diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-0.txt | 11569 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-0.zip | bin | 0 -> 250619 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 298818 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-h/30637-h.htm | 14434 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-h/images/001.jpg | bin | 0 -> 9572 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-h/images/002.png | bin | 0 -> 2964 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-h/images/003.png | bin | 0 -> 3007 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-h/images/004.png | bin | 0 -> 4473 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 30637-h/images/005.png | bin | 0 -> 8153 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/30637.txt | 11594 |
13 files changed, 37613 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/30637-0.txt b/30637-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..260ee3a --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11569 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Writings in The United Amateur, 1915-1922, by Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: Writings in The United Amateur, 1915-1922 + +Author: Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +Contributor: Andrew Francis Lockhart + Rheinhart Kleiner + Frank Belknap Long + +Release Date: December 9, 2009 [eBook #30637] +[Most recently updated: October 24, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: David Starner, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNITED AMATEUR *** + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Italic text has been marked by _underscores_, whilst bold text + appears as =bold=. The following table of contents has been added + for convenience: + + United Amateur Press Association: + Exponent of Amateur Journalism 4 + + The United Amateur, January 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 7 + + The United Amateur, March 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 10 + March 14 + + The United Amateur, May 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 15 + + The United Amateur, September 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 21 + Little Journeys to the Homes of Prominent Amateurs 31 + + The United Amateur, February 1916 + The Teuton's Battle-Song 33 + + The United Amateur, April 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 35 + + The United Amateur, June 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 42 + The Poetry of the Month: Content 49 + + The United Amateur, August 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 50 + + The United Amateur, September 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 54 + + The United Amateur, November 1916 + The Alchemist 61 + + The United Amateur, March 1917 + Department of Public Criticism 65 + + The United Amateur, May 1917 + Department of Public Criticism 71 + + The United Amateur, July 1917 + Ode for July Fourth, 1917 80 + Department of Public Criticism 81 + News Notes: To M. W. M. 84 + + The United Amateur, November 1917 + A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson 84 + Department of Public Criticism 87 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 90 + + The United Amateur, January 1918 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 91 + + The United Amateur, March 1918 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 92 + + The United Amateur, May 1918 + Sunset 92 + Department of Public Criticism 93 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 98 + + The United Amateur, June 1918 + Astrophobos 99 + + The United Amateur, July 1918 + At the Root 100 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 101 + + The United Amateur, November 1918 + Department of Literature: The Literature of Rome 102 + To Alan Seeger 106 + + The United Amateur, January 1919 + Theodore Roosevelt 107 + + The United Amateur, March 1919 + A Note on Howard P. Lovecraft's Verse 108 + Official Reports: Department of Public Criticism 109 + + The United Amateur, May 1919 + Helene Hoffman Cole--Litterateur 113 + + The United Amateur, July 1919 + Americanism 114 + + The United Amateur, November 1919 + The White Ship 115 + To Mistress Sophia Simple, Queen of the Cinema 118 + + The United Amateur, January 1920 + Literary Composition 119 + + The United Amateur, May 1920 + For What Does the United Stand? 123 + + The United Amateur, September 1920 + Poetry and the Gods 124 + + The United Amateur, November 1920 + Nyarlathotep 128 + Editorial 129 + Official Organ Fund 130 + + The United Amateur, January 1921 + Official Organ Fund 130 + + The United Amateur, March 1921 + Winifred Virginia Jackson: A "Different" Poetess 130 + Ex Oblivione 134 + Official Organ Fund 134 + + The United Amateur, September 1921 + The United Amateur 135 + Editorial 136 + + The United Amateur, November 1921 + The United Amateur 138 + Official Organ Fund 138 + + The United Amateur, January 1922 + The United Amateur 139 + Editorial 139 + + The United Amateur, March 1922 + Official Organ Fund 140 + + The United Amateur, May 1922 + Official Organ Fund 140 + At the Home of Poe 140 + + + + + THE + UNITED AMATEUR + + SEPTEMBER 1915 + + [Illustration: HOWARD P. LOVECRAFT + First Vice-President U. A. P. A.] + + + + +United Amateur Press Association + +EXPONENT OF AMATEUR JOURNALISM + + +ITS OBJECT + +The desire to write for publication is one which inheres strongly in +every human breast. From the proficient college graduate, storming the +gates of the high-grade literary magazines, to the raw schoolboy, vainly +endeavoring to place his first crude compositions in the local +newspapers, the whole intelligent public are today seeking expression +through the printed page, and yearning to behold their thoughts and +ideals permanently crystallized in the magic medium of type. But while a +few persons of exceptional talent manage eventually to gain a foothold +in the professional world of letters rising to celebrity through the +wide diffusion of their art, ideals, or opinions; the vast majority, +unless aided in their education by certain especial advantages, are +doomed to confine their expression to the necessarily restricted sphere +of ordinary conversation. To supply these especial educational +advantages which may enable the general public to achieve the +distinction of print, and which may prevent the talented but unknown +author from remaining forever in obscurity, has arisen that largest and +foremost of societies for literary education =The United Amateur Press +Association=. + + +ITS ORIGIN + +Amateur journalism, or the composition and circulation of small, +privately printed magazines, is an instructive diversion which has +existed in the United States for over half a century. In the decade of +1866-1876 this practice first became an organized institution; a +short-lived society of amateur journalists, including the now famous +publisher, Charles Scribner, having existed from 1869 to 1874. In 1876 a +more lasting society was formed, which exists to this day as an exponent +of light dilettantism. Not until 1895, however, was amateur journalism +established as a serious branch of educational endeavour. On September +2nd of that year, Mr. William H. Greenfield, a gifted professional +author, of Philadelphia, founded =The United Amateur Press Association=, +which has grown to be the leader of its kind, and the representative of +amateur journalism in its best phases throughout the English-speaking +world. + + +ITS NATURE + +In many respects the word "amateur" fails to do full credit to amateur +journalism and the association which best represents it. To some minds +the term conveys an idea of crudity and immaturity, yet the =United= can +boast of members and publications whose polish and scholarship are +well-nigh impeccable. In considering the adjective "amateur" as applied +to the press association, we must adhere to the more basic +interpretation, regarding the word as indicating the non-mercenary +nature of the membership. Our amateurs write purely for love of their +art, without the stultifying influence of commercialism. Many of them +are prominent professional authors in the outside world, but their +professionalism never creeps into their association work. The atmosphere +is wholly fraternal, and courtesy takes the place of currency. + +The real essential of amateur journalism and =The United Amateur Press +Association= is the amateur paper or magazine, which somewhat resembles +the average high-school or college publication. These journals, varying +greatly in size and character, are issued by various members at their +own expense, and contain, besides the literary work of their several +editors or publishers, contributions from all the many members who do +not publish papers of their own. Their columns are open to every person +in the association, and it may be said with justice that no one will +find it impossible to secure the publication of any literary composition +of reasonable brevity. The papers thus published are sent free to all +our many members, who constitute a select and highly appreciative +reading public. Since each member receives the published work of every +other member, many active and brilliant minds are brought into close +contact, and questions of every sort, literary, historical, and +scientific, are debated both in the press and in personal +correspondence. The correspondence of members is one of the most +valuable features of the =United=, for through this medium a great +intellectual stimulus, friendly and informal in nature, is afforded. +Congenial members are in this way brought together in a lettered +companionship, which often grows into life-long friendship, while +persons of opposed ideas may mutually gain much breadth of mind by +hearing the other side of their respective opinions discussed in a +genial manner. In short, the =United= offers an exceptionally +well-proportioned mixture of instruction and fraternal cheer. There are +no limits of age, sex, education, position, or locality in this most +complete of democracies. Boys and girls of twelve and men and women of +sixty, parents and their sons and daughters, college professors and +grammar-school pupils, aristocrats and intelligent labourers, Easterners +and Westerners, are here given equal advantages, those of greater +education helping their cruder brethren until the common fund of culture +is as nearly level as it can be in any human organization. Members are +classified according to age; "A" meaning under sixteen, "B" from 16 to +21, and "C" over 21. The advantages offered to those of limited +acquirements are immense, many persons having gained practically all +their literary polish through membership in the =United=. A much +cherished goal is professional authorship or editorship, and numerous +indeed are the =United= members who have now become recognized authors, +poets, editors, and publishers. True, though trite, is the saying that +amateur journalism is an actual training school for professional +journalism. + + +ITS PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES + +Members of the =United= may or may not publish little papers of their +own. This is a matter of choice, for there are always enough journals to +print the work of the non-publishing members. Youths who possess +printing presses will find publishing an immense but inexpensive +pleasure, whilst other publishers may have their printing done at very +reasonable rates by those who do own presses. The favorite size for +amateur papers is 5◊7 inches, which can be printed at 55 or 60 cents per +page, each page containing about 250 words. Thus a four-page issue +containing 1000 words can be published for less than $2.50, if +arrangements are made, as is often the case, for its free mailing with +any other paper. Certain of the more pretentious journals affect the +7◊10 size, which costs about $1.60 for each page of 700 words. These +figures allow for 250 copies, the most usual number to be mailed. Mr. +E. E. Ericson of Elroy, Wisconsin, is our Official Printer, and his work +is all that the most fastidious could demand. Other printers may be +found amongst the young men who print their own papers. In many cases +they can quote very satisfactory prices. Two or more members may issue a +paper co-operatively, the individual expense then being very slight. + + +ITS CONTRIBUTED LITERATURE + +The =United= welcomes all literary contributions; poems, stories, and +essays, which the various members may submit. However, contribution is +by no means compulsory, and in case a member finds himself too busy for +activity, he may merely enjoy the free papers which reach him, without +taxing himself with literary labour. For those anxious to contribute, +every facility is provided. In some cases negotiations are made directly +between publisher and contributor, but the majority are accommodated by +the two Manuscript Bureaus, Eastern and Western, which receive +contributions in any quantity from the non-publishing members, and are +drawn upon for material by those who issue papers. These bureaus +practically guarantee on the one hand to find a place for each member's +manuscript, and on the other hand to keep each publisher well supplied +with matter for his journal. + + +ITS CRITICAL DEPARTMENTS + +The two critical departments of the =United= are at present the most +substantial of its various educational advantages. The Department of +Private Criticism is composed exclusively of highly cultured members, +usually professors or teachers of English, who practically mould the +taste of the whole association, receiving and revising before +publication the work of all who choose to submit it to them. The service +furnished free by this department is in every way equal to that for +which professional critical bureaus charge about two dollars. +Manuscripts are carefully corrected and criticised in every detail, and +authors are given comprehensive advice designed to elevate their taste, +style, and grammar. Many a crude but naturally gifted writer has been +developed to polished fluency and set on the road to professional +authorship through the =United's= Department of Private Criticism. + +The Department of Public Criticism reviews thoroughly and impartially +the various printed papers and their contents, offering precepts and +suggestions for improvement. Its reports are printed in the official +organ of the association, and serve as a record of our literary +achievement. + + +ITS LITERARY AWARDS + +To encourage excellence amongst the members of the =United=, annual +honours or "laureateships" are awarded the authors of the best poems, +stories, essays, or editorials. Participation in these competitions is +not compulsory, since they apply only to pieces which have been +especially "entered for laureateship." The entries are judged not by the +members of the association, but by highly distinguished litterateurs of +the professional world, selected particularly for the occasion. Our +latest innovation is a laureateship for the best home-printed paper, +which will excite keen rivalry among our younger members, and bring out +some careful specimens of the typographical art. Besides the +laureateships there are other honours and prizes awarded by individual +publishers within the =United=, many of the amateur journals offering +excellent books for the best stories, reviews, or reports submitted to +them. + + +ITS OFFICIAL ORGAN + +The association, as a whole, publishes a voluminous 7◊10 monthly +magazine called =The United Amateur=, which serves as the official +organ. In this magazine may be found the complete revised list of +members, the reports of officers and committees, the ample reviews +issued by the Department of Public Criticism, a selection of the best +contemporary amateur literature, together with the latest news of +amateur journalists and their local clubs from all over the Anglo-Saxon +world. =The United Amateur= is published by an annually elected Official +Editor, and printed by the Official Publisher. It is sent free to all +members of the association. + + +ITS GOVERNMENT + +=The United Amateur Press Association= is governed by a board of +officers elected by popular vote. The elections take place at the annual +conventions, where amateurs from all sections meet and fraternize. Those +who attend vote in person, whilst all others send in proxy ballots. +There is much friendly rivalry between cities concerning the selection +of the convention seat each year. The principal elective officers of the +=United= are the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, the +Official Editor and the three members of the Board of Directors. There +are also a Historian, a Laureate Recorder, and two Manuscript Managers. +Appointed by the President are the members of the two Departments of +Criticism, the Supervisor of Amendments, the Official Publisher, and the +Secretary of the association. All save Secretary and Official Publisher, +serve without remuneration. The basic law of the =United= comprises an +excellent Constitution and By-Laws. + + +ITS LOCAL CLUBS + +The =United= encourages the formation of local literary or press clubs +in cities or towns containing several members. These clubs generally +publish papers, and hold meetings wherein the pleasures of literature +are enlivened by those of the society. The most desirable form of club +activity is that in which a high-school instructor forms a literary +society of the more enthusiastic members of his class. + + +ITS PLACE IN EDUCATION + +During the past two years, as it has approached and passed its twentieth +birthday, the =United= has been endeavoring more strongly than ever to +find and occupy its true place amongst the many and varied phases of +education. That it discharges an unique function in literary culture is +certain, and its members have of late been trying very actively to +establish and define its relation to the high-school and the university. +Mr. Maurice Winter Moe, Instructor of English at the Appleton High +School, Appleton, Wisconsin, and one of our very ablest members, took +the first decisive step by organizing his pupils into an amateur press +club, using the =United= to supplement his regular class-room work. The +scholars were delighted, and many have acquired a love of good +literature which will never leave them. Three or four, in particular, +have become prominent in the affairs of the =United=. After +demonstrating the success of his innovation, Mr. Moe described it in +=The English Journal=, his article arousing much interest in educational +circles, and being widely reprinted by other papers. In November, 1914, +Mr. Moe addressed an assemblage of English teachers in Chicago, and +there created so much enthusiasm for the =United=, that scores of +instructors have subsequently joined our ranks, many of them forming +school clubs on the model of the original club at Appleton. Here, then, +is one definite destiny for our association: to assist the teaching of +advanced English in the high-school. We are especially eager for +high-school material, teachers and pupils alike. + +But there still remain a numerous class, who, though not connected with +school or college, have none the less sincere literary aspirations. At +present they are benefited immensely through mental contact with our +more polished members, yet for the future we plan still greater aids for +their development, by the creation of a systematic "Department of +Instruction," which will, if successfully established, amount +practically to a free correspondence school, and an "Authors' Placing +Bureau," which will help amateurs in entering the professional field. +Our prime endeavor is at present to secure members of high mental and +scholastic quality, in order that the =United= may be strengthened for +its increasing responsibility. Professors, teachers, clergymen, and +authors have already responded in gratifying numbers to our wholly +altruistic plea for their presence among us. The reason for the +=United's= success as an educational factor seems to lie principally in +the splendid loyalty and enthusiasm which all the members somehow +acquire upon joining. Every individual is alert for the welfare of the +association, and its activities form the subject of many of the current +essays and editorials. The ceaseless writing in which most of the +members indulge is in itself an aid to fluency, while the mutual +examples and criticisms help on still further the pleasantly unconscious +acquisition of a good literary style. When regular courses of +instruction shall have been superimposed upon these things, the +association can indeed afford to claim a place of honour in the world of +education. + + +ITS ENTRANCE CONDITIONS + +The only requirement for admission to the =United= is earnest literary +aspiration. Any member will furnish the candidate for admission with an +application blank, signed in recommendation. This application, filled +out and forwarded to the Secretary of the association with the sum of +fifty cents as dues for the first year, and accompanied by a +"credential," or sample of the candidate's original literary work, will +be acted upon with due consideration by the proper official. No +candidate of real sincerity will be denied admittance, and the applicant +will generally be soon rewarded by his certificate of membership, signed +by the President and Secretary. Papers, letters, and postal cards of +welcome will almost immediately pour in upon him, and he will in due +time behold his credential in print. (Unless it be something already +printed.) Once a member, his dues will be one dollar yearly, and if he +should ever leave the =United=, later desiring to join again, his +reinstatement fee will be one dollar. + + +ITS REPRESENTATIVES + +=The United Amateur Press Association= is anything but local in its +personnel. Its active American membership extends from Boston to Los +Angeles, and from Milwaukee to Tampa, thus bringing all sections in +contact, and representing every phase of American thought. Its English +membership extends as far north as Newcastle-on-Tyne. Typical papers are +published in England, California, Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, +Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, District of Columbia, New York, +and Rhode Island. + +In writing for entrance blanks or for further information concerning the +=United=, the applicant may address any one of the following officers, +who will gladly give details, and samples of amateur papers: Leo +Fritter, President, 503 Central National Bank Bldg., Columbus, Ohio; +H. P. Lovecraft, Vice-President, 598 Angell St., Providence, R. I.; Mrs. +J. W. Renshaw, Second Vice-President, Coffeeville, Miss.; William J. +Dowdell, Secretary, 2428 East 66th St., Cleveland, Ohio; or Edward F. +Daas, Official Editor, 1717 Cherry St., Milwaukee, Wis. Professional +authors interested in our work are recommended to communicate with the +Second Vice-President, while English teachers may derive expert +information from Maurice W. Moe, 658 Atlantic St., Appleton, Wis. Youths +who possess printing-presses are referred to the Secretary, who is +himself a young typographer. + + +ITS PROVINCE SUMMARIZED + + =If you are= a student of elementary English desirous of attaining + literary polish in an enjoyable manner, + + =If you are= an ordinary citizen, burning with the ambition to + become an author, + + =If you are= a solitary individual wishing for a better chance to + express yourself, + + =If you own= a printing-press and would like to learn how to issue a + high-grade paper, + + =If you are= a mature person eager to make up for a youthful lack of + culture, + + =If you are= a professor or teacher seeking a new method of + interesting your English class, or + + =If you are= an author or person of ripe scholarship, anxious to aid + your cruder brothers on their way, then + + YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE UNITED AMATEUR + PRESS ASSOCIATION. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Vice-President. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA + + VOLUME XIV GEORGETOWN, ILL., JANUARY, 1915. NUMBER 3 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +THE BADGER for January is the first number of a strikingly meritorious +and serious paper published by George S. Schilling. We here behold none +of the frivolity which spoils the writings of those who view amateur +journalism merely as a passing amusement. The Badger shows evidence of +careful and tasteful editorship, combined with a commendable artistic +sense in choice of paper and cover. + +The leading article, an essay on the minimum wage, is from the pen of +the editor, and shows both literary ability and a sound knowledge of +economics. "Sister to the Ox", by A. W. Ashby, is an excellent short +story whose strength is rather in its moral than in its plot. The +editorials are certainly not lacking in force, and seem well calculated +to stir the average amateur from his torpor of triteness and inanity. + +THE INSPIRATION for November is an "Official Number", containing the +work of none but titled authors. Rheinhart Kleiner contributes the +single piece of verse, a smooth and pleasing lyric entitled "Love +Again", which is not unlike his previous poem, "Love, Come Again". As an +amatory poet, Mr. Kleiner shows much delicacy of sentiment, refinement +of language, and appreciation of metrical values; his efforts in this +direction entitle him to a high place among amateur bards. + +One of the truly notable prose features of the magazine is Walter John +Held's delightful sketch of Joaquin Miller's home and haunts. This +artistic picture of Californian scenery exhibits a real comprehension of +the beauties of Nature, and stirs to an unusual degree the imagination +of the reader. Mr. Held's prose possesses a fluency and grace that bring +it close to the professional quality, and its few faults are far less +considerable than might be expected from the pen of a young author. +However, we must remark some rather awkward examples of grammatical +construction. The correct plural of "eucalyptus" is "eucalypti", without +any final "s", the name being treated as a Latin noun of the second +declension. "Slowly and dignified--it pursues its way" is hardly a +permissible clause; the adjective "dignified" must be exchanged for an +adverb. Perhaps Mr. Held sought to employ poetical enallage, but even +so, the adjective does not correspond with "slowly"; besides, the use of +enallage in prose is at best highly questionable. "This free and rank +flowers and brush" is another bad clause. But it is not well to dissect +the sketch too minutely. A youth of Mr. Held's ability needs only time +and continued practice to raise him to the highest rank in prose +composition. + +INVICTUS for January, the first number of Mr. Paul J. Campbell's new +individual paper, is one of those rare journals concerning which it is +almost impossible to speak without enthusiasm. Not one of its twenty-six +pages fails to delight us. Foremost in merit, and most aptly suited to +Mr. Campbell's particular type of genius, are the three inspiring +essays, "The Impost of the Future", "The Sublime Ideal", and "Whom God +Hath Put Asunder". Therein appears to great advantage the keen reasoning +and sound materialistic philosophy of the author. "The Sublime Ideal" is +especially absorbing, tracing as it does the expansion of the human mind +from a state of the narrowest and most violent bigotry to its present +moderate breadth. + +The three pieces of verse, "Inspiration", "The Larger Life", and "Down +in Mexico", are all of smooth construction and musical metre, though +not exhibiting their author's powers as well as his essays. "Down in +Mexico", a virile poem in Kipling's style, is unquestionably the best of +the three. + +Mr. Campbell's comments on amateur affairs are well-written and +entertaining, especially his reminiscent article entitled "After Seven +Years". + +OUTWARD BOUND for January is an excellent journal edited by George +William Stokes of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. It is gratifying to behold +such a paper as this, one of the links between America and the parent +country which the United is helping to forge. + +Herbert B. Darrow opens the issue with a short story entitled "A +Lesson". The tale is of conventional pattern, containing a sound though +not strikingly original moral. The language is generally good, except in +one sentence where the author speaks of "the vehicles in the street and +buildings about him". Surely he does not mean that the vehicles were in +the buildings as well as in the street. The use of the definite article +before the word "buildings" would do much toward dispelling the +ambiguous effect. + +"The Haunted Forest", a poem by J. H. Fowler, is almost Poe-like in its +grimly fantastic quality. We can excuse rather indefinite metre when we +consider the admirably created atmosphere, the weird harmony of the +lines, the judicious use of alliteration, and the apt selection of +words. "Bird-shunned", as applied to the thickets of the forest, is a +particularly graphic epithet. Mr. Fowler is to be congratulated upon his +glowing imagination and poetical powers. + +"A Bit o' Purple Heather", by Edna von der Heide, is a delightful piece +of verse in modified Scottish dialect, which well justifies the +dedication of the magazine to this poetess. + +Mr. Stokes' editorial, headed "Ships that Pass", sustains the nautical +atmosphere of his periodical. We wish he had given his thoughts a larger +space for expression. + +THE PIPER for December comes as a surprise to those who have known +Rheinhart Kleiner only as a master of metre, for he is here displayed as +the possessor of a pure and vigorous prose style as well. In this, the +opening number of his individual journal, Mr. Kleiner provides us with a +pleasing variety of literary matter; two serious poems, two rhymes of +lighter character, an essay on the inevitable topic of Consolidation, +and a brilliant collection of short editorials and criticisms. + +"A Carnation", which begins the issue, is an exquisite piece of +sentiment couched in faultless verse. The odd measure of the poem is one +peculiarly suited to the author's delicate type of genius; an iambic +line of only three feet. The other lyric, "Heart, Do Not Wake", is +likewise of excellent quality, though the succession of "again" and +"pain" in the first line might suggest to some ears an unnecessary +internal rhyme. + +"The Rhyme of the Hapless Poet" is very clever, and can be truly +appreciated by every author of printed matter. Perhaps the misfortune of +which the poet complains is the cause of the extra syllable in the first +line of the second stanza; we hope that the following is what Mr. +Kleiner intended: + + "I wrote a poem, 'twas a prize". + +Otherwise we are forced to believe that he pronounces "poem" as a +monosyllable, "pome". "My Favorite Amateur" is a good specimen of light, +imitative verse. + +The article on Consolidation is cynical in tone, but eminently sensible. +It is only too true that our greatest intellectual stimulus is found in +controversy and antagonism; we are really quite bellicose in our +instincts, despite the utterances of the peace advocates. + +Mr. Kleiner concludes his journal with a sparkling epigram on a rather +obvious though regrettable tendency in amateur circles. + +The Piper is in general a paper of satisfying merit, to whose future +issues we shall look forward with eagerness. + +THE RECRUITING FEMININE for 1914-1915 is a publication of unusual worth. +"The Rose Supreme," by Coralie Austin, is a delicate little poem in +which we regret the presence of one inexcusably bad rhyme. To rhyme the +words "rose" and "unclosed" is to exceed the utmost limits of poetic +license. It is true that considerable variations in vowel sounds have +been permitted; "come" makes, or at least used to make, an allowable +rhyme with "home", "clock" with "look", or "grass" with "place"; but a +final consonant attached to one of two otherwise rhyming syllables +positively destroys the rhyme. + +Mrs. Myra Cole's essay on "The Little Things of Life" is well written +and instructive. + +"The Dirge of the Great Atlantic", by Anne Vyne Tillery Renshaw, is a +grim and moving bit of verse, cast in the same primitively stirring +metre which this author used in her professionally published poem, "The +Chant of Iron". Mrs. Renshaw possesses an enviable power to reach the +emotions through the medium of written words. + +"Two Octobers--A Contrast", by Eloise N. Griffith, is a meritorious +sketch ending with the usual appeal for the cessation of the European +war. We fear that the author cannot quite realize the ambitious +passions, essential ingredients of human nature, which render necessary +a final decision. + +Miss Edna von der Heide, in an able article, rallies to the defense of +Mr. W. E. Griffin's now famous "Favorite Pastime". The Modern Lothario +is fortunate in having so competent and experienced a champion. However, +we cannot wholly endorse the sentiments of these excellent writers. The +statement that "all amateur journalists are flirts, more or less", is a +base and unwarranted libel which we are prepared completely to refute. + +"The Audience", by Mrs. Florence Shepphird, is a masterly defense of +those inactive amateurs whom we are all too prone to consider as +delinquent. It is indeed true that authors would be useless were it not +for some sort of a reading public. + +TOLEDO AMATEUR for December is a wholesome juvenile product. The +typography still leaves something to be desired, but the evidences of +care are everywhere visible, and we may reasonably expect to see it +improve from month to month, into one of the leading amateur papers. +Credentials form the keynote of the current issue, and a very promising +assortment of recruits are here introduced to the members of the United. +Miss Sandborn, who is fortunate enough to be one of Mr. Moe's pupils at +Appleton, contributes an interesting school anecdote, narrated in simple +fashion. Miss Thie gives information concerning the "Campfire Girls". +Some new members of adult years are also represented in this number. Mr. +Jenkins shows an admirable command of light prose, and will undoubtedly +prove one of the United's most entertaining writers. Misses Kline and +McGeoch both exhibit marked poetical tendencies in prose, the latter +writer having something of Mr. Fritter's facility in the use of +metaphor. Mr. Porter's editorials are refreshingly naive and unaffected. +His grammar is generally good, except in the one sentence where he +speaks of the Toledo Times. He should say, "the newspaper which has +given me much experience, and to whose publishers I owe a great deal of +experience gained." + +THE UNITED OFFICIAL QUARTERLY for November marks the beginning of a +laudable enterprise on the part of the official board. The magazine is +of artistic appearance in cover, paper, and typography alike, while the +contents show considerable care in preparation. + +Ira A. Cole's essay on "The Gods of Our Fathers" is the leading feature +and, though not of perfect perspicuity nor faultless unity, is none the +less noteworthy as a sincere expression of Pantheism. Mr. Cole keenly +feels the incongruity of our devotion to Semitic theological ideals, +when as a matter of fact we are descended from Aryan polytheists, and +his personification of the Grecian deities in the men of today is a +pleasing and ingenious conception. We are inclined to wonder whether the +author or the printer is to blame for rendering the poet Hesiod's name +as "Hesoid". + +The metric art is represented by three contributions. Paul J. Campbell's +lines on "The Heritage of Life" are smooth in construction and proper in +sentiment, though they are far from showing their author at his best. +Mr. Campbell is a supreme master of the philosophical essay and of +pointed, satirical prose, being a very "Junius" in bold, biting +invective; but is placed at something of a disadvantage in the domain of +conventional poetry. Rheinhart Kleiner and ourselves revel in heroic +couplets of widely differing nature. Our own masterpiece is in full +Queen Anne style with carefully balanced lines and strictly measured +quantities. We have succeeded in producing eighteen lines without a +single original sentiment or truly poetical image. Rev. Mr. Pyke, the +object of the verses, deserves a better encomiast. Mr. Kleiner, on the +other hand, uses an heroic metre of that softened type which was +evolved at the close of the eighteenth century from the disruption of +the more formal style. In this sort of verse the stiff, classic +expressions are discarded, and the sense frequently overflows from +couplet to couplet, giving the romantic poet a greater latitude for +expression than was possible in the old models. "Vacation" is not +distinguished by any strikingly novel idea, but is in general a very +clever piece of light work. The only substantial defect is in the eighth +line, where the word "resort" is so placed, that the accent must fall +wrongfully upon the first syllable. + +Leo Fritter's article on criticism is timely and sensible. As he justly +contends, some authorized amateur critics deal far too roughly with the +half-formed products of the young author, while most unofficial and +inexperienced reviewers fairly run mad with promiscuous condemnation. +The fancied brilliancy of the critic is always greatest when he censures +most, so that the temptations of the tribe are many. We are at best but +literary parasites, and need now and then just such a restraining word +as our counter-critic gives us. Mr. Fritter's style is here, as usual, +highly ornamented with metaphor. One slight defect strikes the +fastidious eye, but since split infinitives are becoming so common in +these days, we shall attend the author's plea for gentleness, and remain +silent. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman, Department of Public Criticism. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1915 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +THE BLARNEY STONE for November-December is dedicated to its contributors +and wholly given over to their work. "Did You Ever Go A-Fishin'?," by +Olive G. Owen, is a vivid poetical portrayal of that peculiar attraction +which the angler's art exerts on its devotees. While the whole is of +high and pleasing quality, exception must be taken to the rhyming of +"low" with itself at the very beginning of the poem. It may be that the +second "low" is a misprint for "slow", yet even in that case, the rhyme +is scarcely allowable, since the dominant rhyming sound would still be +"low". Miss Edna von der Heide, in "The Christmas of Delsato's Maria", +tells how an Italian thief utilized his questionable art to replace a +loss in his family. "To General Villa" is a peculiar piece of verse +written last summer for the purpose of defying those who had charged its +author with pedantry and pomposity. It has suffered somewhat at the +hands of the printer; "Intrepido" being spelled "Intrepedo", and the +word "own" being dropped from the clause "your own name can't write" in +the third line of the second stanza. Also, the first of the Spanish +double exclamation marks around the oath "Santa Maria" is right side up +instead of inverted according to Castilian custom. Having been hastily +written, the piece is wholly without merit. "Senor", in the second line +of the third stanza is placed so that the accent must fall erroneously +on the first syllable. The changes of time and revolutions have rendered +the last stanza sadly out of date. + +The issue is concluded with a beautiful editorial on "The Service With +Love", wherein is described the ideal spirit of brotherhood which should +pervade amateur journalism. We regret the two blank pages at the back of +the magazine, and wish that some talented Blarney had seen fit to adorn +them with his work. + +THE BROOKLYNITE for January is of unusual merit, fairly teeming with +features of a well-written and substantial character. + +The short story by Mrs. Carson is developed with admirable simplicity +and ease; the plot not too strained, and the moral not too pragmatically +forced upon the reader. The conversation, always a difficult point with +amateur authors, is surprisingly natural. + +Mrs. Adams' essay on ghosts displays considerable literary knowledge, +though the anecdote at the end is rather ancient for use today. We last +heard it about ten years ago, with a Scotchman instead of a negro +preacher as the narrator, and with the word "miracle" instead of +"phenomena" as the subject. + +Mr. Goodwin's "Cinigrams" are delightful, and we expect soon to hear the +author heralded as the Martial of amateur journalism. "Ford, Do Not +Shake", Mr. Goodwin's parody on Kleiner's "Heart, Do Not Wake", is +actually side-splitting. The metre is handled to perfection, and the +humor is extremely clever. + +"Consolidation", by George Julian Houtain, is a fair example of the +manner in which some of the less dignified National politicians try to +cast silly aspersions on the United. The elaborately sarcastic phrase: +"United boys and girls", seems to please its author, since he uses it +twice. There is unconscious irony in the spectacle of a National man, +once a member of the notorious old Gotham ring, preaching virtuously +against the "unenviable record" of the United. + +Mr. Stoddard's brief essay, composed at a meeting of the Blue Pencil +Club, is excellent, and his concluding quatrain regular and melodious. +We wish, however, that he would give us some more of the serious fiction +that he can write so splendidly, and which used several years ago to +appear in the amateur press. + +"Music Moods", by Charles D. Isaacson, is an emotional sketch of great +power and delicate artistry. Mr. Isaacson has an active imagination and +a literary ability which makes his readers see very vividly the images +he creates. + +Mrs. Houtain's poem shows great but as yet undeveloped talent. The +repeated use of the expletive "do" in such phrases as "I do sigh", or "I +pray and do pine", mars the verse somewhat. As Pope remarked and +humorously illustrated in his Essay on Criticism: + + "Expletives their feeble aid DO join." + +Mr. Ayres' jocose epic is clever and tuneful. The climax, or rather +anticlimax, comes quite effectively. + +Mr. Adams, in his brilliant verses entitled "Gentlemen, Please Desist", +exposes in a masterly way the fatuity of our loud-mouthed peace workers. +Miss Silverman's lines on the same subject are very good, but scarcely +equal in keenness of wit. It is all very well to "keep industry +booming", but industry cannot take the place of military efficiency in +protecting a nation against foreign aggression. + +As a whole, the January Brooklynite is the best number we have yet seen. + +THE COYOTE for March is not a revival of Ex-President Brechler's +well-known amateur journal of that name, but a semi-professional leaflet +edited by Mr. William T. Harrington, a rather new recruit. The leading +feature is a sensational short story by the editor, entitled "What +Gambling Did". In this tale, Mr. Harrington exhibits at least a strong +ambition to write, and such energy, if well directed, may eventually +make of him one of our leading authors of fiction. Just now, however, we +must protest against his taste in subject and technique. His models are +obviously not of the classical order, and his ideas of probability are +far from unexceptionable. In developing the power of narration, it is +generally best, as one of our leading amateurs lately reiterated, to +discard the thought of elaborate plots and thrilling climaxes, and to +begin instead with the plain and simple description of actual incidents +with which the author is familiar. Likewise, the young author may avoid +improbability by composing his earliest efforts in the first person. He +knows what he himself would do in certain circumstances, but he does not +always know very exactly what some others might do in similar cases. +Meanwhile, above all things he should read classic fiction, abstaining +entirely from "Wild West Weeklies" and the like. Mr. Harrington has a +taste for excitement, and would probably thrive on Scott, Cooper, or +Poe. Let him read the Leather Stocking Tales if he loves pioneers and +frontier life. Not until after he has acquired a familiarity with the +methods of the best authors, and refined his imagination by a perusal of +their works, should he make attempts at writing outside his own +experience. He will then be able to produce work of a quality which +would surprise him now. + +We are sorry to note that the Coyote's editorial columns are occupied by +a mere condensed copy of the United's standard recruiting circular. This +space might have been filled much more profitably with brief original +comments by the editor on the numerous exchanges which are listed in +another part of his paper. The paid advertising and subscription price +are not to be commended. Such things have no place in a truly amateur +paper. But continued membership in the United will doubtless fill Mr. +Harrington with the genuine amateur spirit, and cause The Coyote to +become a worthy successor to its older namesake. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for October is a modest but very promising little +paper, mostly composed of amateur notes and brief reviews. The editor +has interest in his work, and fluency in his language, foundations on +which a more elaborate structure may some day be erected. One feature +open to criticism is Mr. Dowdell's sudden change in his editorial column +from the usual first person plural to the third person singular. It +would be better to save "The Old Bear" and his interesting chat, for a +separate column. The typography of Dowdell's Bearcat is not perfect, but +may be expected to improve from issue to issue. + +THE EMISSARY for July is a National paper, but contains the work of +several United members. Of the publication itself we need not stop to +speak. Mr. Reading, though only eighteen years of age, is an editor and +printer of the highest grade, and has produced an issue which will be +long remembered in the amateur world. + +"Ausonius, the Nature-Lover", by Edward H. Cole, is a pleasing and +judicious appreciation of a later Latin poet, showing how a bard of the +decaying Roman Empire approached in certain passages the spirit of +modern romanticism. Mr. Cole's translated extracts are beautifully +phrased, and his comment upon the subject well exhibits his wide and +careful scholarship. Articles of this quality are rarely found in the +amateur press, and it will be interesting to note what effect their more +frequent appearance would have upon the literary tone of the +associations. + +"To Sappho", by Olive G. Owen, is a lyrical poem of much merit, yet +having a defective line. Why, we wonder, did the author see fit to leave +two necessary syllables out of the third line of the opening verse? + +"Lamb o' Mine", by Dora M. Hepner, is probably the most attractive bit +of verse in the magazine. The negro dialect is inimitable, and the +consoling spirit of the old black "mammy" fairly radiates from the +lines. Metrically, the piece is faultless, and we wish its author were a +more frequent contributor to the amateur journals. + +Miss von der Heide's two poems, "The Mill Mother", and "Greeting", +express admirably the sentiments of pathos and natural beauty, +respectively. Personally, we prefer "Greeting". + +Mr. Campbell's lines on "Huerta's Finish" are distinctly below the usual +standard of this talented writer's work. The metre is satisfactory, but +the humor is somewhat strained, and the pun in the last line based on a +mispronunciation of the old Indian's name. "Wehr-ta" is probably the +correct sound, rather than "Hurt-a". + +THE INSPIRATION for January must be judged strictly by its quality; not +its quantity. Pinkney C. Grissom, a very young amateur, cheers us +greatly with his article on "Smiles", while Miss von der Heide's +microscopic story, "A Real Victory", is indeed a literary treat. We +trust that the editor's threat of discontinuance may not be realized. + +THE KANSAN for July reaches us at a late date through the kindness of +Mr. Daas. In this magazine the Sunflower Club of Bazine makes its formal +debut, being ushered into amateur society by means of a pleasing and +well-written article from the pen of Miss Hoffman. The informal +"Exchange Comment" is a charitable and generally delightful department, +whose anonymity we rather regret. The Editorial pages are brilliant in +their justification of the United's sunny spirit, as contrasted with the +National's forbidding frigidity. + +THE OLYMPIAN for September-February well sustains the lofty traditions +of that magazine. Mr. Cole defines with considerable precision his +latest editorial policy and his true attitude toward the United, +revealing only the more strongly, however, his remarkable and +ineradicable prejudice against our association in favor of the National. +"Evening Prayer", by Rheinhart Kleiner, is a poem of great beauty and +real worth, couched in the alternating iambic pentameter and trimeter +which this poet seems to have made his own particular medium of +expression. Mr. Kleiner is rapidly assuming a very high rank among +amateur poets. + +"The Public Library", by Eloise N. Griffith, is a delightful and +appreciative reminiscence of quiet hours of lettered joy. + +"The Play Hour", consisting of two clever bits of metre dedicated to a +very young amateur, appears in a collection of short and sprightly +pieces signed by the Senior Editor himself. It is difficult, +nevertheless, to imagine the dignified Olympian Zeus as the author. +Though the second of these tuneful rhymes is apparently written in the +"simplified" spelling now so popular among certain amateur editors, a +closer inspection reveals the fact that the spelling is merely made +juvenile to suit the subject. After all, however, simplified spelling +and baby-talk are but little removed from each other. The Reviewers' +Club is in this issue represented by both editors, whose criticisms are +as usual just and illuminating. + +PROMETHEUS for September-November is a journal of unusual literary and +artistic value, edited by our poet-laureate, Miss Olive G. Owen. The +paper well lives up to its sub-title, "A Magazine of Aspirations Dreamed +into Reality". Mr. William H. Greenfield, the honored founder of the +United, claims the first page with a graceful Pindaric ode, "To My +Friend". "The Weaver of Dreams", by Edna G. Thorne, is a strikingly +well-written short story pervaded with a delicate pathos and expressing +a beautiful Christian philosophy. George W. Macauley, continuing to +concentrate his narrative powers on the Oriental tale, presents a +pleasing fable of old Moorish Spain, entitled "Ali Ahmed and the +Aqueduct". "The Ethics of Stimulation", by Maurice W. Moe, is an +eminently sound exposition of the relative evil of coffee and alcoholic +liquor as stimulants. "Partners", by H. A. Reading, exhibits great +ability on the part of its author, and is well calculated to arouse the +emotions of affectionate fathers and sons. + +Miss Owen's work, scattered here and there throughout the magazine, is +naturally of the very first quality. It is hard to choose between the +two poems "Atthis, I Love Thee", and "To Elizabeth Knopf", but we +incline slightly toward the former. The sketches "The Visitor" and "Some +Things I Like in New York" are both delightful in their artistic +simplicity. + +Critically analyzed, Prometheus may be classed as one of the most varied +and generally readable magazines of the season. + +RED LETTER DAYS for October is the first of an informal individual paper +by George W. Macauley, representing the most purely personal phase of +amateur journalism. This issue is almost completely devoted to an +animated account of the "Red Letter Days" spent by Mr. Macauley last +summer with the amateurs who stopped to see him while on their way to +the various conventions. The author's style is familiar and pleasing, +though rather careless, and slightly marred by defects in spelling and +grammar. For instance, we are told of the caution which he and Mr. +Stoddard exercised in changing seats in a boat, since neither "could +swim, had the boat DID the usual thing." We are sorry that Mr. Macauley +has adopted "simplified" spelling, but it is an evil in which he is by +no means alone. + +Red Letter Days, broadly considered, is a highly commendable paper; its +simplicity and lack of affectation are alone sufficient to win general +approval. + +STRAY LEAVES for May-June is another paper which has arrived late and +indirectly. In this publication we note with disapproval some evidence +of pseudo-professionalism, such as a subscription rate and +advertisements, but we trust that Miss Draper will ere long acquire the +perfect amateur spirit. "Love Proved To Be the Master of Hate", a short +story by Frances Wood, is handicapped by its unwieldy title. "The +Triumph of Love", or some heading of equal brevity, would better suit +it. Indications of immaturity are here and there perceptible, and at the +very beginning there is an inexplicable mass of hyphenation. However, +the tale is undeniably of considerable merit, conveying a pleasing +picture of jealousy overcome. + +The Editorial department might be improved by a judicious copying of the +best amateur models. The reference to anti-Suffrage and Suffrage as "two +vital questions" is hardly permissible; these are the two sides of only +one question. + +"Thinkers", by G. D., is really excellent as an essay, despite the +awkwardness of style. + +The Bermuda letter is highly interesting in its descriptions, but +painfully unscholarly in its phraseology. We here behold a case of real +talent obscured by want of literary polish, and hope that F. A. B., +whoever he or she may be, will profit by his or her connection with the +United. + +Stray Leaves has great possibilities, and will doubtless prove one of +the leading papers of amateur journalism in times to come. + +THE UNITED OFFICIAL QUARTERLY for January hardly lives up to the +artistic standard set by the first number, though it contains much +valuable matter. Herbert B. Darrow pleads very ably for the personal +acknowledgement of amateur papers received, while Paul J. Campbell +writes convincingly on the true value of amateur journalism. Pres. +Hepner, in the concluding article, opposes with considerable vigor the +Hoffman policy of issuing co-operative magazines. We are not, however, +inclined entirely to agree with our executive's conclusions. The +co-operative journal is practically the only adequate medium of +expression for the amateur of limited means, and most of the later +journals of this class, of which the Official Quarterly is itself an +example, have been of excellent quality. It is perhaps too much to +expect the average President, encumbered with a host of other duties, to +conduct this work, but in any event some suitable official should be +delegated for that purpose. The association should not lightly abandon a +policy which made the preceding administration one of the most brilliant +and successful in years. + +THE WOODBEE for January exhibits amateur journalism at its best. Mrs. +Anne Tillery Renshaw opens the magazine with a pleasing poem, dedicated +to the Woodbees, which combines simplicity of diction with regularity of +metre. Those decasyllabic quatrains are a decided departure from Mrs. +Renshaw's usual style, which explains the slight lack of fluency. The +last line of the third stanza contains a redundant syllable, a defect +which might be corrected by the removal of the article before the word +"louder", or by the poetical contraction of "sympathy" into "symp'thy". +The third line of the fourth stanza possesses only four feet. This may +be an intentional shortening to give rhetorical effect, yet it mars none +the less the symmetry of the verse. + +"The Spiritual Significance of the Stars", by Leo Fritter, is the +leading feature of the issue. The inspiring influence of astronomical +study on the cultivated intellect is here shown to best advantage. Mr. +Fritter traces the slow unfolding of celestial knowledge to the world, +and points out the divinity of that mental power which enables man to +discern the vastness of the universe, and to comprehend the complex +principles by which it is governed. In the laws of the heavens he finds +the prototype of all human laws, and the one perfect model for human +institutions. Mr. Fritter's essay is eminently worthy of a place among +the classics of amateur journalism. + +"A Morn in June", by Harriet E. Daily, is a short and dainty poem of +excellent quality, though marred by a reprehensible attempt to rhyme +"grass" with "task". As we mentioned in connection with another amateur +poem, a final consonant on one of two otherwise rhyming syllables +utterly destroys the rhyme. "We Are Builders All", by Elizabeth M. +Ballou, is a graceful allegory based on the temple of Solomon. Edna +Mitchell Haughton's character sketch, "The Family Doctor", is just and +well drawn. + +"A Dog for Comfort", by Edna von der Heide, is a meritorious poem of +gloomy impressiveness. We cannot quite account for the defective second +line of the fourth stanza, since Miss von der Heide is so able a +poetess. Perhaps it is intentional, but we wish the line were of normal +decasyllabic length. "My Grandmother's Garden", by Ida Cochran Haughton, +is a truly delightful bit of reminiscent description which deserves more +than one reading. "A Little Girl's Three Wishes", by Mrs. R. M. Moody, +is entertaining in quality and correct in metre. It is a relief to +behold amidst the formless cacophony of modern poetry such a regular, +old-fashioned specimen of the octosyllabic couplet. "Two Little +Waterwheels", by Dora M. Hepner, is an exquisite idyllic sketch. In the +second paragraph we read of a channel "damned" up by a projecting root +of a tree; which somewhat surprises us, since we did not know that +tree-roots are accustomed to use profane language. Perhaps the author +intended to write "dammed". + +The editorials are brief. In one of them it is stated that the paper is +submitted without fear to the critics AND Eddie Cole. In view of Mr. +Cole's scholarly and conscientious critical work, we hope that no +reflection upon him is there intended. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman, Department of Public Criticism. + + +MARCH + + Let other bards with nobler talents sing + The beauties of the mild, maturer spring. + My rustic Muse on bleaker times must dwell, + When Earth, but new-escap'd from winter's spell, + Uncloth'd, unshelter'd, unadorn'd, is seen; + Stript of white robes, nor yet array'd in green. + Hard blows the breeze, but with a warmer force. + The melting ground, the brimming watercourse, + The wak'ning air, the birds' returning flight, + The longer sunshine, and the shorter night, + Arcturus' beams, and Corvus' glitt'ring rays, + Diffuse a promise of the genial days. + Yon muddy remnant of the winter snow + Shrinks humbly in the equinoctial glow, + Whilst in the fields precocious grass-blades peep + Above the earth so lately wrapt in sleep. + What sweet, elusive odor fills the soil, + To rouse the farmer to his yearly toil! + Though thick the clouds, and bare the maple bough, + With what gay song he guides the cumbrous plough! + In him there stirs, like sap within the tree, + The joyous call to new activity: + The outward scene, however dull and drear, + Takes on a splendor from the inward cheer. + Prophetic month! Would that I might rehearse + Thy hidden beauties in sublimer verse: + Thy glorious youth, thy vigor all unspent, + Thy stirring winds, of spring and winter blent. + Summer brings blessings of enervate kind; + Thy joys, O March, are ecstasies of mind. + In June we revel in the bees' soft hum, + But March exalts us with the bliss to come. + + --H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA + + VOLUME XIV GEORGETOWN, ILL., MAY, 1915. NUMBER 5 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +THE BLARNEY STONE for January-February is replete with good literature, +amidst which may particularly be mentioned Arthur Goodenough's +harmonious poem, "God Made Us All of Clay". The theme is not new, but +appears advantageously under Mr. Goodenough's delicate treatment. + +M. W. Hart's short story, "The Redemption", is intended to portray a +righteous transformation from conventional false morality to true +Christian life, but in reality presents a very repulsive picture of +bestial atavism. The meaner character was not "reformed by mercy", but +merely withheld from wholesale vice by isolation. Mr. Hart is so plainly +in earnest when he relates this dismal tale as a sermon, that we must +not be too harsh in questioning his taste or condemning his free +standards of civilized morality; yet we doubt seriously if stories or +essays of this type should appear in the press, and especially in the +amateur press. Two or three technical points demand attention. The word +"diversified" on page 2 might better be "diverse", while "environment" +on page 4, could well be replaced by "condition" or "state". On page 5 +occurs the sentence "All intelligence ... were ... instinct". Obviously +the verb should be in the singular number to correspond with its +subject. Mr. Hart is developing a prose style of commendable dignity, +unusually free from the jarring touch of modern frivolity. + +H. B. Scott is proving himself a finished scholar and a thoughtful +editor in his conduct of The Blarney Stone; his able essay on +"Personality" is eminently worthy of more than one perusal. + +THE BOYS' HERALD for May presents us with a highly interesting account +of Robert Louis Stevenson's career as an amateur journalist, together +with a facsimile reproduction of the cover of "The Sunbeam Magazine", +Stevenson's hand-written periodical. The column of reminiscences, +containing letters from various old-time amateurs, is extremely +inspiring to the younger members, showing how persistently the amateur +spirit adheres to all who have truly acquired it. "Nita at the Passing +Show" is a witty and entertaining parody by Mr. Smith, illustrating the +theatrical hobby of Miss Gerner; one of the latest United recruits. The +Boys' Herald discharges a peculiar and important function in the life of +the associations, connecting the present with the past, and furnishing +us with just standards for comparison. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for December opens with a Christmas poem of great +beauty and harmonious construction from the pen of Dora M. Hepner. The +thoughts and images are without exception lofty and well selected, and +the only possible defect is the attempt to rhyme "come" with "run" in +the last stanza. Edward H. Cole's review of a recent booklet in memory +of Miss Susan Brown Robbins, a former amateur, is more than a criticism. +It is a rare appreciation of the bonds of mutual esteem and respect +which grow up amongst the congenial members of the press associations. +Mr. Cole is peculiarly well fitted to deal with his subject, and no +praise is needed beyond the statement that the review is characteristic +of him. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for January marks the metamorphosis of that periodical +into a newspaper. With youthful ambition, Mr. Dowdell is resolved to +furnish the United with the latest items of interest concerning +amateurs. While the general style of the paper is fluent and pleasing, +we believe that "Bruno" might gain much force of expression through the +exercise of a little more care and dignity in his prose. For instance, +many colloquial contractions like "don't", "won't", or "can't" might be +eliminated, while such slang phrases as "neck of the woods", "make +good", "somewhat off", or "bunch of yellow-backs" were better omitted. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for March is notable for an increase in size. "A Visit +to Niagara Falls", by Andrew R. Koller, is an intelligent and animated +piece of description, which promises well for the development of its +author. What looseness of construction exists may be charged to youth. +"An Ambition and a Vision", by Nettie A. Hartman, is a neat and +grammatically written little sketch, probably autobiographical, +describing the evolution of an amateur. Greater cultivation of +rhetorical taste would improve Miss Hartman's style, and we are certain +that it possesses a fundamental merit which will make improvement an +easy matter. With the usual regret we observe an instance of "simple +spelling", which Mr. Dowdell, who does not fall into this vice himself, +has evidently overlooked in editing. The news items this month are +timely and vivacious, exhibiting "Bruno" at his best. + +THE LAKE BREEZE for March inaugurates a very welcome revival of the +United's foremost news sheet, now to be issued monthly. Mr. Daas is so +active an amateur, and so closely connected with the development of the +association, that his ably edited journal has almost the authority of an +official organ. + +The editorial entitled "Ashes and Roses" is a powerful and convincing +reply to a rather weak attack lately made on the United by a member of a +less active association. Mr. Daas uses both sense and sarcasm to great +advantage, leaving but little ground for his opponent to occupy. + +"The Amateur Press" is a well conducted column of contributed reviews, +among which Mrs. A. M. Adams' eulogy of Mrs. Griffith's essay in Outward +Bound is perhaps the best. "What is Amateur Journalism?", by "El +Imparcial", is a sketch of the various types of amateurs, with a +suggestion of the ideal type. While free from glaring defects, the essay +gives no really new information, and brings out no strikingly original +ideas. "Some Objections to Moving Pictures", by Edmund L. Shehan, +presents a strong array of evidence against one of the most popular and +instructive amusements of today. We do not believe, however, that the +objections here offered are vital. The moving picture has infinite +possibilities for literary and artistic good when rightly presented, and +having achieved a permanent place, seems destined eventually to convey +the liberal arts to multitudes hitherto denied their enjoyment. Mr. +Shehan's prose style is clear and forceful, capable of highly +advantageous development. + +LITERARY BUDS for April is the first number of a paper issued by the new +Athenaeum Club of Journalism, Harvey, Ill. Though the text of most of +the contributions has suffered somewhat through a slight misapprehension +concerning the editing, the issue is nevertheless pleasing and +creditable. + +"A la Rudyard", a poem by George A. Bradley, heads the contents. While +hampered by some of the heaviness natural to authors of school age, Mr. +Bradley has managed to put into his lines a laudable enthusiasm and +genuine warmth. The editorial column is well conducted, the second item +being especially graphic, though the "superdreadnought" metaphor seems +rather forced. Clara Inglis Stalker, the enthusiastic and capable +educator through whose efforts the club was formed, gives a brief +account of her organization, under the title "The History of an +Eight-Week-Old", and in a prose style of uniformly flowing and +attractive quality. "A Love Song", Miss Stalker's other contribution, is +a poem of delicate imagery and unusual metre. "Our Paring Knife", by +Gertrude Van Lanningham, is a short sketch with an aphorism at the end. +Though this type of moral lesson is a little trite, Miss Van Lanningham +shows no mean appreciation of literary form, and will, when she has +emerged from the "bud" stage, undoubtedly blossom into a graphic and +sympathetic writer. "Co-Education", by Caryl W. Dempsey, is an +interesting but only partially convincing article on a topic of +considerable importance. The author, being enthusiastically in favor of +the practice, enumerates its many benefits; yet the arguments are +decidedly biased. While the advantage of co-education to young ladies +is made quite obvious, it remains far from clear that young men receive +equal benefit. A desirable decline of cliques and hazing might, it is +true, result from the admission of women to men's universities, but the +young men would undoubtedly lose much in earnest, concentrated energy +and dignified virility through the presence of the fair. The experiment, +radical at best, has failed more than once. The style of this essay is +slightly wanting in ease and continuity, yet possesses the elements of +force. "The Traitor", by Agnes E. Fairfield, is a short story of +artistic development but questionable sentiment. The present fad of +peace-preaching should not be allowed to influence a writer of sense +into glorifying a socialistic, unpatriotic fanatic who refuses to uphold +the institutions that his fathers before him created with their toil, +blood, and sacrifice. It is not the right of the individual to judge of +the necessity of a war; no layman can form an intelligent idea of the +dangers that may beset his fatherland. The man is but a part of the +state, and must uphold it at any cost. We are inclined to wonder at Miss +Fairfield's mention of a king, when the name Phillipe La Roque so +clearly proclaims the hero a Frenchman. France, be it known, has been a +republic for some little time. "Penny in the Slot", by Vaughn Flannery, +possesses a humor that is pleasing and apparently quite spontaneous. We +should like to behold more of Mr. Flannery's efforts in this field. + +Viewed in its entirety, allowance being made for its present essentially +juvenile nature, Literary Buds may be regarded as a pronounced success. +That it will mature in consonance with the club which it represents is +certain, and each future issue can be relied upon to surpass its +predecessor. + +OLE MISS' for March, edited by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Renshaw, easily falls +into the very front rank of the season's amateur journals. In this +number Mr. Joseph W. Renshaw makes his initial appearance before the +members of the United, producing a very favorable impression with his +pure, attractive prose. The introduction, credited in another column to +Mr. Renshaw, is of graceful and pleasing character, recalling the +elusively beautiful atmosphere of the Old South which is too soon +passing away. + +"The Humble Swallow", an anonymous essay, praises with singularly +delicate art a feathered creature whose charms lie not on the surface. +The concluding paragraph, condemning the wanton slaughter of this winged +friend to mankind, is especially apt at a time of hysterical peace +agitation. While the well meaning advocates of peace call wildly upon +men to abandon just warfare against destructive and malignant enemies, +they generally pass over without thought or reproof the wholesale murder +of these innocent little birds, who never did nor intended harm to +anyone. "A Higher Recruiting Standard", by Mrs. Renshaw, is an able +exposition of the newer and loftier type of ideals prevailing in the +United. Our association has never lacked numbers, but would undoubtedly +be the better for an increased standard of scholarship such as is here +demanded. Mrs. Renshaw's work as a recruiter is in keeping with her +policy, and this, together with Mr. Moe's work amongst the English +teachers, seems destined to raise the United far above its lesser +contemporaries. "An A. J. Suggestion", by Mr. Renshaw, deals ingeniously +and logically with the always difficult problem of selecting a printer. +Though evidently written quite independently, it ably seconds Paul J. +Campbell's original suggestion in the UNITED AMATEUR. The advantages of +having one printer for all amateur work are many, and the well presented +opinions of Mr. Renshaw should aid much in securing this desirable +innovation. + +The poetry in Ole Miss' is all by Mrs. Renshaw, and therefore of first +quality. "Some One I Know" is a lightly amatory piece of tuneful rhythm. +"Night of Rain" gives a peculiarly pleasing aspect to a type of scene +not usually celebrated in verse. The only jarring note is the rather +mundane metaphor which compares the trees to a "beautiful mop". Though +Mrs. Renshaw holds unusual ideas regarding the use of art in poetry, we +contend that this instance of rhetorical frigidity is scarcely +permissible. It is too much like Sir Richard Blackmore's description of +Mount Aetna, wherein he compares a volcanic eruption to a fit of colic; +or old Ben Johnson's battle scene in the fifth act of "Catiline", where +he represents the sun perspiring. "Man of the Everyday" is a noble +panegyric on the solid, constructive virtues of the ordinary citizen, +portraying very graphically the need of his presence in a world that +heeds him but little. + +Considered in all its aspects, Ole Miss' is a notable contribution to +amateur literature, and one which we hope to see oft repeated. + +THE PASSING SHOW for February is the "second annual production" of an +excellent though informal little paper by Nita Edna Gerner, a new member +of the United, and the daughter of an old-time amateur. Miss Gerner is +an enthusiast on all matters pertaining to the theatre, and has +impressed her hobby very strongly on the pages of her publication. + +The dominant theme of the current issue is that of amateur romance, +exhibiting the press associations in the role of matrimonial agencies. +"The Twos-ers", by Edwin Hadley Smith, is a long list of couples who +became wedded through acquaintanceships formed in amateur journalism. +This catalogue, recording 26 marriages and engagements from the +earliest ages to the present, must have cost its author much time and +research. "A Romance of Amateur Journalism", by Edward F. Daas, is a +very brief statement of facts in unornamented style. "An 'Interstate' +Romance", by Leston M. Ayres, is more elaborate in treatment, and +displays an easy, colloquial style. + +The editorial column, headed "Through the Opera-Glasses", is bright and +informal. We note with regret that Miss Gerner has seen fit to adopt the +popular mutilated orthography of the day, a fad which we trust she will +discard in time. + +PEARSON'S PET for April is a bright and attractive little paper +throughout. "Burnin' Off" is a delightful specimen of dialect verse +which conveys a graphic image. We have never witnessed such an +agricultural function as Mr. Pearson describes, but can gain from his +clever lines a vivid idea of its weird impressiveness. "How I Met Elbert +Hubbard" is narrated in commendably easy prose, which same may be said +of the sketch or editorial entitled "Broke Loose Again". Mr. Pearson is +assuredly a competent exponent of amateur journalism's lighter and less +formal side. + +THE PIPER for May is as pleasing and meritorious as the first number, +both in its verse and its prose. "The Modern Muse", exhibiting Mr. +Kleiner in a somewhat humorous mood, is very forceful in its satire on +the altered ideals of the poetical fraternity, but is marred by the +noticeably imperfect rhyming of "garret" and "carrot", it is barely +possible that according to the prevailing New York pronunciation this +rhyme is not so forced as it appears, but we are of New England, and +accustomed to hearing the sounds more classically differentiated. The +defect is trivial at most, and mentioned here only because Mr. Kleiner +professes such a rigid adherence to the law of perfect rhyming. "The +Books I Used to Read" is the most delightful appreciation of juvenile +literature that has appeared in amateur journalism within our memory. +There are few of us in whom this poem will fail to arouse glad +reminiscences. "Spring" is a pleasing poem on a subject which though not +exactly new, is nevertheless susceptible to an infinite variety of +treatment. The four stanzas are highly creditable, both sentimentally +and metrically. Apart from the poetry, criticism seems the dominant +element in The Piper, and it would be difficult indeed to find a more +lucid and discerning series of reviews. Mr. Kleiner's unvarying advocacy +of correct metre and perfect rhyming is refreshing to encounter in this +age of laxity and license. Perhaps he is a little stern in his +condemnation of the "allowable" rhymes of other days, especially in view +of his recent "garret-carrot" attempt, yet we admit that there is much +to be said in favor of his attitude. + +THE PLAINSMAN for February contains a gruesome moral tale by Ricardo +Santiago, entitled "The Bell of Huesca". It is proper to remark here, +that an important sentence was omitted at the top of page 3. The passage +should read "'Sire, thy bell has no clapper!' 'Thy head shall be the +clapper'; said the king, and he sent him to the block" etc. Whatever may +be said of the aptness of the allegory, it is evident that Mr. Santiago +possesses the foundations of a pure and forcible prose style, and a +commendable sense of unity in narration and development of climax. This +story is undoubtedly worthy of its distinction as winner in The +Plainsman's post-card contest. + +THE SPECTATOR for June-July, 1914, though somewhat trite in title, is +the first number of a magazine notable for its quality. Walter John Held +is without doubt one of the most enterprising youths who have ever +joined the ranks of the association, though his views on paid +subscriptions and advertisements show his still imperfect acquisition of +the true amateur spirit. Mr. Held mistakes commercial progress for +artistic development, believing that the aim of every amateur in his +ascent toward professional authorship is to write remunerative matter. +He therefore considers a publisher's advancement to be best shown in +ability to extract an odd penny now and then from a few subscribers who +really subscribe only out of courtesy. We wish that Mr. Held might come +to consider amateur journalism in its higher aspects; as a medium for +improvement in literature and taste; an aid to the cultivation of the +art for its own sake in the manner of gentlemen, not of cheap tradesmen. +The selection of commercial prosperity as a goal will ruin any true +literary progress, and dull the artistic aspiration of the student as +soon as his mercenary instincts shall have been satisfied. Besides, +there is really no sound business principle in the so-called "sale" of +little papers. No youth could ever found or sustain a real magazine of +substantial price and more than nominal circulation. The various +ten-cents-a-year journals which some "amateurs" try to edit are no +logical steps toward actually professional publishing. The latter comes +only after literary skill has been attained, and literary skill must at +first be developed without regard for immediate monetary profit. + +But the merit of Mr. Held's work is none the less unusual. "The Frank +Friend" gives evidence of considerable critical ability, despite the +touch of arrogance, apologized for in a latter issue, shown in imperfect +appreciation of Mr. Edward H. Cole's phenomenally pure English. Mr. +Held, in his enthusiasm for "local color", forgets that all the +English-speaking world is heir to one glorious language which should be +the same from Cape Colony to California or New York to New Zealand. + +The only poem in this issue is Olive G. Owen's "How Prayest Thou?", a +piece of true sentiment and artistic beauty. The only fault is metrical; +the use of the word "trial" as a monosyllable. This tendency to slur +over words appears to be Miss Owen's one poetical vice, as exemplified +in the imperfect rendering of "jewel", "realness", and "cruelness" +elsewhere. + +THE SPECTATOR for August-September is marred by a resurrection of the +ever odious topic of Consolidation, but is otherwise of remarkable +merit. Elbert Hubbard, a professional advertiser and writer of +considerable popularity in certain circles, relates in an interesting +way the history of his most widely known literary effort. Mr. Hubbard's +prose style is direct and pointed, though rather abrupt and barren. "The +Midnight Extra", by Dora M. Hepner, is a humorous short story of unusual +merit, leading from a well created atmosphere of terror to a clever and +unexpected anticlimax. + +THE SPECTATOR for October-November contains much matter of very +substantial worth. "Creation", by Edward R. Taylor, Dean of the +University of California, is a beautiful bit of poetical sentiment and +harmonious metre, while "Half-past-twelve", by Miss von der Heide, is +likewise of great merit, both in thought and in structure. We have +lately been told that many apparent metrical defects which we have noted +are really no more than typographical errors, wherefore we will here +content ourselves by expressing the belief that the third line of the +second stanza of "Half-past-twelve" was originally written thus: + + "Across the dark their shrilling laughter floats". + +This rendering would do away with two seeming errors in the printed +copy. Olive G. Owen's "Battle-Prayer" is powerful in its appeal and +faultless in its construction. Of marked interest is "Divine +Self-Tower", a brief essay by Takeshi Kanno, the Japanese philosopher. +These words, in a tongue foreign to the writer, contain material for +more than a moment's thought. + +"The Frank Friend" is in this number as interesting a critic as before. +The passage of four months has tempered his undue severity; indeed, we +fear that he has in certain cases veered a little too far toward the +other extreme. The most ambitious review is that of "Pig-pen Pete", by +Elbert Hubbard, which gives Mr. Held an opportunity to display his +powers to great advantage. Of the two editorials, that entitled "Life" +is the more notable. Though its philosophy must necessarily be rather +artificial, considering Mr. Held's age, it is none the less a very +artistic and generally creditable piece of composition. The cover of The +Spectator would be less Hearst-like if the fulsome announcements were +eliminated. + +TOLEDO AMATEUR for April greets us in altered form, as a two-column +paper. Having given over the previous issue to the credentials of new +members, Mr. Porter very justly claims a goodly space for himself this +month, commenting ably on the affairs and activities of the +associations. + +"Camp Columbia", by James J. Hennessey, gives an interesting outline of +the American army routine in Cuba during the years 1907 and 1908. +"Observations of an Outsider", by Mrs. Porter, mother of the editor, +sheds light on amateur journalism from a hitherto unusual angle. We note +with pleasure that Toledo Amateur remains immune from the destructive +bacillus of deformed spelling. + +THE WOODBEE for April contains "The Cycle Eternal", a lucid +philosophical article by Samuel James Schilling, wherein is described +the dispersal and new combinations of the organic cells that compose the +body of mankind. By the perpetual reincorporation or reincarnation of +these cells in all other forms of matter, man is shown to be immortal, +and in the closest degree akin to every natural object surrounding him. +His outward form is merely one transient phase of a ceaseless +rearrangement of atoms; he is simply one aspect of infinite and eternal +Nature. Save for a few slight traces of rhetorical awkwardness, Mr. +Schilling's expository style is remarkable for its force and clearness; +the arrangement of the essay into Prologue, Body, and Epilogue is +especially favorable to comprehensiveness. + +While Mr. Schilling deals with mankind in the abstract, Miss Mabel +McKee, in "A Gift from the City", presents a concrete example of the +workings of the human heart. Her subject and treatment are not +startlingly original, but such themes lose very little when repeated in +pure English and attractive style. The story is distinctly pleasing, and +artistically developed throughout. + +A notable feature of the April Woodbee is Miss Hepner's fervent and +unstudied tribute to Mr. Leo Fritter, candidate for the United's +Presidency. Though the editorial is bestrewn with slang and distinctly +familiar in construction, it produces upon the reader an impression of +absolute sincerity and intensity of feeling which more elaborate +rhetoric might fail so forcibly to convey. Great as is the tribute, +however, we feel that Mr. Fritter is worthy of it, and must congratulate +him on having such support. Our own efforts for his election, appearing +in The Conservative, seem slight in comparison. The only verse in this +number is "My Shrine", by Harriet E. Daily. Though containing an attempt +to rhyme the words "time" and "shrine", this ethereal little poem of +spring is of great attractiveness. + +ZEPPELIN for March, a publication emanating from the pen of Mr. O. S. +Hackett of Canton, Pennsylvania, is scarcely as formidable and menacing +as its name, being distinctly friendly and fraternal in its general +tone. Mr. Hackett's prose has obviously not received its final +polishing, but it is so filled with aspiration, ambition, and enthusiasm +for the cause of amateur journalism, that it evidently requires only +such development as is obtainable from a closer study of grammar and +rhetoric, and a wider perusal of classic English literature. In one +matter Mr. Hackett seems to harbor a wrong impression. The name +"credential", in the language of the amateurs, is not applied to all +literary productions, but only to those which are submitted by the new +recruits as evidence of their educational fitness for membership in the +association they seek to enter. + +Joseph R. Schaffman's poem, "Think of Times Yet Coming", shows the same +innate sense of rhyme and metre that has distinguished his earlier work. +Only the conclusion lacks perfect ease and naturalness. Mr. Schaffman +has so far confined his Muse to optimistic opinions and moral maxims; we +hope that in the near future he will vary his efforts and attempt to +reflect more of his general reading in his poetry. The field is large +for one so happily favored with the gift of song. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ of the United Amateur Press Association + + VOLUME XV ELROY, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1915 NUMBER 2 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +_The Alabamian_ for Spring is a magazine unique amongst the publications +of the United. Devoted wholly to poetry, it contains some of the finest +short verses to appear this season, whilst even the crudest part of its +contents possesses some undoubted merit. The opening poem, a delightful +and ornate nature sonnet entitled "The Brook," professes to be a +translation from the Spanish, a claim borne out by the use of the word +"jasmine" in a place where the metre throws the accent anomalously on +the last syllable, as in the corresponding Spanish word "jazmin." The +sentiment of the whole is exquisite, and every image exhibits striking +beauty. It is to be regretted that both author and translator are +suffered to remain unrevealed. "A Poet's Songs," by Miss Owen, is a +powerful and well-written tribute to her fellow-bards both ancient and +modern. In Coralie Austin's "Tribute to Our President," dedicated to +Miss Hepner, we may discern the native talent of the true poet, slightly +obscured by the crudities of youth. The opening line appears to lack a +syllable, though this may be due only to the printer's omission of the +article before the word "laurel." In stanza 1, line 2, the trisyllabic +word "violets" appears as a dissyllable. This contraction is a rather +natural one, and must not be criticised too sternly. Indeed, there is +here a sort of middle zone betwixt error and allowableness, wherein no +decisive precepts may be laid down. Words like "radiant," "difference," +and so forth, are nearly always slurred into dissyllables, and we were +ourselves guilty of an even greater liberalism when we wrote that line +in "Quinsnicket Park" which reads: + + "The bending boughs a _diamond_ wealth amass." + +But in Miss Austin's second stanza occur two errors of graver nature. +"For only her alone" is a lamentably tautological line which requires +the omission either of "only" or "alone," and the substitution of some +word to carry on the flow of metre. The attempted rhyming of "alone" and +"home" is obviously incorrect. The dissimilar consonantal sounds render +agreement impossible. This "m-n" rhyme, as we may call it, is becoming +alarmingly frequent in careless modern verse, and must ever be avoided +with utmost diligence. In the third stanza we discover a marked error in +maintenance of number. We are told that the "years go" and that at "its +end" we will lay trophies, etc. This mistake may be obviated with ease, +by changing "years go" to "year goes." Miss Austin's poetic talent is +great, but shows the want of precise cultivation. "Mother o' Mine," by +Miss von der Heide, is a beautiful piece of anapaestic verse whose metre +and sentiment alike attract the reader. "Parsifal," by Miss Owen, shows +satisfactory depth of thought, but is rather modern in metre. From the +conformation of the last line of the first stanza, we are led to believe +that the word "viol" is contracted to a monosyllable, or, to make a +rather reprehensible pun, that "vi-ol" has here a "vile" pronunciation. +"Frailties of Life," by Editor Baxley, shows a remarkable system of +extended rhyming, coupled with a noticeable lack of metrical harmony. +Mr. Baxley's technique is such that we believe his improvement would be +best effected by a repeated perusal of the older poets, whose classical +exactitude of form would teach him rhythm by rote, so to speak. Let him +cultivate his ear for metre, even though forced to acquire it through +nonsensical jingles. We believe that many a child has obtained from his +"Mother Goose" a love of correct rhythm which has later helped him in +serious poetical efforts. "Paid Back," a short, powerful poem by Miss +von der Heide, concludes an excellent and praiseworthy issue. + +_Aurora_ for April is a delightful individual leaflet by Mrs. Ida C. +Haughton, exclusively devoted to poetical matters. The first poem, +"Aurora," is truly exquisite as a verbal picture of the summer dawn, +though rather rough-hewn metrically. Most open to criticism of all the +features of this piece, is the dissimilarity of the separate stanzas. In +a stanzaic poem the method of rhyming should be identical in every +stanza, yet Mrs. Haughton has here wavered between couplets and +alternate rhymes. In the opening stanza we behold first a quatrain, then +a quadruple rhyme. In the second we find couplets only. In the third a +quatrain is followed by an arrangement in which two rhyming lines +enclose a couplet, while in the final stanza the couplet again reigns +supreme. The metre also lacks uniformity, veering from iambic to +anapaestic form. These defects are, of course, merely technical, not +affecting the beautiful thought and imagery of the poem; yet the +sentiment would seem even more pleasing were it adorned with the garb of +metrical regularity. "On the Banks of Old Wegee" is a sentimental poem +of considerable merit, which suffers, however, from the same faults that +affect "Aurora." Most of these defects might have been obviated when the +stanzas were composed, by a careful counting of syllables in each line +and a constant consultation of some one, definite plan of rhyming. We +must here remark an error made in the typewritten copy of the original +manuscript, and reproduced in the finished magazine, for which, of +course, neither the poetical art of the author nor the technique of the +printer is to blame. In the second stanza, lines 6 and 7 were originally +written: + + "How oft I've essayed to be + A fisherman bold, but my luck never told." + +"Anent the Writing of Poetry" is a short prose essay, in which many +valuable truths are enunciated. Mrs. Haughton has evidently taken up the +poetic art with due seriousness, and considering the marked talent shown +in the first issue of her paper, we may justly expect to behold a +wonderfully rapid development in the near future. + +_The Badger_ for June fulfills the promise of January, and shows us that +the present year has given the United a new and serious periodical of +satisfying quality. In the "Introductory," Mr. George Schilling +discusses in lively fashion the latest topics of the day, thereby +atoning for our own tedious "Finale." "Ready Made," by Samuel J. +Schilling, is a thoughtful presentation of a lamentable fact. The evil +which he portrays is one that has rendered the masses of America almost +wholly subservient to the vulgar press; to be led astray into every sort +of radicalism through low tricks of sensationalism. Our own poetical +attempt, entitled "Quinsnicket Park," contains 112 lines, and spoils +three and a half otherwise excellent pages. It is probable that but few +have had the fortitude to read it through, or even to begin it, hence we +will pass over its defects in merciful silence. "What May I Own?" by +A. W. Ashby, is an able sociological essay which displays considerable +familiarity with the outward aspects of economic conditions. Mr. Ashby, +condemning the present system practiced in the coal and iron industries, +declares that on moral grounds he had rather be a brewer or purveyor of +liquor than a coal magnate or an ironmaster. In this statement, +evidently born of hasty fervour, Mr. Ashby forgets the basic character +of the two types of industry which he contrasts. Beneath the liquor +traffic lies a foundation accursed by decency and reason. The entire +industry is designed to pander to a false craving whose gratification +lowers man in the scale of mental and physical evolution. The distiller +and vendor of rum is elementally the supreme foe of the human race, and +the most powerful, dangerous and treacherous factor in the defiance of +progress and the betrayal of mankind. His trade can never be improved or +purified, being itself a crime against Nature. On the other hand, the +coal and iron industries are, in their fundamental forms, desirable and +necessary adjuncts to an expanding civilization. Their present evils are +wholly alien to their essential principles, being connected only with +the uneasy industrialism of this age. These faults are not confined to +coal-mining and iron-working, but are merely those possessed in common +with all great industries. Joseph E. Shufelt's article on the European +war is an amazing outburst of socialism in its worst form. The idea that +this shocking carnage is the result of a deliberate plot of the ruling +classes of all the belligerents to destroy their labouring element is +wonderfully ludicrous in its extravagance. We are led to infer that +those best of friends, der Kaiser and his cousins George and Nicholas, +are merely pretending hostility in order to rid themselves of a +troublesome peasantry! We do not know what Mr. Shufelt has been reading +lately, but we hope that time may modify his ideas to such a degree that +he will turn his dignified style and pure English to some object worthy +of their employment. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for July marks the beginning of an unprecedented era +of improvement in the quality of that periodical. Having settled down to +the conventional 5◊7 size, it has now acquired a cover and an abundance +of pages which the editor informs us will never be lessened. The +influence of _The Olympian_ is perceptible in the _Bearcat_, and for his +taste in the selection of so worthy a model Mr. Dowdell is to be +commended. "When the Tape Broke" is the first article of the editorial +column, and well describes an example of collapsed activity which the +United should avoid. "A Runaway Horse," by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, is a +brief and vivid sketch of a fatal accident. "Tragedy," an exquisite poem +by Emilie C. Holladay, deserves very favourable notice for the delicate +pathos of its sentiment, and perfect adaptation of the measure to the +subject. We may discern a few traces of immaturity in the handling of +the metre and in the presence of "allowable" rhymes. As elsewhere +stated, we personally approve and employ the old-fashioned "allowable" +rhyming sounds, but the best modern taste, as exemplified in the United +by its Laureate, Rheinhart Kleiner, demands absolute perfection in this +regard. As to the metre, we respectfully offer the following amended +second stanza as an example. It is absolutely uniform with the original +first stanza, which, of course, furnishes the model. + + The summer rains + And autumn winds + The snowdrop find yet standing; + A petal gone, + And all alone, + Her tender roots expanding. + +The remarkable poetical talent exhibited by Miss Holladay deserves a +cultivation that shall invest her productions with a technique of the +highest order. "The Dignity of Journalism," by ourselves, may be taken +by the reader as a sort of supplement to this Department. We there +enumerate in the abstract some of the precepts which we shall here apply +to individual writers. There are several misprints, which we hope will +not be taken as evidences of our bad spelling, and at the conclusion the +word "even" is omitted from the phrase which should read: "the +necessity, or _even_ the expediency." "June Journals" is an excellent +set of short reviews which display very favourably the critical ability +of Mr. Dowdell. The concluding notes on "Amateur Affairs" are brief, but +very interesting. The general excellence of _Dowdell's Bearcat_ excuses +the instances of imperfect proof-reading, which fault we are sure will +soon be eliminated. + +_The Blarney Stone_ for March-April contains "Thoughts," a meritorious +poem by Chester P. Munroe. The tone of the piece is that of sentimental +and almost melancholy reverie, hence the metre is not quite uniform; but +a commendable absence of rough breaks lends a delightful flow to the +lines. We hope to behold further efforts from Mr. Munroe's pen. "The +Amateur's Creed," by Mrs. Renshaw, is written in the style of this +author's previous and now well-known poem, "A Symphony," and should do +much toward lifting the United upward to the highest literary ideals. + +_The Blarney Stone_ for May-June has cast off all undue seriousness, and +teems with light and attractive matter concerning the recent Rocky Mount +convention. Some of the displays of wit and cleverness are very striking +and entertaining indeed, while no page departs so far from merit that it +may be justly adjudged as dull. + +_The Boys' Herald_ for August is an issue of unusual elaborateness, +announcing the engagement of its editor, Mr. Edwin Hadley Smith, and +Miss Nita Edna Gerner of New York. Excellent portraits of the happy +couple follow the formal announcement, and Miss Gerner, now Associate +Editor, describes in an excellent prose style the romance which +culminated in the engagement. "Gerneriana," consisting mainly of a +reprint from an earlier issue, is an interesting account of the late +Richard Gerner, an old-time amateur, and father of the prospective +bride. This article is well supplemented by the reproductions of parts +of old amateur papers which adorn the back cover of the magazine. The +remainder of _The Boys' Herald_ is wholly statistical, dealing with the +amateur career of Mr. Smith. Few members of the association could +produce superior records of activity. + +_The Brooklynite_ for April maintains the high standard set by the +previous number. "A Miracle," the opening poem, was composed by Alice L. +Carson during the course of a meeting of the Blue Pencil Club, yet +exhibits all the grace and harmony expected in a carefully planned and +laboriously polished work. "Spring Thoughts," by A. M. Adams, is a +humorous prose masterpiece by the National's new Critic. Seldom is the +amateur press favoured with such a well-sustained succession of +brilliant epigrams. Miss Owen's "Ode to Trempealeau Mountain" is a noble +specimen of heroic blank verse, containing some very striking +antithetical lines. The title, however, is a misnomer, since a true ode +is necessarily of irregular form. "Some Late Amateur Magazines," by +W. B. Stoddard, is a series of brief, informal reviews. As a critic, Mr. +Stoddard shows considerable discernment, though having a rather +unpleasant air of conscious superiority in certain places. A little more +stateliness of style would add to the force of his criticisms. "Spring" +reveals Rheinhart Kleiner in his favourite domain of amatory verse. Mr. +Kleiner's tuneful numbers and pure diction render his poetry ever a +delight. "Rebellion," by Miss von der Heide, is a metrically perfect +piece of verse whose artistry is marred only by the use of the +unpoetical philosophical term "subconscious" instead of "unconscious." + +_The Brooklynite_ for July is of especial interest as the first paper to +print an account of the Rocky Mount convention. This description, from +the facile and versatile pen of Miss von der Heide, is of distinctly +informal character, yet is none the less interesting as an animated +chronicle of an enjoyable event. Rheinhart Kleiner's account of the +National convention is more dignified, and may be considered as a model +for this sort of composition. Mr. Kleiner shines as brightly in prose as +in verse, and each day surprises us with revelations of excellence in +various dissimilar departments of literature. + +_The Conservative_ for July is notable for Mr. Ira Cole's delightfully +pantheistic poem, "A Dream of the Golden Age." The unusual poetic genius +of Mr. Cole has been revealed but recently, yet the imaginative +qualities pervading some of his prose long ago gave indications of this +gift. The pantheistic, Nature-worshipping mind of our author lends to +his productions an unique and elusive atmosphere which contrasts very +favourably with the earthy tone of some of our less fanciful bards. +Metrically, Mr. Cole adopts instinctively the regular, conservative +forms of a saner generation. In this specimen of heroic verse he +inclines toward the practice of Keats, and does not always confine +single thoughts to single couplets in the manner of the +eighteenth-century poets. We believe that Mr. Cole is commencing a +successful career as a United poet, and await the day when he shall be +accorded the honor of a laureateship. + +_The Coyote_ for July reveals a wonderful improvement over the March +number, both in the literary quality of its contributions and in general +editorial excellence. Never before have we seen the perfect amateur +spirit acquired so quickly as in Mr. Harrington's case. "Night Fancies," +by Helen H. Salls, is a sonnet of exceptional power and artistry, whose +faultless metre is equalled only by its bold and striking images. Amidst +this profusion of excellent metaphor, it is difficult to select +individual instances for particular praise, but we might commend +especially the passage: + + "... the stars still keep + Afloat like boats that black sky-billows ride." + +Miss Salls is clearly an amateur poet of the first rank, and it is to be +hoped that she will be a liberal contributor to United magazines. "The +Rebirth of the British Empire," by William T. Harrington, is a clear and +concise exposition of the virtues whereby Old England maintains her +proud position as Mistress of the Seas, and chief colonial empire of the +world. The style of the essay is admirable, and well exhibits the +progressive qualities of Mr. Harrington. "An Ideal," by Nettie Hartman, +is a short poem of pleasing sentiment and harmonious metre. The notes on +amateur affairs are interesting and well composed, revealing Mr. +Harrington's increasing enthusiasm for the cause. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for May is another striking illustration of the +improvement which can affect a paper within a very short time. Since +last October Mr. Dowdell has been progressing swiftly toward +journalistic excellence, and even this cleverly conceived and uniquely +shaped issue fails to mark the limit of his ambition. "Knowest Thou?" by +Mrs. Renshaw, is an expressive tribute to a nation whose recent infamies +can never wholly becloud its rugged virtues. "With Nature I Rejoice" is +probably the best poem which Joseph R. Schaffman has yet written. As his +remarkable talent matures, the didactic element in his verse is +gradually giving way to the more purely poetic, and this latest effort +is one of which he may be justly proud. Concerning Mr. Dowdell's own +spirited prose, we need only repeat the previous suggestion, that a +little less slang would add much to its force and dignity. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for May 26 contains another poem by Mrs. Renshaw +whose national tone is not likely to be popular just now outside the +country to which it refers; in fact, Editor Dowdell has deemed it wise +to make an apologetic statement concerning it. However, if we call "Ein +Mann" Col. Theodore Roosevelt, and shift the scene to San Juan Hill, we +may be able to appreciate the real patriotism delineated. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for June is wholly given over to notes of the +amateur world. Mr. Dowdell is indeed a pleasing young writer, and leaves +none of his topics without a characteristic touch of light adornment. + +_The Lake Breeze_ for April is distinguished by James L. Crowley's poem +entitled "April," a brief lyric of marked merit, highly expressive of +the season. "Writing Poetry," an essay by Dora M. Hepner, is a clear and +tasteful analysis of the poet's art and inspiration. "The Norwegian +Recruit," a dialect monologue by Maurice W. Moe, is the leading feature +of this issue. This exquisite bit of humor, recited by Mr. Moe at the +United's 1913 convention, is a sketch of rare quality. "The Amateur +Press," now firmly established as a column of contributed reviews, is +this month of substantial size and fair quality. It is needless to say +that the news pages are interesting, and that the paper as a whole well +maintains the high reputation it has ever enjoyed. + +_The Lake Breeze_ for June apparently opens an era of unprecedented +improvement, being of distinctly literary rather than political nature. +The plea for a Department of Instruction is a just one, and ought to +meet with response from some of our pedagogical members. "Broken Metre," +by Mrs. Renshaw, is an attempt at defending the popular atrocities +committed in the name of freedom by the modern poets. While the article +is superficially quite plausible, we feel that the settled forms of +regular metre have too much natural justification thus to be disturbed. +The citation of Milton, intended to strengthen Mrs. Renshaw's argument, +really weakens it; for while he undoubtedly condemns _rhyme_, he laments +in the course of this very condemnation the _lame metre_ which is +sometimes concealed by apt rhyming. "Some Views on Versification," by +Clara I. Stalker, is an essay written from a sounder and more +conservative point of view. The middle course in poetical composition, +which avoids alike wild eccentricities and mechanical precision, has +much to recommend it, and Miss Stalker does well to point out its +virtues. However, we do not see why even the few irregularities which +are here said to be inevitable, cannot be smoothed out by the bard +without destroying the sense of his poetry. "Disappointment," by Mrs. +Maude K. Barton, is a clever piece of light verse whose sprightly humour +makes up for its slight metrical roughness. The imperfect but allowable +rhyming of "bear" and "appear" in the first stanza is entirely correct +according to the old-time standards which we ourselves follow, but we +fear that the delicate ear of a precise metrical artist like Rheinhart +Kleiner would object to its liberalism. "The Amateur Press" is +distinguished by an excellent review from the pen of Mrs. Renshaw. The +style is satisfactory, and the criticism just, making the whole well +worthy of the prize book it has secured for its author. "'Pollyanna,' +the Glad Book" is a meritorious and entertaining review by Mrs. +Griffith. "Hope," by Marguerite Sisson, is commendable for its use of +that noble but neglected measure, the heroic couplet. Mr. Daas' +concluding editorial, "Literature and Politics," is admirable for its +concise exposition of the United's new ideals, and its masterly +refutation of the common fallacy that political quarrels are necessary +to stimulate activity in the press associations. + +_The Looking Glass_ for May is a journal unique in purpose and quality. +Edited by Mrs. Renshaw in behalf of her many gifted recruits, it reveals +a condition absolutely unexampled; the acquisition by one member of so +many high-grade novices that a special publication is required properly +to introduce them to the United. "To a Critic of Shelley," by Helen H. +Salls, is a long piece of beautiful blank verse, marred only by one +accidental rhyme. Miss Salls is evidently one of those few really +powerful poets who come all too seldom into Amateur Journalism, +startling the Association with impeccable harmony and exalted images. +The present poem grows even more attractive on analysis. The diction is +of phenomenal purity and wholly unspoiled by any ultra-modern touch. It +might have been a product of Shelley's own age. The metaphor is +marvellous, exhibiting a soul overflowing with true spirituality, and a +mind trained to express beautiful thought in language of corresponding +beauty. Such unforced ornateness is rarely met in the domain of amateur +poetry. We feel certain that Miss Salls has already become a fixed star +in the empyrean of the United. Exalted poetry of quite another type is +furnished by the work of our new Director, Rev. Frederick Chenault, +whose two exquisite lyrics, "Birth" and "The Sea of Somewhere," appear +in this issue. With little use of formal rhyme and metre, Mr. Chenault +abounds in delicate conceptions and artistic renditions. +"Retrospection," by Kathleen Baldwin, is likewise a poem of high order, +and of fairly regular metre, evidently following comparatively recent +models in technique. "The Faithful Man," by I. T. Valentine, shows +growing poetical talent, but is cruelly injured by the anticlimactic +line. Not that there is any anticlimax of sentiment, but the colloquial +mode of expression shocks the reader who has been perusing the more +dignified lines which go before. "The Stonework of Life" is an excellent +prose sermon by Joseph Ernest Shufelt, which displays great ability in +the field of metaphor and allegory. Mr. Shufelt possesses an admirable +style, unusually well fitted for didactic matter of this sort; indeed, +it is regrettable that he should ever depart from such congenial themes +and turn to the wild sensationalism which he shows in _The Badger_. In +demonstrating the beauties of morality and religion, he has few +superiors, and a task so appropriate to his genius ought to claim his +whole attention. True, his thoughts may follow strange courses in their +quest for truth and beauty, but were he always to curb them within the +bounds of probability and conservatism, as here, he would never lose the +confidence of his public, as he has done with his strange war theories. +"The Autocracy of Art," by Anne Vyne Tillery Renshaw, is the leading +article of the magazine. Herein the author proclaims the supremacy of +spiritual utterances over all restrictions created by the mind, and +urges the emancipation of the soaring bard from the earthly chains of +rhyme and metre. That the inward promptings of the poetic instinct are +of prime value to the poet, few will dispute; but that they may give +final form to his soul's creations without some regulation by the +natural laws of rhythm, few will agree. The metric sense lies far deeper +in the breast of man than Mrs. Renshaw is here disposed to acknowledge. +After this article, the perfectly regular stanzas of "Fellow Craftsman," +_by the same author_, are refreshing. The typography and form of _The +Looking Glass_ leave something to be desired, but the riches within make +ample compensation for outward crudity. + +_The New Member_ for May, edited by William Dowdell, contains but one +credential, yet doubtless paves the way for a resumption of the +enterprise so ably conducted by Miss Hoffman last year. "Melancholy," a +poem by I. T. Valentine, shows traces of the beginner's crudeness, yet +has about it a quality which promises much for the future of the poet. +"Lock-Step Pete," by Miss von der Heide, is an unusual poem with a +thoughtful suggestion embodied in its concluding stanza. + +_The New Member_ bound with the May _Official Quarterly_ is a model that +should henceforth be followed as the nearest approach to perfection yet +beheld. Credentials, lists of prospective members, news of recruits, and +accounts of local clubs are here given in just and pleasing proportion. +"Bluets and Butterflies," by Carolyn L. Amoss, is a poem of great +delicacy and ethereal atmosphere. The solitary, tiny flaw is the +attempted rhyming of "Miss" and "yes." "War in America," by Annette E. +Foth, is a pleasant juvenile story. E. Ralph Cheyney's extract from his +essay on "Youth" is in many ways remarkable, and shows us that we have +another recruit of choice quality. His rather peculiar ideas are well +expressed, though their soundness is quite debatable. A few abnormal +characters like Byron and Shelley doubtless experienced all the +adolescent phenomena which Mr. Cheyney describes, but we believe that +the average youth is a copyist, and for the most part reflects his +environment. Radicalism and novel ideas arise just as much from blasÈ, +elderly cynics, who are tired of sane and sober conservatism. We have +been reflecting on Life for about twenty years, ever since we were five, +and have consistently believed that the wisdom of the ancient sage is +the true wisdom; that Life is essentially immutable, and that the +glorious dreams of youth are no more than dreams, to be dissipated by +the dawn of maturity and the full light of age. "Flowers on the Grave," +a poem by J. D. Hill, has a commendable sentiment, and is remarkable for +its possession of only one repeated rhyming sound. Whether or not the +latter feature be monotonous, all must admit that the versification is +attractive. "We Are All Desperate!" is a striking philosophical fragment +by Melvin Ryder, which first appeared as an editorial in the _Ohio State +Lantern_. The conjectures are plausible, and the precepts sound. The +news items in this paper are all fresh and interesting, concluding an +issue uniformly excellent. + +_The Pippin_ for May displays very favourably the high-school club whose +founding and maintenance are due entirely to the genius of Mr. Maurice +W. Moe. "The Coasters," by Esther Ronning, is the only poem in the +issue, but its quality atones for the absence of other verse. The +pleasures and perils of coasting are here portrayed with wonderfully +graphic pen, whilst the metre is, so far as technical correctness is +concerned, all that might be desired. However, we wish that Miss +Ronning were less fond of unusual rhyming arrangements. The lines here +given are of regular ballad length. Were they disposed in couplets, we +should have a tuneful lay of the "Chevy Chase" order; but as it is, our +ear misses the steady couplet effect to which the standard models have +accustomed us. "With the Assistance of Carmen" is a clever short story +by Gladys Bagg, derived from the same plot nucleus by Mr. Moe which +likewise evoked Miss Moore's story in the March UNITED AMATEUR. The +structure of the narrative is excellent, but we do not like the use of +the plebeian expression "onto" on page 3. There is properly no such word +as "onto" in the English language, "upon" being the preposition here +required. Webster clearly describes "onto" as a low provincialism or +colloquialism. "Little Jack in Fairyland," by Ruth Ryan, is a well +written account of a dream, with the usual awakening just as events are +coming to a climax. The style is very attractive, and the images +ingenious. "Getting What You Want," by Mr. Moe, is a brief one-act farce +illustrating the subtle devices whereby the sharp housewife bewilders +the good-natured landlord into the granting of extraordinary favours. +Had the heroine kept on to still greater lengths, she might have secured +an entire new house. The present number of _The Pippin_ is, save for the +absence of photographs, quite as pleasing as the previous number. We +trust that Mr. Moe's editorial prophecy may be fulfilled, and that we +may soon behold another issue which shall make us familiar with the new +faces brought by revolving time into the congenial Appleton circle. + +_The Plainsman_ for July is the best number yet issued, the two +eleventh-hour contributions being very cleverly introduced. "Revised +Edition," by Mrs. Jeanette Timkin, is a versified piece of keen humour +and good metre, well illustrating the opening of the third or aerial +element to human travel. "To Bazine, Kansas" is a sprightly prose +account by James J. Hennessey of his journey from Boston to Bazine. "An +Incident of Early Days," by Mrs. John Cole, is presented in the same +attractive reminiscent style which makes her article in _The Trail_ so +readable and interesting. We are here told of the times when herds of +bison were common sights, and are given a pleasing account of the +formation of the Bazine Sunday-School. The articles by Mr. and Mrs. Ira +Cole show their appreciation of the amateurs who have visited them, and +conclude an issue of thoroughly entertaining quality. + +_The Providence Amateur_ for June introduces to the United another local +press club of great enthusiasm. Owing to some unauthorized omissions +made by the printer, this first issue is scarcely representative of the +club's entire personnel, but that which still remains affords, after +all, a fair index to the character and ideals of the new organization. +The editorials by John T. Dunn are both frank and fearless. We detest a +shifty club whose allegiance wavers betwixt the United, the Morris +Faction and the National, and so are greatly pleased at Mr. Dunn's manly +and open stand for the one real United. The editor's opinions on +acknowledgment of papers is certainly just from one point of view, +though much may be said for the opposite side. When an amateur journal +has been prepared with unusual labour, and mailed conscientiously to +every member of the Association, the publisher has substantial reason +for resenting any marked display of neglect. We do not blame _The +Blarney Stone_ for its attitude on this question, and shall probably +follow its custom by mailing the next _Conservative_ only to those who +have acknowledged one or both of the previous issues. + +_The Reflector_ for June is a British amateur magazine, transplanted on +American soil by its able editor, Ernest A. Dench. "Crossing the +Atlantic in War Time" is a pleasing account of Mr. Dench's voyage from +Liverpool to New York. "Chunks of Copy" forms the title of an excellent +though informal editorial department, while "A Brain Tank at Your +Service" teems with witticisms concerning various members of the Blue +Pencil Club. This magazine has no connection with any former journal of +like title, but seems likely to prove a worthy successor to all its +namesakes. + +_The Trail_ for Spring is a new and substantial illustrated magazine of +20 pages and cover, issued by our well-known Private Critic, Mr. Alfred +L. Hutchinson. At the head of the contents are the reminiscences of the +editor, which prove extremely interesting reading, and which are well +supplemented by the lines entitled "The Tramp Printer." Also by Mr. +Hutchinson is the well written and animated account of Mr. Nicholas +Bruehl, whose artistic photographical work adorns the inside covers of +this issue. "Pioneer Life in Kansas," by Mrs. John Cole, is a +delightfully graphic picture of the trials and adventures of the early +settlers in the West. Being written from actual personal experience, the +various incidents leave a lasting impression on the mind of the reader, +while a pleasing smoothness of style enhances the vividness of the +narrative. "Memory-Building" is the first of a series of psychological +articles by our master amateur, Maurice W. Moe. It is here demonstrated +quite conclusively, that the faculty of memory is dependent on the +fundamental structure and quality of the brain, and may never be +acquired or greatly improved through cultivation. "Evening at Magnolia +Springs," by Laura E. Moe, exhibits the same type of literary talent +that her gifted husband possesses; in fact, this sketch may be compared +with Mr. Moe's well-known "Cedar Lake Days." The use of trivial +incidents gives an intense naturalness to the description. "Caught," by +Ruth M. Lathrop, is a brilliant short story whose development and climax +are natural and unforced. Fiction is generally the amateur's weakest +spot, but Miss Lathrop is evidently one of the few shining exceptions. +So thoroughly excellent is _The Trail_, that we hope to see not merely a +second issue, but its permanent establishment as one of the United's +leading magazines. + +_The Tryout_ for June belongs to the National, but contains much matter +by United members. "Tempora Mutantur," a very meritorious short story by +Marguerite Sisson, affords an illuminating contrast between the solid +culture of 1834 and the detestable shallowness of the present time. This +prevailing frivolity and unscholarliness is something which the United +is seeking to remedy, and we are thankful indeed for stories such as +this, which expose modern levity in all its nauseousness. It is evident +that Miss Sisson is emulating the appreciative Anne Carroll of 1834, +rather than her obtuse and indifferent descendant. "The District +School," by Edna R. Guilford, describes very vividly the many petty +annoyances that beset the average teacher. While the picture is +extremely well presented as a whole, certain roughnesses of diction +nevertheless arrest the critical eye. "Onto," in the first paragraph, is +a provincialism which should be superseded by "to." Further on we hear +the teacher admonishing a youth to wash up some ink, and "wash it +_good_"! Would a _teacher_ thus express herself? "Well" is the adverb +here needed. "Too tired _to hardly stand_" is a seriously ungrammatical +phrase, which should read: "almost too tired to stand." We note that one +of the pupils' names is given as "Robert Elsmere." While it may not be +essentially a fault thus to use the name of a famous character of +fiction, we feel that the exercise of a little more originality might +have avoided this appropriation of Mrs. Humphry Ward's celebrated hero. +Miss Guilford's fundamental talent is unmistakable, but needs +cultivation and practice before it can shine out in full splendour. + +_The Tryout_ for July contains "Cripple George," a beautiful short story +by Mrs. Rose L. Elmore, commendable alike in plot and technique. "A Day +in the Mountains," by Harry H. Connell, is a very interesting sketch +whose style exhibits considerable promise. