexico.

3029. It with plows besieged the sky. The general meaning of this line is, that the Saxon by sheer pluck and persistence conquered unfavorable climatic conditions and forced the soil to become productive.

Mr. Ware's poem makes use of the early Spanish explorations as an attractive setting, and it furthermore gives voice throughout to the unconquerable hopefulness and energetic Americanism of the sturdy West.

CHARLES HENRY LÜDERS

303. The Four Winds. Few poems are more attractive than this in melody, aptness of phrase, and outdoor atmosphere.

HENRY CUYLER BUNNER

304. The Way to Arcady. For light, tripping movement, airy grace of thought, and gentle pathos that is pensive but not oppressive, these verses are widely admired.

307. The Chaperon. The graceful play of Bunner's imagination is nowhere seen to better advantage than in these deftly turned lines.

308 8. Midas was a king in ancient mythology who had the power of turning everything he touched into gold. Bunner applies the term here to a young man whose mind is centered on wealth.

FRANK DEMPSTER SHERMAN

309. On a Greek Vase. Mr. Sherman is excelled by few poets of the day for daintiness of fancy, lightness of touch, and perfection of form.

309. On Some Buttercups. In these lines he shows the same graceful play of the imagination and refinement of feeling that mark most of his verses. To turn off an attractive poem on a light subiect is not so easy as it seems.

LOUISE IMOGEN GUINEY

310. The Wild Ride. These verses suggest very vividly the struggles which have to be endured by every man who sets before him a high standard of conduct.