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for March contains a literary department which will, +we hope, remain as a regular feature. "Tobias Smithers, Leading Man" is +Miss Ellen Moore's prize-winning attempt at constructing a story from a +very brief nucleus given by Mr. Moe. Miss Moore here exhibits a facile +pen and a just appreciation of humorous situations. "Ghosts," by Mrs. +Renshaw, well illustrates the vague superstitions of the negroes, those +strange creatures of darkness who seem never to cross completely the +threshold from apedom to humanity. "March," by ourselves, is a gem of +exquisite poesy, etc., etc., which we have here praised because no one +else could ever conscientiously do so. Line 10 apparently breaks the +metre, but this seeming break is due wholly to the printer. The line +should read: + + "The longer sunshine, and the shorter night." + +"The Unknown Equation" is a love story by Mrs. Florence Shepphird. +Though the major portion is quite polished and consistent, we cannot but +deem the conclusion too abrupt and precipitate. Perhaps, being a frigid +old critic without experience in romance, we ought to submit the +question to some popular newspaper column of Advice to the Lovelorn, +inquiring whether or not it be permissible for a young lady, after only +a few hours' acquaintanceship with a young gentleman, to encourage him +to "put his arm around her yielding form and kiss her passionately"!! + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for May is graced by "Reveille," a powerful and +stirring poem written in collaboration by our two gifted bards, Mr. +Kleiner, the Laureate, and Miss von der Heide. "Nature and the +Countryman," by A. W. Ashby, is an iconoclastic attack on that love of +natural beauty which is inherent in every poetical, imaginative and +delicately strung brain. In prose of faultless technique and polished +style, Mr. Ashby catalogues like a museum curator every species of flaw +that he can possibly pick in the scenes and events of rustic life. But +while the career of the farmer is assuredly not one of uninterrupted +bliss, it were folly to assert that Nature's superlative loveliness is +not more than enough to compensate for its various infelicities. No mind +of high grade is so impervious to aesthetic emotion that it can behold +without admiration the wonders of the rural realm, even though a vein of +sordid suffering ran through the beauteous ensemble. Of all our personal +friends, the one who most adores and loves to personify Nature is a +successful farmer of unceasing diligence. Mr. Ashby errs, we are +certain, in taking the point of view of the unimaginative and +unappreciative peasant. This sort of animal interprets Nature by +physical, not mental associations, and is unfitted by heredity to +receive impressions of the beautiful in its less material aspects. +Whilst he grumbles at the crimson flames of Aurora, thinking only of the +afternoon rain thus predicted, the man of finer mould, though equally +cognizant that a downpour may follow, rejoices impulsively at the pure +beauty of the scene itself, a scene whose intellectual exaltation will +help him the better to bear the dull afternoon. Is not the beauty-lover +the happier of the two? Both must endure the trials, but the poet enjoys +compensating pleasures which the boor may never know. The +personification and deification of Nature is a legacy from primitive +ages which will delight us in an atavistical way till our very race +shall have perished. And let Mr. Ashby remember that those early tribes +who placed a god or goddess in every leafy tree, crystal fount, reedy +lake or sparkling brook, were far closer to Nature and the soil than is +any modern tenant farmer. + +_The United Official Quarterly_ for May has resumed its former +attractive appearance, and contains a very creditable assortment of +literary matter. "Atmosphere," by Mrs. Shepphird, is a thoughtful and +pleasing essay, whose second half well describes the individuality of +the various amateur authors and editors. "The Kingly Power of Laughter," +by Louena Van Norman, is no less just and graphic, illustrating the +supreme force of humour and ridicule. Leo Fritter, in "Concerning +Candidates," points out some important details for office-seekers, +whilst Ira A. Cole, in "Five Sticks on Finance," gives some interesting +suggestions for economy. "Opportunity," an essay by Mildred Blanchard, +concludes the issue, and successfully disputes the noxious old +platitude, that "Opportunity knocks but once at each man's door." With +the _Quarterly_ is bound _The New Member_, reviewed elsewhere, the two +forming a tasteful and meritorious magazine. + +_The Woodbee_ for July is an issue of unusual interest, revealing the +more serious and substantial activities of the prosperous Columbus Club. +The opening feature is a sonnet by Alma Sanger, "To Autumn Violets," +which exhibits some poetical talent and a just sense of metrical values. +We are sure that the defective second line is the fault of the printer +rather than of the author. "The Blind Prince," by Henriette Ziegfeld, is +an excellent juvenile tale involving a fairy story. The only serious +objection is the undercurrent of adult comment which flows through the +narrative. Particularly cynical is the closing sentence: "'And here's +Mother,' finished poor Auntie with a sigh of relief." The ordinary fairy +stories told to children are bits of actual Teutonic mythology, and +should be related with a grave, absolute simplicity and naivete. +However, as a psychological study of the typical childish auditor, the +sketch as a whole is highly meritorious. We are inclined to wonder at +the possible meaning of the strange word "alright," which appears more +than once in Miss Ziegfeld's tale. It is certainly no part of our +language, and if it be a corruption of "all right," we must say that we +fail to perceive why the correct expression could not have been used. +"What's in a Name?" by Irene Metzger, is a clever sketch concerning +the silly modern practice of giving fancy names to helpless infants. +Glancing backward a little through history, Miss Metzger would probably +sympathize with the innocent offspring of the old Puritans, who +received such names as "Praise-God," and the like. Praise-God Barebones, +a leading and fanatical member of Cromwell's rebel parliament, +went a step further than his father, naming his own son +"If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-Damned"! All this +was actually the first name of young Barebones, but after he grew up and +took a Doctor's degree, he was called by his associates, "_Damned Dr. +Barebones_"! "Moonlight on the River," by Ida Cochran Haughton, is an +exquisite sentimental poem, each stanza of which ends with the same +expression. The atmosphere is well created, and the images dexterously +introduced. The whole piece reminds the reader of one of Thomas Moore's +beautiful old "Irish Melodies." That Mrs. Haughton's talent has +descended to the second generation is well proven by Edna M. Haughton's +"Review of the Literary Work of the Quarter." Miss Haughton is a +polished and scholarly reviewer, and her criticisms are in every +instance just and helpful. The editorial on "Miss United" is very well +written, and should be carefully perused by those in danger of +succumbing to the autumnal advances of that sour old maid, Miss +National. + + --HOWARD P. LOVECRAFT + Chairman. + + +Little Journeys to the Homes of Prominent Amateurs + +Among the many amateurs I have never met in the flesh and realness of +Life, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, poet, critic and student, appeals to me +as no other recent "find" in the circles of amateuria has ever appealed. +And Lovecraft _is_ a distinct "find." Just why he holds a firm grip on +my heart-strings is something of a mystery to me. Perhaps it is because +of his wholesome ideals; perhaps it is because he is a recluse, content +to nose among books of ancient lore; perhaps it's because of his +physical afflictions; his love of things beautiful in Life; his ardent +advocacy of temperance, cleanliness and purity--I don't know. We +disagree on many questions; he criticises my literary activities; he +smiles at my suffrage theories, and disapproves of my language in _Chain +Lightning_. But I like him. + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft has an interesting history, and this fact was +known to Official Editor Daas when he asked me to take a little journey +to the study-home of the Vice-President. "Don't stint yourself for +space" was noted on the assignment tab, and after glancing over the +biographical notes before me--I am sure that Daas has again exemplified +his quiet humor during a serious moment. + +Lovecraft was born at 454 Angell St., Providence, R. I., on August 20, +1890. His nationality is Anglo-American, and under British law he can +claim to be a British subject, since he is a grandson in direct male +line of a British subject not naturalized in the United States. His +ancestry is purely English. On the paternal side he is a descendant of +the Lovecrafts, a Devonshire family which has furnished a great many +clergymen to the Church of England, and the Allgoods of Northumberland, +a history-honored family of which several members have been knighted. +The Allgoods have been a military line, and this may account for +Lovecraft's militarism and belief in the justice of war. On the maternal +side he is a typical Yankee, coming from East English stock which +settled in Rhode Island about 1680. Lovecraft is a student of +astronomy--it is a domineering passion with him--and this love was +apparently inherited from his maternal grandmother, Rhoby Phillips, who +studied it thoroughly in her youth at Lapham Seminary, and whose +collection of old astronomical books first interested him. Lovecraft +came from pure-blood stock, and he is the last male descendant of that +family in the United States. With him the name will die in America. He +is unmarried. + +As he was about to enter college at the age of eighteen, his feeble +health gave way, and since then he has been physically incapacitated and +rendered almost an invalid. Being thus deprived of his cherished hope to +further his education and prepare himself for a life of letters, he has +contented himself with his home, which is just three squares from his +birthplace, and where he lives with his mother. And his home life is +ideal. His personal library--his haven of contentment--contains more +than 1500 volumes, many of them yellowed with age, and crude examples of +the printer's art. Among these treasured books may be found volumes +which have passed through the various branches of his family, some +dating back to 1681 and 1702, and methinks I can see Lovecraft poring +over these time-stained bits o' bookish lore as the monks of old +followed the printed lines with quivering fingers in the taper's +uncertain, flickering light. For Lovecraft appeals to me as a +bookworm--one of those lovable mortals whose very existence seems to +hang on the numbered pages of a heavy, clumsy book! + +His connection with organized amateur journalism is of recent date. On +April 6, 1914, his application for membership in the United Amateur +Press Association of America was forwarded to the Secretary. Like a +great many of the recruits, Lovecraft was completely ignored for several +months. In July of last year he became active, and he has proven to be +an invaluable asset to the literary life of the Association. He is _not_ +a politician. However, his literary activities had been prosecuted many +years before he had ever heard of the United. At the age of eight and +one-half years he published the _Scientific Gazette_, a weekly +periodical, written in pencil and issued in editions of four carbon +copies. This journal was devoted to the science of chemistry, which was +one of his earliest hobbies, and ran from March, 1899, to February, +1904. As in most cases, my knowledge of chemistry was acquired after I +had spent four years in high-school, and the fact that any boy should be +interested in that study at the age of eight and one-half years appeals +to me as something out of the ordinary. But Lovecraft was not an +ordinary boy. His second and more ambitious venture was the _Rhode +Island Journal of Astronomy_. This was at first published as a weekly, +and later changed to a monthly publication. This was carefully printed +by hand and then duplicated on the hectograph and issued in lots of +twenty-five copies. The _Journal_ was issued from 1903 to 1907, and +contained the latest astronomical news, re-written from the original +telegraphic reports issued from Harvard University and seen at the Ladd +Observatory. It also contained many of his original articles and +forecasts of phenomena. He owns a 3-inch telescope of French make, and +aside from amateur journalism, his one great hobby is astronomy. At the +age of sixteen he commenced writing monthly astronomical articles for +the Providence _Tribune_, and later changed to the _Evening News_, to +which he still contributes. During the present year he has contributed a +complete elementary treatise on astronomy in serial form to the +Asheville (N. C.) _Gazette-News_. Besides contributing a great many +poems and articles to the amateur press, editing _The Conservative_ and +assisting with the editorial work on _The Badger_, the appearance of Mr. +Lovecraft's work in the professional magazines is of common occurrence. +During the past year he has had charge of the Bureau of Public Criticism +in THE UNITED AMATEUR, where he has proven himself a just, impartial and +painstaking critic. That he will achieve a great popularity in the world +of amateur letters is a foregone conclusion, and I do not think that I +am indulging in extravagant praise in predicting a brilliant future for +him in the professional field. + +I am acquainted with Howard Phillips Lovecraft only through +correspondence; I have never felt the flesh of his palm, and yet, I know +he is a man--every inch of him--and that amateur journalism will be +enriched and promoted to its highest plane through his kindly influence +and literary leadership. + + ANDREW FRANCIS LOCKHART + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR FEBRUARY 1916 + + +The Teuton's Battle-Song + + "Omnis erat vulnus unda + Terra rubefacta calido + Frendebat gladius in loricas + Gladius findebat clypeos-- + Non retrocedat vir a viro + Hoc fuit viri fortis nobilitas diu-- + Laetus cerevisiam cum Asis + In summa sede bibam + Vitae elapsae sunt horae + Ridens moriar." + --REGNER LODBROG + + The mighty Woden laughs upon his throne, + And once more claims his children for his own. + The voice of Thor resounds again on high, + While arm'd Valkyries ride from out the sky: + The Gods of Asgard all their pow'rs release + To rouse the dullard from his dream of peace. + Awake! ye hypocrites, and deign to scan + The actions of your "brotherhood of Man." + Could your shrill pipings in the race impair + The warlike impulse put by Nature there? + Where now the gentle maxims of the school, + The cant of preachers, and the Golden Rule? + What feeble word or doctrine now can stay + The tribe whose fathers own'd Valhalla's sway? + Too long restrain'd, the bloody tempest breaks, + And Midgard 'neath the tread of warriors shakes. + On to thy death, Berserker bold! And try + In acts of Godlike bravery to die! + Who cares to find the heaven of the priest, + When only warriors can with Woden feast? + The flesh of Sehrimnir, and the cup of mead, + Are but for him who falls in martial deed: + Yon luckless boor, that passive meets his end, + May never in Valhalla's court contend. + Slay, brothers, Slay! And bathe in crimson gore; + Let Thor, triumphant, view the sport once more! + All other thoughts are fading in the mist, + But to attack, or if attack'd, resist. + List, great Alfadur, to the clash of steel; + How like a man does each brave swordsman feel! + The cries of pain, the roars of rampant rage, + In one vast symphony our ears engage. + Strike! Strike him down! Whoever bars the way; + Let each kill many ere he die today! + Ride o'er the weak; accomplish what ye can; + The Gods are kindest to the strongest man! + Why should we fear? What greater joy than this? + Asgard alone could give us sweeter bliss! + My strength is waning; dimly can I see + The helmeted Valkyries close to me. + Ten more I slay! How strange the thought of fear, + With Woden's mounted messengers so near! + The darkness comes; I feel my spirit rise; + A kind Valkyrie bears me to the skies. + With conscience clear, I quit the earth below, + The boundless joys of Woden's halls to know. + The grove of Glasir soon shall I behold, + And on Valhalla's tablets be enroll'd: + There to remain, till Heimdall's horn shall sound, + And Ragnarok enclose creation round; + And Bifrost break beneath bold Surtur's horde, + And Gods and men fall dead beneath the sword; + When sun shall die, and sea devour the land, + And stars descend, and naught but Chaos stand. + Then shall Alfadur make his realm anew, + And Gods and men with purer life indue. + In that blest country shall Abundance reign, + Nor shall one vice or woe of earth remain. + Then, not before, shall men their battles cease, + And live at last in universal peace. + Through cloudless heavens shall the eagle soar, + And happiness prevail forevermore. + + --H. P. LOVECRAFT + + +_Author's Note._ + +The writer here endeavours to trace the ruthless ferocity and incredible +bravery of the modern Teutonic soldier to the hereditary influence of +the ancient Northern Gods and Heroes. Despite the cant of the +peace-advocate, we must realise that our present Christian civilisation, +the product of an alien people, rests but lightly upon the Teuton when +he is deeply aroused, and that in the heat of combat he is quite prone +to revert to the mental type of his own Woden-worshipping progenitors, +losing himself in that superb fighting zeal which baffled the conquering +cohorts of a Caesar, and humbled the proud aspirations of a Varus. +Though appearing most openly in the Prussian, whose recent acts of +violence are so generally condemned, this native martial ardour is by no +means peculiar to him, but is instead the common heritage of every +branch of our indomitable Xanthochroic race, British and Continental +alike, whose remote forefathers were for countless generations reared in +the stern precepts of the virile religion of the North. Whilst we may +with justice deplore the excessive militarism of the Kaiser Wilhelm and +his followers, we cannot rightly agree with those effeminate preachers +of universal brotherhood who deny the virtue of that manly strength +which maintains our great North European family in its position of +undisputed superiority over the rest of mankind, and which in its purest +form is today the bulwark of Old England. It is needless to say to an +educated audience that the term "Teuton" is in no way connected with the +modern German Empire, but embraces the whole Northern stock, including +English and Belgians. + +In the Northern religion, Alfadur, or the All-Father, was a vague though +supreme deity. Beneath him were among others Woden, or Odin, practically +the supreme deity, and Woden's eldest son Thor, the God of War. Asgard, +or heaven, was the dwelling-place of the Gods, whilst Midgard was the +earth, or abode of man. The rainbow, or bridge of Bifrost, which +connected the two regions, was guarded by the faithful watchman +Heimdall. Woden lived in the palace of Valhalla, near the grove of +Glasir, and had as messengers to earth the Valkyries, armed, mailed and +mounted virgins who conveyed from the earth to Asgard such men as had +fallen bravely in battle. Only those who fell thus could taste to the +full the joys of paradise. These joys consisted of alternate feasting +and fighting. At Woden's feasts in Valhalla was served the flesh of the +boar Sehrimnir, which, though cooked and eaten at every meal, would +regain its original condition the next day. The wounds of the warriors +in each celestial combat were miraculously healed at the end of the +fighting. + +But this heaven was not to last forever. Some day would come Ragnarok, +or the Twilight of the Gods, when all creation would be destroyed, and +all the Gods and men save Alfadur perish. Surtur, after killing the last +of these Gods, would burn up the world. Afterward the supreme Alfadur +would make a new earth or paradise, creating again the Gods and men, and +suffering them ever after to dwell in peace and plenty. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XV GEORGETOWN, ILL., APRIL, 1916 NUMBER 9 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Brooklynite= for January contains one of Rheinhart Kleiner's +characteristic poems, entitled "A Mother's Song". Mr. Kleiner's command +of good taste, harmony, and correctness requires no further panegyric +amongst those who know him; but to the more recent United members who +have not yet read extensively in our journals, his work may well be +recommended as undoubtedly the safest of all amateur poetical models for +emulation. Mr. Kleiner has a sense of musical rhythm which few amateur +bards have ever possessed, and his choice of words and phrases is the +result of a taste both innate and cultivated, whose quality appears to +rare advantage in the present degenerate age. This remarkable young poet +has not yet fully displayed in verse the variety of thoughts and images +of which his fertile brain and well selected reading have made him +master, but has preferred to concentrate most of his powers upon +delicate amatory lyrics. While some of his readers may at times regret +this limitation of endeavor, and wish he might practice to a greater +extent that immense versatility which he permitted the amateur public to +glimpse in the September =Piper=; it is perhaps not amiss that he should +cultivate most diligently that type of composition most natural and easy +to him, for he is obviously a successor of those polished and elegant +poets of gallantry whose splendour adorned the reigns of Queen Elizabeth +and King James the First. + + * * * * * + +=The Conservative= for January opens with Winifred Virginia Jordan's +"Song of the North Wind", one of the most powerful poems lately seen in +the amateur press. Mrs. Jordan is the newest addition to the United's +constellation of genuine poetical luminaries; shining as an artist of +lively imagination, faultless taste, and graphic expression, whose work +possesses touches of genius and individualism that have already brought +her renown in amateur circles. In the poem under consideration, Mrs. +Jordan displays a phenomenal comprehension of the sterner aspects of +Nature, producing a thoroughly virile effect. Words are chosen with care +and placed with remarkable force, whilst both alliteration and +onomatopoeia are employed with striking success. By the same author is +the shorter poem entitled "Galileo and Swammerdam", which though vastly +different in aspect and rhythm, yet retains that suggestion of mysticism +so frequently encountered in Mrs. Jordan's work. + +James Tobey Pyke, a lyrical and philosophical poet of high scholastic +attainments, contributes two poems; "Maia", and "The Poet". The latter +is a stately sonnet, rich in material for reflection. Such is the +quality of Mr. Pyke's work, that his occasional contributions are ever +to be acclaimed with the keenest interest and appreciation. + +Rheinhart Kleiner, our Laureate, is another bard twice represented in +the January =Conservative=. His two poems, "Consolation" and "To Celia", +though widely different in structure, are yet not unrelated in +sentiment, being both devoted to the changing heart. One amateur critic +has seen fit to frown upon so skilled an apotheosis of inconsistency, +but it seems almost captious thus to analyse an innocuous bit of art so +daintily and tastefully arrayed. "To Celia" is perhaps slightly the +better of the two, having a very commendable stateliness of cadence, and +a gravity of thought greater than that of "Consolation". + +"The Horizon of Dreams", by Mrs. Renshaw, is a graphic and enthralling +venture into the realm of nocturnal unreality. The free play of active +imagination, the distorted and transitory conceptions and apparitions, +and the strangely elusive analogies, all lend charm and color to this +happy portrayal of the vague boundaries of Somnus' domain. Mrs. +Renshaw's rank as a poet is of very high tone, most of her productions +involving a spiritual insight and metaphysical comprehension vastly +beyond that of the common mind. But this very nobility of imagination, +and superiority to the popular appeal, are only too likely to render her +best work continually underestimated and unappreciated by the majority. +She is not a "poet of the masses", and her graver efforts must needs +reach audiences more notable for cultured than numerical magnitude. Of +Mrs. Renshaw's liberal metrical theories, enough is said elsewhere. This +Department can neither endorse principles so radical, nor refrain from +remarking that want of proper rhyme and metre has relegated to obscurity +many a rich and inspired poem. + +"Departed", by Maude Kingsbury Barton, is a sentimental poem of +undoubted grace and sweetness, happily cast in unbroken metre. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for January is adorned by no less than three of Mrs. +Winifred V. Jordan's exquisite short poems. "The Night-Wind" is a +delicately beautiful fragment of dreamy metaphor. There is probably a +slight misprint in the last line, since the construction there becomes +somewhat obscure. "My Love's Eyes" has merit, but lacks polish. The word +"azure" in the first stanza, need not be in the possessive case; whilst +the use of a singular verb with a plural noun in the second stanza +(smiles-beguiles) is a little less than grammatical. "Longing" exhibits +the author at her best, the images and phraseology alike showing the +touch of genius. + +Other poetry in this issue is by Adam Dickson, a bard of pleasing manner +but doubtful correctness. "Smile" needs rigorous metrical and rhetorical +revision to escape puerility. "Silver Bells of Memory" is better, though +marred by the ungrammatical passage "thoughts doth linger". In this +passage, either the noun must be made singular, or the verb form plural. + +"Prohibition in Kansas" is a well written prose article by Editor +William T. Harrington, wherein he exhibits a commendably favourable +attitude toward the eradication of the menace of strong drink. Mr. +Harrington is an able and active amateur, and takes an intelligent +interest in many public questions. His style and taste are steadily +improving, so that =The Coyote= has already become a paper of importance +among us. + + * * * * * + +=The Dixie Booster= for January is Mr. Raymond E. Nixon's =Capital City +News=, transferred to the amateur world, and continued under the new +name. With this number the editor's brother, Mr. Roy W. Nixon, assumes +the position of Associate Editor. This neat little magazine is +home-printed throughout, and may well remind the old-time amateurs of +those boyish "palmy days" whose passing they lament so frequently. By +means of a cut on the third page, we are properly introduced to Editor +Nixon, who at present boasts but thirteen years of existence. The gifted +and versatile associate editor, Mr. Roy W. Nixon, shows marked talent in +three distinct departments of literature; essay-writing, fiction, and +verse. "Writing as a Means of Self-Improvement" is a pure, dignified and +graceful bit of prose whose thought is as commendable as its structure. +"A Bottle of Carbolic Acid" is a gruesome but clever short story of the +Poe type, exhibiting considerable comprehension of abnormal psychology +as treated in literature. "My Valentine" is a poem of tuneful metre and +well expressed sentiment, though not completely polished throughout. The +third stanza, especially, might be made less like prose in its images. + + * * * * * + +=Dowdell's Bearcat= for December is quaint and attractive in appearance. +The youthful editor has provided himself with a series of cuts of the +metaphorical "Bruin" in various attitudes and various employments, these +clever little pictures lending a pleasing novelty to the cover and the +margins. Judiciously distributed red ink, also, aids in producing a +Christmas number of truly festive quality. Mr. Dowdell's "Growls from +the Pit" is a series of editorials both timely and interesting, while +his "Did You Hear That" is a lively page of fresh news. This issue is +notable for Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan's poetical contributions, of which +there are three. "Life's Sunshine and Shadows" is a tuneful moral poem +whose rhythm and imagery are equally excellent. "Contentment" is brief +but delightful. "When the Woods Call" is a virile, graphic piece; +vibrant with the thrill of the chase, and crisp with the frosty air of +the Northern Woods. + +The present reviewer's lines "To Samuel Loveman" contain five misprints, +as follows: + + Line 3 for =are= read =art= + " 5 " =Appollo= " =Apollo= + " 6 " =versus= " =verses= + " 15 " =eternal= " =ethereal= + " 18 " =the= " =thee= + +"Beads from my Rosary", by Mary M. Sisson, is a collection of well +written and sensible paragraphs on amateur journalism, which ought to +assist in arousing enthusiasm amongst many members hitherto dormant. +Editor Dowdell's pithy little epigrams at the foot of each page form an +entertaining feature, many of them being of considerable cleverness. +=Dowdell's Bearcat= will soon revert to its original newspaper form, +since Mr. Dowdell intends to make newspaper work his life Profession. + + * * * * * + +=The Inspiration= for November is a decidedly informal though +exceedingly clever personal paper issued by Miss Edna von der Heide as a +reminiscence of the Rocky Mount convention. Prose and verse of +whimsically humorous levity are employed with success in recording the +social side of the amateur gathering. + + * * * * * + +=The Looking Glass= for January is composed wholly of biographical +matter, introducing to the association the multitude of accomplished +recruits obtained through Mrs. Renshaw and others. In these forty life +stories, most of them autobiographical, the student of human nature may +find material for profound reflection on the variety of mankind. The +more recent members of the United, as here introduced, are in the +aggregate a maturer, more serious, and more scholarly element than that +which once dominated the amateur world; and if they can be properly +welcomed and acclimated to the realm of amateur letters, they will be of +great value indeed in building up the ideals and character of the +association. For this influx of sedate, cultivated members, the United +has Mrs. Renshaw to thank, since the present policy of recruiting was +originated and is conducted largely by the Second Vice-President. + + * * * * * + +=Ole Miss'= for December is the most important of all recent additions +to amateur letters, and it is with regret that we learn of the +magazine's prospective discontinuance. The issue under consideration is +largely local, most of the contributions being by Mississippi talent, +and it must be said that the contributors all reflect credit upon their +native or adopted State. + +Mr. J. W. Renshaw's page of editorials is distinguished equally by good +sense and good English. His attitude of disapproval toward petty +political activities and fruitless feuds in the United is one which +every loyal member will endorse, for nearly all of the past disasters in +amateur history have been caused not by serious literary differences, +but by conflicting ambitions among those seeking no more than cheap +notoriety. + +Mrs. Renshaw is well represented both by prose and by verse, the most +interesting of her pieces being possibly the essay entitled "Poetic +Spontaneity", wherein more arguments are advanced in her effort to prove +the inferior importance of form and metre in poesy. According to Mrs. +Renshaw, the essence of all genuine poetry is a certain spontaneous and +involuntary spiritual or psychological perception and expression; +incapable of rendition in any prescribed structure, and utterly +destroyed by subsequent correction or alteration of any kind. That is, +the bard must respond unconsciously to the noble impulse furnished by a +fluttering bird, a dew-crowned flower, or a sun-blest forest glade; +recording his thoughts exactly as evolved, and never revising the +result, even though it be detestably cacophonous, or absolutely +unintelligible to his less inspired circle of readers. To such a theory +as this we must needs reply, that while compositions of the sort +indicated may indeed represent poesy, they certainly represent art in +its proper sense no more than do "futuristic" pictures and other modern +monstrosities of a like nature. The only exact means whereby a poet may +transmit his ideas to others is language, a thing both definite and +intellectual. Granting that vague, chaotic, dissonant lines are the best +form in which the tender suitor of the Muses may record his spiritual +impressions for his own benefit and comprehension, it by no means +follows that such lines are at all fitted to convey those impressions to +minds other than his own. When language is used without appropriateness, +harmony, or precision, it can mean but little save to the person who +writes it. The soul of a poem lies not in words but in meaning; and if +the author have any skill at all in recording thought through language, +he will be able to refine the uncouth mass of spontaneous verbiage +which first comes to him as representing his idea, but which in its +original amorphous state may fail entirely to suggest the same idea to +another brain. He will be able to preserve and perpetuate his idea in a +style of language which the world may understand, and in a rhythm which +may not offend the reader's sense of propriety with conspicuous +harshness, breaks, or sudden transitions. + +"Flames of the Shadow", Mrs. Renshaw's longest poetical contribution to +this issue, is a powerful piece which, despite the author's theory, +seems in no way injured by its commendably regular structure. +"Immortality of Love" is likewise rather regular, though the plan of +rhyming breaks down in the last stanza. "For You" and "Sacrament of +Spirit" are short pieces, the former containing an "allowable" rhyming +of "tongue" and "long", which would not meet with the approval of the +Kleiner type of critic, but upon which this department forbears to +frown. + +James T. Pyke's two poems, "To a Butterfly" and "Life and Time" are gems +of incomparable beauty. "Ole Gardens", by Winifred V. Jordan, is a +haunting bit of semi-irregular verse which deserves warm applause for +the cleverness of its imagery and the aptness of its phraseology. "The +Reward of it All", by Emilie C. Holladay, is a potent but pathetic poem +of sentiment, whose development is highly commendable, but whose +metrical construction might be improved by judicious care. "A +Mississippi Autumn" was written as prose by Mrs. Renshaw, and set in +heroic verse without change of ideas by the present critic. The metaphor +is uniformly lofty and delicate, whilst the development of the sentiment +is facile and pleasing. It is to be hoped that the original thoughts of +the author are not impaired or obscured by the technical turns of the +less inspired versifier. "My Dear, Sweet, Southern Blossom", dedicated +to Mr. and Mrs. Renshaw with Compliments of the Author, James Laurence +Crowley, is a saccharine and sentimental piece of verse reminiscent of +the popular ballads which flourished ten or more years ago. Triteness is +the cardinal defect, for each genuine image is what our discerning +private critic Mr. Moe would call a "rubber-stamp" phrase. Mr. Crowley +requires a rigorous course of reading among the classic poets of our +language, and a careful study of their art as a guide to the development +of his taste. At present his work has about it a softness bordering on +effeminacy, which leads us to believe that his conception of the poet's +art is rather imperfect. It is only in caricature that we discover the +poet as a sighing, long-haired scribbler of gushing flights of infantile +awe or immature adoration. Earnestness, dignity, and at times, sonorous +stateliness, become a good poet; and such thoughts as are generally +suggested by the confirmed use of "Oh", "Ah", "dear", "little", +"pretty", "darling", "sweetest flow'ret of all", "where the +morning-glory twineth", and so on, belong less to literary poetry than +to the Irving Berlin song-writing industry of "Tin Pan Alley" in the +Yiddish wilds of New York City. Mr. Crowley has energy of no mean sort, +and if he will apply himself assiduously to the cultivation of masculine +taste and technic, he can achieve a place of prominence among United +bards. + +W. S. Harrison deserves a word of praise for his poem of Nature, +entitled "Our Milder Clime", wherein he celebrates the charms of +Mississippi, his native state. The lines contain an old-fashioned grace +too often wanting in contemporary verse. Other contributions to =Ole +Miss'= are Mrs. Maude K. Barton's "Something of Natchez", a very +interesting descriptive sketch in prose, and Dr. Rolfe Hunt's two negro +dialect pieces, both of which are of inimitable wit and cleverness. + + * * * * * + +=The Pippin= for February is the first number of this important +high-school journal to be issued without the supervision of Mr. Moe, and +its excellence well attests the substantial independent merit of the +Appleton Club. The city of Appleton forms the dominant theme in this +number, and with the assistance of seven attractive half-tone +illustrations, the publication well displays the beauty and advantages +of the pleasant Wisconsin town. Miss Eleanor Halls cleverly weaves into +conversational form much information concerning the remote history of +Appleton, emphasizing the superior character resulting from the select +quality of the settlers, and the early introduction of learning. Mr. +Alfred Galpin surprises many readers when he reveals the fact that +Appleton possessed the first of all telephone systems, a surprise +quickly followed by Mr. Joseph Harriman's illustrated paragraph telling +of the first street-car, also an Appleton innovation. Among other +articles, that by Miss Torrey on Lawrence College is of unusual +interest. "The Immortalization of the Princess", by Miss Fern Sherman, +is an excellent Indian tale, whose structure and atmosphere well suggest +not only the characteristic tribal legends of the red folk, but other +and more classical myths as well. Though Miss Sherman is not yet a +member of the United, one of such gifts would be heartily welcomed in +the ranks. + + * * * * * + +=The Plainsman= for December is the most substantial number of his +journal which Mr. Ira Cole has yet issued. First in order of importance +among the contents is perhaps the editor's own prose sketch entitled +"Monuments", wherein Mr. Cole reveals to particular advantage his +exceptional skill in depicting and philosophizing upon the various +aspects and phenomena of Nature. Mr. Cole's style is constantly +improving, though not now of perfect polish, it is none the less +remarkable for its grace and fluency. "To Florence Shepphird", also by +Mr. Cole, is a rather long piece of blank verse, containing many +beautiful passages. The author's skill in stately and sonorous poetry is +far above the common level, and his work has about it an atmosphere of +the polished past which that of most amateur bards lacks; yet the +present poem is not without errors. The passage (lines 10-11) reading: +"calm =days= that =knoweth= not dread Boreas' chilling breath" must be +changed so that either the noun shall be singular or the verb plural. +The double negative in line 23 might well be eliminated. Two lines whose +metre could be improved are the 13th and 50th. The final quatrain is +pleasing to the average ear, including that of the present critic; +though the very exact taste of today, as represented by Mr. Kleiner, +frowns upon such deviation from the dominant blank verse arrangement. +"On the Cowboys of the West" is a brief bit of verse by this reviewer, +accompanied by a note from the pen of Mr. Cole. The note is better than +the verse, and exhibits Mr. Cole's vivid and imaginative prose at its +best. "The Sunflower", a versified composition by James Laurence +Crowley, concludes the issue. There is much attractiveness in the lines; +though we may discover particularly in the second stanza, that touch of +excessive softness which occasionally mars Mr. Crowley's work. No one +can fail to discern the weakness of such a line as "You big giant of all +the flowers". + + * * * * * + +=The Providence Amateur= for February is worthy of particular attention +on account of Mr. Peter J. MacManus' absorbing article on "The Irish and +the Fairies". Mr. MacManus firmly believes not only that fairies exist +in his native Ireland, but that he has actually beheld a troop of them; +facts which impart to this article a psychological as well as a literary +interest. The prose style of Mr. MacManus is very good, being notable +alike for fluency and freedom from slang, whilst his taste is of the +best. His future work will be eagerly awaited by the amateur public. +Edmund L. Shehan contributed both verse and prose to this issue. "Death" +is a stately poem on a grave subject, whose sentiments are all of +suitable humility and dignity. The apparently anomalous pronoun "her", +in the tenth line, is a misprint for "he". The piece ends with a rhyming +couplet, to which Mr. Kleiner, representing correct modern taste, takes +marked exception. The present reviewer, however, finds no reason to +object to any part of Mr. Shehan's poem, and attributes this concluding +couplet to the influence of similar Shakespearian terminations. The +prose piece by Mr. Shehan well describes a visit to a cinematograph +studio, and is entitled "The Making of a Motion Picture". In the verses +entitled "A Post-Christmas Lament", Mr. John T. Dunn combines much +keenness of wit with commendable regularity of metre. Mr. Dunn is among +the cleverest of the United's humorous writers. "To Charlie of the +Comics" is a harmless parody on our Laureate's excellent poem "To Mary +of the Movies", which appeared some time ago in =The Piper=. In "The +Bride of the Sea", Mr. Lewis Theobald, Jr., presents a rather weird +piece of romantic sentimentality of the sort afforded by bards of the +early nineteenth century. The metre is regular, and no flagrant +violations of grammatical or rhetorical precepts are to be discerned, +yet the whole effort lacks clearness, dignity, inspiration, and poetic +spontaneity. The word printed "enhanc'd" in the sixth stanza is properly +"entranc'd". + + * * * * * + +=Tom Fool, Le Roi= bears no definite date, but is a sort of pensive +autumn reverie following the Rocky Mount convention of last summer. This +grave and dignified journal is credited to the House of Tillery, and if +typographical evidence may be accepted, it belongs most particularly to +that branch now bearing the name of Renshaw and having its domain in +Coffeeville, Mississippi. "Mother Gooseries from the Convention", by +Emilie C. Holladay, is a long stanzaic and Pindaric ode, whose taste and +technic are alike impeccable. The exalted images are sketched with +artistic touch, whilst the deep underlying philosophy, skillfully +clothed in well balanced lines, arouses a sympathetic reaction from +every cultural intellect. "The Carnival", by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, is an +admirable example of stately descriptive prose mixed with aesthetic +verse. The long and euphonious periodic sentences suggest the style of +Gibbon or of Dr. Johnson, whilst the occasional metrical lines remind +the reviewer of Dr. Young's solemn "Night Thoughts". "Dummheit", by Dora +M. Hepner, is a grave discourse on Original Sin, describing the planning +of =Tom Fool, Le Roi=. Elizabeth M. Ballou's article entitled "Our +Absent Friend" forms a notable contribution to amateur historical +annals, and displays Miss Ballou as the possessor of a keen faculty for +observation, and a phenomenally analytical intellect. "Banqueters from +the Styx", Mrs. Renshaw's masterly description of the convention dinner +and its honoured guests from the regions of Elysium and elsewhere, +reminds the reviewer of the 11th book of the Odyssey and the 6th book of +the Aeneid, wherein the fraternizing of men with the shades of men is +classically delineated. + +=Tom Fool= is a memorable publication, suggesting the old "fraternal" +papers, whose passing so many amateurs regret. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for November contains besides the official matter a +small but select assortment of poems, prominent among which is "The +Meadow Cricket", by Jas. T. Pyke. It is impossible to overestimate the +beauty of thought and expression which Mr. Pyke shows in all his verses, +and the United is fortunate in being able to secure specimens of his +work. + +"Remorse", by James Laurence Crowley, is one of the best samples of this +gentleman's poesy which we have yet seen, though Mr. Crowley insists +that one of the punctuation marks has been wrongfully located by the +reviser. Since the present critic prepared the manuscript for +publication, he is willing to assume full culpability for this crime. +There is genuine poetic feeling in this short piece; and it seems an +undoubted fact that Mr. Crowley with a little added restraint and +dignity of expression, is capable of producing excellent work. "List to +the Sea", by Winifred V. Jordan, is a delightfully musical lyric, whose +dancing dactyls and facile triple rhymes captivate alike the fancy and +the ear. "The Wind and the Beggar", by Maude K. Barton, is sombre and +powerful. "Ambition", by William de Ryee, is regular in metre and +commendable in sentiment, yet not exactly novel or striking in +inspiration. "Choose ye", by Ella C. Eckert, is a moral poem of clever +conception and correct construction. + + * * * * * + +=The United Official Quarterly= for January opens with "A Prayer for the +New Year", by Frederick R. Chenault. Mr. Chenault is a poet of the first +order so far as inspiration is concerned, but his work is frequently +marred by irregularity of metre, and the use of assonance in place of +rhyme. The metre of this poem is correct, but the two attempted rhymes +"deeper-meeker" and "supremely-sincerely" are technically no more than +assonant sounds. Pres. Fritter writes very powerfully on our publishing +situation in this number; and his article should not only be perused +with attention, but heeded with sincerity and industriousness. + +"Behind the Canvas Wall", by William J. Dowdell, is one of the cleverest +and most ingenious bits of fiction which the amateur press has contained +for some time. That it is of a nature not exactly novel is but a trivial +objection. The homely, appealing plot, and the simple, sympathetic +treatment, both point to Mr. Dowdell as a possible success in the realm +of short story writing, should he ever care to enter it seriously. +Another excellent tale is "The Good Will of a Dog", by P. J. Campbell. +The plot is of a well defined type which always pleases, whilst the +incidents are graphically delineated. "The Bookstall" is a metrical +monstrosity by the present reviewer. Mr. Maurice W. Moe, the +distinguished Private Critic, lately gave us the following opinion of +our verse. "You are," he writes, "steeped in the poetry of a certain +age; an age, by the way, which cut and fit its thought with greater +attention to one model than any other age before or since; and the +result is that when you turn to verse as a medium of expression, it is +just as if you were pressing a button liberating a perfect flood of +these perfectly good but stereotyped formulae of expression. The result +is very ingenious, but just because it is such a skillful mosaic of +Georgian 'rubber-stamp' phrases, it must ever fall short of true art." +Mr. Moe is correct. We have, in fact, heard this very criticism +reiterated by various authorities ever since those prehistoric days when +we began to lisp in numbers. Yet somehow we perversely continue to +"mosaic" along in the same old way! But then, we have never claimed to +possess "true art"; we are merely a metrical mechanic. "A New Point of +View In Home Economics", a clever article by Miss Eleanor Barnhart, +concludes the =Official Quarterly= proper. + +But the =New Member= supplement, with its profusion of brilliant +credentials, yet remains to be considered. "Dutch Courage", by Louis E. +Boutwell, is a liquorish sketch whose scene is laid in a New Jersey +temple of Bacchus. Being totally unacquainted with the true saloon +atmosphere, we find ourself a little embarrassed as to critical +procedure, yet we may justly say that the characters are all well drawn, +every man in his humor. + +"Ol' Man Murdock" is a quaint, and in two senses an =absorbing=, figure. +The rest of the issue is given over to the Muses of poesy. "The Saturday +Fray" is a clever piece by Daisy Vandenbank. The rhyming is a little +uneven, and in one case assonance is made to answer for true rhyme. +"Cream" and "mean" cannot make an artistic couplet. "The Common +Soldiers", by John W. Frazer, is a poem of real merit; whilst "Little +Boy Blue", by W. Hume, is likewise effective. Mr. Hume's pathetic touch +is fervent and in no manner betrays that weakness bordering on the +ridiculous, to which less skillful flights of pathos are prone. "The Two +Springs" is a pleasant moral sermon in verse by Margaret Ellen Cooper. +Concluding the issue is "The Under Dog in the Fight", a vigorous +philosophical poem by Andrew Stevenson. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for January is distinguished by Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan's +brilliant short poem entitled "Oh, Where is Springtime?" The sentiment +of the piece is an universal one, and the pleasing lines will appeal to +all. "Retribution", by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, is a clever story, but the +present critic's extreme fondness for cats makes it difficult to review +after reading the first sentence. However, the well-approached +conclusion is indeed just. The "moral" is a pathetic example of +unregeneracy! Miss Edna M. Haughton's critical article is direct and +discerning; the Woodbee Club is fortunate in having among its members so +capable a reviewer. Editor Fritter likewise mounts the reviewer's throne +in this issue, proceeding first of all to demolish our own fond dream of +yesterday; =The Conservative=. Looking backward down the dim vista of +those bygone but memory-haunted days of October, 1915, when we +perpetrated the horribly plainspoken and frightfully ungentle number +whereof Mr. Fritter treats, we are conscious of our manifold sins, and +must beg the pardon of the liquor interests for shouting so rudely in +the cause of total abstinence. Pres. Fritter's critical style is a good +one, and is developing from month to month. His advocacy of lukewarmness +in writing is perhaps not so complete as one might judge from this +article; though his use of the cautious phrase "it is rumored" in +connection with a well known statement seems hardly necessary. Rigid +impartiality, the critic's greatest asset, is manifest throughout the +review, and we thoroughly appreciate the favorable mention not +infrequently accorded us. In passing upon the merits of =Dowdell's +Bearcat=, Mr. Fritter shows equal penetration and perspicuity, and we +are convinced that his rank amongst amateur reviewers is very high. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XV GEORGETOWN, ILL., JUNE, 1916 NUMBER 11 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Coyote= for July opens with Harry E. Rieseberg's verses entitled +"The Sum of Life", whose structure is excellent as a whole, though +defective in certain places. The word "mirage" is properly accented on +the second syllable, hence is erroneously situated in the first stanza. +"A mirage forever seeming" is a possible substitute line. Other defects +are the attempted rhymes of "decay" with "constancy", "carried" with +"hurried", and "appalled" with "all". The metre is without exception +correct, and the thoughts and images in general well presented, +wherefore we believe that with a little more care Mr. Rieseberg can +become a very pleasing poet indeed. "The Philippine Question", by Earl +Samuel Harrington, aged 15, is an excellent juvenile essay, and +expresses a very sound opinion concerning our Asiatic colonies. It is +difficult to be patient with the political idiots who advocate the +relinquishment of the archipelago by the United States, either now or at +any future time. The mongrel natives, in whose blood the Malay strain +predominates, are not and never will be racially capable of maintaining +a civilized condition by themselves. "How Fares the Garden Rose?" is a +poem bearing the signature of Winifred Virginia Jordan, which is a +sufficient guarantee of its thorough excellence. "To a Breeze", also by +Mrs. Jordan, is distinguished by striking imagery, and displays in the +epithet "moon-moored", that highly individualistic touch which is +characteristic of its author. "Peace", by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is a +poem of excellent construction, though marred by two serious misprints +which destroy the harmony of the first and third lines. + + * * * * * + +=The Dixie Booster= for March-April is an exceedingly neat and clever +paper from the House of Nixon. "Spring in the South", a poem by Maude K. +Barton, opens the issue in pleasant fashion, the attractive images well +atoning for certain slight mechanical deficiencies. "Dick's Success", by +Gladys L. Bagg, is a short story whose phraseology exhibits considerable +talent and polish. The didactic element is possibly more emphasized than +the plot, though not to a tedious extent. Whether or not a rough draft +of a novel may be completed in the course of a single afternoon, a feat +described in this tale, we leave for the fiction-writing members of the +United to decide! Of the question raised regarding the treatment of the +Indian by the white man in America it is best to admit in the words of +Sir Roger de Coverly, "that much might be said on both sides". Whilst +the driving back of the aborigines has indeed been ruthless and +high-handed, it seems the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon to sweep inferior +races from his path wherever he goes. There are few who love the Indian +so deeply that they would wish this continent restored to its original +condition, peopled by savage nomads instead of civilized colonists. "The +Deuce and Your Add", by Melvin Ryder, is a bit of light philosophy whose +allegorical case is well maintained. "To a Warbler", by Roy W. Nixon, is +a meritorious piece of verse whose rhythm moves with commendable +sprightliness, though the first line of the first stanza might be made +to correspond better with the first line of the second stanza. The word +"apparent" in the last line, seems a little unsuited to the general +style of the poem, being more suggestive of the formal type of +composition. "Grandma", also by Mr. Roy Nixon, is a noble sonnet whose +quality foreshadows real poetical distinction for its author. "You", by +Dora M. Hepner, contains sublime images, but possesses metrical +imperfections. The general anapaestic or dactylic rhythm is much +disturbed by the iambic fourth line of the first stanza. The editorials, +jokes, and jingles in this issue are all clever, and proclaim Mr. +Raymond Nixon as a capable and discriminating editor. + + * * * * * + +=Literary Buds= for February exhibits the amateurs of Harvey, Illinois, +after a long absence from the publishing arena. The present issue, +edited by Mr. Caryl Wilson Dempesy, contains matter of merit and +interest. "The Dells of the Wisconsin", by A. Myron Lambert, is an +interesting account of an outing spent amidst scenes of natural grandeur +and beauty. The author's style is fluent and pleasing, though a few +slight crudities are to be discerned. On page 1, where the height of a +large dam is mentioned, it is stated "that the water must raise that +distance before it can fall". Of course, "=rise=" is the verb which +should have been used. Another erroneous phrase is "nature tract". +"=Nature=" is not an adjective, but a noun; "=natural=" is the correct +word. However, this anomalous use of nouns for adjectives has only too +much prevalence amongst all grades of writers today, and must not be too +harshly censured in this case. On page 4 the word "=onto=" should be +supplanted by "=upon=", and the awkward phrase: "to be convinced that we +had ventured to a place that we did not know any dangers were connected +with", should be changed to something like this: "to convince us that we +had ventured to a seemingly dangerous place whose apparent dangers we +had not then noticed". "A Song of Love", by Editor Dempesy, is cast in +uniformly flowing and regular metre, but some of the words require +comment. "=Lover=" is not generally applied by bards to adored members +of the gentler sex, "=love=" being the conventional term. Likewise, the +phrase "heart which always softly does its beating" might well be +revised with greater attention to poetical precedent. Yet the whole is +of really promising quality, and exhibits a metrical correctness much +above the average. "The Operation" is a very witty sketch by Miss Clara +I. Stalker, with a sudden turn toward the end which arouses the complete +surprise and unexpected mirth of the reader. "The High Cost of +Flivving", by Albert Thompson, is a bright bit of versified humour +involving novel interpretations of certain technical terms of +literature. The swinging dactylic rhythm is well managed except where +the words "descending" and "ascending" occur, and where, in line 24, the +metre becomes momentarily anapaestic. + + * * * * * + +=The Looking Glass= for May is the final number of Mrs. Renshaw's +journal of introductions, and makes known to the association a group of +27 new members. One of the most interesting autobiographies is that of +Mr. J. E. Hoag of Greenwich, New York, whose friendly sentences, written +from the cumulative experience of 85 years of life, possess an elusively +captivating quality. Of the non-biographical matter in this issue, Mrs. +Renshaw's compilation entitled "Writing for Profit" deserves particular +perusal. This is well set off by the same author's colloquial lines, +"Pride O' The Pen", wherein the lethal taint of trade in literature is +effectively deplored. "Something", by David H. Whittier, is a thoughtful +analysis of conditions in the United, with suggestions for improvement. +"One Bright Star Enough For Me", by Mr. John Hartman Oswald of Texas, is +a pious poem reminding one of Mr. Addison's well known effort which +begins: "The spacious firmament on high". We doubt, however, if Mr. +Addison has been much improved upon, since several instances of +imperfect poetical taste are to be found in Mr. Oswald's lines. But +there are evidences of a great soul throughout the ten stanzas, and the +metre is in the main correct. What Mr. Oswald appears to require is a +thorough reading of the English classics, with minute attention to their +phraseology and images. With such study we believe him capable of +development into a poet of enviable force and sincerity. + + * * * * * + +=Toledo Amateur= for April marks the welcome reappearance of Mr. Wesley +H. Porter's neat little journal after a year's absence. "A Story", by +David H. Whittier, possesses a tragical plot whose interest is slightly +marred by triteness and improbable situations. Of the latter we must +point out the strained coincidence whereby four distinct things, +proceeding from entirely unrelated causes, give rise to the final +denouement. The culmination of the aged father's resolve to kill his +enemy, the conditions which make possible the return of the son, the +presence of the enemy's hat and coat under the wayside tree, and the +storm which prompts the son to don these garments, are all independent +circumstances, whose simultaneous occurrence, each at exactly the proper +time to cause the catastrophe, may justly be deemed a coincidence too +great for the purpose of good literature. In an artistically constructed +tale, the various situations all develop naturally out of that original +cause which in the end brings about the climax; a principle which, if +applied to the story in question, would limit the events and their +sequences to those arising either directly or indirectly from the wrong +committed by the father's enemy. Since there is no causative connection +between the immediate decision of the father to kill his foe, and the +developments or discoveries which enable the son to return, the +simultaneous occurrence of these unusual things is scarcely natural. +Superadded to this coincidence are two more extraneous events; the +rather strange presence of the hat and coat near the road, and the +timely or untimely breaking of the storm, the improbability indeed +increasing in geometrical progression with each separate circumstance. +It must, however, be admitted that such quadruple coincidences in +stories are by no means uncommon among even the most prominent and +widely advertised professional fiction-blacksmiths of the day. Mr. +Whittier's style is that of a careful and sincere scholar, and we +believe that his work will become notable in this and the succeeding +amateur journalistic generation. The minuteness of the preceding +criticism has been prompted not by a depreciatory estimate of his +powers, but rather by an appreciative survey of his possibilities. "Say, +Brother", by Mrs. Renshaw, is a poem describing life in the trenches of +the Huns. The metre is quite regular, and the plan of rhyming but once +broken. Mr. Porter's prose work; editorial, introductory, and narrative, +is all pleasing, though, not wholly free from a certain slight looseness +of scholarship. We should advise rigorous exercise in parsing and +rhetoric. "Respite", by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, shows real poetical genius, +and the iambic heptameters are very well handled, save where one +redundant syllable breaks the flow of the last line. Even that would be +perfect if the tongue could condense the noun and article "the music", +into "th' music". + + * * * * * + +=The Tornado= for April constitutes the publishing debut of Mrs. Addie +L. Porter, mother of =Toledo Amateur's= gifted young editor. Mrs. +Porter's "Recollections From Childhood" are pleasant and well phrased, +bringing to mind very vividly the unrivalled joys of Christmas as +experienced by the young. Wesley H. Porter, in "My Vacation", tells +entertainingly of his visit to the hive of the Woodbees last September. +The editorial and news paragraphs are all of attractive aspect, +completing a bright paper whose four pages teem with enthusiasm and +personality. It is to be hoped that other comparatively new United +members may follow Mr. Porter's example in entering the publishing +field; for individual journals, though of no greater size than this, are +ever welcome, and do more than anything else to maintain interest and +promote progress in the association. + + * * * * * + +=The Trail= for April must by no means be confused with Alfred L. +Hutchinson's professionalized magazine of identical title, for this +=Trail= is an older and emphatically non-professional publication issued +co-operatively by Dora M. Hepner and George W. Macauley. +Non-professionalism, indeed, seems to dominate the entire issue to a +degree unusual in the broadened and developed United. With the exception +of one poem and one short story or sketch, the contents are wholly +personal and social. "He Reached my Hand", by Dora M. Hepner, is an +excellent piece of verse, though perhaps not of that extreme polish +which is observed in the productions of very careful bards. Miss Hepner +has great refinement of fancy and vigour of expression, but evidently +neglects to cultivate that beautiful rhetoric and exquisite rhythmic +harmony which impress us so forcibly in the work of scholars and bookmen +like Rheinhart Kleiner. "A Girl of the U. S.", by George W. Macauley, is +a prose piece whose nature seems to waver between that of a story and a +descriptive sketch. Though description apparently preponderates, the +narrative turn toward the conclusion may sanction classification as +fiction. The faults are all faults of imperfect technique rather than of +barren imagination, for Mr. Macauley wields a graphic pen, and adorns +every subject he approaches. In considering minor points, we must remark +the badly fractured infinitive "to no longer walk", and the unusual +word "reliefful". We have never seen the latter expression before, and +though it may possibly be a modernism in good usage, it was certainly +unknown in the days when we attempted to acquire our education. Mr. +Macauley, with his marked descriptive ability, is less at ease in +stories of contemporary life than in historical fiction, particularly +mediaeval and Oriental tales. His genius is not unlike that of Sir +Walter Scott, and shows to especial advantage in annals of knights and +chivalry. "Scratchings" are by the pen of Miss Hepner, and display an +active wit despite the profusion of slang. It would seem, however, that +so brilliant a writer could preserve the desired air of vivacity without +quite so many departures from the standard idioms of our language. + +Miss Hepner's remarks on the assimilation of new United members are +worthy of note. The cruder amateurs should not feel discouraged by the +extraordinary average scholarship of the recent element, but should +rather use it as a model for improvement. They should establish +correspondence with the cultivated recruits, thereby not only benefiting +themselves, but helping each gifted newcomer to find a useful and +congenial place amongst us. The present situation is pitifully +ludicrous, for practically all young aspirants call upon only one or two +sadly overburdened older members for literary aid, forgetting that there +are scores of brilliant writers, teachers, and professors waiting +anxiously but vainly to be of real service to their fellow-amateurs. +Several of the scholarly new members have particularly inquired how they +can best assist the association; yet the association, as represented by +its literary novices, has failed to take advantage of most of these +offers of instructions and co-operation. We are impelled here to +reiterate the slogan which Mr. Daas has so frequently printed in his +various journals: "=Welcome the Recruits!=". Such a welcome is certain +to react with double felicity upon the giver. + +"From the Michigan Trail" is Mr. Macauley's personal column, and +contains so bitter an attack on some of the United's policies of +improvement, that we are tempted to remonstrate quite loudly. The +captious criticism of the Second Vice-President's invaluable activities, +constructive labours which have practically regenerated the association +and raised it to a higher plane in the world of educational endeavour, +is positively ungenerous. To speak of the article in =Ole Miss'= +entitled "Manuscripts and Silver" as "mercenary", is the summit of +injustice, for it was nothing more or less than the absolutely +gratuitous offer to the United of what is now the Symphony Literary +Service. We are rather at a loss to divine Mr. Macauley's precise notion +of amateur journalism. He speaks of it as a "tarn", but we cannot +believe he would have it so stagnant a thing as that name implies. +Surely, the United is something greater than a superficial fraternal +order composed of mediocre and unambitious dabblers. Progress leads +toward the outside world of letters, and to cavil at work such as Mrs. +Renshaw's is to set obstacles in the path of progress. Professional +literary success on the part of amateur journalists can never react +unfavorably on the United, and it seems far from kind and proper to +impede the development of members. Why is a professional author +necessarily less desirable as an amateur journalist than a professional +plumber or boiler-maker? But there is one sound principle at the base of +Mr. Macauley's argument, which deserves more emphasis than the points he +elaborates. Professionalism must not enter into the workings of the +association, nor should the professionalized amateur take advantage of +amateur connexions to create a market for writings otherwise unsalable. +This applies to the now happily extinct tribe of "ten-cents-a-year" +publishers, who coolly expected all amateur journalists to subscribe to +their worthless misprints as a matter of fraternal obligation. Mr. +Macauley is an extremist on the subject of amateur rating, a fact which +explains many otherwise puzzling allusions in his current editorials. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for February is the final number of the Daas regime, +and constitutes a noble valedictory indeed. We find it impossible to +express with sufficient force our regret at the withdrawal of Mr. Daas +from the United, and we can but hope that the retirement may prove +merely temporary. The February official organ is wholly literary in +contents, and in quality sustains the best traditions of amateur +journalism. Miss Olive G. Owen's poem, "Give us Peace!", which opens +the issue, is tasteful in imagery and phraseology, and correct in rhyme +and metre, but contains the customary unrealities and substitutions of +emotion for reasoning which are common to all pacific propaganda. "The +Little Old Lady's Dream", by M. Almedia Bretholl, is a short story of +the almost unpleasantly "realistic" type, whose development and +atmosphere exhibit much narrative talent and literary skill. "The +Teuton's Battle-Song" is an attempt of the present critic to view the +principles of human warfare without the hypocritical spectacles of +sentimentality. "Nature in Literature", by Arthur W. Ashby, is an essay +of unusual quality, revealing a depth of well assimilated scholarship +and a faculty for acute observation and impartial analysis, of which few +amateur writers may justly boast. "His All", is an excellent poem by +Mrs. Ella Colby Eckert, distinguished equally for its noble thought and +facile rhythm. "'Twixt the Red and the White", a short story by Miss +Coralie Austin, displays marked skill in construction and phraseology, +though its development is not without a few of the typical crudities of +youthful work. There is a trifling suspicion of triteness and banality +in plot and dialogue; which is, however, compensated for in the artistic +passages so frequently encountered. "Romance, Mystery, and Art", an +essay by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, reflects the learning and thoughtfulness +of its author. The poetical fragments entitled "Songs from Walpi", by +Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan, describe the hopeless affection of a +Southwestern Indian prince for a maiden of the conquering white race. +The atmosphere and images are cleverly wrought, whilst the rhythm is in +every detail satisfactory. "Nescio Quo", by Kathleen Baldwin, is a poem +of great attractiveness both in structure and sentiment. "A Crisis", by +Eleanor J. Barnhart, is a short story of distinctly modern type, whose +substance and development compare well with professional work. "My Heart +and I", a sonnet by James T. Pyke, exhibits the skill and philosophical +profundity characteristic of its author. "My Native Land", a poem by +Adam Dickson, describes the Scottish Border with pleasing imagery and +bounding anapaestic metre. Mr. Dickson is a poet whose progress should +be carefully watched. His improvement is steady, the present piece being +easily the best specimen of his work to appear in the amateur press. +"Poetry and its Power", by Helen M. Woodruff, is a delightful essay +containing liberal quotations from various classic bards. "A +Resolution", by Harry Z. Moore, seems to be modelled after Mrs. +Renshaw's well known poem, "A Symphony". The various precepts are +without exception sound and commendable. Helene E. Hoffman presents a +brief but pleasing critique of Sir Thomas Browne's "Hydriotaphia, +Urn-Burial; or a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in +Norfolk". It is refreshing to discover a modern reader who can still +appreciate the quaint literature of the seventeenth century, and Miss +Hoffman is to be thanked for her sympathetic review of the pompous, +Latinised phrases of the old physician. "He and She", by Margaret A. +Richard, is a thoroughly meritorious poem whose two "allowable rhymes", +"fair-dear", and "head-prayed", would be censured only by a critic of +punctilious exactitude. "At Sea", a witty bit of =vers de societe= by +Henry Cleveland Wood, forms an appropriately graceful conclusion to a +richly enjoyable issue of the magazine. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for March brings to the fore Mr. George S. +Schilling's unusual editorial talent, and makes manifest the bright +future of the official organ for the balance of the present +administrative year. The chief literary contribution is "Hail, Autumn!", +one of Mr. Arthur Ashby's brilliant and scholarly essays on Nature. The +quality of Mr. Ashby's work deserves particular attention for its +reflective depth of thought, and glowing profusion of imagery. His style +is remarkably mature, and escapes completely that subtle suggestion of +the schoolboy's composition which seems inseparable from the average +amateur's attempts at natural description and philosophizing. Mr. +Schilling's editorials are forcible and straightforward, vibrant with +enthusiasm for the welfare of the association. "A Representative +Official Organ", by Paul J. Campbell, serves to explain the author's +highly desirable constitutional amendment proposed for consideration at +the coming election, which will open the columns of THE UNITED AMATEUR +to the general membership at a very reasonable expense. The News Notes +in the present issue are sprightly and interesting. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for April is made brilliant by the presence of Henry +Clapham McGavack's terse and lucid exposure of hyphenated hypocrisy, +entitled "Dr. Burgess, Propagandist". Mr. McGavack's phenomenally virile +and convincing style is supported by a remarkable fund of historical and +diplomatic knowledge, and the feeble fallacies of the pro-German embargo +advocates collapse in speedy fashion before the polished but vigorous +onslaughts of his animated pen. Another essay inspired by no superficial +thinking is Edgar Ralph Cheyney's "Nietzschean Philosophy", wherein some +of the basic precepts of the celebrated iconoclast are set forth in +comprehensive array. "The Master Voice of Ages Calls for Peace", a poem +by Mrs. Frona Scott, has fairly regular metre, though its sentiment is +one of conventional and purely emotional pacifism. "A Gentle Satire on +Friendship", by Freda de Larot, is a very clever piece of light prose; +which could, however, be improved by the deletion of much slang, and the +rectification of many loose constructions. "A Wonderful Play" is Mrs. +Eloise R. Griffith's well worded review of Jerome K. Jerome's "The +Passing of the Third Floor Back", as enacted by Forbes-Robertson. Mrs. +Griffith has here, as in all her essays, achieved a quietly pleasing +effect, and pointed a just moral. "Fire Dreams" is a graphic and +commendably regular poem by Mrs. Renshaw. "The Beach", a poem by O. M. +Blood, requires grammatical emendation. "How better could the hours been +spent" and "When life and love true pleasure brings" cannot be excused +even by the exigencies of rhyme and metre. After the second stanza, the +couplet form shifts in an unwarranted manner to the quatrain +arrangement. The phraseology of the entire piece displays poetical +tendencies yet reveals a need for their assiduous cultivation through +reading and further practice. "My Shrine", by James Laurence Crowley, +exhibits real merit both in wording and metre, yet has a rather weak +third stanza. The lines: + + "One day I crossed the desert sands; + One day I ride my train;" + +are obviously anticlimactic. To say that the subject is trite would be a +little unjust to Mr. Crowley's Muse, for all amatory themes, having been +worked over since the very dawn of poesy, are necessarily barren of +possibilities save to the extremely skilled metrist. Contemporary +love-lyrics can scarcely hope to shine except through brilliant and +unexpected turns of wit, or extraordinarily tuneful numbers. The +following lines by Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle, who died in 1673, +well express the situation despite their crudeness: + + "O Love, how thou art tired out with rhyme! + Thou art a tree whereon all poets climb; + And from thy branches every one takes some + Of the sweet fruit, which Fancy feeds upon. + But now thy tree is left so bare and poor, + That they can hardly gather one plum more!" + +"Indicatory", a brilliant short sketch by Ethel Halsey, well illustrates +the vanity of the fair, and completes in pleasing fashion a very +creditable number of our official magazine. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for May forms still another monument to the taste and +energy of our official editor, Mr. Schilling. Biography is the keynote +of the current issue, Mrs. Renshaw, Mr. J. E. Hoag, and Mr. Henry +Cleveland Wood each receiving mention. Miss Emilie C. Holladay displays +a pleasing prose style in her account of our Second Vice-President, and +arouses interest with double force through the introduction of juvenile +incidents. + +"Happiness Defined" is a delightful little sketch by Ida C. Haughton, +whose philosophy will awake an universal response from the breasts of +the majority. "The Wind Fairies", by Jean F. Barnum, is a poem in prose +which contains more of the genuine poetic essence than does the average +contemporary versified effort. The grace and grandeur of the clouds and +the atmosphere have in all ages been admired, and it is but natural that +they figure to a great extent in the beautiful legends of primitive +mythology. "The Ship that Sails Away", by J. E. Hoag, is a delicate and +attractive poem whose images and phraseology are equally meritorious. +Mr. Hoag's poetical attainments are such that we await with eagerness +the appearance of the pieces predicted in his biography. "To Flavia", by +Chester Pierce Munroe, is a sweet lyric addressed to a young child and +pervaded throughout with a quaintly whimsical, almost Georgian, +semblance of stately gallantry. The first word of the seventeenth line +should read "=small=" instead of "=swell=". As misprinted, this line +conveys a rather incongruous impression. "Mountains in Purple Robes of +Mist", a vivid and powerful poem of Nature by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, is +cast in Alexandrine quatrains, a rather uncommon measure. The only +possible defect is in line thirteen, where the accent of the word +"sublime" seems to impede the flow of the metre. Line nineteen +apparently lacks two syllables, but the deficiency is probably +secretarial or typographical rather than literary. "Man as Cook", also +by Dr. Kuntz, is a clever bit of humorous verse in octosyllabic +couplets. "Consolation" well exhibits Andrew Francis Lockhart's +remarkable progress as a poet. His verse is increasing every day in +polish, and is fast becoming one of the most pleasing and eagerly +awaited features of amateur letters. "At the End of the Road", by Mary +Faye Durr, is a graphic and touching description of a deserted +schoolhouse. The atmosphere of pensive reminiscence is well sustained by +the judiciously selected variety of images and allusions. "There's None +Like Mine at Home", by James Laurence Crowley, is a characteristic bit +of Crowleian sentimentality which requires revision and condensation. +There is not enough thought to last out three stanzas of eight lines +each. Technically we must needs shudder at the apparent incurable use of +"m-n" assonance. "Own" and "known" are brazenly and repeatedly flaunted +with "roam" and "home" in attempted rhyme. But the crowning splendour of +impossible assonance is attained in the "Worlds-girls" atrocity. Mr. +Crowley needs a long session with the late Mr. Walker's well-known +Rhyming Dictionary! Metrically, Mr. Crowley is showing a decided +improvement of late. The only censurable points in the measure of this +piece are the redundant syllables in lines 1 and 3, which might in each +case be obviated by the substitution of "=I've=" for "=I have=", and the +change of form in the first half of the concluding stanza. Of the +general phraseology and imagery we may only remark that Mr. Crowley has +much to forget, as well as to learn, before he can compete with Mr. +Kleiner or other high-grade amatory poets in the United. Such +expressions as "my guiding star", "my own dear darling Kate", or "she's +the sweetest girl that e'er on earth did roam", tell the whole sad story +to the critical eye and ear. If Mr. Crowley would religiously eschew the +popular songs and magazine "poetry" of the day, and give over all his +time to a perusal of the recognized classics of English verse, the +result would immediately be reflected in his own compositions. As yet, +he claims to be independent of scholarly tradition, but we must remind +him of the Latin epigram of Mr. Owen, which Mr. Cowper thus translated +under the title of "Retaliation": + + "The works of ancient bards divine, + Aulus, thou scorn'st to read; + And should posterity read thine, + It would be strange indeed!" + +So energetic and prolific a writer as Mr. Crowley owes it alike to +himself and to his readers to develop as best he can the talent which +rests latent within him. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for April opens with a melodious poem by Adam Dickson, +entitled "Love". While the metre might well be changed in the interests +of uniformity, the general effect is not at all harsh, and the author is +entitled to no small credit for his production. The only other poem in +the magazine is "Alone With Him", by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton. This piece is +remarkable for its rhyming arrangement, each rhyme being carried through +four lines instead of the usual couplet. The sentiments are just, the +images well drawn, and the technique correct; the whole forming a highly +commendable addition to amateur literature. "The Melody and Colour of +'The Lady of Shalott'", by Mary Faye Durr, is a striking Tennysonian +critique, whose psychological features, involving a comparison of +chromatic and poetic elements, are ingenious and unusual. Miss Durr is +obviously no careless student of poesy, for the minute analyses of +various passages give evidence of thorough assimilation and intelligent +comprehension. "On Being Good", by Newton A. Thatcher, contains sound +sense and real humour, whilst its pleasingly familiar style augurs well +for Mr. Thatcher's progress in this species of composition. "War +Reflections", by Herbert Albing, is an apt and thoughtful epitome of the +compensating benefits given to mankind by the present belligerent +condition of the world. The cogent and comprehensive series of reviews +by Miss Edna M. Haughton, and the crisp and pertinent paragraphs by +Editor Fritter, combine with the rest of =The Woodbee's= contents to +produce an issue uniformly meritorious. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + +THE POETRY OF THE MONTH + +CONTENT. + +An Epistle to RHEINHART KLEINER, Esq., Poet-Laureate, and Author of +"Another Endless Day". + + _Beatus ille qui procul negotiis, + Ut prisca gens mortalium, + Paterna rura bobus exercet suis._ + --HORACE. + + KLEINER! in whose quick pulses wildly beat + The youth's ambition, and the lyrist's heat, + Whose questing spirit scorns our lowly flights, + And dares the heavens for sublimer heights: + If passion's force will grant an hour's relief, + Attend a calmer song, nor nurse thy grief. + What is true bliss? Must mortals ever yearn + For stars beyond their reach, and vainly burn; + Must suff'ring man, impatient, seek to scale + Forbidden steeps, where sharper pangs prevail? + Alas for him who chafes at soothing ease, + And cries for fever'd joys and pains to please: + They please a moment, but the pleasure flies, + And the rack'd soul, a prey to passion, dies. + Away, false lures! and let my spirit roam + O'er sweet Arcadia, and the rural home; + Let my sad heart with no new sorrow bleed, + But rest content in Morven's mossy mead. + Wild thoughts and vain ambitions circle near, + Whilst I, at peace, the abbey chimings hear. + Loud shakes the surge of Life's unquiet sea, + Yet smooth the stream that laves the rustic lea. + Let others feel the world's destroying thrill, + As 'midst the kine I haunt the verdant hill. + Rise, radiant sun! to light the grassy glades, + Whose charms I view from grateful beechen shades; + O'er spire and peak diffuse th' expanding gleam + That gilds the grove, and sparkles on the stream. + Awake! ye sylphs of Flora's gorgeous train, + To scent the fields, and deck the rising main. + Soar, feathered flock, and carol o'er the scene, + To cheer the lonely watcher on the green. + Sweet is the song the morning meadow bears, + And with the darkness fade ambitious cares: + Above the abbey tow'r the rays ascend, + As light and peace in matchless beauty blend. + Why should I sigh for realms of toil and stress, + When now I bask in Nature's loveliness; + What thoughts so great, that they must needs expand + Beyond the hills that bound this fragrant land? + These friendly hills my infant vision knew, + And in the shelt'ring vale from birth I grew. + Yon distant spires Ambition's limit show, + For who, here born, could farther wish to go? + When sky-blest evening soothes the world and me, + Are moon and stars more distant from my lea? + No urban glare my sight of heav'n obscures, + And orbs undimm'd rise o'er the neighb'ring moors. + What priceless boon may spreading Fame impart, + When village dignity hath cheer'd the heart? + The little group that hug the tavern fire + To air their wisdom, and salute their squire, + Far kinder are, than all the courtly throng + That flatter Kings, and shield their faults in song! + And in the end; what if no man adore + My senseless ashes 'neath Westminster's floor? + May not my weary frame, at Life's dim night, + Sleep where my childhood first enjoy'd the light? + Rest were the sweeter in the sacred shade + Of that dear fane where all my fathers pray'd; + Ancestral spirits bless the air around, + And hallow'd mem'ries fill the gentle ground. + So stay, belov'd Content! nor let my soul + In fretful passion seek a farther goal. + Apollo, chasing Daphne, gain'd his prize, + But lo! she turn'd to wood before his eyes! + Our earthly prizes, though as holy sought, + Prove just as fleeting, and decay to naught. + Enduring bliss a man may only find + In virtuous living, and contented mind. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR AUGUST 1916 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 1915-1916. + +Following a novel idea originated by the present Columbus +administration, the Department of Public Criticism will herewith submit +for the first time in its history an annual report, or summary of the +preceding year's literary events within the United Amateur Press +Association. + +The programme of improvement informally decided upon in the official +year of 1913-1914 received its definite ratification at the Rocky Mount +Convention, when the assembled representatives of the United pledged +"Individual collective support" to Mr. Fritter, the new President, in +his endeavors to raise the literary standard of our society, and when an +absolutely unanimous vote invested Mrs. J. W. Renshaw, the leading +spirit of progress, with the important office of Second Vice-President. +Pres. Fritter has since discharged his obligations and sustained his +responsibilities in a thoroughly satisfactory manner despite many trying +difficulties, whilst Mrs. Renshaw, as a recruiter, has succeeded in +laying the foundations of a completely broadened, elevated, and +rejuvenated association. Yet all that has been accomplished is merely +the prologue of that greater period of change which must bring about the +final assimilation of Mrs. Renshaw's phenomenally gifted recruits, and +the materialization of the still nebulous plans evolved during the past +twelvemonth. + +The undersigned has on several occasions advocated the formation of a +regular "Department of Instruction" in the United, to be conducted by +professional teachers and college instructors for the purpose of guiding +the more or less inexperienced members. He has communicated his idea to +several high-school preceptors of great ability, and has learned that +under present conditions such a department is not perfectly feasible. It +has been suggested that if each experienced and educated amateur would +assume a personal and sympathetic advisory position toward some one of +the younger or cruder members, much actual good might result. As our +list now stands, the crude and the cultured are perhaps evenly balanced, +yet instant success even in this modified course can scarcely be +expected. At least another year seems to be required, in which the +various members may gain a closer knowledge of each other through the +wider diffusion of their printed efforts. However, the need for a more +uniformly educated membership is pressing, and the undersigned will +welcome aid or advice of any kind from those willing to assist him in +establishing some sort of scholastic Department. + +Another idea which has received undeserved neglect and discouraging +opposition is the Authors' Placing Bureau or "United Literary Service", +as outlined by the Second Vice-President. The normal goal of the amateur +writer is the outside world of letters, and the United should certainly +be able to provide improved facilities for the progress of its members +into the professional field. The objections offered to this plan are +apparently less vital than those affecting the Department of +Instruction, and it is to be hoped that the mistaken zeal of our +non-professional sticklers may not serve to prevent a step so sorely +needed. + +Passing on to the details of Departmental work, the undersigned is +pleased to report a remarkable increase in the literary value of the +compositions brought forth in the United this year; an increase which +may be fairly declared to constitute a true elevation of our +intellectual standard, and which undoubtedly compensates for the present +regrettable paucity of amateur publishing media. In verse, particularly, +is the advance notable. Some of our poets are securing recognition in +the outside world of letters, whilst many lesser bards show a steady +upward trend in their amateur efforts. Prose continues to suffer because +of the seemingly unavoidable brevity of the average amateur journal. It +is impossible to crowd any really well developed piece of prose within +the limits generally assigned, hence our best authors seem almost to be +driven into verse as a medium of expression. Financial prosperity of +sufficient extent to ensure the publication of larger papers is +obviously the only remedy for this deplorable condition. + +Of our poets, the Laureate Rheinhart Kleiner (also Laureate of the +National for 1916-1917) continues as the foremost technician and +harmonist. His accurate and tasteful lines satisfy the ear and the +understanding with equal completeness, and he shows no sign of yielding +to the corrupting influences of decadent modern standards. In his own +journal, =The Piper=, he reveals a versatile and phenomenally well +stocked mind. The September number, containing imitations of the work of +other amateur poets, will long be remembered. Mrs. Renshaw maintains her +high place as a philosophical and expressionistic bard, though hampered +by unusual theories of spontaneous versification. A greater deference to +the human ear and metrical sense would render her already lofty poetry +as attractive as it is exalted. Miss Olive G. Owen, former Laureate, has +lately returned to activity, and may well be expected to duplicate her +former successes in the domain of the Muses. The poetical progress of +Andrew Francis Lockhart is a notable feature of amateur letters this +year. Mr. Lockhart has always possessed the true genius of the bard, +writing ably and voluminously; but his recent technical care is bringing +out hitherto undiscovered beauties in his verse, and placing him in the +very front rank of United poets. "Benediction" and "Consolation" are +vastly above the average. + +Of the new poets of prime magnitude who have risen above our horizon +during the past year, Mrs. Winifred Virginia Jordan of Newton Centre, +Mass., deserves especial mention both for high quality and great volume +of work. Mrs. Jordan's poetry is of a tunefully delicate and highly +individualistic sort which has placed it in great demand amongst amateur +editors, and it is not unlikely that the author may be rewarded with a +Laureateship at no distant date. The work is invariably of spontaneously +graceful rhythm and universally pleasing in sentiment, having frequently +an elusive suggestion of the unreal. A few of Mrs. Jordan's poems are of +the grimly weird and powerful variety. "The Song of the North Wind" is a +remarkable contribution to amateur letters, and has won the enthusiastic +admiration of the United's poetical element. Professional success has +recently crowned the efforts of Mrs. Jordan. =Weekly Unity= for June 17 +contains her lines on "The Singing Heart", whilst several other poems +from her pen have been accepted by =The National Magazine=. Rev. James +Tobey Pyke is another poet of the first order whose writings have lately +enriched the literature of the United. His style is correct, and his +thought deep and philosophical. "The Meadow Cricket" is a poem which +deserved more than a superficial perusal. John Russell, formerly of +Scotland but now of Florida, is a satirist and dialect writer of +enviable talent. His favorite measure is the octosyllabic couplet, and +in his skilled hands this simple metre assumes a new and sparkling +lustre. Rev. Frederick Chenault is a prolific lyrical poet whose +sentiments are of uniform loftiness. The substitution of exact rhyme for +assonance in his lines would double the already immense merit of his +work. Other new bards of established ability are W. S. Harrison, +Kathleen Baldwin, Eugene B. Kuntz, Mary Evelyn Brown, Henry Cleveland +Wood, John W. Frazier, William Hume, Ella Colby Eckert, J. E. Hoag, +Edgar Ralph Cheyney, Margaret A. Richard, William de Ryee, Helen H. +Salls, and Jeanette Aylworth. + +Of the poets whom we may term "rising", none presents a more striking +figure than Ira A. Cole of Bazine, Kansas. Previously well known as a +prose writer and publisher, he made his debut as a metrist just a year +ago, through a very beautiful piece in the heroic couplet entitled "A +Dream of the Golden Age". Mr. Cole is one of the few survivors of the +genuine classic school, and constitutes a legitimate successor to the +late Georgian poets. His development has been of extraordinary rapidity, +and he will shortly surprise the amateur public both by a poetic drama +called "The Pauper and the Prince", and by a long mythological poem not +unlike Moore's "Lalla Rookh". The natural and pantheistic character of +Mr. Cole's philosophy adapts him with phenomenal grace to his position +as a mirror of classical antiquity. Another developing poet is Mr. Roy +Wesley Nixon of Florida. "Grandma", his latest published composition, is +a sonnet of real merit. Adam Dickson, a Scotsman by birth, but now a +resident of Los Angeles, writes tunefully and pleasantly. His pieces are +not yet of perfect polish, but each exhibits improvement over the +preceding. He tends to favor the anapaest and the iambic tetrameter. +Mrs. Ida Cochran Haughton of Columbus is scarcely a novice, but her +latest pieces are undeniably showing a great increase of technical +grace. Chester Pierce Munroe of North Carolina is a delicate amatory +lyrist of the Kleiner type. He has the quaint and attractive Georgian +touch, particularly evident in "To Flavia" and "To Chloris". Miss M. +Estella Shufelt is absolutely new to the kingdom of poesy, yet has +already produced work of phenomenal sweetness and piety. Mrs. E. L. +Whitehead, though formerly confined wholly to prose, has entered the +poetical field with intelligent and discriminating care. Her words are +thoughtfully weighed and selected, whilst her technique has rapidly +assumed a scholarly exactitude. Two new poets whose work requires much +technical improvement are Mrs. Agnes R. Arnold and Mr. George M. +Whiteside. Mr. Whiteside has indications of qualities not far remote +from genius, and would be well repaid by a rigorous course of study. +Messrs. John Hartman Oswald and James Laurence Crowley are both gifted +with a fluency and self-sufficiency which might prove valuable assets in +a study of poesy. W. F. Booker of North Carolina possesses phenomenal +grace, which greater technical care would develop into unusual power. +Rev. Robert L. Selle, D. D., of Little Rock, Arkansas, is inspired by +sincerest religious fervor, and has produced a voluminous quantity of +verse whose orthodoxy is above dispute. Mrs. Maude K. Barton writes +frequently and well, though her technical polish has not yet attained +its maximum. John Osman Baldwin of Ohio is a natural poet of spontaneous +grace, though requiring cultivation in correct style. + +From the foregoing estimate it may easily be gathered that imperfect +technique is the cardinal sin of the average amateur poet. We have among +us scores of writers blest with beautiful thoughts and attractive +fluency, yet the number of precise versifiers may be counted on one's +fingers. Our association needs increased requirements in classic +scholarship and literary exactitude. At present, it is impossible for an +impartial critic to give unstinted approval to the technique of any well +known United poet save Rheinhart Kleiner. + +Turning to the consideration of our prose writers, the undersigned finds +it difficult to render a true judgment, owing to the adverse conditions +mentioned earlier in this report. Many fluent pens are doubtless cramped +into feebleness through want of space. + +Fiction is among us the least developed of all the branches of +literature. Really good stories are rare phenomena, whilst even +mediocrity is none too common. The best short stories of the year are +probably those by M. Almedia Bretholl and Eleanor Barnhart; the others +are mainly juvenile work. Roy W. Nixon and Miss Coralie Austin represent +the extremes of excitement and tameness, with "A Bottle of Carbolic +Acid" on the one hand, and with "Jane" and "'Twixt the Red and the +White" on the other. Both of these authors possess substantial ability. +David H. Whittier is developing along classic lines, and will be a +prominent figure in the next generation of amateur journalists. Mr. +Moe's pupils are all good story-tellers, the work of Miss Gladys L. Bagg +standing forth quite prominently this year. Florence Brugger's "Tale of +the Sea" is a graphic narrative from a youthful pen, as is William +Dowdell's "Behind the Canvas Wall", in a somewhat different way. +Henriette and Florenz Ziegfeld have each contributed excellent work, nor +must Mary M. Sisson's "Tempora Mutantur" be forgotten. + +The rather loosely defined domain of the "sketch" has thriven this year, +since it elicits fluent expression from those less prolific in other +branches of literature. Mr. Melvin Ryder has entertained us with an +entire magazine of this sort of material, whilst Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, +Irene Metzger, Benjamin Repp, Mary Faye Durr, Ethel Halsey, Clara Inglis +Stalker, Freda de Larot, Helene E. Hoffman Cole, Helen M. Woodruff, Ira +A. Cole, and Eloise N. Griffith prove no less entertaining with shorter +sketches. + +Criticism is well represented by Leo Fritter, Edna M. Haughton, Mrs. +J. W. Renshaw, and Rheinhart Kleiner. The latter is no less gifted a +critic than a poet, and gives out very acute judgments in his journal, +=The Piper=. + +In viewing the formal essays of the year, one is impressed with the +profusion of mere schoolboy compositions. Masters of the Addisonian art +are few but those few almost atone for the general lack of polish. Henry +Clapham McGavack leads the list with a clarity of style and keenness of +reasoning unsurpassed in the association. His "Dr. Burgess, +Propagandist" is an amateur classic. Edgar Ralph Cheyney is an extreme +radical, but is none the less a masterful essayist. His articles take a +very high rank both for thoughtfulness and for diction. A third writer +of unusual power and analytical depth is Arthur W. Ashby, whose essays +on the varied aspects of Nature command our serious attention. The two +Schillings, George and Samuel, deserve more than a passing mention, +whilst Pres. Fritter's Laureateship well attests his merit. Rev. E. P. +Parham has produced work of attractive quality. Joseph W. Renshaw's +essays and editorials command notice whenever beheld; whilst Ira A. +Cole, ever versatile, will shortly display his epistolary skill in the +now unpublished series of "Churchill-Tutcombie Letters". William T. +Harrington has progressed by leaps and bounds to a prominent place +amongst our essay-writers, his able encomiums of Old England being a +delightful feature of the year. It would be gratifying to speak of +Maurice W. Moe's splendid style and terse English at this point, for he +is one of our very foremost essayists; but his enforced inactivity in +amateur journalism this year has deprived us of any current specimens +save the brief editorial in the February =Pippin=. + +The general quality of our prose is by no means satisfactory. Too many +of our authors are contaminated with modern theories which cause them to +abandon grace, dignity, and precision, and to cultivate the lowest forms +of slang. + +Papers and magazines have been neither ample nor numerous this year; in +fact, the tendency of the times appears to be a centralization of effort +in THE UNITED AMATEUR; something which is for many reasons to be +applauded, and for a few reasons to be deplored. Those members who feel +capable of issuing individual papers should be encouraged to do so; +whilst those who are ordinarily silent, should be encouraged to join the +contributing staff of THE UNITED AMATEUR as provided by the Campbell +amendment. + +The best individual journal of the year is =Ole Miss'=. For frequency +and regularity, =The Scot=, =The Woodbee=, =The Dixie Booster=, and =The +Coyote= are to be commended. THE UNITED AMATEUR has prospered as a +monthly despite adverse conditions. The elaborate September, October and +February numbers put us in deep debt to Mr. Edward F. Daas, while +subsequent examples of good editorship must be accredited to Mr. George +Schilling. It is gratifying to note the increasing literary character of +the Official Organ; purely official numbers are invariably tedious, many +of the long, detailed reports being quite superfluous. It is a strong +and sincere hope of the undersigned, that Mr. Daas may rejoin us at and +after the present convention. The resumption of =The Lake Breeze= would +supply a pressing need. Mr. Moitoret's =Cleveland Sun=, which promises +to be a frequently issued paper, made its first appearance lately, and +will, after much of its "loudness" has been removed, be of substantial +benefit to new members. The "sporting" features should be eliminated at +once, as not only being in bad taste, but exerting a noxious influence +over the literary development of the younger members. + +While upon the subject of papers, the undersigned would like to enter a +renewed protest against the persistent use of certain distorted forms of +spelling commonly called "simplified". These wretched innovations, +popular amongst the less educated element during the past decade, are +now becoming offensively prominent in certain periodicals of supposedly +better grade, and require concerted opposition on the part of all +friends of our language. The advantages claimed for the changes are +almost wholly unsubstantial, whilst the inevitable disadvantages are +immense. Let us see fewer "thrus" and "thoros" in the amateur press! + +What the association needs above all things is a return to earlier forms +in prose and verse alike; to poetry that does not pain the ear, and +paragraphs that do not affront the aesthetic sense of the reader. If our +writers would pay more attention to the tasteful Georgian models, they +would produce work of infinitely less cacophonous quality. Almost every +one of our authors who is familiar with the literature of the past, is +distinguished by exceptional grace and fluency of composition. + +As this report draws toward its conclusion, a few minor aims of the +Department of Public Criticism are to be noted. It is now the desire of +the undersigned to aid authors in rectifying the injustices to which +they are subjected by the wretched typography of most amateur journals. +Writers are hereby encouraged to transmit to this Department corrected +copies of all misprinted work, the corrections to be made public in THE +UNITED AMATEUR. By this method it is hoped that no amateur journalist +will again be forced to suffer for faults not his own, as so many have +suffered in the past. Of course, the critical reports themselves are +frequently misprinted, but the vast majority of mistakes may with care +be eliminated. + +Concerning the name of this association, which a number wish changed in +a manner that will eliminate the word "amateur", the undersigned feels +that the sentiment of the veteran element is too strongly against such a +move to warrant its immediate adoption. The primary object is the +training of young writers before they have attained the professional +grade, wherefore the present title is by no means such a misnomer as +might be inferred from the talents of the more cultivated members. +However, the proposed alteration is certainly justified in many ways, +hence the idea should be deferred rather than abandoned altogether. + +The wane of interest in amateur political affairs is to be commended as +a recognition of the superior importance of literary matters. Amateur +journalism is rapidly progressing nearer and nearer its ideal: a device +for the instruction of the young and crude, and an aid for the obscure +author of any sort, rather than a playground for the aimless and the +frivolous. + +Last of all, the undersigned wishes to thank the membership for its kind +reception of the Department's reports. It is ever the Chairman's design +to render impartial judgment, and if harshness or captiousness may at +any time have been noticed in the reports, it has in each case been +unintentional. An ideal of sound conservatism has been followed, but in +no instance has the critic sought to enforce upon others that peculiarly +archaic style of which he is personally fond, and which he is accustomed +to employ in his own compositions. The Department of Public Criticism +aspires to be of substantial assistance to the members of the United, +and hopes next year to co-operate with Mr. Lockhart in presenting +reviews of truly constructive quality. + +Solicitous for the approval, and confident of the indulgence of the +association, the Department herewith has the honor to conclude its first +annual report; in the hope that such a summary of events and estimate of +conditions may be of use to the incoming administration. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR SEPTEMBER 1916 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Amateur Special= for July is a voluminous magazine of credentials +and other work of new members, edited by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, retiring +Eastern Manuscript Manager, with the assistance of the Recruiting +Committee. Of all papers lately issued in the United, this is without +doubt among the most valuable and most significant; since it is the +pioneer of the new regime, whereby the talent of all our membership is +to be brought out by better publishing facilities. Mrs. Whitehead, with +notable generosity, has reserved for herself but one page, on which we +find a clever and correct bit of verse, and a number of graceful +acknowledgments and useful suggestions. The contents in general are well +calculated to display the thorough literary excellence and supremacy of +the United in its present condition; for in this collection of stories, +poems, and articles, taken practically at random from the manuscript +bureaus, there is scarce a line unworthy of commendation. + +"Tatting", by Julian J. Crump, is a fluent and graceful colloquial +sketch. "Mother and Child", by J. E. Hoag, is a sombre and thoughtful +poem having a certain atmosphere of mysticism. The metre, which is well +handled, consists of regular iambic pentameter quatrains with a couplet +at the conclusion. An annoying misprint mars the first stanza, where +"=sigh=" is erroneously rendered as "=sight=". "Homesick for the +Spring", a poem by Bessie Estelle Harvey, displays real merit in thought +and construction alike. "Mother Earth", by Rev. E. P. Parham, is a well +adorned little essay in justification of the traditional saying that +"the earth is mother of us all". George M. Whiteside, a new member of +the United, makes his first appearance before us as a poet in "The +Little Freckled Face Kid". Mr. Whiteside's general style is not unlike +that of the late James Whitcomb Riley, and its prevailing air of homely +yet pleasing simplicity is well maintained. "To Chloris", by Chester +Pierce Munroe, is a smooth and melodious amatory poem of the Kleiner +school. The imagery is refined, and the polish of the whole amply +justifies the inevitable triteness of the theme. The word "=adorns=", in +next the last line, should read "=adorn=". "A Dream", by Helen Harriet +Salls, is a hauntingly mystical succession of poetic images cast in +appropriate metre. The natural phenomena of the morning are vividly +depicted in a fashion possible only to the true poet. The printer has +done injustice to this exquisite phantasy in three places. In the first +stanza "=wonderous=" should read "=wondrous=", while in the seventh +stanza "=arient=" should be "=orient=". "=Thou'st=", in the eleventh +stanza, should be "=Thou'rt=". "Prayers", a religious poem by Rev. +Robert L. Selle, D. D., displays the classic touch of the eighteenth +century in its regular octosyllabic couplets, having some resemblance to +the work of the celebrated Dr. Watts. "Snow of the Northland", by M. +Estella Shufelt, is a religious poem of different sort, whose tuneful +dactylic quatrains contain much noble and appropriate metaphor. In the +final line the word "=re-cleaned=" should read "=re-cleansed=". "In +Passing By", by Sophie Lea Fox, is a meritorious poem of the thoughtful, +introspective type, which has been previously honoured with professional +publication. "A Time to Sing", by M. B. Andrews, introduces to the +United another genuine poet of worth. The lines are happy in inspiration +and finished in form, having only one possible defect, the use of +"=heralding=" as a dissyllable. "The Stately Mountains", by Rev. Eugene +B. Kuntz, D. D., is a notable contribution to amateur poetic literature. +Dr. Kuntz chooses as his favourite metre the stately Alexandrine; and +using it in a far more flexible and ingenious manner than that of +Drayton, he manages to achieve a dignified and exalted atmosphere +virtually impossible in any other measure. The even caesural break so +common to Alexandrines, and so often urged by critics as an objection +against them, is here avoided with great ingenuity and good taste. Dr. +Kuntz's sentiments and phrases are as swelling and sublime as one might +expect from his metre. His conception of Nature is a broad and noble +one, and his appreciation of her beauties is that of the innate poet. +"An April Memory" acquaints us with W. Frank Booker, a gifted lyrist +whose lines possess all the warmth, witchery and grace of his native +Southland. James J. Hennessey, in his essay on "The Army in Times of +Peace", exhibits very forcibly the various indispensable services so +quietly and efficiently performed by the United States Army in every-day +life. Mr. Hennessey makes plain the great value of having among us a +body of keen, versatile, and well-trained men ready for duty of any +sort, and ever alert for their country's welfare in peace or in war. The +American Soldier well deserves Mr. Hennessey's tribute, and the present +essay adds one more to the already incontrovertible array of arguments +in favour of an adequate military system. As printed, the article is +marred by a superfluous letter "=s=" on the very last word, which should +read "=citizen=". "Sowing the Good", a brief bit of moralizing by Horace +Fowler Goodwin, contains a serious misprint, for the final word of line +1, stanza 2, should be "=say=". "Bobby's Literary Lesson", by Gladys L. +Bagg, is a delightful specimen of domestic satire in prose. The handling +of the conversation exhibits Miss Bagg as a writer of considerable skill +and promise. "The Leaf", a clever poem of Nature by Emily Barksdale, +contains some gruesome atrocities by the printer. In the second stanza +"=it's=" should be "=it=", and "=wonderous=" should be "=wondrous=". In +the third stanza the typographical artist has killed a pretty woodland +"=copse=" with the letter "=r=", so that it reads "=corpse="! In the +fourth stanza "=head=" should read "=heard=". Perhaps the "=r=" which +murdered the "=copse=" escaped from this sadly mutilated word! In stanza +five, "=Chaots=" should be "=chants=". But why continue the painful +chronicle? Mr. Kleiner said just what we would like to say about +misprints over a year ago, when he wrote "The Rhyme of the Hapless +Poet"! "Submission", by Eugene B. Kuntz, is a delightful bit of light +prose, forming the autobiography of a much-rejected manuscript. This +piece well exhibits Dr. Kuntz's remarkable versatility. The humour is +keen, and nowhere overstrained. "Number 1287", a short story by Gracia +Isola Yarbrough, exhibits many of the flaws of immature work, yet +contains graphic touches that promise well for the author. The lack of +unity in plot and development detracts somewhat from the general effect, +while the unusual lapses of time and artificial working up of the later +situations are also antagonistic to technical polish. Triteness is +present, but that is to be expected in all amateur fiction. "A Drama of +Business", by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, is a terse bit of prose which might +well serve as an editorial in a liberal literary magazine. "The Schools +of Yesterday and Today", a sketch by Selma Guilford, presents in +pleasing fashion an interesting and optimistic contrast. In "Mother", +George M. Whiteside treats a noble theme in rather skilful fashion, +though the rhyming of "=breezes=" and "=trees is=" can hardly be deemed +suitable in a serious poem. "When the Sea Calls", a poem by Winifred +Virginia Jordan, is possibly the most striking feature of the magazine. +Mrs. Jordan's style in dealing with the wilder aspects of Nature has a +grim potency all its own, and we can endorse without qualification the +judgment of Mr. Moe when he calls this poem "positively magnificent in +dynamic effect". To Mrs. Jordan is granted a natural poetic genius which +few other amateurs can hope to parallel. Not many of our literary +artists can so aptly fit words to weird or unusual passages, or so +happily command all the advantages of alliteration and onomatopoeia. We +believe that Mrs. Jordan's amateur eminence will eventually ripen into +professional recognition. "Preachers in Politics", by Rev. James Thomas +Self, is a long, thoughtful, and extremely well phrased essay against +the descent of the ministry to the uncertain affairs of practical +legislation. Dr. Self has a just idea of the dignity of the cloth; an +idea which some clergymen of less conservative habits would do well to +acquire. Very painful is the sight of the slang-mouthing "evangelist" +who deserts his pulpit for the stump or the circus-tent. "Peace, +Germany!", a poem by Maude Kingsbury Barton, constitutes an appeal to +the present outlaw among nations. We feel, however, that it is only from +London that Germany will eventually be convinced of the futility of her +pseudo-Napoleonic enterprise. And when peace does come to Germany, it +will be British-made peace! The structure of Mrs. Barton's poem is +regular, and many of the images are very well selected. The worst +misprints are those in the sixth stanza, where "=in=" is omitted before +the word "=pomp=", and in the seventh stanza where "=come=" is printed +as "=came=". In the biographical sketch entitled "Two Lives", Helen +Hamilton draws a powerful moral from the contrasting but contemporaneous +careers of Florence Nightingale and the ex-Empress Eugenie. "Class-Room +Spirits I Have Known", an essay by Bessie Estelle Harvey, displays a +sound comprehension of pedagogical principles. Two more poems by Mrs. +Jordan conclude the issue. "The Time of Peach Tree Bloom" is the fourth +of the "Songs from Walpi", three of which appeared in THE UNITED +AMATEUR. "In a Garden" is a gem of delightful delicacy and ethereal +elegance. It is indeed not without just cause that the author has, from +the very first, held the distinction of being the most frequent poetical +contributor in all amateur journalism. + + * * * * * + +=The Cleveland Sun= for June is the first number of an amateur newspaper +edited by Anthony F. Moitoret, Edwin D. Harkins, and William J. Dowdell; +and remarkable for an excellent heading, drawn by a staff artist of the +=Cleveland Leader=. The present issue is printed in close imitation of +the modern professional daily, and displays some interesting examples of +"newspaper English". Mr. Moitoret is an old-time United man, now +reentering the sphere of activity, and he is to be commended warmly both +for his generous attitude toward the new members, and for his really +magnanimous offer of aid to those desirous of issuing individual papers. +His editorial hostility toward the Campbell amendment is, we believe, +mistaken; yet is none the less founded on a praiseworthy desire to serve +what he deems the best interests of the Association. Were Mr. Moitoret +more in touch with the rising ideals of the newer United, he would +realize the essential childishness of our "official business" as +contrasted with the substantial solidity of our developing literature. +Possibly the plan of Mr. Campbell, as experimentally tried during the +present year, will alter Mr. Moitoret's present opinion. Taken +altogether, we are not sure whether the =Sun= will prove beneficial or +harmful to the United. We most assuredly need some sort of stimulus to +activity, yet the comparatively crude atmosphere of newspaperdom is +anything but inspiring in a literary society. We cannot descend from the +ideals of Homer to those of Hearst without a distinct loss of quality, +for which no possible gain in mere enthusiasm can compensate. Headlines +such as "Columbus Bunch Boosting Paul" or "Hep Still Shows Pep", are +positive affronts to the dignity of amateur journalism. There is room +for an alert and informing news sheet in the United, yet we feel certain +that the =Sun= must become a far more sedate and scholarly publication +before it can adequately supply the need. At present, its garish rays +dazzle and blind more than they illuminate; in a perusal of its pages we +experience more of =sunstroke= than of =sunshine=. Of "The Best Sport +Page In Amateurdom" we find it difficult to speak or write. Not since +perusing the delectable lines of "Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress", by +jovial old "Anacreon Moore", have we beheld such an invasion of +prize-fight philosophy and race-track rhetoric. We learn with interest +that a former United member named "Handsome Harry" has now graduated +from literature to =left field=, and has, through sheer genius, risen +from the lowly level of the ambitious author, to the exalted eminence of +the =classy slugger=. Too proud to =push the pen=, he now =swats the +pill=. Of such doth the dizzy quality of sempiternal Fame consist! +Speaking without levity, we cannot but censure Mr. Dowdell's +introduction of the ringside or ball-field spirit into an Association +purporting to promote culture and lettered skill. Our members can +scarcely be expected to place the Stygian-hued John Arthur Johnson, +Esq., on a pedestal beside his well-known namesake Samuel; or calmly to +compare the stinging wit of a Sidney Smith with the stinging fist-cuffs +of a "Gunboat" Smith. In a word, what is suited to the street-corner is +not always suited to the library, and the taste of the United is as yet +but imperfectly attuned to the lyrical liltings of the pool-room Muse. +It is both hard and unwise to take the "Best Sport Page" seriously. As a +copy of "yellow" models it is a work of artistic verisimilitude; indeed, +were Mr. Dowdell a somewhat older man, we might justly suspect a +satirical intention on his part. + +We trust that =The Cleveland Sun= may shine on without cloud or setting, +though we must needs hope that the United's atmosphere of academic +refinement will temper somewhat the scorching glare with which the +bright orb has risen. + + * * * * * + +=The Conservative= for April opens with Andrew Francis Lockhart's +melodious and attractive poem entitled "Benediction". As a whole, this +is possibly the best piece of verse which Mr. Lockhart has yet written; +the sentiment is apt, if not entirely novel, whilst the technical +construction is well-nigh faultless. Such expressions as "pearl-scarr'd" +serve to exhibit the active and original quality of Mr. Lockhart's +genius. "Another Endless Day", by Rheinhart Kleiner, is a beautiful and +harmonious poetical protest against monotony. Much to be regretted is +the misprint in line 3 of the third stanza, where the text should read: + + "=A= love to thrill with new delight". + +"April", by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a seasonable and extremely +tuneful poem whose imagery is of that dainty, sprightly sort which only +Mrs. Jordan can create. "In Morven's Mead", also by Mrs. Jordan, +contains an elusive and haunting suggestion of the unreal, in the +author's characteristic style. "The Night Wind Bared My Heart" completes +a highly meritorious trilogy. In justice to the author, it should be +stated that the last of these three poems is, as here presented, merely +a rough draft. Through our own reprehensible editorial oversight, the +printer received this unpolished copy instead of the finished poem. The +following emendations should be observed: + + Stanza I, line 4, to read: "Awak'd my anguish'd sighs". + + Stanza II, line 3, to read: "But Oh, from grief =were= prest". + +"The Best Wine", by William de Ryee, is an earnestly introspective poem, +well cast in iambic pentameter quatrains. "Ye Ballade of Patrick von +Flynn" is a comic delineation of the cheap pseudo-Irish, England-hating +agitators who have been so offensively noisy on this side of the +Atlantic ever since the European war began, and particularly since the +late riots in Dublin. This class, which so sadly misrepresents the loyal +Irish people, deserves but little patience from Americans. Its members +stutter childishly about "breaches of neutrality" every time a real +American dares speak a word in favour of the Mother Country; yet they +constantly violate neutrality themselves in their clumsy attempts to use +the United States as a catspaw against England. The actual German +propagandists have the excuse of patriotism for their race and +Vaterland, but these Hibernian hybrids, neither good Irishmen nor good +Americans, have no excuse whatever when they try to subvert the +functions of the country which is giving them protection and livelihood. + + * * * * * + +=The Conservative= for July pays a deserved tribute to one of the most +lucid and acute of our amateur essayists, by devoting the entire issue +to his work. Henry Clapham McGavack, in "The American Proletariat versus +England", exposes with admirable fearlessness the silly Anglophobic +notions which a mistaken conception of the Revolution, and an ignorant +Irish population, have diffused among our lower classes. It is seldom +that an author ventures to speak so frankly on this subject, for the +servile tendency of the times impels most writers and publishers to play +the demagogue by essaying to feed the Irish masses with the anti-English +swill they desire; but Mr. McGavack wields an independent pen, and +records the truth without fear of the =mobile vulgus= and its shallow +views. In power, directness, urbanity, and impartiality, Mr. McGavack +cannot be excelled. He marshals his arguments without passion, bias, or +circumlocution; piling proof upon proof until none but the most stubborn +England-hater can fail to blush at the equal injustice and stupidity of +those who malign that mighty empire to whose earth-wide circle of +civilisation we all belong. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for April is a Special English Number, dedicated to our +soldier-member, George William Stokes of Newcastle-on-Tyne. The opening +poem "To England", well exhibits the versatility of Mrs. Winifred V. +Jordan, who here appears as a national panegyrist of commendable dignity +and unexceptionable taste. The word at the beginning of the fourth line +should read "=Is=" instead of "=To=". The short yet stirring metre is +particularly well selected. "Active English Amateurs I Have Met", by +Ernest A. Dench, is a rather good prose piece, though not without marks +of careless composition. "The Vultur", by Henry J. Winterbone of the +B. A. P. A., is a remarkably good story whose development and conclusion +would do credit to a professional pen. We hope Mr. Winterbone may join +the United, thereby giving American readers a more ample opportunity to +enjoy his work. Editor William T. Harrington, whose prose is so rapidly +acquiring polish and fluency, contributes two brief but able essays: +"History Repeats" and "How Great Britain Keeps Her Empire". In "History +Repeats", certain parts of the second sentence might well be amended a +trifle in structure, to read thus: "it must be remembered =that= the +first half was a series of victories for the South, and =that= only +after the Battle of Gettysburg did the strength of the North begin to +assert itself". This number of =The Coyote= is an exceedingly timely and +tasteful tribute to our Mother Country, appearing at an hour when the +air of America reeks with the illiterate anti-British trash of the "Sinn +Fein" simpletons and Prussian propagandists. + + * * * * * + +=Invictus= for July is the second number of Mr. Paul J. Campbell's +personal organ, and represents the strictly individual magazine in its +most tasteful and elaborate form. Unimpeachably artistic in appearance, +its contents justify the exterior; the whole constituting a publication +of the first rank, wherein are joined the virtues both of the old and of +the new schools of amateur journalism. Since Mr. Campbell is +preeminently an essayist, it is to his dissertations on "The Pursuit of +Happiness" and "The Age of Accuracy" which we turn most eagerly; and +which in no way disappoint our high expectations. The first of these +essays is a dispassionate survey of mankind in its futile but frantic +scramble after that elusive but unreal sunbeam called "happiness". The +author views the grimly amusing procession of human life with the +genuine objective of an impartial spectator, and with commendable +freedom from the hypocritical colouring of those who permit commonplace +emotions and tenuous idealizings to obscure the less roseate but more +substantial vision of their intellects. "The Age of Accuracy" presents +an inspiring panorama of the evolution of Intellect, and of its +increasing domination over the more elemental faculties of instinct and +emotion. At the same time, much material for reflection is furnished, +since it is obvious that the advance is necessarily confined to a +comparatively small and select part of humanity. Instinct and emotion +are still forces of tremendous magnitude, against which Reason wages an +upward struggle of incredible bravery. Only the strong can escape the +clutch of the primitive, wherefore there can be no successful social +order which does not conform in its essentials to the blind impulses of +the natural man or man-ape. We are in danger of overestimating the +ascendancy and stability of Reason, for it is in reality the most +fragile and rudimentary element in our mortal fabric. A heavy blow on +certain parts of the skull, or a bullet in certain parts of the brain, +can destroy in an instant all the accumulated intellect which aeons of +heredity have bestowed, depressing the victim from the zenith of culture +and refinement to a condition separated only by colour and contour from +that of the negro or the gorilla; yet not all the edicts of the +lawgiver, devices of the educator, measures of the reformer, or skill of +the surgeon, can extirpate the ingrained instincts and seated +superstitions of the average human animal. + +The poetry of Mr. Campbell is represented in =Invictus= by three +specimens, whose merit speaks well for the author's progress in the art. +"The Sunshine Girl" is an amatory panegyric of no small skill and +polish, though not strikingly novel in sentiment or expression. "German +Kultur" is a scathing and virile indictment of the present enemies of +humanity. The versification is bold, and in places rugged, whilst the +imagery is appropriately grim and sardonic. Points which we might +criticise are the repeated use of "=civilization=" as a word of only +four syllables, and the archaic pronunciation of "=drown-ed=" as a +dissyllable. This latter usage would be objectionable in verse of +stately or conservative cast, but here grates upon the ear as an +anachronism. The trenchant wit of the piece is well sustained, and +brought out with particular force in the second and fourth stanzas. "The +Major Strain" is without doubt the foremost verse of the issue. This is +real poetry. The sustained rhyming, whereby each stanza contains only +one rhyming sound, is pleasing and unusual. Mr. Campbell's comment on +"Amateur Affairs" really deserves to be classed as an essay, for its +thoughtful conclusions and intelligent analyses of human nature +certainly draw it within the pale of true literature. The broad +comprehension and continued love of amateur journalism here exhibited, +are potent justifications of the author's practically unanimous election +to the Presidency of the United. =Invictus= is one of the very foremost +journals of the amateur world, and the only possible objection which can +be raised against it, is its infrequency of appearance. It is the voice +of a virile and vibrant personality who unites vigour of thought with +urbanity of expression. + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for May marks the advent of this highly entertaining and well +conducted magazine to the United, and extends the northern frontier of +amateur journalism to Bonnie Dundee, in Auld Scotland, the Land of +Mountain and Flood. "Hidden Beauty", a poem in blank verse by R. M. +Ingersley, opens the issue with a combination of lofty conceptions, +vivid imagery, and regular structure. "England's Glory", by Clyde Dane, +is a stirring tale of that fearless and self-sacrificing honour which +has given to the Anglo-Saxon the supremacy of the world. It would be in +bad taste to cavil at slight technical imperfections or instances of +triteness when considering so earnest and glowing a delineation of the +British character; the noblest human type ever moulded by the Creator. +"Oh Rose, Red Rose!" is a tuneful little lyric by Winifred V. Jordan, +whose work is never too brief to be pleasing, or too long to be +absorbing. "Clemency versus Frightfulness", by William T. Harrington, is +a thoughtful and lucid exposition of the British governmental ideal of +lenient justice; an ideal whose practical success has vividly +demonstrated its thorough soundness. "At Last", by Muriel Wilson, is a +blank verse poem of much merit. "Do You Remember?", by the late Lieut. +Roy Arthur Thackara, R. N., is a delicate sketch possessing the +additional interest of coming from the pen of one who has now given his +life for King and Country; the author having gone down with H. M. S. +=India=. "A Battle with the Sea", a sketch by Midshipman Ernest L. +McKeag, exhibits descriptive power of no common order, yet might well +have a less abrupt conclusion. "To Some One", by Margaret Trafford, is a +poem in dactylic measure, dedicated to the women of Britain. The +sentiment is noble, and the encomium well bestowed, though the metre +could be improved in polish. "Gum", by Henry J. Winterbone, is a +delightfully humorous sketch. It is evident that those who depreciate +British humour must have taken pains to avoid its perusal, since it has +a quietly pungent quality seldom found save among Anglo-Saxons. +Personally, we believe that the summit of clumsy pseudo-jocoseness is +attained by the average "comic" supplement of the Hearst Sunday papers. +These, and not the British press, present the pathetic spectacle of +utter inanity and repulsive grotesqueness without the faintest redeeming +touch of genuine comedy, legitimate satire, or refined humour. "Life's +Voyage", by Matthew Hilson, is a poem of great attractiveness, though of +scarcely impeccable construction. Concerning the expression "tempests +wild do roar", we must reiterate the advice of Mr. Pope, who condemned +the expletive "do", "doth", or "did" as a "feeble aid". Such usage has, +in fact, been in bad taste ever since the reign of Queen Anne; Dryden +being the last bard in whom we need not censure the practice. Mr. +McColl's editorials are brief but informing. He may well be +congratulated on his work as a publisher, and he certainly deserves as +hearty a welcome as the United can give. + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for June is a "British Old-Timers' Number", confined wholly +to the work of the senior amateur journalists of the Mother Country. +Edward F. Herdman, to whom this number is dedicated, opens the issue +with a religious poem entitled "Life", which compares well with the bulk +of current religious verse. Mr. Herdman also contributes one of several +prose essays on amateur journalism, in which the various authors view +our field of endeavor from similar angles. "A Song of a Sailor", by +R. D. Roosemale-Cocq, exhibits buoyant animation, and considerable ease +in the handling of a rollicking measure. The internal rhymes are for the +most part well introduced, though greater uniformity might have been +used in their distribution. The first two lines have none. In the last +stanza there are two lines whose metre seems deficient, but being +conscious of the uncertainties of the secretarial and typographical +arts, we suspend judgment on the author. "A Song of Cheer", by Alfred H. +Pearce, is an optimistic ode of real merit. The last line furnishes a +particularly pleasing example of sprightly wit. Mr. Gavin T. McColl is +sensible and perspicuous in all his editorial utterances. His work in +issuing one of the only two regular monthly magazines in amateurdom has +already brought him to prominence, though his connexion with the press +associations is still new. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for June is given over largely to critical and +official matter, though two pieces of verse serve to vary the monotony. +"Content", from our own pen, is an answer to Mr. Rheinhart Kleiner's +delightful poem in the April =Conservative=, entitled "Another Endless +Day". The lines are notable chiefly on account of some fearful and +wonderful typographical errors. In the fourth line "=sublime=" should +read "=sublimer=". In the eighth line there should be no apostrophe in +the word "=stars=". In the second column, eleventh line from the end, +there should be no apostrophe in the word "=fathers=", and finally, in +the ninth line from the end, "=hollow'd=" should read "=hallow'd=". "The +Swing in the Great Oak Tree", by Mrs. Agnes Richmond Arnold, is a +reminiscent poem whose measure is as swinging as its subject, and whose +atmosphere is pleasantly rural. There are flaws in the metre, and +irregularities in the rhyming arrangement, but the spirit of the whole +rises blithesomely above such slight technical matters. Editor +Schilling's column is to be praised for its dignified style, and +endorsed for its sound opinions. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for July is an attractive and important contribution to +the history of amateur journalism; since it is entirely devoted to the +biographies of the gifted Columbus amateurs, and to the annals of their +brilliant local organization. The Woodbees undoubtedly form the most +active and representative adult club in the United; to which only the +Appleton Club, representing the juvenile Muse, may justly be compared. +The Woodbees are typical, in a sense, of all that is best in the entire +association. They are pursuing courses of serious literary study, +producing a regularly issued magazine of unfailing merit and good taste, +working enthusiastically for the welfare and expansion of the United, +and leading or following every worthy or progressive movement in amateur +politics. They reflect credit upon themselves, their society, the +Association, and amateur journalism as a whole. The delightful +biographical article which occupies the major portion of the current +=Woodbee= is unsigned; but deserves particular praise, whoever the +author may be. The various characters are well displayed, and their +pleasing qualities and manifold activities well exhibited. + +Mr. Fritter's editorials are as usual timely, lucid, and sensible. His +advocacy of the Campbell Amendment is to be applauded; and will, we +trust, be justified by the year's trial which that measure is now +undergoing. The present issue marks the conclusion of Mr. Fritter's term +as editor. He has given the amateur public a creditable volume, and is +entitled to the gratitude of every member of our Association. A final +word of praise is due the excellent group photograph of the Woodbees +which forms the frontispiece of the magazine. Added to the biographical +matter, it completes a thoroughly commendable introduction to a +thoroughly commendable body of literary workers. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVI GEORGETOWN, ILL., NOVEMBER, 1916 NUMBER 4 + + +THE ALCHEMIST + +High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are +wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, +stands the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty +battlements have frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside +about, serving as a home and stronghold for the proud house whose +honoured line is older even than the moss-grown castle walls. These +ancient turrets, stained by the storms of generations and crumbling +under the slow yet mighty pressure of time, formed in the ages of +feudalism one of the most dreaded and formidable fortresses in all +France. From its machicolated parapets and mounted battlements Barons, +Counts, and even Kings had been defied, yet never had its spacious halls +resounded to the footstep of the invader. + +But since those glorious years all is changed. A poverty but little +above the level of dire want, together with a pride of name that forbids +its alleviation by the pursuits of commercial life, have prevented the +scions of our line from maintaining their estates in pristine splendour; +and the falling stones of the walls, the overgrown vegetation in the +parks, the dry and dusty moat, the ill-paved courtyards, and toppling +towers without, as well as the sagging floors, the worm-eaten wainscots, +and the faded tapestries within, all tell a gloomy tale of fallen +grandeur. As the ages passed, first one, then another of the four great +turrets were left to ruin, until at last but a single tower housed the +sadly reduced descendants of the once mighty lords of the estate. + +It was in one of the vast and gloomy chambers of this remaining tower +that I, Antoine, last of the unhappy and accursed Comtes de C----, first +saw the light of day, ninety long years ago. Within these walls, and +amongst the dark and shadowy forests, the wild ravines and grottoes of +the hillside below, were spent the first years of my troubled life. My +parents I never knew. My father had been killed at the age of +thirty-two, a month before I was born, by the fall of a stone somehow +dislodged from one of the deserted parapets of the castle, and my mother +having died at my birth, my care and education devolved solely upon one +remaining servitor, an old and trusted man of considerable intelligence, +whose name I remember as Pierre. I was an only child, and the lack of +companionship which this fact entailed upon me was augmented by the +strange care exercised by my aged guardian in excluding me from the +society of the peasant children whose abodes were scattered here and +there upon the plains that surround the base of the hill. At the time, +Pierre said that this restriction was imposed upon me because my noble +birth placed me above association with such plebeian company. Now I know +that its real object was to keep from my ears the idle tales of the +dread curse upon our line, that were nightly told and magnified by the +simple tenantry as they conversed in hushed accents in the glow of their +cottage hearths. + +Thus isolated, and thrown upon my own resources, I spent the hours of my +childhood in poring over the ancient tomes that filled the +shadow-haunted library of the chateau, and in roaming without aim or +purpose through the perpetual dusk of the spectral wood that clothes the +sides of the hill near its foot. It was perhaps an effect of such +surroundings that my mind early acquired a shade of melancholy. Those +studies and pursuits which partake of the dark and occult in nature most +strongly claimed my attention. + +Of my own race I was permitted to learn singularly little, yet what +small knowledge of it I was able to gain, seemed to depress me much. +Perhaps it was at first only the manifest reluctance of my old preceptor +to discuss with me my paternal ancestry that gave rise to the terror +which I ever felt at the mention of my great house, yet as I grew out of +childhood, I was able to piece together disconnected fragments of +discourse, let slip from the unwilling tongue which had begun to falter +in approaching senility, that had a sort of relation to a certain +circumstance which I had always deemed strange, but which now became +dimly terrible. The circumstance to which I allude is the early age at +which all the Comtes of my line had met their end. Whilst I had hitherto +considered this but a natural attribute of a family of short-lived men, +I afterward pondered long upon these premature deaths, and began to +connect them with the wanderings of the old man, who often spoke of a +curse which for centuries had prevented the lives of the holders of my +title from much exceeding the span of thirty-two years. Upon my +twenty-first birthday, the aged Pierre gave to me a family document +which he said had for many generations been handed down from father to +son, and continued by each possessor. Its contents were of the most +startling nature, and its perusal confirmed the gravest of my +apprehensions. At this time, my belief in the supernatural was firm and +deep-seated, else I should have dismissed with scorn the incredible +narrative unfolded before my eyes. + +The paper carried me back to the days of the thirteenth century, when +the old castle in which I sat had been a feared and impregnable +fortress. It told of a certain ancient man who had once dwelt on our +estates, a person of no small accomplishments, though little above the +rank of peasant; by name, Michel, usually designated by the surname of +Mauvais, the Evil, on account of his sinister reputation. He had studied +beyond the custom of his kind, seeking such things as the Philosopher's +Stone, or the Elixir of Eternal Life, and was reputed wise in the +terrible secrets of Black Magic and Alchemy. Michel Mauvais had one son, +named Charles, a youth as proficient as himself in the hidden arts, and +who had therefore been called Le Sorcier, or the Wizard. This pair, +shunned by all honest folk, were suspected of the most hideous +practices. Old Michel was said to have burnt his wife alive as a +sacrifice to the Devil, and the unaccountable disappearances of many +small peasant children were laid at the dreaded door of these two. Yet +through the dark natures of the father and the son ran one redeeming ray +of humanity; the evil old man loved his offspring with fierce intensity, +whilst the youth had for his parent a more than filial affection. + +One night the castle on the hill was thrown into the wildest confusion +by the vanishment of young Godfrey, son to Henri, the Comte. A searching +party, headed by the frantic father, invaded the cottage of the +sorcerers and there came upon old Michel Mauvais, busy over a huge and +violently boiling cauldron. Without certain cause, in the ungoverned +madness of fury and despair, the Comte laid hands on the aged wizard, +and ere he released his murderous hold his victim was no more. Meanwhile +joyful servants were proclaiming aloud the finding of young Godfrey in a +distant and unused chamber of the great edifice, telling too late that +poor Michel had been killed in vain. As the Comte and his associates +turned away from the lowly abode of the alchemists, the form of Charles +Le Sorcier appeared through the trees. The excited chatter of the +menials standing about told him what had occurred, yet he seemed at +first unmoved at his father's fate. Then, slowly advancing to meet the +Comte, he pronounced in dull yet terrible accents the curse that ever +afterward haunted the house of C----. + + "May ne'er a noble of thy murd'rous line + Survive to reach a greater age than thine!" + +spake he, when, suddenly leaping backwards into the black wood, he drew +from his tunic a phial of colourless liquid which he threw in the face +of his father's slayer as he disappeared behind the inky curtain of the +night. The Comte died without utterance, and was buried the next day, +but little more than two and thirty years from the hour of his birth. No +trace of the assassin could be found, though relentless bands of +peasants scoured the neighboring woods and the meadow-land around the +hill. + +Thus time and the want of a reminder dulled the memory of the curse in +the minds of the late Comte's family, so that when Godfrey, innocent +cause of the whole tragedy and now bearing the title, was killed by an +arrow whilst hunting, at the age of thirty-two, there were no thoughts +save those of grief at his demise. But when, years afterward, the next +young Comte, Robert by name, was found dead in a nearby field from no +apparent cause, the peasants told in whispers that their seigneur had +but lately passed his thirty-second birthday when surprised by early +death. Louis, son to Robert, was found drowned in the moat at the same +fateful age, and thus down through the centuries ran the ominous +chronicle; Henris, Roberts, Antoines, and Armands snatched from happy +and virtuous lives when a little below the age of their unfortunate +ancestor at his murder. + +That I had left at most but eleven years of further existence was made +certain to me by the words which I read. My life, previously held at +small value, now became dearer to me each day, as I delved deeper and +deeper into the mysteries of the hidden world of black magic. Isolated +as I was, modern science had produced no impression upon me, and I +laboured as in the Middle Ages, as wrapt as had been old Michel and +young Charles themselves in the acquisition of demonological and +alchemical learning. Yet read as I might, in no manner could I account +for the strange curse upon my line. In unusually rational moments, I +would even go so far as to seek a natural explanation, attributing the +early deaths of my ancestors to the sinister Charles Le Sorcier and his +heirs; yet having found upon careful inquiry that there were no known +descendants of the alchemist, I would fall back to my occult studies, +and once more endeavour to find a spell that would release my house from +its terrible burden. Upon one thing I was absolutely resolved. I should +never wed, for since no other branches of my family were in existence, I +might thus end the curse with myself. + +As I drew near the age of thirty, old Pierre was called to the land +beyond. Alone I buried him beneath the stones of the courtyard about +which he had loved to wander in life. Thus was I left to ponder on +myself as the only human creature within the great fortress, and in my +utter solitude my mind began to cease its vain protest against the +impending doom, to become almost reconciled to the fate which so many of +my ancestors had met. Much of my time was now occupied in the +exploration of the ruined and abandoned halls and towers of the old +chateau, which in youth fear had caused me to shun, and some of which +old Pierre had once told me had not been trodden by human foot for over +four centuries. Strange and awsome were many of the objects I +encountered. Furniture, covered by the dust of ages and crumbling with +the rot of long dampness met my eyes. Cobwebs in a profusion never +before seen by me were spun everywhere, and huge bats flapped their bony +and uncanny wings on all sides of the otherwise untenanted gloom. + +Of my exact age, even down to days and hours, I kept a most careful +record, for each movement of the pendulum of the massive clock in the +library tolled off so much more of my doomed existence. At length I +approached that time which I had so long viewed with apprehension. Since +most of my ancestors had been seized some little while before they +reached the exact age of the Comte Henri at his end, I was every moment +on the watch for the coming of the unknown death. In what strange form +the curse should overtake me, I knew not; but I was resolved at least +that it should not find me a cowardly or a passive victim. With new +vigour I applied myself to my examination of the old chateau and its +contents. + +It was upon one of the longest of all my excursions of discovery in the +deserted portion of the castle, less than a week before that fatal hour +which I felt must mark the utmost limit of my stay on earth, beyond +which I could have not even the slightest hope of continuing to draw +breath, that I came upon the culminating event of my whole life. I had +spent the better part of the morning in climbing up and down half ruined +staircases in one of the most dilapidated of the ancient turrets. As the +afternoon progressed, I sought the lower levels, descending into what +appeared to be either a mediaeval place of confinement, or a more +recently excavated storehouse for gunpowder. As I slowly traversed the +nitre-encrusted passageway at the foot of the last staircase, the paving +became very damp, and soon I saw by the light of my flickering torch +that a blank, water-stained wall impeded my journey. Turning to retrace +my steps, my eye fell upon a small trap-door with a ring, which lay +directly beneath my feet. Pausing, I succeeded with difficulty in +raising it, whereupon there was revealed a black aperture, exhaling +noxious fumes which caused my torch to sputter, and disclosing in the +unsteady glare the top of a flight of stone steps. As soon as the torch, +which I lowered into the repellent depths, burned freely and steadily, I +commenced my descent. The steps were many, and led to a narrow +stone-flagged passage which I knew must be far underground. This passage +proved of great length, and terminated in a massive oaken door, +dripping with the moisture of the place, and stoutly resisting all my +attempts to open it. Ceasing after a time my efforts in this direction, +I had proceeded back some distance toward the steps, when there suddenly +fell to my experience one of the most profound and maddening shocks +capable of reception by the human mind. Without warning, =I heard the +heavy door behind me creak slowly open upon its rusted hinges=. My +immediate sensations are incapable of analysis. To be confronted in a +place as thoroughly deserted as I had deemed the old castle with +evidence of the presence of man or spirit, produced in my brain a horror +of the most acute description. When at last I turned and faced the seat +of the sound, my eyes must have started from their orbits at the sight +that they beheld. There in the ancient Gothic doorway stood a human +figure. It was that of a man clad in a skull-cap and long mediaeval +tunic of dark colour. His long hair and flowing beard were of a terrible +and intense black hue, and of incredible profusion. His forehead, high +beyond the usual dimensions; his cheeks, deep sunken and heavily lined +with wrinkles; and his hands, long, claw-like and gnarled, were of such +a deathly, marble-like whiteness as I have never elsewhere seen in man. +His figure, lean to the proportions of a skeleton, was strangely bent +and almost lost within the voluminous folds of his peculiar garment. But +strangest of all were his eyes; twin caves of abysmal blackness; +profound in expression of understanding, yet inhuman in degree of +wickedness. These were now fixed upon me, piercing my soul with their +hatred, and rooting me to the spot whereon I stood. At last the figure +spoke in a rumbling voice that chilled me through with its dull +hollowness and latent malevolence. The language in which the discourse +was clothed was that debased form of Latin in use amongst the more +learned men of the Middle Ages, and made familiar to me by my prolonged +researches into the works of the old alchemists and demonologists. The +apparition spoke of the curse which had hovered over my house, told me +of my coming end, dwelt on the wrong perpetrated by my ancestor against +old Michel Mauvais, and gloated over the revenge of Charles Le Sorcier. +He told me how the young Charles had escaped into the night, returning +in after years to kill Godfrey the heir with an arrow just as he +approached the age which had been his father's at his assassination; how +he had secretly returned to the estate and established himself, unknown, +in the even then deserted subterranean chamber whose doorway now framed +the hideous narrator; how he had seized Robert, son of Godfrey, in a +field, forced poison down his throat and left him to die at the age of +thirty-two, thus maintaining the foul provisions of his vengeful curse. +At this point I was left to imagine the solution of the greatest mystery +of all, how the curse had been fulfilled since that time when Charles Le +Sorcier must in the course of nature have died, for the man digressed +into an account of the deep alchemical studies of the two wizards, +father and son, speaking most particularly of the researches of Charles +Le Sorcier concerning the elixir which should grant to him who partook +of it eternal life and youth. + +His enthusiasm had seemed for the moment to remove from his terrible +eyes the hatred that had at first so haunted them, but suddenly the +fiendish glare returned, and with a shocking sound like the hissing of a +serpent, the stranger raised a glass phial with the evident intent of +ending my life as had Charles Le Sorcier, six hundred years before, +ended that of my ancestor. Prompted by some preserving instinct of +self-defense, I broke through the spell that had hitherto held me +immovable, and flung my now dying torch at the creature who menaced my +existence. I heard the phial break harmlessly against the stones of the +passage as the tunic of the strange man caught fire and lit the horrid +scene with a ghastly radiance. The shriek of fright and impotent malice +emitted by the would-be assassin proved too much for my already shaken +nerves, and I fell prone upon the slimy floor in a total faint. + +When at last my senses returned, all was frightfully dark, and my mind +remembering what had occurred, shrank from the idea of beholding more; +yet curiosity overmastered all. Who, I asked myself, was this man of +evil, and how came he within the castle walls? Why should he seek to +avenge the death of poor Michel Mauvais, and how had the curse been +carried on through all the long centuries since the time of Charles Le +Sorcier? The dread of years was lifted off my shoulders, for I knew that +he whom I had felled was the source of all my danger from the curse; and +now that I was free, I burned with the desire to learn more of the +sinister thing which had haunted my line for centuries, and made of my +own youth one long-continued nightmare. Determined upon further +exploration, I felt in my pockets for flint and steel, and lit the +unused torch which I had with me. First of all, the new light revealed +the distorted and blackened form of the mysterious stranger. The hideous +eyes were now closed. Disliking the sight, I turned away and entered the +chamber beyond the Gothic door. Here I found what seemed much like an +alchemist's laboratory. In one corner was an immense pile of a shining +yellow metal that sparkled gorgeously in the light of the torch. It may +have been gold, but I did not pause to examine it, for I was strangely +affected by that which I had undergone. At the farther end of the +apartment was an opening leading out into one of the many wild ravines +of the dark hillside forest. Filled with wonder, yet now realizing how +the man had obtained access to the chateau, I proceeded to return. I had +intended to pass by the remains of the stranger with averted face, but +as I approached the body, I seemed to hear emanating from it a faint +sound, as though life were not yet wholly extinct. Aghast, I turned to +examine the charred and shrivelled figure on the floor. + +Then all at once the horrible eyes, blacker even than the seared face in +which they were set, opened wide with an expression which I was unable +to interpret. The cracked lips tried to frame words which I could not +well understand. Once I caught the name of Charles Le Sorcier, and again +I fancied that the words "years" and "curse" issued from the twisted +mouth. Still I was at a loss to gather the purport of his disconnected +speech. At my evident ignorance of his meaning, the pitchy eyes once +more flashed malevolently at me, until, helpless as I saw my opponent to +be, I trembled as I watched him. + +Suddenly the wretch, animated with his last burst of strength, raised +his hideous head from the damp and sunken pavement. Then, as I remained, +paralyzed with fear, he found his voice and in his dying breath screamed +forth those words which have ever afterward haunted my days and my +nights. "Fool," he shrieked, "can you not guess my secret? Have you no +brain whereby you may recognize the will which has through six long +centuries fulfilled the dreadful curse upon your house? Have I not told +you of the great elixir of eternal life? Know you not how the secret of +Alchemy was solved? I tell you, it is I! I! =I! that have lived for six +hundred years to maintain my revenge=, FOR I AM CHARLES LE SORCIER!" + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1917 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Conservative= for October opens with Miss Olive G. Owen's tuneful +lines on "The Mocking Bird." Of the quality of Miss Owen's poetry it is +scarce necessary to speak; be it sufficient to say that the present +piece ranks among her best. In the intense fervour of the sentiment, and +the felicitous choice of the imagery, the touch of the born poet is +alike shown. Through an almost inexcusable editorial mistake of our own, +the first word of this poem is erroneously rendered. Line 1 should read: + + "=Where= Southern moonlight softly falls." + +"Old England and the Hyphen" is an attempt of the present critic to +demonstrate why relations between the United States and Mother England +must necessarily be closer than those between the States and any of the +really foreign powers. So patent and so inevitable is the essential +unity of the Anglo-Saxon world that such an essay as this ought really +to be superfluous; but its practical justification is found in the silly +clamour of those Anglophobes who are unfortunately permitted to reside +within our borders. "Insomnia," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a +remarkable piece of verse whose dark turns of fancy are almost worthy of +a Poe. The grotesque tropes, the cleverly distorted images, the bizarre +atmosphere, and ingeniously sinister repetitions all unite to produce +one of the season's most notable poems. Each of the stanzas is vibrant +with the hideous, racking turmoil of the insomnious mind. "Prussianism," +by William Thomas Harrington, is a concise and lucid essay on a timely +subject, reviewing ably the cause and responsibility of the present war. +It is especially valuable at this season of incoherent peace +discussion, for it explodes very effectively that vague, brainless +"neutrality" which prompts certain pro-German pacifists to cry for peace +before the normal and final settlement of Europe's troubles shall have +been attained by the permanent annihilation of the Prussian military +machine. "Twilight," by Chester Pierce Munroe, is a beautiful bit of +poetic fancy and stately phraseology. Mr. Munroe, a Rhode Islander +transplanted to the mountains of North Carolina, is acquiring all the +grace and delicacy of the native Southern bard, while retaining that +happy conservatism of expression which distinguishes his work from that +of most contemporary poets. Callously modern indeed must be he who would +wish Mr. Munroe's quaintly euphonious lines transmuted into the +irritatingly abrupt and barren phraseology of the day. "The Bond +Invincible," by David H. Whittier, is a short story of great power and +skilful construction, suggesting Poe's "Ligeia" in its central theme. +The plot is developed with much dexterity, and the climax comes so +forcibly and unexpectedly upon the reader, that one cannot but admire +Mr. Whittier's mastery of technique. Certain overnice critics may +possibly object to the tale, as containing incidents which no one +survives to relate; but when we reflect that Poe has similarly written a +story without survivors, ("The Masque of the Red Death") we can afford +to applaud without reservation. The complete absence of slang and of +doubtful grammar recommends this tale as a model to other amateur +fiction-writers. "Respite" is a lachrymose lament in five stanzas by the +present critic. The metre is regular, which is perhaps some excuse for +its creation and publication. "By the Waters of the Brook," by Rev. +Eugene B. Kuntz, D. D., is one of the noblest amateur poems of the year. +While the casual reader may find in the long heptameter lines a want of +sing-song facility; the true lover of the Nine pauses in admiration at +the deep flowing nobility of the rhyme. The quick rippling of the brook +is duplicated within each line, rather than from line to line. The +imagery and phraseology are of the sort which only Dr. Kuntz can +fashion, and are rich in that exalted pantheism of fancy which comes to +him who knows Nature in her wilder and more rugged moods and aspects. +"The Pool," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, contains an elusive hint of the +terrible and the supernatural which gives it high rank as poetry. Mrs. +Jordan has two distinct, yet related, styles in verse. One of these +mirrors all the joy and buoyant happiness of life, whilst the other +reflects that undertone of grimness which is sometimes felt through the +exterior of things. The kinship betwixt these styles lies in their +essentially fanciful character, as distinguished from the tiresomely +commonplace realism of the average modern rhymester. Another bit of +sinister psychology in verse is "The Unknown," by Elizabeth Berkeley. +Mrs. Berkeley's style is less restrained than that of Mrs. Jordan, and +presents a picture of stark, meaningless horror, the like of which is +not often seen in the amateur press. It is difficult to pass upon the +actual merit of so peculiar a production, but we will venture the +opinion that the use of italics, or heavy-faced type, is not desirable. +The author should be able to bring out all needed emphasis by words, not +printer's devices. The issue concludes with "Inspiration," a poem by +Lewis Theobald, Jun. The form and rhythm of this piece are quite +satisfactory, but the insipidity of the sentiment leaves much to be +desired. The whole poem savours too much of the current magazine style. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for October is made notable by Editor Harrington's +thoughtful and well compiled article on "Worldwide Prohibition," wherein +an extremely important step in the world's progress is truthfully +chronicled. That legislation against alcohol is spreading rapidly +throughout civilization, is something which not even the densest +champions of "personal liberty" can deny. The utter emptiness of all +arguments in behalf of strong drink is made doubly apparent by the swift +prohibitory enactments of the European nations when confronted by the +emergencies of war, and by the abolition of liquor in a large number of +American states for purely practical reasons. All these things point to +a general recognition of liquor as a foe to governmental and industrial +welfare. Mr. Harrington's style in this essay is clear and in most +respects commendable; though certain passages might gain force and +dignity through a less colloquial manner. In particular, we must protest +against the repeated use of the vulgarism =booze=, a word probably +brought into public favour by the new school of gutter evangelism, +whose chief exponent is the Reverend William Sunday. The verb =to +booze=, =boose=, or =bouse=, meaning "to drink immoderately," and the +adjective =boozy=, =boosy=, or =bousy=, meaning "drunken," are by no +means new to our language, Dryden having written the form =bousy= in +some of his verses; but =booze= as a noun signifying "liquor" is +certainly too vulgar a word for constant employment in any formal +literary composition. Another essay of Mr. Harrington's is "The Divine +Book," a plea for the restoration of the Bible as a source of popular +reading and arbiter of moral conduct. Whatever may be the opinion of the +searching critic regarding the place of the Scriptures in the world of +fact, it is undeniably true that a closer study of the revered volume, +and a stricter adherence to its best precepts, would do much toward +mending the faults of a loose age. We have yet to find a more +efficacious means of imparting virtue and contentment of heart to the +masses of mankind. "Pioneers of New England," an article by Alice M. +Hamlet, gives much interesting information concerning the sturdy +settlers of New Hampshire and Vermont. In the unyielding struggles of +these unsung heroes against the sting of hardship and the asperity of +primeval Nature, we may discern more than a trace of that divine fire of +conquest which has made the Anglo-Saxon the empire builder of all the +ages. In Mr. Harrington's editorial column there is much discussion of a +proposed "International Amateur Press Association," but we fail to +perceive why such an innovation is needed, now that the United has +opened itself unreservedly to residents of all the countries of the +globe. + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for November is a clever publication of +semi-professional character, edited by Miss Margaret Trafford of London, +and containing a pleasant variety of prose, verses, and puzzles. "King +of the Nursery Realm," by Margaret Mahon, is a smooth and musical piece +of juvenile verse which excels in correctness of form rather than in +novelty of thought. + +"Bards and Minstrels, and The Augustan Age," by Beryl Mappin, is the +second of a series of articles on English literature and its classical +foundations. The erudition and enthusiasm displayed in this essay speak +well for the future of the authoress, though certain faults of style and +construction demand correction. Careful grammatical study would +eliminate from Miss Mappin's style such solecisms as the use of =like= +for =as=, whilst greater attention to the precepts of rhetoric would +prevent the construction of such awkward sentences as the following: +"The same if one is reading an interesting book, can one not see all +that is happening there as clearly with one's inner eyes as if it was +all taking place before one, and viewed with one's outer ones?" This +passage is not only wanting in coherence and correctness of syntax, but +is exceedingly clumsy through redundancy of statement, and repetition of +the word =one=. This word, though essential to colloquial diction, +becomes very tiresome when used to excess; and should be avoided in many +cases through judicious transpositions of the text. The following is a +revised version of the sentence quoted above: "Thus, in reading an +interesting book, can one not see with the inner eyes all that is +happening there, as clearly as if it were taking place in reality before +the outer eyes?" Other parts of the essay require similar revision. +Concerning the development of the whole, we must needs question the +unity of the topics. Whilst the connecting thread is rather evident +after a second or third perusal, the cursory reader is apt to become +puzzled over the skips from the Graeco-Roman world to the early Saxon +kingdoms, and thence to the dawn of our language amongst the +Anglo-Normans. What Miss Mappin evidently wishes to bring out, is that +the sources of English literature are twofold; being on the one hand the +polished classics of antiquity, inspired by Greece, amplified and +diffused by Rome, preserved by France, and brought to England by the +Normans; and on the other hand the crude but virile products of our +Saxon ancestors, brought from the uncivilized forests of the continent +or written after the settlement in Britain. From this union of +Graeco-Roman classicism with native Anglo-Saxon vitality springs the +unquestioned supremacy of English literature. Assiduous devotion to the +mastery of rhetoric, and the habit of constructing logical synopses +before writing the text of articles would enable Miss Mappin to utilise +her knowledge of literary history in a manner truly worthy of its depth. +"Trinidad and its People," by "F. E. M. Hercules," exhibits a somewhat +maturer style, and forms a very interesting piece of geographical +description. "The Pursuit of the Innocent," is a serial story by Miss +Trafford, and though only a small part of it is printed in the current +issue, we judge that it derives its general atmosphere from the popular +"thrillers" of the day. The dialogue is not wholly awkward, but there is +a noticeable want of proportion in the development of the narrative. +Miss Trafford would probably profit by a more faithful study of the +standard novelists, and a more complete avoidance of the type of fiction +found in modern weekly periodicals such as =Answers= or =Tit-Bits=. +Those who feel impelled to introduce stirring adventure into their +tales, can do so without sacrifice of excitement and interest by +following really classic writers like Poe and Stevenson; or +semi-standard authors like Sir A. Conan Doyle. The puzzles propounded by +Miss Hillman are quite interesting, though matter of this sort is +scarcely to be included within the domain of pure literature. We guess +=airship= as the answer to the first one, but have not space to record +our speculations concerning the second. =Merry Minutes= closes with the +following poem by Master Randolph Trafford, a very young author: + + "Once upon a time, there was a little boy, + And, if you please, he went to school; + That little boy, he always would annoy, + And found at school a very nasty rule." + +Without undue flattery to Master Trafford, we may conclusively state +that we deem his poem a great deal better than most of the =vers libre= +effusions which so many of his elders are perpetrating nowadays! + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for July is devoted completely to the work of the feminine +amateurs of the United States, and is announced by its editor as an +"American 'Petticoat' Number"; a title which might possibly bear +replacement by something rather less colloquial. "Over the Edge of the +World," a poem by Olive G. Owen, is correct in construction and +appropriate in sentiment, deriving much force from the continued +repetition of the first line. "In Morven's Mead," by Winifred V. Jordan, +is one of a series of fanciful poems all bearing the same title. The +present verses show all the charm and delicacy which characterise the +whole. "Patience--A Woman's Virtue," is one of Mrs. Eloise N. Griffith's +thoughtful moral essays, and is as commendable for its precepts as for +its pure style. "His Flapper," by Edna von der Heide, is a clever piece +of trochaic verse in Cockney dialect, which seems, so far as an American +critic can judge, to possess a very vivid touch of local colour. "An Eye +for an Eye," by the same authoress, seems vaguely familiar, having +possibly been published in the amateur press before. If so, it is well +worthy of republication. "Women and Snakes," a sketch by Eleanor J. +Barnhart, is not a misogynistical attempt at comparison, but a theory +regarding the particular fear with which the former are popularly +supposed to regard the latter. Whilst Miss Barnhart writes with the +bravery of the true scientist, we are constrained to remark that a +certain dislike of snakes, mice, and insects is a very real thing; not +only amongst the fair, but equally amongst those sterner masculine souls +who would stoutly deny it if questioned. It is an atavistical fear, +surviving from primitive ages when the venomous qualities of reptiles, +insects, and the like, made their quick avoidance necessary to +uninstructed man. "Be Tolerant," by Winifred V. Jordan, is a didactic +poem of the sort formerly published in =The Symphony=. While it does not +possess in fullest measure the grace and facility observed in Mrs. +Jordan's more characteristic work; it is nevertheless correct and +melodious, easily equalling most poetry of its kind. Mr. McColl's +editorial column, the only masculine feature of the issue, contains a +very noble tribute to the two soldier cousins of Miss von der Heide, who +have laid down their lives for the cause of England and the right. From +such men springs the glory of Britannia. + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for August opens with Winifred V. Jordan's tuneful lines, "If +You but Smile," whose inspiration and construction are alike of no mean +order. "Hoary Kent," by Benjamin Winskill, is an exquisite sketch of a +region where the past still lives. In an age of turmoil and unrest, it +is a comfort to think that in one spot, at least, the destroying claws +of Time have left no scars. There lie the scenes dear to every son and +grandson of Britain; there are bodied forth the eternal and unchanging +traditions that place above the rest of the world + + "This precious stone set in the silver sea-- + This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England." + +"Meditation of a Scottish Queen on Imprisonment," a poem by Margaret +Trafford, contains noble passages, but is marred by defective technique. +Passing over the use of the expletives =do= and =doth= as legitimate +archaisms in this case, we must call attention to some awkward +phraseology, and to the roughness of certain lines, which have either +too few or too many syllables. The very first line of the poem requires +contraction, which might be accomplished by substituting =hapless= for +=unhappy=. Line 8 would read better if thus amended: + + "I would that death might come and me release." + +The final line of the first stanza lacks a syllable, which might be +supplied by replacing =vile= with =hateful=. The second stanza will pass +as it is, but the entire remainder of the poem requires alteration, +since but two of the lines are of normal decasyllabic length. The +following is rough revision, though we have not attempted to build the +poetry anew: + + Oh! could I breathe again dear Scotland's air; + Behold once more her stately mountains high, + Thence view the wide expanse of azure sky, + Instead of these perpetual walls so bare! + + Could I but see the grouse upon the moor, + Or pluck again the beauteous heather bell! + Freedom I know not in this dismal cell, + As I my anguish from my heart outpour. + + My Scotland! know'st thou thy poor Queen's distress, + And canst thou hear my wailing and my woe? + May the soft wind that o'er thy hills doth blow + Waft thee these thoughts, that I cannot suppress! + +"Six Cylinder Happiness," a brief essay by William J. Dowdell, presents +in ingeniously pleasing style a precept not entirely new amongst +philosophers. Mr. Dowdell's skill with the pen is very considerable, +particularly when he ventures outside the domain of slang. We should +like to suggest a slightly less colloquial title for this piece, such as +"Real Happiness." "For Right and Liberty," a poem by Matthew Hilson, is +commendable in sentiment and clever in construction, but lacks +perfection in several details of phraseology. In the third line of the +third stanza the word =ruinous= must be replaced by a true dissyllable, +preferably =ruin'd=. "For Their Country," a short story by Margaret +Trafford, is vivid in plot and truly heroic in moral, but somewhat +deficient in technique, particularly at the beginning. Miss Trafford +should use care in moulding long sentences, and should avoid the +employment of abbreviations like =etc.= in the midst of narrative text. +"That Sunny Smile," by John Russell, is a cleverly optimistic bit of +verse whose rhythm is very facile, but which would be improved by the +addition of two syllables to the third and sixth lines of each stanza. +The rhyme of =round you= and =found true= is incorrect, since the second +syllables of double rhymes must be identical. "The Evil One," by +Narcissus Blanchfield, is announced as "A Prose-poem, after Oscar +Wilde--a long way after." As an allegory it is true to the facts of the +case; though one cannot but feel that there is room for a freer play of +the poetic imagination in so great a subject. + + * * * * * + +=Toledo Amateur= for October is a literary publication which reflects +much credit upon its young editor, Mr. Wesley Hilon Porter, and upon the +several contributors. "Twilight," a correct and graceful poem by Miss +von der Heide opens the issue. "A Sabbath," by Mary Margaret Sisson, is +a sketch of great merit, though not wholly novel in subject. The +hypocrisy of many self-satisfied "pillars of the church" is only too +well known both in life and in literature. At the very close of the +piece, the word =epithet= is used in a slightly incorrect sense, meaning +"motto." =Epithet=, as its Greek derivation shows, signifies an +=adjective= or descriptive expression. "The Workers of the World," by +Dora M. Hepner, is another sociological sketch of no small merit, +pleasantly distinguished by the absence of slang. "Not All," by Olive G. +Owen, is a poem of much fervour, albeit having a somewhat too free use +of italics. The words and rhythm of a poet should be able to convey his +images without the more artificial devices of typographical variation. +Another questionable point is the manner of using archaic pronouns and +verb forms. Miss Owen seems to use both ancient and modern conjugations +of the verb indifferently with such subjects as =thou=. "A Day at Our +Summer Home," by Emma Marie Voigt, is a descriptive sketch of +considerable promise, and "My First Amateur Convention," by Mrs. Addie +L. Porter, is a well written chronicle of events. "The Wild Rose," by +Marguerite Allen, is a poem of no little grace, though beset with many +of the usual crudities of youthful work. In the first place, the +quatrains should have their rhymes regularly recurring; either in both +first and third, and second and fourth lines; or only in second and +fourth. A rhyme occurring only in first and third lines gives an +unmusical cast, since it causes the stanza to end unrhymed. Secondly, +the words =fence= and =scent= do not form a legitimate rhyme. The easy +correctness of the metre is an encouraging sign, and indicates a poetic +talent which Miss Allen would do well to cultivate. Mr. Porter's article +on amateur journalism is interesting and quite just, though we hope that +the United has not quite so "little to offer" the devotee of "so-called +high-class literature" as the author believes. If we are to retain our +cultivated members, or our younger members after they acquire +cultivation, we must necessarily cater to the better grade of taste; +though of course without neglecting the succeeding generation of +novices. The editorial column of this issue is bright and fluent, +concluding one of the best amateur journals of the season. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for September contains something only too seldom +found in the amateur press; a really meritorious short story. "The +Shadow on the Trail," by Eleanor J. Barnhart, possesses every element of +good fiction; a substantial and really interesting plot, a logical +development from beginning to conclusion, an adequate amount of +suspense, a climax which does not disappoint, and a praiseworthy degree +of local colour. Besides all of which it is fluent in language and +correct in syntax. The rest of the literary department in this issue is +devoted to verse. "To a Friend," by Alice M. Hamlet, is particularly +pleasing through the hint of old-school technique which its well ordered +phrases convey. The one weak point is the employment of =thy=, a +singular expression, in connexion with several objects; namely, "paper, +pen, and ready hand." =Your= should have been used. The metre is +excellent throughout, and the whole piece displays a gratifying skill on +its author's part. "The Path Along the Sea," by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, is +a flawless and beautiful bit of sentimental poetry, cast in fluent and +felicitous heptameter. "Dad," by Horace Fowler Goodwin, is decidedly the +best of this writer's pieces yet to appear in the amateur press. The +defects are mostly technical, including the bad rhyme of =engaged= and +=dismayed=, and the overweighted seventh line of the final stanza. The +latter might be rectified by substituting =blest=, or some other +monosyllable, for =lucky=. "Li'l Baby Mine," by W. Frank Booker, is a +quaint and captivating darky lullaby, whose accuracy of dialect and +atmosphere comes from that first-hand knowledge of the negroes which +only a Southern writer can possess. Mr. Booker is one of our most +promising bards, and will be doubly notable when his style shall have +received its final polish. "When I Gaze on Thee," by Kathleen Foster +Smith, is an amatory poem of much grace and fluency. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for October furnishes us with a species of +composition not frequently encountered in amateurdom; an official report +which is also a literary classic. Pres. Campbell's message is really an +essay on contemporary amateur journalism, and contains a multitude of +well stated truths which every member of the fraternity would do well to +peruse. "The Wanderer's Return," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is a +beautiful piece of anapaestic verse whose flow is as pleasing as its +sentiment. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for October is edited by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, and though +not of large size, does credit both to her and to the Columbus Club. "To +the Woodbees," a witty parody of Poe's "Annabel Lee," exhibits Miss +Irene Metzger as the possessor of no little skill in numbers; and +incidentally suggests that other young bards might well improve their +styles by judicious exercises of this sort. Much of the spirit of metre +may be absorbed through copying the works of the standard poets. +"Louise's Letter," a short story by Norma Sanger, contains some of the +defects of early composition, notably an undue hastening of the action +immediately after the letter quoted in the text. The plot involves a +rather unusual coincidence, yet is probably no more overstrained than +that of the average piece of light fiction. "The Ruling Passion," by +Edna M. Haughton, is a story of phenomenal power and interest, forming a +psychological study worthy of more than one perusal. All the +requirements of good fiction, both inspirational and technical, are +complied with to the satisfaction of even the most exacting critic. Miss +Haughton's work is of a very high grade, and would be welcomed in larger +quantities by the amateur world. Miss Harwood's interesting News Notes +and Mrs. Haughton's thoughtful editorial conclude an issue whose every +feature deserves commendation. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1917 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Conservative= for January deserved distinction for its opening +poem, "The Vagrant," which proceeds from the thrice-gifted pen of Mrs. +W. V. Jordan. The piece is one well worthy of close attention, since it +contains to a marked degree those elements of charm which render its +author so prominent among amateur bards. Bold and discriminating choice +of words and phrases, apt and unique images and personifications, and a +carefully sustained atmosphere of delicate unreality, all unite to +impart a characteristic beauty to the lines. This beauty, searchingly +analysed, reveals itself as something more sylvan and spontaneous than +studied and bookish; indeed, all of Mrs. Jordan's verse is born rather +than built. + +"The Unbreakable Link," a prose sketch by Arthur W. Ashby, is smooth and +graphic in its delineation of a dream or vision of the past. The ancient +heritage of Old England and its hoary edifices is here vividly set +forth. Mr. Ashby's work, always notable for its command and intelligent +interpretation of detail, is welcome wherever encountered. + +"When New-Year Comes," a poem by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, exhibits its +brilliant author in a most felicitous though decidedly novel vein. +Turning from his usual Alexandrines and heptameters, and laying aside +his characteristically stately and sonorous vocabulary, Dr. Kuntz has +produced a gem of brevity and simplicity in octosyllabic couplets. The +ease and naturalness of the language are so great that the reader feels +no other words or constructions could have been used with equal effect. +The remainder of =The Conservative=, being the work of the present +critic, deserves no particular mention. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for January bears an attractive cover design illustrating +the gentle beast after which the publication is named. The opening +piece, an alleged poem by the present critic, contains an humiliating +error for which none but the author is responsible. The impossible word +=supremest= in line 16, should read =sublimest=. The author is likewise +responsible for the omission of the following couplet after line 26: + + "Around his greatness pour disheart'ning woes, + But still he tow'rs above his conquering foes." + +The rest of the magazine is devoted to prose of practical nature, +containing suggestions by Editor Harrington and Rev. Graeme Davis for +the resuscitation of one of the dormant press associations. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for April, home-printed and reduced to the conventional 5◊7 +page, opens with Mrs. Jordan's pleasant lines on "The Duty." While the +general sentiment of this piece is by no means novel, the powerful and +distinctive touch of the authoress is revealed by such highly original +passages as the following: + + "And black-wing'd, clucking shadows + Brought out their broods of fears." + +A poet of rather different type is displayed in "The Five-Minute +School," by Lovell Leland Massie. Mr. Massie is said to have "an +unlimited supply of poems on hand which he desires to publish," but it +is evident that some preliminary alterations would not be undesirable. +In the first place, the metre requires correction; though it is +remarkably good for beginner's work. Particularly weak lines are the +second in stanza four, and the second in stanza six. The phraseology is +stiff but by no means hopeless, and proclaims nothing more serious than +the need of greater poetic familiarity on the author's part. The rhymes +are good with two exceptions; =past= and =class=, and =jewel= and +=school=. Mr. Massie, however, is not the first bard to reduce =jew-el= +to "=jool=!" "The Coyote," by Obert O. Bakken, is a worthy and +interesting composition upon a well known animal. "A Soul," by Olive G. +Owen, is reprinted from the professional press, and amply merits the +honour. The poem is of unexceptionable technique and adequate sentiment. +Miss Owen's brilliant, fruitful, and long-continued poetical career has +few parallels in the amateur world. "The Amateur Christian," a brief +prose essay by Benjamin Winskill, presents more than one valuable truth; +though we wish the word "=par=," near the close, might be expanded to +proper fulness. We presume that it is intended to stand for =paragraph=. + + * * * * * + +=The Crazyquilt= for December is a highly entertaining illustrated +publication whose exact classification is a matter of some difficulty. +We might perhaps best describe it as a bubbling over of youthful +spirits, with here and there a touch of unobtrusive seriousness. The +editor, Mr. Melvin Ryder, is to be commended upon his enterprise; which +consists in approximately equal parts of prose, verse, and whimsical +=vers libre=. It is the last named product which most absorbs our +attention, since the given specimens afford a very brilliant satire on +the absurd medium in which they are set. The choicest selections are due +to the fertile pen of Mr. William S. Wabnitz, assisted by that not +unknown classic called "Mother Goose," whose ideas accord well with the +thought of the new "poetry." "A Futuresk Romance," by Mr. Wabnitz alone, +is of exceeding cleverness. Among the genuine poems, we may give +particular commendation to "Bluebirds are Flying Over," by Mrs. Dora +Hepner Moitoret; "Longin' and Yearnin'," "Spring," "Verses," and +"Dreaming," by J. H. Gavin; and "Stars After Rain," by William S. +Wabnitz. Mr. Gavin's "Dreaming" is a hauntingly pretty piece, though +marred by an imperfect line (the twelfth) and by an incorrect +accentuation of the word =romance=. This word should be accented on the +final syllable. + +"Odd Patches and Even" is the title of the editorial column, which +contains many words of wisdom (though not too grave) by Mr. Ryder. We +hope to behold future issues of =The Crazyquilt=. + + * * * * * + +=Dowdell's Bearcat= for October, partly compiled and financed by the +United's official board in lieu of the missing =Official Quarterly=, +comes to us unbound and without a cover; yet contains, aside from the +inexcusable editorials, a rich array of meritorious material. Mr. +Dowdell's comment on radical eccentrics and malcontents is apt and +clever, showing how bright this young writer can be when he avoids bad +taste and personalities. + +"A Little Lovely Lyric," by Mrs. Dora H. Moitoret, is one of the +choicest of this author's poems, having a spirit and cadence of rare +quality. In "The Real Amateur Spirit," Pres. Campbell presents in +vigorous prose many important truths and principles of amateur +journalism. The concluding sentence forms a definition of our animating +impulse which deserves repeated publication as a motto and inspiration. +"An American To Mother England," by the present critic, is an expression +of cultural and ancestral ties which have now, through the fortunes of +war, grown doubly strong. The word =Saxon=, in the last line, should +begin with a capital. "Dream Life" is a vivid piece of prose mysticism +by our versatile and gifted Vice-President, Mr. Ira A. Cole. Defying +precise grouping either as a sketch or a story, this enigmatical bit of +fancy deserves highest praise for its fluent diction, rich imagination, +potent atmosphere, and graphic colouring. Mr. Cole has a bright future +in prose as well as in verse for in both of these media he is a genuine +and spontaneous poet. "United Impressions," by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, is +clear, interesting, and well-written, as is also the sketch by Mary M. +Sisson entitled "Passion versus Calm." "The Elm Tree," by James Tobey +Pyke, is a poem of remarkable sweetness and nobility, through whose +lofty sentiment shines the true splendour of the inspired bard. There is +a master touch in the passage referring to + + "----a sweet heaven + Of singing birds and whispering leaves." + +Mrs. Winifred Virginia Jordan, without one of whose delightful verses no +amateur publication can really compete, contributes a sparkling +succession of amatory anapaests entitled "Dear." The middle stanza rises +to great lyric heights, and should prove especially captivating to such +discriminating critics of lyricism as our colleague Mr. Kleiner. + + * * * * * + +=The Enthusiast= for February is a hectographed publication issued by +our latest young recruit, Mr. James Mather Mosely of Westfield, Mass. +Mr. Mosely is a youth of sterling ability and great promise, whose work +is already worthy of notice and encouragement. The editor's leading +article, "The Secret Inspiration of a Man Who Made Good," shows unusual +fluency and literary assurance, though we might wish for a more +dignified title. The expression =to make good= is pure slang, and should +be supplanted by one of the many legitimate English words and phrases +which convey the same meaning. Mr. Mosely's editorials are likewise open +to criticism on the ground of colloquialism, though the natural +exuberance of youth excuses much. "The Birds," by Harold Gordon Hawkins, +is a truly excellent specimen of juvenile verse, which contains much +promise for the author's efforts. Increased familiarity with standard +literary models will remove all evidences of stiffness now perceptible. +"How Men Go Wrong," a conventional moral homily by Edgar Holmes Plummer, +shows a slight want of original ideas and a tendency to commonplaces; +though having much merit in construction. Another subject might display +Mr. Plummer's talent to better advantage. The use of the word =habitat= +for =inhabitant= or =denizen= is incorrect, for its true meaning is a +=natural locality= or =place of habitation=. "Blueberry Time," by Ruth +Foster, is obviously a schoolgirl composition, albeit a pleasing one. + +F. R. Starr's cartoon scarcely comes within the province of a literary +critic, but is doubtless an excellent example of elementary art. We +question, however, the place of popular cartoons in serious papers; the +"funny picture" habit is essentially a plebeian one, and alien to +journalism of the highest grade. All things considered, =The Enthusiast= +is a creditable exponent of junior letters, which deserves the +encouragement and support of the United. + + * * * * * + +=Excelsior= for March is in many respects the most notable of the +season's amateur magazines edited by our brilliant Laureate Recorder, +Miss Verna McGeoch, it contains a surprisingly ample and impressive +collection of prose and verse by our best writers; including the +delectable lyricist Perrin Holmes Lowrey, whose work has hitherto been +unrepresented in the press of the United. The issue opens with Mr. +Jonathan E. Hoag's stately "Ode to Old Ocean," whose appropriate imagery +and smooth couplets are exceedingly pleasant to the mind and ear alike. +Mr. Hoag's unique charm is no less apparent in the longer reminiscent +piece entitled "The Old Farm Home," which describes the author's boyhood +scenes at Valley Falls, New York, where he was born more than eighty-six +years ago. This piece has attracted much favorable notice in the +professional world, having been reprinted in =The Troy Times=. Perrin +Holmes Lowrey contributes a cycle of three poems touching on the +beauties of the month of April; one of which, "April in Killarney," will +this summer be set to music by Leopold Godowsky. The style of Mr. Lowrey +possesses an attractive individuality and delicacy which is already +bringing him celebrity in the larger literary sphere. What could be more +thoroughly enchanting than such a stanza as the following? + + "Oh, it's April in Killarney, + Early April in Killarney, + Where the Irish lanes are merry + And the lyric breezes blow; + And the scented snows of cherry + Drift across the fields of Kerry-- + Oh, it's April in Killarney + And she loves the April so." + +"Treasure Trove," by Henry Cleveland Wood, is a pleasant and urbane bit +of light verse; while "Percival Lowell," by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, +is an abominably dull elegiac piece of heavy verse. Edwin Gibson's +"Sonnet to Acyion" deserves keen attention as the work of a capable and +rapidly developing young bard. "Real versus Ideal" is a bright metrical +divertissement by John Russell, which suffers through the omission of +the opening line by the printer. This line is: + + "For sale--a cottage by the sea." + +We recommend the final line to the attention of those careless bards who +pronounce =real= as =reel=, and =ideal= as =ideel=. The correct +quantities, as there given, will serve as examples. Verse of deeper +quality is furnished by amateurdom's foremost expressionist, Anne +Tillery Renshaw, two of whose poems appear. "The Singing Sea" contains +an error of technique, =hope= and =note= being placed in attempted +rhyme; but the structure is in general very regular, considering the +author's radical theories. Of the merit of the sentiment it is +unnecessary to speak. "A Wish" is cast in less fluent metre, but is so +replete with aptness, grandeur and refinement of ideas, that the +sternest critic must needs view its form with lenient glance. The prose +contents of =Excelsior= are worthy company for the verse. Paul J. +Campbell is represented by a very brief though characteristic essay +entitled "The Price of Freedom," wherein appears the sound reasoning and +courageous philosophy for which Mr. Campbell has always been +distinguished. Another notable essay or review is "English History," by +Henry Clapham McGavack. Mr. McGavack here ably employs his keen analysis +and lucid style in dissecting Prof. Meyer's absurdly biased but +diabolically clever pro-German History of England. + +"The Association," by David H. Whittier, teems with good advice +concerning the proper management of the United. Mr. Whittier's style is +smooth and dignified, exhibiting a sober maturity unusual for a young +author. "Tonio's Salvation," a short story by Edna von der Heide, is the +only bit of fiction in the magazine. This brief glimpse of the +cosmopolitan child life of a modern city is marked equally by +naturalness of plot and facility of technic, forming a piece quite +professional in quality and atmosphere. =Excelsior= has done much to +sustain the best traditions of the United, and we hope its future +appearance will be frequent and regular. The editorial column reveals +the genius and exquisite taste of its gifted publisher. + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for December-January is an interesting number of an +interesting publication, opening with some extremely clever cartoons by +the United's soldier-member, George William Stokes. "Merry Minutes," a +poem in trochaic measure by Olive G. Owen, is distinguished by the touch +of beauty characteristic of all its author's work; but has a singular +sort of rhyming in the first and third lines of the stanzas. The cadence +seems to call for double rhymes, yet only the final syllables agree. The +last word of the first stanza is unfortunately shorn by the printer of +its final =s=. "The Dancing Tiger" is an excellent short story by +Raymond Blathwayt, which might, however, be improved in style by a +slightly closer attention to punctuation and structure of sentences. +"Home," by Margaret Mahon, is a poem in that rather popular modern +measure which seems to waver betwixt the iambus and anapaest. The +imagery is pleasing, and the sentiment, though not novel, is acceptable. +"The Choice," a serial story by Beryl Mappin, exhibits the same +immaturities of style which mark the didactic articles of this author; +yet so active is the imagination shown in some of the passages, that we +believe Miss Mappin requires only time and harder study in order to +become a very meritorious writer. The syntactical structure of this +story is, on the average, smoother than that of Miss Mappin's essays; +indeed, there is reason to believe that fiction is the better suited to +her pen. "Absence," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a brief poem of +faultless harmony whose quaintly sparkling imagery gives to an old theme +a new lustre. "Education in Trinidad" is another of F. E. Hercules' +terse and informing descriptive sketches. "Alley," by Mrs. Jordan, is a +light pulsing lyric of almost Elizabethan quality, one of whose rhymes +is of a type which has caused much discussion in the United's critical +circles. The native pronunciation of New England makes of =scarf= and +=laugh= an absolutely perfect rhyme; this perfection depending upon the +curtailed phonetic value of the letter =r=; which in a place such as +this is silent, save as it modifies the quality of the preceding vowel. +In the London of Walker's day the same condition existed. But the tongue +and ear of the American West have become accustomed to a certain roll +which causes =scarf= to be enunciated as =scarrf=, thus throwing it out +of rhyme with words of similar sound which lack the =r=. The Westerner +would have to write =scahf=, in order to express to his own mind the +New-England sound of =scarf=. Hitherto, the present critic has called no +notice to rhymes of this type; and has, indeed, frequently employed them +himself; but recognition of etymological principles involved will +hereafter impel him to abandon and discourage the practice, which was +not followed by the older classicists. To the New-England author this +renunciation means relinquishment of many rhymes which are to his ear +perfect, yet in the interests of tradition and universality it seems +desirable that the sacrifice be made. "Why Mourn Thy Soldier Dead," is a +poem of brave sorrow by Olive G. Owen. The fervour of the lines is deep, +and the sentiments are of great nobility. Structurally the piece is +flawless. "Chaucer, the Father of English Poetry," is the third of Miss +Mappin's series of articles on literary history. An unfortunate misprint +relegates to the bottom of the footnote a line which should immediately +follow the specimen verse. The style is decidedly clearer and better +than that of the preceding instalment of the series. "When You Went," by +Mrs. Jordan, is an engagingly pathetic poem; with just that touch of the +unseen which lends so particular a charm to Jordanian verse. Miss +Trafford's appealing lines on "A Girl to Her Dead Lover" form a vividly +pathetic glimpse into low life. The poetic form is quite satisfactory. +As a whole, =Merry Minutes= constitutes a rather remarkable enterprise, +sustaining through troubled times the spark of activity which will +kindle anew the fires of British amateur journalism after the victorious +close of the war. May America, in her new crisis, do as well! + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for February opens with Margaret Mahon's poem "God's +Solace," a smooth and restful bit of versification. "Spencer and the +Beginning of the Elizabethan Era" is the current article of Beryl +Mappin's series on English Literature, and contains some very promising +passages, especially the almost poetic introduction. Miss Mappin has an +unusual fund of knowledge, and a pleasing gift of expression; but these +advantages are as yet not fully systematised or marshalled to best +effect. Miss Trafford's serial, "The Pursuit of the Innocent," concludes +in this number. This story bears many of the signs of juvenile +workmanship, the present instalment being so hurried in action that it +almost attains the brevity of a synopsis. Careful and analytical perusal +of standard fiction would assist greatly in maturing and perfecting the +author's style. "Religion and Superstition" is the current article in +F. E. M. Hercules' interesting series on Trinidad; and exhibits all the +polish, lucidity and conciseness of its predecessors. "His Photo," by +Master Randolph Trafford, is a very promising poem by a youthful bard. +Every rhyme is correct, which is more than can be claimed for a great +deal of the poesy perpetrated by older and more pretentious versifiers +on this side of the Atlantic. The present instalment of "The Choice," by +Beryl Mappin, is marked by considerable fluency and animation, though +possessed of certain limitations previously mentioned. + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for March commences with the present critic's dull lines +"On Receiving a Picture of the Marshes at Ipswich." Passing to more +meritorious matter, we encounter Miss Mappin's latest literary article, +"Shakespeare," which interests even whilst it reveals deficiencies of +prose technique. "Jimmy's Little Girl," by Joseph Parks, is a vivid +transcript of military life by a military author. While the tale is not +one of vast originality, it nevertheless recommends itself through +simplicity and verisimilitude. Miss Mappin's serial "The Choice," +concludes in this issue. It is very praiseworthy for its many colourful +passages, but mildly censurable for its melodramatic atmosphere and +rhetorical lapses. The opening sentence of this instalment contains +instances of both of these faults: "A terrible foreboding gripped +Christabel's heart in bands of steel, as if for a moment to cleave her +tongue to the roof of her mouth." This is the last number of the +publication to appear under the present name. Beginning with the April +issue it will be known as =The Little Budget=; and will contain, on the +average, a rather higher grade of reading matter than heretofore. But in +forming a judgment of any kind, it is well to recognize that the +magazine's appeal is frankly popular. + + * * * * * + +=Pep= for February is the first number of a somewhat extraordinary +enterprise conducted by George W. Macauley with the laudable object of +waking up a sleeping amateurdom. The editor very justly takes the press +associations to task for their manifold sins, particularly the dubious +circumstances surrounding a recent convention, in which it is needless +to say the United had no part. Mr. Macauley's literary attainments are +very considerable, but as yet unperfected. Possessed of rare charm in +descriptive prose, he needs to exercise a greater nicety of construction +in order to develop fully the riches which are his. Gifted with a large, +facile, and ingenious vocabulary, he is not sufficiently precise and +discriminating in his employment of words according to their finer +shades of meaning. This carelessness makes faults of his very virtues; +for his vigour of expression tends to take the form of =outre= and +inadmissible rhetoric, whilst his talent for word-painting tends to +degenerate into word-coining. It would be quite possible for an acute +critic to compile a dictionary of peculiarly Macaulian words and +phrases, to which the current =Pep= might contribute such terms as +=probverb= (proverb?). Spelling and punctuation also should claim more +of Mr. Macauley's time and attention; for he might easily avoid such +slips as =believeing=, =it's= (for =its=), =thots=, and the like. In +short, Mr. Macauley is at present a gifted writer and brilliant editor +labouring under the disadvantages of haste, carelessness, and perhaps a +dash of radicalism. + + * * * * * + +=The Phoenician= for Spring is the first number of an enthusiastically +conducted semi-professional venture of juvenile nature, whose connexion +with the United hinges on the associate editorship of our clever +recruit, Mr. James Mather Mosely. Like =Merry Minutes=, this publication +is of the popular rather than conservative sort; being obviously +designed primarily to please, secondarily to instruct. We deplore the +use of commonplace and sensational topics, colloquial expressions, and +malformed spelling; but make due concessions to the youth of the +editorial staff and the nascent state of the periodical. So promising +are the young publishers that time cannot fail to refine and mature +their efforts. "An Hour with a Lunatic," by Harry B. Sadik, is a very +short and very thrilling tale of the "dime novel" variety. Mr. Sadik has +a commendable sense of the dramatic, which would serve him well should +he choose a less sensational field of endeavour. "Our Soldiers," a +Canadian mother's war song by Mrs. Minnie E. Taylor, exhibits merit, +though having many signs of imperfect technic. In line 2 of the first +stanza =bid= should be replaced by =bade=. The final rhyme of the poem, +that of =gain= and =name=, is false and inadmissible. Metrically there +is much roughness, which careful study and diligent reading of good +verse can in time correct. "Candy and Health," and "If You Were Down and +Out," by James Mather Mosely, are two typical newspaper interviews with +representative men. Mr. Mosely shows much aptitude as a reporter, having +an almost professional ease and fluency. This is not literature, but it +is good journalism. "The Dinner Never Paid For," by Viola Jameson, is a +piece of characteristic light fiction; commendably innocuous, and not at +all overburdened with philosophical complexity. "The Secret of Success," +by Edith L. Clark, is a promising bit of didactic prose. "The End of the +Road," by Pearl K. Merritt, is a brief essay of substantial worth. "The +Toll of the Sea," a poem by Harold Gordon Hawkins, shows considerable +merit despite irregularities. "Memories," by Arthur Goodenough, well +sustains the high poetical reputation of its author, though it is +cruelly marred by the illogical and censurable "simplified" spelling +which the young editors see fit to employ. One line affords a silent but +striking instance of the utter senselessness and confusion of the new +orthographical fad. This line reads: + + "Of human =thot= might well be =wrought=." + +Now in the first place, =thot= does not express the true pronunciation +of =thought=. The word, thus written, tends to acquire the vocal quality +of =shot= or =blot=, as distinguished from =taught= or =brought=. +Secondly, in this place it is out of accord with =wrought=, which is +correctly spelled. If Messrs. Plummer and Mosely would be logical, let +them write =wrought= as =wrot=--or perhaps plain =rot= would be still +more correct and phonetic, besides furnishing a laconic punning +commentary on simple spelling in general. =The Phoenician's= editorial +column is conducted with laudable seriousness, the item of "The Power of +Books" being well worthy of perusal. What could best be spared from the +magazine are the vague jokes and cartoons, purposeless "fillers" of +miscellaneous nature, and columns of idle gossip about things in +general. Some of the moving picture items are greatly suggestive of what +a newspaper man would dub "press agent stuff." The magazine represents a +degree of purpose and energy quite rare amongst the anaemic youth of +today, and should receive corresponding encouragement from the members +of the United. Those who are inclined to censure its professional aspect +would do well to remember the much-vaunted beginnings of amateur +journalism, when the most highly respected sheets were of this selfsame +variety. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for November is heavily burdened with a sombre and +sinister short story from our own pen, entitled "The Alchemist." This is +our long unpublished credential to the United, and constitutes the first +and only piece of fiction we have ever laid before a critical and +discerning public wherefore we must needs beg all the charitable +indulgence the Association can extend to an humble though ambitious +tyro. A more interesting feature of the magazine is the biography of Mr. +Fritter, written by our brilliant Official Editor, Andrew Francis +Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart's quaint and friendly prose style is here +displayed at its best, giving a vivid and sympathetic portrayal of his +prominent subject. "Beyond the Law," by Mary Faye Durr, is a light short +story of excellent idea and construction, whose only censurable point is +the use of "simplified" spelling. We believe that some procedure of +quite drastic nature should be taken against the spread of this empty +innovation before our settled orthography shall have become completely +disorganized. Even in the United we can "do our bit." Our editors should +band together in an effort to exclude the new forms from their +publications, and our manuscript managers should see that every piece +passing through their hands is duly purged of these radical distortions. +At the same time, a series of articles explaining and analysing the +spelling problem should be given wide publicity. The poetry in this +issue is of encouraging quality. George M. Whiteside, in "Dream of the +Ideal," gives indications of real genius; at the same time displaying a +little of the technical infelicity which has marked his earlier verse. +Mr. Whiteside's greatest weakness is in the domain of rhyme, a +noticeable error in the present poem being the attempted rhyming of +=hours= with =bars= and =stars=. "I Know a Garden," by Agnes Richmond +Arnold, is a tuneful and beautiful lyric of a somewhat Elizabethan type. +The metre, as the lines are rendered, appears to be quite unusual; but +scansion reveals the fact that it is none other than the octosyllabic +couplet, disguised by the printer's art. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for December begins with "A Girl's Ambition," a poem +by Margaret Trafford. The general idea of the piece is both ingenious +and appropriate, but the language and technical development leave +considerable to be desired. In the first place, the rhyming plan is +unfortunate; the opening and concluding couplets of each stanza being +unrhymed. In the second place, the metre is irregular; departing very +widely in places from the iambic heptameter which appears to be the +dominant measure. Miss Trafford should cultivate an ear for rhythm, at +the same time counting very carefully the syllables in each line she +composes. A third point requiring mention is the occasional awkwardness +of expression, a juvenile fault which will doubtless amend itself in +time. Just now we will call attention to only one defect--the +exceedingly forced abbreviation "=dresses'd=" for =dresses would=. "To +My Physician," by M. Estella Shufelt, is a smooth, graceful, and serious +poem whose only possible fault is the infrequency of rhyme. This is not +a technical defect, since the plan of construction is well maintained +throughout; but we believe a poem of this type requires more than one +rhyme to each stanza of eight lines. "The Old Inn," a stirring short +story by Gertrude L. Merkle, is a very promising piece of work, albeit +somewhat conventional and melodramatic. The alliterative romance of +Harry Henders and Hazel Hansen has a genuinely mid-Victorian flavour. +"Dead Men Tell No Tales," a short story by Ida Cochran Haughton, is a +ghastly and gruesome anecdote of the untenanted clay; related by a +village dressmaker. The author reveals much comprehension of rural +psychology in her handling of the theme; an incident which might easily +shake the reason of a sensitive and imaginative person, merely +"unnerves" the two quaint and prim maiden ladies. Poe would have made of +this tale a thing to gasp and tremble at; Mrs. Haughton, with the same +material, constructs genuine though grim comedy! + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for January contains Editor Lockhart's captivatingly +graceful retrospect of the older amateur journalism, concluding with a +just and eloquent appeal for the revival of our ancient enthusiasm. "Who +Pays," by Helene H. Cole, is a brief and tragic story of considerable +sociological significance. We deplore the use of the false verbal form +=alright=; for while the expression =all right= may well occur in +conversation of the character uttering it, the two words should be +written out in full. "To a Babe," by Olive G. Owen, embodies in +impeccable verse a highly clever and pleasing array of poetical +conceits; and deserves to be ranked amongst the choicest of recent +amateur offerings. "Girls are Like Gold," by Paul J. Campbell, is a +striking and witty adaptation of Thomas Hood's celebrated lines on + + "Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! + Bright and yellow, hard and cold." + +Mr. Campbell exhibits both ingenuity and metrical ability in this facile +=jeu d'esprit=. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for March contains "Love's Scarlet Roses," an +exquisite piece of lyric verse by Mary Henrietta Lehr of California. +Miss Lehr, a scholar and poetic genius of high order, is a prominent +amateur of a few years ago, lately returned to activity after a period +of endeavour in other fields. Her verse is uniformly distinguished by +depth of inspiration, delicacy of sentiment, and grace of structure; +occupying a place amongst the rarest products of amateurdom. Another +poem of remarkable merit in this issue is "The Gods' Return," by Olive +G. Owen. Inspired by a recent article from the pen of Richard Le +Gallienne, these well-wrought lines interpret one of the subtlest yet +most potent of the varied moods created in the human breast by the +momentous occurrences of the age. Looking over the file of THE UNITED +AMATEUR for the present administrative year, one may discover a diverse +and meritorious array of poetry and prose, which amply proves the +contention of Pres. Campbell that a literary official organ is not only +feasible but eminently desirable. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for January introduces to amateurdom a new bard, Mr. J. +Morris Widdows, Hoosier exponent of rural simplicity. Mr. Widdows has +enjoyed considerable success in the professional world as a poet, +song-writer, and musical composer; hence it is no untried or faltering +quill which he brings within our midst. "Stringtown on the Pike," which +adorns the first page of the magazine, is a very pleasing bit of dialect +verse whose accent and cadences suggest the work of the late James +Whitcomb Riley. The metre is gratifyingly correct, and the rusticisms +exceedingly colourful; though the average reader might find it somewhat +difficult to associate the name Miko with Yankee countryside. Such a +praenomen carries with it suggestions of a rich brogue rather than a +nasal drawl. "Personal Liberty," a brilliant short essay by Leo Fritter, +ably and sensibly explodes one of the characteristically specious +arguments of the liquor advocates. Mr. Fritter's legal training aids him +in presenting a clear, polished, and logical arraignment of +anti-prohibition hypocrisy. "Just a Little Love Tale," by Elizabeth M. +Ballou, is a smoothly constructed bit of very light fiction. Mrs. +Haughton's editorial, "A Review of Reviews," is concise and sensible; +giving a merited rebuke to those who seek to create unrest and +dissatisfaction in amateur journalism. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for April is an ample and attractive number, opening with +Dora H. Moitoret's excellent poem in the heroic couplet, "The April +Maiden." The metre of this piece follows the fashion of the nineteenth +rather than of the eighteenth century, having very few "end-stopt" lines +or sense-limiting couplets. The final rhyme of =caprice= and =these= is +somewhat imperfect, the effect being that of an attempted rhyme of =s= +and =z=. "Her Fateful Day," a short story by Maude Dolby, is pleasing +and ingenious despite certain improbabilities. "Ashes of Roses," by +Frieda M. Sanger, belongs to that abnormal and lamentable type of +pseudo-literature known as =vers libre=, and is the first serious +specimen of its kind ever inflicted upon the United. We are sincerely +sorry that one so gifted as Miss Sanger should descend to this hybrid, +makeshift medium, when she could so well express her thoughts either in +legitimate prose or legitimate verse. "Free Verse" has neither the flow +of real verse nor the dignity of real prose. It tends to develop +obnoxious eccentricities of expression, and is closely associated with +bizarre and radical vagaries of thought. It is in nine cases out of ten +a mere refuge of the obtuse, hurried, indolent, ignorant, or negligent +bard who cannot or will not take the time and pains to compose genuine +poetry or even passable verse. It has absolutely no justification for +existence, and should be shunned by every real aspirant to literary +excellence, no matter how many glittering inducements it seems to hold +out. True, a person of very little knowledge or ability can make himself +appear extremely cultured, aesthetic, and aristocratic by juggling a few +empty words in the current fashion; scribbling several lines of unequal +length, each beginning with a capital letter. It is an admirably easy +way to acquire a literary reputation without much effort. As the late +W. S. Gilbert once wrote of a kindred fad: + + "The meaning doesn't matter + If it's only idle chatter + Of a transcendental kind." + +But we believe that the members of the United are more earnest and solid +in their ambition, hence we advise Miss Sanger to turn her undoubted +talent into more substantial channels. That she possesses genuine poetic +genius is amply evident, even from the specimen of =vers libre= before +us. The labour of real versification will be more arduous, but the +fruits will prove richer in proportion. It is better to glean a little +gold than much fools' gold. Miss Sanger's nephew, Mr. Norman Sanger, is +more conservative in his tastes, and is creditably represented by his +lines on "The Ol' Fishin' Hole." This piece contains many of the +rhythmical defects common to juvenile composition, but is pervaded by a +naturalness and pastoral simplicity which promise well for its young +author. Wider reading and closer rhetorical study will supply all that +Mr. Sanger now lacks. At present we should advise him to seek metrical +regularity by taking some one well defined line as a model, and moulding +all the others to it by counting the syllables and intoning the accents +in each. In the case of the present poem, the very first line will serve +as a perfect guide; its conformity to the iambic heptameter plan being +absolute. The alternating stresses of the fourteen syllables should be +noted and copied: + + "The =days= are =get=-tin' =balm=-y =now=, and =first=-est =thing= + you =know=." + +Two defects of rhyme are to be noted. =By= and =lullaby= cannot properly +be rhymed, since the rhyming syllables are =identical=, instead of +merely =similar=. "=Rapcher=" and =laughter= do not rhyme at all. Miss +Haughton's essay "Is a Lie Ever Justifiable?" forms a prominent feature +of the magazine, and presents some very ingenious though dogmatic +reasoning. Mrs. Haughton's editorial, "United We Stand," is an +exceedingly timely appeal for genuine amateur activity, and should be of +much value in stimulating a renaissance of the Association. The passage +reading "Who has been the latest victim of Cupid? =Whom= of Hymen?" +arouses a query as to the grammatical status of =whom=. We fear this is +what Franklin P. Adams of the =New York Tribune= playfully calls a +"=Cyrilization=." It is, as all readers of "The Conning Tower" can +testify, a remarkably common error; and one into which many of the +leading authors of the age frequently fall. The jingle "A Soldier's +Delight," by George William Stokes, concludes the current issue in +tuneful manner. + +Amidst the present dearth of amateur magazines it is ever a delight to +behold =The Woodbee=; meritorious in contents and regular in issuance. +The debt of the United to the Columbus Club is indeed a heavy one. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVI GEORGETOWN, ILL., JULY, 1917 NUMBER 9 + + +ODE FOR JULY FOURTH, 1917 + + As Columbia's brave scions, in anger array'd, + Once defy'd a proud monarch and built a new nation; + 'Gainst their brothers of Britain unsheath'd the sharp blade + That hath ne'er met defeat nor endur'd desecration; + So must we in this hour + Show our valour and pow'r, + And dispel the black perils that over us low'r: + Whilst the sons of Britannia, no longer our foes, + Will rejoice in our triumphs and strengthen our blows! + + See the banners of Liberty float in the breeze + That plays light o'er the regions our fathers defended; + Hear the voice of the million resound o'er the leas, + As the deeds of the past are proclaim'd and commended; + And in splendour on high + Where our flags proudly fly, + See the folds we tore down flung again to the sky: + For the Emblem of England, in kinship unfurl'd, + Shall divide with Old Glory the praise of the world! + + Bury'd now are the hatreds of subject and King, + And the strife that once sunder'd an Empire hath vanish'd. + With the fame of the Saxon the heavens shall ring + As the vultures of darkness are baffled and banish'd: + And the broad British sea, + Of her enemies free, + Shall in tribute bow gladly, Columbia, to thee: + For the friends of the Right, in the field side by side, + Form a fabric of Freedom no hand can divide! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Conservative= for July opens with Ira A. Cole's delightful and +melodious lines "In Vita Elysium" (Heaven in Life), which present a +strong arraignment of those conventional theologians who deem all things +beautiful reserved for a vague existence after death. While the orthodox +reader may deem the flight of the imagination too free, the rational and +appreciative litterateur will delight in the vigour of imagination and +delicacy of fancy displayed. The metrical structure is beyond reproach +in taste and fluency, the regular and spirited heroic couplets affording +a refreshing contrast to the harsh and languid measures of the day. Mr. +Cole's poetical future is bright indeed, for he possesses an innate +conception of fitness and poetic values which too few of his +contemporaries can boast. We wish to emphasize to those readers who are +familiar with =The Conservative's= editorial policy, that the lines +appear practically without revision; every bold conception and stroke of +genius being Mr. Cole's own. Two couplets in particular delight the ear +and the imagination, proving the author's claim to distinction as a poet +of the purest classical type: + + "Go! Go! vain man, to those unbounded fanes + Where God's one proven priest--fair Nature--reigns." + + "Uplifted, glad, thy spirit then shall know + That life is light, and heaven's here below!" + +"The Genesis of the Revolutionary War," by Henry Clapham McGavack, is +one of those searchingly keen bits of iconoclastic analysis which have +made Mr. McGavack so famous as an essayist since his advent to the +United. Our author here explodes conclusively a large body of bombastic +legend which false textbooks have inflicted upon successive generations +of innocent American youth. We are shown beyond a doubt that the +Revolution of 1776 was no such one-sided affair as the petty political +"historians" would have us believe, and that our Mother Country indeed +had a strong case before the bar of International justice. It is an +article which makes us doubly proud of our racial and cultural +affiliations. + +"Sweet Frailty," a poem by Mary Henrietta Lehr, contains all those +elements of charm, delicacy, and ingenuity which mark its author as one +of amateurdom's most cultivated and gifted members. + +Of the editorial column modesty forbids us to speak, but we hope the +amateur public may be duly charitable with our shortcomings as therein +displayed. + + * * * * * + +=The Inspiration= for April is a "Tribute Number," dedicated to the +amateur journalists of Great Britain and Canada who have devoted their +lives and fortunes to the cause of civilisation and the Empire. With so +wonderfully inspiring a subject, it is small wonder that the magazine +lives gloriously up to its name. Miss von der Heide shows extreme skill +and sympathy in the editorship of the publication, and in the verses +which she contributes; proving herself worthy indeed of the high place +she has occupied in amateurdom for so many years. + +"The Lion's Brood," by Henry Clapham McGavack, exhibits the versatility +of this brilliant writer; for though he is by preference a concise +essayist, he here rises to great heights in the domain of rhetorical +panegyric. His stirring encomium is ingeniously continued by Mr. William +T. Harrington, who adds many merited words of praise for our kindred +across the seas. The present critic's lines are as full of heartfelt +love of England as they are wanting in merit; while the lines of Olive +G. Owen possess both deep fervour and conspicuous merit. Mrs. Griffith's +tribute, "He Conquers who Endures," breathes out the true spirit of the +American nation today, anticipating the official action of a cautious +and slow-moving government. The "Open Letters" of Messrs. Macauley, +Stokes and Martin, speak the brave spirit of the age, and make us the +more sharply regretful of our own rejection for military service. +"Treasure," by Miss von der Heide, is an appealing bit of sentiment, +whose interest is timely indeed. + +Viewed as a whole, =The Inspiration= takes first rank amongst the +amateur papers published since March. + + * * * * * + +=The Little Budget= for May opens with Paul J. Campbell's meritorious +poem entitled "Signals." Mr. Campbell, always facile in metre, exhibits +increasing power in the realm of poetical imagination, and is entitled +to a substantial place on the slopes of Parnassus. A misprint in the +present version of "Signals" gives =look= when =looked= should appear. + +"The Adventures of 'Dido' Plum," by Joseph Parks, is a pleasing story of +military life by one who is himself a soldier. Mr. Parks' brief sketches +form a pleasing feature of the contemporary amateur press, being +distinguished by a naturalness which intensifies their interest as +literal transcripts of the army atmosphere. "Road Song," a tuneful lyric +by Eleanor J. Barnhart, marks the first appearance of that brilliant +author as a poet. Her inexperience in this art, however, is not at all +to be suspected from this fervent and finished composition; which might +well do credit to some of our veteran bards. "Impulse," by Norah Sloane +Stanley, is described as "A Parisian Fragment," and exhibits much +ingenuity in spirit and atmosphere. "Keep a Cheerful Countenance," by +Eugene B. Kuntz, is a poem of great merit despite the doubtful rhyme of +=way= and =quality= in the last stanza. Miss Mappin, in her article on +Milton, displays her ample knowledge of literary history, and even more +than her customary fluency. "The Contented Robin," a poem by Margaret +Mahon, is apt, pleasing and harmonious; whilst Miss Trafford's brief +jingle is quaint and clever. "Spring," by Randolph Trafford (aetat 10) +is full of the exuberant vigour of youth, and speaks well for the future +of this bright young bard. + + * * * * * + +=The Little Budget= for June gains distinction from Henry Clapham +McGavack's brilliant essay on American Anglophobia, entitled "Blood is +not Thicker Than Water." This acute analysis of anti-British sentiment +among certain classes in the States reveals a lamentable result of +bigotry and historical ignorance; which may, we hope, be cured by the +new bonds of alliance betwixt the Old and the New Englands. As Mr. +McGavack well demonstrates, most of our Anglophobia is manufactured by +the alleged "historians" who poison the minds of the young through +mendacious textbooks. This species of false teaching, an evil potently +fostered by the Fenians and Sinn Feiners who lurk serpent-like in our +midst, is one which cannot too soon be eradicated; for the cultural +identity and moral unity of the States and the Empire make such sources +of unintelligent prejudice increasingly nauseous and detrimental. We may +add that the textbook treatment of our War between the States is almost +equally unfair, the Northern cause being ridiculously exalted above the +brave and incredibly high-minded attitude of the Confederacy. + +Another delightful prose contribution is "Back to Blighty," by Joseph +Parks, a vivid vignette of one phase of military life. "Trinidad and its +Forests," by F. E. M. Hercules, is marked by its author's customary ease +of expression and felicity of diction; presenting many facts of general +interest. The poetry in this issue includes work from the pens of J. E. +Hoag, H. P. Lovecraft, Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, Beryl Mappin, and the +Editor. Dr. Kuntz's lines to the memory of Phillips Gamwell are animated +with a nobility which well befits their subject, though the rhyme of +=day= and =melody= is not strictly correct. Few amateur poets are able +to achieve the sonorous dignity which Dr. Kuntz imparts to his flowing +Alexandrines, or to select with equal appropriateness the vivid and +musical words that so irresistibly delight the ear and impress the +imagination. Miss Mappin's metrical effort, entitled "Only a Thought," +betrays some of the crudities of youth; including the attempted rhyme of +=alone= and =home=. The metre, phraseology, and plan of rhyming demand +extensive revision, the following being a possible amended version of +the piece: + + As sad and alone in a distant land + I sat by the dismal shore, + My chin laid pensively in my hand, + And my dreams all of home once more; + I watch'd and mus'd o'er the sunless sea, + And study'd the cruel foam; + For the waves bore an exile's woe to me, + From my kindred forc'd to roam. + + But lo! floating light upon the wind + And murm'ing o'er ocean crest, + Come the thoughts of those I left behind, + Bringing comfort and love and rest. + Only a word--aye, only a thought! + Each speeds like a heav'n-sent dart; + Who can measure the gladness and aid they've brought-- + These thoughts--to the breaking heart? + +The first line of the original, "=Far away= in a =distant= land," is +lamentably pleonastic; whilst the identity or intended identity of the +second and fourth rhymes is undesirable. In a verse of this type, it is +not well to repeat a rhyme immediately. In the second stanza the first +and third lines and the fifth and seventh are unrhymed, a variation from +the original design which is not sanctioned by custom. Once a poet +decides on his metre and plan of rhyme, he should maintain them +unchanged throughout the poem. In the foregoing revised version, all +these defects have been remedied. Miss Trafford's poem, "After a Dream," +shows much promise both technically and in the thought. The final line +of the first stanza, "And the joy it contains is much," is very weak; +and should be changed to read: "And of joy it contains so much." In +writing the definite article, Miss Trafford mistakenly uses the +contracted form =th'= when full syllabic value is to be given. This +contraction is employed only when the article is metrically placed as a +proclitic before another word, and is thereby shorn of its separate +pronunciation as follows: + + =Th' ambitious= bard a nobler theme essays. + +The illustrated bit of humor by George William Stokes deserves mention +as presenting one of the cleverest drawings to appear lately in the +amateur press. It is difficult to decide in which domain Mr. Stokes +shines the more brightly, literature or pictorial art. His heading for +=The Little Budget= is a masterpiece of its kind. + + * * * * * + +=The Pippin= for May brings once more to our notice amateurdom's +foremost high-school club, the Appleton aggregation, whose existence is +due to Mr. Maurice W. Moe's untiring efforts. "Doings of the Pippins," +by Joseph Harriman, is a terse and informing chronicle of recent +activity. "Once Upon a Time," by Florence A. Miller, is a bit of +humorous verse whose metre might be improved by the use of greater care. +"Some Cloth!," by John Ingold, is an exceedingly clever piece of wit; +which, though avowedly Irish, bears the characteristic hall-mark of +native American humor. The delightful exaggerations recall some of the +brightest spots in American light literature. "Speed," by Matilda +Harriman, is an interesting sketch recalling Poe's "Mellonta Tauta," in +its imaginative flights. "From Over the Threshold," by Ruth Ryan, shows +much promise in the realm of fiction. "Once an Amateur, Always an +Amateur" is one of those rare bits of prose with which our distinguished +Critical member, Mr. Moe, favours us. We are proud of the unshaken +amateur allegiance of so brilliant a personality, and trust that some +day he may realise his dream of "an attic or basement printshop." "The +Press Club," by Ruth Schumaker, is a pleasing sketch, as is also Miss +Kelly's "Our Club and the United." We trust that the Appleton Club may +safely weather the hard times of which Miss Kelly complains. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for May contains a captivating and graceful sketch by +W. Edwin Gibson, entitled "Beauty." Mr. Gibson is one of our younger +members who bids fair to become prominent in the coming amateur +generation. Of the month's poetry, we may mention with particular +commendation Miss von der Heide's "Worship," though through some error, +possibly typographical, the final line of the second stanza seems to +lack two syllables. "When Dreams Come True," by Kathleen Foster Smith, +is likewise of more than common merit, though the word =hear= in the +second line of the second stanza is probably a misprint for =heard=. +"Smile," by O. M. Blood, is ingenious though scarcely novel. Its chief +defects are inequalities in the lines, which care should be able to +correct. The first line contains two superfluous syllables, while the +fourth line contains one too many. The ninth line of the final section +contains two syllables too many, as do the tenth and eleventh lines as +well. The rhyme of =appear= and =disappear= is incorrect, since +syllables in rhyme should be merely similar--not the same. Mr. Blood +requires much practice in poetry, but undoubtedly possesses the germ of +success. "To the U. A. P. A.," by Matthew Hilson, is acceptable in +construction and delightful in sentiment, laying strata on the new +Anglo-American unity--the one redeeming feature of the present +international crisis. THE UNITED AMATEUR closes with a quotation from +Euripides, which we will not attempt to review here, since the author +has been receiving critical attention from far abler men for many +centuries! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + +NEWS NOTES + +Maurice W. Moe, Chief of our Department of Private Criticism, is trying +a novel experiment this summer for the sake of his health. He has +undertaken a labourer's work on one of the new buildings of Lawrence +College, lifting planks, shovelling mud, and wheeling bags of cement +like a seasoned workingman. While painful at first, the regimen is +proving actually beneficial, and Mr. Moe is proud of the physical +prowess he is beginning to exhibit. One of our amateur poetasters +recently perpetrated the following four lines on the unusual occurrence +of a learned instructor working manually upon a college building: + + To M. W. M. + + Behold the labourer, who builds the walls + That soon shall shine as Learning's sacred halls; + A man so apt at ev'ry art and trade, + He well might govern what his hands have made! + + + + + _THE + UNITED AMATEUR_ + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVII ATHOL, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1917 NUMBER 2 + + +A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson + +Humphry Littlewit, Esq. + +The Privilege of Reminiscence, however rambling or tiresome, is one +generally allow'd to the very aged; indeed, 'tis frequently by means of +such Recollections that the obscure occurrences of History, and the +lesser Anecdotes of the Great, are transmitted to Posterity. + +Tho' many of my readers have at times observ'd and remark'd a Sort of +antique Flow in my Stile of Writing, it hath pleased me to pass amongst +the Members of this Generation as a young Man, giving out the Fiction +that I was born in 1890, in =America=. I am now, however, resolv'd to +unburthen myself of a secret which I have hitherto kept thro' Dread of +Incredulity; and to impart to the Publick a true knowledge of my long +years, in order to gratifie their taste for authentick Information of an +Age with whose famous Personages I was on familiar Terms. Be it then +known that I was born on the family Estate in =Devonshire=, of the 10th +day of August, 1690, (or in the new =Gregorian= Stile of Reckoning, the +20th of August) being therefore now in my 228th year. Coming early to +=London=, I saw as a Child many of the celebrated Men of King +=William's= Reign, including the lamented Mr. =Dryden=, who sat much at +the Tables of =Will's= Coffee-House. With Mr. =Addison= and Dr. =Swift= +I later became very well acquainted, and was an even more familiar +Friend to Mr. =Pope=, whom I knew and respected till the Day of his +Death. But since it is of my more recent Associate, the late Dr. +=Johnson=, that I am at this time desir'd to write; I will pass over my +Youth for the present. + +I had first Knowledge of the Doctor in May of the year 1738, tho' I did +not at that Time meet him. Mr. =Pope= had just compleated his Epilogue +to his Satires, (the Piece beginning: "Not twice a Twelvemonth you +appear in Print.") and had arrang'd for its Publication. On the very Day +it appear'd, there was also publish'd a Satire in Imitation of +=Juvenal=, entituled "=London=," by the then unknown =Johnson=; and this +so struck the Town, that many Gentlemen of Taste declared, it was the +Work of a greater Poet than Mr. =Pope=. Notwithstanding what some +Detractors have said of Mr. =Pope's= petty Jealousy, he gave the Verses +of his new Rival no small Praise; and having learnt thro' Mr. +=Richardson= who the Poet was, told me, "that Mr. =Johnson= wou'd soon +be =deterre=." + +I had no personal Acquaintances with the Doctor till 1763, when I was +presented to him at the =Mitre= Tavern by Mr. =James Boswell=, a young +=Scotchman= of excellent Family and great Learning, but small Wit, whose +metrical Effusions I had sometimes revis'd. + +Dr. =Johnson=, as I beheld him, was a full, pursy Man, very ill drest, +and of slovenly Aspect. I recall him to have worn a bushy Bob-Wig, +untyed and without Powder, and much too small for his Head. His Cloaths +were of rusty brown, much wrinkled, and with more than one Button +missing. His Face, too full to be handsom, was likewise marred by the +Effects of some scrofulous Disorder; and his Head was continually +rolling about in a sort of convulsive way. Of this Infirmity, indeed, I +had known before; having heard of it from Mr. =Pope=, who took the +Trouble to make particular Inquiries. + +Being nearly seventy-three, full nineteen Years older than Dr. +=Johnson=, (I say Doctor, tho' his Degree came not till two Years +afterward) I naturally expected him to have some Regard for my Age; and +was therefore not in that Fear of him, which others confess'd. On my +asking him what he thought of my favourable Notice of his Dictionary in +=The Londoner=, my periodical Paper, he said: "Sir, I possess no +Recollection of having perus'd your Paper, and have not a great Interest +in the Opinions of the less thoughtful Part of Mankind." Being more than +a little piqued at the Incivility of one whose Celebrity made me +solicitous of his Approbation, I ventur'd to retaliate in kind, and told +him, I was surpris'd that a Man of Sense shou'd judge the Thoughtfulness +of one whose Productions he admitted never having read. "Why, Sir," +reply'd =Johnson=, "I do not require to become familiar with a Man's +Writings in order to estimate the Superficiality of his Attainments, +when he plainly shews it by his Eagerness to mention his own Productions +in the first Question he puts to me." Having thus become Friends, we +convers'd on many Matters. When, to agree with him, I said I was +distrustful of the Authenticity of =Ossian's= Poems, Mr. =Johnson= said: +"That, Sir, does not do your Understanding particular Credit; for what +all the Town is sensible of, is no great Discovery for a =Grub-Street= +Critick to make. You might as well say, you have a strong Suspicion that +=Milton= wrote 'Paradise Lost!'" + +I thereafter saw =Johnson= very frequently, most often at Meetings of +THE LITERARY CLUB, which was founded the next Year by the Doctor, +together with Mr. =Burke=, the parliamentary Orator, Mr. =Beauclerk=, a +Gentleman of Fashion, Mr. =Langton=, a pious Man and Captain of Militia, +Sir =J. Reynolds=, the widely known Painter, Dr. =Goldsmith=, the Prose +and poetick Writer, Dr. =Nugent=, father-in-law to Mr. =Burke=, Sir +=John Hawkins=, Mr. =Anthony Chamier=, and my self. We assembled +generally at seven o'clock of an Evening, once a Week, at the +=Turk's-Head=, in =Gerrard-Street=, =Soho=, till that Tavern was sold +and made into a private Dwelling; after which Event we mov'd our +Gatherings successively to =Prince's= in =Sackville-Street=, =Le +Tellier's= in =Dover-Street=, and =Parsloe's= and the =Thatched House= +in =St. James's-Street=. In these Meetings we preserv'd a remarkable +Degree of Amity and Tranquillity, which contrasts very favourably with +some of the Dissensions and Disruptions I observe in the literary and +amateur Press Associations of today. This Tranquillity was the more +remarkable, because we had amongst us Gentlemen of very opposed +Opinions. Dr. =Johnson= and I, as well as many others, were high Tories; +whilst Mr. =Burke= was a Whig, and against the =American= War, many of +his Speeches on that Subject having been widely publish'd. The least +congenial Member was one of the Founders, Sir =John Hawkins=, who hath +since written many misrepresentations of our Society. Sir =John=, an +eccentrick Fellow, once declin'd to pay his part of the Reckoning for +Supper, because 'twas his Custom at Home to eat no Supper. Later he +insulted Mr. =Burke= in so intolerable a Manner, that we all took Pains +to shew our Disapproval; after which Incident he came no more to our +Meetings. However, he never openly fell out with the Doctor, and was the +Executor of his Will; tho' Mr. =Boswell= and others have Reason to +question the genuineness of his Attachment. Other and later Members of +the CLUB were Mr. =David Garrick=, the Actor and early Friend of Dr. +=Johnson=, Messieurs =Tho.= and =Jos. Warton=, Dr. =Adam Smith=, Dr. +=Percy=, Author of the "Reliques," Mr. =Edw. Gibbon=, the Historian, Dr. +=Burney=, the Musician, Mr. =Malone=, the Critick, and Mr. =Boswell=. +Mr. =Garrick= obtain'd Admittance only with Difficulty; for the Doctor, +notwithstanding his great Friendship, was for ever affecting to decry +the Stage and all Things connected with it. =Johnson=, indeed, had a +most singular Habit of speaking for =Davy= when others were against him, +and of arguing against him, when others were for him. I have no Doubt +but that he sincerely lov'd Mr. =Garrick=, for he never alluded to him +as he did to =Foote=, who was a very coarse Fellow despite his comick +Genius. Mr. =Gibbon= was none too well lik'd, for he had an odious +sneering Way which offended even those of us who most admir'd his +historical Productions. Mr. =Goldsmith=, a little Man very vain of his +Dress and very deficient in Brilliancy of Conversation, was my +particular Favourite; since I was equally unable to shine in the +Discourse. He was vastly jealous of Dr. =Johnson=, tho' none the less +liking and respecting him. I remember that once a Foreigner, a =German=, +I think, was in our Company; and that whilst =Goldsmith= was speaking, +he observ'd the Doctor preparing to utter something. Unconsciously +looking upon =Goldsmith= as a meer Encumbrance when compar'd to the +greater Man, the Foreigner bluntly interrupted him and incurr'd his +lasting Hostility by crying, "Hush, Toctor =Shonson= iss going to +speak!" + +In this luminous Company I was tolerated more because of my Years than +for my Wit or Learning; being no Match at all for the rest. My +Friendship for the celebrated Monsieur =Voltaire= was ever a Cause of +Annoyance to the Doctor; who was deeply orthodox, and who us'd to say of +the =French= Philosopher: "Vir est acerrimi Ingenii et paucarum +Literarum." + +Mr. =Boswell=, a little teazing Fellow whom I had known for some Time +previously, us'd to make Sport of my aukward Manners and old-fashion'd +Wig and Cloaths. Once coming in a little the worse for Wine (to which he +was addicted) he endeavour'd to lampoon me by means of an Impromptu in +verse, writ on the Surface of the Table; but lacking the Aid he usually +had in his Composition, he made a bad grammatical Blunder. I told him, +he shou'd not try to pasquinade the Source of his Poesy. At another Time +=Bozzy= (as we us'd to call him) complain'd of my Harshness toward new +Writers in the Articles I prepar'd for The Monthly Review. He said, I +push'd every Aspirant off the Slopes of Parnassus. "Sir," I reply'd, +"you are mistaken. They who lose their Hold do so from their own Want of +Strength; but desiring to conceal their Weakness, they attribute the +absence of Success to the first Critick that mentions them." I am glad +to recall that Dr. =Johnson= upheld me in this Matter. + +Dr. =Johnson= was second to no Man in the Pains he took to revise the +bad Verses of others; indeed, 'tis said that in the book of poor blind +old Mrs. =Williams=, there are scarce two lines which are not the +Doctor's. At one Time =Johnson= recited to me some lines by a Servant to +the Duke of =Leeds=, which had so amus'd him, that he had got them by +Heart. They are on the Duke's Wedding, and so much resemble in Quality +the Work of other and more recent poetick Dunces, that I cannot forbear +copying them: + + "When the Duke of =Leeds= shall marry'd be + To a fine young Lady of high Quality + How happy will that Gentlewoman be + In his Grace of =Leeds'= good Company." + +I ask'd the Doctor, if he had ever try'd making Sense of this Piece; and +upon his saying he had not, I amus'd myself with the following Amendment +of it: + + When Gallant LEEDS auspiciously shall wed + The virtuous Fair, of antient Lineage bred, + How must the Maid rejoice with conscious Pride + To win so great an Husband to her Side! + +On shewing this to Dr. =Johnson=, he said, "Sir, you have straightened +out the Feet, but you have put neither Wit nor Poetry into the Lines." + +It wou'd afford me Gratification to tell more of my Experiences with Dr. +=Johnson= and his circle of Wits; but I am an old Man, and easily +fatigued. I seem to ramble along without much Logick or Continuity when +I endeavour to recall the Past; and fear I light upon but few Incidents +which others have not before discuss'd. Shou'd my present Recollections +meet with Favour, I might later set down some further Anecdotes of old +Times of which I am the only Survivor. I recall many Things of =Sam +Johnson= and his Club, having kept up my Membership in the Latter long +after the Doctor's Death, at which I sincerely mourn'd. I remember how +=John Burgoyne=, Esq., the General, whose Dramatick and Poetical Works +were printed after his Death, was blackballed by three Votes; probably +because of his unfortunate Defeat in the =American= War, at =Saratoga=. +Poor =John=! His Son fared better, I think, and was made a Baronet. But +I am very tired. I am old, very old; it is Time for my Afternoon Nap. + + +DEPARTMENT _of_ PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Dabbler=, for September, in the entire unexpectedness and splendor +of its appearance, must be counted as one of the most effective of +recent rebukes to the pessimists. There have been several such rebukes, +and those who had already prepared themselves for another barren year in +amateur journalism are beginning to realize that even history cannot be +relied upon to repeat itself indefinitely. =The Dabbler= is issued by +H. L. Lindquist of Chicago, and contains 16 pages, exclusive of the +covers. The initial letters and a few incidental adornments are printed +in green, and the title-page, with its harmonious arrangement of type +and decoration, is a delight to the eye. The typography, throughout, is +almost flawless, and the contents, in general, are worthy of the care +with which they have been presented to the reader. Paul J. Campbell, in +his article, "What Does Amateur Journalism Mean to You?" once again +defines the peculiar benefits and pleasures to be derived from our +hobby, and warns away all those who come to it because of an idle +curiosity, or a vain desire for self-glorification, or any motive other +than a true impulse toward mental development and literary culture. "A +Critical Review," by Frank C. Reighter, is devoted to the July +=Brooklynite=, and subjects that publication to a well-nigh exhaustive +analysis and criticism. The article is both interesting and instructive +and reveals Mr. Reighter as an acute and capable critic. The verses with +which he concludes his remarks are particularly clever and melodious, +and furnish an excellent example of light verse when it is written by +one possessing a natural aptitude for that form of expression. Jennie M. +Kendall, in her fragment, "The One Thing Needful," makes a modern +business woman give her opinion of idle wives, which she does in +forceful, although not always accurate, English. "U. A. P. A. Convention +Echoes," by Litta Voelchert; "The Old-Timer's Comeback," by L. J. Cohen; +and "The Only Hope of A. J.," by W. E. Mellinger, consist of +reminiscence, assurance and advice, from three well-known amateur +journalists. The articles were obviously written somewhat hastily but +are, nevertheless, very interesting and suggestive. H. L. Lindquist, in +"At It Again," tells how he severed his connection with amateur +journalism six years ago--being occupied with several professional +ventures--only to find that the old passion would not die and finally +compelled him to return to his early love. Those who have seen the +result of Mr. Lindquist's acquiescence in his Fate will gain some idea +of what his activity must have meant in other days. + + * * * * * + +=The Dabbler=, for October, follows hard upon its predecessor and, in +all essentials, is of equal merit. "Hiking in the Rocky Mountain +National Park," by Louis H. Kerber, Jr., is a well-written account of a +tour through some of America's most wonderful scenery, and reflects +great credit on Mr. Kerber's powers of observation. "Day-Dreams," by +Frank C. Reighter, is a didactic poem and so labors under an initial +handicap in attempting to hold the attention of the reader. The +technique of the poet, however, is deserving of praise, and if a fault +must be pointed out, it is in the forced pronunciation of the word +"idea" in the last line, which seems too cheap a device to appear in +poetry, even when, as in the present case, it is used intentionally. +"Dominion Day in Winnipeg," by W. B. Stoddard, is an account of a +patriotic celebration in Canada and was evidently witnessed by the +writer on his recent--and somewhat protracted--travels. "Ecstasy," a +poem, by Eleanor J. Barnhart, begins rather promisingly but we do not +proceed very far before detecting various crudities of craftsmanship. +Lines like the following: + + "The changing fire splendor of sky opals, rare," + +and + + "Like sea gulls swift soaring in tireless sky flight," + +and, once again, + + "Till star gleams bright glittering high in mid-sky," + +contain the germ of true poetry, but when we read them we are aware not +only of a harsh and difficult combination of consonants but also of an +entire absence of metrical swing and grace. In fact, we get an +impression from the above lines that an excessive number of important +words have been crowded hap-hazard upon a metrical pattern which was not +intended to hold so many, and it is not surprising that the fabric +should show signs of being subjected to a severe strain. But care and +practise may yet awaken that poet's instinct within Miss Barnhart which +will enable her to detect and reject, instantly, all such blemishes in +what should be the rounded beauty of her song. + +Thomas Curtis Clark is indeed a poet of "Ring and Swing," as an +editorial note to his poems declares him to be. "The Dawn of Liberty" +and "America's Men" must be read in their entirety to be appreciated, +but a quotation from the latter poem may not be amiss. + + We are America's men, + Brave, dauntless and true; + We are America's men, + Ready to dare and do; + Ready to wield the sword with might, + Ready the tyrant's brow to smite-- + And ready to sheath the sword--for Right! + We are America's Men. + +The unsigned story entitled, "The Man Out of Work," is very brief, but +apparently not the effort of a tyro. It would probably hold the +attention even if it were much longer and we are almost inclined to +regret its extreme abruptness. Nevertheless, it is complete as it stands +and an artistic whole. "Still At It," by Mr. Lindquist, gives us +interesting information regarding the editor and also some sound advice +as to finding congenial employment. Mr. Lindquist seems to be a +philosopher whose practise will bear comparison with his theory. + + * * * * * + +=The Olympian= for October, awakens much of the old-time thrill with +which amateurs were wont to receive the once frequent issues of that +justly known and esteemed publication. The present number is not so +ambitious in some respects as many of its predecessors, but it must be +said that within a somewhat smaller scope it accomplishes quite as much +as a more pretentious issue could hope to do. Nor is the latest +=Olympian= at all in need of any apologies for shortcomings in the way +of size, appearance, or general literary quality. Indeed, publications +that consist of 12 pages and cover are always certain of a hearty +welcome, while the present production of Mr. and Mrs. Cole has +qualifications in addition to those just mentioned that recommend it +warmly to all readers. The poem, "Motherhood," by Ethelwyn Dithridge is +a truly noble and inspired effort. Amateur journalism is fortunate to +number a poet of Miss Dithridge's attainments in its ranks. In +"Retrospect and Prospect," Edward H. Cole sums up the three years of +amateur history which have just passed and comes to the conclusion that +"the best hope for amateur journalism in these days of stress and +strain ... is in the peaceful co-operation of the surviving associations +in a campaign of expansion of a practicable nature." "Here and Now," by +Helene Hoffman Cole, consists of suggestions for the practical +co-operation proposed by Mr. Cole, and should be a stimulus to increased +activity in some positive form among present-day amateurs. "The +Reviewers' Club" is quite as authoritative and sound in its criticisms +as in the past and must always be considered one of the most delightful +and instructive features of =The Olympian=. + + * * * * * + +The National Amateur Press Association could hardly inaugurate a year of +promised activity more auspiciously than it has by the sterling issue of +its president's =Sprite=. It is just about everything that one could ask +for in amateur journalism. The modest grey of the cover, the excellence +of the paper stock, the flawlessness of the typography, the exquisite +taste with which the component parts are blended--all these strike the +eye at the first glance. When one comes to read the contents, he finds +each contribution well worth the setting. For a leading article we have +something that is well nigh unique in literature, either amateur or +professional, an attempted reconstruction of a scene supposedly excised +from "King Lear." This is so unusual, in fact, that it might well be +called a "stunt," but certainly it is a successful stunt. In the not +overly long scene presented, which pictures the ruthless hanging of +Cordelia and the Fool before the eyes of the aged Lear, we can discern +no quality that is not strictly Shakespearian. The language has been +purged of every trace of modernism and flows with that semi-solemn, +archaic, Elizabethan cadence that almost makes it hard to believe that +it was written in this century. But all this might be done without +achieving the supreme Shakespearian touch. The triumph of the scene is +that the character delineation is carried on with such a mastery of its +intricacies that this scene might be interpolated in a new edition of +the play and fool the higher critics of the future. The author, Samuel +Loveman, is an amateur of former days who celebrates his return to the +hobby with this feat so characteristic of his peculiar genius. The +United has its Lovecraft, a belated Georgian who says he is nowhere so +much at home today as he would be in the coffee-houses of Pope or +Johnson. The National once more after a lapse of years has its Loveman, +a belated Elizabethan who could have walked into the Mermaid Tavern and +proved a congenial soul to Kit Marlowe and friend Will. The United +welcomes him back. + +Harry Martin, the editor, follows with an essay on the elements of the +classic Greek tragedy to be found in "King Lear," which in depth, tone, +and general literary quality are strongly reminiscent of the best work +that appears in the =Atlantic Monthly=. As an essay it is perfect in +form, its thesis is stated clearly and developed with forceful logic, +and the wealth of material brought to bear upon the subject displays a +knowledge of Shakespeare and the classic drama worthy of Truman Spencer, +of beloved amateur memory. + +The editorial section is only to be criticized in that Mr. Martin has +cut us off with so few of his readable "Views Martinique," but we shall +live in hopes of another excellent =Sprite= with a longer editorial +department. George Cribbs' "History" is just a little poem used for a +filler, but this must not be taken in derogation, for it is filler +chosen with the good taste that characterizes the choice of all the +other contributions. In spite of its simplicity and its brevity, it +plays with the deft touch of mastery on that chord of pathos that always +vibrates to the thought of Time's ceaseless and inevitable surge. From +every point of view the whole journal is a symphony of excellence. + + * * * * * + +=The Yerma=, for October, is edited by John H. D. Smith of Orondo, +Washington, and, aside from the fact that it is an attractive and +well-printed publication, may be considered as being rather in the +nature of a promise of future achievement. The dedicatory verses "To the +Yerma," by Alice M. Hamlet are fairly good so far as rhyme and metre are +concerned. They run smoothly and are really graceful in sentiment. They +contain one or two grammatical inversions, however, such as + + "I would a little jingle write," + +and + + "I'd love to be a poet great," + +which have no more right to appear in verse than in prose. Then, too, +they betray an occasional inelegance of expression like the following: + + "I find that I am stuck." + +But Miss Hamlet should by all means persist in her versifying, since +there can be no doubt that she owns an instinctive grasp of the basic +laws of rhyme and rhythm. If she will read and study the lighter efforts +to be found in any standard anthology of poetry and then, with such +models ever before her, strive sincerely to overcome her present defects +by unremitting practise, Miss Hamlet may yet become a truly clever and +accomplished versifier. "The Reform Spirit--Its Mission," by P. A. +Spain, M. D., is an exceedingly able and thought provoking essay. It is +to be hoped that in future issues Mr. Smith will give us an inkling of +his own ideas on various subjects. The chief defect in =The Yerma= is +the entire absence of editorial comment. + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +The fourth month of the United's official year opens with the +organization still nearer completion; Mrs. Helene Hoffman Cole, former +President and thoroughly active and capable amateur, having accepted +appointment as Supervisor of Amendments. The Fourth Vice-Presidency has +been accepted by Alfred Galpin, Jr., 779 Kimball St., Appleton, +Wisconsin. + +The Official Editor is to be commended for the excellence of the +September =United Amateur=, as is also the printer, Mr. W. Paul Cook. +The Association will be gratified to hear that Mr. Cook has accepted the +position of Official Publisher for the year; but the members must +remember that only by their liberality in replenishing the Official +Organ Fund, can regular issuance be ensured. + +The 1916-1917 Year-Book of the Association, having been completed by the +Committee, is now undergoing critical inspection and condensation by the +expert judgment of Messrs. Paul J. Campbell and Edward F. Daas. Here +again we appeal to the generosity of the members, especially the veteran +members, to make possible the publication in full of this epitome of +amateur history. Unless the Year-Book Fund is materially swelled, the +volume cannot possibly be printed in its unabridged form of sixty-three +closely typed manuscript pages. + +The amateur press is now showing signs of a gradual recovery from the +late period of minimum activity. Mr. Martin's remarkable production, +=The Sprite=, Mr. Lindquist's two numbers of =The Dabbler=, Mr. and Mrs. +Cole's welcome =Olympian=, Mr. Cook's wonderfully ample =Vagrant=, and +Mr. John H. D. Smith's small but enterprising =Yerma=, all attest the +reality of this awakening. Within the next few months many more papers +are to be expected; including an excellent one from Miss Lehr, a +scholarly =Piper= from Mr. Kleiner, a brilliant first venture, =The +Arcadian=, from Mrs. Jordan, and both a =Vagrant= and a =Monadnock= from +Mr. Cook. Mr. Cook makes a truly philanthropic offer to print small +papers at reasonable rates, and it is to be hoped that a large number of +members will avail themselves of it, communicating with Mr. Cook +regarding particulars. His address is 451 Main St., Athol, Mass. + +Recruiting proceeds steadily if not with meteoric rapidity, some +excellent material having been obtained since the beginning of the +year's campaign. The most serious defect in our system is the lack of a +general welcome shown the new members, particularly as regards the +distribution of papers. One of our most important recruits of last July, +now a responsible officer, declares he has seen but a fraction of the +papers issued since his entrance; a fact indicating a censurable but +easily remediable condition. Let us impress it upon ourselves, that if +we would do our full share toward maintaining the Association and its +literary life, we must see that all our respective publications reach +=every= member new or old. A considerable part of our yearly losses in +membership are undoubtedly due to the indifferent reception which so +many gifted newcomers receive. + +The general signs of the times are bright and encouraging. A renascent +amateur press, a closer co-operation between members, an influx of +interested recruits, and an improved state of relations with our +contemporaries, are but a few of the good omens which promise to make +the coming year a pleasing and profitable one. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + October 28, 1917. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1918 + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +The dawn of the new year discovers the United in what may, considering +the general condition of the times, be called a very enviable position. +With a full complement of officers, and with the recruiting machinery +fairly under way, our course seems clear and our voyage propitious. + +The November Official Organ deserves praise of the highest sort; and +will remain as a lasting monument to the editorial ability of Miss +McGeoch and the mechanical good taste of Mr. Cook. It has set a standard +beneath which it should not fall, but to maintain which a well-supplied +Official Organ Fund is absolutely necessary. If each member of the +Association would send a dollar, or even less, to Custodian McGeoch, +this Fund might be certain of continuance at a level which would ensure +a large and regularly published UNITED AMATEUR. + +The publication of lists of new and prospective members should arouse +every amateur to recruiting activity, and cause each newcomer to receive +a goodly number of letters, papers, and postcards. It would be well if +the line of demarcation between Recruiting Committees and the general +amateur public were not so sharply drawn; for whilst it is the duty of +the official recruiter to approach these new names, any other members +confer no less a favour on the United by doing so unofficially. We must +remedy the condition which permits able writers to join and pass out of +the Association almost without a realization of the fact of their +membership. How few of these gifted amateurs who entered in 1915-1916 +are now with us! + +Publishing activity is strikingly exemplified by the appearance of +=Spindrift=, a regularly issued monthly from the able pen of Sub-Lieut. +Ernest Lionel McKeag of the Royal Navy. When a busy naval officer in +active service can edit so excellent a magazine as this, no civilian +should complain that the present war has made amateur journalism an +impossibility! The number of papers expected in the near future has been +increased by a plan of the Second Vice-President to unite the members of +the Recruiting Committee in a co-operative editorial venture. It is to +be hoped that this enterprise may succeed as well as similar papers +conducted during former administrations. Of great interest to the +literary element will be Mr. Cook's contemplated volume of laureate +poetry, containing the winning pieces of all our competitions from the +establishment of Laureateships to the present time. + +The Association extends its heartiest congratulations, individually and +collectively, to ex-Pres. Campbell and Treasurer Barnhart, who were most +auspiciously joined in wedlock on Thanksgiving Day. Its heartfelt +sympathy is transmitted to relatives of the late Rev. W. S. Harrison, +whose death on December 3d left a vacancy in the ranks of stately and +spiritual poets which cannot be filled. + +A final word of commendation should be given to those more than generous +teachers, professors, and scholars who are making "The Reading Table" so +pleasing and successful a feature of the United's literary life. The +idea, originated by Miss McGeoch, has been ably developed by Messrs. Moe +and Lowrey, and is likely to redeem many of the promises of real +progress which have pervaded the Association during the past few years. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + January 2, 1918. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1918 + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +As the second half of the official year progresses, we behold the United +in excellent condition, though not marked by as great a degree of +activity as might be desired. The official organ faithfully maintains +its phenomenally high standard, the January issue indeed eclipsing all +precedents; but a larger number of other papers must be published, if we +are to make the present term as memorable quantitatively as it is +qualitatively. An excellent example is set by Mrs. Jordan, whose newly +established =Eurus= comes so opportunely. May this publication prove +permanent, and of frequent appearance! Besides this, we are indebted to +Miss Trafford, Lieut. McKeag, and Mr. Martin for a =Little Budget=, +=Spindrift=, and =Sprite=, respectively. Several other papers are +reported in press, including what promises to be a very remarkable +=Vagrant=. + +In order to increase the publishing activity of the Association, the +administration will endeavour to arrange for the publication of one or +more co-operative papers. Any United member able to contribute $1.50 or +more to such an enterprise should communicate with the undersigned, who +will attend to the details of issuance if a sufficient number of +contributing editors can be obtained. $1.50 will pay for one page, 7◊10, +and each contributor is at liberty to take as many pages as he desires +at that rate. Contributors may utilise their space according to their +own wishes, and all will be equally credited with editorship. This plan, +successfully practiced four years ago, should enable many hitherto +silent members to appear in the editorial field to great advantage, in a +journal whose contents and appearance will alike be creditable. + +The comparative scarcity of entries makes imperative a second warning +regarding the new conditions in the Laureateship department. Ten persons +must compete in any class before an award in that particular division +can be granted, and at present no class contains an adequate variety of +entries. Again it is urged that the members lose no time in submitting +their printed literary productions to Mr. Hoag for entry. + +A careful study of the four proposed constitutional amendments is +necessary to ensure intelligent voting next July. The undersigned, as +their author, naturally favours their passage; but the one providing for +an abolition of the officers' activity requirements should not be +adopted without ample opportunity for debate and interchange of views. + +The congratulations of the Association are extended to Mr. and Mrs. +Edward H. Cole upon the advent of a son, Edward Sherman Cole, on +February 14. With equal sincerity the United felicitates Ex-President +Leo Fritter, on his marriage to Miss Frances P. Hepner, March 6. + +The United's 22nd annual convention will be held on July 22nd, 23d and +24th, at the Dells of the Wisconsin River. Under the direction of Mr. +Daas this event cannot fail to be of interest and pleasure to all +delegates, and every member who finds attendance possible is urged to be +present. + +To commend the official board for its generous, harmonious, and +industrious co-operation this year, seems but a reiteration of needless +panegyric; yet it would not be just to conclude this message without +some such expression of grateful appreciation. The enthusiastic and +unswerving loyalty of all our leaders has been a constant shield against +the adversity of these gloomy times, and has been wonderfully successful +in maintaining the United at a high cultural level. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + March 8, 1918. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1918 + + +Sunset + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + + The cloudless day is richer at its close; + A golden glory settles on the lea; + Soft stealing shadows hint of cool repose + To mellowing landscape, and to calming sea. + + And in that nobler, gentler, lovelier light, + The soul to sweeter, loftier bliss inclines; + Freed from the noonday glare, the favour'd sight + Increasing grace in earth and sky divines. + + But ere the purest radiance crowns the green, + Or fairest lustre fills th' expectant grove, + The twilight thickens, and the fleeting scene + Leaves but a hallow'd memory of love! + + +DEPARTMENT _of_ PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=Eurus= for February serves a double purpose; to introduce to the United +in an editorial capacity the gifted poetess, Mrs. W. V. Jordan, and to +commemorate the 87th natal anniversary of amateurdom's best beloved +bard, Jonathan E. Hoag. The dedication to Mr. Hoag is both worthy and +well merited. There are few whose qualities could evoke so sincere an +encomium, and few encomiasts who could render so felicitous an +expression of esteem. The entire production sustains the best traditions +of Mrs. Jordan's work, and forms the most creditable individual paper to +appear in the United since the dawn of the new year. + +The issue opens with Mr. Hoag's stately and beautiful poem, "To the +Falls of Dionondawa," which describes in an exquisite way the supposed +history of a delightful cascade in Greenwich, New York. The lines, which +are cast in the heroic couplet, have all the pleasing pomp and fire of +the Augustan age of English verse; and form a refreshing contrast to the +harsh or languid measures characteristic of the present day. Mr. Hoag +brings down to our time the urbane arts of a better literary period. + +"An Appreciation," by Verna McGeoch, is a prose-poetical tribute to Mr. +Hoag, whose literary merit is of such a quality that we must needs +lament the infrequency with which the author contributes to the amateur +press. Of this piece a reader of broad culture lately said: "I have +never read a production of this kind, more finely phrased, more +comprehensive, more effective, and withal, so terse, and throughout, in +such excellent taste." =Eurus= has good reason for self-congratulation +on carrying this remarkable bit of composition. + +"Chores," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, displays this versatile writer in +a very singular vein; that of sombre, repellent, rustic tragedy. It has +all the compelling power which marks Mrs. Jordan's darker productions, +and is conveyed in an arresting, staccato measure which emphasizes the +homely horror of the theme. The phraseology, with its large proportion +of rural and archaic words and constructions, adds vastly to the general +effect and atmosphere. We believe that Mrs. Jordan analyses the +New-England rustic mind more keenly and accurately than any other +amateur writer; interpreting rural moods and sentiments, be they bright +or dark, with unvarnished simplicity and absolute verisimilitude, +notwithstanding the fact that most of her verse is of a much more +polished and classical character. In "Chores" we are brought vividly +face to face with the bleakest aspect of rusticity; the dull, +commonplace couple, dwelling so far from the rest of mankind that they +have become almost primitive in thought and feelings, losing all the +complex refinements and humanities of social existence. The poem +intensifies that feeling of hidden terror and tragedy which sometimes +strikes us on beholding a lonely farmer, enigmatical of face and sparing +of words, or on spying, through the twilight, some grey, unpainted, +ramshackle, cottage, perched upon a wind-swept hill or propped up +against the jutting boulders of some deserted slope, miles from the town +and remote from the nearest neighbour. + +"Young Clare," by Edith Miniter, is a narrative poem of that power and +polish which might be expected of its celebrated author. The only +considerable objection which could possibly be brought against it is a +technical one, applying to the fourth line of the opening stanza: + + "To work a cabaret show." + +Here we must needs wonder at the use of =work= as a transitive verb when +the intransitive sense is so clearly demanded, and at the evident +accentuation of =cabaret=. We believe that the correct pronunciation of +=cabaret= is trisyllabic, with the accent on the final syllable, thus: +"=cab-a-ray=." We will not be quite so dogmatic about =artiste= in line +2 of the last stanza, though we think the best usage would demand the +accent on the final syllable. + +"Gentle Gusts," the quaintly named editorial section, contains much +matter of merit, clothed in a pleasantly smooth style. The classical +name of the publication is here ingeniously explained, and its +dedication formally made. The tribute to Mr. Hoag is as well rendered as +it is merited. The editorial note on amateur criticism is sound and +kindly; the author voicing her protests in a manner which disarms them +of malice, and putting us in a receptive attitude. Personally, the +present critic is in complete agreement with the remarks on poetical +elision and inversions; but we are confident that those of our board who +hold different views, will accept the dicta in the friendly spirit +intended. + +"Someone--Somewhere," by Jennie E. T. Dowe, is a delightful lyric by an +authoress too well known in amateurdom to need an introduction. Mrs. +Dowe writes with the polish of long experience and genuine culture, +displaying an enviable poetic genius. + +=Eurus= closes with some commendatory lines to Mr. Hoag from the pen of +H. P. Lovecraft. They are in heroics, and redolent of the spirit of two +centuries ago. We discern no striking violations of good taste or metre, +nor do we find any remarkable poetic power or elevation of thought. + + * * * * * + +=The Little Budget= for February and March is a double number, whose +size and quality are alike encouraging. The issue opens with an ornate +and felicitous Nature-poem by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, entitled "Above the +Clouds," in which the author for once breaks away from his favourite +Alexandrines and heptameters, presenting us with an ideally beautiful +specimen of the heroic quatrain. Despite the strong reasons which impel +Dr. Kuntz to adhere to long measures, we believe he should compose more +in pentameter. That his chosen metres have peculiar advantages, none +will deny; but it seems plain that the standard shorter line has other +advantages which amply outweigh them. It was not by chance that the line +of five iambuses became the dominant metre of our language. In the +present poem we discern a grace and flow far greater than any which +could pervade an Alexandrine piece; a condition well shown by parallel +perusal of this and one of the same author's more characteristic +efforts. As a creator of graphic, lofty, and majestic images, Dr. Kuntz +has no peer in amateurdom. His sense of colour and of music weaves a +rich and gorgeous element into the fabric of his work, and his sensitive +literary faculty gives birth to happy combinations of words and phrases +which not only please the imagination with their aptness, but delight +the ear with their intrinsic euphony. + +"The Drama as a Medium of Education," by Lieut. Ernest L. McKeag, is a +short but terse essay on a neglected factor in liberal culture. It is +true that our ordinary curricula lay all too little stress on dramatic +art; and that as a result, this branch of Êsthetic expression is grossly +and consistently undervalued. The low estimate of the dramatic +profession entertained by Dr. Johnson is a sad illustration of the +one-sided state of mind prevailing even amongst scholars, concerning an +art which is certainly not inferior to painting and sculpture, and +probably much superior to music, in the Êsthetic and intellectual scale. + +"The Wizard of the North," an essay on Sir Walter Scott, is the current +instalment of Miss Mappin's Modern Literature Series. It is marred by a +seeming hiatus, discernible not so much in the flow of words as in the +flow of the narrative, which leads us to believe that a considerable +portion has been left out, either through accident, or through an +attempt at abridgment. + +"My Books," by Alfred H. Pearce is a sonnet of apt idea and perfect +construction. + +"On Self-Sacrifice," by W. Townsend Ericson, is one of the "Essays of a +Dreamer" which are regularly appearing in the =Budget=. The effort is +marked by much sincerity and idealism, though in grammar and +practicability it is less distinguished. We might mention the erroneous +use of =whom= for =who= (a not uncommon defect amongst amateur writers), +the faulty use of the word =usurping= where =depriving= is meant, and +the split infinitive "to at least make;" all three of which mistakes +occur on page 138. Mr. Ericson should drill himself more thoroughly in +the principles of syntax. Other essays of this series are included in +the present issue. "On Contentment" gives an illustration which we fear +will injure Mr. Ericson's contention more than it will aid it. It is the +=reductio ad absurdum= of the typical "Pollyanna" school of philosophy. + +"Down an' Out," by Ernest L. McKeag, is a very clever ballad of the +"rough and ready" school; picturesque in atmosphere, but somewhat +defective in technique. Lieut. McKeag should pay a trifle more attention +to his rhymes; which are not, however, worse than many of the rhymes in +"Hudibras" and other comic pieces. + +"Why Roses are White," a children's story, by Margaret Mahon, is marked +by much grace and ingenuity; the central idea being quite original so +far as we know. Further contributions to the children's department are +made by Miss Birkmyre, whose woodland sketches will be appreciated by +older readers as well. + +"Selfish Ambition," a poem, by Nell Hilliard, is as correct and fluent +in metre as we might expect from the author, though the expletive =does= +in the final line of the first stanza is not to be commended. The +sentiment is not precisely novel, but is well presented. + +"The Flying Dutchman," a Romance of the Sea, by Joseph Parks, is more +replete with nautical verisimilitude than with literary force. As +compared with many of Mr. Parks' other tales, its plot is distinctly +weak and lacking in symmetry. We must, however, praise the generally +salty atmosphere. The picture of seafaring life is vivid and realistic. + +The current =Budget= concludes with a summary of the year just closed, +displaying a record of achievement of which the editress may well be +proud. + + * * * * * + +=The Silver Clarion= for March is the publication of John Milton +Samples, of Macon, Ga., a new member of the United. In tone the paper is +quite serious and strongly inclined toward the religious; but so able +are the majority of the contributions, that it lacks nothing in +interest. + +"Singing on the Way," a poem by James Larkin Pearson, opens the issue in +attractive fashion. The lines are tuneful and felicitous, the triple +rhymes giving an especially pleasing effect; though we must criticise +the line + + "Will certainly provide for us" + +as being a trifle prosaic. We should recommend "plenteously provide," or +something of that nature, as more poetic. Mr. Pearson is a poet of +ability and experience, with a volume of published verse to his credit, +whose work never falls below a high standard of merit. + +"Just Icicles," by Sarah Story Duffee, is a sort of fairy tale with a +juvenile exterior; which contains, however, more than a slight hint of +the vanity of human wishes and fruitlessness of human endeavour. Whilst +it exhibits no little cleverness in construction, we must own that it +possesses certain looseness, insipidity, and almost rambling quality, +which detract from its merit as a piece of literature. Mrs. Duffee would +profit from a closer study of classical models, and a slighter attention +to the more ordinary folk tales. + +"The Blessings of Thorns," by Sallie M. Adams, is a religious poem of +considerable excellence, containing a pious and worthy sentiment well +expressed. The chief defects are technical. In the first stanza, line 3 +lacks a syllable, whilst line 4 has one too many. Also, the =day-way= +rhyme is repeated too closely. To have but one rhyming sound through two +rhymes is a fault hard to excuse. All the defects above enumerated might +be removed with ease, as the following revised version of the opening +lines illustrates: + + When we thank our Heav'nly Father + For the boons each day bestow'd; + For the flowers that are scatter'd + O'er the roughness of the road. + +In the third stanza we find the =day-way= rhyme again repeated, also a +superfluity of syllables in the sixth line. The latter might be cut down +by the omission of the second =the=. + +"Springtime in Dixieland," by John Milton Samples, is a tuneful pastoral +which justifies the author's right to his first two names. But one or +two defects mar the general delightful effect. The phrase "zephyr +breeze," in the opening stanza, strikes us as a trifle pleonastic; since +a =zephyr= is itself a =breeze=; not a quality of a breeze. The syntax +of the latter part of this stanza is somewhat obscure, but might be +cleared up if the seventh line were thus amended: + + "And save when cloud-ships cross their track." + +The sixth and seventh lines of the last stanza each have a syllable too +many, and in line 6 the word =raise= is used incorrectly; =rise= being +the word needed. This, of course, would necessitate a change of rhyme. + +"One Face is Passing," by Mamie Knight Samples, is a timely and +excellent sketch concerning soldiers. + +"Co-ee," a poem by Harry E. Rieseberg, contains much genuine pathos, and +is generally smooth and commendable in technique. + +"The Likeness of the Deity," by Arthur H. Goodenough, is one of the +characteristically excellent products of its author, who holds the proud +rank of "Literatus" in the United. The amount and quality of Mr. +Goodenough's work is very unusual; few other amateurs producing so much +verse of the first order. As a religious poet, he stands alone; +resembling the celebrated Dr. Watts. He invests every theme he touches +with an atmosphere truly and richly poetic. + +"Astral Nights," by John Milton Samples, is a genuinely poetic piece of +prose arranged in lines resembling those of verse. We believe that the +loftiness and excellence of this composition would justify its +metamorphosis into real verse. + +Also by Editor Samples is the prose sketch entitled "The Present War: A +Blessing in Disguise." From the title, one would expect Mr. Samples' +point of view to be akin to that of the esteemed Gen. von Bernhardi; but +such is not the case, since Mr. Samples means to say that he considers +the conflict a just Divine Punishment for a sinful world--a punishment +which will bring about a sinless and exemplary future. We wish it were +so. + +"Lord, Keep My Spirit Sweet," by Mr. Samples, is a religious lyric of +substantial charm and grace. + +The Editorials in this issue consist mainly of critical notes on +previous numbers, and in general show a gratifying soundness of opinion. + + * * * * * + +=Spindrift= for January opens with "Mater Dolorosa," a poem, by Vere M. +Murphy, whose sentiment and technique are alike deserving of praise. + +"The Spirit of January," a sketch by Jean Birkmyre, runs into the +February issue, and is quite acceptable from every point of view, though +not distinguished by that highly imaginative colouring which we find in +many of Miss Birkmyre's similar pieces. + +"The Mystery of Murdor Grange" this month falls into the hands of Editor +McKeag, who furnishes one of the best chapters we have so far perused; +possibly the very best. It is exasperating to be cut off abruptly in the +midst of the exciting narrative, with the admonition to wait for page +47! + + * * * * * + +=Spindrift= for February has as its leading feature an essay on +"Heredity or Environment," by the Editor. In this brief article many +truths are stated, though we fear Lieut. McKeag slightly underestimates +the force of heredity. We might remind him of the Darwin family, +beginning with the poet and physician, Erasmus Darwin. The grandson of +this celebrated man was the immortal Charles Darwin, whilst the sons of +Charles have all occupied places of eminence in the world of intellect. + +"To the Enlisted men of the United States," by Edna Hyde, is an ode of +admirable spirit and faultless construction. + +"A Fragment," by S. L. (whose identity is now known to us!) shows much +poetical ability, though the metre would move much more smoothly if +judiciously touched up here and there. The description of the crescent +moon sinking in the morning, is astronomically erroneous. + +"The Estates of Authors," by Albert E. Bramwell, is a brief but +informative article. As the late Dr. Johnson said of the Ordinary of +Newgate's account, "it contains strong facts." + + * * * * * + +=Spindrift= for March very appropriately commences with a poem on that +blustering month, from the pen of Annie Pearce. Apparently the piece is +a juvenile effort, since despite a commendably poetic atmosphere there +are some striking errors of construction. In the third line of the first +stanza there is a very awkward use of the impersonal pronoun =one=. This +pronoun has no place in good poetry, and should always be avoided by +means of some equivalent arrangement. In the second stanza it appears +that the authoress, through the exigencies of versification, has fallen +into the paradox of calling the "fair green shoots" "roots!" Perhaps we +are mistaken, but our confusion is evidence of the lack of perspicuity +in this passage. A rather more obvious error is the evidently transitive +use of the verb =abound= in the last line of this stanza. Be it known, +that =abound= is strictly an intransitive verb! + +"The Soul of Newcastle," an historical article by John M'Quillen, begins +in this number; and describes the Roman period. We regret the misprint +whereby the name =Aelii= becomes =Aelu=. The presence of a Hunnish +=umlaut= over the =u= adds insult to injury! Mr. M'Quillen writes in an +attractive style, and we shall look forward to the remainder of the +present article. + +"Heart Thirst," by Vere M. Murphy, is a very meritorious lyric, +containing an ingenious conceit worthy of a more classical age. + + * * * * * + +As the literary contributions to the UNITED AMATEUR for January are +mainly in the form of verse, I shall devote most of my attention to +them. Poetry, like the poor, we have always with us; but the critic is +moved to remark, as he casts back in his mind over the last twenty years +of amateur publishing activity, that on the whole the tone of amateur +poetry is distinctly higher than it used to be. Banal verse we still +have in larger amounts than we should; but the amateur journals of a +decade or two ago had reams of it. On the other hand, they contained not +a few poems with more than a passing spark of the divine fire. The +promising fact is that in the poetry of today's journals we get much +more frequent glimpses of this true inspiration. In passing, the critic +cannot forbear calling attention to Mr. Kleiner's "Ruth" in the February +=Brooklynite=, which attains the highest levels of lyric expression, +although only the simplest of figure and diction are employed. It is not +often that one runs across a poem so simple and yet so pregnant with +sincere emotion. + +The first poem in the UNITED AMATEUR arouses mixed feelings. "Give Aid," +by Julia R. Johnson, presents a thought that cannot be too often or too +strongly stressed in this gloomy old world. Mrs. Johnson, furthermore, +has carved out her own poetic medium, alternating two tetrameter lines +with a single heptameter, a most unusual combination. It is always a +promising sign to find a new poet experimenting with unhackneyed verse +forms, although the experiments may not always be happy ones. But a word +about the thought of this poem. It is one of those "recipe" poems, +so-called because it can be produced in almost unlimited quantities by +any writer clever enough to follow the formula. Some day the critic is +going to take enough time off to write a book of poetic recipes, and +already he has his subject so well blocked out that he is sure his book +will contain the fundamental ingredients of a great majority of the +amateur poems now appearing. The poem under consideration belongs to the +"glad" recipe, an off-shoot of the Pollyanna school of fiction, and true +to type it contains its quota of "glad" ingredients such as "cheer," +"merry song," "troubles," and "sorrows," the last two, of course, for +the sake of contrast. + +"Astrophobos," by Ward Phillips, is another recipe poem; although his +recipe is so much more intricate that it is not to be recommended for +the Freshman. The critic would denominate a poem composed according to +this recipe, a ulalumish poem, as it has so many earmarks of Poe. True +to type, it is ulaluminated with gorgeous reds and crimsons, vistas of +stupendous distances, coined phrases, unusual words, and general touches +of either mysticism or purposeless obscurity. Such a poem is a feast for +epicures who delight in intellectual caviar, but is not half so +satisfying to the average poetic taste as Mr. Kleiner's "Ruth." + +Theodore Gottlieb's "Contentment" is a clever and readable working out +in verse of Mr. Ruskin's theme in his "King's Treasures"; namely, the +satisfying companionship of great books. Mr. Gottlieb shows commendable +control of the felicitous phrase, while the literary allusions with +which his lines bristle mark a catholicity of taste entirely beyond the +ordinary. + +Metrical versions of the Psalms are not at all new; they are used, in +fact, in Scotch Presbyterian churches in place of regular hymns. The +poetic paraphrase of the first Psalm by Wilson Tylor is well done, and +only in a few such phrases as "winds that blow" and "perish and shall +not be blest," does he get dangerously near redundancy for the sake of +rhyme and metre. + +"A Thought," by Dorothy Downs, is a pretty little thought indeed, and +prettily expressed, although the term "holiness divine" is strained when +applied to a rose, and "we will be surprised" is frankly ungrammatical +as a simple future in the first person. The =sine qua non= of all poetry +is absolutely correct grammar and freedom from redundancy. + +The bit of verse heading the War Items written by F. G. Morris, is quite +adequate except for the lack of a rhyme in the last line, where the form +of the stanza leads the reader to expect a rhyme for "part." + +Matthew Hilson's rhymed greeting to the United from across the water, +is on the whole, graceful and well done, and the United acknowledges its +receipt with thanks. + +One other piece of work in this number deserves especial mention. Alfred +Galpin's "Mystery" introduces to the association a thinker more gifted +for his years than probably any other recruit within recent years. This +judgment is not based alone on the short article under consideration, +but even this little piece of thought, if carefully analysed, is enough +to stamp him as one who thinks with extreme facility in the deepest of +abstractions, and who for expression of that thought commands a +vocabulary of remarkable range. Mr. Galpin is going far in this world, +and we hope that he will sojourn long enough with us so that we can feel +that whatever glory he may attain will cast some of its rays upon the +Association. + +The editorial remarks in this issue of the UNITED AMATEUR are worthy of +close perusal on account of their graceful literary quality. Seldom has +the critic seen the subject of the New Year so felicitously treated as +in this brief study by Miss McGeoch. The author's mastery of appropriate +words, phrases, and images, and her intuitive perception of the most +delicate elements of literary harmony, combine to make the reader wish +she were more frequently before the Association as a writer, as well as +in an editorial capacity. + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +According to indications, the last few weeks of the United's +administrative year will exceed their predecessors in general activity +and work accomplished. The college recruiting campaign, delayed through +an unavoidable combination of circumstances, is now taking definite +form; and may be expected to show some actual results even before the +close of the present term, though its greatest fruits must necessarily +be reaped by the next administration. General recruiting is on the +increase, and a more satisfactory number of renewals and reinstatements +is noted. + +One of the greatest obstacles to be combated during this unsettled era, +is the mistaken notion that amateur journalism is a non-essential and a +luxury, unworthy of attention or support amidst the national stress. The +prevalence of this opinion is difficult to account for, since its logic +is so feeble. It is universally recognised that in times like these, +some form of relaxation is absolutely indispensable if the poise and +sanity of the people are to be preserved. Amusements of a lighter sort +are patronised with increased frequency, and have risen to the dignity +of essentials in the maintenance of the national morale. If, then, the +flimsiest of pleasures be accorded the respect and favour of the public, +what may we not say for amateur journalism, whose function is not only +to entertain and relieve the mind, but to uplift and instruct as well? +Mr. Edward H. Cole has ably treated this matter in his recent =Bema=, +and no one who thoughtfully reviews the situation can dispute the force +and verity of his conclusions. As Mr. Cole points out in a later +communication, war-time amateur effort must of course be less elaborate +than in pre-war days; but amateurdom itself is now worthy of double +encouragement, rather than discouragement, since by its soothing and +steadying influence it becomes a source of calm and strength, and +therefore an active factor in the winning of the war. Let us on this +side of the Atlantic view the rejuvenescence of British amateurdom after +four years of warfare, as exhibited in the formation of the prosperous +Amateur Press Club by Messrs. Winskill and Parks. The moral is not hard +to deduce. + +Of the new publications of the season it is hard to speak without using +superlatives, since Mr. Cook's epoch-making June =Vagrant= is among +their number. This veritable book of 148 pages and cover constitutes the +greatest achievement of contemporary amateurdom, and may legitimately be +considered as one of the outstanding features in the recent history of +the institution. It is the one product of our day which will bear actual +comparison with the publications of the departed "Halcyon" period. A +July =Vagrant=, of equal quality though lesser size, may be expected in +the near future. A newcomer to our list of journals is =The Silver +Clarion=, issued by Mr. John Milton Samples of Macon, Ga., a promising +poet, essayist, and editor, who has just entered the Association. =The +Clarion=, whose contents are distinguished for their wholesome tone and +pleasing literary quality, is a regularly issued monthly, and forms a +substantial addition to the literature of the United. Another welcome +paper is =The Roamer=, published by Mr. Louis H. Kerber, Jr., of +Chicago. This journal, devoted exclusively to travel articles, will +occupy a unique place in the United. Among the papers to be expected +before the close of the official year are a =Dabbler= from Mr. Lindquist +and a =Yerma= from Mr. J. H. D. Smith, now a soldier in the service of +his country at Camp Laurel, Md. + +Responses to the proposal for a co-operative paper have been slow in +coming in. Let the members once more reflect upon the advantages of the +plan, and unite in an effort to increase the literary output of the +Association. + +The annual convention, to be held on the 22nd, 23d and 24th of next July +at the Dells of the Wisconsin River, may well be expected to stimulate +interest to an unusually high pitch. A large attendance is urged, and +since Mr. Daas is in charge of arrangements, the gathering will +undoubtedly prove a bright spot in the year's programme. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + May 6, 1918. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JUNE 1918 + + +Astrophobos + +Ward Phillips + + In the midnight heavens burning + Through ethereal deeps afar, + Once I watch'd with restless yearning + An alluring, aureate star; + Ev'ry eve aloft returning, + Gleaming nigh the Arctic car. + + Mystic waves of beauty blended + With the gorgeous golden rays; + Phantasies of bliss descended + In a myrrh'd Elysian haze; + And in lyre-born chords extended + Harmonies of Lydian lays. + + There (thought I) lie scenes of pleasure, + Where the free and blessed dwell, + And each moment bears a treasure, + Freighted with the lotus-spell, + And there floats a liquid measure + From the lute of Israfel. + + There (I told myself) were shining + Worlds of happiness unknown, + Peace and Innocence entwining + By the Crowned Virtue's throne; + Men of light, their thoughts refining + Purer, fairer, than our own. + + Thus I mus'd, when o'er the vision + Crept a red delirious change; + Hope dissolving to derision, + Beauty to distortion strange; + Hymnic chords in weird collision, + Spectral sights in endless range. + + Crimson burn'd the star of sadness + As behind the beams I peer'd; + All was woe that seem'd but gladness + Ere my gaze with truth was sear'd; + Cacodaemons, mir'd with madness, + Through the fever'd flick'ring leer'd. + + Now I know the fiendish fable + That the golden glitter bore; + Now I shun the spangled sable + That I watch'd and lov'd before; + But the horror, set and stable, + Haunts my soul forevermore. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JULY 1918 + + +At the Root + +H. P. Lovecraft + +(Editor Laureate) + +To those who look beneath the surface, the present universal war drives +home more than one anthropological truth in striking fashion; and of +these verities none is more profound than that relating to the essential +immutability of mankind and its instincts. + +Four years ago a large part of the civilised world laboured under +certain biological fallacies which may, in a sense, be held responsible +for the extent and duration of the present conflict. These fallacies, +which were the foundation of pacifism and other pernicious forms of +social and political radicalism, dealt with the capability of man to +evolve mentally beyond his former state of subservience to primitive +instinct and pugnacity, and to conduct his affairs and international or +inter-racial relations on a basis of reason and good-will. That belief +in such capability is unscientific and childishly naive, is beside the +question. The fact remains, that the most civilised part of the world, +including our own Anglo-Saxondom, did entertain enough of these notions +to relax military vigilance, lay stress on points of honour, place trust +in treaties, and permit a powerful and unscrupulous nation to indulge +unchecked and unsuspected in nearly fifty years of preparation for +world-wide robbery and slaughter. We are reaping the result of our +simplicity. + +The past is over. Our former follies we can but regret, and expiate as +best we may by a crusade to the death against the Trans-Rhenane monster +which we allowed to grow and flourish beneath our very eyes. But the +future holds more of responsibility, and we must prepare to guard +against any renascence of the benevolent delusions that four years of +blood have barely been able to dispel. In a word, we must learn to +discard forever the sentimental standpoint, and to view our species +through the cold eyes of science alone. We must recognise the essential +underlying savagery in the animal called man, and return to older and +sounder principles of national life and defence. We must realise that +man's nature will remain the same so long as he remains man; that +civilisation is but a slight coverlet beneath which the dominant beast +sleeps lightly and ever ready to awake. To preserve civilisation, we +must deal scientifically with the brute element, using only genuine +biological principles. In considering ourselves, we think too much of +ethics and sociology--too little of plain natural history. We should +perceive that man's period of historical existence, a period so short +that his physical constitution has not been altered in the slightest +degree, is insufficient to allow of any considerable mental change. The +instincts that governed the Egyptians and the Assyrians of old, govern +us as well; and as the ancients thought, grasped, struggled, and +deceived, so shall we moderns continue to think, grasp, struggle, and +deceive in our inmost hearts. Change is only superficial and apparent. + +Man's respect for the imponderables varies according to his mental +constitution and environment. Through certain modes of thought and +training it can be elevated tremendously, yet there is always a limit. +The man or nation of high culture may acknowledge to great lengths the +restraints imposed by conventions and honour, but beyond a certain point +primitive will or desire cannot be curbed. Denied anything ardently +desired, the individual or state will argue and parley just so +long--then, if the impelling motive be sufficiently great, will cast +aside every rule and break down every acquired inhibition, plunging +viciously after the object wished; all the more fantastically savage +because of previous repression. =The sole ultimate factor in human +decisions is physical force.= This we must learn, however repugnant the +idea may seem, if we are to protect ourselves and our institutions. +Reliance on anything else is fallacious and ruinous. Dangerous beyond +description are the voices sometimes heard today, decrying the +continuance of armament after the close of the present hostilities. + +The specific application of the scientific truth regarding man's native +instincts will be found in the adoption of a post-bellum international +programme. Obviously, we must take into account the primordial +substructure and arrange for the upholding of culture by methods which +will stand the acid test of stress and conflicting ambitions. In +disillusioned diplomacy, ample armament, and universal military training +alone will be found the solution of the world's difficulties. It will +not be a perfect solution, because humanity is not perfect. It will not +abolish war, because war is the expression of a natural human tendency. +But it will at least produce an approximate stability of social and +political conditions, and prevent the menace of the entire world by the +greed of any one of its constituent parts. + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +The conclusion of an administrative year is naturally a time for +retrospection rather than for announcement and planning, and seldom may +we derive more satisfaction from such a backward glance than at the +present period. + +The United has just completed a twelvemonth which, though not notable +for numerousness of publications or expansion of the membership list, +will nevertheless be long remembered for the tone and quality of its +literature, and the uniformly smooth maintenance of its executive +programme. The virtual extirpation of petty politics, and the +elimination of all considerations save development of literary taste and +encouragement of literary talent, have raised our Association to a new +level of poise, harmony, dignity, and usefulness to the serious +aspirant. + +Prime honours must be awarded to our Official Editor and Official +Publisher, who have given us an official organ unequalled and +unapproached in the history of amateur journalism. The somewhat altered +nature of contents, and radically elevated standard of editorship, mark +an era in the progress of the Association; since the UNITED AMATEUR is +really the nucleus of our activity and a reflection of the best in our +current thought and ideals. We have this year helped to shatter the +foolish fetichism which restricts the average official organ to a +boresome and needless display of facts and figures, relating to the +political mechanism of amateurdom. The organ has been a literary one, as +befits a literary association; and has been conducted with a sounder +sense of relative values than in times when amateurs seemed to place +elections and annual banquets above art, taste, and rhetoric. + +The publications of the year have been distinguished for their merit, +general polish, and scholarly editorship. The percentage of crude matter +appearing in print has been reduced to a minimum through the careful and +conscientious critical service rendered both by the official bureau and +by private individuals. The artistic standard of the United has evolved +to a point where no aims short of excellence can win unqualified +approval. The classics have become our sole models, and whilst even the +most glaring faults of the sincere beginner receive liberal +consideration and sympathetically constructive attention, there is no +longer a seat of honour for complacent crudity. Genuine aspiration is +our criterion of worth. The spirit of this newer amateur journalism is +splendidly shown by such magazines of the year as =Eurus=, =Spindrift=, +=The Vagrant=, and the official organ. + +Just before the close of the present term, several new publications have +appeared, amongst them a =Vagrant=, a =Conservative=, and Mr. Moloney's +splendid first venture, =The Voice From the Mountains=. Early in the +next fiscal year will appear =The United Co-Operative=, the fruit of +this year's planning, edited by Mrs. Jordan, Miss Lehr, Mr. J. Clinton +Pryor, and the undersigned. A revival of manuscript magazines, +inaugurated by the appearance of Sub-Lieut. McKeag's =Northumbrian=, is +in a measure solving the problems created by the high price of printing. +Next month the undersigned will put into circulation =Hesperia=, a +typewritten magazine designed to foster a closer relationship between +British and American amateurdom. + +Judges of Award for the Laureateship contests have been appointed as +follows: Poetry, Mr. Nixon Waterman, a New-England bard who needs no +introduction to the lover of lofty and graceful expression. Verse, Dr. +Henry T. Schnittkind of the Stratford Publishing Co. Essay, Prof. Lewis +P. Shanks of the University of Pennsylvania. Study, Mr. J. Lee Robinson, +Editor of the =Cambridge Tribune=. Story, Mr. William R. Murphy of the +Philadelphia =Evening Ledger=, a former United man of the highest +attainments. Editorial, Hon. Oliver Wayne Stewart, Associate Editor of +=The National Enquirer=. + +In doffing the official mantle after a year of executive endeavour, the +undersigned must express regret at his inability to serve in as vigorous +a manner as would the ideal President. He is acutely conscious of his +shortcomings in a position which demands constant care and exertion, and +which imposes a strain that only the robust are perfectly qualified to +bear. It would be impossible for him fully to express his gratitude to +his faithful and capable colleagues, to whose unremitting and +faultlessly co-ordinated efforts all the successes of the present year +must in justice be attributed. Valete! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + June 26, 1918. + + + + + _THE + UNITED AMATEUR_ + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVIII ATHOL, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1918 NUMBER 2 + + +DEPARTMENT _of_ LITERATURE + +The Literature of Rome + +H. P. Lovecraft + + _The centre of our studies, the goal of our thoughts, the point to + which all paths lead and the point from which all paths start again, + is to be found in Rome and her abiding power._--Freeman. + +Few students of mankind, if truly impartial, can fail to select as the +greatest of human institutions that mighty and enduring civilisation +which, first appearing on the banks of the Tiber, spread throughout the +known world and became the direct parent of our own. If to Greece is due +the existence of all modern thought, so to Rome is due its survival and +our possession of it; for it was the majesty of the Eternal City which, +reducing all Western Europe to a single government, made possible the +wide and uniform diffusion of the high culture borrowed from Greece, and +thereby laid the foundation of European enlightenment. To this day the +remnants of the Roman world exhibit a superiority over those parts which +never came beneath the sway of the Imperial Mother; a superiority +strikingly manifest when we contemplate the savage code and ideals of +the Germans, aliens to the priceless heritage of Latin justice, +humanity, and philosophy. The study of Roman literature, then, needs no +plea to recommend it. It is ours by intellectual descent; our bridge to +all antiquity and to those Grecian stores of art and thought which are +the fountain head of existing culture. + +In considering Rome and her artistic history, we are conscious of a +subjectivity impossible in the case of Greece or any other ancient +nation. Whilst the Hellenes, with their strange beauty-worship and +defective moral ideals, are to be admired and pitied at once, as +luminous but remote phantoms; the Romans, with their greater practical +sense, ancient virtue, and love of law and order, seem like our own +people. It is with personal pride that we read of the valour and +conquests of this mighty race, who used the alphabet we use, spoke and +wrote with but little difference many of the words we speak and write, +and with divine creative power evolved virtually all the forms of law +which govern us today. To the Greek, art and literature were +inextricably involved in daily life and thought; to the Roman, as to us, +they were a separate unit in a many-sided civilisation. Undoubtedly this +circumstance proves the inferiority of the Roman culture to the Greek; +but it is an inferiority shared by our own culture, and therefore a bond +of sympathy. + +The race whose genius gave rise to the glories of Rome is, unhappily, +not now in existence. Centuries of devastating wars, and foreign +immigration into Italy, left but few real Latins after the early +Imperial Êra. The original Romans were a blend of closely related +dolichocephalic Mediterranean tribes, whose racial affinities with the +Greeks could not have been very remote, plus a slight Etruscan element +of doubtful classification. The latter stock is an object of much +mystery to ethnologists, being at present described by most authorities +as of the brachycephalic Alpine variety. Many Roman customs and habits +of thought are traceable to this problematical people. + +It is a singular circumstance, that classic Latin literature is, save in +the case of satire, almost wholly unrelated to the crude effusions of +the primitive Latins; being borrowed as to form and subject from the +Greeks, at a comparatively late date in Rome's political history. That +this borrowing assisted greatly in Latin cultural advancement, none may +deny; but it is also true that the new Hellenised literature exerted a +malign influence on the nation's ancient austerity, introducing lax +Grecian notions which contributed to moral and material decadence. The +counter-currents, however, were strong; and the virile Roman spirit +shone nobly through the Athenian dress in almost every instance, +imparting to the literature a distinctively national cast, and +displaying the peculiar characteristics of the Italian mind. On the +whole, Roman life moulded Roman literature more than the literature +moulded the life. + +The earliest writings of the Latins are, save for a fragment or two, +lost to posterity; though a few of their qualities are known. They were +for the most part crude ballads in an odd "Saturnian" metre copied from +the Etruscans, primitive religious chants and dirges, rough medleys of +comic verse forming the prototype of satire, and awkward "Fescennine" +dialogues or dramatic farces enacted by the lively peasantry. All +doubtless reflected the simple, happy and virtuous, if stern, life of +the home-loving agricultural race which was destined later to conquer +the world. In B. C. 364 the medleys or "SaturÊ" were enacted upon the +Roman stage, the words supplemented by the pantomime and dancing of +Etruscan performers who spoke no Latin. Another early form of dramatic +art was the "fabula Atellana," which was adapted from the neighbouring +tribe of Oscans, and which possessed a simple plot and stock characters. +While this early literature embodied Oscan and Etruscan as well as Latin +elements, it was truly Roman; for the Roman was himself formed of just +such a mixture. All Italy contributed to the Latin stream, but at no +time did any non-Roman dialect rise to the distinction of a real +literature. We have here no parallel for the ∆olic, Ionic, and Doric +phases of Greek literature. + +Classical Latin literature dates from the beginning of Rome's free +intercourse with Greece, a thing brought about by the conquest of the +Hellenic colonies in Southern Italy. When Tarentum fell to the Romans in +B. C. 272, there was brought to Rome as a captive and slave a young man +of great attainments, by name Andronicus. His master, M. Livius +Salinator, was quick to perceive his genius, and soon gave him his +liberty, investing him according to custom with his own nomen of Livius, +so that the freedman was afterward known as Livius Andronicus. The +erstwhile slave, having established a school, commenced his literary +career by translating the Odyssey into Latin Saturnian verse for the use +of his pupils. This feat was followed by the translation of a Greek +drama, which was enacted in B. C. 240, and formed the first genuinely +classic piece beheld by the Roman public. The success of Livius +Andronicus was very considerable, and he wrote many more plays, in which +he himself acted, besides attempting lyric and religious poetry. His +work, of which but 41 lines remain in existence, was pronounced inferior +by Cicero; yet must ever be accorded respect as the very commencement of +a great literature. + +Latin verse continued to depend largely on Greek models, but in prose +the Romans were more original, and the first celebrated prose writer was +that stern old Greek hater, M. Porcius Cato (234-149 B. C.), who +prepared orations and wrote on history, agriculture, and other subjects. +His style was clear, though by no means perfect, and it is a source of +regret that his historical work, the "Origines," is lost. Other prose +writers, all orators, extending from Cato's time down to the polished +period, are LÊlius, Scipio, the Gracchi, Antonius, Crassus, and the +celebrated Q. Hortensius, early opponent of Cicero. + +Satire, that one absolutely native product of Italy, first found +independent expression in C. Lucilius (180-103 B. C.), though the great +Roman inclination toward that form of expression had already found an +outlet in satirical passages in other sorts of writing. There is perhaps +no better weapon for the scourging of vice and folly than this potent +literary embodiment of wit and irony, and certainly no author ever +wielded that weapon more nobly than Lucilius. His Êra was characterised +by great degeneracy, due to Greek influences, and the manner in which he +upheld failing Virtue won him the unmeasured regard of his +contemporaries and successors. Horace, Persius, and Juvenal all owe much +to him, and it is melancholy to reflect that all his work, save a +fragment or two, is lost to the world. Lucilius, sometimes called "The +Father of Satire," was a man of equestrian rank, and fought with Scipio +at Numantia. + +With the age of M. Tullius Cicero (106-43 B. C.)--the Golden Age--opens +the period of highest perfection in Roman literature. It is hardly +necessary to describe Cicero himself--his luminous talents have made him +synonymous with the height of Attic elegance in wit, forensic art, and +prose composition. Born of equestrian rank, he was educated with care, +and embarked on his career at the age of twenty-five. His orations +against L. Sergius Catilina during his consulship broke up one of the +most dastardly plots in history, and gained for him the title of "Father +of His Country." Philosophy claimed much of his time, and his delightful +treatises "De Amicitia" and "De Senectute" will be read as long as +friendship endures on earth, or men grow old. Near the end of his life +Cicero, opposing the usurpations of M. Antonius, delivered his +masterpieces of oratory, the "Philippics," modelled after the similar +orations of the Greek Demosthenes against Philip of Macedonia. His +murder, demanded by the vengeful Antonius in the proscription of the +second triumvirate, was the direct result of these Philippics. +Contemporary with Cicero was M. Terentius Varro, styled "most learned of +the Romans," though ungraceful in style. Of his works, embracing many +diverse subjects, only one agricultural treatise survives. + +In this survey we need allot but little space to Caius Julius CÊsar, +probably the greatest human being so far to appear on this globe. His +Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars are models of pure and +perspicuous prose, and his other work, voluminous but now lost, was +doubtless of equal merit. At the present time, passages of CÊsar's +Gallic War are of especial interest on account of their allusions to +battles against those perpetual enemies of civilisation, the Germans. +How familiar, for instance, do we find the following passage from Book +Six, describing German notions of honour: + +"Latrocinia nullam habent infamiam, quÊ extra fines cujusque civitatis +fiunt, atque ea juventutis exercendÊ ac desidiÊ minuendÊ causa fieri +prÊdicant!" + +The next generation of authors fall within what has been termed the +"Augustan Age," the period during which Octavianus, having become +Emperor, encouraged letters to a degree hitherto unknown; not only +personally, but through his famous minister MÊcenas (73-8 B. C.). The +literature of this period is immortal through the genius of Virgil, +Horace, and Ovid, and has made the name "Augustan" an universal synonyme +for classic elegance and urbanity. Thus in our own literary history, +Queen Anne's reign is known as the "Augustan Age" on account of the +brilliant wits and poets then at their zenith. MÊcenas, whose name must +ever typify the ideal of munificent literary patronage, was himself a +scholar and poet, as was indeed Augustus. Both, however, are +overshadowed by the titanic geniuses who gathered around them. + +Succeeding the Golden Age, and extending down to the time of the +Antonines, is the so-called "Silver Age" of Latin literature, in which +are included several writers of the highest genius, despite a general +decadence and artificiality of style. In the reign of Tiberius we note +the annalists C. Velleius Paterculus and Valerius Maximus, the medical +writer, A. Cornelius Celsus, and the fabulist PhÊdrus, the latter a +freedman from Thrace who imitated his more celebrated predecessor ∆sop. + +The satirist, A. Persius Flaccus (34-62 A. D.), is the first eminent +poet to appear after the death of Ovid. Born at VolaterrÊ of an +equestrian family, carefully reared by his gifted mother, and educated +at Rome by the Stoic philosopher Cornutus, he became famous not only as +a moralist of the greatest power and urbanity, but as one whose life +accorded perfectly with his precepts; a character of unblemished virtue +and delicacy in an age of unprecedented evil. His work, which attacked +only the less repulsive follies of the day, contains passages of the +highest nobility. His early death terminated a career of infinite +promise. + +In the person of D. Junius Juvenalis (57-128 A. D.), commonly called +Juvenal, we behold the foremost satirist in literary history. Born at +Aquinum of humble but comfortably situated parents, he came to Rome as a +rhetorician; though upon discovering his natural bent, turned to +poetical satire. With a fierceness and moral seriousness unprecedented +in literature, Juvenal attacked the darkest vices of his age; writing as +a relentless enemy rather than as a man of the world like Horace, or as +a detached spectator like Persius. The oft repeated accusation that his +minute descriptions of vice shew a morbid interest therein, may fairly +be refuted when one considers the almost unthinkable depths to which the +republic had fallen. Only a tolerant or a secluded observer could avoid +attacking openly and bitterly the evil conditions which obtruded +themselves on every hand; and Juvenal, a genuine Roman of the active and +virtuous old school, was neither tolerant nor secluded. Juvenal wrote +sixteen satires in all, the most famous of which are the third and +tenth, both imitated in modern times with great success by Dr. Johnson. +Contemporary with Juvenal was the Spaniard, M. Valerius Martialis +(43-117 A. D.), commonly called Martial, master of the classic epigram. +Unsurpassed in compact, scintillant wit, his works present a subjective +and familiar picture of that society which Juvenal so bitterly attacked +from without. + +We come now upon one of the most distressing spectacles of human +history. The mighty empire of Rome; its morals corrupted through Eastern +influences, its spirit depressed through despotic government, and its +people reduced to mongrel degeneracy through unrestrained immigration +and foreign admixture; suddenly ceases to be an abode of creative +thought, and sinks into a mental lethargy which dries up the very +fountains of art and literature. The Emperor Constantinus, desirous of +embellishing his new capital with the most magnificent decorations, can +find no artist capable of fashioning them; and is obliged to strip +ancient Greece of her choicest sculptures to fulfil his needs. Plainly, +the days of Roman glory are over; and only a few and mainly mediocre +geniuses are to be expected in the years preceding the actual downfall +of Latin civilisation. + +It is interesting, in a melancholy way, to trace the course of Roman +poetry down to its very close, when it is lost amidst the darkness of +the Middle Ages. Claudius Rutilius Namatianus, who flourished in the 5th +century, was a Gaul, and wrote a very fair piece culled the +"Itinerarium," describing a voyage from Rome to his native province. +Though inferior to his contemporary, Claudian, in genius, Rutilius +excels him in purity of diction and refinement of taste. At this period, +pure Latin was probably confined to the highest circles, the masses +already using that =eloquium vulgare= which later on formed the several +modern Romance Languages; hence Rutilius must have been in a sense a +classical antiquarian. + +The end draws near. Compilers, grammarians, critics, commentators, and +encyclopÊdists; summarising the past and quibbling over technical +minutiÊ; are the last survivors of a dying literature from whence +inspiration has already fled. Macrobius, a critic and grammarian of +celebrity, flourished in the fourth or fifth century, and interests us +as being one through knowledge of whose works Samuel Johnson first +attracted notice at Oxford. Priscian, conceded to be one of the +principal grammatical authorities of the Roman world, flourished about +the year 500. Isidorus Hispalensis, Bishop of Seville, grammarian, +historian and theologian, was the most celebrated and influential +literary character of the crumbling Roman fabric, save the philosopher +Boetius and the historian Cassiodorus, and was highly esteemed during +the Middle Ages, of which, indeed, he was as much a part, as he was a +part of expiring classicism. + +Now falls the curtain. =Roma fuit.= At the time of Isidorus' death in +A. D. 636, the beginnings of mediÊvalism were fully under way. +Authorship had disappeared in the broader sense; learning, such as it +was, had retired into the monasteries; whilst the populace of the +erstwhile Empire, living side by side with the invading barbarians, no +longer spoke a language justly to be called classical Latin. With the +revival of letters we shall see more Latin writings, but they will not +be Roman; for their authors will have new and strange idioms for their +mother-tongues, and will view life in a somewhat different manner. The +link of continuity will have been irreparably broken, and these revivers +will be Romans only in an artificial and antiquarian sense. He who calls +himself "Pomponius LÊtus" will be found to have been baptised Pomponio +Leto. Classical antiquity, with its simple magnificence, can never +return. + +In glancing back over the literature we have examined, we are impressed +by its distinctiveness, despite its Greek form. It is truly +characteristic of the Roman people, and expresses Rome's majestic mind +in a multitude of ways. Law, order, justice, and supremacy; "these +things, O Roman, shall to you be arts!" All through the works of Latin +authors runs this love of fame, power, order, and permanence. Art is not +a prime phase of life or entirely an intrinsic pleasure, but a means of +personal or national glorification; the true Roman poet writes his own +epitaph for posterity, and exults in the lasting celebrity his memory +will receive. Despite his debt to Hellas, he detests the foreign +influence, and can find no term of satirical opprobrium more biting than +"GrÊculus." The sense of rigid virtue, so deficient in the Greek, +blossoms forth nobly in the Roman; making moral satire the greatest of +native growths. Naturally, the Roman mind is most perfectly expressed in +those voluminous works of law, extending all the way down to the +Byzantine age of Justinianus, which have given the modern world its +entire foundation of jurisprudence; but of these, lack of space forbids +us to treat. They are not, strictly speaking, a part of literature +proper. + +The influence of the Latin classics upon modern literature has been +tremendous. They are today, and will ever be, vital sources of +inspiration and guidance. Our own most correct age, that of Queen Anne +and the first three Georges, was saturated with their spirit; and there +is scarce a writer of note who does not visibly reflect their immediate +influence. Each classic English author has, after a fashion, his Latin +counterpart. Mr. Pope was a Horace; Dr. Johnson a Juvenal. The early +Elizabethan tragedy was a reincarnation of Seneca, as comedy was of +Plautus. English literature teems with Latin quotations and allusions to +such a degree that no reader can extract full benefit if he have not at +least a superficial knowledge of Roman letters. + +Wherefore it is enjoined upon the reader not to neglect cultivation of +this rich field; a field which offers as much of pure interest and +enjoyment of necessary cultural training and wholesome intellectual +discipline. + + +To Alan Seeger: + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +(In =National Enquirer=) + + SEEGER, whose soul, with animated lyre + Wak'd the dull dreamer to a manlier fire; + Whose martial voice, by martial deeds sustain'd, + Denounc'd the age when shameful peace remain'd; + Let thy brave spirit yet among us dwell, + And linger where thy form in valour fell: + Proudly before th' invader's fury mass'd, + Behold thy country's cohorts, rous'd at last! + It was not for thy mortal eye to see + Columbia arm'd for right and liberty; + Thine was the finer heart, that could not stay + To wait for laggards in the vital fray, + And ere the millions felt thy sacred heat, + Thou hadst thy gift to Freedom made complete. + But while thou sleepest in an honour'd grave + Beneath the Gallic sod thou bledst to save, + May thy soul's vision scan the ravag'd plain, + And tell thee that thou didst not fall in vain: + Here, as thou pray'dst, a million men advance, + To prove Columbia one with flaming France, + And heeding now the long-forgotten debt, + Pay with their blood the gen'rous LAFAYETTE! + Thy ringing odes to prophecies are turn'd, + Whilst legions feel the blaze that in thee burn'd. + Not as a lonely stranger dost thou lie, + Thy form forsaken 'neath a foreign sky, + On Gallic tongues thy name forever lives, + First of the mighty host thy country gives: + All that thou dreamt'st in life shall come to be, + And proud Columbia find her voice in thee! + +(Alan Seeger fell in the Cause of Civilisation at Belloy-en-Santerre, +July 4, 1916.) + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1919 + + +THEODORE ROOSEVELT + +1858-1919 + + Last of the giants, in whose soul shone clear + The sacred torch of greatness and of right, + A stricken world, that cannot boast thy peer, + Mourns o'er thy grave amidst the new-born night. + + Sage, seer and statesman, wise in ev'ry art; + First to behold, and first to preach, the truth; + Soldier and patriot, in whose mighty heart + Throbb'd the high valour of eternal youth. + + Foremost of citizens and best of chiefs, + Within thy mind no weak inaction lay; + Leal to thy standards, firm in thy beliefs; + As quick to do, as others are to say. + + Freeman and gentleman, whose spirit glow'd + With kindness' and with goodness' warmest fire; + To prince and peasant thy broad friendship flow'd, + Each proud to take, and eager to admire. + + Within thy book of life each spotless page + Lies open for a world's respecting view; + Thou stand'st the first and purest of our age, + To private, as to public virtue true. + + In thee did such transcendent greatness gleam, + That none might grudge thee an Imperial place; + Yet such thy modesty, thou need'st must seem + The leader, not the monarch, of thy race. + + Courage and pow'r, to wit and learning join'd, + With energy that sham'd the envious sun; + The ablest, bravest, noblest of mankind-- + A Caesar and Aurelius mixt in one. + + At thy stern gaze Dishonour bow'd its head; + Oppression slunk ingloriously away; + The virtuous follow'd where thy footsteps led, + And Freedom bless'd thy uncorrupted sway. + + When from the East invading Vandals pour'd, + And selfish ignorance restrain'd our hand, + Thy voice was first to bid us draw the sword + To guard our liberties and save our land. + + Envy deny'd thee what thy spirit sought, + And held thee from the battle-seething plain; + Yet thy proud blood in filial bodies fought, + And poppies blossom o'er thy QUENTIN slain. + + 'Twas thine to see the triumph of thy cause; + Thy grateful eyes beheld a world redeem'd; + Would that thy wisdom might have shap'd the laws + Of the new age, and led to heights undream'd! + + Yet art thou gone? Will not thy presence cling + Like that of all the great who liv'd before? + Will not new wonders of thy fashioning + Rise from thy words, as potent as of yore? + + Absent in flesh, thou with a brighter flame + Shin'st as the beacon of the brave and free; + Thou art our country's soul--our loftiest aim + Is but to honour and to follow thee! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + January 13, 1919. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1919 + + +A Note on Howard P. Lovecraft's Verse + +Rheinhart Kleiner + +Comment occasioned by the verse of Mr. Howard P. Lovecraft, who is a +more or less frequent contributor to the amateur press, has not +consisted of unmixed praise. + +Certain critics have regarded his efforts as too obviously imitative of +a style that has long been discredited. Others have accepted his work +with admiration and have even gone so far as to imitate the couplets +which he produces with such apparent ease. + +Between these two opinions there is a critical neutral ground, the +holders of which realise how large an element of conscious parody enters +into many of Mr. Lovecraft's longer and more serious productions, and +who are capable of appreciating the cleverness and literary charm of +these pastoral echoes without being dominated by them to the extent of +indiscriminate praise and second-hand imitation. + +Those who would beguile Mr. Lovecraft from his chosen path are probably +unaware of the attitude which he consistently maintains toward hostile +criticism. Mr. Lovecraft contends that it gives him pleasure to write as +the Augustans did, and that those who do not relish his excursions into +classic fields need not follow him. He tries to conciliate no one, and +is content to be his own sole reader! What critic, with these facts +before him, will think it worthwhile to break a lance with the poet? + +But even Mr. Lovecraft is willing to be original, at times. He has +written verse of a distinctly modern atmosphere, and where his imagery +is not too obtrusively artificial--according to the modern idea--many of +his quatrains possess genuine poetic value. + +Many who cannot read his longer and more ambitious productions find Mr. +Lovecraft's light or humorous verse decidedly refreshing. As a satirist +along familiar lines, particularly those laid down by Butler, Swift and +Pope, he is most himself--paradoxical though it seems. In reading his +satires one cannot help but feel the zest with which the author has +composed them. They are admirable for the way in which they reveal the +depth and intensity of Mr. Lovecraft's convictions, while the wit, +irony, sarcasm and humour to be found in them serve as an indication of +his powers as a controversialist. The almost relentless ferocity of his +satires is constantly relieved by an attendant broad humour which has +the merit of causing the reader to chuckle more than once in the perusal +of some attack levelled against the particular person or policy which +may have incurred Mr. Lovecraft's displeasure. + + +OFFICIAL REPORTS + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Coyote= for October-January is a "Special War Number," dedicated to +Cpl. Raymond Wesley Harrington, the editor's valiant soldier brother, +and having a general martial atmosphere throughout. Among the contents +are two bits of verse by the gallant overseas warrior to whom the issue +is inscribed, both of which speak well for the poetic sentiment of their +heroic author. + +"Lord Love You, Lad," a poem by Winifred V. Jordan, is the opening +contribution; and deserves highest commendation both for its spirit and +for its construction. + +"The Paramount Issue," by William T. Harrington, is a somewhat ambitious +attempt to trace the responsibility for the great war to alcoholic +liquor and its degenerative effect on mankind. The author even goes so +far as to say that "had man been represented in his true and noble form, +then war would have been impossible." Now although the present critic is +and always has been an ardent prohibitionist, he must protest at this +extravagant theory. Vast and far-reaching as are the known evil effects +of drink, it is surely transcending fact to accuse it of causing +mankind's natural greed, pride, and combative instincts, which lie at +the base of all warfare. It may, however, be justly suggested that much +of the peculiar bestiality of the Huns is derived from their swinish +addiction to beer. Technically, Mr. Harrington's essay is marked by few +crudities, and displays an encouraging fluency. Other pieces by Mr. +Harrington are "A Bit of My Diary," wherein the author relates his +regrettably brief military experience at Camp Dodge, and "Victory," a +stirring editorial. + +"Black Sheep," by Edna Hyde, is an excellent specimen of blank verse by +our gifted laureate. Line 14 seems to lack a syllable, but this +deficiency is probably the result of a typographical error. + +A word of praise is due the general appearance of the magazine. The +cover presents a refreshing bit of home-made pictorial art, whilst the +photograph of Corporal Harrington makes a most attractive frontispiece. + + * * * * * + +=The Pathfinder= for January is easily the best issue yet put forth by +its enterprising young editor. "Hope," which adorns the cover, is a poem +of much merit by Annie Pearce. The apparent lack of a syllable in line 2 +of the third stanza is probably due to a printer's error whereby the +word =us= is omitted immediately after the word =for=. + +"How and Why Roses Are White," by Margaret Mahon, is a fairy legend of +much charm and decided originality, which argues eloquently for its +author's imaginative scope and literary ability. + +"Happiness in a Glove" is a very facile and pleasing rendering of a bit +of Spanish dialogue. Through a mistake, the authorship is credited to +the translator, Miss Ella M. Miller, though her own manuscript fully +proclaimed the text as a translation. + +"Welcome, 1919," is a brief contemplative essay by Editor Glause; in +spirit admirable, but in phraseology showing some of the uncertainty of +youthful work. Mr. Glause might well pay more attention to compact +precision in his prose, using as few and as forceful words as possible +to express his meaning. For instance, his opening words would gain +greatly in strength if contracted to the following: "Now that a new year +is beginning." Farther down the page we find the word =namely= in a +place which impels us to question its use. Its total omission would +strengthen the sentence which contains it. Another point we must mention +is the excessive punctuation, especially the needless hyphenation of +=amateurdom= and =therefore=, and the apostrophe in the possessive +pronoun =its=. The form =it's= is restricted to the colloquial +contraction of "=it is="; the similarly spelled pronoun is written +solidly without an apostrophe. Additional notes by Mr. Glause are of +equal merit, and his reply to a recent article on travel is highly +sensible and commendable. He is a writer and thinker of much power, and +needs only technical training in order to develop into an essayist of +the first rank. As an editor he cannot be praised too highly for his +faithfulness in publishing his welcome and attractive quarterly. + + * * * * * + +=Pine Cones= for February well maintains the high standard set by Mr. +Pryor in his opening number. "Life, Death and Immortality," by Jonathan +E. Hoag, is a brief but appealing piece from the pen of a gifted and +venerable bard, and thoroughly deserves its place of honour on the +cover. On the next page occurs a metrical tribute to this sweet singer +on his 88th birthday, written by H. P. Lovecraft in the latter's typical +heroic strain. + +"The Helpful Twins," a clever child story by Editor Pryor, is the prose +treat of the issue. It would, indeed, be hard to find more than one or +two equally interesting, human, and well-developed bits of fiction in +any current amateur periodicals. Not only are the characters drawn with +delightful naturalness, but there is real humour present; and the plot +moves on to its climax without a single instance of awkwardness or a +single intrusive or extraneous episode. In short, the story is almost a +model of its kind; one which ought to prove a success in a professional +as well as an amateur magazine. Mr. Pryor's humour is more broadly shown +in the smile-producing pseudo-anecdotes of "The Boy Washington." + +The bit of unsigned verse, "A New Year Wish," is excellent, though we +question the advisability of having an Alexandrine for the final line. + +"Comment Pryoristic" is always interesting, and that in the current +=Pine Cones= forms no exception to the rule. The appearance of this +vigorously alive and intelligently edited publication is proving a great +and gratifying factor in amateurdom's post-bellum renaissance. + + * * * * * + +=The Recruiter= for January marks the advent to amateurdom of a new +paper, which easily takes its place among the very best of recent +editorial enterprises. Edited by Misses Mary Faye Durr and L. Evelyn +Schump in the interest of the United recruits whom they are securing, +its thoroughly meritorious quality speaks well for the new members thus +added to our circle. + +The issue opens auspiciously with a lyric poem of distinguished +excellence by Helen McFarland, entitled "A Casualty." In depth of +sentiment, fervour of expression, and correctness of construction, these +melodious lines leave little to be desired; and seem to indicate that +the United has acquired one more poet of the first rank. + +"Billy," a character sketch by L. Evelyn Schump, introduces to the +Association a light essayist of unusual power and grace, whose work is +vividly natural through keen insight, apt and fluent expression, and +mastery of homely and familiar detail. The present sketch is +captivatingly lifelike and thoroughly well-written, arousing a response +from every lover of children. + +"Winter," a brief poem by Hettie Murdock, celebrates in a pleasant way +an unpleasant season. The lines are notable for correctness, spontaneity +and vitality, though not in the least ambitious in scope. + +Martha Charlotte Macatee's "Song of Nature" reveals its 12-year-old +creator as a genuine "Galpiness" (if we may coin a word which only +amateurs and Appletonians will understand). Mistress Macatee has +succeeded in infusing more than a modicum of really poetic atmosphere +and imagery into her short lyric, and may be relied upon to produce +important work in the coming years of greater maturity. The chief defect +of her present piece is the absence of rhyme, which should always occur +in a short stanzaic poem. Rhyming is not at all difficult after a little +practice, and we trust that the young writer will employ it in later +verses. + +"Tarrytown," by Florence Fitzgerald, is a reminiscent poem of phenomenal +strength, marred only by a pair of false rhymes in the opening stanza. +Assonance must never be mistaken for true rhyme, and combinations like +=boats-float= or =them-brim= should be avoided. The imagery of this +piece is especially appealing, and testifies to its author's fertility +of fancy. + +"Shades of Adam," by Mary Faye Durr, is an interesting and humorously +written account of the social side of our 1918 convention. Miss Durr is +exceptionally gifted in the field of apt, quiet, and laconic wit, and in +this informal chronicle neglects no opportunity for dryly amusing +comment on persons and events. + +"Spring," by L. Evelyn Schump, is a refreshingly original poem in blank +verse, on a somewhat familiar subject. For inspiration and technique +alike, the piece merits enthusiastic commendation; though we may +vindicate our reputation as a fault-finding critic by asking why +alternate lines are indented despite the non-existence of alternate +rhymes. + +=The Recruiter's= editorial column is brief and businesslike, +introducing the magazine as a whole, and its contributors individually. +Amateurdom is deeply indebted to the publishers of this delightful +newcomer, and it is to be hoped that they may continue their efforts; +both toward seeking recruits as high in quality as those here +represented, and toward issuing their admirable journal as frequently as +is feasible. + + * * * * * + +=The Silver Clarion= for January comes well up to the usual standard, +containing a number of pieces of considerable power. In "The Temple of +the Holy Ghost," Mr. Arthur Goodenough achieves his accustomed success +as a religious poet, presenting a variety of apt images, and clothing +them in facile metre. The only defect is a lack of uniformity in rhyming +plan. The poet, in commencing a piece like this, should decide whether +or not to rhyme the first and third lines of quatrains; and having +decided, should adhere to his decision. Instead, Mr. Goodenough omits +these optional rhymes in the first stanza and in the first half of the +third and fourth stanzas; elsewhere employing them. The result, while +not flagrantly inharmonious, nevertheless gives an impression of +imperfection, and tends to alienate the fastidious critic. Mr. +Goodenough possesses so great a degree of inspiration, and so wide an +array of allusions and imagery; that he owes it to himself to complete +the excellence of his vivid work with an unexceptionable technique. + +"The Cross," a sonnet by Captain Theodore Draper Gottlieb, is dedicated +to the Red Cross, with which the author is serving so valiantly. In +thought and form this piece deserves unqualified praise. + +"Death," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, exhibits our versatile Western bard +in sober mood. The poem contains that unmistakable stamp of genuine +emotion which we have come to associate with Mr. Lockhart's work, and is +technically faultless. + +"Destiny," by W. F. Pelton, is a sonnet of smooth construction and +thorough excellence by one whom we know better as "Wilfrid Kemble." + +The lines "To My Pal, Fred" present Mr. Harry E. Rieseberg, a new +member of the United who has for some time been a regular =Clarion= +contributor. In this piece Mr. Rieseberg falls somewhat below his usual +standard; for though the sentiment is appropriate, the metre is sadly +irregular. Mr. Rieseberg should count the syllables in his lines, for he +is a young poet of much promise, and should allow his technique to keep +pace with his genius. + +"Faith," by Winifred V. Jordan, enunciates a familiar doctrine in +melodious and original metaphor, and well sustains the poetical +reputation of its celebrated author. + +"The Song Unsung," by W. F. Booker, is a war poem in minor key, which +deserves much praise. + +"You're Like a Willow," by Eugene B. Kuntz, is marked by that warmth of +fancy and wealth of imagery for which its author is noted. + +"Thoughts," a courtly offering from the quill of James Laurence Crowley, +winds up the poetical part of the magazine; this month a very ample +part. In rhyme and metre this sentimental gem is quite satisfactory. + +The only prose in this issue is Mr. Samples' well-written editorial on +"The Passing Year." Herein we find some really excellent passages, +savouring somewhat of the oratorical in style. + + * * * * * + +=The Silver Clarion= for February is of ample size and ample merit. +Opening the issue is an excellent poem in heroic couplets by Mrs. Stella +L. Tully of Mountmellick, Ireland, a new member of the United. Mrs. +Tully, whose best work is in a lyric and religious vein, is one endowed +with hereditary or family genius; as the Association no doubt +appreciated when reading the poetry of her gifted sister, Mrs. S. Lilian +McMullen of Newton Centre, in the preceding issue of THE UNITED AMATEUR. +The present piece by Mrs. Tully, "The Greatest of These is Love," is +based upon a Biblical text, and sets forth its ideas very effectively, +despite a few passages whose stiff construction betrays a slight +inexperience in the traditions of heroic verse. + +"The Two Crosses," by Capt. Theodore Gottlieb, is also in heroics, and +graphically compares the most holy symbols of today and of nineteen +hundred years ago. + +More of the religious atmosphere is furnished by John Milton Samples' +trochaic composition entitled "The Millennium"--from whose title, by the +way, one of the necessary n's is missing. In this pleasing picture of +an impossible age we note but three things requiring critical attention. +(1) The term "super-race" in stanza 5, is too technically philosophical +to be really poetic. (2) The rhyme of =victory= and =eternally= is not +very desirable, because both the rhyming syllables bear only a secondary +accent. (3) There is something grotesque and unconsciously comic in the +prophecy "Then the lamb shall kiss the lion." Such grotesqueness is not +to be found in the original words of Mr. Samples' predecessor and source +of inspiration, the well-known prophet Isaiah. (Vide Isaiah, xi: 6-7.) + +"Nature Worship," by Arthur Goodenough, is one of the most meritorious +poems in the issue, despite some dubious grammar in the first stanza, +and an internal rhyme in the final stanza which has no counterpart in +the lines preceding. The first named error consists of a disagreement in +number betwixt subject and verb: "faith and form and ... mazes which ... +perplexes, dazes." + +"The New Order," an essay by John Milton Samples, is an eloquent but +fantastically idealistic bit of speculation concerning the wonderful +future which dreamers picture as arising out of the recent war. To us, +there is a sort of pathos in these vain hopes and mirage-like visions of +an Utopia which can never be; yet if they can cheer anyone, they are +doubtless not altogether futile. Indeed, after the successive menaces of +the Huns and the Bolsheviki, we can call almost any future Utopian, if +it will but afford the comparative calm of pre-1914 days! + +"No Night So Dark, No Day So Drear," by Mamie Knight Samples, is a poem +which reveals merit despite many crudities. The outstanding fault is +defective metre--Mrs. Samples should carefully count her syllables, and +repeat her lines aloud, to make sure of perfect scansion. Since the +intended metre appears to be iambic tetrameter, we shall here give a +revised rendering of the first stanza; showing how it can be made to +conform to that measure: + + "No night so dark, no day so drear, + But we may sing our songs of cheer." + These words, borne from the world without, + Cheer'd a heart sick with grief and doubt. + O doubting soul, bow'd down so low, + If thou couldst feel, and only know + The darkness is in thee alone, + For grief and tears it would atone. + "No night so dark, no day so drear, + But we may sing our songs of cheer." + +Let the authoress note that each line must have eight syllables--no +more, no less. For the trite ideas and hackneyed rhymes, nothing can be +recommended save a more observant and discriminating perusal of standard +poets. It must be kept in mind that the verse found in current family +magazines and popular hymn-books is seldom, if ever, true poetry. The +only authors suitable as models, are those whose names are praised in +histories of English literature. + +W. F. Booker's "Song" is a delightful short lyric whose sentiment and +technique deserve naught but praise. + +"When I Am Gone," a poem in pentameter quatrains by James Laurence +Crowley, contains the customary allotment of sweet sentiment, together +with some really commendable imagery. Mr. Crowley's genius will shine +brightly before long. + +"The Path to Glory," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is perhaps the poetic +gem of the issue. In this virile anapÊstic piece Mr. Lockhart sums up +all the horrors of the trenches in such a way that the reader may guess +at the extent of the sacrifice undergone by those who have given all for +their country. + +In "Coconino Jim, Lumberjack," Mr. Harry E. Rieseberg shows himself a +true and powerful poet of the rugged, virile school of Kipling, Service, +Knibbs, and their analogues. The present piece is entirely correct in +rhyme and well-developed in thought, wanting only good metre to make it +perfect. This latter accomplishment Mr. Rieseberg should strive hard to +attain, for his poetry surely deserves as good a form as he can give it. + +A word of praise should be given Mr. Samples' editorial, "The +Professional in Amateur Journalism," in which he shows the fallacy of +the plea for a cruder, more juvenile amateurdom, which often emanates +from members of the older and less progressive associations. As the +editor contends, intellectual evolution must occur; and the whole recent +career of the United demonstrates the value of a purely literary society +for genuine literary aspirants of every age and every stage of mental +development. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1919 + + +Helene Hoffman Cole--Litterateur + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +Of the various authors who have contributed to the fame of our +Association, few can be compared in sustained ability and breadth of +interests to the late Helene Hoffman Cole. Represented in the press as a +poet, critic, essayist, and fiction-writer, Mrs. Cole achieved +distinction in all of these departments; rising during recent years to +an almost unique prominence in the field of book-reviewing. Her +compositions display a diversity of attainments and catholicity of taste +highly remarkable in one of so relatively slight an age, familiar +knowledge of foreign and archaic literature supplying a mature +background too seldom possessed by amateur authors. + +It is as a poet that Mrs. Cole has been least known, since her verse was +not of frequent occurrence in the amateur press. A glance at the few +existing specimens, however, demonstrates conclusively that her poetical +gifts were by no means inconsiderable; and that had she chosen such a +course, she might easily have become one of the leading bards of the +United. Verse like the unnamed autumn pieces in =Leaflets= and =The +Hellenian= possess an aptness and cleverness of fancy which bespeak the +true poet despite trivial technical imperfections. + +In fiction the extent of Mrs. Cole's genius was still further revealed, +nearly all her narratives moving along with impeccable grace and +fluency. Her plots were for the most part light and popular in nature, +and would have reflected credit on any professional writer of modern +magazine tales. Of her stories, "The Picture," appearing in =Leaflets= +for October, 1913, is an excellent example. More dramatic in quality is +"Her Wish," in the August, 1914, =Olympian=. This brief tragedy of a +Serbian and his bride is perhaps one of the very first tales written +around the World War. + +But it is in the domain of the literary essay that this authoress rose +to loftiest altitude. Of wide and profound reading, and of keen and +discriminating mind, Mrs. Cole presented in a style of admirable grace +and lucidity her reactions to the best works of numerous standard +authors, ancient and modern, English and foreign. The value of such work +in amateurdom, extending the cultural outlook and displaying the outside +world as seen through the eyes of a gifted, respected, and +representative member, scarce needs the emphasis of the commentator. He +who can link the amateur and larger spheres in a pleasing and acceptable +fashion, deserves the highest approbation and panegyric that the United +can bestow. Notable indeed are Mrs. Cole's sound reviews of Sir Thomas +Browne's "Hydriotaphia" in THE UNITED AMATEUR, of "Pelle, the Conqueror" +in =The Tryout=, and of numerous South American works but little known +to Northern readers. Of equal merit are such terse and delightful essays +as "M. Tullius Cicero, Pater Patriae," where the essayist invests a +classical theme with all the living charm of well-restrained +subjectivity. The style of these writings is in itself captivating; the +vocabulary containing enough words of Latin derivation to rescue it from +the Boeotian harshness typical of this age. All that has been said of +Mrs. Cole's broader reviews may be said of her amateur criticism, much +of which graced the columns of =The Olympian= and other magazines. + +The exclusively journalistic skill of Mrs. Cole now remains to be +considered, and this we find as brilliant as her other attainments. As +the editor of numerous papers during every stage of her career, she +exhibited phenomenal taste and enterprise; never failing to create +enthusiasm and evoke encomium with her ventures both individual and +co-operative. Her gift for gathering, selecting and writing news was +quite unexampled. As the reporter =par excellence= of both associations, +she was the main reliance of other editors for convention reports and +general items; all of which were phrased with an ease, urbanity, and +personality that lent them distinctiveness. Not the least of her +qualities was a gentle and unobtrusive humour which enlivened her +lighter productions. Amateurdom will long remember the quaint piquancy +of the issues of =The Martian= which she cleverly published in the name +of her infant son. + +During these latter days nearly every amateur has expressed a kind of +incredulity that Mrs. Cole can indeed be no more, and in this the +present writer must needs share. To realise that her gifted pen has +ceased to enrich our small literary world requires a painful effort on +the part of everyone who has followed her brilliant progress in the +field of letters. The United loses more by her sudden and untimely +demise than can well be reckoned at this moment. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JULY 1919 + + +Americanism + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +Laureate + +It is easy to sentimentalise on the subject of "the American +spirit"--what it is, may be, or should be. Exponents of various novel +political and social theories are particularly given to this practice, +nearly always concluding that "true Americanism" is nothing more or less +than a national application of their respective individual doctrines. + +Slightly less superficial observers hit upon the abstract principle of +"Liberty" as the keynote of Americanism, interpreting this justly +esteemed principle as anything from Bolshevism to the right to drink +2.75 per cent. beer. "Opportunity" is another favourite byword, and one +which is certainly not without real significance. The synonymousness of +"America" and "opportunity" has been inculcated into many a young head +of the present generation by Emerson via Montgomery's "Leading Facts of +American History." But it is worthy of note that nearly all would-be +definers of "Americanism" fail through their prejudiced unwillingness to +trace the quality to its European source. They cannot bring themselves +to see that abiogenesis is as rare in the realm of ideas as it is in the +kingdom of organic life; and consequently waste their efforts in trying +to treat America as if it were an isolated phenomenon without ancestry. + +"Americanism" is expanded Anglo-Saxonism. It is the spirit of England, +transplanted to a soil of vast extent and diversity, and nourished for a +time under pioneer conditions calculated to increase its democratic +aspects without impairing its fundamental virtues. It is the spirit of +truth, honour, justice, morality, moderation, individualism, +conservative liberty, magnanimity, toleration, enterprise, +industriousness, and progress--which is England--plus the element of +equality and opportunity caused by pioneer settlement. It is the +expression of the world's highest race under the most favourable social, +political, and geographical conditions. Those who endeavour to belittle +the importance of our British ancestry, are invited to consider the +other nations of this continent. All these are equally "American" in +every particular, differing only in race-stock and heritage; yet of them +all, none save British Canada will even bear comparison with us. We are +great because we are a part of the great Anglo-Saxon cultural sphere; a +section detached only after a century and a half of heavy colonisation +and English rule, which gave to our land the ineradicable stamp of +British civilisation. + +Most dangerous and fallacious of the several misconceptions of +Americanism is that of the so-called "melting-pot" of races and +traditions. It is true that this country has received a vast influx of +non-English immigrants who come hither to enjoy without hardship the +liberties which our British ancestors carved out in toil and bloodshed. +It is also true that such of them as belong to the Teutonic and Celtic +races are capable of assimilation to our English type and of becoming +valuable acquisitions to the population. But, from this it does not +follow that a mixture of really alien blood or ideas has accomplished or +can accomplish anything but harm. Observation of Europe shows us the +relative status and capability of the several races, and we see that the +melting together of English gold and alien brass is not very likely to +produce any alloy superior or even equal to the original gold. +Immigration cannot, perhaps, be cut off altogether, but it should be +understood that aliens who choose America as their residence must accept +the prevailing language and culture as their own; and neither try to +modify our institutions, nor to keep alive their own in our midst. We +must not, as the greatest man of our age declared, suffer this nation to +become a "polyglot boarding house." + +The greatest foe to rational Americanism is that dislike for our parent +nation which holds sway amongst the ignorant and bigoted, and which is +kept alive largely by certain elements of the population who seem to +consider the sentiments of Southern and Western Ireland more important +than those of the United States. In spite of the plain fact that a +separate Ireland would weaken civilisation and menace the world's peace +by introducing a hostile and undependable wedge betwixt the two major +parts of Saxondom, these irresponsible elements continue to encourage +rebellion in the Green Isle; and in so doing tend to place this nation +in a distressingly anomalous position as an abettor of crime and +sedition against the Mother Land. Disgusting beyond words are the public +honours paid to political criminals like Edward, alias Eamonn, de +Valera, whose very presence at large among us is an affront to our +dignity and heritage. Never may we appreciate or even fully comprehend +our own place and mission in the world, till we can banish those clouds +of misunderstanding which float between us and the source of our +culture. + +But the features of Americanism peculiar to this continent must not be +belittled. In the abolition of fixed and rigid class lines a distinct +sociological advance is made, permitting a steady and progressive +recruiting of the upper levels from the fresh and vigorous body of the +people beneath. Thus opportunities of the choicest sort await every +citizen alike, whilst the biological quality of the cultivated classes +is improved by the cessation of that narrow inbreeding which +characterises European aristocracy. + +Total separation of civil and religious affairs, the greatest political +and intellectual advance since the Renaissance, is also a local +American--and more particularly a Rhode Island--triumph. Agencies are +today subtly at work to undermine this principle, and to impose upon us +through devious political influences the Papal chains which Henry VIII +first struck from our limbs; chains unfelt since the bloody reign of +Mary, and infinitely worse than the ecclesiastical machinery which Roger +Williams rejected. But when the vital relation of intellectual freedom +to genuine Americanism shall be fully impressed upon the people, it is +likely that such sinister undercurrents will subside. + +The main struggle which awaits Americanism is not with reaction, but +with radicalism. Our age is one of restless and unintelligent +iconoclasm, and abounds with shrewd sophists who use the name +"Americanism" to cover attacks on that institution itself. Such familiar +terms and phrases as "democracy," "liberty," or "freedom of speech" are +being distorted to cover the wildest forms of anarchy, whilst our old +representative institutions are being attacked as "un-American" by +foreign immigrants who are incapable both of understanding them or of +devising anything better. + +This country would benefit from a wider practice of sound Americanism, +with its accompanying recognition of an Anglo-Saxon source. Americanism +implies freedom, progress, and independence; but it does not imply a +rejection of the past, nor a renunciation of traditions and experience. +Let us view the term in its real, practical, and unsentimental meaning. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR NOVEMBER 1919 + + +The White Ship + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +I am Basil Elton, keeper of the North Point light that my father and +grandfather kept before me. Far from the shore stands the grey +lighthouse, above sunken slimy rocks that are seen when the tide is low, +but unseen when the tide is high. Past that beacon for a century have +swept the majestic barques of the seven seas. In the days of my +grandfather there were many; in the days of my father not so many; and +now there are so few that I sometimes feel strangely alone, as though I +were the last man on our planet. + +From far shores came those white-sailed argosies of old; from far +Eastern shores where warm suns shine and sweet odours linger about +strange gardens and gay temples. The old captains of the sea came often +to my grandfather and told him of these things, which in turn he told to +my father, and my father told to me in the long autumn evenings when +the wind howled eerily from the East. And I have read more of these +things, and of many things besides, in the books men gave me when I was +young and filled with wonder. + +But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the +secret lore of ocean. Blue, green, grey, white or black; smooth, +ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent. All my days have I +watched it and listened to it, and I know it well. At first it told to +me only the plain little tales of calm beaches and near ports, but with +the years it grew more friendly and spoke of other things; of things +more strange and more distant in space and in time. Sometimes at +twilight the grey vapours of the horizon have parted to grant me +glimpses of the ways beyond; and sometimes at night the deep waters of +the sea have grown clear and phosphorescent, to grant me glimpses of the +ways beneath. And these glimpses have been as often of the ways that +were and the ways that might be, as of the ways that are; for ocean is +more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the +dreams of Time. + +Out of the South it was that the White Ship used to come when the moon +was full and high in the heavens. Out of the South it would glide very +smoothly and silently over the sea. And whether the sea was rough or +calm, and whether the wind was friendly or adverse, it would always +glide smoothly and silently, its sails distent and its long strange +tiers of oars moving rhythmically. One night I espied upon the deck a +man, bearded and robed, and he seemed to beckon me to embark for fair +unknown shores. Many times afterward I saw him under the full moon, and +ever did he beckon me. + +Very brightly did the moon shine on the night I answered the call, and I +walked out over the waters to the White Ship on a bridge of moonbeams. +The man who had beckoned now spoke a welcome to me in a soft language I +seemed to know well, and the hours were filled with soft songs of the +oarsmen as we glided away into a mysterious South, golden with the glow +of that full, mellow moon. + +And when the day dawned, rosy and effulgent, I beheld the green shore of +far lands, bright and beautiful, and to me unknown. Up from the sea rose +lordly terraces of verdure, tree-studded, and shewing here and there the +gleaming white roofs and colonnades of strange temples. As we drew +nearer the green shore the bearded man told me of that land, the Land of +Zar, where dwell all the dreams and thoughts of beauty that come to men +once and then are forgotten. And when I looked upon the terraces again I +saw that what he said was true, for among the sights before me were many +things I had once seen through the mists beyond the horizon in the +phosphorescent depths of ocean. There too were forms and fantasies more +splendid than I had ever known; the visions of young poets who died in +want before the world could learn of what they had seen and dreamed. But +we did not set foot upon the sloping meadows of Zar, for it is told that +he who treads them may nevermore return to his native shore. + +As the White Ship sailed silently away from the templed terraces of Zar, +we beheld on the distant horizon ahead the spires of a mighty city; and +the bearded man said to me, "This is Thalarion, the City of a Thousand +Wonders, wherein reside all those mysteries that man has striven in vain +to fathom." And I looked again, at closer range, and saw that the city +was greater than any city I had known or dreamed of before. Into the sky +the spires of its temples reached, so that no man might behold their +peaks; and far back beyond the horizon stretched the grim, grey walls, +over which one might spy only a few roofs, weird and ominous, yet +adorned with rich friezes and alluring sculptures. I yearned mightily to +enter this fascinating yet repellent city, and beseeched the bearded man +to land me at the stone pier by the huge carven gate Akariel; but he +gently denied my wish, saying, "Into Thalarion, the City of a Thousand +Wonders, many have passed but none returned. Therein walk only dÊmons +and mad things that are no longer men, and the streets are white with +the unburied bones of those who have looked upon the eidolon Lathi, that +reigns over the city." So the White Ship sailed on past the walls of +Thalarion, and followed for many days a southward-flying bird, whose +glossy plumage matched the sky out of which it had appeared. + +Then came we to a pleasant coast gay with blossoms of every hue, where +as far inland as we could see basked lovely groves and radiant arbours +beneath a meridian sun. From bowers beyond our view came bursts of song +and snatches of lyric harmony, interspersed with faint laughter so +delicious that I urged the rowers onward in my eagerness to reach the +scene. And the bearded man spoke no word, but watched me as we +approached the lily-lined shore. Suddenly a wind blowing from over the +flowery meadows and leafy woods brought a scent at which I trembled. The +wind grew stronger, and the air was filled with the lethal, charnel +odour of plague-stricken towns and uncovered cemeteries. And as we +sailed madly away from that damnable coast the bearded man spoke at +last, saying, "This is Xura, the Land of Pleasures Unattained." + +So once more the White Ship followed the bird of heaven, over warm +blessed seas fanned by caressing, aromatic breezes. Day after day and +night after night did we sail, and when the moon was full we would +listen to soft songs of the oarsmen, sweet as on that distant night when +we sailed away from my far native land. And it was by moonlight that we +anchored at last in the harbour of Sona-Nyl, which is guarded by twin +headlands of crystal that rise from the sea and meet in a resplendent +arch. This is the Land of Fancy, and we walked to the verdant shore upon +a golden bridge of moonbeams. + +In the Land of Sona-Nyl there is neither time nor space, neither +suffering nor death; and there I dwelt for many Êons. Green are the +groves and pastures, bright and fragrant the flowers, blue and musical +the streams, clear and cool the fountains, and stately and gorgeous the +temples, castles, and cities of Sona-Nyl. Of that land there is no +bound, for beyond each vista of beauty rises another more beautiful. +Over the countryside and amidst the splendour of cities can move at will +the happy folk, of whom all are gifted with unmarred grace and unalloyed +happiness. For the Êons that I dwelt there I wandered blissfully through +gardens where quaint pagodas peep from pleasing clumps of bushes, and +where the white walks are bordered with delicate blossoms. I climbed +gentle hills from whose summits I could see entrancing panoramas of +loveliness, with steepled towns nestling in verdant valleys, and with +the golden domes of gigantic cities glittering on the infinitely distant +horizon. And I viewed by moonlight the sparkling sea, the crystal +headlands, and the placid harbour wherein lay anchored the White Ship. + +It was against the full moon one night in the immemorial year of Tharp +that I saw outlined the beckoning form of the celestial bird, and felt +the first stirrings of unrest. Then I spoke with the bearded man, and +told him of my new yearning to depart for remote Cathuria, which no man +hath seen, but which all believe to lie beyond the basalt pillars of the +West. It is the Land of Hope, and in it shine the perfect ideals of all +that we know elsewhere; or at least so men relate. But the bearded man +said to me, "Beware of those perilous seas wherein men say Cathuria +lies. In Sona-Nyl there is no pain nor death, but who can tell what lies +beyond the basalt pillars of the West?" Natheless at the next full moon +I boarded the White Ship, and with the reluctant bearded man left the +happy harbour for untravelled seas. + +And the bird of heaven flew before, and led us toward the basalt pillars +of the West, but this time the oarsmen sang no soft songs under the full +moon. In my mind I would often picture the unknown Land of Cathuria with +its splendid groves and palaces, and would wonder what new delights +there awaited me. "Cathuria," I would say to myself, "is the abode of +gods and the land of unnumbered cities of gold. Its forests are of aloe +and sandalwood, even as the fragrant groves of Camorin, and among the +trees flutter gay birds sweet with song. On the green and flowery +mountains of Cathuria stand temples of pink marble, rich with carven and +painted glories, and having in their courtyards cool fountains of +silver, where purl with ravishing music the scented waters that come +from the grotto-born river Narg. And the cities of Cathuria are +cinctured with golden walls, and their pavements are also of gold. In +the gardens of these cities are strange orchids, and perfumed lakes +whose beds are of coral and amber. At night the streets and the gardens +are lit with gay lanthorns fashioned from three-coloured shell of the +tortoise, and here resound the soft notes of the singer and the +lutanist. And the houses of the cities of Cathuria are all palaces, each +built over a fragrant canal bearing the waters of the sacred Narg. Of +marble and porphyry are the houses, and roofed with glittering gold +that reflects the rays of the sun and enhances the splendour of the +cities as blissful gods view them from the distant peaks. Fairest of all +is the palace of the great monarch Dorieb, whom some say to be a demigod +and others a god. High is the palace of Dorieb, and many are the turrets +of marble upon its walls. In its wide halls may multitudes assemble, and +here hang the trophies of the ages. And the roof is of pure gold, set +upon tall pillars of ruby and azure, and having such carven figures of +gods and heroes that he who looks up to those heights seem to gaze upon +the living Olympus. And the floor of the palace is of glass, under which +flow the cunningly lighted waters of the Narg, gay with gaudy fish not +known beyond the bounds of lovely Cathuria." + +Thus would I speak to myself of Cathuria, but ever would the bearded man +warn me to turn back to the happy shores of Sona-Nyl; for Sona-Nyl is +known of men, while none hath ever beheld Cathuria. + +And on the thirty-first day that we followed the bird, we beheld the +basalt pillars of the West. Shrouded in mist they were, so that no man +might peer beyond them or see their summits--which indeed some say reach +even to the heavens. And the bearded man again implored me to turn back, +but I heeded him not; for from the mists beyond the basalt pillars I +fancied there came the notes of singer and lutanist; sweeter than the +sweetest songs of Sona-Nyl, and sounding mine own praises; the praises +of me, who had voyaged far under the full moon and dwelt in the Land of +Fancy. + +So to the sound of melody the White Ship sailed into the mist betwixt +the basalt pillars of the West. And when the music ceased and the mist +lifted, we beheld not the Land of Cathuria, but a swift-rushing +resistless sea, over which our helpless barque was borne toward some +unknown goal. Soon to our ears came the distant thunder of falling +waters, and to our eyes appeared on the far horizon ahead the titanic +spray of a monstrous cataract, wherein the oceans of the world drop down +to abysmal nothingness. Then did the bearded man say to me with tears on +his cheek, "We have rejected the beautiful Land of Sona-Nyl, which we +may never behold again. The gods are greater than men, and they have +conquered." And I closed my eyes before the crash that I knew would +come, shutting out the sight of the celestial bird which flapped its +mocking blue wings over the brink of the torrent. + +Out of that crash came darkness, and I heard the shrieking of men and of +things which were not men. From the East tempestuous winds arose, and +chilled me as I crouched on the slab of damp stone which had risen +beneath my feet. Then as I heard another crash I opened my eyes and +beheld myself upon the platform of that lighthouse from whence I had +sailed so many Êons ago. In the darkness below there loomed the vast +blurred outlines of a vessel breaking up on the cruel rocks, and as I +glanced out over the waste I saw that the light had failed for the first +time since my grandfather had assumed its care. + +And in the later watches of the night, when I went within the tower, I +saw on the wall a calendar which still remained as when I had left it at +the hour I sailed away. With the dawn I descended the tower and looked +for wreckage upon the rocks, but what I found was only this: a strange +dead bird whose hue was as of the azure sky, and a single shattered +spar, of a whiteness greater than that of the wave-tips or of the +mountain snow. + +And thereafter the ocean told me its secrets no more; and though many +times since has the moon shone full and high in the heavens, the White +Ship from the South came never again. + + +TO MISTRESS SOPHIA SIMPLE, QUEEN OF THE CINEMA + +(With humblest apologies to Randolph St. John, Gent.) + +L. Theobald, Jun. + + Before our sight your mobile face + Depicts your joys or woes distracting; + We marvel at your winsome grace-- + And wish you'd learn the art of acting! + + Your eyes, we vow, surpass the stars; + Your mouth is like the bow of Cupid; + Your rose-ting'd cheeks no wrinkle mars-- + Yet why are you so sweetly stupid? + + The hero views you with delight, + To win your hand forever working; + We pity him--the witless wight-- + To fall a victim to your smirking! + + And yet, why should we wail in rhyme + Because so crudely you dissemble? + We can't expect for one small dime, + To see a Woffington or Kemble! + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1920 + + +Literary Composition + +H. P. Lovecraft + +In a former article our readers have been shewn the fundamental sources +of literary inspiration, and the leading prerequisites to expression. It +remains to furnish hints concerning expression itself; its forms, +customs, and technicalities, in order that the young writer may lose +nothing of force or charm in presenting his ideas to the public. + + +Grammar + +A review of the elements of English grammar would be foreign to the +purpose of this department. The subject is one taught in all common +schools, and may be presumed to be understood by every aspirant to +authorship. It is necessary, however, to caution the beginner to keep a +reliable grammar and dictionary always beside him, that he may avoid in +his compositions the frequent errors which imperceptibly corrupt even +the purest ordinary speech. As a general rule, it is well to give close +critical scrutiny to all colloquial phrases and expressions of doubtful +parsing, as well as to all words and usages which have a strained or +unfamiliar sound. The human memory is not to be trusted too far, and +most minds harbour a considerable number of slight linguistic faults and +inelegancies picked up from random discourse or from the pages of +newspapers, magazines, and popular modern books. + + +Types of Mistakes + +Most of the mistakes of young authors, aside from those gross violations +of syntax which ordinary education corrects, may perhaps be enumerated +as follows. + + (1) Erroneous plurals of nouns, as =vallies= or =echos=. + + (2) Barbarous compound nouns, as =viewpoint= or =upkeep=. + + (3) Want of correspondence in number between noun and verb where the + two are widely separated or the construction involved. + + (4) Ambiguous use of pronouns. + + (5) Erroneous case of pronouns, as =whom= for =who=, and vice versa, + or phrases like "between you and =I=," or "Let =we= who are loyal, + act promptly." + + (6) Erroneous use of =shall= and =will=, and of other auxiliary + verbs. + + (7) Use of intransitive for transitive verbs, as "he =was graduated= + from college," or vice versa, as "he =ingratiated= with the tyrant." + + (8) Use of nouns for verbs, as "he =motored= to Boston," or "he + =voiced= a protest." + + (9) Errors in moods and tenses of verbs, as "If I =was= he, I should + do otherwise," or "He said the earth =was= round." + + (10) The split infinitive, as "=to= calmly =glide=." + + (11) The erroneous perfect infinitive, as "Last week I expected =to + have met= you." + + (12) False verb-forms, as "I =pled= with him." + + (13) Use of =like= for =as=, as "I strive to write =like= Pope + wrote." + + (14) Misuse of prepositions, as "The gift was bestowed =to= an + unworthy object," or "The gold was divided =between= the five men." + + (15) The superfluous conjunction, as "I wish =for= you to do this." + + (16) Use of words in wrong =senses=, as "The book greatly + =intrigued= me," "=Leave= me take this," "He was =obsessed= with the + idea," or "He is a =meticulous= writer." + + (17) Erroneous use of non-Anglicised foreign forms, as "a strange + =phenomena=," or "two =stratas= of clouds." + + (18) Use of false or unauthorized words, as =burglarize= or + =supremest=. + + (19) Errors of taste, including vulgarisms, pompousness, repetition, + vagueness, ambiguousness, colloquialism, bathos, bombast, pleonasm, + tautology, harshness, mixed metaphor, and every sort of rhetorical + awkwardness. + + (20) Errors of spelling and punctuation, and confusion of forms such + as that which leads many to place an apostrophe in the possessive + pronoun =its=. + +Of all blunders, there is hardly one which might not be avoided through +diligent study of simple textbooks on grammar and rhetoric, intelligent +perusal of the best authors, and care and forethought in composition. +Almost no excuse exists for their persistent occurrence, since the +sources of correction are so numerous and so available. Many of the +popular manuals of good English are extremely useful, especially to +persons whose reading is not as yet extensive; but such works sometimes +err in being too pedantically precise and formal. For correct writing, +the cultivation of patience and mental accuracy is essential. Throughout +the young author's period of apprenticeship, he must keep reliable +dictionaries and textbooks at his elbow; eschewing as far as possible +that hasty extemporaneous manner of writing which is the privilege of +more advanced students. He must take no popular usage for granted, nor +must he ever hesitate, in case of doubt, to fall back on the authority +of his books. + + +Reading + +No aspiring author should content himself with a mere acquisition of +technical rules. As Mrs. Renshaw remarked in the preceding article, +"Impression should ever precede and be stronger than expression." All +attempts at gaining literary polish must begin with judicious =reading=, +and the learner must never cease to hold this phase uppermost. In many +cases, the usage of good authors will be found a more effective guide +than any amount of precept. A page of Addison or of Irving will teach +more of style than a whole manual of rules, whilst a story of Poe's will +impress upon the mind a more vivid notion of powerful and correct +description and narration than will ten dry chapters of a bulky +textbook. Let every student read unceasingly the best writers, guided by +the admirable Reading Table which has adorned the UNITED AMATEUR during +the past two years. + +It is also important that cheaper types of reading, if hitherto +followed, be dropped. Popular magazines inculcate a careless and +deplorable style which is hard to unlearn, and which impedes the +acquisition of a purer style. If such things must be read, let them be +skimmed over as lightly as possible. An excellent habit to cultivate is +the analytical study of the King James Bible. For simple yet rich and +forceful English, this masterly production is hard to equal; and even +though its Saxon vocabulary and poetic rhythm be unsuited to general +composition, it is an invaluable model for writers on quaint or +imaginative themes. Lord Dunsany, perhaps the greatest living prose +artist, derived nearly all of his stylistic tendencies from the +Scriptures; and the contemporary critic Boyd points out very acutely the +loss sustained by most Catholic Irish writers through their +unfamiliarity with the historic volume and its traditions. + + +Vocabulary + +One superlatively important effect of wide reading is the enlargement of +vocabulary which always accompanies it. The average student is gravely +impeded by the narrow range of words from which he must choose, and he +soon discovers that in long compositions he cannot avoid monotony. In +reading, the novice should note the varied mode of expression practiced +by good authors, and should keep in his mind for future use the many +appropriate synonymes he encounters. Never should an unfamiliar word be +passed over without elucidation; for with a little conscientious +research we may each day add to our conquests in the realm of philology, +and become more and more ready for graceful independent expression. + +But in enlarging the vocabulary, we must beware lest we misuse our new +possessions. We must remember that there are fine distinctions betwixt +apparently similar words, and that language must ever be selected with +intelligent care. As the learned Dr. Blair points out in his Lectures, +"Hardly in any language are there two words that convey precisely the +same idea; a person thoroughly conversant in the propriety of language +will always be able to observe something that distinguishes them." + + +Elemental Phases + +Before considering the various formal classes of composition, it is well +to note certain elements common to them all. Upon analysis, every piece +of writing will be found to contain one or more of the following basic +principles: =Description=, or an account of the appearance of things; +=Narration=, or an account of the actions of things; =Exposition=, which +defines and explains with precision and lucidity; =Argument=, which +discovers truth and rejects error; and =Persuasion=, which urges to +certain thoughts or acts. The first two are the bases of fiction; the +third didactic, scientific, historical and editorial writings. The +fourth and fifth are mostly employed in conjunction with the third, in +scientific, philosophical, and partisan literature. All these +principles, however, are usually mingled with one another. The work of +fiction may have its scientific, historical, or argumentative side; +whilst the textbook or treatise may be embellished with descriptions and +anecdotes. + + +Description + +Description, in order to be effective, calls upon two mental qualities; +observation and discrimination. Many descriptions depend for their +vividness upon the accurate reproduction of details; others upon the +judicious selection of salient, typical, or significant points. + +One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for +descriptions. Words or compounds which describe precisely, and which +convey exactly the right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are +essential. As an example, let us consider the following list of epithets +applicable to a =fountain=, taken from Richard Green Parker's admirable +work on composition. + + Crystal, gushing, rustling, silver, gently-gliding, parting, pearly, + weeping, bubbling, gurgling, chiding, clear, grass-fringed, + moss-fringed, pebble-paved, verdant, sacred, grass-margined, + moss-margined, trickling, soft, dew-sprinkled, fast-flowing, + delicate, delicious, clean, straggling, dancing, vaulting, + deep-embosomed, leaping, murmuring, muttering, whispering, + prattling, twaddling, swelling, sweet-rolling, gently-flowing, + rising, sparkling, flowing, frothy, dew-distilling, dew-born, + exhaustless, inexhaustible, never-decreasing, never-failing, + heaven-born, earth-born, deep-divulging, drought-dispelling, + thirst-allaying, refreshing, soul-refreshing, earth-refreshing, + laving, lavish, plant-nourishing. + +For the purpose of securing epithets at once accurate and felicitous, +the young author should familiarize himself thoroughly with the general +aspect and phenomena of Nature, as well as with the ideas and +associations which these things produce in the human mind. + +Descriptions may be of objects, of places, of animals, and of persons. +The complete description of an object may be said to consist of the +following elements: + + 1. When, where, and how seen; when made or found; how affected by + time. + + 2. History and traditional associations. + + 3. Substance and manner of origin. + + 4. Size, shape, and appearance. + + 5. Analogies with similar objects. + + 6. Sensations produced by contemplating it. + + 7. Its purpose or function. + + 8. Its effects--the results of its existence. + +Descriptions of places must of course vary with the type of the place. +Of natural scenery, the following elements are notable: + + 1. How beheld--at dawn, noon, evening, or night; by starlight or + moonlight. + + 2. Natural features--flat or hilly; barren or thickly grown; kind of + vegetation; trees, mountains, and rivers. + + 3. Works of man--cultivation, edifices, bridges; modifications of + scenery produced by man. + + 4. Inhabitants and other forms of animal life. + + 5. Local customs and traditions. + + 6. Sounds--of water; forest; leaves; birds; barnyards; human beings; + machinery. + + 7. View--prospect on every side, and the place itself as seen from + afar. + + 8. Analogies to other scenes, especially famous scenes. + + 9. History and associations. + + 10. Sensations produced by contemplating it. + +Descriptions of animals may be analyzed thus: + + 1. Species and size. + + 2. Covering. + + 3. Parts. + + 4. Abode. + + 5. Characteristics and habits. + + 6. Food. + + 7. Utility or harmfulness. + + 8. History and associations. + +Descriptions of persons can be infinitely varied. Sometimes a single +felicitous touch brings out the whole type and character, as when the +modern author Leonard Merrick hints at shabby gentility by mentioning +the combination of a frock coat with the trousers of a tweed suit. +Suggestion is very powerful in this field, especially when mental +qualities are to be delineated. Treatment should vary with the author's +object; whether to portray a mere personified idea, or to give a quasi +photographic view, mental and physical, of some vividly living +character. In a general description, the following elements may be +found: + + 1. Appearance, stature, complexion, proportions, features. + + 2. Most conspicuous feature. + + 3. Expression. + + 4. Grace or ugliness. + + 5. Attire--nature, taste, quality. + + 6. Habits, attainments, graces, or awkwardnesses. + + 7. Character--moral and intellectual--place in the community. + + 8. Notable special qualities. + +In considering the preceding synopses, the reader must remember that +they are only suggestions, and not for =literal= use. The extent of any +description is to be determined by its place in the composition; by +taste and fitness. It should be added, that in fiction description must +not be carried to excess. A plethora of it leads to dulness, so that it +must ever be balanced by a brisk flow of =Narration=, which we are about +to consider. + + +Narration + +Narration is an account of action, or of successive events, either real +or imagined; and is therefore the basis both of history and of fiction. +To be felicitous and successful, it demands an intelligent exercise of +taste and discrimination; salient points must be selected, and the order +of time and of circumstances must be well maintained. It is deemed +wisest in most cases to give narratives a climactic form; leading from +lesser to greater events, and culminating in that chief incident upon +which the story is primarily founded, or which makes the other parts +important through its own importance. This principle, of course, cannot +be literally followed in all historical and biographical narratives. + + +Fictional Narration + +The essential point of fictional narration is =plot=, which may be +defined as a =sequence of incidents designed to awaken the reader's +interest and curiosity as to the result=. Plots may be simple or +complex; but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to +another, are essential. Every incident in a fictional work should have +some bearing on the climax or denouement, and any denouement which is +not the inevitable result of the preceding incidents is awkward and +unliterary. No formal course in fiction-writing can equal a close and +observant perusal of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe or Ambrose Bierce. +In these masterpieces one may find that unbroken sequence and linkage of +incident and result which mark the ideal tale. Observe how, in "The Fall +of the House of Usher," each separate event foreshadows and leads up to +the tremendous catastrophe and its hideous suggestion. Poe was an +absolute master of the mechanics of his craft. Observe also how Bierce +can attain the most stirring denouements from a few simple happenings; +denouements which develop purely from these preceding circumstances. + +In fictional narration, verisimilitude is absolutely essential. A story +must be consistent and must contain no event glaringly removed from the +usual order of things, unless that event is the main incident, and is +approached with the most careful preparation. In real life, odd and +erratic things do occasionally happen; but they are out of place in an +ordinary story, since fiction is a sort of idealization of the average. +Development should be as lifelike as possible, and a weak, trickling +conclusion should be assiduously avoided. The end of a story must be +stronger rather than weaker than the beginning; since it is the end +which contains the denouement or culmination, and which will leave the +strongest impression upon the reader. It would not be amiss for the +novice to write the last paragraph of his story first, once a synopsis +of the plot has been carefully prepared--as it always should be. In this +way he will be able to concentrate his freshest mental vigour upon the +most important part of his narrative; and if any changes be later found +needful, they can easily be made. In no part of a narrative should a +grand or emphatic thought or passage be followed by one of tame or +prosaic quality. This is =anticlimax=, and exposes a writer to much +ridicule. Notice the absurd effect of the following couplet--which was, +however, written by no less a person than Waller: + + "Under the tropic is our language spoke, + =And part of Flanders hath receiv'd our yoke=." + + +Unity, Mass, Coherence + +In developing a theme, whether descriptive or narrative, it is necessary +that three structural qualities be present: Unity, Mass, and Coherence. +Unity is that principle whereby every part of a composition must have +some bearing on the central theme. It is the principle which excludes +all extraneous matter, and demands that all threads converge toward the +climax. Classical violations of Unity may be found in the =episodes= of +Homer and other epic poets of antiquity, as well as in the digressions +of Fielding and other celebrated novelists; but no beginner should +venture to emulate such liberties. Unity is the quality we have lately +noted and praised in Poe and Bierce. + +Mass is that principle which requires the more important parts of a +composition to occupy correspondingly important places in the whole +composition, the paragraph, and the sentence. It is that law of taste +which insists that emphasis be placed where emphasis is due, and is most +strikingly embodied in the previously mentioned necessity for an +emphatic ending. According to this law, the end of a composition is its +most important part, with the beginning next in importance. + +Coherence is that principle which groups related parts together and +keeps unrelated parts removed from one another. It applies, like Mass, +to the whole composition, the paragraph, or the sentence. It demands +that kindred events be narrated without interruption, effect following +cause in a steady flow. + + +Forms of Composition + +Few writers succeed equally in all the various branches of literature. +Each type of thought has its own particular form of expression, based on +natural appropriateness; and the average author tends to settle into +that form which best fits his particular personality. Many, however, +follow more than one form; and some writers change from one form to +another as advancing years produce alterations in their mental processes +or points of view. + +It is well, in the interests of breadth and discipline, for the beginner +to exercise himself to some degree in every form of literary art. He may +thus discover that which best fits his mind, and develop hitherto +unsuspected potentialities. + +We have so far surveyed only those simpler phases of writing which +centre in prose fiction and descriptive essays. Hereafter we hope to +touch upon didactic, argumentative, and persuasive writing; to +investigate to some extent the sources of rhetorical strength and +elegance; and to consider a few major aspects of versification. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1920 + + +For What Does the United Stand? + +It is easy to comply in 500 words with a request for an article on what +the United represents. An amateur journalistic association is generally +too democratic to have any one object for long; it is rather a +battle-ground between the proponents of opposed ideas. + +I think, however, that since the dawn of the Hoffman administration, +when the best elements were automatically sifted out through the +secession of most of the confirmed politicians, we have been gradually +acquiring a policy and a tradition which will endure. The +printing-press, political and frivolous phases have been passed through; +and our aspirations seem to be crystallising into a form more worthy +than any of our past aspirations. + +Judging from the majority of our truly active members, the United now +aims at the development of its adherents in the direction of purely +artistic literary perception and expression; to be effected by the +encouragement of writing, the giving of constructive criticism, and the +cultivation of correspondence friendships among scholars and aspirants +capable of stimulating and aiding one another's efforts. It aims at the +revival of the uncommercial spirit; the real creative thought which +modern conditions have done their worst to suppress and eradicate. It +seeks to banish mediocrity as a goal and standard; to place before its +members the classical and the universal and to draw their minds from the +commonplace to the beautiful. + +The United aims to assist those whom other forms of literary influence +cannot reach. The non-university man, the dwellers in distant places, +the recluse, the invalid, the very young, the elderly; all these are +included within our scope. And beside our novices stand persons of +mature cultivation and experience, ready to assist for the sheer joy of +assisting. In no other society does wealth or previous learning count +for so little. Merit and aspiration form the only criterion we apply to +our members, nor has poverty or primitive crudity ever retarded the +steady progress of any determined aspirant among us. We ask only that +the goal be high; that the souls of our band be seeking the antique +legacy of verdant Helicon. + +Practically, we are aware of many obstacles; yet we think we are in the +main fulfilling our functions. Naturally, we do not expect to make a +Shelley or Swinburne of every rhymer who joins us, or a Poe or Dunsany +of every teller of tales; but if we enable these persons to appreciate +Shelley and Swinburne and Poe and Dunsany, and teach them how to shed +their dominant faults and use words correctly and expressively, we +cannot call ourselves unsuccessful and only genius can lead to the +heights; it is our province merely to point the way and assist on the +gentler, lower slopes. + +The United, then, stands for education in the eternal truths of literary +art, and for personal aid in the realisation of its members' literary +potentialities. It is a university, stripped of every artificiality and +conventionality, and thrown open to all without distinction. Here may +every man shine according to his genius, and here may the small as well +as the great writer know the bliss of appreciation and the glory of +recognised achievement. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ of the United Amateur Press Association + + VOLUME XX ELROY, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1920 NUMBER 1 + + +Poetry and the Gods + +ANNA HELEN CROFTS AND HENRY PAGET-LOWE + +A damp, gloomy evening in April it was, just after the close of the +Great War, when Marcia found herself alone with strange thoughts and +wishes; unheard-of yearnings which floated out of the spacious +twentieth-century drawing-room, up the misty deeps of the air, and +Eastward to far olive-groves in Arcady which she had seen only in her +dreams. She had entered the room in abstraction, turned off the glaring +chandeliers, and now reclined on a soft divan by a solitary lamp which +shed over the reading table a green glow as soothing and delicious as +moonlight through the foliage about an antique shrine. Attired simply, +in a low-cut evening dress of black, she appeared outwardly a typical +product of modern civilisation; but tonight she felt the immeasurable +gulf that separated her soul from all her prosaic surroundings. Was it +because of the strange home in which she lived; that abode of coldness +where relations were always strained and the inmates scarcely more than +strangers? Was it that, or was it some greater and less explicable +misplacement in Time and Space, whereby she had been born too late, too +early, or too far away from the haunts of her spirit ever to harmonise +with the unbeautiful things of contemporary reality? To dispel the mood +which was engulfing her more deeply each moment, she took a magazine +from the table and searched for some healing bit of poetry. Poetry had +always relieved her troubled mind better than anything else, though many +things in the poetry she had seen detracted from the influence. Over +parts of even the sublimest verses hung a chill vapour of sterile +ugliness and restraint, like dust on a window-pane through which one +views a magnificent sunset. + +Listlessly turning the magazine's pages, as if searching for an elusive +treasure, she suddenly came upon something which dispelled her languor. +An observer could have read her thoughts and told that she had +discovered some image or dream which brought her nearer to her +unattained goal than any image or dream she had seen before. It was only +a bit of _vers libre_, that pitiful compromise of the poet who overleaps +prose yet falls short of the divine melody of numbers; but it had in it +all the unstudied music of a bard who lives and feels, and who gropes +ecstatically for unveiled beauty. Devoid of regularity, it yet had the +wild harmony of winged, spontaneous words; a harmony missing from the +formal, convention-bound verse she had known. As she read on, her +surroundings gradually faded, and soon there lay about her only the +mists of dream; the purple, star-strown mists beyond Time, where only +gods and dreamers walk. + + "Moon over Japan, + White butterfly moon! + Where the heavy-lidded Buddhas dream + To the sound of the cuckoo's call.... + The white wings of moon-butterflies + Flicker down the streets of the city, + Blushing into darkness the useless wicks of round lanterns in the + hands of girls. + + "Moon over the tropics, + A white-curved bud + Opening its petals slowly in the warmth of heaven.... + The air is full of odours + And languorous warm sounds.... + A flute drones its insect music to the night + Below the curving moon-petal of the heavens. + + "Moon over China, + Weary moon on the river of the sky, + The stir of light in the willows is like the flashing of a thousand + silver minnows + Through dark shoals; + The tiles on graves and rotting temples flash like ripples, + The sky is flecked with clouds like the scales of a dragon." + +Amid the mists of dream the reader cried to the rhythmical stars of her +delight at the coming of a new age of song, a rebirth of Pan. Half +closing her eyes, she repeated words whose melody lay hid like crystals +at the bottom of a stream before the dawn; hidden but to gleam +effulgently at the birth of day. + + "Moon over Japan, + White butterfly moon! + + "Moon over the tropics, + A white-curved bud + Opening its petals slowly in the warmth of heaven. + The air is full of odours + And languorous warm sounds ... languorous warm sounds. + + "Moon over China, + Weary moon on the river of the sky ... weary moon!" + + * * * + +Out of the mists gleamed godlike the figure of a youth in winged helmet +and sandals, caduceus-bearing, and of a beauty like to nothing on earth. +Before the face of the sleeper he thrice waved the rod which Apollo had +given him in trade for the nine-corded shell of melody, and upon her +brow he placed a wreath of myrtle and roses. Then, adoring, Hermes +spoke: + +"O Nymph more fair than the golden-haired sisters of Cyane or the +sky-inhabiting Atlantides, beloved of Aphrodite and blessed of Pallas, +thou hast indeed discovered the secret of the Gods, which lieth in +beauty and song. O Prophetess more lovely than the Sybil of Cumae when +Apollo first knew her, thou hast truly spoken of the new age, for even +now on Maenalus, Pan sighs and stretches in his sleep, wishful to awake +and behold about him the little rose-crowned Fauns and the antique +Satyrs. In thy yearning hast thou divined what no mortal else, saving +only a few whom the world reject, remembereth; _that the Gods were never +dead_, but only sleeping the sleep and dreaming the dreams of Gods in +lotos-filled Hesperian gardens beyond the golden sunset. And now draweth +nigh the time of their awaking, when coldness and ugliness shall perish, +and Zeus sit once more on Olympus. Already the sea about Paphos +trembleth into a foam which only ancient skies have looked on before, +and at night on Helicon the shepherds hear strange murmurings and +half-remembered notes. Woods and fields are tremulous at twilight with +the shimmering of white saltant forms, and immemorial Ocean yields up +curious sights beneath thin moons. The Gods are patient, and have slept +long, but neither man nor giant shall defy the Gods forever. In Tartarus +the Titans writhe, and beneath the fiery Aetna groan the children of +Uranus and Gaea. The day now dawns when man must answer for his +centuries of denial, but in sleeping the Gods have grown kind, and will +not hurl him to the gulf made for deniers of Gods. Instead will their +vengeance smite the darkness, fallacy and ugliness which have turned the +mind of man; and under the sway of bearded Saturnus shall mortals, once +more sacrificing unto him, dwell in beauty and delight. This night shalt +thou know the favour of the Gods, and behold on Parnassus those dreams +which the Gods have through ages sent to Earth to show that they are not +dead. For poets are the dreams of the Gods, and in each age someone hath +sung unknowing the message and the promise from the lotos-gardens beyond +the sunset." + +Then in his arms Hermes bore the dreaming maiden through the skies. +Gentle breezes from the tower of Aiolos wafted them high above warm, +scented seas, till suddenly they came upon Zeus holding court on the +double-headed Parnassus; his golden throne flanked by Apollo and the +Muses on the right hand, and by ivy-wreathed Dionysus and +pleasure-flushed Bacchae on the left hand. So much of splendour Marcia +had never seen before, either awake or in dreams, but its radiance did +her no injury, as would have the radiance of lofty Olympus; for in this +lesser court the Father of Gods had tempered his glories for the sight +of mortals. Before the laurel-draped mouth of the Corycian cave sat in a +row six noble forms with the aspect of mortals, but the countenances of +Gods. These the dreamer recognised from images of them which she had +beheld, and she knew that they were none else than the divine Maeonides, +the Avernian Dante, the more than mortal Shakespeare, the +chaos-exploring Milton, the cosmic Goethe, and the Musaean Keats. These +were those messengers whom the Gods had sent to tell men that Pan had +passed not away, but only slept; for it is in poetry that Gods speak to +men. Then spake the Thunderer: + +"O daughter, for, being one of my endless line, thou art indeed my +daughter, behold upon ivory thrones of honour the august messengers that +Gods have sent down, that in the words and the writings of men there may +still be some trace of divine beauty. Other bards have men justly +crowned with enduring laurels, but these hath Apollo crowned, and these +have I set in places apart, as mortals who have spoken the language of +the Gods. Long have we dreamed in lotos-gardens beyond the West, and +spoken only through our dreams; but the time approaches when our voices +shall not be silent. It is a time of awaking and of change. Once more +hath Phaeton ridden low, searing the fields and drying the streams. In +Gaul lone nymphs with disordered hair weep beside fountains that are no +more, and pine over rivers turned red with the blood of mortals. Ares +and his train have gone forth with the madness of Gods, and have +returned, Deimos and Phobos glutted with unnatural delight. Tellus moans +with grief, and the faces of men are as the faces of the Erinyes, even +as when Astraea fled to the skies, and the waves of our bidding +encompassed all the land saving this high peak alone. Amidst this chaos, +prepared to herald his coming yet to conceal his arrival, even now +toileth our latest-born messenger, in whose dreams are all the images +which other messengers have dreamed before him. He it is that we have +chosen to blend into one glorious whole all the beauty that the world +hath known before, and to write words wherein shall echo all the wisdom +and the loveliness of the past. He it is who shall proclaim our return, +and sing of the days to come when Fauns and Dryads shall haunt their +accustomed groves in beauty. Guided was our choice by those who now sit +before the Corycian grotto on thrones of ivory, and in whose songs thou +shalt hear notes of sublimity by which years hence thou shall know the +greater messenger when he cometh. Attend their voices as one by one they +sing to thee here. Each note shalt thou hear again in the poetry which +is to come; the poetry which shall bring peace and pleasure to thy soul, +though search for it through bleak years thou must. Attend with +diligence, for each chord that vibrates away into hiding shall appear +again to thee after thou hast returned to earth, as Alpheus, sinking his +waters into the soil of Hellas, appears as the crystal Arethusa in +remote Sicilia." + +Then arose Homeros, the ancient among bards, who took his lyre and +chaunted his hymn to Aphrodite. No word of Greek did Marcia know, yet +did the message fall not vainly upon her ears; for in the cryptic rhythm +was that which spake to all mortals and Gods, and needed no interpreter. + +So too the songs of Dante and Goethe, whose unknown words clave the +ether with melodies easy to read and to adore. But at last remembered +accents rebounded before the listener. It was the Swan of Avon, once a +God among men, and still a God among Gods: + + "Write, write, that from the bloody course of war, + My dearest master, your dear son, may hie; + Bless him at home in peace, whilst I from far, + His name with zealous fervour sanctify." + +Accents still more familiar arose as Milton, blind no more, declaimed +immortal harmony: + + "Or let my lamp at midnight hour + Be seen in some high lonely tower, + Where I might oft outwatch the Bear + With thrice-great Hermes, or unsphere + The spirit of Plato, to unfold + What worlds or what vast regions hold + Th' immortal mind, that hath forsook + Her mansion in this fleshy nook. + ∑ ∑ ∑ + Sometime let gorgeous Tragedy + In sceptred pall come sweeping by, + Presenting Thebes, or Pelops' line, + Or the tale of Troy divine." + +Last of all came the young voice of Keats, closest of all the messengers +to the beauteous faun-folk. + + "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard + Are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on.... + ∑ ∑ ∑ + When old age shall this generation waste, + Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe + Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, + 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty'--that is all + Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." + +As the singer ceased, there came a sound in the wind blowing from far +Egypt, where at night Aurora mourns by the Nile for her slain son +Memnon. To the feet of the Thunderer flew the rosy-fingered Goddess, and +kneeling, cried, "Master, it is time I unlocked the gates of the East." +And Phoebus, handing his lyre to Calliope, his bride among the Muses, +prepared to depart for the jewelled and column-raised Palace of the Sun, +where fretted the steeds already harnessed to the golden car of day. So +Zeus descended from his carven throne and placed his hand upon the head +of Marcia, saying: + +"Daughter, the dawn is nigh, and it is well that thou shouldst return +before the awaking of mortals to thy home. Weep not at the bleakness of +thy life, for the shadow of false faiths will soon be gone, and the Gods +shall once more walk among men. Search thou unceasingly for our +messenger, for in him wilt thou find peace and comfort. By his word +shall thy steps be guided to happiness, and in his dreams of beauty +shall thy spirit find all that it craveth." As Zeus ceased, the young +Hermes gently seized the maiden and bore her up toward the fading stars; +up, and westward over unseen seas. + + * * * + +Many years have passed since Marcia dreamt of the Gods and of their +Parnassian conclave. Tonight she sits in the same spacious drawing-room, +but she is not alone. Gone is the old spirit of unrest, for beside her +is one whose name is luminous with celebrity; the young poet of poets at +whose feet sits all the world. He is reading from a manuscript words +which none has ever heard before, but which when heard will bring to men +the dreams and fancies they lost so many centuries ago, when Pan lay +down to doze in Arcady, and the greater Gods withdrew to sleep in +lotos-gardens beyond the lands of the Hesperides. In the subtle cadences +and hidden melodies of the bard the spirit of the maiden has found rest +at last, for there echo the divinest notes of Thracian Orpheus; notes +that moved the very rocks and trees by Hebrus' banks. The singer ceases, +and with eagerness asks a verdict, yet what can Marcia say but that the +strain is "fit for the Gods"? + +And as she speaks there comes again a vision of Parnassus and the +far-off sound of a mighty voice saying, "By his word shall thy steps be +guided to happiness, and in his dreams of beauty shall thy spirit find +all that it craveth." + + * * * * * + +Mr. Paul J. Campbell deserves the most unstinted thanks of the United +this year, for besides serving as First Vice-President he has furnished +free of charge a supply of recruiting booklets and application blanks, +thus relieving us of one of our most onerous burdens. Mr. Campbell's +eighteen years of undiminished devotion to amateurdom form a thing +worthy of emulation. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR NOVEMBER 1920 + + +Nyarlathotep + +H. P. LOVECRAFT + +Nyarlathotep ... the crawling chaos ... I am the last ... I will tell +the audient void.... + +I do not recall distinctly when it began, but it was months ago. The +general tension was horrible. To a season of political and social +upheaval was added a strange and brooding apprehension of hideous +physical danger; a danger widespread and all-embracing, such a danger as +may be imagined only in the most terrible phantasms of the night. I +recall that the people went about with pale and worried faces, and +whispered warnings and prophecies which no one dared consciously repeat +or acknowledge to himself that he had heard. A sense of monstrous guilt +was upon the land, and out of the abysses between the stars swept chill +currents that made men shiver in dark and lonely places. There was a +demoniac alteration in the sequence of the seasons--the autumn heat +lingered fearsomely, and everyone felt that the world and perhaps the +universe had passed from the control of known gods or forces to that of +gods or forces which were unknown. + +And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none +could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a +Pharaoh. The fellahin knelt when they saw him, yet could not say why. He +said he had risen up out of the blackness of twenty-seven centuries, and +that he had heard messages from places not on this planet. Into the +lands of civilisation came Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister, +always buying strange instruments of glass and metal and combining them +into instruments yet stranger. He spoke much of the sciences--of +electricity and psychology--and gave exhibitions of power which sent his +spectators away speechless, yet which swelled his fame to exceeding +magnitude. Men advised one another to see Nyarlathotep, and shuddered. +And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished; for the small hours were +rent with the screams of nightmare. Never before had the screams of +nightmare been such a public problem; now the wise men almost wished +they could forbid sleep in the small hours, that the shrieks of cities +might less horribly disturb the pale, pitying moon as it glimmered on +green waters gliding under bridges, and old steeples crumbling against a +sickly sky. + +I remember when Nyarlathotep came to my city--the great, the old, the +terrible city of unnumbered crimes. My friend had told me of him, and of +the impelling fascination and allurement of his revelations, and I +burned with eagerness to explore his uttermost mysteries. My friend said +they were horrible and impressive beyond my most fevered imaginings; +that what was thrown on a screen in the darkened room prophesied things +none but Nyarlathotep dare prophesy, and that in the sputter of his +sparks there was taken from men that which had never been taken before +yet which shewed only in the eyes. And I heard it hinted abroad that +those who knew Nyarlathotep looked on sights which others saw not. + +It was in the hot autumn that I went through the night with the restless +crowds to see Nyarlathotep; through the stifling night and up the +endless stairs into the choking room. And shadowed on a screen, I saw +hooded forms amidst ruins, and yellow evil faces peering from behind +fallen monuments. And I saw the world battling against blackness; +against the waves of destruction from ultimate space; whirling, +churning; struggling around the dimming, cooling sun. Then the sparks +played amazingly around the heads of the spectators, and hair stood up +on end whilst shadows more grotesque than I can tell came out and +squatted on the heads. And when I, who was colder and more scientific +than the rest, mumbled a trembling protest about "imposture" and "static +electricity," Nyarlathotep drave us all out, down the dizzy stairs into +the damp, hot, deserted midnight streets. I screamed aloud that I was +_not_ afraid; that I never could be afraid; and others screamed with me +for solace. We sware to one another that the city _was_ exactly the +same, and still alive; and when the electric lights began to fade we +cursed the company over and over again, and laughed at the queer faces +we made. + +I believe we felt something coming down from the greenish moon, for when +we began to depend on its light we drifted into curious involuntary +marching formations and seemed to know our destinations though we dared +not think of them. Once we looked at the pavement and found the blocks +loose and displaced by grass, with scarce a line of rusted metal to show +where the tramways had run. And again we saw a tram-car, lone, +windowless, dilapidated, and almost on its side. When we gazed around +the horizon, we could not find the third tower by the river, and noticed +that the silhouette of the second tower was ragged at the top. Then we +split up into narrow columns, each of which seemed drawn in a different +direction. One disappeared in a narrow alley to the left, leaving only +the echo of a shocking moan. Another filed down a weed-choked subway +entrance, howling with a laughter that was mad. My own column was sucked +toward the open country, and presently felt a chill which was not of the +hot autumn: for as we stalked out on the dark moor, we beheld around us +the hellish moon-glitter of evil snows. Trackless, inexplicable snows, +swept asunder in one direction only, where lay a gulf all the blacker +for its glittering walls. The column seemed very thin indeed as it +plodded dreamily into the gulf. I lingered behind, for the black rift in +the green-litten snow was frightful, and I thought I had heard the +reverberations of a disquieting wail as my companions vanished; but my +power to linger was slight. As if beckoned by those who had gone before, +I half-floated between the titanic snowdrifts, quivering and afraid, +into the sightless vortex of the unimaginable. + +Screamingly sentient, dumbly delirious, only the gods that were can +tell. A sickened, sensitive shadow writhing in hands that are not hands, +and whirled blindly past ghastly midnights of rotting creation, corpses +of dead worlds with sores that were cities, charnel winds that brush the +pallid stars and make them flicker low. Beyond the worlds vague ghosts +of monstrous things; half-seen columns of unsanctified temples that rest +on nameless rocks beneath space and reach up to dizzy vacua above the +spheres of light and darkness. And through this revolving graveyard of +the universe the muffled, maddening beating of drums, and thin, +monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted +chambers beyond Time; the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance +slowly, awkwardly and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous ultimate +gods--the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is +Nyarlathotep. + + +Editorial + +Editorial comment upon amateur journalism generally falls within one of +two classes; complacent self-congratulation upon a mythical perfection, +or hectic urging toward impossible achievements. It is our purpose this +month to indulge in neither of these rhetorical recreations, but to make +one very prosaic and practical appeal which springs solely from +realistic observation. + +This appeal concerns the official situation in the United. For several +years our foes have reproached us for excessive centralisation of +authority: asserting that the control of our society is anything from +oligarchical to monarchial, and pointing to the large amount of +influence wielded by a very few leaders. Denials on our part, prompted +by the conspicuous absence of any dictatorial ambitions in the minds of +our executives, have been largely nullified by the fact that while power +has not been autocratically usurped and arbitrarily exercised, the +burden of administrative work has certainly been thrust by common +consent on a small number of reluctant though loyal shoulders. A few +persons have been forced to retain authority because no others have +arisen to relieve them of their burdens, until official nominations have +come to mean no more than a campaign by one or two active spirits to +persuade certain patient drudges to "carry on" another year. Nor does +the formal official situation reflect all of the prevailing condition. +Much of the Association's most important activity, such as recruiting, +welcoming and criticism, verges into the field of unorganised effort; +and here the tendency to leave everything to a narrow group is +overwhelming. + +Obviously, this condition demands a remedy; and that remedy lies in one +direction only--an acceptance of potential official responsibility by +all of those members who possess the time and experience to act as +leaders. As the fiscal year progresses, the season for candidacies draws +near; and amateurs who feel competent to sustain their share of the +administrative burden should come forward as nominees, or at least +should respond when approached by their friends. That office-holding +involves tedious work, all admit, but this tedium is a small enough +price to pay for the varied boons of amateurdom. In unofficial labour an +equal willingness should be shown. Why is it that all the private +revision in the United is performed by about three men at most, despite +the presence in our ranks of a full score of scholars abundantly capable +of rendering such service? If the _literati_ as a whole will not awaken +to the needs of the day, one of two things will occur. The United will +stagnate quietly under the perpetual dictatorship of a limited group of +unwilling but benevolent autocrats, or it will succumb to the onslaught +of some political clique of vigorous barbarians who will destroy in a +month what it has taken the United over ten years to build up. Memories +of 1919 should prove to us the reality of such a danger of sudden +relapse. + +Our appeal, then, is for responsible candidates for high office, and for +volunteers in the work of maintaining interest and lending literary aid. +We know that executive energy and enthusiasm tend to be more abundant in +the Goth than in the Greek; that those best qualified to serve are +generally least moved by political ambition. But we are sure that the +needs of our society should arouse enough sense of duty among its +cultivated membership to draw to the front a new generation of leaders. +We ask for new presidential and editorial candidates who are prepared to +serve faithfully and independently if elected; for new critics and +recruiters who understand our traditions and are willing to expend +energy in upholding and diffusing them. Shall 1921 bring them to light? + + --H. P. LOVECRAFT + + +Official Organ Fund + +RECEIPTS + + Woodbee Press Club $25.00 + From Treasurer, up to October 15 23.00 + Susan Nelson Furgerson 6.00 + Jonathan E. Hoag 5.00 + Verna McGeoch (for each issue) 5.00 + Howard R. Conover 3.00 + Victor O. Schwab 3.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Fritter (for each issue) 2.00 + Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz 1.50 + Anne Tillery Renshaw 1.50 + Anonymous .25 + _One dollar each_: Margaret Abraham, + Agnes R. Arnold, Elizabeth Barnhart, + Grace M. Bromley, Mary Faye Durr, + Alice M. Hamlet, Hester Harper. + Total on hand, November 6, 1920 $82.25 + +REMARKS + +The doubling of printing rates makes large contributions imperative if +the Organ is to approach its customary standard. Acknowledgments are due +the Woodbee Press Club for its exceedingly generous contribution, and +ex-Editor Renshaw for the mailing of an appeal which has proved most +effective in the campaign for funds. Emulation of the Woodbees' +generosity by other clubs would save a situation which is very +threatening. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1921 + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., April 1, 1921. + +RECEIPTS SINCE NOVEMBER 6, 1920 + + From Treasurer, up to April 1, 1921 $21.50 + Verna McGeoch (3 instalments) 15.00 + E. Edward Ericson 10.00 + Edward F. Daas 6.00 + Howard R. Conover 2.00 + Anna H. Crofts 1.00 + Ernest L. McKeag 1.00 + John Milton Samples 1.00 + Anonymous .75 + ------- + Balance on Hand, November 6, 1920 $82.25 + Received, November 6, 1920, to April + 1, 1921 58.25 + ------- + Total Receipts $140.50 + +EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for September U. A. $48.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for November U. A. 48.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for January U. A. 36.00 + ------- + Total Expenditures $132.00 + + Balance on Hand, April 1, 1921 $8.50 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1921 + + +Winifred Virginia Jackson: A "Different" Poetess + +H. P. LOVECRAFT + +In these days of unrestrained license in poetry, it would at first sight +seem difficult to single out any one bard as the possessor of ideas and +modes of expression so unique and original that the overworked adjective +"different" is merited. Every poetaster of the modern school claims to +be "different," and bases his claim to celebrity upon this "difference"; +an effect usually achieved by the adoption of a harsh, amorphous style, +and a tone of analytical, introspective subjectivity so individual that +all the common and universal elements of beauty and poetry are excluded. +Indeed, eccentricity has come so completely into fashion, that he who +follows up the wildest vagaries is actually the least different from the +hectic scribbling throng about him. + +But notwithstanding this malady of the times, there does remain among us +an ample field for genius and artistic distinctiveness. The laws of +human thought are unchangeable, and whenever there is born a soul +attuned to real harmony, and inspired by that rare sensitiveness which +enables it to feel and express the latent beauty and hidden +relationships of Nature, the world receives a new poet. Such an one will +of necessity break through the decadent customs of the period; and +falling back to the forms of true melody, sing a spontaneous song which +can not help being original, because it represents the unforced reaction +of a keen and delicate mind to the panorama of life. And when this +reaction is enabled to bring out in the simplest and most beautiful +style fancies and images which the world has not received or noted +before, we are justified in claiming that the bard is "different." + +Such a bard is Winifred Virginia Jackson, whose poetry has for six years +been the pride of the United Amateur Press Association. Born in Maine, +and through childhood accustomed to the mystical spell of the ancient +New-England countryside, Miss Jackson for a long period quietly and +unconsciously absorbed a prodigious store of beauty and phantasy from +life. Having no design to become a poet, she accepted these ethereal +gifts as a matter of course; until about a decade ago they manifested +themselves in a burst of spontaneous melody which can best be described +as a sheer overflowing of delightful dreams and pictures from a mind +filled to the brim with poetic loveliness. Since that time Miss Jackson +has written vast quantities of verse; always rich and musical, and if +one may speak in paradox, always artless with supreme art. None of these +poems is in any sense premeditated or consciously composed; they are +more like visions of the fancy, instantaneously photographed for the +perception of others, and unerringly framed in the most appropriate +metrical medium. + +When we peruse the poetry of Miss Jackson we are impressed first by its +amazing variety, and almost as quickly by a certain distinctive quality +which gives all the varied specimens a kind of homogeneity. As we +analyse our impressions, we find that both of these qualities have a +common source--the complete objectivity and almost magical imagination +of supreme genius. Objectivity and imagination, the gifts of the epic +bards of classical antiquity, are today the rarest of blessings. We live +in an age of morbid emotion and introspectiveness; wherein the poets, +such as they are, have sunk to the level of mere pathologists engaged in +the dissection of their own ultra-sophisticated spirits. The fresh touch +of Nature is lost to the majority, and rhymesters rant endlessly and +realistically about the relation of man to his fellows and to himself; +overlooking the real foundations of art and beauty--wonder, and man's +relation to the unknown cosmos. But Miss Jackson is not of the majority, +and has not overlooked these things. In her the ancient and unspoiled +bard is refulgently reincarnated; and with an amazing universality and +freedom from self-consciousness she suppresses the ego completely, +delineating Nature's diverse moods and aspects with an impersonal +fidelity and delicacy which form the delight of the discriminating +reader, and the despair of the stupid critic who works by rule and +formula rather than by brain. There is no medium which the spirit of +Miss Jackson can not inhabit. The same mind which reflects the daintiest +and most gorgeous phantasies of the faery world, or furnishes the most +finely wrought pictures or refined pathos and sentiment, can abruptly +take up its abode in some remote Maine timber region and pour out such a +wild, virile chantey of the woods and the river that we seem to glimpse +the singer as the huskiest of a tangle-bearded, fight-scarred, +loud-shouting logging crew sprawling about a pine campfire. + +A critic has grouped the poetical work of Miss Jackson into six classes: +Lyrics of ideal beauty, including delightful Nature-poems replete with +local colour; delicate amatory lyrics; rural dialect lyrics and vigorous +colloquial pieces; poems of sparkling optimism; child verse; and poems +of potent terror and dark suggestion. "With her," he adds, "sordid +realism has no place; and her poems glow with a subtle touch of the +fanciful and the supernatural which is well sustained by tasteful and +unusual word-combinations, images, and onomatopoetic effects." This +estimate is confirmed by the latest productions of the poetess, as we +shall endeavour to show by certain specimens lately published or about +to be published, selected almost at random: + +"The Bonnet" is a characteristic bit of Jacksonian delicacy and +originality. We here behold a sustained metaphor of that striking type +which the author so frequently creates; a metaphor which draws on all +Nature and the unseen world for its basis, and whose analogies are just +the ones which please us most, yet which our own minds are never finely +attuned enough to conceive unaided. The swain in the poem tells of his +intention to make a bonnet for his chosen nymph to wear. He will fashion +it with "golden thimble, scissors, needle, thread"; taking velvet from +the April sky as a groundwork, stars for trimming, moonlight for +banding, and a web of dreams for lining. He will scent it with the +perfume of "the reddest rose that the singing wind finds sweetest where +it farthest blows," and "will take it at the twilight for his love to +wear." Here we have nothing of the bizarre or the conspicuous, yet in +the six little stanzas of quaintly regular metre there is suggested all +of that world of faery beauty which the eye can glimpse beyond the +leaden clouds of reality; a world which exists because it can be dreamed +of. The poem is "different" in the truest way; it is original because it +conveys beauty originally in an inconspicuous and harmonious vehicle. + +But turn now to "Ellsworth to Great Pond" and marvel! True, we still +find the vivid delineation of human feelings, but what a distance we +have travelled! Gone is the young dreamer with his world of moonshine, +for here roars the Maine lumberjack with all the uncouth vigour and rude +natural expressiveness of the living satyr. It is life; primal, +uncovered, and unpolished--the ebullient, shouting vitality of healthy +animalism. + + "Drink hard cider, swig hard cider, + Swill hard cider, Boys! + Throw yer spikers, throw yer peavies, + Beller out yer noise!" + +We have drifted from the aether of Keats to the earth of Fielding, yet +under the guidance of the same author. Greater proof of Miss Jackson's +absolute objectivity and marvellous imagination could not be produced or +asked. + +Yet who shall say that the Jackson pendulum is powerful only at the +extremes of its sweeping arc? In "Workin' Out" we discover a pastoral +love-lyric which for quaintness and graphic humanness could not well be +surpassed. Here the distinctive and spontaneous inventiveness of Miss +Jackson's fancy is displayed with especial vividness. The rural youth, +"workin' out" far from his loved Molly, enumerates the prosaic chores he +can perform with easy heart; but mentions in each case some more poetic +thing which stirs his emotions and gives him loneliness for the absent +fair. He can cut and husk corn, but the golden-rod reminds him of his +Molly's golden hair. He can milk cows, but the gentian reminds him of +his Molly's blue eyes. Aside from their intrinsic ingeniousness, these +images possess an unconscious lesson for the poet who can read it. They +expose with concrete illustrations the fallacy of the so-called "new +poetry," which disregards the natural division between beautiful and +unbeautiful things and rhapsodises as effusively over a sewer-pipe as +over the crescent moon. + +"The Token" exhibits Miss Jackson in her airiest lyrical mood; a mood +original because it possesses the rare lyrism of pure music and fancy +rather than the common lyrism of unsubtilised emotion. There is bounding +music in thought and medium alike, whilst the naive plunge into the +theme without introduction or explanation is a stroke savouring of the +simplicity of genius. Equally effective is the simple metrical +transition whereby the chorus assumes the trochaic measure of a +childhood chant or carol: + + "Lightly O, brightly O, + Down the long lane she will go! + Dancing she, glancing she, + Down the lane with eyes aglow!" + +In "Assurance" and "It's Lovetime," the author displays a lyrical +fervour of more conventional type; adding the touch of originality by +means of melodious simplicity and reiteration in the one case, and pure +lyric ecstasy in the other. + +The metrical originality of Miss Jackson, displayed in all classes of +her work, should not be slighted amidst the enthusiasm one entertains +for her magical mastery of thoughts and images. No other conservative +poet of the period is more versatile and individual in choice of +numbers, or in adaptation of measure to mood. "Driftwood," a wonderfully +original poem of imagination describing the fancies which arise from the +smoke of logs wafted from far mysterious lands where once the trees grew +under strange suns, moons, and rainbows, is as remarkable in form as in +idea. One may judge by a sample pair of stanzas: + + "You warm your hands + And smile + Before the fire of driftwood. + + "I feel old lands' + Wan guile + That writhes in fire of driftwood." + +We have so far viewed poetry which would lead us to classify Miss +Jackson as a delineator of moods rather than of character; yet knowing +her versatility, we naturally expect to find among her works some potent +character studies. Nor are we disappointed. "Joe," a song of the Maine +woods, describes in admirably appropriate verbiage--as simple and as +nearly monosyllabic as possible--the typical Anglo-Saxon stoic of far +places, who faces comfort and disaster, life and death, with the same +unemotional attitude which Miss Jackson sums up so skilfully in the one +ejaculatory bit of colloquial indifference--"Dunno!" + +"The Song of Jonny Laughlin" is a highly unusual ballad relating the +history of a peculiarly good and self-sacrificing river character. The +story is simple, but the piece gains distinctiveness from its absolutely +faithful reproduction of the spirit of frontier balladry. In words, +swing, and weird refrain, there exists every internal evidence of +traditional authenticity; and that such a bit of Nature could be +composed by a cultivated feminine author is an overwhelming testimonial +to Miss Jackson's unique gifts. + +That Miss Jackson can reflect the spirit of the most dissimilar +characters is further proved by the two immensely powerful studies of +the vagabond type entitled "The Call" and "John Worthington Speaks." +These things are masterpieces of their kind; the self-revealing +narratives of restless wanderers by land and sea, crammed to repletion +with details and local colour which no one but their author could +command without actual experience as a derelict of five continents and +as many oceans. They leave the reader veritably breathless with wonder +at the objectivity and imagination which can enable a New-England +poetess to mirror with such compelling vividness in thought and language +the sentiments of so utterly opposite a type. Not even the narrowly +specialised genius of such rough-and-ready writers as Service and +Knibbs, working in their own peculiar field, can surpass this one slight +phase of Miss Jackson's universal genius. + +It remains to speak of the singular power of Miss Jackson in the realm +of the gruesome and the terrible. With that same sensitiveness to the +unseen and the unreal which lends witchery to her gayer productions, she +has achieved in darker fields of verse results inviting comparison with +the best prose work of Ambrose Bierce or Maurice Level. Among her older +poems the ghastly and colourful phantasy "Insomnia" and the grimly +realistic rustic tragedy "Chores" excited especial praise, a critic +referring as follows to the latter piece: + + "It has all the compelling power which marks Miss Jackson's darker + productions, and is conveyed in an arresting staccato measure which + emphasises the homely horror of the theme. The phraseology, with its + large proportion of rural and archaic words and constructions, adds + vastly to the general effect and atmosphere." + +This reference to Miss Jackson's unusual vocabulary deserves +elaboration, for one of the secrets of her effective poetry is the wide +and diverse array of words and word-combinations which she commands. +Recondite archaisms and ruralisms, together with marvellously apt and +original descriptive compounds, are things which perpetually astonish +and delight her readers. Of recent specimens of Miss Jackson's darker +verse, "Finality," "The Song" and "Fallen Fences" deserve especial +praise. The horrible picture conjured up in the closing lines of the +first named piece is one well calculated to haunt the dreams of the +imaginative. + +As we conclude this survey of rich and varied poetry, our dominant +impression aside from admiration is that of wonder at the tardiness with +which the author has been recognised by the non-amateur public. As yet +the name of Jackson is a comparative novelty to the literary world, a +thing explainable only by the reluctance of its possessor to adopt that +species of trumpeting which helps less modest and less genuine poets +into the glare of celebrity. But genius such as Miss Jackson's can not +remain forever hidden, however slight be her striving for fame; so that +we may reasonably expect the next few years to witness her establishment +among the leading literary figures, as one of the ablest, broadest and +most original of contemporary bards. + + +Ex Oblivione + +WARD PHILLIPS + +When the last days were upon me, and the ugly trifles of existence began +to drive me to madness like the small drops of water that torturers let +fall ceaselessly upon one spot of their victim's body, I loved the +irradiate refuge of sleep. In my dreams I found a little of the beauty I +had vainly sought in life, and wandered through old gardens and +enchanted woods. + +Once when the wind was soft and scented I heard the south calling, and +sailed endlessly and languorously under strange stars. + +Once when the gentle rain fell I glided in a barge down a sunless stream +under the earth till I reached another world of purple twilight, +iridescent arbours and undying roses. + +And once I walked through a golden valley that led to shadowy groves and +ruins, and ended in a mighty wall green with antique vines, and pierced +by a little gate of bronze. + +Many times I walked through that valley, and longer and longer would I +pause in the spectral half-light where the giant trees squirmed and +twisted grotesquely, and the grey ground stretched damply from trunk to +trunk, sometimes disclosing the mould-stained stones of buried temples. +And always the goal of my fancies was the mighty vine-grown wall with +the little gate of bronze therein. + +After a while, as the days of waking became less and less bearable from +their greyness and sameness, I would often drift in opiate peace through +the valley and the shadowy groves, and wonder how I might seize them for +my eternal dwelling-place, so that I need no more crawl back to a dull +world stript of interest and new colours. And as I looked upon the +little gate in the mighty wall, I felt that beyond it lay a +dream-country from which, once it was entered, there would be no return. + +So each night in sleep I strove to find the hidden latch of the gate in +the ivied antique wall, though it was exceedingly well-hidden. And I +would tell myself that the realm beyond the wall was not more lasting +merely, but more lovely and radiant as well. + +Then one night in the dream-city of Zakarion I found a yellowed papyrus +filled with the thoughts of dream-sages who dwelt of old in that city, +and who were too wise ever to be born in the waking world. Therein were +written many things concerning the world of dream, and among them was +lore of a golden valley and a sacred grove with temples, and a high wall +pierced by a little bronze gate. When I saw this lore, I knew that it +touched on the scenes I had haunted, and I therefore read long in the +yellowed papyrus. + +Some of the dream-sages wrote gorgeously of the wonders beyond the +irrepassable gate, but others told of horror and disappointment. I knew +not which to believe, yet longed more and more to cross forever into the +unknown land; for doubt and secrecy are the lure of lures, and no new +horror can be more terrible than the daily torture of the commonplace. +So when I learned of the drug which would unlock the gate and drive me +through, I resolved to take it when next I awaked. + +Last night I swallowed the drug and floated dreamily into the golden +valley and the shadowy groves; and when I came this time to the antique +wall, I saw that the small gate of bronze was ajar. From beyond came a +glow that weirdly lit the giant twisted trees and tops of the buried +temples, and I drifted on songfully, expectant of the glories of the +land from whence I should never return. + +But as the gate swung wider and the sorcery of drug and dream pushed me +through, I knew that all sights and glories were at an end; for in that +new realm was neither land nor sea, but only the white void of unpeopled +and illimitable space. So, happier than I had ever dared hope to be, I +dissolved again into that native infinity of crystal oblivion from which +the daemon Life had called me for one brief and desolate hour. + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., July 1, 1921. + +RECEIPTS SINCE APRIL 1, 1921 + + From Treasurer, up to July 1, 1921 $18.50 + Verna McGeoch (2 instalments) 10.00 + E. Edward Ericson 10.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 2.00 + John Milton Samples 1.00 + Balance on Hand, April 1, 1921 8.50 + ------ + Total Receipts $50.00 + +EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for March U. A. $46.00 + + Balance on Hand, July 1, 1921 $4.00 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR SEPTEMBER 1921 + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ + of the + UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + H. P. LOVECRAFT _Official Editor_ + E. EDWARD ERICSON _Official Publisher_ + +Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + +Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + +Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + +Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + +_SEPTEMBER 1921_ + + * * * * * + +OFFICIAL BOARD + +_President_--Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, 1372 E. Long St., Columbus, Ohio. + +_First Vice-President_--Frank Belknap Long, Jr., 823 West End Ave., New +York City. + +_Second Vice-President_--Eleanor Beryl North, 316 Beaver Ave., State +College, Pa. + +_Secretary-Treasurer_--Alma B. Sanger, 667 Lilley Ave., Columbus, Ohio. + +_Official Editor_--H. P. Lovecraft, 598 Angell St., Providence, R. I. + +_Official Publisher_--E. Edward Ericson, Elroy, Wis. + +_Laureate Recorder_--Howard R. Conover, Route 1, Cozaddale, Ohio. + +_Manuscript Manager_--Grace M. Bromley, 1432 R St., N. W., Washington, +D. C. + +_Historian_--Myrta Alice Little, Westville, N. H. + +_Supervisor of Amendments_--(To be appointed.) + +_Directors_--Paul J. Campbell, Route 2, Ridgefarm, Ill.; Anne T. +Renshaw, 2109 F St., N. W., Washington, D. C.; Jay Fuller Spoerri, 304 +House Office Bldg., Washington, D. C. + +_Department of Public Criticism_--Alfred Galpin, Jr., Chairman, 830 W. +Johnson St., Madison, Wis. + +_Department of Private Criticism_--Maurice W. Moe, Chairman, 2812 +Chestnut St., Milwaukee, Wis. + +_Recruiting Committee_--Frank Belknap Long, Jr., Chairman, Paul J. +Campbell, Leo Fritter, Alfred L. Hutchinson, Gavin T. McColl, Maurice W. +Moe. + +_Ladies' Auxiliary Committee_--Eleanor Beryl North, Chairman, Mary Faye +Durr, Jennie Eva Harris, Winifred Virginia Jackson, Margaret Mahon, Anne +T. Renshaw. + + * * * * * + +LAUREATE TITLES + +_Poetry_--S. Lilian McMullen; Honourable Mention, Mary Carver Williams. + +_Story_--H. P. Lovecraft; Honourable Mention, Alfred Galpin, Jr. + +_Essay_--Anna Helen Crofts and H. P. Lovecraft; Honourable Mention, +Alfred Galpin, Jr. + +_Editorial_--(To be awarded.) + + * * * * * + +LITERATI + +_Poetry_--Arthur Goodenough, Olive G. Owen (deceased). + +_Story_--Eleanor Barnhart Campbell. + +_Editorial_--H. P. Lovecraft. + + * * * * * + +INFORMATION + +"Amateur Journalism is for those who cultivate literature from taste or +attachment, for those who write for the love of writing, for those who +pursue the art of letters for its own sake. They may or may not be +engaged (or aspire to be engaged) in authorship as a business, but those +who are members of that profession will undoubtedly find in Amateur +Journalism the air of freedom which develops personality in writing. +They will find every encouragement to self-development, amid an +environment of art. Amateur Journalism is for all those who do literary +work for the love of it." + +"The privileges of the United Amateur Press Association are: The use of +the Manuscript Bureau and the columns of the papers connected with the +Association; the Official Organ; attendance at Conventions; proxy +representation at elections; laureate competitions, etc." + +"Any person who edits or contributes prose or poetry to any amateur +paper is eligible to membership." + +"Application for membership must be accompanied by one dollar dues and a +printed or written credential.... If rejected, dues will be returned." + +"Renewal or reinstatement fee is two dollars." + +"Applicants for membership should address their applications, with +credential and dues, to the Secretary, Miss Alma B. Sanger, 667 Lilley +Ave., Columbus, Ohio." + +"Any person wishing to become connected with the Association without +furnishing a credential or becoming active, may upon payment of two +dollars be enrolled as a sustaining member for one year. A sustaining +member shall be entitled to all the privileges of active membership +except the right to vote or hold office." + +"Laureate entries shall be poem, story, essay and editorial." + +"Entries must be printed in an amateur paper, and a marked copy sent to +the Laureate Recorder by June 1." + +Anyone desiring application blanks for recruiting may receive them by +applying to the Secretary. + + * * * * * + +IMPORTANT + +Members are urged to remember the recent doubling of dues, whereby all +renewals became _Two Dollars_ each. + + * * * * * + +The fullest of apologies is due the membership for the lateness of this +issue of THE UNITED AMATEUR. A prostrating and overwhelming flood of +professional duties, coupled with a state of health permitting only the +shortest of working hours, has forced the editor to delay transmission +of this copy to the publisher until November 4: a date which should be +remembered in justice to the latter official, who is equally handicapped +in the matter of conflicting duties. + + THE EDITOR + + +Editorial + +In the excellent October _Woodbee_, Mr. Leo Fritter criticises with much +force the attempt of the present editor to conduct THE UNITED AMATEUR on +a tolerably civilised plane. He points out that the appearance of a +journal representing a fairly uniform maturity of thought and artistic +development may perhaps tend to discourage those newer aspirants who +have not yet attained their full literary stature, and thus defeat the +educational ends of the Association. + +Mr. Fritter gathers his material for complaint from the opinions of +certain amateurs with whom he has held communication, and on this basis +alleges a "wide-spreading dissatisfaction" with the present editorial +policy. We have ourselves received numerous and enthusiastic assurances +of an opposite nature, especially since the Fritter attack, so that we +must rebut at least his charge that we are ignoring the membership's +wishes and "trying to conform them to a mould we have arbitrarily cast +according to ideas of our own." To adopt a lower standard would, indeed, +be affronting a more influential element than that which may at present +be dissatisfied; an element which has possibly gained higher claims to +consideration through the _continuous_ nature of its services to the +Association during trying times when others were silent and inactive. + +But in determining the question of editorial policy, the abstract merits +of the case are more important than the act of pleasing this or that +person or group. Were we convinced that the existing order hampered the +sincere novice, we would abandon it without pride or ceremony. That we +do not, is because we are certain that retrogression and decadence would +constitute a fatal mistake. The public we serve is assumed to be a +genuinely progressive one, a group bent upon attaining some measure of +proficiency in that sincere self-expression which is art. If it were +not, it would have joined some other association of different +purposes--the defiantly crude Erford pseudo-United or the complacently +social and stationary National. What justifies the separate existence +and support of the United is its higher aesthetic and intellectual cast; +its demand for the unqualified best as a goal--which demand, by the way, +must not be construed as discriminating against even the crudest +beginner who honestly cherishes that goal. With these objects in mind, +it will be seen that the self-satisfied exultation of the superficial, +the obvious, the commonplace, and the conventional, would form the +greatest possible tactical error. The goal would be unjustifiably +obscured, and the aspiration of the membership stunted, through the +enshrining of a false and inferior goal--a literary Golden Calf. We must +envisage a genuine scale of values, and possess a model of genuine +excellence toward which to strive. It would pay better to work toward a +high standard oneself, than to seek to drag the standard down to fit +whatever particular grade of ignorance one may happen to have at a given +moment. With proper effort any member may eventually produce work of the +UNITED AMATEUR grade, and such work will be certain of a cordial welcome +in this office. The official organ is not so narrow as it seems; if more +of our capable members would favour it with their literary +contributions, the range of authors represented would not be so +restricted. It is not the editor but the body of our _literati_ who must +bear responsibility for the constant reappearance of certain names. This +issue is headed by the same poet who headed the last two--but only +because another eminent amateur, so far unrepresented during the present +regime, utterly ignored our repeated requests for a contribution. + +Mr. Fritter--who, I fear, wrongs etymology in his acceptance of the word +_amateur_ as meaning a tyro rather than a genuine and disinterested +artist--forgets that a relapse to cruder standards would totally unfit +the United for serving that staunch element which has contributed most +to its present welfare. Many would find a society of the lower grade +intolerable; certainly it could not hope to hold the very ones who have +given this organization its existing distinctiveness and pre-eminence. + +Yet in the arguments of Mr. Fritter there is an underlying soundness +which misapplication should not obscure to the analytical reader. He is +right in lamenting, as we believe he does, the absence of a suitable +publishing medium for the work of our younger writers. It is not in a +spirit of affront to him that we give preference to the plan of +President Haughton, as outlined in her opening message, for the +re-establishment of a special magazine for credentials. We should be +glad to curtail the official organ in the interest of such a magazine, +as indeed we offered to do at the beginning of the term. + +_Frustra laborat_, says the old proverb, _qui omnibus placere studet_. +We regret that any one policy must of necessity displease a few members, +yet do not see how any improvement could be effected by making a change +which would merely shift the displeasure to another and even more +continuously industrious group. It is significant that the Gothic party +have no editorial candidate of their own to offer, so that the thankless +and toilsome office has been forced upon one whose indifferent health +makes it an almost unbearable burden to him. The question is one which +should ultimately be decided at the polls, each party putting forward a +nominee who can be depended upon to fulfil its mandates. Meanwhile the +present editor, whose sincere beliefs and policies were fully known long +before his unopposed election, stands ready to resign most cheerfully +whenever a suitable successor can be found. Bitterness, division and +personalities must be avoided at any cost, and we may be reckoned as a +supporter of THE UNITED AMATEUR under any editor and policy. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR NOVEMBER 1921 + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ + of the + UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + H. P. LOVECRAFT _Official Editor_ + E. EDWARD ERICSON _Official Publisher_ + +Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + +Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + +Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + +Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + + * * * * * + +Members who criticised the present editor for severity during the +chairmanship of the critical department are invited to take a vicarious +revenge this month, observing the uncensored remarks of the present +juvenile chairman concerning our pathetic ignorance. Of us Master Galpin +says: "when the author approaches involved or technical subjects, he +shows clearly the unfortunate circumstance that he has never profited by +an advanced education." This certainly should purge us of all suspicion +of conducting THE UNITED AMATEUR on too Olympian a level, although the +critic qualifies his dictum by conceding that we realise our own crudity +and are striving in our old age to acquire at least the rudiments of an +elementary education. In the course of a few years we hope to guarantee +our readers an official organ practically free from the grosser errors +of spelling and grammar: meanwhile, _vivat Galpinius parvulus_! + + * * * * * + +Myrta Alice Little, Eugene B. Kuntz, Leo G. Schussman, Margaret Richard, +Daisy Crump Whitehead, Clara L. Bell, John O. Baldwin, and the Editor. + +The Tryout. October 1921. Uniform size. Contributions by H. P. +Lovecraft, Margaret Richard, Beth Cheney Nichols, Arthur Goodenough, K. +Leyson Brown, Horace L. Lawson, John Milton Samples, Washington Van +Dusen, Leo G. Schussman, Lilian Middleton, Anita Roberta Kirksey, and +the Editor. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR. March 1921. Official Organ of the United Amateur +Press Association. 14 Pages and cover. 7◊10. Contributions by Winifred +Virginia Jackson, Lilian Middleton, Frank Belknap Long, Jr., J. E. Hoag, +Anna H. Crofts, Eleanor Beryl North, Ward Phillips, and the Editor, +H. P. Lovecraft. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR. May 1921. 8 pages. 7◊10. Contributions by Lilian +Middleton, Alfred Galpin, Jr., Eugene B. Kuntz, Margaret Mahon, Winifred +Virginia Jackson, and Adam Harold Brown. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR. July 1921. 6 pages. 7◊10. Contributions by Lilian +Middleton and Myrta Alice Little. + +The United Co-Operative. April 1921. 16 pages. 6◊9. Contributions by +Lilian Middleton, Elizabeth Berkeley and Lewis Theobald, Jr., W. Edwin +Gibson, John C. Pryor, H. P. Lovecraft, Samuel Loveman, Eugene B. Kuntz. +Published under the auspices of the U. A. P. A. by the following +members: Anne Tillery Renshaw, Rev. John Clinton Pryor, W. Edwin Gibson, +H. P. Lovecraft. + +The Woodbee. October 1921. 16 pages and cover. 5◊7. Contributions by +Bess Ballou, Alma B. Sanger, Norma Helena Marie Sanger, Leo Fritter, +Edna M. Haughton, Peggy Hepner Fritter, Henriette Ziegfeld, and the +President, Ida C. Haughton. Official Organ of the Woodbee Press Club, +Columbus, Ohio. + +Ziegfeld's Follies. September 1921. 1 page. 5Ω◊8Ω. Contributions by the +Editor, Arthur F. Ziegfeld. + +Ziegfeld's Follies. October 1921. 4 pages. Uniform size. Contributions +by Ida C. Haughton, Leo Fritter, and the Editor, Arthur F. Ziegfeld. + + MYRTA ALICE LITTLE, + Historian. + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., December 29, 1921. + + On Hand, July 1, 1921 $4.00 + + RECEIPTS SINCE JULY 1 + + Sonia H. Greene $50.00 + From Treasury, up to Dec. 29, 1921 41.60 + H. P. Lovecraft 15.40 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 6.00 + Howard R. Conover 5.00 + Woodbee Press Club 5.00 + Theodore D. Gottlieb 1.00 + Ida C. Haughton 1.00 + ------- + Total Receipts $129.00 + + EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for May U. A. $24.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for July U. A. 18.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for Sept. U. A. 36.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for Nov. U. A. 36.00 + ------- + Total Expenditures $114.00 + + Balance on Hand, December 29, 1921 $15.00 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1922 + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ + of the + UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + H. P. LOVECRAFT _Official Editor_ + E. EDWARD ERICSON _Official Publisher_ + +Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + +Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + +Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + +Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + + +Editorial + +Amidst the prevailing efforts of a small but pugnacious group to "liven" +up the United through attacks on the Official Organ, a few basic +principles should be remembered by those who stand in bewilderment. + +Our constitution does not define the functions of THE UNITED AMATEUR +beyond making imperative the publication of certain official documents. +The rest is left to an unwritten combination of tradition and editorial +judgment. Any editor, once elected, is absolutely in control of the +magazine aside from the essential official matter; his only external +obligation being a tacit recognition of the prevailing objects of the +Association. In the present case a narrow circle of agitators seems to +be seeking political capital by accusing the editor of placing too high +an estimate on the membership and purposes of the United. + +Since the whole development of the Association is involved in this +matter, it is important that a prompt and perfect understanding be +reached. The opinions of all members should be known, and if the editor +finds that he has been in error, he will be glad to arrange for the +accommodation of the Organ to the wishes of the majority. Up to the +present time, despite the florid overstatements of the few who are +trying to work up a new and wholly artificial dissatisfaction, this +office has received _not so much as one complaint_ as to policy save +from the two politicians who are seeking to lower the United's +standards. Endorsements as to the existing policy have been many, and as +long as these remain so tremendously in the Majority, it would be a +betrayal of trust to make a change to please a tiny group. If there are +those who differ, why do they not speak? + +Since truth is the only perfect clarifier when politics seeks to +becloud, it is necessary that the editor state his policy here and now +with the utmost candour. Shorn of all irrelevant things, that policy is +simply the maintenance of those standards established in the United by +the departure of the chronically political element in 1912. Prior to +that time the Official Organ was mainly a bulletin of reports: not, as +the present agitators would imply, a repository for indiscriminate +amateur writings. The standard developed since then is the creation of +no one person, but a logical outgrowth of the rising calibre of a vital +and progressive society. It is neither one of favouritism nor one of +autocracy; but merely one of _stimulation_. It is an embodiment of the +United's desire to let the Official Organ exemplify the members' +progress by using the best available material. No genuine aspirant has +ever been frowned upon, or so far as we know given any ground for +discouragement. The Organ is a beckoner and encourager, designed to +inspire the members to renewed efforts to produce work worthy of +symbolising the United. Would anyone so far insult the Association as to +wish its official exponent to cater to that type of mediocrity which +neither improves nor wishes to improve? Our columns are open to all who +toil for the fruits of art, and statements to the contrary cannot be +interpreted as other than irresponsibly ignorant or craftily +misrepresentative. While insistence on a certain degree of merit is of +course necessary, it is not true that THE UNITED AMATEUR makes any +arbitrary restrictions. The Organ was not designed for the publication +of various members' work, nor is access to its columns one of the +special objects of membership, as certain agitators are artfully +intimating. But notwithstanding those technical points, all proficient +writers are welcome. It is illuminating, in view of the prevalent loose +statements, to reflect that throughout the present editor's service _not +more than three manuscripts have been rejected_; and that even these +three were or will be elsewhere placed. Those seeking an Associational +disturbance will not scruple to take advantage of every outward +appearance which seems to favour them--unavoidable delays, spatial +limitations, and other things interfering with prompt publication of all +matter offered to this office. The present editor will be denounced as a +"tyrant" by elements attempting to degrade standards which he did not +establish! + +The life and well-being of the United are at stake, and it is imperative +that the membership exercise the most careful and independent reflection +before accepting the views of radicals bent on retrogressive +experiments. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1922 + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., April 25, 1922. + + On Hand, December 29, 1921 $15.00 + +RECEIPTS SINCE DECEMBER 29 + + From Treasury, up to April 25 $31.00 + Woodbee Press Club 10.00 + H. P. Lovecraft 7.00 + Anonymous 5.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 2.00 + Ida C. Haughton 2.00 + ------ + Total Receipts $72.00 + +EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for January U. A. $36.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for March U. A. 36.00 + ------ + Total Expenditures $72.00 + + Balance on Hand, April 25, 1922 None + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1922 + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., June 23, 1922. + + On Hand, April 25, 1922 None + +_Receipts Since April 25_ + + From Treasury, up to June 23 $28.00 + Alfred Galpin, Jr. 6.00 + Woodbee Press Club 5.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 2.00 + ------ + Total Receipts $41.00 + +_Expenditures_ + + To E. E. Ericson, for May U. A. $24.00 + + Balance on Hand, June 23, 1922 $17.00 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, Custodian. + + +At the Home of Poe + +_A Poem in Prose_ + +To H. P. Lovecraft + +FRANK BELKNAP LONG, JR. + +The home of Poe! It is like a fairy dwelling, a gnomic palace built of +the aether of dreams. It is tiny and delicate and lovely, and replete +with memories of sere leaves in November and of lilies in April. It is a +castle of vanished hopes, of dimly-remembered dreams, of sad memories +older than the deluge. The dead years circle slowly and solemnly around +its low white walls, and clothe it in a mystic veil of unseen tears. And +many marvellous stories could this quaint little old house tell, many +weird and cryptic stories of him of the Raven hair, and high, pallid +brow, and sad, sweet face, and melancholy mien; and of the beloved +Virginia, that sweet child of a thousand magic visions, child of the +lonesome, pale-gray latter years, child of the soft and happy South. And +how the dreamer of the spheres must have loved this strange little +house. Every night the hollow boards of its porch must have echoed to +his footfall, and every morn the great rising sun must have sent its +rays through the little window, and bathed the lovely tresses of the +dream-child in mystical yellow. And perhaps there was laughter within +the walls of that house--laughter and merriment and singing. But we know +that the Evil One came at last, the grim humourless spectre who loves +not beauty, and is not of this world. And we know that the house of +youth and of love became a house of death, and that memories bitter as +the tears of a beautiful woman assailed the dreamer within. And at last +he himself left that house of mourning and sought solace among the +stars. But the house remains a vision out of a magical book; a thing +seen darkly as in a looking-glass; but lovely beyond the dreams of +mortals, and ineffably sad. + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Significant +amendments, author's corrections and further notes have been recorded +below. American and British forms of typography, in addition to variant, +dialect and archaic spellings, have been retained except where obvious +errors exist. + + +Author's Corrections: + + p. 14, see p. 30 for details: + 'long' corrected to _longer_. + + p. 49, see p. 60 for details: + 'sublime' corrected to _sublimer_; + 'star's' corrected to _stars_; + 'father's' corrected to _fathers_; + 'hollow'd' corrected to _hallow'd_. + + +Transcriber's Amendments: + + p. 7, 'insanity' amended to _inanity_: 'triteness and inanity'; + 'permissable' amended to _permissible_: 'permissible clause'; + 'breath' amended to _breadth_: 'present moderate breadth'. + + p. 8, 'woud' amended to _would_: 'would do much'; + 'editorials' amended to _editorial_: 'Mr Stokes' editorial'; + 'istincts' amended to _instincts_: 'in our instincts'; + 'amateurs' amended to _amateur_: 'in amateur circles'. + + p. 9, 'from' amended to _form_: 'Credentials form the'. + + p. 11, 'scacely' amended to _scarcely_: 'but scarcely equal'; + 'colums' amended to _columns_: 'Coyote's editorial columns'. + + p. 12, 'Sappo' amended to _Sappho_: '"To Sappho", by Olive G. Owen'. + + p. 13, 'Morrish' amended to _Moorish_: 'old Moorish Spain'. + + p. 14, 'Houghton' amended to _Haughton_: 'Edna Mitchell Haughton's'. + + p. 15, 'DERARTMENT' amended to _DEPARTMENT_: 'DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC'; + 'witheld' amended to _withheld_: 'merely withheld from'. + + p. 16, added _is_: 'no praise is needed'; + 'Niagra' amended to _Niagara_: 'Visit to Niagara'; + 'wormth' amended to _warmth_: 'and genuine warmth'; + 'Weeks' amended to _Week_: 'History of an Eight-Week-Old'. + + p. 17, 'advantage' amended to _advantages_: 'advantages ... are many'. + + p. 18, 'pronounciation' amended to _pronunciation_: 'New York + pronunciation'; + 'Mrs.' amended to _Mr._, referring to Ricardo Santiago. + + p. 19, 'phenomerally' amended to _phenomenally_: 'phenomenally pure'; + 'Hennesey' amended to _Hennessey_: 'James J. Hennessey'. + + p. 20, 'bestrown' amended to _bestrewn_: 'is bestrewn with slang'. + + p. 25, 'away' amended to _way_: 'giving way to'. + + p. 29, 'techique' amended to _technique_: 'plot and technique'. + + p. 33, 'Heindall's' amended to _Heimdall's_. + + p. 34, 'Heindall' amended to _Heimdall_; + 'Sehrimner' amended to _Sehrimnir_: 'the boar Sehrimnir'. + + p. 35, 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_ (3 instances); + 'inconsistancy ... is' amended to _inconsistency ... it_: + 'inconsistency, but it seems'; + 'a' amended to _of_: 'rank as a poet is of very high tone'. + + p. 36, 'beautful' amended to _beautiful_: 'delicately beautiful'; + 'posessive' amended to _possessive_: 'possessive case'; + 'ungramatical' amended to _ungrammatical_: 'by the ungrammatical'; + 'Harington' amended to _Harrington_: 'William T. Harrington'; + 'abnorman pschology' amended to _abnormal psychology_; + 'letre' amended to _metre_: 'tuneful metre'; + 'Chrismas' amended to _Christmas_: 'Christmas number'; + 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_: 'Winifred V. Jordan's'. + + p. 37, 'propertly' amended to _properly_: 'be properly welcomed'; + 'throught' amended to _through_: 'recording thought through'. + + p. 38, 'Buterfly' amended to _Butterfly_: 'To a Butterfly'; + 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_: 'Winifred V. Jordan'; + 'con-conception' amended to _conception_: 'his conception of'. + + p. 39, 'classoical' amended to _classical_: 'more classical myths'; + added _by_: 'also by Mr. Cole'; + 'beautful' amended to _beautiful_: 'many beautiful passages'; + 'physhological' amended to _psychological_: 'a psychological as'; + 'dignnity' amended to _dignity_: 'humility and dignity'; + 'gramatical' amended to _grammatical_: 'of grammatical or'. + + p. 40, 'Emile' amended to _Emilie_: 'Emilie C. Holladay'; + 'ocasional' amended to _occasional_: 'the occasional metrical'; + 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_: 'Winifred V. Jordan'; + 'Willam' amended to _William_: 'William de Ryee'; + 'technicly' amended to _technically_: 'are technically no'; + 'Canvass' amended to _Canvas_: 'the Canvas Wall'; + 'but is' amended to _is but_: 'novel is but a'. + + p. 41, 'mosiac' amended to _mosaic_: 'skillful mosaic of'; + 'unaquainted' amended to _unacquainted_: 'totally unacquainted'; + 'embarassed' amended to _embarrassed_: 'a little embarrassed'. + + p. 42, 'staza' amended to _stanza_: 'first stanza might'. + + p. 43, 'pharse' amended to _phrase_: 'the awkward phrase'; + 'ryhthm' amended to _rhythm_: 'swinging dactylic rhythm'; + 'uder' amended to _under_: 'coat under the wayside'. + + p. 44, 'develope' amended to _develop_: 'all develop naturally'; + 'Macauly' amended to _Macauley_: 'George W. Macauley'. + + p. 45, 'pratically' amended to _practically_: 'for practically all'; + 'amatuer' amended to _amateur_: 'professionalized amateur'; + 'happly' amended to _happily_: 'happily extinct tribe'. + + p. 47, 'apearance' amended to _appearance_: 'the appearance of'; + 'incongrous' amended to _incongruous_: 'a rather incongruous'. + + p. 48, 'reminiscense' amended to _reminiscence_: 'pensive reminiscence'; + 'Haaughton' amended to _Haughton_: 'Ida C. Haughton'. + + p. 50, 'unamimous' amended to _unanimous_: 'absolutely unanimous vote'; + 'sustined' amended to _sustained_: 'and sustained his'. + + p. 52, 'Kliner' amended to _Kleiner_: 'the Kleiner type'; + 'Henrietta' amended to _Henriette_: 'Henriette and Florenz'; + 'thoughfulness' amended to _thoughtfulness_: 'for thoughtfulness'. + + p. 53, 'essays-writers' amended to _essay-writers_. + + p. 54, 'prosed' amended to _proposed_: 'the proposed alteration'. + + p. 57, 'Statess' amended to _States_: 'the United States'. + + p. 59, 'Mathew' amended to _Matthew_: 'by Matthew Hilson'. + + p. 61, 'ancesters' amended to _ancestors_: 'of my ancestors'. + + p. 63, 'ancesters' amended to _ancestors_: 'ancestors had met'; + 'told' amended to _tolled_: 'clock ... tolled off'. + + p. 64, 'Godfry' amended to _Godfrey_: 'son of Godfrey'; + 'particularily' amended to _particularly_: 'most particularly'; + 'gastly' amended to _ghastly_: 'ghastly radiance'. + + p. 66, 'rhym' amended to _rhyme_: 'nobility of the rhyme'; + 'bouyant' amended to _buoyant_: 'joy and buoyant'; + 'tireomely' amended to _tiresomely_: 'tiresomely commonplace'; + 'savour' amended to _savours_: 'savours too much'. + + p. 67, 'solesisms' amended to _solecisms_: 'such solecisms as'; + 'avoid' amended to _avoided_: 'should be avoided'. + + p. 68, 'awkard' amended to _awkward_: 'not wholly awkward'; + 'copmlete' amended to _complete_: 'more complete'; + repeated line removed: 'sentiment, deriving much force from the'; + 'poplarly' amended to _popularly_: 'are popularly supposed'; + added _a_: 'it is a comfort'. + + p. 69, repeated line removed: 'ology. In the third line of the third + stanza'; + 'hypocricy' amended to _hypocrisy_: 'The hypocrisy of'. + + p. 70, 'occuring' amended to _occurring_: 'A rhyme occurring'; + 'colum' amended to _column_: 'editorial column of'; + 'techinque' amended to _technique_: 'old-school technique'. + + p. 71, 'unsual' amended to _unusual_: 'rather unusual'; + repeated text 'of' removed: 'pen of of Mrs. W. V. Jordan'. + + p. 72, 'accentuaton' amended to _accentuation_: 'accentuation of the'; + 'hsould' amended to _should_: 'word should be'; + 'citic' amended to _critic_: 'the present critic'. + + p. 73, 'denizon' amended to _denizen_: 'or =denizen= is'; + 'year' amended to _years_: 'eighty-six years ago'; + 'contents ... is' amended to _contents ... are_; + 'McGavach' amended to _McGavack_ (2 instances). + + p. 74, added _is_: '"Education in Trinidad" is another'. + + p. 77, 'revails' amended to _reveals_: 'but scansion reveals'; + 'Gallenne' amended to _Gallienne_: 'Richard Le Gallienne'. + + p. 78, 'vesy' amended to _very_: 'a very pleasing'; + 'gartifyingly' amended to _gratifyingly_: 'metre is gratifyingly'; + 'hypocracy' amended to _hypocrisy_: 'anti-prohibition hypocrisy'; + 'earsest' amended to _earnest_: 'are more earnest'. + + p. 79, 'propertly' amended to _properly_: 'cannot properly be rhymed'. + + p. 81, 'posses ... conspicious' amended to _possess ... conspicuous_: + 'possess both deep fervour and conspicuous merit'; + 'McGavach' amended to _McGavack_ (3 instances). + + p. 82, 'Parke's' amended to _Mr. Parks'_: 'Mr. Parks' brief sketches'; + 'McGavach' amended to _McGavack_ (2 instances); + 'irresistly' amended to _irresistibly_: 'irresistibly delight'; + 'metriacl' amended to _metrical_: 'metrical effort'. + + p. 84, 'ocurrences' amended to _occurrences_: 'obscure occurrences of'. + + p. 85, 'Authour' amended to _Author_: 'Author of the'. + + p. 88, 'Ecstacy' amended to _Ecstasy_: '"Ecstasy," a poem'; + 'imporant' amended to _important_: 'number of important'. + + p. 90, 'rtaes' amended to _rates_: 'at reasonable rates'. + + p. 91, 'cooperateion' amended to _co-operation_: 'closer co-operation'; + 'Asociation' amended to _Association_: 'out of the Association'. + + p. 92, 'productons' amended to _productions_: 'literary productions'. + + p. 93, 'twilght ... unpanted' amended to _twilight ... unpainted_: + 'through the twilight, some grey, unpainted'; + 'pronounciation' amended to _pronunciation_: 'pronunciation of'. + + p. 94, 'dsplaying' amended to _displaying_: 'displaying an enviable'; + 'Medum' amended to _Medium_: 'Medium of Education'; + 'it' amended to _in_: 'picturesque in atmosphere'. + + p. 95, 'wth' amended to _with_: 'compared with many'; + 'Reiseberg' amended to _Rieseberg_: 'Harry E. Rieseberg'. + + p. 98, 'adminstrative' amended to _administrative_. + + p. 99, 'Lindquqist' amended to _Lindquist_. + + p. 100, 'insuffcient' amended to _insufficient_: 'is insufficient to'. + + p. 103, 'it' amended to _is_: 'and it is a source'. + + p. 104, 'rhetorican' amended to _rhetorician_: 'as a rhetorician'. + + p. 105, 'Namantius' amended to _Namatianus_. + + p. 106, 'corect' amended to _correct_: 'most correct age'. + + p. 109, 'similiarly' amended to _similarly_: 'the similarly spelled'. + + p. 110, 'psuedo-anecdotes' amended to _pseudo-anecdotes_; + 'gratfying' amended to _gratifying_: 'great and gratifying'. + + p. 112, 'persual' amended to _perusal_: 'perusal of standard'. + + p. 113, 'demonstrate' amended to _demonstrates_: 'A glance ... + demonstrates'; + 'econium' amended to _encomium_: 'evoke encomium with'. + + p. 119, 'gorss' amended to _gross_: 'gross violations of'; + repeated text 'and verb' removed: 'noun and verb and verb'; + 'ues' amended to _use_: 'Ambiguous use of pronouns'. + + p. 122, 'versimilitude' amended to _verisimilitude_; + 'qualiy' amended to _quality_: 'prosaic quality'. + + p. 126, 'Deinos' amended to _Deimos_: 'Deimos and Phobos'. + + +Further Notes: + + p. 16, 'Dempsey' and p. 43, 'Dempesy', conflicted spelling: 'Caryl + Wilson Demp[se/es]y'. + + p. 41, 'Frazer' and p. 51, 'Frazier', conflicted spelling: 'John W. + Fraz[i]er'. + + p. 73, 'Acyion', possible misprint of _Alcyon_ or _Alcyone_: 'Edwin + Gibson's "Sonnet to Acyion"'. + + p. 93, 'Dionondawa', possible misprint of _Dionondehowa_: 'To the + Falls of Dionondawa'. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNITED AMATEUR *** + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, +and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following +the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use +of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for +copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very +easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation +of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project +Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may +do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected +by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark +license, especially commercial redistribution. + +START: FULL LICENSE + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full +Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at +www.gutenberg.org/license. + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or +destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your +possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a +Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound +by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the +person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph +1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this +agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the +Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection +of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual +works in the collection are in the public domain in the United +States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the +United States and you are located in the United States, we do not +claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, +displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as +all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope +that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting +free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm +works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the +Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily +comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the +same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when +you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are +in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, +check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this +agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, +distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any +other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no +representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any +country other than the United States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other +immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear +prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work +on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, +performed, viewed, copied or distributed: + + This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and + most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no + restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it + under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this + eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the + United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where + you are located before using this eBook. + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is +derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not +contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the +copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in +the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are +redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply +either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or +obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm +trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any +additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms +will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works +posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the +beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including +any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access +to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format +other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official +version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website +(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense +to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means +of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain +Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the +full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +provided that: + +* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed + to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has + agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid + within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are + legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty + payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in + Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg + Literary Archive Foundation." + +* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all + copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue + all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm + works. + +* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of + any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of + receipt of the work. + +* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than +are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing +from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of +the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set +forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project +Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may +contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate +or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or +other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or +cannot be read by your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium +with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you +with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in +lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person +or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second +opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If +the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing +without further opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO +OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of +damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement +violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the +agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or +limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or +unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the +remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in +accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the +production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, +including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of +the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this +or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or +additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any +Defect you cause. + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of +computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It +exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations +from people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future +generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see +Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at +www.gutenberg.org + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by +U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, +Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up +to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website +and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without +widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND +DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular +state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To +donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project +Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be +freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and +distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of +volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in +the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not +necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper +edition. + +Most people start at our website which has the main PG search +facility: www.gutenberg.org + +This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + diff --git a/30637-0.zip b/30637-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..01398c2 --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-0.zip diff --git a/30637-h.zip b/30637-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..51341f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-h.zip diff --git a/30637-h/30637-h.htm b/30637-h/30637-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..266ca9a --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-h/30637-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14434 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Writings in The United Amateur (1915-1922), by H. P. Lovecraft</title> + +<style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .noin,.pagenum {text-indent: 0;} + body > p {text-indent: 2em;} + body > h2 {text-decoration: underline; font-size: large;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,.tdc,.fig1 {text-align: center;} + h5 {font-size: medium; margin: 2em auto 1em;} + hr {width: 15%; margin: 1em auto; clear: both;} + .chp {width: 95%; margin: 2em auto;} + .tb {width: 45%; margin: 2em auto;} + table,.stanza {margin: 1em auto;} + .td3 {padding-top: .5em;} + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: small; font-style: normal;} + .blockquot {margin: 1em 10%;} + .rgt,.pagenum,.pg {text-align: right;} + td,.lft,h5,.tn2 p,.poem {text-align: left;} + .smcap,.bk2 {font-variant: small-caps;} + .figc {margin: 1em auto .5em; width: 537px;} + .poem {margin: 0 auto; width: 21em;} + .i0,.i2,.i4,.i6 {display: block; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .i0 {margin-left: 0em;} + .i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + .i6 {margin-left: 6em;} + .tn1,.tn2 {border: solid 1px;} + .tn1 {padding: 0 1em; margin: 1em 15% 4em;} + .tn2 {padding: 0 1em 1em 1em; margin: 4em 15% 1em;} + .tn2 p {margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 15%;} + .pg {position: absolute; right: 69%;} + .pr1 {margin-top: 0;} + img {border: none;} + a:link,a:visited {text-decoration: none;} + .hd2,h3 {margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} + .sp1 {font-size: 150%;} + .sp3 {padding-left: 4em;} + .bk5 p,.sp4,.sp7,.tn2 p {padding-left: 2em;} + .sp5 {font-weight: normal;} + .sp6 {padding-left: 1em;} + .bk5 p,.sp7,.tn2 p {text-indent: -2em;} + .sp8 {padding-right: 2em;} + .bb {border-bottom: solid 1px;} + .bt,.bk4 {border-top: solid 1px;} + .fig1 {margin: 3em auto 1em; width: 197px;} + .bk2 {border-top: double 3px; border-bottom: double 3px; width: 600px; margin: .5em auto; padding: .25em 0;} + .bk2 div {font-size: small;} + .bk3 {margin: .5em auto; width: 24em;} + .bk4 {margin: 0 auto; width: 20em; clear: both; padding: .25em 0;} + .bk4 p {margin: 0; text-indent: 1em;} + .bk5,.bk6 {margin: 0 20%;} + .bk6 p {text-indent: 2em;} + .vl {float: left; width: auto;} + .nb {float: right; width: auto;} + +div.fig { display:block; + margin:0 auto; + text-align:center; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em;} + + </style> + </head> + <body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Writings in The United Amateur, 1915-1922, by Howard Phillips Lovecraft</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Writings in The United Amateur, 1915-1922</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Howard Phillips Lovecraft</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Contributor: Andrew Francis Lockhart<br /> + Rheinhart Kleiner<br /> + Frank Belknap Long</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 9, 2009 [eBook #30637]<br /> +[Most recently updated: October 24, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: David Starner, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNITED AMATEUR ***</div> + + <div class="tn1"> + <div class="hd2 tdc"> + <b><big>Transcriber's Note</big></b> + </div> + <p> + The following table of contents has been added for convenience: + </p> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="smcap" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + United Amateur Press Association: + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Exponent of Amateur Journalism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_4">4</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, January 1915 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_7">7</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, March 1915 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_10">10</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + March + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_14">14</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, May 1915 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_15">15</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, September 1915 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_21">21</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Little Journeys to the Homes of Prominent Amateurs + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_31">31</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, February 1916 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + The Teuton's Battle-Song + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_33">33</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, April 1916 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_35">35</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, June 1916 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_42">42</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + The Poetry of the Month: Content + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_49">49</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, August 1916 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_50">50</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, September 1916 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_54">54</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, November 1916 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + The Alchemist + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_61">61</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, March 1917 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_65">65</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, May 1917 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_71">71</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, July 1917 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Ode for July Fourth, 1917 + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_80">80</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_81">81</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + News Notes: To M. W. M. + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_84">84</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, November 1917 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_84">84</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_87">87</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Reports of Officers: President's Message + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_90">90</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, January 1918 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Reports of Officers: President's Message + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_91">91</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, March 1918 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Reports of Officers: President's Message + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_92">92</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, May 1918 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Sunset + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_92">92</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_93">93</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Reports of Officers: President's Message + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_98">98</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, June 1918 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Astrophobos + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_99">99</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, July 1918 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + At the Root + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_100">100</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Reports of Officers: President's Message + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_101">101</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, November 1918 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Department of Literature: The Literature of Rome + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_102">102</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + To Alan Seeger + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_106">106</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, January 1919 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Theodore Roosevelt + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_107">107</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, March 1919 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + A Note on Howard P. Lovecraft's Verse + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_108">108</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Official Reports: Department of Public Criticism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_109">109</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, May 1919 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Helene Hoffman Cole—Litterateur + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_113">113</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, July 1919 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Americanism + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_114">114</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, November 1919 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + The White Ship + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_115">115</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + To Mistress Sophia Simple, Queen of the Cinema + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_118">118</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, January 1920 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Literary Composition + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_119">119</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, May 1920 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + For What Does the United Stand? + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_123">123</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, September 1920 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Poetry and the Gods + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_124">124</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, November 1920 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Nyarlathotep + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_128">128</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Editorial + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_129">129</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Official Organ Fund + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_130">130</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, January 1921 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Official Organ Fund + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_130">130</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, March 1921 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Winifred Virginia Jackson: A "Different" Poetess + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_130">130</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Ex Oblivione + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_134">134</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Official Organ Fund + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_134">134</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, September 1921 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + The United Amateur + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_135">135</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Editorial + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_136">136</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, November 1921 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + The United Amateur + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_138">138</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Official Organ Fund + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_138">138</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, January 1922 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + The United Amateur + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_139">139</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Editorial + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_139">139</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, March 1922 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Official Organ Fund + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_140">140</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="td3" colspan="2"> + The United Amateur, May 1922 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Official Organ Fund + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_140">140</a> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + At the Home of Poe + </td> + <td class="rgt sp3"> + <a href="#Page_140">140</a> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h1> + THE<br /> <span class="sp1">UNITED AMATEUR</span> + </h1> + <div class="tdc"> + <big><b>SEPTEMBER 1915</b></big> + </div> + <div class="fig1"> + <img src="images/001.jpg" width="197" height="300" alt="" title="" /> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + HOWARD P. LOVECRAFT<br /> First Vice-President U. A. P. A. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> + <img src="images/005.png" width="267" height="159" alt="[Illustration]" /> + </div> + <h3> + ITS OBJECT + </h3> + <p> + The desire to write for publication is one which inheres strongly in every + human breast. From the proficient college graduate, storming the gates of + the high-grade literary magazines, to the raw schoolboy, vainly + endeavoring to place his first crude compositions in the local newspapers, + the whole intelligent public are today seeking expression through the + printed page, and yearning to behold their thoughts and ideals permanently + crystallized in the magic medium of type. But while a few persons of + exceptional talent manage eventually to gain a foothold in the + professional world of letters rising to celebrity through the wide + diffusion of their art, ideals, or opinions; the vast majority, unless + aided in their education by certain especial advantages, are doomed to + confine their expression to the necessarily restricted sphere of ordinary + conversation. To supply these especial educational advantages which may + enable the general public to achieve the distinction of print, and which + may prevent the talented but unknown author from remaining forever in + obscurity, has arisen that largest and foremost of societies for literary + education <b>The United Amateur Press Association</b>. + </p> + <h3> + ITS ORIGIN + </h3> + <p> + Amateur journalism, or the composition and circulation of small, privately + printed magazines, is an instructive diversion which has existed in the + United States for over half a century. In the decade of 1866-1876 this + practice first became an organized institution; a short-lived society of + amateur journalists, including the now famous publisher, Charles Scribner, + having existed from 1869 to 1874. In 1876 a more lasting society was + formed, which exists to this day as an exponent of light dilettantism. Not + until 1895, however, was amateur journalism established as a serious + branch of educational endeavour. On September 2nd of that year, Mr. + William H. Greenfield, a gifted professional author, of Philadelphia, + founded <b>The United Amateur Press Association</b>, which has grown to be + the leader of its kind, and the representative of amateur journalism in + its best phases throughout the English-speaking world. + </p> + <h3> + ITS NATURE + </h3> + <p> + In many respects the word "amateur" fails to do full credit to amateur + journalism and the association which best represents it. To some minds the + term conveys an idea of crudity and immaturity, yet the <b>United</b> can + boast of members and publications whose polish and scholarship are + well-nigh impeccable. In considering the adjective "amateur" as applied to + the press association, we must adhere to the more basic interpretation, + regarding the word as indicating the non-mercenary nature of the + membership. Our amateurs write purely for love of their art, without the + stultifying influence of commercialism. Many of them are prominent + professional authors in the outside world, but their professionalism never + creeps into their association work. The atmosphere is wholly fraternal, + and courtesy takes the place of currency. + </p> + <p> + The real essential of amateur journalism and <b>The United Amateur Press + Association</b> is the amateur paper or magazine, which somewhat resembles + the average high-school or college publication. These journals, varying + greatly in size and character, are issued by various members at their own + expense, and contain, besides the literary work of their several editors + or publishers, contributions from all the many members who do not publish + papers of their own. Their columns are open to every person in the + association, and it may be said with justice that no one will find it + impossible to secure the publication of any literary composition of + reasonable brevity. The papers thus published are sent free to all our + many members, who constitute a select and highly appreciative reading + public. Since each member receives the published work of every other + member, many active and brilliant minds are brought into close contact, + and questions of every sort, literary, historical, and scientific, are + debated both in the press and in personal correspondence. The + correspondence of members is one of the most valuable features of the <b>United</b>, + for through this medium a great intellectual stimulus, friendly and + informal in nature, is afforded. Congenial members are in this way brought + together in a lettered companionship, which often grows into life-long + friendship, while persons of opposed ideas may mutually gain much breadth + of mind by hearing the other side of their respective opinions discussed + in a genial manner. In short, the <b>United</b> offers an exceptionally + well-proportioned mixture of instruction and fraternal cheer. There are no + limits of age, sex, education, position, or locality in this most complete + of democracies. Boys and girls of twelve and men and women of sixty, + parents and their sons and daughters, college professors and + grammar-school pupils, aristocrats and intelligent labourers, Easterners + and Westerners, are here given equal advantages, those of greater + education helping their cruder brethren until the common fund of culture + is as nearly level as it can be in any human organization. Members are + classified according to age; "A" meaning under sixteen, "B" from 16 to 21, + and "C" over 21. The advantages offered to those of limited acquirements + are immense, many persons having gained practically all their literary + polish through membership in the <b>United</b>. A much cherished goal is + professional authorship or editorship, and numerous indeed are the <b>United</b> + members who have now become recognized authors, poets, editors, and + publishers. True, though trite, is the saying that amateur journalism is + an actual training school for professional journalism. + </p> + <h3> + ITS PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES + </h3> + <p> + Members of the <b>United</b> may or may not publish little papers of their + own. This is a matter of choice, for there are always enough journals to + print the work of the non-publishing members. Youths who possess printing + presses will find publishing an immense but inexpensive pleasure, whilst + other publishers may have their printing done at very reasonable rates by + those who do own presses. The favorite size for amateur papers is 5×7 + inches, which can be printed at 55 or 60 cents per page, each page + containing about 250 words. Thus a four-page issue containing 1000 words + can be published for less than $2.50, if arrangements are made, as is + often the case, for its free mailing with any other<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> paper. Certain of the more + pretentious journals affect the 7×10 size, which costs about $1.60 + for each page of 700 words. These figures allow for 250 copies, the most + usual number to be mailed. Mr. E. E. Ericson of Elroy, Wisconsin, is + our Official Printer, and his work is all that the most fastidious could + demand. Other printers may be found amongst the young men who print their + own papers. In many cases they can quote very satisfactory prices. Two or + more members may issue a paper co-operatively, the individual expense then + being very slight. + </p> + <h3> + ITS CONTRIBUTED LITERATURE + </h3> + <p> + The <b>United</b> welcomes all literary contributions; poems, stories, and + essays, which the various members may submit. However, contribution is by + no means compulsory, and in case a member finds himself too busy for + activity, he may merely enjoy the free papers which reach him, without + taxing himself with literary labour. For those anxious to contribute, + every facility is provided. In some cases negotiations are made directly + between publisher and contributor, but the majority are accommodated by + the two Manuscript Bureaus, Eastern and Western, which receive + contributions in any quantity from the non-publishing members, and are + drawn upon for material by those who issue papers. These bureaus + practically guarantee on the one hand to find a place for each member's + manuscript, and on the other hand to keep each publisher well supplied + with matter for his journal. + </p> + <h3> + ITS CRITICAL DEPARTMENTS + </h3> + <p> + The two critical departments of the <b>United</b> are at present the most + substantial of its various educational advantages. The Department of + Private Criticism is composed exclusively of highly cultured members, + usually professors or teachers of English, who practically mould the taste + of the whole association, receiving and revising before publication the + work of all who choose to submit it to them. The service furnished free by + this department is in every way equal to that for which professional + critical bureaus charge about two dollars. Manuscripts are carefully + corrected and criticised in every detail, and authors are given + comprehensive advice designed to elevate their taste, style, and grammar. + Many a crude but naturally gifted writer has been developed to polished + fluency and set on the road to professional authorship through the <b>United's</b> + Department of Private Criticism. + </p> + <p> + The Department of Public Criticism reviews thoroughly and impartially the + various printed papers and their contents, offering precepts and + suggestions for improvement. Its reports are printed in the official organ + of the association, and serve as a record of our literary achievement. + </p> + <h3> + ITS LITERARY AWARDS + </h3> + <p> + To encourage excellence amongst the members of the <b>United</b>, annual + honours or "laureateships" are awarded the authors of the best poems, + stories, essays, or editorials. Participation in these competitions is not + compulsory, since they apply only to pieces which have been especially + "entered for laureateship." The entries are judged not by the members of + the association, but by highly distinguished litterateurs of the + professional world, selected particularly for the occasion. Our latest + innovation is a laureateship for the best home-printed paper, which will + excite keen rivalry among our younger members, and bring out some careful + specimens of the typographical art. Besides the laureateships there are + other honours and prizes awarded by individual publishers within the <b>United</b>, + many of the amateur journals offering excellent books for the best + stories, reviews, or reports submitted to them. + </p> + <h3> + ITS OFFICIAL ORGAN + </h3> + <p> + The association, as a whole, publishes a voluminous 7×10 monthly + magazine called <b>The United Amateur</b>, which serves as the official + organ. In this magazine may be found the complete revised list of members, + the reports of officers and committees, the ample reviews issued by the + Department of Public Criticism, a selection of the best contemporary + amateur literature, together with the latest news of amateur journalists + and their local clubs from all over the Anglo-Saxon world. <b>The United + Amateur</b> is published by an annually elected Official Editor, and + printed by the Official Publisher. It is sent free to all members of the + association. + </p> + <h3> + ITS GOVERNMENT + </h3> + <p> + <b>The United Amateur Press Association</b> is governed by a board of + officers elected by popular vote. The elections take place at the annual + conventions, where amateurs from all sections meet and fraternize. Those + who attend vote in person, whilst all others send in proxy ballots. There + is much friendly rivalry between cities concerning the selection of the + convention seat each year. The principal elective officers of the <b>United</b> + are the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, the Official Editor + and the three members of the Board of Directors. There are also a + Historian, a Laureate Recorder, and two Manuscript Managers. Appointed by + the President are the members of the two Departments of Criticism, the + Supervisor of Amendments, the Official Publisher, and the Secretary of the + association. All save Secretary and Official Publisher, serve without + remuneration. The basic law of the <b>United</b> comprises an excellent + Constitution and By-Laws. + </p> + <h3> + ITS LOCAL CLUBS + </h3> + <p> + The <b>United</b> encourages the formation of local literary or press + clubs in cities or towns containing several members. These clubs generally + publish papers, and hold meetings wherein the pleasures of literature are + enlivened by those of the society. The most desirable form of club + activity is that in which a high-school instructor forms a literary + society of the more enthusiastic members of his class. + </p> + <h3> + ITS PLACE IN EDUCATION + </h3> + <p> + During the past two years, as it has approached and passed its twentieth + birthday, the <b>United</b> has been endeavoring more strongly than ever + to find and occupy its true place amongst the many and varied phases of + education. That it discharges an unique function in literary culture is + certain, and its members have of late been trying very actively to + establish and define its relation to the high-school and the university. + Mr. Maurice Winter Moe, Instructor of English at the Appleton High School, + Appleton, Wisconsin, and one of our very ablest members, took the first + decisive step<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> + by organizing his pupils into an amateur press club, using the <b>United</b> + to supplement his regular class-room work. The scholars were delighted, + and many have acquired a love of good literature which will never leave + them. Three or four, in particular, have become prominent in the affairs + of the <b>United</b>. After demonstrating the success of his innovation, + Mr. Moe described it in <b>The English Journal</b>, his article arousing + much interest in educational circles, and being widely reprinted by other + papers. In November, 1914, Mr. Moe addressed an assemblage of English + teachers in Chicago, and there created so much enthusiasm for the <b>United</b>, + that scores of instructors have subsequently joined our ranks, many of + them forming school clubs on the model of the original club at Appleton. + Here, then, is one definite destiny for our association: to assist the + teaching of advanced English in the high-school. We are especially eager + for high-school material, teachers and pupils alike. + </p> + <p> + But there still remain a numerous class, who, though not connected with + school or college, have none the less sincere literary aspirations. At + present they are benefited immensely through mental contact with our more + polished members, yet for the future we plan still greater aids for their + development, by the creation of a systematic "Department of Instruction," + which will, if successfully established, amount practically to a free + correspondence school, and an "Authors' Placing Bureau," which will help + amateurs in entering the professional field. Our prime endeavor is at + present to secure members of high mental and scholastic quality, in order + that the <b>United</b> may be strengthened for its increasing + responsibility. Professors, teachers, clergymen, and authors have already + responded in gratifying numbers to our wholly altruistic plea for their + presence among us. The reason for the <b>United's</b> success as an + educational factor seems to lie principally in the splendid loyalty and + enthusiasm which all the members somehow acquire upon joining. Every + individual is alert for the welfare of the association, and its activities + form the subject of many of the current essays and editorials. The + ceaseless writing in which most of the members indulge is in itself an aid + to fluency, while the mutual examples and criticisms help on still further + the pleasantly unconscious acquisition of a good literary style. When + regular courses of instruction shall have been superimposed upon these + things, the association can indeed afford to claim a place of honour in + the world of education. + </p> + <h3> + ITS ENTRANCE CONDITIONS + </h3> + <p> + The only requirement for admission to the <b>United</b> is earnest + literary aspiration. Any member will furnish the candidate for admission + with an application blank, signed in recommendation. This application, + filled out and forwarded to the Secretary of the association with the sum + of fifty cents as dues for the first year, and accompanied by a + "credential," or sample of the candidate's original literary work, will be + acted upon with due consideration by the proper official. No candidate of + real sincerity will be denied admittance, and the applicant will generally + be soon rewarded by his certificate of membership, signed by the President + and Secretary. Papers, letters, and postal cards of welcome will almost + immediately pour in upon him, and he will in due time behold his + credential in print. (Unless it be something already printed.) Once a + member, his dues will be one dollar yearly, and if he should ever leave + the <b>United</b>, later desiring to join again, his reinstatement fee + will be one dollar. + </p> + <h3> + ITS REPRESENTATIVES + </h3> + <p> + <b>The United Amateur Press Association</b> is anything but local in its + personnel. Its active American membership extends from Boston to Los + Angeles, and from Milwaukee to Tampa, thus bringing all sections in + contact, and representing every phase of American thought. Its English + membership extends as far north as Newcastle-on-Tyne. Typical papers are + published in England, California, Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, + Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, District of Columbia, New York, and + Rhode Island. + </p> + <p> + In writing for entrance blanks or for further information concerning the + <b>United</b>, the applicant may address any one of the following + officers, who will gladly give details, and samples of amateur papers: Leo + Fritter, President, 503 Central National Bank Bldg., Columbus, Ohio; H. P. + Lovecraft, Vice-President, 598 Angell St., Providence, R. I.; Mrs. J. W. + Renshaw, Second Vice-President, Coffeeville, Miss.; William J. Dowdell, + Secretary, 2428 East 66th St., Cleveland, Ohio; or Edward F. Daas, + Official Editor, 1717 Cherry St., Milwaukee, Wis. Professional authors + interested in our work are recommended to communicate with the Second + Vice-President, while English teachers may derive expert information from + Maurice W. Moe, 658 Atlantic St., Appleton, Wis. Youths who possess + printing-presses are referred to the Secretary, who is himself a young + typographer. + </p> + <h3> + ITS PROVINCE SUMMARIZED + </h3> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + <b>If you are</b> a student of elementary English desirous of attaining + literary polish in an enjoyable manner, + </p> + <p> + <b>If you are</b> an ordinary citizen, burning with the ambition to + become an author, + </p> + <p> + <b>If you are</b> a solitary individual wishing for a better chance to + express yourself, + </p> + <p> + <b>If you own</b> a printing-press and would like to learn how to issue + a high-grade paper, + </p> + <p> + <b>If you are</b> a mature person eager to make up for a youthful lack + of culture, + </p> + <p> + <b>If you are</b> a professor or teacher seeking a new method of + interesting your English class, or + </p> + <p> + <b>If you are</b> an author or person of ripe scholarship, anxious to + aid your cruder brothers on their way, then + </p> + <p> + YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS + ASSOCIATION. + </p> + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Vice-President. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc"> + <img src="images/002.png" width="537" height="39" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION OF + AMERICA</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XIV + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 3 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + GEORGETOWN, ILL., JANUARY, 1915. + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM</span> + </h3> + <p> + THE BADGER for January is the first number of a strikingly meritorious and + serious paper published by George S. Schilling. We here behold none of the + frivolity which spoils the writings of those who view amateur journalism + merely as a passing amusement. The Badger shows evidence of careful and + tasteful editorship, combined with a commendable artistic sense in choice + of paper and cover. + </p> + <p> + The leading article, an essay on the minimum wage, is from the pen of the + editor, and shows both literary ability and a sound knowledge of + economics. "Sister to the Ox", by A. W. Ashby, is an excellent short + story whose strength is rather in its moral than in its plot. The + editorials are certainly not lacking in force, and seem well calculated to + stir the average amateur from his torpor of triteness and inanity. + </p> + <p> + THE INSPIRATION for November is an "Official Number", containing the work + of none but titled authors. Rheinhart Kleiner contributes the single piece + of verse, a smooth and pleasing lyric entitled "Love Again", which is not + unlike his previous poem, "Love, Come Again". As an amatory poet, Mr. + Kleiner shows much delicacy of sentiment, refinement of language, and + appreciation of metrical values; his efforts in this direction entitle him + to a high place among amateur bards. + </p> + <p> + One of the truly notable prose features of the magazine is Walter John + Held's delightful sketch of Joaquin Miller's home and haunts. This + artistic picture of Californian scenery exhibits a real comprehension of + the beauties of Nature, and stirs to an unusual degree the imagination of + the reader. Mr. Held's prose possesses a fluency and grace that bring it + close to the professional quality, and its few faults are far less + considerable than might be expected from the pen of a young author. + However, we must remark some rather awkward examples of grammatical + construction. The correct plural of "eucalyptus" is "eucalypti", without + any final "s", the name being treated as a Latin noun of the second + declension. "Slowly and dignified—it pursues its way" is hardly a + permissible clause; the adjective "dignified" must be exchanged for an + adverb. Perhaps Mr. Held sought to employ poetical enallage, but even so, + the adjective does not correspond with "slowly"; besides, the use of + enallage in prose is at best highly questionable. "This free and rank + flowers and brush" is another bad clause. But it is not well to dissect + the sketch too minutely. A youth of Mr. Held's ability needs only time and + continued practice to raise him to the highest rank in prose composition. + </p> + <p> + INVICTUS for January, the first number of Mr. Paul J. Campbell's new + individual paper, is one of those rare journals concerning which it is + almost impossible to speak without enthusiasm. Not one of its twenty-six + pages fails to delight us. Foremost in merit, and most aptly suited to Mr. + Campbell's particular type of genius, are the three inspiring essays, "The + Impost of the Future", "The Sublime Ideal", and "Whom God Hath Put + Asunder". Therein appears to great advantage the keen reasoning and sound + materialistic philosophy of the author. "The Sublime Ideal" is especially + absorbing, tracing as it does the expansion of the human mind from a state + of the narrowest and most violent bigotry to its present moderate breadth. + </p> + <p> + The three pieces of verse, "Inspiration", "The Larger Life", and "Down in + Mexico",<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> + are all of smooth construction and musical metre, though not exhibiting + their author's powers as well as his essays. "Down in Mexico", a virile + poem in Kipling's style, is unquestionably the best of the three. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Campbell's comments on amateur affairs are well-written and + entertaining, especially his reminiscent article entitled "After Seven + Years". + </p> + <p> + OUTWARD BOUND for January is an excellent journal edited by George William + Stokes of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. It is gratifying to behold such a + paper as this, one of the links between America and the parent country + which the United is helping to forge. + </p> + <p> + Herbert B. Darrow opens the issue with a short story entitled "A Lesson". + The tale is of conventional pattern, containing a sound though not + strikingly original moral. The language is generally good, except in one + sentence where the author speaks of "the vehicles in the street and + buildings about him". Surely he does not mean that the vehicles were in + the buildings as well as in the street. The use of the definite article + before the word "buildings" would do much toward dispelling the ambiguous + effect. + </p> + <p> + "The Haunted Forest", a poem by J. H. Fowler, is almost Poe-like in + its grimly fantastic quality. We can excuse rather indefinite metre when + we consider the admirably created atmosphere, the weird harmony of the + lines, the judicious use of alliteration, and the apt selection of words. + "Bird-shunned", as applied to the thickets of the forest, is a + particularly graphic epithet. Mr. Fowler is to be congratulated upon his + glowing imagination and poetical powers. + </p> + <p> + "A Bit o' Purple Heather", by Edna von der Heide, is a delightful piece of + verse in modified Scottish dialect, which well justifies the dedication of + the magazine to this poetess. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Stokes' editorial, headed "Ships that Pass", sustains the nautical + atmosphere of his periodical. We wish he had given his thoughts a larger + space for expression. + </p> + <p> + THE PIPER for December comes as a surprise to those who have known + Rheinhart Kleiner only as a master of metre, for he is here displayed as + the possessor of a pure and vigorous prose style as well. In this, the + opening number of his individual journal, Mr. Kleiner provides us with a + pleasing variety of literary matter; two serious poems, two rhymes of + lighter character, an essay on the inevitable topic of Consolidation, and + a brilliant collection of short editorials and criticisms. + </p> + <p> + "A Carnation", which begins the issue, is an exquisite piece of sentiment + couched in faultless verse. The odd measure of the poem is one peculiarly + suited to the author's delicate type of genius; an iambic line of only + three feet. The other lyric, "Heart, Do Not Wake", is likewise of + excellent quality, though the succession of "again" and "pain" in the + first line might suggest to some ears an unnecessary internal rhyme. + </p> + <p> + "The Rhyme of the Hapless Poet" is very clever, and can be truly + appreciated by every author of printed matter. Perhaps the misfortune of + which the poet complains is the cause of the extra syllable in the first + line of the second stanza; we hope that the following is what Mr. Kleiner + intended: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 14em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"I wrote a poem, 'twas a prize".<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + Otherwise we are forced to believe that he pronounces "poem" as a + monosyllable, "pome". "My Favorite Amateur" is a good specimen of light, + imitative verse. + </p> + <p> + The article on Consolidation is cynical in tone, but eminently sensible. + It is only too true that our greatest intellectual stimulus is found in + controversy and antagonism; we are really quite bellicose in our + instincts, despite the utterances of the peace advocates. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Kleiner concludes his journal with a sparkling epigram on a rather + obvious though regrettable tendency in amateur circles. + </p> + <p> + The Piper is in general a paper of satisfying merit, to whose future + issues we shall look forward with eagerness. + </p> + <p> + THE RECRUITING FEMININE for 1914-1915 is a publication of unusual worth. + "The Rose Supreme," by Coralie Austin, is a delicate little poem in which + we regret the presence of one inexcusably bad rhyme. To rhyme the words + "rose" and "unclosed" is to exceed the utmost limits of poetic license. It + is true that considerable variations in vowel sounds have been permitted; + "come" makes, or at least used to make, an allowable rhyme with "home", + "clock" with "look", or "grass" with "place"; but a final consonant + attached to one of two otherwise rhyming syllables positively destroys<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> the rhyme. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Myra Cole's essay on "The Little Things of Life" is well written and + instructive. + </p> + <p> + "The Dirge of the Great Atlantic", by Anne Vyne Tillery Renshaw, is a grim + and moving bit of verse, cast in the same primitively stirring metre which + this author used in her professionally published poem, "The Chant of + Iron". Mrs. Renshaw possesses an enviable power to reach the emotions + through the medium of written words. + </p> + <p> + "Two Octobers—A Contrast", by Eloise N. Griffith, is a meritorious + sketch ending with the usual appeal for the cessation of the European war. + We fear that the author cannot quite realize the ambitious passions, + essential ingredients of human nature, which render necessary a final + decision. + </p> + <p> + Miss Edna von der Heide, in an able article, rallies to the defense of Mr. + W. E. Griffin's now famous "Favorite Pastime". The Modern Lothario is + fortunate in having so competent and experienced a champion. However, we + cannot wholly endorse the sentiments of these excellent writers. The + statement that "all amateur journalists are flirts, more or less", is a + base and unwarranted libel which we are prepared completely to refute. + </p> + <p> + "The Audience", by Mrs. Florence Shepphird, is a masterly defense of those + inactive amateurs whom we are all too prone to consider as delinquent. It + is indeed true that authors would be useless were it not for some sort of + a reading public. + </p> + <p> + TOLEDO AMATEUR for December is a wholesome juvenile product. The + typography still leaves something to be desired, but the evidences of care + are everywhere visible, and we may reasonably expect to see it improve + from month to month, into one of the leading amateur papers. Credentials + form the keynote of the current issue, and a very promising assortment of + recruits are here introduced to the members of the United. Miss Sandborn, + who is fortunate enough to be one of Mr. Moe's pupils at Appleton, + contributes an interesting school anecdote, narrated in simple fashion. + Miss Thie gives information concerning the "Campfire Girls". Some new + members of adult years are also represented in this number. Mr. Jenkins + shows an admirable command of light prose, and will undoubtedly prove one + of the United's most entertaining writers. Misses Kline and McGeoch both + exhibit marked poetical tendencies in prose, the latter writer having + something of Mr. Fritter's facility in the use of metaphor. Mr. Porter's + editorials are refreshingly naive and unaffected. His grammar is generally + good, except in the one sentence where he speaks of the Toledo Times. He + should say, "the newspaper which has given me much experience, and to + whose publishers I owe a great deal of experience gained." + </p> + <p> + THE UNITED OFFICIAL QUARTERLY for November marks the beginning of a + laudable enterprise on the part of the official board. The magazine is of + artistic appearance in cover, paper, and typography alike, while the + contents show considerable care in preparation. + </p> + <p> + Ira A. Cole's essay on "The Gods of Our Fathers" is the leading feature + and, though not of perfect perspicuity nor faultless unity, is none the + less noteworthy as a sincere expression of Pantheism. Mr. Cole keenly + feels the incongruity of our devotion to Semitic theological ideals, when + as a matter of fact we are descended from Aryan polytheists, and his + personification of the Grecian deities in the men of today is a pleasing + and ingenious conception. We are inclined to wonder whether the author or + the printer is to blame for rendering the poet Hesiod's name as "Hesoid". + </p> + <p> + The metric art is represented by three contributions. Paul J. Campbell's + lines on "The Heritage of Life" are smooth in construction and proper in + sentiment, though they are far from showing their author at his best. Mr. + Campbell is a supreme master of the philosophical essay and of pointed, + satirical prose, being a very "Junius" in bold, biting invective; but is + placed at something of a disadvantage in the domain of conventional + poetry. Rheinhart Kleiner and ourselves revel in heroic couplets of widely + differing nature. Our own masterpiece is in full Queen Anne style with + carefully balanced lines and strictly measured quantities. We have + succeeded in producing eighteen lines without a single original sentiment + or truly poetical image. Rev. Mr. Pyke, the object of the verses, deserves + a better encomiast. Mr. Kleiner, on the other hand, uses an heroic metre + of that softened type<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> + which was evolved at the close of the eighteenth century from the + disruption of the more formal style. In this sort of verse the stiff, + classic expressions are discarded, and the sense frequently overflows from + couplet to couplet, giving the romantic poet a greater latitude for + expression than was possible in the old models. "Vacation" is not + distinguished by any strikingly novel idea, but is in general a very + clever piece of light work. The only substantial defect is in the eighth + line, where the word "resort" is so placed, that the accent must fall + wrongfully upon the first syllable. + </p> + <p> + Leo Fritter's article on criticism is timely and sensible. As he justly + contends, some authorized amateur critics deal far too roughly with the + half-formed products of the young author, while most unofficial and + inexperienced reviewers fairly run mad with promiscuous condemnation. The + fancied brilliancy of the critic is always greatest when he censures most, + so that the temptations of the tribe are many. We are at best but literary + parasites, and need now and then just such a restraining word as our + counter-critic gives us. Mr. Fritter's style is here, as usual, highly + ornamented with metaphor. One slight defect strikes the fastidious eye, + but since split infinitives are becoming so common in these days, we shall + attend the author's plea for gentleness, and remain silent. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman, Department of + Public Criticism. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MARCH 1915</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM</span> + </h3> + <p> + THE BLARNEY STONE for November-December is dedicated to its contributors + and wholly given over to their work. "Did You Ever Go A-Fishin'?," by + Olive G. Owen, is a vivid poetical portrayal of that peculiar attraction + which the angler's art exerts on its devotees. While the whole is of high + and pleasing quality, exception must be taken to the rhyming of "low" with + itself at the very beginning of the poem. It may be that the second "low" + is a misprint for "slow", yet even in that case, the rhyme is scarcely + allowable, since the dominant rhyming sound would still be "low". Miss + Edna von der Heide, in "The Christmas of Delsato's Maria", tells how an + Italian thief utilized his questionable art to replace a loss in his + family. "To General Villa" is a peculiar piece of verse written last + summer for the purpose of defying those who had charged its author with + pedantry and pomposity. It has suffered somewhat at the hands of the + printer; "Intrepido" being spelled "Intrepedo", and the word "own" being + dropped from the clause "your own name can't write" in the third line of + the second stanza. Also, the first of the Spanish double exclamation marks + around the oath "Santa Maria" is right side up instead of inverted + according to Castilian custom. Having been hastily written, the piece is + wholly without merit. "Senor", in the second line of the third stanza is + placed so that the accent must fall erroneously on the first syllable. The + changes of time and revolutions have rendered the last stanza sadly out of + date. + </p> + <p> + The issue is concluded with a beautiful editorial on "The Service With + Love", wherein is described the ideal spirit of brotherhood which should + pervade amateur journalism. We regret the two blank pages at the back of + the magazine, and wish that some talented Blarney had seen fit to adorn + them with his work. + </p> + <p> + THE BROOKLYNITE for January is of unusual merit, fairly teeming with + features of a well-written and substantial character. + </p> + <p> + The short story by Mrs. Carson is developed with admirable simplicity and + ease; the plot not too strained, and the moral not too pragmatically + forced upon the reader. The conversation, always a difficult point with + amateur authors, is surprisingly natural. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Adams' essay on ghosts displays considerable literary knowledge, + though the anecdote at the end is rather ancient for use today. We last + heard it about ten years ago, with a Scotchman instead of a negro preacher + as the narrator, and with the word "miracle" instead of "phenomena" as the + subject. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Goodwin's "Cinigrams" are delightful, and we expect soon to hear the + author heralded as the Martial of amateur journalism. "Ford, Do Not + Shake", Mr. Goodwin's parody on Kleiner's "Heart, Do Not Wake", is + actually side-splitting. The metre is handled to perfection, and the humor + is extremely clever. + </p> + <p> + "Consolidation", by George Julian Houtain, is a fair example of the manner + in which some of the less dignified National politicians try to cast silly + aspersions on the United. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> + elaborately sarcastic phrase: "United boys and girls", seems to please + its author, since he uses it twice. There is unconscious irony in the + spectacle of a National man, once a member of the notorious old Gotham + ring, preaching virtuously against the "unenviable record" of the United. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Stoddard's brief essay, composed at a meeting of the Blue Pencil Club, + is excellent, and his concluding quatrain regular and melodious. We wish, + however, that he would give us some more of the serious fiction that he + can write so splendidly, and which used several years ago to appear in the + amateur press. + </p> + <p> + "Music Moods", by Charles D. Isaacson, is an emotional sketch of great + power and delicate artistry. Mr. Isaacson has an active imagination and a + literary ability which makes his readers see very vividly the images he + creates. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Houtain's poem shows great but as yet undeveloped talent. The + repeated use of the expletive "do" in such phrases as "I do sigh", or "I + pray and do pine", mars the verse somewhat. As Pope remarked and + humorously illustrated in his Essay on Criticism: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "Expletives their feeble aid DO join." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Ayres' jocose epic is clever and tuneful. The climax, or rather + anticlimax, comes quite effectively. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Adams, in his brilliant verses entitled "Gentlemen, Please Desist", + exposes in a masterly way the fatuity of our loud-mouthed peace workers. + Miss Silverman's lines on the same subject are very good, but scarcely + equal in keenness of wit. It is all very well to "keep industry booming", + but industry cannot take the place of military efficiency in protecting a + nation against foreign aggression. + </p> + <p> + As a whole, the January Brooklynite is the best number we have yet seen. + </p> + <p> + THE COYOTE for March is not a revival of Ex-President Brechler's + well-known amateur journal of that name, but a semi-professional leaflet + edited by Mr. William T. Harrington, a rather new recruit. The leading + feature is a sensational short story by the editor, entitled "What + Gambling Did". In this tale, Mr. Harrington exhibits at least a strong + ambition to write, and such energy, if well directed, may eventually make + of him one of our leading authors of fiction. Just now, however, we must + protest against his taste in subject and technique. His models are + obviously not of the classical order, and his ideas of probability are far + from unexceptionable. In developing the power of narration, it is + generally best, as one of our leading amateurs lately reiterated, to + discard the thought of elaborate plots and thrilling climaxes, and to + begin instead with the plain and simple description of actual incidents + with which the author is familiar. Likewise, the young author may avoid + improbability by composing his earliest efforts in the first person. He + knows what he himself would do in certain circumstances, but he does not + always know very exactly what some others might do in similar cases. + Meanwhile, above all things he should read classic fiction, abstaining + entirely from "Wild West Weeklies" and the like. Mr. Harrington has a + taste for excitement, and would probably thrive on Scott, Cooper, or Poe. + Let him read the Leather Stocking Tales if he loves pioneers and frontier + life. Not until after he has acquired a familiarity with the methods of + the best authors, and refined his imagination by a perusal of their works, + should he make attempts at writing outside his own experience. He will + then be able to produce work of a quality which would surprise him now. + </p> + <p> + We are sorry to note that the Coyote's editorial columns are occupied by a + mere condensed copy of the United's standard recruiting circular. This + space might have been filled much more profitably with brief original + comments by the editor on the numerous exchanges which are listed in + another part of his paper. The paid advertising and subscription price are + not to be commended. Such things have no place in a truly amateur paper. + But continued membership in the United will doubtless fill Mr. Harrington + with the genuine amateur spirit, and cause The Coyote to become a worthy + successor to its older namesake. + </p> + <p> + DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for October is a modest but very promising little paper, + mostly composed of amateur notes and brief reviews. The editor has + interest in his work, and fluency in his language, foundations on which a + more elaborate structure may some day be erected. One feature open to + criticism is Mr. Dowdell's sudden change in his editorial column from the + usual first person plural to the third person singular. It would be better + to save "The Old Bear" and his interesting chat, for a separate column. + The typography of Dowdell's Bearcat is not perfect, but may be expected to + improve from issue to issue. + </p> + <p> + THE EMISSARY for July is a National paper, but contains the work of + several United<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> + members. Of the publication itself we need not stop to speak. Mr. Reading, + though only eighteen years of age, is an editor and printer of the highest + grade, and has produced an issue which will be long remembered in the + amateur world. + </p> + <p> + "Ausonius, the Nature-Lover", by Edward H. Cole, is a pleasing and + judicious appreciation of a later Latin poet, showing how a bard of the + decaying Roman Empire approached in certain passages the spirit of modern + romanticism. Mr. Cole's translated extracts are beautifully phrased, and + his comment upon the subject well exhibits his wide and careful + scholarship. Articles of this quality are rarely found in the amateur + press, and it will be interesting to note what effect their more frequent + appearance would have upon the literary tone of the associations. + </p> + <p> + "To Sappho", by Olive G. Owen, is a lyrical poem of much merit, yet having + a defective line. Why, we wonder, did the author see fit to leave two + necessary syllables out of the third line of the opening verse? + </p> + <p> + "Lamb o' Mine", by Dora M. Hepner, is probably the most attractive bit of + verse in the magazine. The negro dialect is inimitable, and the consoling + spirit of the old black "mammy" fairly radiates from the lines. + Metrically, the piece is faultless, and we wish its author were a more + frequent contributor to the amateur journals. + </p> + <p> + Miss von der Heide's two poems, "The Mill Mother", and "Greeting", express + admirably the sentiments of pathos and natural beauty, respectively. + Personally, we prefer "Greeting". + </p> + <p> + Mr. Campbell's lines on "Huerta's Finish" are distinctly below the usual + standard of this talented writer's work. The metre is satisfactory, but + the humor is somewhat strained, and the pun in the last line based on a + mispronunciation of the old Indian's name. "Wehr-ta" is probably the + correct sound, rather than "Hurt-a". + </p> + <p> + THE INSPIRATION for January must be judged strictly by its quality; not + its quantity. Pinkney C. Grissom, a very young amateur, cheers us greatly + with his article on "Smiles", while Miss von der Heide's microscopic + story, "A Real Victory", is indeed a literary treat. We trust that the + editor's threat of discontinuance may not be realized. + </p> + <p> + THE KANSAN for July reaches us at a late date through the kindness of Mr. + Daas. In this magazine the Sunflower Club of Bazine makes its formal + debut, being ushered into amateur society by means of a pleasing and + well-written article from the pen of Miss Hoffman. The informal "Exchange + Comment" is a charitable and generally delightful department, whose + anonymity we rather regret. The Editorial pages are brilliant in their + justification of the United's sunny spirit, as contrasted with the + National's forbidding frigidity. + </p> + <p> + THE OLYMPIAN for September-February well sustains the lofty traditions of + that magazine. Mr. Cole defines with considerable precision his latest + editorial policy and his true attitude toward the United, revealing only + the more strongly, however, his remarkable and ineradicable prejudice + against our association in favor of the National. "Evening Prayer", by + Rheinhart Kleiner, is a poem of great beauty and real worth, couched in + the alternating iambic pentameter and trimeter which this poet seems to + have made his own particular medium of expression. Mr. Kleiner is rapidly + assuming a very high rank among amateur poets. + </p> + <p> + "The Public Library", by Eloise N. Griffith, is a delightful and + appreciative reminiscence of quiet hours of lettered joy. + </p> + <p> + "The Play Hour", consisting of two clever bits of metre dedicated to a + very young amateur, appears in a collection of short and sprightly pieces + signed by the Senior Editor himself. It is difficult, nevertheless, to + imagine the dignified Olympian Zeus as the author. Though the second of + these tuneful rhymes is apparently written in the "simplified" spelling + now so popular among certain amateur editors, a closer inspection reveals + the fact that the spelling is merely made juvenile to suit the subject. + After all, however, simplified spelling and baby-talk are but little + removed from each other. The Reviewers' Club is in this issue represented + by both editors, whose criticisms are as usual just and illuminating. + </p> + <p> + PROMETHEUS for September-November is a journal of unusual literary and + artistic value, edited by our poet-laureate, Miss Olive G. Owen. The paper + well lives up to its sub-title, "A Magazine of Aspirations Dreamed into + Reality". Mr. William H. Greenfield, the honored founder of the United, + claims the first page with a graceful Pindaric ode, "To My Friend". "The + Weaver of Dreams", by Edna G. Thorne, is a strikingly well-written short<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> story + pervaded with a delicate pathos and expressing a beautiful Christian + philosophy. George W. Macauley, continuing to concentrate his narrative + powers on the Oriental tale, presents a pleasing fable of old Moorish + Spain, entitled "Ali Ahmed and the Aqueduct". "The Ethics of Stimulation", + by Maurice W. Moe, is an eminently sound exposition of the relative evil + of coffee and alcoholic liquor as stimulants. "Partners", by H. A. + Reading, exhibits great ability on the part of its author, and is well + calculated to arouse the emotions of affectionate fathers and sons. + </p> + <p> + Miss Owen's work, scattered here and there throughout the magazine, is + naturally of the very first quality. It is hard to choose between the two + poems "Atthis, I Love Thee", and "To Elizabeth Knopf", but we incline + slightly toward the former. The sketches "The Visitor" and "Some Things I + Like in New York" are both delightful in their artistic simplicity. + </p> + <p> + Critically analyzed, Prometheus may be classed as one of the most varied + and generally readable magazines of the season. + </p> + <p> + RED LETTER DAYS for October is the first of an informal individual paper + by George W. Macauley, representing the most purely personal phase of + amateur journalism. This issue is almost completely devoted to an animated + account of the "Red Letter Days" spent by Mr. Macauley last summer with + the amateurs who stopped to see him while on their way to the various + conventions. The author's style is familiar and pleasing, though rather + careless, and slightly marred by defects in spelling and grammar. For + instance, we are told of the caution which he and Mr. Stoddard exercised + in changing seats in a boat, since neither "could swim, had the boat DID + the usual thing." We are sorry that Mr. Macauley has adopted "simplified" + spelling, but it is an evil in which he is by no means alone. + </p> + <p> + Red Letter Days, broadly considered, is a highly commendable paper; its + simplicity and lack of affectation are alone sufficient to win general + approval. + </p> + <p> + STRAY LEAVES for May-June is another paper which has arrived late and + indirectly. In this publication we note with disapproval some evidence of + pseudo-professionalism, such as a subscription rate and advertisements, + but we trust that Miss Draper will ere long acquire the perfect amateur + spirit. "Love Proved To Be the Master of Hate", a short story by Frances + Wood, is handicapped by its unwieldy title. "The Triumph of Love", or some + heading of equal brevity, would better suit it. Indications of immaturity + are here and there perceptible, and at the very beginning there is an + inexplicable mass of hyphenation. However, the tale is undeniably of + considerable merit, conveying a pleasing picture of jealousy overcome. + </p> + <p> + The Editorial department might be improved by a judicious copying of the + best amateur models. The reference to anti-Suffrage and Suffrage as "two + vital questions" is hardly permissible; these are the two sides of only + one question. + </p> + <p> + "Thinkers", by G. D., is really excellent as an essay, despite the + awkwardness of style. + </p> + <p> + The Bermuda letter is highly interesting in its descriptions, but + painfully unscholarly in its phraseology. We here behold a case of real + talent obscured by want of literary polish, and hope that F. A. B., + whoever he or she may be, will profit by his or her connection with the + United. + </p> + <p> + Stray Leaves has great possibilities, and will doubtless prove one of the + leading papers of amateur journalism in times to come. + </p> + <p> + THE UNITED OFFICIAL QUARTERLY for January hardly lives up to the artistic + standard set by the first number, though it contains much valuable matter. + Herbert B. Darrow pleads very ably for the personal acknowledgement of + amateur papers received, while Paul J. Campbell writes convincingly on the + true value of amateur journalism. Pres. Hepner, in the concluding article, + opposes with considerable vigor the Hoffman policy of issuing co-operative + magazines. We are not, however, inclined entirely to agree with our + executive's conclusions. The co-operative journal is practically the only + adequate medium of expression for the amateur of limited means, and most + of the later journals of this class, of which the Official Quarterly is + itself an example, have been of excellent quality. It is perhaps too much + to expect the average President, encumbered with a host of other duties, + to conduct this work, but in any event some suitable official should be + delegated for that purpose. The association should not lightly abandon a + policy which made the preceding administration one of the most brilliant + and successful in years. + </p> + <p> + THE WOODBEE for January exhibits amateur<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> journalism at its best. Mrs. + Anne Tillery Renshaw opens the magazine with a pleasing poem, dedicated to + the Woodbees, which combines simplicity of diction with regularity of + metre. Those decasyllabic quatrains are a decided departure from Mrs. + Renshaw's usual style, which explains the slight lack of fluency. The last + line of the third stanza contains a redundant syllable, a defect which + might be corrected by the removal of the article before the word "louder", + or by the poetical contraction of "sympathy" into "symp'thy". The third + line of the fourth stanza possesses only four feet. This may be an + intentional shortening to give rhetorical effect, yet it mars none the + less the symmetry of the verse. + </p> + <p> + "The Spiritual Significance of the Stars", by Leo Fritter, is the leading + feature of the issue. The inspiring influence of astronomical study on the + cultivated intellect is here shown to best advantage. Mr. Fritter traces + the slow unfolding of celestial knowledge to the world, and points out the + divinity of that mental power which enables man to discern the vastness of + the universe, and to comprehend the complex principles by which it is + governed. In the laws of the heavens he finds the prototype of all human + laws, and the one perfect model for human institutions. Mr. Fritter's + essay is eminently worthy of a place among the classics of amateur + journalism. + </p> + <p> + "A Morn in June", by Harriet E. Daily, is a short and dainty poem of + excellent quality, though marred by a reprehensible attempt to rhyme + "grass" with "task". As we mentioned in connection with another amateur + poem, a final consonant on one of two otherwise rhyming syllables utterly + destroys the rhyme. "We Are Builders All", by Elizabeth M. Ballou, is a + graceful allegory based on the temple of Solomon. Edna Mitchell Haughton's + character sketch, "The Family Doctor", is just and well drawn. + </p> + <p> + "A Dog for Comfort", by Edna von der Heide, is a meritorious poem of + gloomy impressiveness. We cannot quite account for the defective second + line of the fourth stanza, since Miss von der Heide is so able a poetess. + Perhaps it is intentional, but we wish the line were of normal + decasyllabic length. "My Grandmother's Garden", by Ida Cochran Haughton, + is a truly delightful bit of reminiscent description which deserves more + than one reading. "A Little Girl's Three Wishes", by Mrs. R. M. + Moody, is entertaining in quality and correct in metre. It is a relief to + behold amidst the formless cacophony of modern poetry such a regular, + old-fashioned specimen of the octosyllabic couplet. "Two Little + Waterwheels", by Dora M. Hepner, is an exquisite idyllic sketch. In the + second paragraph we read of a channel "damned" up by a projecting root of + a tree; which somewhat surprises us, since we did not know that tree-roots + are accustomed to use profane language. Perhaps the author intended to + write "dammed". + </p> + <p> + The editorials are brief. In one of them it is stated that the paper is + submitted without fear to the critics AND Eddie Cole. In view of Mr. + Cole's scholarly and conscientious critical work, we hope that no + reflection upon him is there intended. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman, Department of + Public Criticism. + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">MARCH</span> + </h3> + <div class="poem" style="width: 22em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Let other bards with nobler talents sing<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The beauties of the mild, maturer spring.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">My rustic Muse on bleaker times must dwell,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">When Earth, but new-escap'd from winter's spell,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Uncloth'd, unshelter'd, unadorn'd, is seen;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Stript of white robes, nor yet array'd in green.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Hard blows the breeze, but with a warmer force.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The melting ground, the brimming watercourse,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The wak'ning air, the birds' returning flight,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The longer sunshine, and the shorter night,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Arcturus' beams, and Corvus' glitt'ring rays,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Diffuse a promise of the genial days.<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Yon muddy remnant of the winter snow<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Shrinks humbly in the equinoctial glow,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Whilst in the fields precocious grass-blades peep<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Above the earth so lately wrapt in sleep.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">What sweet, elusive odor fills the soil,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To rouse the farmer to his yearly toil!<br /></span> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span><span + class="i0">Though thick the clouds, and bare the maple bough,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">With what gay song he guides the cumbrous plough!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">In him there stirs, like sap within the tree,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The joyous call to new activity:<br /></span> <span + class="i0">The outward scene, however dull and drear,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Takes on a splendor from the inward cheer.<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Prophetic month! Would that I might rehearse<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thy hidden beauties in sublimer verse:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thy glorious youth, thy vigor all unspent,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thy stirring winds, of spring and winter blent.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Summer brings blessings of enervate kind;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thy joys, O March, are ecstasies of mind.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">In June we revel in the bees' soft hum,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">But March exalts us with the bliss to come.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + —H. P. LOVECRAFT. + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <div class="figc"> + <img src="images/002.png" width="537" height="39" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION OF + AMERICA</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XIV + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 5 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + GEORGETOWN, ILL., MAY, 1915. + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department Of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <p> + THE BLARNEY STONE for January-February is replete with good literature, + amidst which may particularly be mentioned Arthur Goodenough's harmonious + poem, "God Made Us All of Clay". The theme is not new, but appears + advantageously under Mr. Goodenough's delicate treatment. + </p> + <p> + M. W. Hart's short story, "The Redemption", is intended to portray a + righteous transformation from conventional false morality to true + Christian life, but in reality presents a very repulsive picture of + bestial atavism. The meaner character was not "reformed by mercy", but + merely withheld from wholesale vice by isolation. Mr. Hart is so plainly + in earnest when he relates this dismal tale as a sermon, that we must not + be too harsh in questioning his taste or condemning his free standards of + civilized morality; yet we doubt seriously if stories or essays of this + type should appear in the press, and especially in the amateur press. Two + or three technical points demand attention. The word "diversified" on page + 2 might better be "diverse", while "environment" on page 4, could well be + replaced by "condition" or "state". On page 5 occurs the sentence "All + intelligence ... were ... instinct". Obviously the verb should be in the + singular number to correspond with its subject. Mr. Hart is developing a + prose style of commendable dignity, unusually free from the jarring touch + of modern frivolity. + </p> + <p> + H. B. Scott is proving himself a finished scholar and a thoughtful + editor in his conduct of The Blarney Stone; his able essay on + "Personality" is eminently worthy of more than one perusal. + </p> + <p> + THE BOYS' HERALD for May presents us with a highly interesting account of + Robert Louis Stevenson's career as an amateur journalist, together with a + facsimile reproduction of the cover of "The Sunbeam Magazine", Stevenson's + hand-written periodical. The column of reminiscences, containing letters + from various old-time amateurs, is extremely inspiring to the younger + members, showing how persistently the amateur spirit adheres to all who + have truly acquired it. "Nita at the Passing Show" is a witty and + entertaining parody by Mr. Smith, illustrating the theatrical hobby of + Miss Gerner; one of the latest United recruits. The Boys' Herald + discharges a peculiar and important function in the life of the + associations, connecting the present with<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> the past, and furnishing us + with just standards for comparison. + </p> + <p> + DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for December opens with a Christmas poem of great beauty + and harmonious construction from the pen of Dora M. Hepner. The thoughts + and images are without exception lofty and well selected, and the only + possible defect is the attempt to rhyme "come" with "run" in the last + stanza. Edward H. Cole's review of a recent booklet in memory of Miss + Susan Brown Robbins, a former amateur, is more than a criticism. It is a + rare appreciation of the bonds of mutual esteem and respect which grow up + amongst the congenial members of the press associations. Mr. Cole is + peculiarly well fitted to deal with his subject, and no praise is needed + beyond the statement that the review is characteristic of him. + </p> + <p> + DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for January marks the metamorphosis of that periodical + into a newspaper. With youthful ambition, Mr. Dowdell is resolved to + furnish the United with the latest items of interest concerning amateurs. + While the general style of the paper is fluent and pleasing, we believe + that "Bruno" might gain much force of expression through the exercise of a + little more care and dignity in his prose. For instance, many colloquial + contractions like "don't", "won't", or "can't" might be eliminated, while + such slang phrases as "neck of the woods", "make good", "somewhat off", or + "bunch of yellow-backs" were better omitted. + </p> + <p> + DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for March is notable for an increase in size. "A Visit + to Niagara Falls", by Andrew R. Koller, is an intelligent and animated + piece of description, which promises well for the development of its + author. What looseness of construction exists may be charged to youth. "An + Ambition and a Vision", by Nettie A. Hartman, is a neat and grammatically + written little sketch, probably autobiographical, describing the evolution + of an amateur. Greater cultivation of rhetorical taste would improve Miss + Hartman's style, and we are certain that it possesses a fundamental merit + which will make improvement an easy matter. With the usual regret we + observe an instance of "simple spelling", which Mr. Dowdell, who does not + fall into this vice himself, has evidently overlooked in editing. The news + items this month are timely and vivacious, exhibiting "Bruno" at his best. + </p> + <p> + THE LAKE BREEZE for March inaugurates a very welcome revival of the + United's foremost news sheet, now to be issued monthly. Mr. Daas is so + active an amateur, and so closely connected with the development of the + association, that his ably edited journal has almost the authority of an + official organ. + </p> + <p> + The editorial entitled "Ashes and Roses" is a powerful and convincing + reply to a rather weak attack lately made on the United by a member of a + less active association. Mr. Daas uses both sense and sarcasm to great + advantage, leaving but little ground for his opponent to occupy. + </p> + <p> + "The Amateur Press" is a well conducted column of contributed reviews, + among which Mrs. A. M. Adams' eulogy of Mrs. Griffith's essay in + Outward Bound is perhaps the best. "What is Amateur Journalism?", by "El + Imparcial", is a sketch of the various types of amateurs, with a + suggestion of the ideal type. While free from glaring defects, the essay + gives no really new information, and brings out no strikingly original + ideas. "Some Objections to Moving Pictures", by Edmund L. Shehan, presents + a strong array of evidence against one of the most popular and instructive + amusements of today. We do not believe, however, that the objections here + offered are vital. The moving picture has infinite possibilities for + literary and artistic good when rightly presented, and having achieved a + permanent place, seems destined eventually to convey the liberal arts to + multitudes hitherto denied their enjoyment. Mr. Shehan's prose style is + clear and forceful, capable of highly advantageous development. + </p> + <p> + LITERARY BUDS for April is the first number of a paper issued by the new + Athenaeum Club of Journalism, Harvey, Ill. Though the text of most of the + contributions has suffered somewhat through a slight misapprehension + concerning the editing, the issue is nevertheless pleasing and creditable. + </p> + <p> + "A la Rudyard", a poem by George A. Bradley, heads the contents. While + hampered by some of the heaviness natural to authors of school age, Mr. + Bradley has managed to put into his lines a laudable enthusiasm and + genuine warmth. The editorial column is well conducted, the second item + being especially graphic, though the "superdreadnought" metaphor seems + rather forced. Clara Inglis Stalker, the enthusiastic and capable educator + through whose efforts the club was formed, gives a brief account of her + organization, under the title "The History of an Eight-Week-Old", and in a + prose style of uniformly flowing and attractive quality. "A Love Song", + Miss Stalker's other contribution, is a poem of delicate imagery and + unusual metre. "Our Paring Knife", by Gertrude Van Lanningham, is a short + sketch with an aphorism at the end. Though this type of moral lesson is a + little trite, Miss Van Lanningham shows no mean appreciation of literary + form, and will, when she has emerged from the "bud" stage, undoubtedly + blossom into a graphic and sympathetic writer. "Co-Education", by Caryl W. + Dempsey, is an interesting but only partially convincing article on a + topic of considerable importance. The author, being enthusiastically in + favor of the practice, enumerates its many benefits; yet the arguments are + decidedly biased. While the advantage of co-education<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> to young ladies is made quite + obvious, it remains far from clear that young men receive equal benefit. A + desirable decline of cliques and hazing might, it is true, result from the + admission of women to men's universities, but the young men would + undoubtedly lose much in earnest, concentrated energy and dignified + virility through the presence of the fair. The experiment, radical at + best, has failed more than once. The style of this essay is slightly + wanting in ease and continuity, yet possesses the elements of force. "The + Traitor", by Agnes E. Fairfield, is a short story of artistic development + but questionable sentiment. The present fad of peace-preaching should not + be allowed to influence a writer of sense into glorifying a socialistic, + unpatriotic fanatic who refuses to uphold the institutions that his + fathers before him created with their toil, blood, and sacrifice. It is + not the right of the individual to judge of the necessity of a war; no + layman can form an intelligent idea of the dangers that may beset his + fatherland. The man is but a part of the state, and must uphold it at any + cost. We are inclined to wonder at Miss Fairfield's mention of a king, + when the name Phillipe La Roque so clearly proclaims the hero a Frenchman. + France, be it known, has been a republic for some little time. "Penny in + the Slot", by Vaughn Flannery, possesses a humor that is pleasing and + apparently quite spontaneous. We should like to behold more of Mr. + Flannery's efforts in this field. + </p> + <p> + Viewed in its entirety, allowance being made for its present essentially + juvenile nature, Literary Buds may be regarded as a pronounced success. + That it will mature in consonance with the club which it represents is + certain, and each future issue can be relied upon to surpass its + predecessor. + </p> + <p> + OLE MISS' for March, edited by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Renshaw, easily + falls into the very front rank of the season's amateur journals. In this + number Mr. Joseph W. Renshaw makes his initial appearance before the + members of the United, producing a very favorable impression with his + pure, attractive prose. The introduction, credited in another column to + Mr. Renshaw, is of graceful and pleasing character, recalling the + elusively beautiful atmosphere of the Old South which is too soon passing + away. + </p> + <p> + "The Humble Swallow", an anonymous essay, praises with singularly delicate + art a feathered creature whose charms lie not on the surface. The + concluding paragraph, condemning the wanton slaughter of this winged + friend to mankind, is especially apt at a time of hysterical peace + agitation. While the well meaning advocates of peace call wildly upon men + to abandon just warfare against destructive and malignant enemies, they + generally pass over without thought or reproof the wholesale murder of + these innocent little birds, who never did nor intended harm to anyone. "A + Higher Recruiting Standard", by Mrs. Renshaw, is an able exposition of the + newer and loftier type of ideals prevailing in the United. Our association + has never lacked numbers, but would undoubtedly be the better for an + increased standard of scholarship such as is here demanded. Mrs. Renshaw's + work as a recruiter is in keeping with her policy, and this, together with + Mr. Moe's work amongst the English teachers, seems destined to raise the + United far above its lesser contemporaries. "An A. J. Suggestion", by + Mr. Renshaw, deals ingeniously and logically with the always difficult + problem of selecting a printer. Though evidently written quite + independently, it ably seconds Paul J. Campbell's original suggestion in + the UNITED AMATEUR. The advantages of having one printer for all amateur + work are many, and the well presented opinions of Mr. Renshaw should aid + much in securing this desirable innovation. + </p> + <p> + The poetry in Ole Miss' is all by Mrs. Renshaw, and therefore of first + quality. "Some One I Know" is a lightly amatory piece of tuneful rhythm. + "Night of Rain" gives a peculiarly pleasing aspect to a type of scene not + usually celebrated in verse. The only jarring note is the rather mundane + metaphor which compares the trees to a "beautiful mop". Though Mrs. + Renshaw holds unusual ideas regarding the use of art in poetry, we contend + that this instance of rhetorical frigidity is scarcely permissible. It is + too much like Sir Richard Blackmore's description of Mount Aetna, wherein + he compares a volcanic eruption to a fit of colic; or old Ben Johnson's + battle scene in the fifth act of "Catiline", where he represents the sun + perspiring. "Man of the Everyday" is a noble panegyric on the solid, + constructive virtues of the ordinary citizen, portraying very graphically + the need of his presence in a world that heeds him but little. + </p> + <p> + Considered in all its aspects, Ole Miss' is a notable contribution to + amateur literature, and one which we hope to see oft repeated. + </p> + <p> + THE PASSING SHOW for February is the "second annual production" of an + excellent though informal little paper by Nita Edna Gerner, a new member + of the United, and the daughter of an old-time amateur. Miss Gerner is an + enthusiast on all matters pertaining to the theatre, and has impressed her + hobby very strongly on the pages of her publication. + </p> + <p> + The dominant theme of the current issue is that of amateur romance, + exhibiting the press associations in the role of matrimonial agencies. + "The Twos-ers", by Edwin Hadley Smith, is a long list of couples who + became wedded through acquaintanceships formed in amateur journalism. This + catalogue, recording 26 marriages and engagements from the earliest<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> ages to the + present, must have cost its author much time and research. "A Romance of + Amateur Journalism", by Edward F. Daas, is a very brief statement of facts + in unornamented style. "An 'Interstate' Romance", by Leston M. Ayres, is + more elaborate in treatment, and displays an easy, colloquial style. + </p> + <p> + The editorial column, headed "Through the Opera-Glasses", is bright and + informal. We note with regret that Miss Gerner has seen fit to adopt the + popular mutilated orthography of the day, a fad which we trust she will + discard in time. + </p> + <p> + PEARSON'S PET for April is a bright and attractive little paper + throughout. "Burnin' Off" is a delightful specimen of dialect verse which + conveys a graphic image. We have never witnessed such an agricultural + function as Mr. Pearson describes, but can gain from his clever lines a + vivid idea of its weird impressiveness. "How I Met Elbert Hubbard" is + narrated in commendably easy prose, which same may be said of the sketch + or editorial entitled "Broke Loose Again". Mr. Pearson is assuredly a + competent exponent of amateur journalism's lighter and less formal side. + </p> + <p> + THE PIPER for May is as pleasing and meritorious as the first number, both + in its verse and its prose. "The Modern Muse", exhibiting Mr. Kleiner in a + somewhat humorous mood, is very forceful in its satire on the altered + ideals of the poetical fraternity, but is marred by the noticeably + imperfect rhyming of "garret" and "carrot", it is barely possible that + according to the prevailing New York pronunciation this rhyme is not so + forced as it appears, but we are of New England, and accustomed to hearing + the sounds more classically differentiated. The defect is trivial at most, + and mentioned here only because Mr. Kleiner professes such a rigid + adherence to the law of perfect rhyming. "The Books I Used to Read" is the + most delightful appreciation of juvenile literature that has appeared in + amateur journalism within our memory. There are few of us in whom this + poem will fail to arouse glad reminiscences. "Spring" is a pleasing poem + on a subject which though not exactly new, is nevertheless susceptible to + an infinite variety of treatment. The four stanzas are highly creditable, + both sentimentally and metrically. Apart from the poetry, criticism seems + the dominant element in The Piper, and it would be difficult indeed to + find a more lucid and discerning series of reviews. Mr. Kleiner's + unvarying advocacy of correct metre and perfect rhyming is refreshing to + encounter in this age of laxity and license. Perhaps he is a little stern + in his condemnation of the "allowable" rhymes of other days, especially in + view of his recent "garret-carrot" attempt, yet we admit that there is + much to be said in favor of his attitude. + </p> + <p> + THE PLAINSMAN for February contains a gruesome moral tale by Ricardo + Santiago, entitled "The Bell of Huesca". It is proper to remark here, that + an important sentence was omitted at the top of page 3. The passage should + read "'Sire, thy bell has no clapper!' 'Thy head shall be the clapper'; + said the king, and he sent him to the block" etc. Whatever may be said of + the aptness of the allegory, it is evident that Mr. Santiago possesses the + foundations of a pure and forcible prose style, and a commendable sense of + unity in narration and development of climax. This story is undoubtedly + worthy of its distinction as winner in The Plainsman's post-card contest. + </p> + <p> + THE SPECTATOR for June-July, 1914, though somewhat trite in title, is the + first number of a magazine notable for its quality. Walter John Held is + without doubt one of the most enterprising youths who have ever joined the + ranks of the association, though his views on paid subscriptions and + advertisements show his still imperfect acquisition of the true amateur + spirit. Mr. Held mistakes commercial progress for artistic development, + believing that the aim of every amateur in his ascent toward professional + authorship is to write remunerative matter. He therefore considers a + publisher's advancement to be best shown in ability to extract an odd + penny now and then from a few subscribers who really subscribe only out of + courtesy. We wish that Mr. Held might come to consider amateur journalism + in its higher aspects; as a medium for improvement in literature and + taste; an aid to the cultivation of the art for its own sake in the manner + of gentlemen, not of cheap tradesmen. The selection of commercial + prosperity as a goal will ruin any true literary progress, and dull the + artistic aspiration of the student as soon as his mercenary instincts + shall have been satisfied. Besides, there is really no sound business + principle in the so-called "sale" of little papers. No youth could ever + found or sustain a real magazine of substantial price and more than + nominal circulation. The various ten-cents-a-year journals which some<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> "amateurs" + try to edit are no logical steps toward actually professional publishing. + The latter comes only after literary skill has been attained, and literary + skill must at first be developed without regard for immediate monetary + profit. + </p> + <p> + But the merit of Mr. Held's work is none the less unusual. "The Frank + Friend" gives evidence of considerable critical ability, despite the touch + of arrogance, apologized for in a latter issue, shown in imperfect + appreciation of Mr. Edward H. Cole's phenomenally pure English. Mr. Held, + in his enthusiasm for "local color", forgets that all the English-speaking + world is heir to one glorious language which should be the same from Cape + Colony to California or New York to New Zealand. + </p> + <p> + The only poem in this issue is Olive G. Owen's "How Prayest Thou?", a + piece of true sentiment and artistic beauty. The only fault is metrical; + the use of the word "trial" as a monosyllable. This tendency to slur over + words appears to be Miss Owen's one poetical vice, as exemplified in the + imperfect rendering of "jewel", "realness", and "cruelness" elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + THE SPECTATOR for August-September is marred by a resurrection of the ever + odious topic of Consolidation, but is otherwise of remarkable merit. + Elbert Hubbard, a professional advertiser and writer of considerable + popularity in certain circles, relates in an interesting way the history + of his most widely known literary effort. Mr. Hubbard's prose style is + direct and pointed, though rather abrupt and barren. "The Midnight Extra", + by Dora M. Hepner, is a humorous short story of unusual merit, leading + from a well created atmosphere of terror to a clever and unexpected + anticlimax. + </p> + <p> + THE SPECTATOR for October-November contains much matter of very + substantial worth. "Creation", by Edward R. Taylor, Dean of the University + of California, is a beautiful bit of poetical sentiment and harmonious + metre, while "Half-past-twelve", by Miss von der Heide, is likewise of + great merit, both in thought and in structure. We have lately been told + that many apparent metrical defects which we have noted are really no more + than typographical errors, wherefore we will here content ourselves by + expressing the belief that the third line of the second stanza of + "Half-past-twelve" was originally written thus: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 20em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Across the dark their shrilling laughter floats".<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + This rendering would do away with two seeming errors in the printed copy. + Olive G. Owen's "Battle-Prayer" is powerful in its appeal and faultless in + its construction. Of marked interest is "Divine Self-Tower", a brief essay + by Takeshi Kanno, the Japanese philosopher. These words, in a tongue + foreign to the writer, contain material for more than a moment's thought. + </p> + <p> + "The Frank Friend" is in this number as interesting a critic as before. + The passage of four months has tempered his undue severity; indeed, we + fear that he has in certain cases veered a little too far toward the other + extreme. The most ambitious review is that of "Pig-pen Pete", by Elbert + Hubbard, which gives Mr. Held an opportunity to display his powers to + great advantage. Of the two editorials, that entitled "Life" is the more + notable. Though its philosophy must necessarily be rather artificial, + considering Mr. Held's age, it is none the less a very artistic and + generally creditable piece of composition. The cover of The Spectator + would be less Hearst-like if the fulsome announcements were eliminated. + </p> + <p> + TOLEDO AMATEUR for April greets us in altered form, as a two-column paper. + Having given over the previous issue to the credentials of new members, + Mr. Porter very justly claims a goodly space for himself this month, + commenting ably on the affairs and activities of the associations. + </p> + <p> + "Camp Columbia", by James J. Hennessey, gives an interesting outline of + the American army routine in Cuba during the years 1907 and 1908. + "Observations of an Outsider", by Mrs. Porter, mother of the editor, sheds + light on amateur journalism from a hitherto unusual angle. We note with + pleasure that Toledo Amateur remains immune from the destructive bacillus + of deformed spelling. + </p> + <p> + THE WOODBEE for April contains "The Cycle Eternal", a lucid philosophical + article by Samuel James Schilling, wherein is described the dispersal and + new combinations of the organic cells that compose the body of mankind. By + the perpetual reincorporation or reincarnation of these cells in all other + forms of matter, man is shown to be immortal, and in the closest degree + akin to every natural object surrounding him. His outward form is merely + one transient phase of a ceaseless rearrangement of atoms; he is simply + one aspect of infinite and eternal Nature. Save for a few slight traces of<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> rhetorical + awkwardness, Mr. Schilling's expository style is remarkable for its force + and clearness; the arrangement of the essay into Prologue, Body, and + Epilogue is especially favorable to comprehensiveness. + </p> + <p> + While Mr. Schilling deals with mankind in the abstract, Miss Mabel McKee, + in "A Gift from the City", presents a concrete example of the workings of + the human heart. Her subject and treatment are not startlingly original, + but such themes lose very little when repeated in pure English and + attractive style. The story is distinctly pleasing, and artistically + developed throughout. + </p> + <p> + A notable feature of the April Woodbee is Miss Hepner's fervent and + unstudied tribute to Mr. Leo Fritter, candidate for the United's + Presidency. Though the editorial is bestrewn with slang and distinctly + familiar in construction, it produces upon the reader an impression of + absolute sincerity and intensity of feeling which more elaborate rhetoric + might fail so forcibly to convey. Great as is the tribute, however, we + feel that Mr. Fritter is worthy of it, and must congratulate him on having + such support. Our own efforts for his election, appearing in The + Conservative, seem slight in comparison. The only verse in this number is + "My Shrine", by Harriet E. Daily. Though containing an attempt to rhyme + the words "time" and "shrine", this ethereal little poem of spring is of + great attractiveness. + </p> + <p> + ZEPPELIN for March, a publication emanating from the pen of Mr. O. S. + Hackett of Canton, Pennsylvania, is scarcely as formidable and menacing as + its name, being distinctly friendly and fraternal in its general tone. Mr. + Hackett's prose has obviously not received its final polishing, but it is + so filled with aspiration, ambition, and enthusiasm for the cause of + amateur journalism, that it evidently requires only such development as is + obtainable from a closer study of grammar and rhetoric, and a wider + perusal of classic English literature. In one matter Mr. Hackett seems to + harbor a wrong impression. The name "credential", in the language of the + amateurs, is not applied to all literary productions, but only to those + which are submitted by the new recruits as evidence of their educational + fitness for membership in the association they seek to enter. + </p> + <p> + Joseph R. Schaffman's poem, "Think of Times Yet Coming", shows the same + innate sense of rhyme and metre that has distinguished his earlier work. + Only the conclusion lacks perfect ease and naturalness. Mr. Schaffman has + so far confined his Muse to optimistic opinions and moral maxims; we hope + that in the near future he will vary his efforts and attempt to reflect + more of his general reading in his poetry. The field is large for one so + happily favored with the gift of song. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc" style="width: 489px;"> + <img src="images/003.png" width="489" height="44" alt="" title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>Official Organ of the United Amateur Press Association</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XV + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 2 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + ELROY, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1915 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM</span> + </h3> + <p> + <i>The Alabamian</i> for Spring is a magazine unique amongst the + publications of the United. Devoted wholly to poetry, it contains some of + the finest short verses to appear this season, whilst even the crudest + part of its contents possesses some undoubted merit. The opening poem, a + delightful and ornate nature sonnet entitled "The Brook," professes to be + a translation from the Spanish, a claim borne out by the use of the word + "jasmine" in a place where the metre throws the accent anomalously on the + last syllable, as in the corresponding Spanish word "jazmin." The + sentiment of the whole is exquisite, and every image exhibits striking + beauty. It is to be regretted that both author and translator are suffered + to remain unrevealed. "A Poet's Songs," by Miss Owen, is a powerful and + well-written tribute to her fellow-bards both ancient and modern. In + Coralie Austin's "Tribute to Our President," dedicated to Miss Hepner, we + may discern the native talent of the true poet, slightly obscured by the + crudities of youth. The opening line appears to lack a syllable, though + this may be due only to the printer's omission of the article before the + word "laurel." In stanza 1, line 2, the trisyllabic word "violets" appears + as a dissyllable. This contraction is a rather natural one, and must not + be criticised too sternly. Indeed, there is here a sort of middle zone + betwixt error and allowableness, wherein no decisive precepts may be laid + down. Words like "radiant," "difference," and so forth, are nearly always + slurred into dissyllables, and we were ourselves guilty of an even greater + liberalism when we wrote that line in "Quinsnicket Park" which reads: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"The bending boughs a <i>diamond</i> wealth amass."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + But in Miss Austin's second stanza occur two errors of graver nature. "For + only her alone" is a lamentably tautological line which requires the + omission either of "only" or "alone," and the substitution of some word to + carry on the flow of metre. The attempted rhyming of "alone" and "home" is + obviously incorrect. The dissimilar consonantal sounds render agreement + impossible. This "m-n" rhyme, as we may call it, is becoming alarmingly + frequent in careless modern verse, and must ever be avoided with utmost + diligence. In the third stanza we discover a marked error in maintenance + of number. We are told that the "years go" and that at "its end" we will + lay trophies, etc. This mistake may be obviated with ease, by changing + "years go" to "year goes." Miss Austin's poetic talent is great, but shows + the want of precise cultivation. "Mother o' Mine," by Miss von der Heide, + is a beautiful piece of anapaestic verse whose metre and sentiment alike + attract the reader. "Parsifal," by Miss Owen, shows satisfactory depth of + thought, but is rather modern in metre. From the conformation of the last + line of the first stanza, we are led to believe that the word "viol" is + contracted to a monosyllable, or, to make a rather reprehensible pun, that + "vi-ol" has here a "vile" pronunciation. "Frailties of Life," by Editor + Baxley, shows a remarkable system of extended rhyming, coupled with a + noticeable lack of metrical harmony. Mr. Baxley's technique is such that + we believe his improvement would be best effected by a repeated perusal of + the older poets, whose classical exactitude of form would teach him rhythm + by rote, so to speak. Let him cultivate his ear for metre, even though + forced to acquire it through nonsensical jingles. We believe that many a + child has obtained from his "Mother Goose" a love of correct rhythm<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> which has + later helped him in serious poetical efforts. "Paid Back," a short, + powerful poem by Miss von der Heide, concludes an excellent and + praiseworthy issue. + </p> + <p> + <i>Aurora</i> for April is a delightful individual leaflet by Mrs. Ida C. + Haughton, exclusively devoted to poetical matters. The first poem, + "Aurora," is truly exquisite as a verbal picture of the summer dawn, + though rather rough-hewn metrically. Most open to criticism of all the + features of this piece, is the dissimilarity of the separate stanzas. In a + stanzaic poem the method of rhyming should be identical in every stanza, + yet Mrs. Haughton has here wavered between couplets and alternate rhymes. + In the opening stanza we behold first a quatrain, then a quadruple rhyme. + In the second we find couplets only. In the third a quatrain is followed + by an arrangement in which two rhyming lines enclose a couplet, while in + the final stanza the couplet again reigns supreme. The metre also lacks + uniformity, veering from iambic to anapaestic form. These defects are, of + course, merely technical, not affecting the beautiful thought and imagery + of the poem; yet the sentiment would seem even more pleasing were it + adorned with the garb of metrical regularity. "On the Banks of Old Wegee" + is a sentimental poem of considerable merit, which suffers, however, from + the same faults that affect "Aurora." Most of these defects might have + been obviated when the stanzas were composed, by a careful counting of + syllables in each line and a constant consultation of some one, definite + plan of rhyming. We must here remark an error made in the typewritten copy + of the original manuscript, and reproduced in the finished magazine, for + which, of course, neither the poetical art of the author nor the technique + of the printer is to blame. In the second stanza, lines 6 and 7 were + originally written: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 18em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"How oft I've essayed to be<br /></span> <span class="i0">A + fisherman bold, but my luck never told."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + "Anent the Writing of Poetry" is a short prose essay, in which many + valuable truths are enunciated. Mrs. Haughton has evidently taken up the + poetic art with due seriousness, and considering the marked talent shown + in the first issue of her paper, we may justly expect to behold a + wonderfully rapid development in the near future. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Badger</i> for June fulfills the promise of January, and shows us + that the present year has given the United a new and serious periodical of + satisfying quality. In the "Introductory," Mr. George Schilling discusses + in lively fashion the latest topics of the day, thereby atoning for our + own tedious "Finale." "Ready Made," by Samuel J. Schilling, is a + thoughtful presentation of a lamentable fact. The evil which he portrays + is one that has rendered the masses of America almost wholly subservient + to the vulgar press; to be led astray into every sort of radicalism + through low tricks of sensationalism. Our own poetical attempt, entitled + "Quinsnicket Park," contains 112 lines, and spoils three and a half + otherwise excellent pages. It is probable that but few have had the + fortitude to read it through, or even to begin it, hence we will pass over + its defects in merciful silence. "What May I Own?" by A. W. Ashby, is + an able sociological essay which displays considerable familiarity with + the outward aspects of economic conditions. Mr. Ashby, condemning the + present system practiced in the coal and iron industries, declares that on + moral grounds he had rather be a brewer or purveyor of liquor than a coal + magnate or an ironmaster. In this statement, evidently born of hasty + fervour, Mr. Ashby forgets the basic character of the two types of + industry which he contrasts. Beneath the liquor traffic lies a foundation + accursed by decency and reason. The entire industry is designed to pander + to a false craving whose gratification lowers man in the scale of mental + and physical evolution. The distiller and vendor of rum is elementally the + supreme foe of the human race, and the most powerful, dangerous and + treacherous factor in the defiance of progress and the betrayal of + mankind. His trade can never be improved or purified, being itself a crime + against Nature. On the other hand, the coal and iron industries<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> are, in + their fundamental forms, desirable and necessary adjuncts to an expanding + civilization. Their present evils are wholly alien to their essential + principles, being connected only with the uneasy industrialism of this + age. These faults are not confined to coal-mining and iron-working, but + are merely those possessed in common with all great industries. Joseph E. + Shufelt's article on the European war is an amazing outburst of socialism + in its worst form. The idea that this shocking carnage is the result of a + deliberate plot of the ruling classes of all the belligerents to destroy + their labouring element is wonderfully ludicrous in its extravagance. We + are led to infer that those best of friends, der Kaiser and his cousins + George and Nicholas, are merely pretending hostility in order to rid + themselves of a troublesome peasantry! We do not know what Mr. Shufelt has + been reading lately, but we hope that time may modify his ideas to such a + degree that he will turn his dignified style and pure English to some + object worthy of their employment. + </p> + <p> + <i>Dowdell's Bearcat</i> for July marks the beginning of an unprecedented + era of improvement in the quality of that periodical. Having settled down + to the conventional 5×7 size, it has now acquired a cover and an + abundance of pages which the editor informs us will never be lessened. The + influence of <i>The Olympian</i> is perceptible in the <i>Bearcat</i>, and + for his taste in the selection of so worthy a model Mr. Dowdell is to be + commended. "When the Tape Broke" is the first article of the editorial + column, and well describes an example of collapsed activity which the + United should avoid. "A Runaway Horse," by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, is a + brief and vivid sketch of a fatal accident. "Tragedy," an exquisite poem + by Emilie C. Holladay, deserves very favourable notice for the delicate + pathos of its sentiment, and perfect adaptation of the measure to the + subject. We may discern a few traces of immaturity in the handling of the + metre and in the presence of "allowable" rhymes. As elsewhere stated, we + personally approve and employ the old-fashioned "allowable" rhyming + sounds, but the best modern taste, as exemplified in the United by its + Laureate, Rheinhart Kleiner, demands absolute perfection in this regard. + As to the metre, we respectfully offer the following amended second stanza + as an example. It is absolutely uniform with the original first stanza, + which, of course, furnishes the model. + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 15em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">The summer rains<br /></span> <span class="i2">And + autumn winds<br /></span> <span class="i0">The snowdrop find yet + standing;<br /></span> <span class="i2">A petal gone,<br /></span> <span + class="i2">And all alone,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Her tender roots + expanding.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + The remarkable poetical talent exhibited by Miss Holladay deserves a + cultivation that shall invest her productions with a technique of the + highest order. "The Dignity of Journalism," by ourselves, may be taken by + the reader as a sort of supplement to this Department. We there enumerate + in the abstract some of the precepts which we shall here apply to + individual writers. There are several misprints, which we hope will not be + taken as evidences of our bad spelling, and at the conclusion the word + "even" is omitted from the phrase which should read: "the necessity, or <i>even</i> + the expediency." "June Journals" is an excellent set of short reviews + which display very favourably the critical ability of Mr. Dowdell. The + concluding notes on "Amateur Affairs" are brief, but very interesting. The + general excellence of <i>Dowdell's Bearcat</i> excuses the instances of + imperfect proof-reading, which fault we are sure will soon be eliminated. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Blarney Stone</i> for March-April contains "Thoughts," a + meritorious poem by Chester P. Munroe. The tone of the piece is that of + sentimental and almost melancholy reverie, hence the metre is not quite + uniform; but a commendable absence of rough breaks lends a delightful flow + to the lines. We hope to behold further efforts from Mr. Munroe's pen. + "The Amateur's Creed," by Mrs. Renshaw, is written in the style of this + author's previous and now well-known poem, "A Symphony," and should do + much toward lifting the United upward to the highest literary ideals.<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + <i>The Blarney Stone</i> for May-June has cast off all undue seriousness, + and teems with light and attractive matter concerning the recent Rocky + Mount convention. Some of the displays of wit and cleverness are very + striking and entertaining indeed, while no page departs so far from merit + that it may be justly adjudged as dull. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Boys' Herald</i> for August is an issue of unusual elaborateness, + announcing the engagement of its editor, Mr. Edwin Hadley Smith, and Miss + Nita Edna Gerner of New York. Excellent portraits of the happy couple + follow the formal announcement, and Miss Gerner, now Associate Editor, + describes in an excellent prose style the romance which culminated in the + engagement. "Gerneriana," consisting mainly of a reprint from an earlier + issue, is an interesting account of the late Richard Gerner, an old-time + amateur, and father of the prospective bride. This article is well + supplemented by the reproductions of parts of old amateur papers which + adorn the back cover of the magazine. The remainder of <i>The Boys' Herald</i> + is wholly statistical, dealing with the amateur career of Mr. Smith. Few + members of the association could produce superior records of activity. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Brooklynite</i> for April maintains the high standard set by the + previous number. "A Miracle," the opening poem, was composed by Alice L. + Carson during the course of a meeting of the Blue Pencil Club, yet + exhibits all the grace and harmony expected in a carefully planned and + laboriously polished work. "Spring Thoughts," by A. M. Adams, is a + humorous prose masterpiece by the National's new Critic. Seldom is the + amateur press favoured with such a well-sustained succession of brilliant + epigrams. Miss Owen's "Ode to Trempealeau Mountain" is a noble specimen of + heroic blank verse, containing some very striking antithetical lines. The + title, however, is a misnomer, since a true ode is necessarily of + irregular form. "Some Late Amateur Magazines," by W. B. Stoddard, is + a series of brief, informal reviews. As a critic, Mr. Stoddard shows + considerable discernment, though having a rather unpleasant air of + conscious superiority in certain places. A little more stateliness of + style would add to the force of his criticisms. "Spring" reveals Rheinhart + Kleiner in his favourite domain of amatory verse. Mr. Kleiner's tuneful + numbers and pure diction render his poetry ever a delight. "Rebellion," by + Miss von der Heide, is a metrically perfect piece of verse whose artistry + is marred only by the use of the unpoetical philosophical term + "subconscious" instead of "unconscious." + </p> + <p> + <i>The Brooklynite</i> for July is of especial interest as the first paper + to print an account of the Rocky Mount convention. This description, from + the facile and versatile pen of Miss von der Heide, is of distinctly + informal character, yet is none the less interesting as an animated + chronicle of an enjoyable event. Rheinhart Kleiner's account of the + National convention is more dignified, and may be considered as a model + for this sort of composition. Mr. Kleiner shines as brightly in prose as + in verse, and each day surprises us with revelations of excellence in + various dissimilar departments of literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Conservative</i> for July is notable for Mr. Ira Cole's + delightfully pantheistic poem, "A Dream of the Golden Age." The unusual + poetic genius of Mr. Cole has been revealed but recently, yet the + imaginative qualities pervading some of his prose long ago gave + indications of this gift. The pantheistic, Nature-worshipping mind of our + author lends to his productions an unique and elusive atmosphere which + contrasts very favourably with the earthy tone of some of our less + fanciful bards. Metrically, Mr. Cole adopts instinctively the regular, + conservative forms of a saner generation. In this specimen of heroic verse + he inclines toward the practice of Keats, and does not always confine + single thoughts to single couplets in the manner of the eighteenth-century + poets. We believe that Mr. Cole is commencing a successful career as a + United poet, and await the day when he shall be accorded the honor of a + laureateship.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + <i>The Coyote</i> for July reveals a wonderful improvement over the March + number, both in the literary quality of its contributions and in general + editorial excellence. Never before have we seen the perfect amateur spirit + acquired so quickly as in Mr. Harrington's case. "Night Fancies," by Helen + H. Salls, is a sonnet of exceptional power and artistry, whose faultless + metre is equalled only by its bold and striking images. Amidst this + profusion of excellent metaphor, it is difficult to select individual + instances for particular praise, but we might commend especially the + passage: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"... the stars still keep<br /></span> <span class="i0">Afloat + like boats that black sky-billows ride."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + Miss Salls is clearly an amateur poet of the first rank, and it is to be + hoped that she will be a liberal contributor to United magazines. "The + Rebirth of the British Empire," by William T. Harrington, is a clear and + concise exposition of the virtues whereby Old England maintains her proud + position as Mistress of the Seas, and chief colonial empire of the world. + The style of the essay is admirable, and well exhibits the progressive + qualities of Mr. Harrington. "An Ideal," by Nettie Hartman, is a short + poem of pleasing sentiment and harmonious metre. The notes on amateur + affairs are interesting and well composed, revealing Mr. Harrington's + increasing enthusiasm for the cause. + </p> + <p> + <i>Dowdell's Bearcat</i> for May is another striking illustration of the + improvement which can affect a paper within a very short time. Since last + October Mr. Dowdell has been progressing swiftly toward journalistic + excellence, and even this cleverly conceived and uniquely shaped issue + fails to mark the limit of his ambition. "Knowest Thou?" by Mrs. Renshaw, + is an expressive tribute to a nation whose recent infamies can never + wholly becloud its rugged virtues. "With Nature I Rejoice" is probably the + best poem which Joseph R. Schaffman has yet written. As his remarkable + talent matures, the didactic element in his verse is gradually giving way + to the more purely poetic, and this latest effort is one of which he may + be justly proud. Concerning Mr. Dowdell's own spirited prose, we need only + repeat the previous suggestion, that a little less slang would add much to + its force and dignity. + </p> + <p> + <i>Dowdell's Bearcat</i> for May 26 contains another poem by Mrs. Renshaw + whose national tone is not likely to be popular just now outside the + country to which it refers; in fact, Editor Dowdell has deemed it wise to + make an apologetic statement concerning it. However, if we call "Ein Mann" + Col. Theodore Roosevelt, and shift the scene to San Juan Hill, we may be + able to appreciate the real patriotism delineated. + </p> + <p> + <i>Dowdell's Bearcat</i> for June is wholly given over to notes of the + amateur world. Mr. Dowdell is indeed a pleasing young writer, and leaves + none of his topics without a characteristic touch of light adornment. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Lake Breeze</i> for April is distinguished by James L. Crowley's + poem entitled "April," a brief lyric of marked merit, highly expressive of + the season. "Writing Poetry," an essay by Dora M. Hepner, is a clear and + tasteful analysis of the poet's art and inspiration. "The Norwegian + Recruit," a dialect monologue by Maurice W. Moe, is the leading feature of + this issue. This exquisite bit of humor, recited by Mr. Moe at the + United's 1913 convention, is a sketch of rare quality. "The Amateur + Press," now firmly established as a column of contributed reviews, is this + month of substantial size and fair quality. It is needless to say that the + news pages are interesting, and that the paper as a whole well maintains + the high reputation it has ever enjoyed. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Lake Breeze</i> for June apparently opens an era of unprecedented + improvement, being of distinctly literary rather than political nature. + The plea for a Department of Instruction is a just one, and ought to meet + with response from some of our pedagogical members. "Broken Metre," by + Mrs. Renshaw, is an attempt at defending the popular atrocities committed + in the name of freedom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> + by the modern poets. While the article is superficially quite plausible, + we feel that the settled forms of regular metre have too much natural + justification thus to be disturbed. The citation of Milton, intended to + strengthen Mrs. Renshaw's argument, really weakens it; for while he + undoubtedly condemns <i>rhyme</i>, he laments in the course of this very + condemnation the <i>lame metre</i> which is sometimes concealed by apt + rhyming. "Some Views on Versification," by Clara I. Stalker, is an essay + written from a sounder and more conservative point of view. The middle + course in poetical composition, which avoids alike wild eccentricities and + mechanical precision, has much to recommend it, and Miss Stalker does well + to point out its virtues. However, we do not see why even the few + irregularities which are here said to be inevitable, cannot be smoothed + out by the bard without destroying the sense of his poetry. + "Disappointment," by Mrs. Maude K. Barton, is a clever piece of light + verse whose sprightly humour makes up for its slight metrical roughness. + The imperfect but allowable rhyming of "bear" and "appear" in the first + stanza is entirely correct according to the old-time standards which we + ourselves follow, but we fear that the delicate ear of a precise metrical + artist like Rheinhart Kleiner would object to its liberalism. "The Amateur + Press" is distinguished by an excellent review from the pen of Mrs. + Renshaw. The style is satisfactory, and the criticism just, making the + whole well worthy of the prize book it has secured for its author. + "'Pollyanna,' the Glad Book" is a meritorious and entertaining review by + Mrs. Griffith. "Hope," by Marguerite Sisson, is commendable for its use of + that noble but neglected measure, the heroic couplet. Mr. Daas' concluding + editorial, "Literature and Politics," is admirable for its concise + exposition of the United's new ideals, and its masterly refutation of the + common fallacy that political quarrels are necessary to stimulate activity + in the press associations. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Looking Glass</i> for May is a journal unique in purpose and + quality. Edited by Mrs. Renshaw in behalf of her many gifted recruits, it + reveals a condition absolutely unexampled; the acquisition by one member + of so many high-grade novices that a special publication is required + properly to introduce them to the United. "To a Critic of Shelley," by + Helen H. Salls, is a long piece of beautiful blank verse, marred only by + one accidental rhyme. Miss Salls is evidently one of those few really + powerful poets who come all too seldom into Amateur Journalism, startling + the Association with impeccable harmony and exalted images. The present + poem grows even more attractive on analysis. The diction is of phenomenal + purity and wholly unspoiled by any ultra-modern touch. It might have been + a product of Shelley's own age. The metaphor is marvellous, exhibiting a + soul overflowing with true spirituality, and a mind trained to express + beautiful thought in language of corresponding beauty. Such unforced + ornateness is rarely met in the domain of amateur poetry. We feel certain + that Miss Salls has already become a fixed star in the empyrean of the + United. Exalted poetry of quite another type is furnished by the work of + our new Director, Rev. Frederick Chenault, whose two exquisite lyrics, + "Birth" and "The Sea of Somewhere," appear in this issue. With little use + of formal rhyme and metre, Mr. Chenault abounds in delicate conceptions + and artistic renditions. "Retrospection," by Kathleen Baldwin, is likewise + a poem of high order, and of fairly regular metre, evidently following + comparatively recent models in technique. "The Faithful Man," by I. T. + Valentine, shows growing poetical talent, but is cruelly injured by the + anticlimactic line. Not that there is any anticlimax of sentiment, but the + colloquial mode of expression shocks the reader who has been perusing the + more dignified lines which go before. "The Stonework of Life" is an + excellent prose sermon by Joseph Ernest Shufelt, which displays great + ability in the field of metaphor and allegory. Mr. Shufelt possesses an + admirable style, unusually well fitted for didactic matter of this sort; + indeed, it is regrettable that he should ever depart from such congenial + themes and turn to the wild sensationalism which he shows in <i>The Badger</i>. + In demonstrating the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> + beauties of morality and religion, he has few superiors, and a task so + appropriate to his genius ought to claim his whole attention. True, his + thoughts may follow strange courses in their quest for truth and beauty, + but were he always to curb them within the bounds of probability and + conservatism, as here, he would never lose the confidence of his public, + as he has done with his strange war theories. "The Autocracy of Art," by + Anne Vyne Tillery Renshaw, is the leading article of the magazine. Herein + the author proclaims the supremacy of spiritual utterances over all + restrictions created by the mind, and urges the emancipation of the + soaring bard from the earthly chains of rhyme and metre. That the inward + promptings of the poetic instinct are of prime value to the poet, few will + dispute; but that they may give final form to his soul's creations without + some regulation by the natural laws of rhythm, few will agree. The metric + sense lies far deeper in the breast of man than Mrs. Renshaw is here + disposed to acknowledge. After this article, the perfectly regular stanzas + of "Fellow Craftsman," <i>by the same author</i>, are refreshing. The + typography and form of <i>The Looking Glass</i> leave something to be + desired, but the riches within make ample compensation for outward + crudity. + </p> + <p> + <i>The New Member</i> for May, edited by William Dowdell, contains but one + credential, yet doubtless paves the way for a resumption of the enterprise + so ably conducted by Miss Hoffman last year. "Melancholy," a poem by I. T. + Valentine, shows traces of the beginner's crudeness, yet has about it a + quality which promises much for the future of the poet. "Lock-Step Pete," + by Miss von der Heide, is an unusual poem with a thoughtful suggestion + embodied in its concluding stanza. + </p> + <p> + <i>The New Member</i> bound with the May <i>Official Quarterly</i> is a + model that should henceforth be followed as the nearest approach to + perfection yet beheld. Credentials, lists of prospective members, news of + recruits, and accounts of local clubs are here given in just and pleasing + proportion. "Bluets and Butterflies," by Carolyn L. Amoss, is a poem of + great delicacy and ethereal atmosphere. The solitary, tiny flaw is the + attempted rhyming of "Miss" and "yes." "War in America," by Annette E. + Foth, is a pleasant juvenile story. E. Ralph Cheyney's extract from his + essay on "Youth" is in many ways remarkable, and shows us that we have + another recruit of choice quality. His rather peculiar ideas are well + expressed, though their soundness is quite debatable. A few abnormal + characters like Byron and Shelley doubtless experienced all the adolescent + phenomena which Mr. Cheyney describes, but we believe that the average + youth is a copyist, and for the most part reflects his environment. + Radicalism and novel ideas arise just as much from blasé, elderly + cynics, who are tired of sane and sober conservatism. We have been + reflecting on Life for about twenty years, ever since we were five, and + have consistently believed that the wisdom of the ancient sage is the true + wisdom; that Life is essentially immutable, and that the glorious dreams + of youth are no more than dreams, to be dissipated by the dawn of maturity + and the full light of age. "Flowers on the Grave," a poem by J. D. + Hill, has a commendable sentiment, and is remarkable for its possession of + only one repeated rhyming sound. Whether or not the latter feature be + monotonous, all must admit that the versification is attractive. "We Are + All Desperate!" is a striking philosophical fragment by Melvin Ryder, + which first appeared as an editorial in the <i>Ohio State Lantern</i>. The + conjectures are plausible, and the precepts sound. The news items in this + paper are all fresh and interesting, concluding an issue uniformly + excellent. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Pippin</i> for May displays very favourably the high-school club + whose founding and maintenance are due entirely to the genius of Mr. + Maurice W. Moe. "The Coasters," by Esther Ronning, is the only poem in the + issue, but its quality atones for the absence of other verse. The + pleasures and perils of coasting are here portrayed with wonderfully + graphic pen, whilst the metre is, so far as technical correctness is + concerned, all that might be desired. However, we wish that Miss Ronning<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> were less + fond of unusual rhyming arrangements. The lines here given are of regular + ballad length. Were they disposed in couplets, we should have a tuneful + lay of the "Chevy Chase" order; but as it is, our ear misses the steady + couplet effect to which the standard models have accustomed us. "With the + Assistance of Carmen" is a clever short story by Gladys Bagg, derived from + the same plot nucleus by Mr. Moe which likewise evoked Miss Moore's story + in the March <span class="smcap">United Amateur</span>. The structure of + the narrative is excellent, but we do not like the use of the plebeian + expression "onto" on page 3. There is properly no such word as "onto" in + the English language, "upon" being the preposition here required. Webster + clearly describes "onto" as a low provincialism or colloquialism. "Little + Jack in Fairyland," by Ruth Ryan, is a well written account of a dream, + with the usual awakening just as events are coming to a climax. The style + is very attractive, and the images ingenious. "Getting What You Want," by + Mr. Moe, is a brief one-act farce illustrating the subtle devices whereby + the sharp housewife bewilders the good-natured landlord into the granting + of extraordinary favours. Had the heroine kept on to still greater + lengths, she might have secured an entire new house. The present number of + <i>The Pippin</i> is, save for the absence of photographs, quite as + pleasing as the previous number. We trust that Mr. Moe's editorial + prophecy may be fulfilled, and that we may soon behold another issue which + shall make us familiar with the new faces brought by revolving time into + the congenial Appleton circle. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Plainsman</i> for July is the best number yet issued, the two + eleventh-hour contributions being very cleverly introduced. "Revised + Edition," by Mrs. Jeanette Timkin, is a versified piece of keen humour and + good metre, well illustrating the opening of the third or aerial element + to human travel. "To Bazine, Kansas" is a sprightly prose account by James + J. Hennessey of his journey from Boston to Bazine. "An Incident of Early + Days," by Mrs. John Cole, is presented in the same attractive reminiscent + style which makes her article in <i>The Trail</i> so readable and + interesting. We are here told of the times when herds of bison were common + sights, and are given a pleasing account of the formation of the Bazine + Sunday-School. The articles by Mr. and Mrs. Ira Cole show their + appreciation of the amateurs who have visited them, and conclude an issue + of thoroughly entertaining quality. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Providence Amateur</i> for June introduces to the United another + local press club of great enthusiasm. Owing to some unauthorized omissions + made by the printer, this first issue is scarcely representative of the + club's entire personnel, but that which still remains affords, after all, + a fair index to the character and ideals of the new organization. The + editorials by John T. Dunn are both frank and fearless. We detest a shifty + club whose allegiance wavers betwixt the United, the Morris Faction and + the National, and so are greatly pleased at Mr. Dunn's manly and open + stand for the one real United. The editor's opinions on acknowledgment of + papers is certainly just from one point of view, though much may be said + for the opposite side. When an amateur journal has been prepared with + unusual labour, and mailed conscientiously to every member of the + Association, the publisher has substantial reason for resenting any marked + display of neglect. We do not blame <i>The Blarney Stone</i> for its + attitude on this question, and shall probably follow its custom by mailing + the next <i>Conservative</i> only to those who have acknowledged one or + both of the previous issues. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Reflector</i> for June is a British amateur magazine, transplanted + on American soil by its able editor, Ernest A. Dench. "Crossing the + Atlantic in War Time" is a pleasing account of Mr. Dench's voyage from + Liverpool to New York. "Chunks of Copy" forms the title of an excellent + though informal editorial department, while "A Brain Tank at Your Service" + teems with witticisms concerning various members of the Blue Pencil Club. + This magazine has no connection with any former journal of like title, but + seems<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> + likely to prove a worthy successor to all its namesakes. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Trail</i> for Spring is a new and substantial illustrated magazine + of 20 pages and cover, issued by our well-known Private Critic, Mr. Alfred + L. Hutchinson. At the head of the contents are the reminiscences of the + editor, which prove extremely interesting reading, and which are well + supplemented by the lines entitled "The Tramp Printer." Also by Mr. + Hutchinson is the well written and animated account of Mr. Nicholas + Bruehl, whose artistic photographical work adorns the inside covers of + this issue. "Pioneer Life in Kansas," by Mrs. John Cole, is a delightfully + graphic picture of the trials and adventures of the early settlers in the + West. Being written from actual personal experience, the various incidents + leave a lasting impression on the mind of the reader, while a pleasing + smoothness of style enhances the vividness of the narrative. + "Memory-Building" is the first of a series of psychological articles by + our master amateur, Maurice W. Moe. It is here demonstrated quite + conclusively, that the faculty of memory is dependent on the fundamental + structure and quality of the brain, and may never be acquired or greatly + improved through cultivation. "Evening at Magnolia Springs," by Laura E. + Moe, exhibits the same type of literary talent that her gifted husband + possesses; in fact, this sketch may be compared with Mr. Moe's well-known + "Cedar Lake Days." The use of trivial incidents gives an intense + naturalness to the description. "Caught," by Ruth M. Lathrop, is a + brilliant short story whose development and climax are natural and + unforced. Fiction is generally the amateur's weakest spot, but Miss + Lathrop is evidently one of the few shining exceptions. So thoroughly + excellent is <i>The Trail</i>, that we hope to see not merely a second + issue, but its permanent establishment as one of the United's leading + magazines. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Tryout</i> for June belongs to the National, but contains much + matter by United members. "Tempora Mutantur," a very meritorious short + story by Marguerite Sisson, affords an illuminating contrast between the + solid culture of 1834 and the detestable shallowness of the present time. + This prevailing frivolity and unscholarliness is something which the + United is seeking to remedy, and we are thankful indeed for stories such + as this, which expose modern levity in all its nauseousness. It is evident + that Miss Sisson is emulating the appreciative Anne Carroll of 1834, + rather than her obtuse and indifferent descendant. "The District School," + by Edna R. Guilford, describes very vividly the many petty annoyances that + beset the average teacher. While the picture is extremely well presented + as a whole, certain roughnesses of diction nevertheless arrest the + critical eye. "Onto," in the first paragraph, is a provincialism which + should be superseded by "to." Further on we hear the teacher admonishing a + youth to wash up some ink, and "wash it <i>good</i>"! Would a <i>teacher</i> + thus express herself? "Well" is the adverb here needed. "Too tired <i>to + hardly stand</i>" is a seriously ungrammatical phrase, which should read: + "almost too tired to stand." We note that one of the pupils' names is + given as "Robert Elsmere." While it may not be essentially a fault thus to + use the name of a famous character of fiction, we feel that the exercise + of a little more originality might have avoided this appropriation of Mrs. + Humphry Ward's celebrated hero. Miss Guilford's fundamental talent is + unmistakable, but needs cultivation and practice before it can shine out + in full splendour. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Tryout</i> for July contains "Cripple George," a beautiful short + story by Mrs. Rose L. Elmore, commendable alike in plot and technique. "A + Day in the Mountains," by Harry H. Connell, is a very interesting sketch + whose style exhibits considerable promise. + </p> + <p> + <span class="smcap">The United Amateur</span> for March contains a + literary department which will, we hope, remain as a regular feature. + "Tobias Smithers, Leading Man" is Miss Ellen Moore's prize-winning attempt + at constructing a story from a very brief nucleus given by Mr. Moe. Miss + Moore here exhibits a facile pen and a<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> just appreciation of humorous + situations. "Ghosts," by Mrs. Renshaw, well illustrates the vague + superstitions of the negroes, those strange creatures of darkness who seem + never to cross completely the threshold from apedom to humanity. "March," + by ourselves, is a gem of exquisite poesy, etc., etc., which we have here + praised because no one else could ever conscientiously do so. Line 10 + apparently breaks the metre, but this seeming break is due wholly to the + printer. The line should read: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"The longer sunshine, and the shorter night."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + "The Unknown Equation" is a love story by Mrs. Florence Shepphird. Though + the major portion is quite polished and consistent, we cannot but deem the + conclusion too abrupt and precipitate. Perhaps, being a frigid old critic + without experience in romance, we ought to submit the question to some + popular newspaper column of Advice to the Lovelorn, inquiring whether or + not it be permissible for a young lady, after only a few hours' + acquaintanceship with a young gentleman, to encourage him to "put his arm + around her yielding form and kiss her passionately"!! + </p> + <p> + <span class="smcap">The United Amateur</span> for May is graced by + "Reveille," a powerful and stirring poem written in collaboration by our + two gifted bards, Mr. Kleiner, the Laureate, and Miss von der Heide. + "Nature and the Countryman," by A. W. Ashby, is an iconoclastic + attack on that love of natural beauty which is inherent in every poetical, + imaginative and delicately strung brain. In prose of faultless technique + and polished style, Mr. Ashby catalogues like a museum curator every + species of flaw that he can possibly pick in the scenes and events of + rustic life. But while the career of the farmer is assuredly not one of + uninterrupted bliss, it were folly to assert that Nature's superlative + loveliness is not more than enough to compensate for its various + infelicities. No mind of high grade is so impervious to aesthetic emotion + that it can behold without admiration the wonders of the rural realm, even + though a vein of sordid suffering ran through the beauteous ensemble. Of + all our personal friends, the one who most adores and loves to personify + Nature is a successful farmer of unceasing diligence. Mr. Ashby errs, we + are certain, in taking the point of view of the unimaginative and + unappreciative peasant. This sort of animal interprets Nature by physical, + not mental associations, and is unfitted by heredity to receive + impressions of the beautiful in its less material aspects. Whilst he + grumbles at the crimson flames of Aurora, thinking only of the afternoon + rain thus predicted, the man of finer mould, though equally cognizant that + a downpour may follow, rejoices impulsively at the pure beauty of the + scene itself, a scene whose intellectual exaltation will help him the + better to bear the dull afternoon. Is not the beauty-lover the happier of + the two? Both must endure the trials, but the poet enjoys compensating + pleasures which the boor may never know. The personification and + deification of Nature is a legacy from primitive ages which will delight + us in an atavistical way till our very race shall have perished. And let + Mr. Ashby remember that those early tribes who placed a god or goddess in + every leafy tree, crystal fount, reedy lake or sparkling brook, were far + closer to Nature and the soil than is any modern tenant farmer. + </p> + <p> + <i>The United Official Quarterly</i> for May has resumed its former + attractive appearance, and contains a very creditable assortment of + literary matter. "Atmosphere," by Mrs. Shepphird, is a thoughtful and + pleasing essay, whose second half well describes the individuality of the + various amateur authors and editors. "The Kingly Power of Laughter," by + Louena Van Norman, is no less just and graphic, illustrating the supreme + force of humour and ridicule. Leo Fritter, in "Concerning Candidates," + points out some important details for office-seekers, whilst Ira A. Cole, + in "Five Sticks on Finance," gives some interesting suggestions for + economy. "Opportunity," an essay by Mildred Blanchard, concludes the + issue, and successfully disputes the noxious old platitude, that + "Opportunity knocks but once at each man's door." With the <i>Quarterly</i> + is bound <i>The New Member</i>, reviewed elsewhere, the two forming a + tasteful and meritorious magazine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + <i>The Woodbee</i> for July is an issue of unusual interest, revealing the + more serious and substantial activities of the prosperous Columbus Club. + The opening feature is a sonnet by Alma Sanger, "To Autumn Violets," which + exhibits some poetical talent and a just sense of metrical values. We are + sure that the defective second line is the fault of the printer rather + than of the author. "The Blind Prince," by Henriette Ziegfeld, is an + excellent juvenile tale involving a fairy story. The only serious + objection is the undercurrent of adult comment which flows through the + narrative. Particularly cynical is the closing sentence: "'And here's + Mother,' finished poor Auntie with a sigh of relief." The ordinary fairy + stories told to children are bits of actual Teutonic mythology, and should + be related with a grave, absolute simplicity and naivete. However, as a + psychological study of the typical childish auditor, the sketch as a whole + is highly meritorious. We are inclined to wonder at the possible meaning + of the strange word "alright," which appears more than once in Miss + Ziegfeld's tale. It is certainly no part of our language, and if it be a + corruption of "all right," we must say that we fail to perceive why the + correct expression could not have been used. "What's in a Name?" by Irene + Metzger, is a clever sketch concerning the silly modern practice of giving + fancy names to helpless infants. Glancing backward a little through + history, Miss Metzger would probably sympathize with the innocent + offspring of the old Puritans, who received such names as "Praise-God," + and the like. Praise-God Barebones, a leading and fanatical member of + Cromwell's rebel parliament, went a step further than his father, naming + his own son + "If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-Damned"! All this + was actually the first name of young Barebones, but after he grew up and + took a Doctor's degree, he was called by his associates, "<i>Damned Dr. + Barebones</i>"! "Moonlight on the River," by Ida Cochran Haughton, is an + exquisite sentimental poem, each stanza of which ends with the same + expression. The atmosphere is well created, and the images dexterously + introduced. The whole piece reminds the reader of one of Thomas Moore's + beautiful old "Irish Melodies." That Mrs. Haughton's talent has descended + to the second generation is well proven by Edna M. Haughton's "Review of + the Literary Work of the Quarter." Miss Haughton is a polished and + scholarly reviewer, and her criticisms are in every instance just and + helpful. The editorial on "Miss United" is very well written, and should + be carefully perused by those in danger of succumbing to the autumnal + advances of that sour old maid, Miss National. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="smcap sp8">—Howard P. Lovecraft</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Little Journeys to the Homes of Prominent Amateurs</span> + </h3> + <p> + Among the many amateurs I have never met in the flesh and realness of + Life, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, poet, critic and student, appeals to me + as no other recent "find" in the circles of amateuria has ever appealed. + And Lovecraft <i>is</i> a distinct "find." Just why he holds a firm grip + on my heart-strings is something of a mystery to me. Perhaps it is because + of his wholesome ideals; perhaps it is because he is a recluse, content to + nose among books of ancient lore; perhaps it's because of his physical + afflictions; his love of things beautiful in Life; his ardent advocacy of + temperance, cleanliness and purity—I don't know. We disagree on many + questions; he criticises my literary activities; he smiles at my suffrage + theories, and disapproves of my language in <i>Chain Lightning</i>. But I + like him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Howard Phillips Lovecraft has an interesting history, and this fact was + known to Official Editor Daas when he asked me to take a little journey to + the study-home of the Vice-President. "Don't stint yourself for space" was + noted on the assignment tab, and after glancing over the biographical + notes before me—I am sure that Daas has again exemplified his quiet + humor during a serious moment. + </p> + <p> + Lovecraft was born at 454 Angell St., Providence, R. I., on August + 20, 1890. His nationality is Anglo-American, and under British law he can + claim to be a British subject, since he is a grandson in direct male line + of a British subject not naturalized in the United States. His ancestry is + purely English. On the paternal side he is a descendant of the Lovecrafts, + a Devonshire family which has furnished a great many clergymen to the + Church of England, and the Allgoods of Northumberland, a history-honored + family of which several members have been knighted. The Allgoods have been + a military line, and this may account for Lovecraft's militarism and + belief in the justice of war. On the maternal side he is a typical Yankee, + coming from East English stock which settled in Rhode Island about 1680. + Lovecraft is a student of astronomy—it is a domineering passion with + him—and this love was apparently inherited from his maternal + grandmother, Rhoby Phillips, who studied it thoroughly in her youth at + Lapham Seminary, and whose collection of old astronomical books first + interested him. Lovecraft came from pure-blood stock, and he is the last + male descendant of that family in the United States. With him the name + will die in America. He is unmarried. + </p> + <p> + As he was about to enter college at the age of eighteen, his feeble health + gave way, and since then he has been physically incapacitated and rendered + almost an invalid. Being thus deprived of his cherished hope to further + his education and prepare himself for a life of letters, he has contented + himself with his home, which is just three squares from his birthplace, + and where he lives with his mother. And his home life is ideal. His + personal library—his haven of contentment—contains more than + 1500 volumes, many of them yellowed with age, and crude examples of the + printer's art. Among these treasured books may be found volumes which have + passed through the various branches of his family, some dating back to + 1681 and 1702, and methinks I can see Lovecraft poring over these + time-stained bits o' bookish lore as the monks of old followed the printed + lines with quivering fingers in the taper's uncertain, flickering light. + For Lovecraft appeals to me as a bookworm—one of those lovable + mortals whose very existence seems to hang on the numbered pages of a + heavy, clumsy book! + </p> + <p> + His connection with organized amateur journalism is of recent date. On + April 6, 1914, his application for membership in the United Amateur Press + Association of America was forwarded to the Secretary. Like a great many + of the recruits, Lovecraft was completely ignored for several months. In + July of last year he became active, and he has proven to be an invaluable + asset to the literary life of the Association. He is <i>not</i> a + politician. However, his literary activities had been prosecuted many + years before he had ever heard of the United. At the age of eight and + one-half years he published the <i>Scientific Gazette</i>, a weekly + periodical, written in pencil and issued in editions of four carbon + copies. This journal was devoted to the science of chemistry, which was + one of his earliest hobbies, and ran from March, 1899, to February, 1904. + As in most cases, my knowledge of chemistry was acquired after I had spent + four years in high-school, and the fact that any boy should be interested + in that study at the age of eight and one-half years appeals to me as + something out of the ordinary. But Lovecraft was not an ordinary boy. His + second and more ambitious venture was the <i>Rhode Island Journal of + Astronomy</i>. This was at first published as a weekly, and later changed + to a monthly publication. This was carefully printed by hand and then + duplicated on the hectograph and issued in lots of twenty-five copies. The + <i>Journal</i> was issued from 1903 to 1907, and contained the latest + astronomical news, re-written from the original<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> telegraphic reports issued + from Harvard University and seen at the Ladd Observatory. It also + contained many of his original articles and forecasts of phenomena. He + owns a 3-inch telescope of French make, and aside from amateur journalism, + his one great hobby is astronomy. At the age of sixteen he commenced + writing monthly astronomical articles for the Providence <i>Tribune</i>, + and later changed to the <i>Evening News</i>, to which he still + contributes. During the present year he has contributed a complete + elementary treatise on astronomy in serial form to the Asheville (N. C.) + <i>Gazette-News</i>. Besides contributing a great many poems and articles + to the amateur press, editing <i>The Conservative</i> and assisting with + the editorial work on <i>The Badger</i>, the appearance of Mr. Lovecraft's + work in the professional magazines is of common occurrence. During the + past year he has had charge of the Bureau of Public Criticism in <span + class="smcap">The United Amateur</span>, where he has proven himself a + just, impartial and painstaking critic. That he will achieve a great + popularity in the world of amateur letters is a foregone conclusion, and I + do not think that I am indulging in extravagant praise in predicting a + brilliant future for him in the professional field. + </p> + <p> + I am acquainted with Howard Phillips Lovecraft only through + correspondence; I have never felt the flesh of his palm, and yet, I know + he is a man—every inch of him—and that amateur journalism will + be enriched and promoted to its highest plane through his kindly influence + and literary leadership. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="smcap">Andrew Francis Lockhart</span> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">FEBRUARY 1916</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">The Teuton's Battle-Song</span> + </h3> + <div class="poem" style="width: 15em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Omnis erat vulnus unda<br /></span> <span class="i0">Terra + rubefacta calido<br /></span> <span class="i0">Frendebat gladius in + loricas<br /></span> <span class="i0">Gladius findebat clypeos—<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Non retrocedat vir a viro<br /></span> <span class="i0">Hoc + fuit viri fortis nobilitas diu—<br /></span> <span class="i0">Laetus + cerevisiam cum Asis<br /></span> <span class="i0">In summa sede bibam<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Vitae elapsae sunt horae<br /></span> <span class="i0">Ridens + moriar."<br /></span> + <div class="rgt smcap"> + —Regner Lodbrog + </div> + </div> + </div> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">The mighty Woden laughs upon his throne,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And once more claims his children for his own.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The voice of Thor resounds again on high,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">While arm'd Valkyries ride from out the sky:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The Gods of Asgard all their pow'rs release<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To rouse the dullard from his dream of peace.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Awake! ye hypocrites, and deign to scan<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The actions of your "brotherhood of Man."<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Could your shrill pipings in the race impair<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The warlike impulse put by Nature there?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Where now the gentle maxims of the school,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The cant of preachers, and the Golden Rule?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">What feeble word or doctrine now can stay<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The tribe whose fathers own'd Valhalla's sway?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Too long restrain'd, the bloody tempest breaks,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And Midgard 'neath the tread of warriors shakes.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">On to thy death, Berserker bold! And try<br /></span> + <span class="i0">In acts of Godlike bravery to die!<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Who cares to find the heaven of the priest,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">When only warriors can with Woden feast?<br /></span> <span + class="i0">The flesh of Sehrimnir, and the cup of mead,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Are but for him who falls in martial deed:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Yon luckless boor, that passive meets his end,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">May never in Valhalla's court contend.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Slay, brothers, Slay! And bathe in crimson gore;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Let Thor, triumphant, view the sport once more!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">All other thoughts are fading in the mist,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">But to attack, or if attack'd, resist.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">List, great Alfadur, to the clash of steel;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">How like a man does each brave swordsman feel!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The cries of pain, the roars of rampant rage,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">In one vast symphony our ears engage.<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Strike! Strike him down! Whoever bars the way;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Let each kill many ere he die today!<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Ride o'er the weak; accomplish what ye can;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">The Gods are kindest to the strongest man!<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Why should we fear? What greater joy than this?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Asgard alone could give us sweeter bliss!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">My strength is waning; dimly can I see<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The helmeted Valkyries close to me.<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Ten more I slay! How strange the thought of fear,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">With Woden's mounted messengers so near!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The darkness comes; I feel my spirit rise;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">A kind Valkyrie bears me to the skies.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">With conscience clear, I quit the earth below,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The boundless joys of Woden's halls to know.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The grove of Glasir soon shall I behold,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And on Valhalla's tablets be enroll'd:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">There to remain, till Heimdall's horn shall sound,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And Ragnarok enclose creation round;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">And Bifrost break beneath bold Surtur's horde,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And Gods and men fall dead beneath the sword;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">When sun shall die, and sea devour the land,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And stars descend, and naught but Chaos stand.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Then shall Alfadur make his realm anew,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And Gods and men with purer life indue.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">In that blest country shall Abundance reign,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Nor shall one vice or woe of earth remain.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Then, not before, shall men their battles cease,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And live at last in universal peace.<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Through cloudless heavens shall the eagle soar,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And happiness prevail forevermore.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + —<span class="smcap">H. P. Lovecraft</span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <i><span class="sp5">Author's Note.</span></i> + </h3> + <p> + The writer here endeavours to trace the ruthless ferocity and incredible + bravery of the modern Teutonic soldier to the hereditary influence of the + ancient Northern Gods and Heroes. Despite the cant of the peace-advocate, + we must realise that our present Christian civilisation, the product of an + alien people, rests but lightly upon the Teuton when he is deeply aroused, + and that in the heat of combat he is quite prone to revert to the mental + type of his own Woden-worshipping progenitors, losing himself in that + superb fighting zeal which baffled the conquering cohorts of a Caesar, and + humbled the proud aspirations of a Varus. Though appearing most openly in + the Prussian, whose recent acts of violence are so generally condemned, + this native martial ardour is by no means peculiar to him, but is instead + the common heritage of every branch of our indomitable Xanthochroic race, + British and Continental alike, whose remote forefathers were for countless + generations reared in the stern precepts of the virile religion of the + North. Whilst we may with justice deplore the excessive militarism of the + Kaiser Wilhelm and his followers, we cannot rightly agree with those + effeminate preachers of universal brotherhood who deny the virtue of that + manly strength which maintains our great North European family in its + position of undisputed superiority over the rest of mankind, and which in + its purest form is today the bulwark of Old England. It is needless to say + to an educated audience that the term "Teuton" is in no way connected with + the modern German Empire, but embraces the whole Northern stock, including + English and Belgians. + </p> + <p> + In the Northern religion, Alfadur, or the All-Father, was a vague though + supreme deity. Beneath him were among others Woden, or Odin, practically + the supreme deity, and Woden's eldest son Thor, the God of War. Asgard, or + heaven, was the dwelling-place of the Gods, whilst Midgard was the earth, + or abode of man. The rainbow, or bridge of Bifrost, which connected the + two regions, was guarded by the faithful watchman Heimdall. Woden lived in + the palace of Valhalla, near the grove of Glasir, and had as messengers to + earth the Valkyries, armed, mailed and mounted virgins who conveyed from + the earth to Asgard such men as had fallen bravely in battle. Only those + who fell thus could taste to the full the joys of paradise. These joys + consisted of alternate feasting and fighting. At Woden's feasts in + Valhalla was served the flesh of the boar Sehrimnir, which, though cooked + and eaten at every meal, would regain its original condition the next day. + The wounds of the warriors in each celestial combat were miraculously + healed at the end of the fighting. + </p> + <p> + But this heaven was not to last forever. Some day would come Ragnarok, or + the Twilight of the Gods, when all creation would be destroyed, and all + the Gods and men save Alfadur perish. Surtur, after killing the last of + these Gods, would burn up the world. Afterward the supreme Alfadur would + make a new earth or paradise, creating again the Gods and men, and + suffering them ever after to dwell in peace and plenty. + </p> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc"> + <img src="images/002.png" width="537" height="39" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XV + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 9 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + GEORGETOWN, ILL., APRIL, 1916 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department Of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>The Brooklynite</b> for January contains one of Rheinhart Kleiner's + characteristic poems, entitled "A Mother's Song". Mr. Kleiner's command of + good taste, harmony, and correctness requires no further panegyric amongst + those who know him; but to the more recent United members who have not yet + read extensively in our journals, his work may well be recommended as + undoubtedly the safest of all amateur poetical models for emulation. Mr. + Kleiner has a sense of musical rhythm which few amateur bards have ever + possessed, and his choice of words and phrases is the result of a taste + both innate and cultivated, whose quality appears to rare advantage in the + present degenerate age. This remarkable young poet has not yet fully + displayed in verse the variety of thoughts and images of which his fertile + brain and well selected reading have made him master, but has preferred to + concentrate most of his powers upon delicate amatory lyrics. While some of + his readers may at times regret this limitation of endeavor, and wish he + might practice to a greater extent that immense versatility which he + permitted the amateur public to glimpse in the September <b>Piper</b>; it + is perhaps not amiss that he should cultivate most diligently that type of + composition most natural and easy to him, for he is obviously a successor + of those polished and elegant poets of gallantry whose splendour adorned + the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James the First. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Conservative</b> for January opens with Winifred Virginia Jordan's + "Song of the North Wind", one of the most powerful poems lately seen in + the amateur press. Mrs. Jordan is the newest addition to the United's + constellation of genuine poetical luminaries; shining as an artist of + lively imagination, faultless taste, and graphic expression, whose work + possesses touches of genius and individualism that have already brought + her renown in amateur circles. In the poem under consideration, Mrs. + Jordan displays a phenomenal comprehension of the sterner aspects of + Nature, producing a thoroughly virile effect. Words are chosen with care + and placed with remarkable force, whilst both alliteration and + onomatopoeia are employed with striking success. By the same author is the + shorter poem entitled "Galileo and Swammerdam", which though vastly + different in aspect and rhythm, yet retains that suggestion of mysticism + so frequently encountered in Mrs. Jordan's work. + </p> + <p> + James Tobey Pyke, a lyrical and philosophical poet of high scholastic + attainments, contributes two poems; "Maia", and "The Poet". The latter is + a stately sonnet, rich in material for reflection. Such is the quality of + Mr. Pyke's work, that his occasional contributions are ever to be + acclaimed with the keenest interest and appreciation. + </p> + <p> + Rheinhart Kleiner, our Laureate, is another bard twice represented in the + January <b>Conservative</b>. His two poems, "Consolation" and "To Celia", + though widely different in structure, are yet not unrelated in sentiment, + being both devoted to the changing heart. One amateur critic has seen fit + to frown upon so skilled an apotheosis of inconsistency, but it seems + almost captious thus to analyse an innocuous bit of art so daintily and + tastefully arrayed. "To Celia" is perhaps slightly the better of the two, + having a very commendable stateliness of cadence, and a gravity of thought + greater than that of "Consolation". + </p> + <p> + "The Horizon of Dreams", by Mrs. Renshaw, is a graphic and enthralling + venture into the realm of nocturnal unreality. The free play of active + imagination, the distorted and transitory conceptions and apparitions, and + the strangely elusive analogies, all lend charm and color to this happy + portrayal of the vague boundaries of Somnus' domain. Mrs. Renshaw's rank + as a poet is of very high tone, most of her productions<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> involving a + spiritual insight and metaphysical comprehension vastly beyond that of the + common mind. But this very nobility of imagination, and superiority to the + popular appeal, are only too likely to render her best work continually + underestimated and unappreciated by the majority. She is not a "poet of + the masses", and her graver efforts must needs reach audiences more + notable for cultured than numerical magnitude. Of Mrs. Renshaw's liberal + metrical theories, enough is said elsewhere. This Department can neither + endorse principles so radical, nor refrain from remarking that want of + proper rhyme and metre has relegated to obscurity many a rich and inspired + poem. + </p> + <p> + "Departed", by Maude Kingsbury Barton, is a sentimental poem of undoubted + grace and sweetness, happily cast in unbroken metre. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Coyote</b> for January is adorned by no less than three of Mrs. + Winifred V. Jordan's exquisite short poems. "The Night-Wind" is a + delicately beautiful fragment of dreamy metaphor. There is probably a + slight misprint in the last line, since the construction there becomes + somewhat obscure. "My Love's Eyes" has merit, but lacks polish. The word + "azure" in the first stanza, need not be in the possessive case; whilst + the use of a singular verb with a plural noun in the second stanza + (smiles-beguiles) is a little less than grammatical. "Longing" exhibits + the author at her best, the images and phraseology alike showing the touch + of genius. + </p> + <p> + Other poetry in this issue is by Adam Dickson, a bard of pleasing manner + but doubtful correctness. "Smile" needs rigorous metrical and rhetorical + revision to escape puerility. "Silver Bells of Memory" is better, though + marred by the ungrammatical passage "thoughts doth linger". In this + passage, either the noun must be made singular, or the verb form plural. + </p> + <p> + "Prohibition in Kansas" is a well written prose article by Editor William + T. Harrington, wherein he exhibits a commendably favourable attitude + toward the eradication of the menace of strong drink. Mr. Harrington is an + able and active amateur, and takes an intelligent interest in many public + questions. His style and taste are steadily improving, so that <b>The + Coyote</b> has already become a paper of importance among us. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Dixie Booster</b> for January is Mr. Raymond E. Nixon's <b>Capital + City News</b>, transferred to the amateur world, and continued under the + new name. With this number the editor's brother, Mr. Roy W. Nixon, assumes + the position of Associate Editor. This neat little magazine is + home-printed throughout, and may well remind the old-time amateurs of + those boyish "palmy days" whose passing they lament so frequently. By + means of a cut on the third page, we are properly introduced to Editor + Nixon, who at present boasts but thirteen years of existence. The gifted + and versatile associate editor, Mr. Roy W. Nixon, shows marked talent in + three distinct departments of literature; essay-writing, fiction, and + verse. "Writing as a Means of Self-Improvement" is a pure, dignified and + graceful bit of prose whose thought is as commendable as its structure. "A + Bottle of Carbolic Acid" is a gruesome but clever short story of the Poe + type, exhibiting considerable comprehension of abnormal psychology as + treated in literature. "My Valentine" is a poem of tuneful metre and well + expressed sentiment, though not completely polished throughout. The third + stanza, especially, might be made less like prose in its images. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Dowdell's Bearcat</b> for December is quaint and attractive in + appearance. The youthful editor has provided himself with a series of cuts + of the metaphorical "Bruin" in various attitudes and various employments, + these clever little pictures lending a pleasing novelty to the cover and + the margins. Judiciously distributed red ink, also, aids in producing a + Christmas number of truly festive quality. Mr. Dowdell's "Growls from the + Pit" is a series of editorials both timely and interesting, while his "Did + You Hear That" is a lively page of fresh news. This issue is notable for + Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan's poetical contributions, of which there are + three. "Life's Sunshine and Shadows" is a tuneful moral poem whose rhythm + and imagery are equally excellent. "Contentment" is brief but delightful. + "When the Woods Call" is a virile, graphic piece; vibrant with the thrill + of the chase, and crisp with the frosty air of the Northern Woods. + </p> + <p> + The present reviewer's lines "To Samuel Loveman" contain five misprints, + as follows:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="tdc"> + <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"> + Line + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 3 + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + for + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>are</b> + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + read + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>art</b> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 5 + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>Appollo</b> + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>Apollo</b> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 6 + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>versus</b> + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>verses</b> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 15 + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>eternal</b> + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>ethereal</b> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 18 + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>the</b> + </td> + <td class="sp4 tdc"> + " + </td> + <td class="sp6"> + <b>thee</b> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <p> + "Beads from my Rosary", by Mary M. Sisson, is a collection of well written + and sensible paragraphs on amateur journalism, which ought to assist in + arousing enthusiasm amongst many members hitherto dormant. Editor + Dowdell's pithy little epigrams at the foot of each page form an + entertaining feature, many of them being of considerable cleverness. <b>Dowdell's + Bearcat</b> will soon revert to its original newspaper form, since Mr. + Dowdell intends to make newspaper work his life Profession. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Inspiration</b> for November is a decidedly informal though + exceedingly clever personal paper issued by Miss Edna von der Heide as a + reminiscence of the Rocky Mount convention. Prose and verse of whimsically + humorous levity are employed with success in recording the social side of + the amateur gathering. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Looking Glass</b> for January is composed wholly of biographical + matter, introducing to the association the multitude of accomplished + recruits obtained through Mrs. Renshaw and others. In these forty life + stories, most of them autobiographical, the student of human nature may + find material for profound reflection on the variety of mankind. The more + recent members of the United, as here introduced, are in the aggregate a + maturer, more serious, and more scholarly element than that which once + dominated the amateur world; and if they can be properly welcomed and + acclimated to the realm of amateur letters, they will be of great value + indeed in building up the ideals and character of the association. For + this influx of sedate, cultivated members, the United has Mrs. Renshaw to + thank, since the present policy of recruiting was originated and is + conducted largely by the Second Vice-President. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Ole Miss'</b> for December is the most important of all recent + additions to amateur letters, and it is with regret that we learn of the + magazine's prospective discontinuance. The issue under consideration is + largely local, most of the contributions being by Mississippi talent, and + it must be said that the contributors all reflect credit upon their native + or adopted State. + </p> + <p> + Mr. J. W. Renshaw's page of editorials is distinguished equally by + good sense and good English. His attitude of disapproval toward petty + political activities and fruitless feuds in the United is one which every + loyal member will endorse, for nearly all of the past disasters in amateur + history have been caused not by serious literary differences, but by + conflicting ambitions among those seeking no more than cheap notoriety. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Renshaw is well represented both by prose and by verse, the most + interesting of her pieces being possibly the essay entitled "Poetic + Spontaneity", wherein more arguments are advanced in her effort to prove + the inferior importance of form and metre in poesy. According to Mrs. + Renshaw, the essence of all genuine poetry is a certain spontaneous and + involuntary spiritual or psychological perception and expression; + incapable of rendition in any prescribed structure, and utterly destroyed + by subsequent correction or alteration of any kind. That is, the bard must + respond unconsciously to the noble impulse furnished by a fluttering bird, + a dew-crowned flower, or a sun-blest forest glade; recording his thoughts + exactly as evolved, and never revising the result, even though it be + detestably cacophonous, or absolutely unintelligible to his less inspired + circle of readers. To such a theory as this we must needs reply, that + while compositions of the sort indicated may indeed represent poesy, they + certainly represent art in its proper sense no more than do "futuristic" + pictures and other modern monstrosities of a like nature. The only exact + means whereby a poet may transmit his ideas to others is language, a thing + both definite and intellectual. Granting that vague, chaotic, dissonant + lines are the best form in which the tender suitor of the Muses may record + his spiritual impressions for his own benefit and comprehension, it by no + means follows that such lines are at all fitted to convey those + impressions to minds other than his own. When language is used without + appropriateness, harmony, or precision, it can mean but little save to the + person who writes it. The soul of a poem lies not in words but in meaning; + and if the author have any skill at all in recording thought through + language, he will be able to refine the uncouth mass of<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> spontaneous + verbiage which first comes to him as representing his idea, but which in + its original amorphous state may fail entirely to suggest the same idea to + another brain. He will be able to preserve and perpetuate his idea in a + style of language which the world may understand, and in a rhythm which + may not offend the reader's sense of propriety with conspicuous harshness, + breaks, or sudden transitions. + </p> + <p> + "Flames of the Shadow", Mrs. Renshaw's longest poetical contribution to + this issue, is a powerful piece which, despite the author's theory, seems + in no way injured by its commendably regular structure. "Immortality of + Love" is likewise rather regular, though the plan of rhyming breaks down + in the last stanza. "For You" and "Sacrament of Spirit" are short pieces, + the former containing an "allowable" rhyming of "tongue" and "long", which + would not meet with the approval of the Kleiner type of critic, but upon + which this department forbears to frown. + </p> + <p> + James T. Pyke's two poems, "To a Butterfly" and "Life and Time" are gems + of incomparable beauty. "Ole Gardens", by Winifred V. Jordan, is a + haunting bit of semi-irregular verse which deserves warm applause for the + cleverness of its imagery and the aptness of its phraseology. "The Reward + of it All", by Emilie C. Holladay, is a potent but pathetic poem of + sentiment, whose development is highly commendable, but whose metrical + construction might be improved by judicious care. "A Mississippi Autumn" + was written as prose by Mrs. Renshaw, and set in heroic verse without + change of ideas by the present critic. The metaphor is uniformly lofty and + delicate, whilst the development of the sentiment is facile and pleasing. + It is to be hoped that the original thoughts of the author are not + impaired or obscured by the technical turns of the less inspired + versifier. "My Dear, Sweet, Southern Blossom", dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. + Renshaw with Compliments of the Author, James Laurence Crowley, is a + saccharine and sentimental piece of verse reminiscent of the popular + ballads which flourished ten or more years ago. Triteness is the cardinal + defect, for each genuine image is what our discerning private critic Mr. + Moe would call a "rubber-stamp" phrase. Mr. Crowley requires a rigorous + course of reading among the classic poets of our language, and a careful + study of their art as a guide to the development of his taste. At present + his work has about it a softness bordering on effeminacy, which leads us + to believe that his conception of the poet's art is rather imperfect. It + is only in caricature that we discover the poet as a sighing, long-haired + scribbler of gushing flights of infantile awe or immature adoration. + Earnestness, dignity, and at times, sonorous stateliness, become a good + poet; and such thoughts as are generally suggested by the confirmed use of + "Oh", "Ah", "dear", "little", "pretty", "darling", "sweetest flow'ret of + all", "where the morning-glory twineth", and so on, belong less to + literary poetry than to the Irving Berlin song-writing industry of "Tin + Pan Alley" in the Yiddish wilds of New York City. Mr. Crowley has energy + of no mean sort, and if he will apply himself assiduously to the + cultivation of masculine taste and technic, he can achieve a place of + prominence among United bards. + </p> + <p> + W. S. Harrison deserves a word of praise for his poem of Nature, + entitled "Our Milder Clime", wherein he celebrates the charms of + Mississippi, his native state. The lines contain an old-fashioned grace + too often wanting in contemporary verse. Other contributions to <b>Ole + Miss'</b> are Mrs. Maude K. Barton's "Something of Natchez", a very + interesting descriptive sketch in prose, and Dr. Rolfe Hunt's two negro + dialect pieces, both of which are of inimitable wit and cleverness. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Pippin</b> for February is the first number of this important + high-school journal to be issued without the supervision of Mr. Moe, and + its excellence well attests the substantial independent merit of the + Appleton Club. The city of Appleton forms the dominant theme in this + number, and with the assistance of seven attractive half-tone + illustrations, the publication well displays the beauty and advantages of + the pleasant Wisconsin town. Miss Eleanor Halls cleverly weaves into + conversational form much information concerning the remote history of + Appleton, emphasizing the superior character resulting from the select + quality of the settlers, and the early introduction of learning. Mr. + Alfred Galpin surprises many readers when he reveals the fact that + Appleton possessed the first of all telephone systems, a surprise quickly + followed by Mr. Joseph Harriman's illustrated paragraph telling of the + first street-car, also an Appleton innovation. Among other<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> articles, + that by Miss Torrey on Lawrence College is of unusual interest. "The + Immortalization of the Princess", by Miss Fern Sherman, is an excellent + Indian tale, whose structure and atmosphere well suggest not only the + characteristic tribal legends of the red folk, but other and more + classical myths as well. Though Miss Sherman is not yet a member of the + United, one of such gifts would be heartily welcomed in the ranks. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Plainsman</b> for December is the most substantial number of his + journal which Mr. Ira Cole has yet issued. First in order of importance + among the contents is perhaps the editor's own prose sketch entitled + "Monuments", wherein Mr. Cole reveals to particular advantage his + exceptional skill in depicting and philosophizing upon the various aspects + and phenomena of Nature. Mr. Cole's style is constantly improving, though + not now of perfect polish, it is none the less remarkable for its grace + and fluency. "To Florence Shepphird", also by Mr. Cole, is a rather long + piece of blank verse, containing many beautiful passages. The author's + skill in stately and sonorous poetry is far above the common level, and + his work has about it an atmosphere of the polished past which that of + most amateur bards lacks; yet the present poem is not without errors. The + passage (lines 10-11) reading: "calm <b>days</b> that <b>knoweth</b> not + dread Boreas' chilling breath" must be changed so that either the noun + shall be singular or the verb plural. The double negative in line 23 might + well be eliminated. Two lines whose metre could be improved are the 13th + and 50th. The final quatrain is pleasing to the average ear, including + that of the present critic; though the very exact taste of today, as + represented by Mr. Kleiner, frowns upon such deviation from the dominant + blank verse arrangement. "On the Cowboys of the West" is a brief bit of + verse by this reviewer, accompanied by a note from the pen of Mr. Cole. + The note is better than the verse, and exhibits Mr. Cole's vivid and + imaginative prose at its best. "The Sunflower", a versified composition by + James Laurence Crowley, concludes the issue. There is much attractiveness + in the lines; though we may discover particularly in the second stanza, + that touch of excessive softness which occasionally mars Mr. Crowley's + work. No one can fail to discern the weakness of such a line as "You big + giant of all the flowers". + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Providence Amateur</b> for February is worthy of particular + attention on account of Mr. Peter J. MacManus' absorbing article on "The + Irish and the Fairies". Mr. MacManus firmly believes not only that fairies + exist in his native Ireland, but that he has actually beheld a troop of + them; facts which impart to this article a psychological as well as a + literary interest. The prose style of Mr. MacManus is very good, being + notable alike for fluency and freedom from slang, whilst his taste is of + the best. His future work will be eagerly awaited by the amateur public. + Edmund L. Shehan contributed both verse and prose to this issue. "Death" + is a stately poem on a grave subject, whose sentiments are all of suitable + humility and dignity. The apparently anomalous pronoun "her", in the tenth + line, is a misprint for "he". The piece ends with a rhyming couplet, to + which Mr. Kleiner, representing correct modern taste, takes marked + exception. The present reviewer, however, finds no reason to object to any + part of Mr. Shehan's poem, and attributes this concluding couplet to the + influence of similar Shakespearian terminations. The prose piece by Mr. + Shehan well describes a visit to a cinematograph studio, and is entitled + "The Making of a Motion Picture". In the verses entitled "A Post-Christmas + Lament", Mr. John T. Dunn combines much keenness of wit with commendable + regularity of metre. Mr. Dunn is among the cleverest of the United's + humorous writers. "To Charlie of the Comics" is a harmless parody on our + Laureate's excellent poem "To Mary of the Movies", which appeared some + time ago in <b>The Piper</b>. In "The Bride of the Sea", Mr. Lewis + Theobald, Jr., presents a rather weird piece of romantic sentimentality of + the sort afforded by bards of the early nineteenth century. The metre is + regular, and no flagrant violations of grammatical or rhetorical precepts + are to be discerned, yet the whole effort lacks clearness, dignity, + inspiration, and poetic spontaneity. The word printed "enhanc'd" in the + sixth stanza is properly "entranc'd". + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Tom Fool, Le Roi</b> bears no definite date, but is a sort of pensive + autumn reverie following the Rocky Mount convention of last summer. This + grave and dignified journal is credited<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> to the House of Tillery, and + if typographical evidence may be accepted, it belongs most particularly to + that branch now bearing the name of Renshaw and having its domain in + Coffeeville, Mississippi. "Mother Gooseries from the Convention", by + Emilie C. Holladay, is a long stanzaic and Pindaric ode, whose taste and + technic are alike impeccable. The exalted images are sketched with + artistic touch, whilst the deep underlying philosophy, skillfully clothed + in well balanced lines, arouses a sympathetic reaction from every cultural + intellect. "The Carnival", by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, is an admirable + example of stately descriptive prose mixed with aesthetic verse. The long + and euphonious periodic sentences suggest the style of Gibbon or of Dr. + Johnson, whilst the occasional metrical lines remind the reviewer of Dr. + Young's solemn "Night Thoughts". "Dummheit", by Dora M. Hepner, is a grave + discourse on Original Sin, describing the planning of <b>Tom Fool, Le Roi</b>. + Elizabeth M. Ballou's article entitled "Our Absent Friend" forms a notable + contribution to amateur historical annals, and displays Miss Ballou as the + possessor of a keen faculty for observation, and a phenomenally analytical + intellect. "Banqueters from the Styx", Mrs. Renshaw's masterly description + of the convention dinner and its honoured guests from the regions of + Elysium and elsewhere, reminds the reviewer of the 11th book of the + Odyssey and the 6th book of the Aeneid, wherein the fraternizing of men + with the shades of men is classically delineated. + </p> + <p> + <b>Tom Fool</b> is a memorable publication, suggesting the old "fraternal" + papers, whose passing so many amateurs regret. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for November contains besides the official matter a + small but select assortment of poems, prominent among which is "The Meadow + Cricket", by Jas. T. Pyke. It is impossible to overestimate the beauty of + thought and expression which Mr. Pyke shows in all his verses, and the + United is fortunate in being able to secure specimens of his work. + </p> + <p> + "Remorse", by James Laurence Crowley, is one of the best samples of this + gentleman's poesy which we have yet seen, though Mr. Crowley insists that + one of the punctuation marks has been wrongfully located by the reviser. + Since the present critic prepared the manuscript for publication, he is + willing to assume full culpability for this crime. There is genuine poetic + feeling in this short piece; and it seems an undoubted fact that Mr. + Crowley with a little added restraint and dignity of expression, is + capable of producing excellent work. "List to the Sea", by Winifred V. + Jordan, is a delightfully musical lyric, whose dancing dactyls and facile + triple rhymes captivate alike the fancy and the ear. "The Wind and the + Beggar", by Maude K. Barton, is sombre and powerful. "Ambition", by + William de Ryee, is regular in metre and commendable in sentiment, yet not + exactly novel or striking in inspiration. "Choose ye", by Ella C. Eckert, + is a moral poem of clever conception and correct construction. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The United Official Quarterly</b> for January opens with "A Prayer for + the New Year", by Frederick R. Chenault. Mr. Chenault is a poet of the + first order so far as inspiration is concerned, but his work is frequently + marred by irregularity of metre, and the use of assonance in place of + rhyme. The metre of this poem is correct, but the two attempted rhymes + "deeper-meeker" and "supremely-sincerely" are technically no more than + assonant sounds. Pres. Fritter writes very powerfully on our publishing + situation in this number; and his article should not only be perused with + attention, but heeded with sincerity and industriousness. + </p> + <p> + "Behind the Canvas Wall", by William J. Dowdell, is one of the cleverest + and most ingenious bits of fiction which the amateur press has contained + for some time. That it is of a nature not exactly novel is but a trivial + objection. The homely, appealing plot, and the simple, sympathetic + treatment, both point to Mr. Dowdell as a possible success in the realm of + short story writing, should he ever care to enter it seriously. Another + excellent tale is "The Good Will of a Dog", by P. J. Campbell. The + plot is of a well defined type which always pleases, whilst the incidents + are graphically delineated. "The Bookstall" is a metrical monstrosity by + the present reviewer. Mr. Maurice W. Moe, the distinguished Private + Critic, lately gave us the following opinion of<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> our verse. "You are," he + writes, "steeped in the poetry of a certain age; an age, by the way, which + cut and fit its thought with greater attention to one model than any other + age before or since; and the result is that when you turn to verse as a + medium of expression, it is just as if you were pressing a button + liberating a perfect flood of these perfectly good but stereotyped + formulae of expression. The result is very ingenious, but just because it + is such a skillful mosaic of Georgian 'rubber-stamp' phrases, it must ever + fall short of true art." Mr. Moe is correct. We have, in fact, heard this + very criticism reiterated by various authorities ever since those + prehistoric days when we began to lisp in numbers. Yet somehow we + perversely continue to "mosaic" along in the same old way! But then, we + have never claimed to possess "true art"; we are merely a metrical + mechanic. "A New Point of View In Home Economics", a clever article by + Miss Eleanor Barnhart, concludes the <b>Official Quarterly</b> proper. + </p> + <p> + But the <b>New Member</b> supplement, with its profusion of brilliant + credentials, yet remains to be considered. "Dutch Courage", by Louis E. + Boutwell, is a liquorish sketch whose scene is laid in a New Jersey temple + of Bacchus. Being totally unacquainted with the true saloon atmosphere, we + find ourself a little embarrassed as to critical procedure, yet we may + justly say that the characters are all well drawn, every man in his humor. + </p> + <p> + "Ol' Man Murdock" is a quaint, and in two senses an <b>absorbing</b>, + figure. The rest of the issue is given over to the Muses of poesy. "The + Saturday Fray" is a clever piece by Daisy Vandenbank. The rhyming is a + little uneven, and in one case assonance is made to answer for true rhyme. + "Cream" and "mean" cannot make an artistic couplet. "The Common Soldiers", + by John W. Frazer, is a poem of real merit; whilst "Little Boy Blue", by + W. Hume, is likewise effective. Mr. Hume's pathetic touch is fervent and + in no manner betrays that weakness bordering on the ridiculous, to which + less skillful flights of pathos are prone. "The Two Springs" is a pleasant + moral sermon in verse by Margaret Ellen Cooper. Concluding the issue is + "The Under Dog in the Fight", a vigorous philosophical poem by Andrew + Stevenson. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Woodbee</b> for January is distinguished by Mrs. Winifred V. + Jordan's brilliant short poem entitled "Oh, Where is Springtime?" The + sentiment of the piece is an universal one, and the pleasing lines will + appeal to all. "Retribution", by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, is a clever story, + but the present critic's extreme fondness for cats makes it difficult to + review after reading the first sentence. However, the well-approached + conclusion is indeed just. The "moral" is a pathetic example of + unregeneracy! Miss Edna M. Haughton's critical article is direct and + discerning; the Woodbee Club is fortunate in having among its members so + capable a reviewer. Editor Fritter likewise mounts the reviewer's throne + in this issue, proceeding first of all to demolish our own fond dream of + yesterday; <b>The Conservative</b>. Looking backward down the dim vista of + those bygone but memory-haunted days of October, 1915, when we perpetrated + the horribly plainspoken and frightfully ungentle number whereof Mr. + Fritter treats, we are conscious of our manifold sins, and must beg the + pardon of the liquor interests for shouting so rudely in the cause of + total abstinence. Pres. Fritter's critical style is a good one, and is + developing from month to month. His advocacy of lukewarmness in writing is + perhaps not so complete as one might judge from this article; though his + use of the cautious phrase "it is rumored" in connection with a well known + statement seems hardly necessary. Rigid impartiality, the critic's + greatest asset, is manifest throughout the review, and we thoroughly + appreciate the favorable mention not infrequently accorded us. In passing + upon the merits of <b>Dowdell's Bearcat</b>, Mr. Fritter shows equal + penetration and perspicuity, and we are convinced that his rank amongst + amateur reviewers is very high. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc"> + <img src="images/002.png" width="537" height="39" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XV + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 11 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + GEORGETOWN, ILL., JUNE, 1916 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department Of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>The Coyote</b> for July opens with Harry E. Rieseberg's verses entitled + "The Sum of Life", whose structure is excellent as a whole, though + defective in certain places. The word "mirage" is properly accented on the + second syllable, hence is erroneously situated in the first stanza. "A + mirage forever seeming" is a possible substitute line. Other defects are + the attempted rhymes of "decay" with "constancy", "carried" with + "hurried", and "appalled" with "all". The metre is without exception + correct, and the thoughts and images in general well presented, wherefore + we believe that with a little more care Mr. Rieseberg can become a very + pleasing poet indeed. "The Philippine Question", by Earl Samuel + Harrington, aged 15, is an excellent juvenile essay, and expresses a very + sound opinion concerning our Asiatic colonies. It is difficult to be + patient with the political idiots who advocate the relinquishment of the + archipelago by the United States, either now or at any future time. The + mongrel natives, in whose blood the Malay strain predominates, are not and + never will be racially capable of maintaining a civilized condition by + themselves. "How Fares the Garden Rose?" is a poem bearing the signature + of Winifred Virginia Jordan, which is a sufficient guarantee of its + thorough excellence. "To a Breeze", also by Mrs. Jordan, is distinguished + by striking imagery, and displays in the epithet "moon-moored", that + highly individualistic touch which is characteristic of its author. + "Peace", by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is a poem of excellent construction, + though marred by two serious misprints which destroy the harmony of the + first and third lines. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Dixie Booster</b> for March-April is an exceedingly neat and clever + paper from the House of Nixon. "Spring in the South", a poem by Maude K. + Barton, opens the issue in pleasant fashion, the attractive images well + atoning for certain slight mechanical deficiencies. "Dick's Success", by + Gladys L. Bagg, is a short story whose phraseology exhibits considerable + talent and polish. The didactic element is possibly more emphasized than + the plot, though not to a tedious extent. Whether or not a rough draft of + a novel may be completed in the course of a single afternoon, a feat + described in this tale, we leave for the fiction-writing members of the + United to decide! Of the question raised regarding the treatment of the + Indian by the white man in America it is best to admit in the words of Sir + Roger de Coverly, "that much might be said on both sides". Whilst the + driving back of the aborigines has indeed been ruthless and high-handed, + it seems the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon to sweep inferior races from his + path wherever he goes. There are few who love the Indian so deeply that + they would wish this continent restored to its original condition, peopled + by savage nomads instead of civilized colonists. "The Deuce and Your Add", + by Melvin Ryder, is a bit of light philosophy whose allegorical case is + well maintained. "To a Warbler", by Roy W. Nixon, is a meritorious piece + of verse whose rhythm moves with commendable sprightliness, though the + first line of the first stanza might be made to correspond better with the + first line of the second stanza. The word "apparent" in the last line, + seems a little unsuited to the general style of the poem, being more + suggestive of the formal type of composition. "Grandma", also by Mr. Roy + Nixon, is a noble sonnet whose quality foreshadows real poetical + distinction for its author. "You", by Dora M. Hepner, contains sublime + images, but possesses metrical imperfections. The general anapaestic or + dactylic rhythm is much disturbed by the iambic fourth line of the first + stanza. The editorials, jokes, and jingles in this issue are<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> all clever, + and proclaim Mr. Raymond Nixon as a capable and discriminating editor. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Literary Buds</b> for February exhibits the amateurs of Harvey, + Illinois, after a long absence from the publishing arena. The present + issue, edited by Mr. Caryl Wilson Dempesy, contains matter of merit and + interest. "The Dells of the Wisconsin", by A. Myron Lambert, is an + interesting account of an outing spent amidst scenes of natural grandeur + and beauty. The author's style is fluent and pleasing, though a few slight + crudities are to be discerned. On page 1, where the height of a large dam + is mentioned, it is stated "that the water must raise that distance before + it can fall". Of course, "<b>rise</b>" is the verb which should have been + used. Another erroneous phrase is "nature tract". "<b>Nature</b>" is not + an adjective, but a noun; "<b>natural</b>" is the correct word. However, + this anomalous use of nouns for adjectives has only too much prevalence + amongst all grades of writers today, and must not be too harshly censured + in this case. On page 4 the word "<b>onto</b>" should be supplanted by "<b>upon</b>", + and the awkward phrase: "to be convinced that we had ventured to a place + that we did not know any dangers were connected with", should be changed + to something like this: "to convince us that we had ventured to a + seemingly dangerous place whose apparent dangers we had not then noticed". + "A Song of Love", by Editor Dempesy, is cast in uniformly flowing and + regular metre, but some of the words require comment. "<b>Lover</b>" is + not generally applied by bards to adored members of the gentler sex, "<b>love</b>" + being the conventional term. Likewise, the phrase "heart which always + softly does its beating" might well be revised with greater attention to + poetical precedent. Yet the whole is of really promising quality, and + exhibits a metrical correctness much above the average. "The Operation" is + a very witty sketch by Miss Clara I. Stalker, with a sudden turn toward + the end which arouses the complete surprise and unexpected mirth of the + reader. "The High Cost of Flivving", by Albert Thompson, is a bright bit + of versified humour involving novel interpretations of certain technical + terms of literature. The swinging dactylic rhythm is well managed except + where the words "descending" and "ascending" occur, and where, in line 24, + the metre becomes momentarily anapaestic. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Looking Glass</b> for May is the final number of Mrs. Renshaw's + journal of introductions, and makes known to the association a group of 27 + new members. One of the most interesting autobiographies is that of Mr. J. E. + Hoag of Greenwich, New York, whose friendly sentences, written from the + cumulative experience of 85 years of life, possess an elusively + captivating quality. Of the non-biographical matter in this issue, Mrs. + Renshaw's compilation entitled "Writing for Profit" deserves particular + perusal. This is well set off by the same author's colloquial lines, + "Pride O' The Pen", wherein the lethal taint of trade in literature is + effectively deplored. "Something", by David H. Whittier, is a thoughtful + analysis of conditions in the United, with suggestions for improvement. + "One Bright Star Enough For Me", by Mr. John Hartman Oswald of Texas, is a + pious poem reminding one of Mr. Addison's well known effort which begins: + "The spacious firmament on high". We doubt, however, if Mr. Addison has + been much improved upon, since several instances of imperfect poetical + taste are to be found in Mr. Oswald's lines. But there are evidences of a + great soul throughout the ten stanzas, and the metre is in the main + correct. What Mr. Oswald appears to require is a thorough reading of the + English classics, with minute attention to their phraseology and images. + With such study we believe him capable of development into a poet of + enviable force and sincerity. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Toledo Amateur</b> for April marks the welcome reappearance of Mr. + Wesley H. Porter's neat little journal after a year's absence. "A Story", + by David H. Whittier, possesses a tragical plot whose interest is slightly + marred by triteness and improbable situations. Of the latter we must point + out the strained coincidence whereby four distinct things, proceeding from + entirely unrelated causes, give rise to the final denouement. The + culmination of the aged father's resolve to kill his enemy, the conditions + which make possible the return of the son, the presence of the enemy's hat + and coat under the wayside tree, and the storm which prompts the son to + don these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> + garments, are all independent circumstances, whose simultaneous + occurrence, each at exactly the proper time to cause the catastrophe, may + justly be deemed a coincidence too great for the purpose of good + literature. In an artistically constructed tale, the various situations + all develop naturally out of that original cause which in the end brings + about the climax; a principle which, if applied to the story in question, + would limit the events and their sequences to those arising either + directly or indirectly from the wrong committed by the father's enemy. + Since there is no causative connection between the immediate decision of + the father to kill his foe, and the developments or discoveries which + enable the son to return, the simultaneous occurrence of these unusual + things is scarcely natural. Superadded to this coincidence are two more + extraneous events; the rather strange presence of the hat and coat near + the road, and the timely or untimely breaking of the storm, the + improbability indeed increasing in geometrical progression with each + separate circumstance. It must, however, be admitted that such quadruple + coincidences in stories are by no means uncommon among even the most + prominent and widely advertised professional fiction-blacksmiths of the + day. Mr. Whittier's style is that of a careful and sincere scholar, and we + believe that his work will become notable in this and the succeeding + amateur journalistic generation. The minuteness of the preceding criticism + has been prompted not by a depreciatory estimate of his powers, but rather + by an appreciative survey of his possibilities. "Say, Brother", by Mrs. + Renshaw, is a poem describing life in the trenches of the Huns. The metre + is quite regular, and the plan of rhyming but once broken. Mr. Porter's + prose work; editorial, introductory, and narrative, is all pleasing, + though, not wholly free from a certain slight looseness of scholarship. We + should advise rigorous exercise in parsing and rhetoric. "Respite", by + Edgar Ralph Cheyney, shows real poetical genius, and the iambic + heptameters are very well handled, save where one redundant syllable + breaks the flow of the last line. Even that would be perfect if the tongue + could condense the noun and article "the music", into "th' music". + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Tornado</b> for April constitutes the publishing debut of Mrs. + Addie L. Porter, mother of <b>Toledo Amateur's</b> gifted young editor. + Mrs. Porter's "Recollections From Childhood" are pleasant and well + phrased, bringing to mind very vividly the unrivalled joys of Christmas as + experienced by the young. Wesley H. Porter, in "My Vacation", tells + entertainingly of his visit to the hive of the Woodbees last September. + The editorial and news paragraphs are all of attractive aspect, completing + a bright paper whose four pages teem with enthusiasm and personality. It + is to be hoped that other comparatively new United members may follow Mr. + Porter's example in entering the publishing field; for individual + journals, though of no greater size than this, are ever welcome, and do + more than anything else to maintain interest and promote progress in the + association. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Trail</b> for April must by no means be confused with Alfred L. + Hutchinson's professionalized magazine of identical title, for this <b>Trail</b> + is an older and emphatically non-professional publication issued + co-operatively by Dora M. Hepner and George W. Macauley. + Non-professionalism, indeed, seems to dominate the entire issue to a + degree unusual in the broadened and developed United. With the exception + of one poem and one short story or sketch, the contents are wholly + personal and social. "He Reached my Hand", by Dora M. Hepner, is an + excellent piece of verse, though perhaps not of that extreme polish which + is observed in the productions of very careful bards. Miss Hepner has + great refinement of fancy and vigour of expression, but evidently neglects + to cultivate that beautiful rhetoric and exquisite rhythmic harmony which + impress us so forcibly in the work of scholars and bookmen like Rheinhart + Kleiner. "A Girl of the U. S.", by George W. Macauley, is a prose + piece whose nature seems to waver between that of a story and a + descriptive sketch. Though description apparently preponderates, the + narrative turn toward the conclusion may sanction classification as + fiction. The faults are all faults of imperfect technique rather than of + barren imagination, for Mr. Macauley wields a graphic pen, and adorns + every subject he approaches. In considering minor points, we must remark + the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> + badly fractured infinitive "to no longer walk", and the unusual word + "reliefful". We have never seen the latter expression before, and though + it may possibly be a modernism in good usage, it was certainly unknown in + the days when we attempted to acquire our education. Mr. Macauley, with + his marked descriptive ability, is less at ease in stories of contemporary + life than in historical fiction, particularly mediaeval and Oriental + tales. His genius is not unlike that of Sir Walter Scott, and shows to + especial advantage in annals of knights and chivalry. "Scratchings" are by + the pen of Miss Hepner, and display an active wit despite the profusion of + slang. It would seem, however, that so brilliant a writer could preserve + the desired air of vivacity without quite so many departures from the + standard idioms of our language. + </p> + <p> + Miss Hepner's remarks on the assimilation of new United members are worthy + of note. The cruder amateurs should not feel discouraged by the + extraordinary average scholarship of the recent element, but should rather + use it as a model for improvement. They should establish correspondence + with the cultivated recruits, thereby not only benefiting themselves, but + helping each gifted newcomer to find a useful and congenial place amongst + us. The present situation is pitifully ludicrous, for practically all + young aspirants call upon only one or two sadly overburdened older members + for literary aid, forgetting that there are scores of brilliant writers, + teachers, and professors waiting anxiously but vainly to be of real + service to their fellow-amateurs. Several of the scholarly new members + have particularly inquired how they can best assist the association; yet + the association, as represented by its literary novices, has failed to + take advantage of most of these offers of instructions and co-operation. + We are impelled here to reiterate the slogan which Mr. Daas has so + frequently printed in his various journals: "<b>Welcome the Recruits!</b>". + Such a welcome is certain to react with double felicity upon the giver. + </p> + <p> + "From the Michigan Trail" is Mr. Macauley's personal column, and contains + so bitter an attack on some of the United's policies of improvement, that + we are tempted to remonstrate quite loudly. The captious criticism of the + Second Vice-President's invaluable activities, constructive labours which + have practically regenerated the association and raised it to a higher + plane in the world of educational endeavour, is positively ungenerous. To + speak of the article in <b>Ole Miss'</b> entitled "Manuscripts and Silver" + as "mercenary", is the summit of injustice, for it was nothing more or + less than the absolutely gratuitous offer to the United of what is now the + Symphony Literary Service. We are rather at a loss to divine Mr. + Macauley's precise notion of amateur journalism. He speaks of it as a + "tarn", but we cannot believe he would have it so stagnant a thing as that + name implies. Surely, the United is something greater than a superficial + fraternal order composed of mediocre and unambitious dabblers. Progress + leads toward the outside world of letters, and to cavil at work such as + Mrs. Renshaw's is to set obstacles in the path of progress. Professional + literary success on the part of amateur journalists can never react + unfavorably on the United, and it seems far from kind and proper to impede + the development of members. Why is a professional author necessarily less + desirable as an amateur journalist than a professional plumber or + boiler-maker? But there is one sound principle at the base of Mr. + Macauley's argument, which deserves more emphasis than the points he + elaborates. Professionalism must not enter into the workings of the + association, nor should the professionalized amateur take advantage of + amateur connexions to create a market for writings otherwise unsalable. + This applies to the now happily extinct tribe of "ten-cents-a-year" + publishers, who coolly expected all amateur journalists to subscribe to + their worthless misprints as a matter of fraternal obligation. Mr. + Macauley is an extremist on the subject of amateur rating, a fact which + explains many otherwise puzzling allusions in his current editorials. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for February is the final number of the Daas regime, + and constitutes a noble valedictory indeed. We find it impossible to + express with sufficient force our regret at the withdrawal of Mr. Daas + from the United, and we can but hope that the retirement may prove merely + temporary. The February official organ is wholly literary in contents, and + in quality sustains the best traditions of amateur journalism. Miss Olive + G.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> + Owen's poem, "Give us Peace!", which opens the issue, is tasteful in + imagery and phraseology, and correct in rhyme and metre, but contains the + customary unrealities and substitutions of emotion for reasoning which are + common to all pacific propaganda. "The Little Old Lady's Dream", by M. + Almedia Bretholl, is a short story of the almost unpleasantly "realistic" + type, whose development and atmosphere exhibit much narrative talent and + literary skill. "The Teuton's Battle-Song" is an attempt of the present + critic to view the principles of human warfare without the hypocritical + spectacles of sentimentality. "Nature in Literature", by Arthur W. Ashby, + is an essay of unusual quality, revealing a depth of well assimilated + scholarship and a faculty for acute observation and impartial analysis, of + which few amateur writers may justly boast. "His All", is an excellent + poem by Mrs. Ella Colby Eckert, distinguished equally for its noble + thought and facile rhythm. "'Twixt the Red and the White", a short story + by Miss Coralie Austin, displays marked skill in construction and + phraseology, though its development is not without a few of the typical + crudities of youthful work. There is a trifling suspicion of triteness and + banality in plot and dialogue; which is, however, compensated for in the + artistic passages so frequently encountered. "Romance, Mystery, and Art", + an essay by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, reflects the learning and thoughtfulness + of its author. The poetical fragments entitled "Songs from Walpi", by Mrs. + Winifred V. Jordan, describe the hopeless affection of a Southwestern + Indian prince for a maiden of the conquering white race. The atmosphere + and images are cleverly wrought, whilst the rhythm is in every detail + satisfactory. "Nescio Quo", by Kathleen Baldwin, is a poem of great + attractiveness both in structure and sentiment. "A Crisis", by Eleanor J. + Barnhart, is a short story of distinctly modern type, whose substance and + development compare well with professional work. "My Heart and I", a + sonnet by James T. Pyke, exhibits the skill and philosophical profundity + characteristic of its author. "My Native Land", a poem by Adam Dickson, + describes the Scottish Border with pleasing imagery and bounding + anapaestic metre. Mr. Dickson is a poet whose progress should be carefully + watched. His improvement is steady, the present piece being easily the + best specimen of his work to appear in the amateur press. "Poetry and its + Power", by Helen M. Woodruff, is a delightful essay containing liberal + quotations from various classic bards. "A Resolution", by Harry Z. Moore, + seems to be modelled after Mrs. Renshaw's well known poem, "A Symphony". + The various precepts are without exception sound and commendable. Helene + E. Hoffman presents a brief but pleasing critique of Sir Thomas Browne's + "Hydriotaphia, Urn-Burial; or a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately + found in Norfolk". It is refreshing to discover a modern reader who can + still appreciate the quaint literature of the seventeenth century, and + Miss Hoffman is to be thanked for her sympathetic review of the pompous, + Latinised phrases of the old physician. "He and She", by Margaret A. + Richard, is a thoroughly meritorious poem whose two "allowable rhymes", + "fair-dear", and "head-prayed", would be censured only by a critic of + punctilious exactitude. "At Sea", a witty bit of <b>vers de societe</b> by + Henry Cleveland Wood, forms an appropriately graceful conclusion to a + richly enjoyable issue of the magazine. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for March brings to the fore Mr. George S. Schilling's + unusual editorial talent, and makes manifest the bright future of the + official organ for the balance of the present administrative year. The + chief literary contribution is "Hail, Autumn!", one of Mr. Arthur Ashby's + brilliant and scholarly essays on Nature. The quality of Mr. Ashby's work + deserves particular attention for its reflective depth of thought, and + glowing profusion of imagery. His style is remarkably mature, and escapes + completely that subtle suggestion of the schoolboy's composition which + seems inseparable from the average amateur's attempts at natural + description and philosophizing. Mr. Schilling's editorials are forcible + and straightforward, vibrant with enthusiasm for the welfare of the + association. "A Representative Official Organ", by Paul J. Campbell, + serves to explain the author's highly desirable constitutional amendment + proposed for consideration at the coming election, which will open the + columns of THE UNITED AMATEUR to the general membership at a very + reasonable expense. The News<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> + Notes in the present issue are sprightly and interesting. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for April is made brilliant by the presence of Henry + Clapham McGavack's terse and lucid exposure of hyphenated hypocrisy, + entitled "Dr. Burgess, Propagandist". Mr. McGavack's phenomenally virile + and convincing style is supported by a remarkable fund of historical and + diplomatic knowledge, and the feeble fallacies of the pro-German embargo + advocates collapse in speedy fashion before the polished but vigorous + onslaughts of his animated pen. Another essay inspired by no superficial + thinking is Edgar Ralph Cheyney's "Nietzschean Philosophy", wherein some + of the basic precepts of the celebrated iconoclast are set forth in + comprehensive array. "The Master Voice of Ages Calls for Peace", a poem by + Mrs. Frona Scott, has fairly regular metre, though its sentiment is one of + conventional and purely emotional pacifism. "A Gentle Satire on + Friendship", by Freda de Larot, is a very clever piece of light prose; + which could, however, be improved by the deletion of much slang, and the + rectification of many loose constructions. "A Wonderful Play" is Mrs. + Eloise R. Griffith's well worded review of Jerome K. Jerome's "The Passing + of the Third Floor Back", as enacted by Forbes-Robertson. Mrs. Griffith + has here, as in all her essays, achieved a quietly pleasing effect, and + pointed a just moral. "Fire Dreams" is a graphic and commendably regular + poem by Mrs. Renshaw. "The Beach", a poem by O. M. Blood, requires + grammatical emendation. "How better could the hours been spent" and "When + life and love true pleasure brings" cannot be excused even by the + exigencies of rhyme and metre. After the second stanza, the couplet form + shifts in an unwarranted manner to the quatrain arrangement. The + phraseology of the entire piece displays poetical tendencies yet reveals a + need for their assiduous cultivation through reading and further practice. + "My Shrine", by James Laurence Crowley, exhibits real merit both in + wording and metre, yet has a rather weak third stanza. The lines: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 16em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"One day I crossed the desert sands;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">One day I ride my train;"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + are obviously anticlimactic. To say that the subject is trite would be a + little unjust to Mr. Crowley's Muse, for all amatory themes, having been + worked over since the very dawn of poesy, are necessarily barren of + possibilities save to the extremely skilled metrist. Contemporary + love-lyrics can scarcely hope to shine except through brilliant and + unexpected turns of wit, or extraordinarily tuneful numbers. The following + lines by Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle, who died in 1673, well express + the situation despite their crudeness: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 20em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"O Love, how thou art tired out with rhyme!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thou art a tree whereon all poets climb;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And from thy branches every one takes some<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Of the sweet fruit, which Fancy feeds upon.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">But now thy tree is left so bare and poor,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">That they can hardly gather one plum more!"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + "Indicatory", a brilliant short sketch by Ethel Halsey, well illustrates + the vanity of the fair, and completes in pleasing fashion a very + creditable number of our official magazine. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for May forms still another monument to the taste and + energy of our official editor, Mr. Schilling. Biography is the keynote of + the current issue, Mrs. Renshaw, Mr. J. E. Hoag, and Mr. Henry + Cleveland Wood each receiving mention. Miss Emilie C. Holladay displays a + pleasing prose style in her account of our Second Vice-President, and + arouses interest with double force through the introduction of juvenile + incidents. + </p> + <p> + "Happiness Defined" is a delightful little sketch by Ida C. Haughton, + whose philosophy will awake an universal response from the breasts of the + majority. "The Wind Fairies", by Jean F. Barnum, is a poem in prose which + contains more of the genuine poetic essence than does the average + contemporary versified effort. The grace and grandeur of the clouds and + the atmosphere have in all ages been admired, and it is but natural that + they figure to a great extent in the beautiful legends of primitive + mythology. "The Ship that Sails Away", by J. E. Hoag, is a delicate + and attractive poem whose images and phraseology are equally meritorious. + Mr. Hoag's poetical attainments are such that we await with eagerness the + appearance of the pieces predicted in his biography. "To Flavia", by + Chester Pierce Munroe, is a sweet lyric addressed to a young child and + pervaded throughout with a quaintly whimsical, almost Georgian, semblance + of stately gallantry. The first word of the seventeenth line should read "<b>small</b>" + instead of "<b>swell</b>". As misprinted, this line conveys a rather + incongruous impression. "Mountains in<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> Purple Robes of Mist", a vivid + and powerful poem of Nature by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, is cast in + Alexandrine quatrains, a rather uncommon measure. The only possible defect + is in line thirteen, where the accent of the word "sublime" seems to + impede the flow of the metre. Line nineteen apparently lacks two + syllables, but the deficiency is probably secretarial or typographical + rather than literary. "Man as Cook", also by Dr. Kuntz, is a clever bit of + humorous verse in octosyllabic couplets. "Consolation" well exhibits + Andrew Francis Lockhart's remarkable progress as a poet. His verse is + increasing every day in polish, and is fast becoming one of the most + pleasing and eagerly awaited features of amateur letters. "At the End of + the Road", by Mary Faye Durr, is a graphic and touching description of a + deserted schoolhouse. The atmosphere of pensive reminiscence is well + sustained by the judiciously selected variety of images and allusions. + "There's None Like Mine at Home", by James Laurence Crowley, is a + characteristic bit of Crowleian sentimentality which requires revision and + condensation. There is not enough thought to last out three stanzas of + eight lines each. Technically we must needs shudder at the apparent + incurable use of "m-n" assonance. "Own" and "known" are brazenly and + repeatedly flaunted with "roam" and "home" in attempted rhyme. But the + crowning splendour of impossible assonance is attained in the + "Worlds-girls" atrocity. Mr. Crowley needs a long session with the late + Mr. Walker's well-known Rhyming Dictionary! Metrically, Mr. Crowley is + showing a decided improvement of late. The only censurable points in the + measure of this piece are the redundant syllables in lines 1 and 3, which + might in each case be obviated by the substitution of "<b>I've</b>" for "<b>I + have</b>", and the change of form in the first half of the concluding + stanza. Of the general phraseology and imagery we may only remark that Mr. + Crowley has much to forget, as well as to learn, before he can compete + with Mr. Kleiner or other high-grade amatory poets in the United. Such + expressions as "my guiding star", "my own dear darling Kate", or "she's + the sweetest girl that e'er on earth did roam", tell the whole sad story + to the critical eye and ear. If Mr. Crowley would religiously eschew the + popular songs and magazine "poetry" of the day, and give over all his time + to a perusal of the recognized classics of English verse, the result would + immediately be reflected in his own compositions. As yet, he claims to be + independent of scholarly tradition, but we must remind him of the Latin + epigram of Mr. Owen, which Mr. Cowper thus translated under the title of + "Retaliation": + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 16em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"The works of ancient bards divine,<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Aulus, thou scorn'st to read;<br /></span> <span class="i0">And + should posterity read thine,<br /></span> <span class="i2">It would be + strange indeed!"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + So energetic and prolific a writer as Mr. Crowley owes it alike to himself + and to his readers to develop as best he can the talent which rests latent + within him. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Woodbee</b> for April opens with a melodious poem by Adam Dickson, + entitled "Love". While the metre might well be changed in the interests of + uniformity, the general effect is not at all harsh, and the author is + entitled to no small credit for his production. The only other poem in the + magazine is "Alone With Him", by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton. This piece is + remarkable for its rhyming arrangement, each rhyme being carried through + four lines instead of the usual couplet. The sentiments are just, the + images well drawn, and the technique correct; the whole forming a highly + commendable addition to amateur literature. "The Melody and Colour of 'The + Lady of Shalott'", by Mary Faye Durr, is a striking Tennysonian critique, + whose psychological features, involving a comparison of chromatic and + poetic elements, are ingenious and unusual. Miss Durr is obviously no + careless student of poesy, for the minute analyses of various passages + give evidence of thorough assimilation and intelligent comprehension. "On + Being Good", by Newton A. Thatcher, contains sound sense and real humour, + whilst its pleasingly familiar style augurs well for Mr. Thatcher's + progress in this species of composition. "War Reflections", by Herbert + Albing, is an apt and thoughtful epitome of the compensating benefits + given to mankind by the present belligerent condition of the world. The + cogent and comprehensive series of reviews by Miss Edna M. Haughton, and + the crisp and pertinent paragraphs by Editor Fritter, combine with the + rest of <b>The Woodbee's</b> contents to produce an issue uniformly + meritorious. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">The Poetry Of The Month</span> + </h3> + <h4> + CONTENT. + </h4> + <div class="tdc"> + An Epistle to RHEINHART KLEINER, Esq., Poet-Laureate, and Author of + "Another Endless Day". + </div> + <div class="poem" style="width: 16em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0"><i>Beatus ille qui procul negotiis,</i><br /></span> + <span class="i2"><i>Ut prisca gens mortalium,</i><br /></span> <span + class="i0"><i>Paterna rura bobus exercet suis.</i><br /></span> + <div class="rgt"> + —HORACE. + </div> + </div> + </div> + <div class="poem" style="width: 22em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">KLEINER! in whose quick pulses wildly beat<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The youth's ambition, and the lyrist's heat,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Whose questing spirit scorns our lowly flights,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And dares the heavens for sublimer heights:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">If passion's force will grant an hour's relief,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Attend a calmer song, nor nurse thy grief.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">What is true bliss? Must mortals ever yearn<br /></span> + <span class="i0">For stars beyond their reach, and vainly burn;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Must suff'ring man, impatient, seek to scale<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Forbidden steeps, where sharper pangs prevail?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Alas for him who chafes at soothing ease,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And cries for fever'd joys and pains to please:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">They please a moment, but the pleasure flies,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And the rack'd soul, a prey to passion, dies.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Away, false lures! and let my spirit roam<br /></span> + <span class="i0">O'er sweet Arcadia, and the rural home;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Let my sad heart with no new sorrow bleed,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">But rest content in Morven's mossy mead.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Wild thoughts and vain ambitions circle near,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Whilst I, at peace, the abbey chimings hear.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Loud shakes the surge of Life's unquiet sea,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Yet smooth the stream that laves the rustic lea.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Let others feel the world's destroying thrill,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">As 'midst the kine I haunt the verdant hill.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Rise, radiant sun! to light the grassy glades,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Whose charms I view from grateful beechen shades;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">O'er spire and peak diffuse th' expanding gleam<br /></span> + <span class="i0">That gilds the grove, and sparkles on the stream.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Awake! ye sylphs of Flora's gorgeous train,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To scent the fields, and deck the rising main.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Soar, feathered flock, and carol o'er the scene,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To cheer the lonely watcher on the green.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Sweet is the song the morning meadow bears,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And with the darkness fade ambitious cares:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Above the abbey tow'r the rays ascend,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">As light and peace in matchless beauty blend.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Why should I sigh for realms of toil and stress,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">When now I bask in Nature's loveliness;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">What thoughts so great, that they must needs expand<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Beyond the hills that bound this fragrant land?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">These friendly hills my infant vision knew,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And in the shelt'ring vale from birth I grew.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Yon distant spires Ambition's limit show,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">For who, here born, could farther wish to go?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">When sky-blest evening soothes the world and me,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Are moon and stars more distant from my lea?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">No urban glare my sight of heav'n obscures,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And orbs undimm'd rise o'er the neighb'ring moors.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">What priceless boon may spreading Fame impart,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">When village dignity hath cheer'd the heart?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The little group that hug the tavern fire<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To air their wisdom, and salute their squire,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Far kinder are, than all the courtly throng<br /></span> + <span class="i0">That flatter Kings, and shield their faults in song!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And in the end; what if no man adore<br /></span> <span + class="i0">My senseless ashes 'neath Westminster's floor?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">May not my weary frame, at Life's dim night,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Sleep where my childhood first enjoy'd the light?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Rest were the sweeter in the sacred shade<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Of that dear fane where all my fathers pray'd;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Ancestral spirits bless the air around,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And hallow'd mem'ries fill the gentle ground.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">So stay, belov'd Content! nor let my soul<br /></span> + <span class="i0">In fretful passion seek a farther goal.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Apollo, chasing Daphne, gain'd his prize,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">But lo! she turn'd to wood before his eyes!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Our earthly prizes, though as holy sought,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Prove just as fleeting, and decay to naught.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Enduring bliss a man may only find<br /></span> <span + class="i0">In virtuous living, and contented mind.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">AUGUST 1916</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department Of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <h4> + FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 1915-1916. + </h4> + <p> + Following a novel idea originated by the present Columbus administration, + the Department of Public Criticism will herewith submit for the first time + in its history an annual report, or summary of the preceding year's + literary events within the United Amateur Press Association. + </p> + <p> + The programme of improvement informally decided upon in the official year + of 1913-1914 received its definite ratification at the Rocky Mount + Convention, when the assembled representatives of the United pledged + "Individual collective support" to Mr. Fritter, the new President, in his + endeavors to raise the literary standard of our society, and when an + absolutely unanimous vote invested Mrs. J. W. Renshaw, the leading + spirit of progress, with the important office of Second Vice-President. + Pres. Fritter has since discharged his obligations and sustained his + responsibilities in a thoroughly satisfactory manner despite many trying + difficulties, whilst Mrs. Renshaw, as a recruiter, has succeeded in laying + the foundations of a completely broadened, elevated, and rejuvenated + association. Yet all that has been accomplished is merely the prologue of + that greater period of change which must bring about the final + assimilation of Mrs. Renshaw's phenomenally gifted recruits, and the + materialization of the still nebulous plans evolved during the past + twelvemonth. + </p> + <p> + The undersigned has on several occasions advocated the formation of a + regular "Department of Instruction" in the United, to be conducted by + professional teachers and college instructors for the purpose of guiding + the more or less inexperienced members. He has communicated his idea to + several high-school preceptors of great ability, and has learned that + under present conditions such a department is not perfectly feasible. It + has been suggested that if each experienced and educated amateur would + assume a personal and sympathetic advisory position toward some one of the + younger or cruder members, much actual good might result. As our list now + stands, the crude and the cultured are perhaps evenly balanced, yet + instant success even in this modified course can scarcely be expected. At + least another year seems to be required, in which the various members may + gain a closer knowledge of each other through the wider diffusion of their + printed efforts. However, the need for a more uniformly educated + membership is pressing, and the undersigned will welcome aid or advice of + any kind from those willing to assist him in establishing some sort of + scholastic Department. + </p> + <p> + Another idea which has received undeserved neglect and discouraging + opposition is the Authors' Placing Bureau or "United Literary Service", as + outlined by the Second Vice-President. The normal goal of the amateur + writer is the outside world of letters, and the United should certainly be + able to provide improved facilities for the progress of its members into + the professional field. The objections offered to this plan are apparently + less vital than those affecting the Department of Instruction, and it is + to be hoped that the mistaken zeal of our non-professional sticklers may + not serve to prevent a step so sorely needed. + </p> + <p> + Passing on to the details of Departmental work, the undersigned is pleased + to report a remarkable increase in the literary value of the compositions + brought forth in the United this year; an increase which may be fairly + declared to constitute a true elevation of our intellectual standard, and + which undoubtedly compensates for the present regrettable paucity of + amateur publishing media. In verse, particularly, is the advance notable. + Some of our poets are securing recognition in the outside world of + letters, whilst many lesser bards show a steady upward trend in their + amateur efforts. Prose continues to suffer because of the seemingly + unavoidable brevity of the average amateur journal. It is impossible to + crowd any really well developed piece of prose within the limits generally + assigned, hence our best authors seem almost to be driven into verse as a + medium of expression. Financial prosperity of sufficient extent to ensure + the publication of larger papers is obviously the only remedy for this + deplorable condition. + </p> + <p> + Of our poets, the Laureate Rheinhart Kleiner (also Laureate of the + National for 1916-1917) continues as the foremost technician and + harmonist.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> + His accurate and tasteful lines satisfy the ear and the understanding with + equal completeness, and he shows no sign of yielding to the corrupting + influences of decadent modern standards. In his own journal, <b>The Piper</b>, + he reveals a versatile and phenomenally well stocked mind. The September + number, containing imitations of the work of other amateur poets, will + long be remembered. Mrs. Renshaw maintains her high place as a + philosophical and expressionistic bard, though hampered by unusual + theories of spontaneous versification. A greater deference to the human + ear and metrical sense would render her already lofty poetry as attractive + as it is exalted. Miss Olive G. Owen, former Laureate, has lately returned + to activity, and may well be expected to duplicate her former successes in + the domain of the Muses. The poetical progress of Andrew Francis Lockhart + is a notable feature of amateur letters this year. Mr. Lockhart has always + possessed the true genius of the bard, writing ably and voluminously; but + his recent technical care is bringing out hitherto undiscovered beauties + in his verse, and placing him in the very front rank of United poets. + "Benediction" and "Consolation" are vastly above the average. + </p> + <p> + Of the new poets of prime magnitude who have risen above our horizon + during the past year, Mrs. Winifred Virginia Jordan of Newton Centre, + Mass., deserves especial mention both for high quality and great volume of + work. Mrs. Jordan's poetry is of a tunefully delicate and highly + individualistic sort which has placed it in great demand amongst amateur + editors, and it is not unlikely that the author may be rewarded with a + Laureateship at no distant date. The work is invariably of spontaneously + graceful rhythm and universally pleasing in sentiment, having frequently + an elusive suggestion of the unreal. A few of Mrs. Jordan's poems are of + the grimly weird and powerful variety. "The Song of the North Wind" is a + remarkable contribution to amateur letters, and has won the enthusiastic + admiration of the United's poetical element. Professional success has recently + crowned the efforts of Mrs. Jordan. <b>Weekly Unity</b> for June 17 + contains her lines on "The Singing Heart", whilst several other poems from + her pen have been accepted by <b>The National Magazine</b>. Rev. James + Tobey Pyke is another poet of the first order whose writings have lately + enriched the literature of the United. His style is correct, and his + thought deep and philosophical. "The Meadow Cricket" is a poem which + deserved more than a superficial perusal. John Russell, formerly of + Scotland but now of Florida, is a satirist and dialect writer of enviable + talent. His favorite measure is the octosyllabic couplet, and in his + skilled hands this simple metre assumes a new and sparkling lustre. Rev. + Frederick Chenault is a prolific lyrical poet whose sentiments are of + uniform loftiness. The substitution of exact rhyme for assonance in his + lines would double the already immense merit of his work. Other new bards + of established ability are W. S. Harrison, Kathleen Baldwin, Eugene + B. Kuntz, Mary Evelyn Brown, Henry Cleveland Wood, John W. Frazier, + William Hume, Ella Colby Eckert, J. E. Hoag, Edgar Ralph Cheyney, + Margaret A. Richard, William de Ryee, Helen H. Salls, and Jeanette + Aylworth. + </p> + <p> + Of the poets whom we may term "rising", none presents a more striking + figure than Ira A. Cole of Bazine, Kansas. Previously well known as a + prose writer and publisher, he made his debut as a metrist just a year + ago, through a very beautiful piece in the heroic couplet entitled "A + Dream of the Golden Age". Mr. Cole is one of the few survivors of the + genuine classic school, and constitutes a legitimate successor to the late + Georgian poets. His development has been of extraordinary rapidity, and he + will shortly surprise the amateur public both by a poetic drama called + "The Pauper and the Prince", and by a long mythological poem not unlike + Moore's "Lalla Rookh". The natural and pantheistic character of Mr. Cole's + philosophy adapts him with phenomenal grace to his position as a mirror of + classical antiquity. Another developing poet is Mr. Roy Wesley Nixon of + Florida. "Grandma", his latest published composition, is a sonnet of real + merit. Adam Dickson, a Scotsman by birth, but now a resident of Los + Angeles, writes tunefully and pleasantly. His pieces are not yet of + perfect polish, but each exhibits improvement over the preceding. He tends + to favor the anapaest and the iambic tetrameter. Mrs. Ida Cochran Haughton + of Columbus is scarcely a novice, but her latest pieces are undeniably + showing a great increase of technical grace. Chester Pierce Munroe of + North Carolina is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> + a delicate amatory lyrist of the Kleiner type. He has the quaint and + attractive Georgian touch, particularly evident in "To Flavia" and "To + Chloris". Miss M. Estella Shufelt is absolutely new to the kingdom of + poesy, yet has already produced work of phenomenal sweetness and piety. + Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, though formerly confined wholly to prose, has + entered the poetical field with intelligent and discriminating care. Her + words are thoughtfully weighed and selected, whilst her technique has + rapidly assumed a scholarly exactitude. Two new poets whose work requires + much technical improvement are Mrs. Agnes R. Arnold and Mr. George M. + Whiteside. Mr. Whiteside has indications of qualities not far remote from + genius, and would be well repaid by a rigorous course of study. Messrs. + John Hartman Oswald and James Laurence Crowley are both gifted with a + fluency and self-sufficiency which might prove valuable assets in a study + of poesy. W. F. Booker of North Carolina possesses phenomenal grace, + which greater technical care would develop into unusual power. Rev. Robert + L. Selle, D. D., of Little Rock, Arkansas, is inspired by sincerest + religious fervor, and has produced a voluminous quantity of verse whose + orthodoxy is above dispute. Mrs. Maude K. Barton writes frequently and + well, though her technical polish has not yet attained its maximum. John + Osman Baldwin of Ohio is a natural poet of spontaneous grace, though + requiring cultivation in correct style. + </p> + <p> + From the foregoing estimate it may easily be gathered that imperfect + technique is the cardinal sin of the average amateur poet. We have among + us scores of writers blest with beautiful thoughts and attractive fluency, + yet the number of precise versifiers may be counted on one's fingers. Our + association needs increased requirements in classic scholarship and + literary exactitude. At present, it is impossible for an impartial critic + to give unstinted approval to the technique of any well known United poet + save Rheinhart Kleiner. + </p> + <p> + Turning to the consideration of our prose writers, the undersigned finds + it difficult to render a true judgment, owing to the adverse conditions + mentioned earlier in this report. Many fluent pens are doubtless cramped + into feebleness through want of space. + </p> + <p> + Fiction is among us the least developed of all the branches of literature. + Really good stories are rare phenomena, whilst even mediocrity is none too + common. The best short stories of the year are probably those by M. + Almedia Bretholl and Eleanor Barnhart; the others are mainly juvenile + work. Roy W. Nixon and Miss Coralie Austin represent the extremes of + excitement and tameness, with "A Bottle of Carbolic Acid" on the one hand, + and with "Jane" and "'Twixt the Red and the White" on the other. Both of + these authors possess substantial ability. David H. Whittier is developing + along classic lines, and will be a prominent figure in the next generation + of amateur journalists. Mr. Moe's pupils are all good story-tellers, the + work of Miss Gladys L. Bagg standing forth quite prominently this year. + Florence Brugger's "Tale of the Sea" is a graphic narrative from a + youthful pen, as is William Dowdell's "Behind the Canvas Wall", in a + somewhat different way. Henriette and Florenz Ziegfeld have each + contributed excellent work, nor must Mary M. Sisson's "Tempora Mutantur" + be forgotten. + </p> + <p> + The rather loosely defined domain of the "sketch" has thriven this year, + since it elicits fluent expression from those less prolific in other + branches of literature. Mr. Melvin Ryder has entertained us with an entire + magazine of this sort of material, whilst Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, Irene + Metzger, Benjamin Repp, Mary Faye Durr, Ethel Halsey, Clara Inglis + Stalker, Freda de Larot, Helene E. Hoffman Cole, Helen M. Woodruff, Ira A. + Cole, and Eloise N. Griffith prove no less entertaining with shorter + sketches. + </p> + <p> + Criticism is well represented by Leo Fritter, Edna M. Haughton, Mrs. J. W. + Renshaw, and Rheinhart Kleiner. The latter is no less gifted a critic than + a poet, and gives out very acute judgments in his journal, <b>The Piper</b>. + </p> + <p> + In viewing the formal essays of the year, one is impressed with the + profusion of mere schoolboy compositions. Masters of the Addisonian art + are few but those few almost atone for the general lack of polish. Henry + Clapham McGavack leads the list with a clarity of style and keenness of + reasoning unsurpassed in the association. His "Dr. Burgess, Propagandist" + is an amateur classic. Edgar Ralph Cheyney is an extreme radical, but is + none the less a masterful essayist. His articles take a very high rank + both for thoughtfulness and for diction. A third writer of unusual power + and analytical depth is Arthur W. Ashby, whose<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> essays on the varied aspects + of Nature command our serious attention. The two Schillings, George and + Samuel, deserve more than a passing mention, whilst Pres. Fritter's + Laureateship well attests his merit. Rev. E. P. Parham has produced + work of attractive quality. Joseph W. Renshaw's essays and editorials + command notice whenever beheld; whilst Ira A. Cole, ever versatile, will + shortly display his epistolary skill in the now unpublished series of + "Churchill-Tutcombie Letters". William T. Harrington has progressed by + leaps and bounds to a prominent place amongst our essay-writers, his able + encomiums of Old England being a delightful feature of the year. It would + be gratifying to speak of Maurice W. Moe's splendid style and terse + English at this point, for he is one of our very foremost essayists; but + his enforced inactivity in amateur journalism this year has deprived us of + any current specimens save the brief editorial in the February <b>Pippin</b>. + </p> + <p> + The general quality of our prose is by no means satisfactory. Too many of + our authors are contaminated with modern theories which cause them to + abandon grace, dignity, and precision, and to cultivate the lowest forms + of slang. + </p> + <p> + Papers and magazines have been neither ample nor numerous this year; in + fact, the tendency of the times appears to be a centralization of effort + in THE UNITED AMATEUR; something which is for many reasons to be + applauded, and for a few reasons to be deplored. Those members who feel + capable of issuing individual papers should be encouraged to do so; whilst + those who are ordinarily silent, should be encouraged to join the + contributing staff of THE UNITED AMATEUR as provided by the Campbell + amendment. + </p> + <p> + The best individual journal of the year is <b>Ole Miss'</b>. For frequency + and regularity, <b>The Scot</b>, <b>The Woodbee</b>, <b>The Dixie Booster</b>, + and <b>The Coyote</b> are to be commended. THE UNITED AMATEUR has + prospered as a monthly despite adverse conditions. The elaborate + September, October and February numbers put us in deep debt to Mr. Edward + F. Daas, while subsequent examples of good editorship must be accredited + to Mr. George Schilling. It is gratifying to note the increasing literary + character of the Official Organ; purely official numbers are invariably + tedious, many of the long, detailed reports being quite superfluous. It is + a strong and sincere hope of the undersigned, that Mr. Daas may rejoin us + at and after the present convention. The resumption of <b>The Lake Breeze</b> + would supply a pressing need. Mr. Moitoret's <b>Cleveland Sun</b>, which + promises to be a frequently issued paper, made its first appearance + lately, and will, after much of its "loudness" has been removed, be of + substantial benefit to new members. The "sporting" features should be + eliminated at once, as not only being in bad taste, but exerting a noxious + influence over the literary development of the younger members. + </p> + <p> + While upon the subject of papers, the undersigned would like to enter a + renewed protest against the persistent use of certain distorted forms of + spelling commonly called "simplified". These wretched innovations, popular + amongst the less educated element during the past decade, are now becoming + offensively prominent in certain periodicals of supposedly better grade, + and require concerted opposition on the part of all friends of our + language. The advantages claimed for the changes are almost wholly + unsubstantial, whilst the inevitable disadvantages are immense. Let us see + fewer "thrus" and "thoros" in the amateur press! + </p> + <p> + What the association needs above all things is a return to earlier forms + in prose and verse alike; to poetry that does not pain the ear, and + paragraphs that do not affront the aesthetic sense of the reader. If our + writers would pay more attention to the tasteful Georgian models, they + would produce work of infinitely less cacophonous quality. Almost every + one of our authors who is familiar with the literature of the past, is + distinguished by exceptional grace and fluency of composition. + </p> + <p> + As this report draws toward its conclusion, a few minor aims of the + Department of Public Criticism are to be noted. It is now the desire of + the undersigned to aid authors in rectifying the injustices to which they + are subjected by the wretched typography of most amateur journals. Writers + are hereby encouraged to transmit to this Department corrected copies of + all misprinted work, the corrections to be made public in THE UNITED + AMATEUR. By this method it is hoped that no amateur journalist will again + be forced to suffer for faults not his own, as so many have suffered in + the past. Of course, the critical reports themselves are frequently + misprinted, but the vast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> + majority of mistakes may with care be eliminated. + </p> + <p> + Concerning the name of this association, which a number wish changed in a + manner that will eliminate the word "amateur", the undersigned feels that + the sentiment of the veteran element is too strongly against such a move + to warrant its immediate adoption. The primary object is the training of + young writers before they have attained the professional grade, wherefore + the present title is by no means such a misnomer as might be inferred from + the talents of the more cultivated members. However, the proposed + alteration is certainly justified in many ways, hence the idea should be + deferred rather than abandoned altogether. + </p> + <p> + The wane of interest in amateur political affairs is to be commended as a + recognition of the superior importance of literary matters. Amateur + journalism is rapidly progressing nearer and nearer its ideal: a device + for the instruction of the young and crude, and an aid for the obscure + author of any sort, rather than a playground for the aimless and the + frivolous. + </p> + <p> + Last of all, the undersigned wishes to thank the membership for its kind + reception of the Department's reports. It is ever the Chairman's design to + render impartial judgment, and if harshness or captiousness may at any + time have been noticed in the reports, it has in each case been + unintentional. An ideal of sound conservatism has been followed, but in no + instance has the critic sought to enforce upon others that peculiarly + archaic style of which he is personally fond, and which he is accustomed + to employ in his own compositions. The Department of Public Criticism + aspires to be of substantial assistance to the members of the United, and + hopes next year to co-operate with Mr. Lockhart in presenting reviews of + truly constructive quality. + </p> + <p> + Solicitous for the approval, and confident of the indulgence of the + association, the Department herewith has the honor to conclude its first + annual report; in the hope that such a summary of events and estimate of + conditions may be of use to the incoming administration. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">SEPTEMBER 1916</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department Of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>The Amateur Special</b> for July is a voluminous magazine of + credentials and other work of new members, edited by Mrs. E. L. + Whitehead, retiring Eastern Manuscript Manager, with the assistance of the + Recruiting Committee. Of all papers lately issued in the United, this is + without doubt among the most valuable and most significant; since it is + the pioneer of the new regime, whereby the talent of all our membership is + to be brought out by better publishing facilities. Mrs. Whitehead, with + notable generosity, has reserved for herself but one page, on which we + find a clever and correct bit of verse, and a number of graceful + acknowledgments and useful suggestions. The contents in general are well + calculated to display the thorough literary excellence and supremacy of + the United in its present condition; for in this collection of stories, + poems, and articles, taken practically at random from the manuscript + bureaus, there is scarce a line unworthy of commendation. + </p> + <p> + "Tatting", by Julian J. Crump, is a fluent and graceful colloquial sketch. + "Mother and Child", by J. E. Hoag, is a sombre and thoughtful poem + having a certain atmosphere of mysticism. The metre, which is well + handled, consists of regular iambic pentameter quatrains with a couplet at + the conclusion. An annoying misprint mars the first stanza, where "<b>sigh</b>" + is erroneously rendered as "<b>sight</b>". "Homesick for the Spring", a + poem by Bessie Estelle Harvey, displays real merit in thought and + construction alike. "Mother Earth", by Rev. E. P. Parham, is a well + adorned little essay in justification of the traditional saying that "the + earth is mother of us all". George M. Whiteside, a new member of the + United, makes his first appearance before us as a poet in "The Little + Freckled Face Kid". Mr. Whiteside's general style is not unlike that of + the late James Whitcomb Riley, and its prevailing air of homely yet + pleasing simplicity is well maintained. "To Chloris", by Chester Pierce + Munroe, is a smooth and melodious amatory poem of the Kleiner school. The + imagery is refined, and the polish of the whole amply justifies the + inevitable triteness of the theme. The word "<b>adorns</b>", in next the + last line, should read "<b>adorn</b>". "A Dream", by Helen Harriet Salls, + is a hauntingly mystical succession of poetic<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> images cast in appropriate + metre. The natural phenomena of the morning are vividly depicted in a + fashion possible only to the true poet. The printer has done injustice to + this exquisite phantasy in three places. In the first stanza "<b>wonderous</b>" + should read "<b>wondrous</b>", while in the seventh stanza "<b>arient</b>" + should be "<b>orient</b>". "<b>Thou'st</b>", in the eleventh stanza, + should be "<b>Thou'rt</b>". "Prayers", a religious poem by Rev. Robert L. + Selle, D. D., displays the classic touch of the eighteenth century in + its regular octosyllabic couplets, having some resemblance to the work of + the celebrated Dr. Watts. "Snow of the Northland", by M. Estella Shufelt, + is a religious poem of different sort, whose tuneful dactylic quatrains + contain much noble and appropriate metaphor. In the final line the word "<b>re-cleaned</b>" + should read "<b>re-cleansed</b>". "In Passing By", by Sophie Lea Fox, is a + meritorious poem of the thoughtful, introspective type, which has been + previously honoured with professional publication. "A Time to Sing", by M. B. + Andrews, introduces to the United another genuine poet of worth. The lines + are happy in inspiration and finished in form, having only one possible + defect, the use of "<b>heralding</b>" as a dissyllable. "The Stately + Mountains", by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, D. D., is a notable contribution + to amateur poetic literature. Dr. Kuntz chooses as his favourite metre the + stately Alexandrine; and using it in a far more flexible and ingenious + manner than that of Drayton, he manages to achieve a dignified and exalted + atmosphere virtually impossible in any other measure. The even caesural + break so common to Alexandrines, and so often urged by critics as an + objection against them, is here avoided with great ingenuity and good + taste. Dr. Kuntz's sentiments and phrases are as swelling and sublime as + one might expect from his metre. His conception of Nature is a broad and + noble one, and his appreciation of her beauties is that of the innate + poet. "An April Memory" acquaints us with W. Frank Booker, a gifted lyrist + whose lines possess all the warmth, witchery and grace of his native + Southland. James J. Hennessey, in his essay on "The Army in Times of + Peace", exhibits very forcibly the various indispensable services so + quietly and efficiently performed by the United States Army in every-day + life. Mr. Hennessey makes plain the great value of having among us a body + of keen, versatile, and well-trained men ready for duty of any sort, and + ever alert for their country's welfare in peace or in war. The American + Soldier well deserves Mr. Hennessey's tribute, and the present essay adds + one more to the already incontrovertible array of arguments in favour of + an adequate military system. As printed, the article is marred by a + superfluous letter "<b>s</b>" on the very last word, which should read "<b>citizen</b>". + "Sowing the Good", a brief bit of moralizing by Horace Fowler Goodwin, + contains a serious misprint, for the final word of line 1, stanza 2, + should be "<b>say</b>". "Bobby's Literary Lesson", by Gladys L. Bagg, is a + delightful specimen of domestic satire in prose. The handling of the + conversation exhibits Miss Bagg as a writer of considerable skill and + promise. "The Leaf", a clever poem of Nature by Emily Barksdale, contains + some gruesome atrocities by the printer. In the second stanza "<b>it's</b>" + should be "<b>it</b>", and "<b>wonderous</b>" should be "<b>wondrous</b>". + In the third stanza the typographical artist has killed a pretty woodland + "<b>copse</b>" with the letter "<b>r</b>", so that it reads "<b>corpse</b>"! + In the fourth stanza "<b>head</b>" should read "<b>heard</b>". Perhaps the + "<b>r</b>" which murdered the "<b>copse</b>" escaped from this sadly + mutilated word! In stanza five, "<b>Chaots</b>" should be "<b>chants</b>". + But why continue the painful chronicle? Mr. Kleiner said just what we + would like to say about misprints over a year ago, when he wrote "The + Rhyme of the Hapless Poet"! "Submission", by Eugene B. Kuntz, is a + delightful bit of light prose, forming the autobiography of a + much-rejected manuscript. This piece well exhibits Dr. Kuntz's remarkable + versatility. The humour is keen, and nowhere overstrained. "Number 1287", + a short story by Gracia Isola Yarbrough, exhibits many of the flaws of + immature work, yet contains graphic touches that promise well for the + author. The lack of unity in plot and development detracts somewhat from + the general effect, while the unusual lapses of time and artificial + working up of the later situations are also antagonistic to technical + polish. Triteness is present, but that is to be expected in all amateur + fiction. "A Drama of Business", by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, is a terse bit of + prose which might well serve as an editorial in a liberal literary<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> magazine. + "The Schools of Yesterday and Today", a sketch by Selma Guilford, presents + in pleasing fashion an interesting and optimistic contrast. In "Mother", + George M. Whiteside treats a noble theme in rather skilful fashion, though + the rhyming of "<b>breezes</b>" and "<b>trees is</b>" can hardly be deemed + suitable in a serious poem. "When the Sea Calls", a poem by Winifred + Virginia Jordan, is possibly the most striking feature of the magazine. + Mrs. Jordan's style in dealing with the wilder aspects of Nature has a + grim potency all its own, and we can endorse without qualification the + judgment of Mr. Moe when he calls this poem "positively magnificent in + dynamic effect". To Mrs. Jordan is granted a natural poetic genius which + few other amateurs can hope to parallel. Not many of our literary artists + can so aptly fit words to weird or unusual passages, or so happily command + all the advantages of alliteration and onomatopoeia. We believe that Mrs. + Jordan's amateur eminence will eventually ripen into professional + recognition. "Preachers in Politics", by Rev. James Thomas Self, is a + long, thoughtful, and extremely well phrased essay against the descent of + the ministry to the uncertain affairs of practical legislation. Dr. Self + has a just idea of the dignity of the cloth; an idea which some clergymen + of less conservative habits would do well to acquire. Very painful is the + sight of the slang-mouthing "evangelist" who deserts his pulpit for the + stump or the circus-tent. "Peace, Germany!", a poem by Maude Kingsbury + Barton, constitutes an appeal to the present outlaw among nations. We + feel, however, that it is only from London that Germany will eventually be + convinced of the futility of her pseudo-Napoleonic enterprise. And when + peace does come to Germany, it will be British-made peace! The structure + of Mrs. Barton's poem is regular, and many of the images are very well + selected. The worst misprints are those in the sixth stanza, where "<b>in</b>" + is omitted before the word "<b>pomp</b>", and in the seventh stanza where + "<b>come</b>" is printed as "<b>came</b>". In the biographical sketch + entitled "Two Lives", Helen Hamilton draws a powerful moral from the + contrasting but contemporaneous careers of Florence Nightingale and the + ex-Empress Eugenie. "Class-Room Spirits I Have Known", an essay by Bessie + Estelle Harvey, displays a sound comprehension of pedagogical principles. + Two more poems by Mrs. Jordan conclude the issue. "The Time of Peach Tree + Bloom" is the fourth of the "Songs from Walpi", three of which appeared in + THE UNITED AMATEUR. "In a Garden" is a gem of delightful delicacy and + ethereal elegance. It is indeed not without just cause that the author + has, from the very first, held the distinction of being the most frequent + poetical contributor in all amateur journalism. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Cleveland Sun</b> for June is the first number of an amateur + newspaper edited by Anthony F. Moitoret, Edwin D. Harkins, and William J. + Dowdell; and remarkable for an excellent heading, drawn by a staff artist + of the <b>Cleveland Leader</b>. The present issue is printed in close + imitation of the modern professional daily, and displays some interesting + examples of "newspaper English". Mr. Moitoret is an old-time United man, + now reentering the sphere of activity, and he is to be commended warmly + both for his generous attitude toward the new members, and for his really + magnanimous offer of aid to those desirous of issuing individual papers. + His editorial hostility toward the Campbell amendment is, we believe, + mistaken; yet is none the less founded on a praiseworthy desire to serve + what he deems the best interests of the Association. Were Mr. Moitoret + more in touch with the rising ideals of the newer United, he would realize + the essential childishness of our "official business" as contrasted with + the substantial solidity of our developing literature. Possibly the plan + of Mr. Campbell, as experimentally tried during the present year, will + alter Mr. Moitoret's present opinion. Taken altogether, we are not sure + whether the <b>Sun</b> will prove beneficial or harmful to the United. We + most assuredly need some sort of stimulus to activity, yet the + comparatively crude atmosphere of newspaperdom is anything but inspiring + in a literary society. We cannot descend from the ideals of Homer to those + of Hearst without a distinct loss of quality, for which no possible gain + in mere enthusiasm can compensate. Headlines such as "Columbus Bunch + Boosting Paul" or "Hep Still Shows Pep", are positive affronts to the + dignity of amateur journalism. There is room for an alert and informing + news sheet in the United, yet we feel certain that the <b>Sun</b> must + become a far more sedate and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> + scholarly publication before it can adequately supply the need. At + present, its garish rays dazzle and blind more than they illuminate; in a + perusal of its pages we experience more of <b>sunstroke</b> than of + <b>sunshine</b>. Of "The Best Sport Page In Amateurdom" we find it + difficult to speak or write. Not since perusing the delectable lines of + "Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress", by jovial old "Anacreon Moore", have + we beheld such an invasion of prize-fight philosophy and race-track + rhetoric. We learn with interest that a former United member named + "Handsome Harry" has now graduated from literature to <b>left field</b>, + and has, through sheer genius, risen from the lowly level of the + ambitious author, to the exalted eminence of the <b>classy slugger</b>. + Too proud to <b>push the pen</b>, he now <b>swats the pill</b>. Of such + doth the dizzy quality of sempiternal Fame consist! Speaking without + levity, we cannot but censure Mr. Dowdell's introduction of the ringside + or ball-field spirit into an Association purporting to promote culture + and lettered skill. Our members can scarcely be expected to place the + Stygian-hued John Arthur Johnson, Esq., on a pedestal beside his + well-known namesake Samuel; or calmly to compare the stinging wit of a + Sidney Smith with the stinging fist-cuffs of a "Gunboat" Smith. In a + word, what is suited to the street-corner is not always suited to the + library, and the taste of the United is as yet but imperfectly attuned to + the lyrical liltings of the pool-room Muse. It is both hard and unwise to + take the "Best Sport Page" seriously. As a copy of "yellow" models it is + a work of artistic verisimilitude; indeed, were Mr. Dowdell a somewhat + older man, we might justly suspect a satirical intention on his part. + </p> + <p> + We trust that <b>The Cleveland Sun</b> may shine on without cloud or + setting, though we must needs hope that the United's atmosphere of + academic refinement will temper somewhat the scorching glare with which + the bright orb has risen. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Conservative</b> for April opens with Andrew Francis Lockhart's + melodious and attractive poem entitled "Benediction". As a whole, this is + possibly the best piece of verse which Mr. Lockhart has yet written; the + sentiment is apt, if not entirely novel, whilst the technical construction + is well-nigh faultless. Such expressions as "pearl-scarr'd" serve to + exhibit the active and original quality of Mr. Lockhart's genius. "Another + Endless Day", by Rheinhart Kleiner, is a beautiful and harmonious poetical + protest against monotony. Much to be regretted is the misprint in line 3 + of the third stanza, where the text should read: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 15em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"<b>A</b> love to thrill with new delight".<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "April", by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a seasonable and extremely + tuneful poem whose imagery is of that dainty, sprightly sort which only + Mrs. Jordan can create. "In Morven's Mead", also by Mrs. Jordan, contains + an elusive and haunting suggestion of the unreal, in the author's + characteristic style. "The Night Wind Bared My Heart" completes a highly + meritorious trilogy. In justice to the author, it should be stated that + the last of these three poems is, as here presented, merely a rough draft. + Through our own reprehensible editorial oversight, the printer received + this unpolished copy instead of the finished poem. The following + emendations should be observed: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Stanza I, line 4, to read: "Awak'd my anguish'd sighs". + </p> + <p> + Stanza II, line 3, to read: "But Oh, from grief <b>were</b> prest". + </p> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + "The Best Wine", by William de Ryee, is an earnestly introspective poem, + well cast in iambic pentameter quatrains. "Ye Ballade of Patrick von + Flynn" is a comic delineation of the cheap pseudo-Irish, England-hating + agitators who have been so offensively noisy on this side of the Atlantic + ever since the European war began, and particularly since the late riots + in Dublin. This class, which so sadly misrepresents the loyal Irish + people, deserves but little patience from Americans. Its members stutter + childishly about "breaches of neutrality" every time a real American dares + speak a word in favour of the Mother Country; yet they constantly violate + neutrality themselves in their clumsy attempts to use the United States as + a catspaw against England. The actual German propagandists have the excuse + of patriotism for their race and Vaterland, but these Hibernian hybrids, + neither good Irishmen nor good Americans, have no excuse whatever when + they try to subvert the functions of the country which is giving them + protection and livelihood. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Conservative</b> for July pays a deserved tribute to one of the + most lucid and acute of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> + our amateur essayists, by devoting the entire issue to his work. Henry + Clapham McGavack, in "The American Proletariat versus England", exposes + with admirable fearlessness the silly Anglophobic notions which a mistaken + conception of the Revolution, and an ignorant Irish population, have + diffused among our lower classes. It is seldom that an author ventures to + speak so frankly on this subject, for the servile tendency of the times + impels most writers and publishers to play the demagogue by essaying to + feed the Irish masses with the anti-English swill they desire; but Mr. + McGavack wields an independent pen, and records the truth without fear of + the <b>mobile vulgus</b> and its shallow views. In power, directness, + urbanity, and impartiality, Mr. McGavack cannot be excelled. He marshals + his arguments without passion, bias, or circumlocution; piling proof upon + proof until none but the most stubborn England-hater can fail to blush at + the equal injustice and stupidity of those who malign that mighty empire + to whose earth-wide circle of civilisation we all belong. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Coyote</b> for April is a Special English Number, dedicated to our + soldier-member, George William Stokes of Newcastle-on-Tyne. The opening + poem "To England", well exhibits the versatility of Mrs. Winifred V. + Jordan, who here appears as a national panegyrist of commendable dignity + and unexceptionable taste. The word at the beginning of the fourth line + should read "<b>Is</b>" instead of "<b>To</b>". The short yet stirring + metre is particularly well selected. "Active English Amateurs I Have Met", + by Ernest A. Dench, is a rather good prose piece, though not without marks + of careless composition. "The Vultur", by Henry J. Winterbone of the B. A. P. A., + is a remarkably good story whose development and conclusion would do + credit to a professional pen. We hope Mr. Winterbone may join the United, + thereby giving American readers a more ample opportunity to enjoy his + work. Editor William T. Harrington, whose prose is so rapidly acquiring + polish and fluency, contributes two brief but able essays: "History + Repeats" and "How Great Britain Keeps Her Empire". In "History Repeats", + certain parts of the second sentence might well be amended a trifle in + structure, to read thus: "it must be remembered <b>that</b> the first half + was a series of victories for the South, and <b>that</b> only after the + Battle of Gettysburg did the strength of the North begin to assert + itself". This number of <b>The Coyote</b> is an exceedingly timely and + tasteful tribute to our Mother Country, appearing at an hour when the air + of America reeks with the illiterate anti-British trash of the "Sinn Fein" + simpletons and Prussian propagandists. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Invictus</b> for July is the second number of Mr. Paul J. Campbell's + personal organ, and represents the strictly individual magazine in its + most tasteful and elaborate form. Unimpeachably artistic in appearance, + its contents justify the exterior; the whole constituting a publication of + the first rank, wherein are joined the virtues both of the old and of the + new schools of amateur journalism. Since Mr. Campbell is preeminently an + essayist, it is to his dissertations on "The Pursuit of Happiness" and + "The Age of Accuracy" which we turn most eagerly; and which in no way + disappoint our high expectations. The first of these essays is a + dispassionate survey of mankind in its futile but frantic scramble after + that elusive but unreal sunbeam called "happiness". The author views the + grimly amusing procession of human life with the genuine objective of an + impartial spectator, and with commendable freedom from the hypocritical + colouring of those who permit commonplace emotions and tenuous idealizings + to obscure the less roseate but more substantial vision of their + intellects. "The Age of Accuracy" presents an inspiring panorama of the + evolution of Intellect, and of its increasing domination over the more + elemental faculties of instinct and emotion. At the same time, much + material for reflection is furnished, since it is obvious that the advance + is necessarily confined to a comparatively small and select part of + humanity. Instinct and emotion are still forces of tremendous magnitude, + against which Reason wages an upward struggle of incredible bravery. Only + the strong can escape the clutch of the primitive, wherefore there can be + no successful social order which does not conform in its essentials to the + blind impulses of the natural man or man-ape. We are in danger of + overestimating the ascendancy and stability of Reason, for it is in + reality the most fragile and rudimentary element in our mortal fabric. A + heavy blow on certain parts of the skull, or a bullet in certain parts of + the brain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> + can destroy in an instant all the accumulated intellect which aeons of + heredity have bestowed, depressing the victim from the zenith of culture + and refinement to a condition separated only by colour and contour from + that of the negro or the gorilla; yet not all the edicts of the lawgiver, + devices of the educator, measures of the reformer, or skill of the + surgeon, can extirpate the ingrained instincts and seated superstitions of + the average human animal. + </p> + <p> + The poetry of Mr. Campbell is represented in <b>Invictus</b> by three + specimens, whose merit speaks well for the author's progress in the art. + "The Sunshine Girl" is an amatory panegyric of no small skill and polish, + though not strikingly novel in sentiment or expression. "German Kultur" is + a scathing and virile indictment of the present enemies of humanity. The + versification is bold, and in places rugged, whilst the imagery is + appropriately grim and sardonic. Points which we might criticise are the + repeated use of "<b>civilization</b>" as a word of only four syllables, + and the archaic pronunciation of "<b>drown-ed</b>" as a dissyllable. This + latter usage would be objectionable in verse of stately or conservative + cast, but here grates upon the ear as an anachronism. The trenchant wit of + the piece is well sustained, and brought out with particular force in the + second and fourth stanzas. "The Major Strain" is without doubt the + foremost verse of the issue. This is real poetry. The sustained rhyming, + whereby each stanza contains only one rhyming sound, is pleasing and + unusual. Mr. Campbell's comment on "Amateur Affairs" really deserves to be + classed as an essay, for its thoughtful conclusions and intelligent + analyses of human nature certainly draw it within the pale of true + literature. The broad comprehension and continued love of amateur + journalism here exhibited, are potent justifications of the author's + practically unanimous election to the Presidency of the United. <b>Invictus</b> + is one of the very foremost journals of the amateur world, and the only + possible objection which can be raised against it, is its infrequency of + appearance. It is the voice of a virile and vibrant personality who unites + vigour of thought with urbanity of expression. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Scot</b> for May marks the advent of this highly entertaining and + well conducted magazine to the United, and extends the northern frontier + of amateur journalism to Bonnie Dundee, in Auld Scotland, the Land of + Mountain and Flood. "Hidden Beauty", a poem in blank verse by R. M. + Ingersley, opens the issue with a combination of lofty conceptions, vivid + imagery, and regular structure. "England's Glory", by Clyde Dane, is a + stirring tale of that fearless and self-sacrificing honour which has given + to the Anglo-Saxon the supremacy of the world. It would be in bad taste to + cavil at slight technical imperfections or instances of triteness when + considering so earnest and glowing a delineation of the British character; + the noblest human type ever moulded by the Creator. "Oh Rose, Red Rose!" + is a tuneful little lyric by Winifred V. Jordan, whose work is never too + brief to be pleasing, or too long to be absorbing. "Clemency versus + Frightfulness", by William T. Harrington, is a thoughtful and lucid + exposition of the British governmental ideal of lenient justice; an ideal + whose practical success has vividly demonstrated its thorough soundness. + "At Last", by Muriel Wilson, is a blank verse poem of much merit. "Do You + Remember?", by the late Lieut. Roy Arthur Thackara, R. N., is a + delicate sketch possessing the additional interest of coming from the pen + of one who has now given his life for King and Country; the author having + gone down with H. M. S. <b>India</b>. "A Battle with the Sea", a + sketch by Midshipman Ernest L. McKeag, exhibits descriptive power of no + common order, yet might well have a less abrupt conclusion. "To Some One", + by Margaret Trafford, is a poem in dactylic measure, dedicated to the + women of Britain. The sentiment is noble, and the encomium well bestowed, + though the metre could be improved in polish. "Gum", by Henry J. + Winterbone, is a delightfully humorous sketch. It is evident that those + who depreciate British humour must have taken pains to avoid its perusal, + since it has a quietly pungent quality seldom found save among + Anglo-Saxons. Personally, we believe that the summit of clumsy + pseudo-jocoseness is attained by the average "comic" supplement of the + Hearst Sunday papers. These, and not the British press, present the + pathetic spectacle of utter inanity and repulsive grotesqueness without + the faintest redeeming touch of genuine comedy, legitimate satire, or + refined humour. "Life's Voyage", by Matthew Hilson, is a poem of great + attractiveness, though of scarcely impeccable construction.<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> Concerning + the expression "tempests wild do roar", we must reiterate the advice of + Mr. Pope, who condemned the expletive "do", "doth", or "did" as a "feeble + aid". Such usage has, in fact, been in bad taste ever since the reign of + Queen Anne; Dryden being the last bard in whom we need not censure the + practice. Mr. McColl's editorials are brief but informing. He may well be + congratulated on his work as a publisher, and he certainly deserves as + hearty a welcome as the United can give. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Scot</b> for June is a "British Old-Timers' Number", confined + wholly to the work of the senior amateur journalists of the Mother + Country. Edward F. Herdman, to whom this number is dedicated, opens the + issue with a religious poem entitled "Life", which compares well with the + bulk of current religious verse. Mr. Herdman also contributes one of + several prose essays on amateur journalism, in which the various authors + view our field of endeavor from similar angles. "A Song of a Sailor", by + R. D. Roosemale-Cocq, exhibits buoyant animation, and considerable + ease in the handling of a rollicking measure. The internal rhymes are for + the most part well introduced, though greater uniformity might have been + used in their distribution. The first two lines have none. In the last + stanza there are two lines whose metre seems deficient, but being + conscious of the uncertainties of the secretarial and typographical arts, + we suspend judgment on the author. "A Song of Cheer", by Alfred H. Pearce, + is an optimistic ode of real merit. The last line furnishes a particularly + pleasing example of sprightly wit. Mr. Gavin T. McColl is sensible and + perspicuous in all his editorial utterances. His work in issuing one of + the only two regular monthly magazines in amateurdom has already brought + him to prominence, though his connexion with the press associations is + still new. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for June is given over largely to critical and official + matter, though two pieces of verse serve to vary the monotony. "Content", + from our own pen, is an answer to Mr. Rheinhart Kleiner's delightful poem + in the April <b>Conservative</b>, entitled "Another Endless Day". The + lines are notable chiefly on account of some fearful and wonderful + typographical errors. In the fourth line "<b>sublime</b>" should read "<b>sublimer</b>". + In the eighth line there should be no apostrophe in the word "<b>stars</b>". + In the second column, eleventh line from the end, there should be no + apostrophe in the word "<b>fathers</b>", and finally, in the ninth line + from the end, "<b>hollow'd</b>" should read "<b>hallow'd</b>". "The Swing + in the Great Oak Tree", by Mrs. Agnes Richmond Arnold, is a reminiscent + poem whose measure is as swinging as its subject, and whose atmosphere is + pleasantly rural. There are flaws in the metre, and irregularities in the + rhyming arrangement, but the spirit of the whole rises blithesomely above + such slight technical matters. Editor Schilling's column is to be praised + for its dignified style, and endorsed for its sound opinions. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Woodbee</b> for July is an attractive and important contribution to + the history of amateur journalism; since it is entirely devoted to the + biographies of the gifted Columbus amateurs, and to the annals of their + brilliant local organization. The Woodbees undoubtedly form the most + active and representative adult club in the United; to which only the + Appleton Club, representing the juvenile Muse, may justly be compared. The + Woodbees are typical, in a sense, of all that is best in the entire + association. They are pursuing courses of serious literary study, + producing a regularly issued magazine of unfailing merit and good taste, + working enthusiastically for the welfare and expansion of the United, and + leading or following every worthy or progressive movement in amateur + politics. They reflect credit upon themselves, their society, the + Association, and amateur journalism as a whole. The delightful + biographical article which occupies the major portion of the current <b>Woodbee</b> + is unsigned; but deserves particular praise, whoever the author may be. + The various characters are well displayed, and their pleasing qualities + and manifold activities well exhibited. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fritter's editorials are as usual timely, lucid, and sensible. His + advocacy of the Campbell Amendment is to be applauded; and will, we trust, + be justified by the year's trial which that measure is now undergoing. The + present issue marks the conclusion of Mr. Fritter's term as editor. He has + given the amateur public a creditable volume, and is entitled to the + gratitude of every member of our Association. A final word of praise is + due the excellent group photograph of the Woodbees which forms the + frontispiece of the magazine. Added to the biographical matter, it + completes a thoroughly commendable introduction to a thoroughly + commendable body of literary workers. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc"> + <img src="images/002.png" width="537" height="39" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XVI + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 4 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + GEORGETOWN, ILL., NOVEMBER, 1916 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">The Alchemist</span> + </h3> + <p> + High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are + wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, stands + the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty battlements have + frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside about, serving as a home + and stronghold for the proud house whose honoured line is older even than + the moss-grown castle walls. These ancient turrets, stained by the storms + of generations and crumbling under the slow yet mighty pressure of time, + formed in the ages of feudalism one of the most dreaded and formidable + fortresses in all France. From its machicolated parapets and mounted + battlements Barons, Counts, and even Kings had been defied, yet never had + its spacious halls resounded to the footstep of the invader. + </p> + <p> + But since those glorious years all is changed. A poverty but little above + the level of dire want, together with a pride of name that forbids its + alleviation by the pursuits of commercial life, have prevented the scions + of our line from maintaining their estates in pristine splendour; and the + falling stones of the walls, the overgrown vegetation in the parks, the + dry and dusty moat, the ill-paved courtyards, and toppling towers without, + as well as the sagging floors, the worm-eaten wainscots, and the faded + tapestries within, all tell a gloomy tale of fallen grandeur. As the ages + passed, first one, then another of the four great turrets were left to + ruin, until at last but a single tower housed the sadly reduced + descendants of the once mighty lords of the estate. + </p> + <p> + It was in one of the vast and gloomy chambers of this remaining tower that + I, Antoine, last of the unhappy and accursed Comtes de C——, + first saw the light of day, ninety long years ago. Within these walls, and + amongst the dark and shadowy forests, the wild ravines and grottoes of the + hillside below, were spent the first years of my troubled life. My parents + I never knew. My father had been killed at the age of thirty-two, a month + before I was born, by the fall of a stone somehow dislodged from one of + the deserted parapets of the castle, and my mother having died at my + birth, my care and education devolved solely upon one remaining servitor, + an old and trusted man of considerable intelligence, whose name I remember + as Pierre. I was an only child, and the lack of companionship which this + fact entailed upon me was augmented by the strange care exercised by my + aged guardian in excluding me from the society of the peasant children + whose abodes were scattered here and there upon the plains that surround + the base of the hill. At the time, Pierre said that this restriction was + imposed upon me because my noble birth placed me above association with + such plebeian company. Now I know that its real object was to keep from my + ears the idle tales of the dread curse upon our line, that were nightly + told and magnified by the simple tenantry as they conversed in hushed + accents in the glow of their cottage hearths. + </p> + <p> + Thus isolated, and thrown upon my own resources, I spent the hours of my + childhood in poring over the ancient tomes that filled the shadow-haunted + library of the chateau, and in roaming without aim or purpose through the + perpetual dusk of the spectral wood that clothes the sides of the hill + near its foot. It was perhaps an effect of such surroundings that my mind + early acquired a shade of melancholy. Those studies and pursuits which + partake of the dark and occult in nature most strongly claimed my + attention. + </p> + <p> + Of my own race I was permitted to learn singularly little, yet what small + knowledge of it I was able to gain, seemed to depress me much. Perhaps it + was at first only the manifest reluctance of my old preceptor to discuss<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> with me my + paternal ancestry that gave rise to the terror which I ever felt at the + mention of my great house, yet as I grew out of childhood, I was able to + piece together disconnected fragments of discourse, let slip from the + unwilling tongue which had begun to falter in approaching senility, that + had a sort of relation to a certain circumstance which I had always deemed + strange, but which now became dimly terrible. The circumstance to which I + allude is the early age at which all the Comtes of my line had met their + end. Whilst I had hitherto considered this but a natural attribute of a + family of short-lived men, I afterward pondered long upon these premature + deaths, and began to connect them with the wanderings of the old man, who + often spoke of a curse which for centuries had prevented the lives of the + holders of my title from much exceeding the span of thirty-two years. Upon + my twenty-first birthday, the aged Pierre gave to me a family document + which he said had for many generations been handed down from father to + son, and continued by each possessor. Its contents were of the most + startling nature, and its perusal confirmed the gravest of my + apprehensions. At this time, my belief in the supernatural was firm and + deep-seated, else I should have dismissed with scorn the incredible + narrative unfolded before my eyes. + </p> + <p> + The paper carried me back to the days of the thirteenth century, when the + old castle in which I sat had been a feared and impregnable fortress. It + told of a certain ancient man who had once dwelt on our estates, a person + of no small accomplishments, though little above the rank of peasant; by + name, Michel, usually designated by the surname of Mauvais, the Evil, on + account of his sinister reputation. He had studied beyond the custom of + his kind, seeking such things as the Philosopher's Stone, or the Elixir of + Eternal Life, and was reputed wise in the terrible secrets of Black Magic + and Alchemy. Michel Mauvais had one son, named Charles, a youth as + proficient as himself in the hidden arts, and who had therefore been + called Le Sorcier, or the Wizard. This pair, shunned by all honest folk, + were suspected of the most hideous practices. Old Michel was said to have + burnt his wife alive as a sacrifice to the Devil, and the unaccountable + disappearances of many small peasant children were laid at the dreaded + door of these two. Yet through the dark natures of the father and the son + ran one redeeming ray of humanity; the evil old man loved his offspring + with fierce intensity, whilst the youth had for his parent a more than + filial affection. + </p> + <p> + One night the castle on the hill was thrown into the wildest confusion by + the vanishment of young Godfrey, son to Henri, the Comte. A searching + party, headed by the frantic father, invaded the cottage of the sorcerers + and there came upon old Michel Mauvais, busy over a huge and violently + boiling cauldron. Without certain cause, in the ungoverned madness of fury + and despair, the Comte laid hands on the aged wizard, and ere he released + his murderous hold his victim was no more. Meanwhile joyful servants were + proclaiming aloud the finding of young Godfrey in a distant and unused + chamber of the great edifice, telling too late that poor Michel had been + killed in vain. As the Comte and his associates turned away from the lowly + abode of the alchemists, the form of Charles Le Sorcier appeared through + the trees. The excited chatter of the menials standing about told him what + had occurred, yet he seemed at first unmoved at his father's fate. Then, + slowly advancing to meet the Comte, he pronounced in dull yet terrible + accents the curse that ever afterward haunted the house of C——. + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 18em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"May ne'er a noble of thy murd'rous line<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Survive to reach a greater age than thine!"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + spake he, when, suddenly leaping backwards into the black wood, he drew + from his tunic a phial of colourless liquid which he threw in the face of + his father's slayer as he disappeared behind the inky curtain of the + night. The Comte died without utterance, and was buried the next day, but + little more than two and thirty years from the hour of his birth. No trace + of the assassin could be found, though relentless bands of peasants + scoured the neighboring woods and the meadow-land around the hill. + </p> + <p> + Thus time and the want of a reminder dulled the memory of the curse in the + minds of the late Comte's family, so that when Godfrey, innocent cause of + the whole tragedy and now bearing the title, was killed by an arrow whilst + hunting, at the age of thirty-two, there were no thoughts save those of + grief at his demise. But when, years afterward, the next young Comte, + Robert by name, was found dead in a nearby field from no apparent cause, + the peasants told in whispers that their seigneur had<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> but lately passed his + thirty-second birthday when surprised by early death. Louis, son to + Robert, was found drowned in the moat at the same fateful age, and thus + down through the centuries ran the ominous chronicle; Henris, Roberts, + Antoines, and Armands snatched from happy and virtuous lives when a little + below the age of their unfortunate ancestor at his murder. + </p> + <p> + That I had left at most but eleven years of further existence was made + certain to me by the words which I read. My life, previously held at small + value, now became dearer to me each day, as I delved deeper and deeper + into the mysteries of the hidden world of black magic. Isolated as I was, + modern science had produced no impression upon me, and I laboured as in + the Middle Ages, as wrapt as had been old Michel and young Charles + themselves in the acquisition of demonological and alchemical learning. + Yet read as I might, in no manner could I account for the strange curse + upon my line. In unusually rational moments, I would even go so far as to + seek a natural explanation, attributing the early deaths of my ancestors + to the sinister Charles Le Sorcier and his heirs; yet having found upon + careful inquiry that there were no known descendants of the alchemist, I + would fall back to my occult studies, and once more endeavour to find a + spell that would release my house from its terrible burden. Upon one thing + I was absolutely resolved. I should never wed, for since no other branches + of my family were in existence, I might thus end the curse with myself. + </p> + <p> + As I drew near the age of thirty, old Pierre was called to the land + beyond. Alone I buried him beneath the stones of the courtyard about which + he had loved to wander in life. Thus was I left to ponder on myself as the + only human creature within the great fortress, and in my utter solitude my + mind began to cease its vain protest against the impending doom, to become + almost reconciled to the fate which so many of my ancestors had met. Much + of my time was now occupied in the exploration of the ruined and abandoned + halls and towers of the old chateau, which in youth fear had caused me to + shun, and some of which old Pierre had once told me had not been trodden + by human foot for over four centuries. Strange and awsome were many of the + objects I encountered. Furniture, covered by the dust of ages and + crumbling with the rot of long dampness met my eyes. Cobwebs in a + profusion never before seen by me were spun everywhere, and huge bats + flapped their bony and uncanny wings on all sides of the otherwise + untenanted gloom. + </p> + <p> + Of my exact age, even down to days and hours, I kept a most careful + record, for each movement of the pendulum of the massive clock in the + library tolled off so much more of my doomed existence. At length I + approached that time which I had so long viewed with apprehension. Since + most of my ancestors had been seized some little while before they reached + the exact age of the Comte Henri at his end, I was every moment on the + watch for the coming of the unknown death. In what strange form the curse + should overtake me, I knew not; but I was resolved at least that it should + not find me a cowardly or a passive victim. With new vigour I applied + myself to my examination of the old chateau and its contents. + </p> + <p> + It was upon one of the longest of all my excursions of discovery in the + deserted portion of the castle, less than a week before that fatal hour + which I felt must mark the utmost limit of my stay on earth, beyond which + I could have not even the slightest hope of continuing to draw breath, + that I came upon the culminating event of my whole life. I had spent the + better part of the morning in climbing up and down half ruined staircases + in one of the most dilapidated of the ancient turrets. As the afternoon + progressed, I sought the lower levels, descending into what appeared to be + either a mediaeval place of confinement, or a more recently excavated + storehouse for gunpowder. As I slowly traversed the nitre-encrusted + passageway at the foot of the last staircase, the paving became very damp, + and soon I saw by the light of my flickering torch that a blank, + water-stained wall impeded my journey. Turning to retrace my steps, my eye + fell upon a small trap-door with a ring, which lay directly beneath my + feet. Pausing, I succeeded with difficulty in raising it, whereupon there + was revealed a black aperture, exhaling noxious fumes which caused my + torch to sputter, and disclosing in the unsteady glare the top of a flight + of stone steps. As soon as the torch, which I lowered into the repellent + depths, burned freely and steadily, I commenced my descent. The steps were + many, and led to a narrow stone-flagged passage which I knew must be far + underground. This passage proved of great length, and terminated in a + massive oaken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> + door, dripping with the moisture of the place, and stoutly resisting all + my attempts to open it. Ceasing after a time my efforts in this direction, + I had proceeded back some distance toward the steps, when there suddenly + fell to my experience one of the most profound and maddening shocks + capable of reception by the human mind. Without warning, <b>I heard the + heavy door behind me creak slowly open upon its rusted hinges</b>. My + immediate sensations are incapable of analysis. To be confronted in a + place as thoroughly deserted as I had deemed the old castle with evidence + of the presence of man or spirit, produced in my brain a horror of the + most acute description. When at last I turned and faced the seat of the + sound, my eyes must have started from their orbits at the sight that they + beheld. There in the ancient Gothic doorway stood a human figure. It was + that of a man clad in a skull-cap and long mediaeval tunic of dark colour. + His long hair and flowing beard were of a terrible and intense black hue, + and of incredible profusion. His forehead, high beyond the usual + dimensions; his cheeks, deep sunken and heavily lined with wrinkles; and + his hands, long, claw-like and gnarled, were of such a deathly, + marble-like whiteness as I have never elsewhere seen in man. His figure, + lean to the proportions of a skeleton, was strangely bent and almost lost + within the voluminous folds of his peculiar garment. But strangest of all + were his eyes; twin caves of abysmal blackness; profound in expression of + understanding, yet inhuman in degree of wickedness. These were now fixed + upon me, piercing my soul with their hatred, and rooting me to the spot + whereon I stood. At last the figure spoke in a rumbling voice that chilled + me through with its dull hollowness and latent malevolence. The language + in which the discourse was clothed was that debased form of Latin in use + amongst the more learned men of the Middle Ages, and made familiar to me + by my prolonged researches into the works of the old alchemists and + demonologists. The apparition spoke of the curse which had hovered over my + house, told me of my coming end, dwelt on the wrong perpetrated by my + ancestor against old Michel Mauvais, and gloated over the revenge of + Charles Le Sorcier. He told me how the young Charles had escaped into the + night, returning in after years to kill Godfrey the heir with an arrow + just as he approached the age which had been his father's at his + assassination; how he had secretly returned to the estate and established + himself, unknown, in the even then deserted subterranean chamber whose + doorway now framed the hideous narrator; how he had seized Robert, son of + Godfrey, in a field, forced poison down his throat and left him to die at + the age of thirty-two, thus maintaining the foul provisions of his + vengeful curse. At this point I was left to imagine the solution of the + greatest mystery of all, how the curse had been fulfilled since that time + when Charles Le Sorcier must in the course of nature have died, for the + man digressed into an account of the deep alchemical studies of the two + wizards, father and son, speaking most particularly of the researches of + Charles Le Sorcier concerning the elixir which should grant to him who + partook of it eternal life and youth. + </p> + <p> + His enthusiasm had seemed for the moment to remove from his terrible eyes + the hatred that had at first so haunted them, but suddenly the fiendish + glare returned, and with a shocking sound like the hissing of a serpent, + the stranger raised a glass phial with the evident intent of ending my + life as had Charles Le Sorcier, six hundred years before, ended that of my + ancestor. Prompted by some preserving instinct of self-defense, I broke + through the spell that had hitherto held me immovable, and flung my now + dying torch at the creature who menaced my existence. I heard the phial + break harmlessly against the stones of the passage as the tunic of the + strange man caught fire and lit the horrid scene with a ghastly radiance. + The shriek of fright and impotent malice emitted by the would-be assassin + proved too much for my already shaken nerves, and I fell prone upon the + slimy floor in a total faint. + </p> + <p> + When at last my senses returned, all was frightfully dark, and my mind + remembering what had occurred, shrank from the idea of beholding more; yet + curiosity overmastered all. Who, I asked myself, was this man of evil, and + how came he within the castle walls? Why should he seek to avenge the + death of poor Michel Mauvais, and how had the curse been carried on + through all the long centuries since the time of Charles Le Sorcier? The + dread of years was lifted off my shoulders, for I knew that he whom I had + felled was the source of all my danger from the curse; and now that I was + free, I burned with the desire to learn more of the sinister thing which + had haunted my line<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> + for centuries, and made of my own youth one long-continued nightmare. + Determined upon further exploration, I felt in my pockets for flint and + steel, and lit the unused torch which I had with me. First of all, the new + light revealed the distorted and blackened form of the mysterious + stranger. The hideous eyes were now closed. Disliking the sight, I turned + away and entered the chamber beyond the Gothic door. Here I found what + seemed much like an alchemist's laboratory. In one corner was an immense + pile of a shining yellow metal that sparkled gorgeously in the light of + the torch. It may have been gold, but I did not pause to examine it, for I + was strangely affected by that which I had undergone. At the farther end + of the apartment was an opening leading out into one of the many wild + ravines of the dark hillside forest. Filled with wonder, yet now realizing + how the man had obtained access to the chateau, I proceeded to return. I + had intended to pass by the remains of the stranger with averted face, but + as I approached the body, I seemed to hear emanating from it a faint + sound, as though life were not yet wholly extinct. Aghast, I turned to + examine the charred and shrivelled figure on the floor. + </p> + <p> + Then all at once the horrible eyes, blacker even than the seared face in + which they were set, opened wide with an expression which I was unable to + interpret. The cracked lips tried to frame words which I could not well + understand. Once I caught the name of Charles Le Sorcier, and again I + fancied that the words "years" and "curse" issued from the twisted mouth. + Still I was at a loss to gather the purport of his disconnected speech. At + my evident ignorance of his meaning, the pitchy eyes once more flashed + malevolently at me, until, helpless as I saw my opponent to be, I trembled + as I watched him. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the wretch, animated with his last burst of strength, raised his + hideous head from the damp and sunken pavement. Then, as I remained, + paralyzed with fear, he found his voice and in his dying breath screamed + forth those words which have ever afterward haunted my days and my nights. + "Fool," he shrieked, "can you not guess my secret? Have you no brain + whereby you may recognize the will which has through six long centuries + fulfilled the dreadful curse upon your house? Have I not told you of the + great elixir of eternal life? Know you not how the secret of Alchemy was + solved? I tell you, it is I! I! <b>I! that have lived for six hundred + years to maintain my revenge</b>, FOR I AM CHARLES LE SORCIER!" + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MARCH 1917</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department Of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>The Conservative</b> for October opens with Miss Olive G. Owen's + tuneful lines on "The Mocking Bird." Of the quality of Miss Owen's poetry + it is scarce necessary to speak; be it sufficient to say that the present + piece ranks among her best. In the intense fervour of the sentiment, and + the felicitous choice of the imagery, the touch of the born poet is alike + shown. Through an almost inexcusable editorial mistake of our own, the + first word of this poem is erroneously rendered. Line 1 should read: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"<b>Where</b> Southern moonlight softly falls."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "Old England and the Hyphen" is an attempt of the present critic to + demonstrate why relations between the United States and Mother England + must necessarily be closer than those between the States and any of the + really foreign powers. So patent and so inevitable is the essential unity + of the Anglo-Saxon world that such an essay as this ought really to be + superfluous; but its practical justification is found in the silly clamour + of those Anglophobes who are unfortunately permitted to reside within our + borders. "Insomnia," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a remarkable piece of + verse whose dark turns of fancy are almost worthy of a Poe. The grotesque + tropes, the cleverly distorted images, the bizarre atmosphere, and + ingeniously sinister repetitions all unite to produce one of the season's + most notable poems. Each of the stanzas is vibrant with the hideous, + racking turmoil of the insomnious mind. "Prussianism," by William Thomas + Harrington, is a concise and lucid essay on a timely subject, reviewing + ably the cause and responsibility of the present war. It is especially + valuable at this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> + season of incoherent peace discussion, for it explodes very effectively + that vague, brainless "neutrality" which prompts certain pro-German + pacifists to cry for peace before the normal and final settlement of + Europe's troubles shall have been attained by the permanent annihilation + of the Prussian military machine. "Twilight," by Chester Pierce Munroe, is + a beautiful bit of poetic fancy and stately phraseology. Mr. Munroe, a + Rhode Islander transplanted to the mountains of North Carolina, is + acquiring all the grace and delicacy of the native Southern bard, while + retaining that happy conservatism of expression which distinguishes his + work from that of most contemporary poets. Callously modern indeed must be + he who would wish Mr. Munroe's quaintly euphonious lines transmuted into + the irritatingly abrupt and barren phraseology of the day. "The Bond + Invincible," by David H. Whittier, is a short story of great power and + skilful construction, suggesting Poe's "Ligeia" in its central theme. The + plot is developed with much dexterity, and the climax comes so forcibly + and unexpectedly upon the reader, that one cannot but admire Mr. + Whittier's mastery of technique. Certain overnice critics may possibly + object to the tale, as containing incidents which no one survives to + relate; but when we reflect that Poe has similarly written a story without + survivors, ("The Masque of the Red Death") we can afford to applaud + without reservation. The complete absence of slang and of doubtful grammar + recommends this tale as a model to other amateur fiction-writers. + "Respite" is a lachrymose lament in five stanzas by the present critic. + The metre is regular, which is perhaps some excuse for its creation and + publication. "By the Waters of the Brook," by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, D. D., + is one of the noblest amateur poems of the year. While the casual reader + may find in the long heptameter lines a want of sing-song facility; the + true lover of the Nine pauses in admiration at the deep flowing nobility + of the rhyme. The quick rippling of the brook is duplicated within each + line, rather than from line to line. The imagery and phraseology are of + the sort which only Dr. Kuntz can fashion, and are rich in that exalted + pantheism of fancy which comes to him who knows Nature in her wilder and + more rugged moods and aspects. "The Pool," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, + contains an elusive hint of the terrible and the supernatural which gives + it high rank as poetry. Mrs. Jordan has two distinct, yet related, styles + in verse. One of these mirrors all the joy and buoyant happiness of life, + whilst the other reflects that undertone of grimness which is sometimes + felt through the exterior of things. The kinship betwixt these styles lies + in their essentially fanciful character, as distinguished from the + tiresomely commonplace realism of the average modern rhymester. Another + bit of sinister psychology in verse is "The Unknown," by Elizabeth + Berkeley. Mrs. Berkeley's style is less restrained than that of Mrs. + Jordan, and presents a picture of stark, meaningless horror, the like of + which is not often seen in the amateur press. It is difficult to pass upon + the actual merit of so peculiar a production, but we will venture the + opinion that the use of italics, or heavy-faced type, is not desirable. + The author should be able to bring out all needed emphasis by words, not + printer's devices. The issue concludes with "Inspiration," a poem by Lewis + Theobald, Jun. The form and rhythm of this piece are quite satisfactory, + but the insipidity of the sentiment leaves much to be desired. The whole + poem savours too much of the current magazine style. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Coyote</b> for October is made notable by Editor Harrington's + thoughtful and well compiled article on "Worldwide Prohibition," wherein + an extremely important step in the world's progress is truthfully + chronicled. That legislation against alcohol is spreading rapidly + throughout civilization, is something which not even the densest champions + of "personal liberty" can deny. The utter emptiness of all arguments in + behalf of strong drink is made doubly apparent by the swift prohibitory + enactments of the European nations when confronted by the emergencies of + war, and by the abolition of liquor in a large number of American states + for purely practical reasons. All these things point to a general + recognition of liquor as a foe to governmental and industrial welfare. Mr. + Harrington's style in this essay is clear and in most respects + commendable; though certain passages might gain force and dignity through + a less colloquial manner. In particular, we must protest against the + repeated use of the vulgarism <b>booze</b>, a word probably brought into + public favour by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> + the new school of gutter evangelism, whose chief exponent is the Reverend + William Sunday. The verb <b>to booze</b>, <b>boose</b>, or <b>bouse</b>, + meaning "to drink immoderately," and the adjective <b>boozy</b>, <b>boosy</b>, + or <b>bousy</b>, meaning "drunken," are by no means new to our language, + Dryden having written the form <b>bousy</b> in some of his verses; but <b>booze</b> + as a noun signifying "liquor" is certainly too vulgar a word for constant + employment in any formal literary composition. Another essay of Mr. + Harrington's is "The Divine Book," a plea for the restoration of the Bible + as a source of popular reading and arbiter of moral conduct. Whatever may + be the opinion of the searching critic regarding the place of the + Scriptures in the world of fact, it is undeniably true that a closer study + of the revered volume, and a stricter adherence to its best precepts, + would do much toward mending the faults of a loose age. We have yet to + find a more efficacious means of imparting virtue and contentment of heart + to the masses of mankind. "Pioneers of New England," an article by Alice + M. Hamlet, gives much interesting information concerning the sturdy + settlers of New Hampshire and Vermont. In the unyielding struggles of + these unsung heroes against the sting of hardship and the asperity of + primeval Nature, we may discern more than a trace of that divine fire of + conquest which has made the Anglo-Saxon the empire builder of all the + ages. In Mr. Harrington's editorial column there is much discussion of a + proposed "International Amateur Press Association," but we fail to + perceive why such an innovation is needed, now that the United has opened + itself unreservedly to residents of all the countries of the globe. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Merry Minutes</b> for November is a clever publication of + semi-professional character, edited by Miss Margaret Trafford of London, + and containing a pleasant variety of prose, verses, and puzzles. "King of + the Nursery Realm," by Margaret Mahon, is a smooth and musical piece of + juvenile verse which excels in correctness of form rather than in novelty + of thought. + </p> + <p> + "Bards and Minstrels, and The Augustan Age," by Beryl Mappin, is the + second of a series of articles on English literature and its classical + foundations. The erudition and enthusiasm displayed in this essay speak + well for the future of the authoress, though certain faults of style and + construction demand correction. Careful grammatical study would eliminate + from Miss Mappin's style such solecisms as the use of <b>like</b> for <b>as</b>, + whilst greater attention to the precepts of rhetoric would prevent the + construction of such awkward sentences as the following: "The same if one + is reading an interesting book, can one not see all that is happening + there as clearly with one's inner eyes as if it was all taking place + before one, and viewed with one's outer ones?" This passage is not only + wanting in coherence and correctness of syntax, but is exceedingly clumsy + through redundancy of statement, and repetition of the word <b>one</b>. + This word, though essential to colloquial diction, becomes very tiresome + when used to excess; and should be avoided in many cases through judicious + transpositions of the text. The following is a revised version of the + sentence quoted above: "Thus, in reading an interesting book, can one not + see with the inner eyes all that is happening there, as clearly as if it + were taking place in reality before the outer eyes?" Other parts of the + essay require similar revision. Concerning the development of the whole, + we must needs question the unity of the topics. Whilst the connecting + thread is rather evident after a second or third perusal, the cursory + reader is apt to become puzzled over the skips from the Graeco-Roman world + to the early Saxon kingdoms, and thence to the dawn of our language + amongst the Anglo-Normans. What Miss Mappin evidently wishes to bring out, + is that the sources of English literature are twofold; being on the one + hand the polished classics of antiquity, inspired by Greece, amplified and + diffused by Rome, preserved by France, and brought to England by the + Normans; and on the other hand the crude but virile products of our Saxon + ancestors, brought from the uncivilized forests of the continent or + written after the settlement in Britain. From this union of Graeco-Roman + classicism with native Anglo-Saxon vitality springs the unquestioned + supremacy of English literature. Assiduous devotion to the mastery of + rhetoric, and the habit of constructing logical synopses before writing + the text of articles would enable Miss Mappin to utilise her knowledge of + literary history in a manner truly worthy of its depth. "Trinidad and its + People," by "F. E. M.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> + Hercules," exhibits a somewhat maturer style, and forms a very + interesting piece of geographical description. "The Pursuit of the + Innocent," is a serial story by Miss Trafford, and though only a small + part of it is printed in the current issue, we judge that it derives its + general atmosphere from the popular "thrillers" of the day. The dialogue + is not wholly awkward, but there is a noticeable want of proportion in + the development of the narrative. Miss Trafford would probably profit by + a more faithful study of the standard novelists, and a more complete + avoidance of the type of fiction found in modern weekly periodicals such + as <b>Answers</b> or <b>Tit-Bits</b>. Those who feel impelled to + introduce stirring adventure into their tales, can do so without + sacrifice of excitement and interest by following really classic writers + like Poe and Stevenson; or semi-standard authors like Sir A. Conan Doyle. + The puzzles propounded by Miss Hillman are quite interesting, though + matter of this sort is scarcely to be included within the domain of pure + literature. We guess <b>airship</b> as the answer to the first one, but + have not space to record our speculations concerning the second. <b>Merry + Minutes</b> closes with the following poem by Master Randolph Trafford, a + very young author: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Once upon a time, there was a little boy,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And, if you please, he went to school;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">That little boy, he always would annoy,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And found at school a very nasty rule."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Without undue flattery to Master Trafford, we may conclusively state that + we deem his poem a great deal better than most of the <b>vers libre</b> + effusions which so many of his elders are perpetrating nowadays! + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Scot</b> for July is devoted completely to the work of the feminine + amateurs of the United States, and is announced by its editor as an + "American 'Petticoat' Number"; a title which might possibly bear + replacement by something rather less colloquial. "Over the Edge of the + World," a poem by Olive G. Owen, is correct in construction and + appropriate in sentiment, deriving much force from the continued + repetition of the first line. "In Morven's Mead," by Winifred V. Jordan, + is one of a series of fanciful poems all bearing the same title. The + present verses show all the charm and delicacy which characterise the + whole. "Patience—A Woman's Virtue," is one of Mrs. Eloise N. + Griffith's thoughtful moral essays, and is as commendable for its precepts + as for its pure style. "His Flapper," by Edna von der Heide, is a clever + piece of trochaic verse in Cockney dialect, which seems, so far as an + American critic can judge, to possess a very vivid touch of local colour. + "An Eye for an Eye," by the same authoress, seems vaguely familiar, having + possibly been published in the amateur press before. If so, it is well + worthy of republication. "Women and Snakes," a sketch by Eleanor J. + Barnhart, is not a misogynistical attempt at comparison, but a theory + regarding the particular fear with which the former are popularly supposed + to regard the latter. Whilst Miss Barnhart writes with the bravery of the + true scientist, we are constrained to remark that a certain dislike of + snakes, mice, and insects is a very real thing; not only amongst the fair, + but equally amongst those sterner masculine souls who would stoutly deny + it if questioned. It is an atavistical fear, surviving from primitive ages + when the venomous qualities of reptiles, insects, and the like, made their + quick avoidance necessary to uninstructed man. "Be Tolerant," by Winifred + V. Jordan, is a didactic poem of the sort formerly published in <b>The + Symphony</b>. While it does not possess in fullest measure the grace and + facility observed in Mrs. Jordan's more characteristic work; it is + nevertheless correct and melodious, easily equalling most poetry of its + kind. Mr. McColl's editorial column, the only masculine feature of the + issue, contains a very noble tribute to the two soldier cousins of Miss + von der Heide, who have laid down their lives for the cause of England and + the right. From such men springs the glory of Britannia. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Scot</b> for August opens with Winifred V. Jordan's tuneful lines, + "If You but Smile," whose inspiration and construction are alike of no + mean order. "Hoary Kent," by Benjamin Winskill, is an exquisite sketch of + a region where the past still lives. In an age of turmoil and unrest, it + is a comfort to think that in one spot, at least, the destroying claws of + Time have left no scars. There lie the scenes dear to every son and + grandson of Britain; there are bodied forth the eternal and unchanging + traditions that place above the rest of the world<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 22em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"This precious stone set in the silver sea—<br /></span> + <span class="i0">This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this + England."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "Meditation of a Scottish Queen on Imprisonment," a poem by Margaret + Trafford, contains noble passages, but is marred by defective technique. + Passing over the use of the expletives <b>do</b> and <b>doth</b> as + legitimate archaisms in this case, we must call attention to some awkward + phraseology, and to the roughness of certain lines, which have either too + few or too many syllables. The very first line of the poem requires + contraction, which might be accomplished by substituting <b>hapless</b> + for <b>unhappy</b>. Line 8 would read better if thus amended: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"I would that death might come and me release."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + The final line of the first stanza lacks a syllable, which might be + supplied by replacing <b>vile</b> with <b>hateful</b>. The second stanza + will pass as it is, but the entire remainder of the poem requires + alteration, since but two of the lines are of normal decasyllabic length. + The following is rough revision, though we have not attempted to build the + poetry anew: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 23em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Oh! could I breathe again dear Scotland's air;<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Behold once more her stately mountains high,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Thence view the wide expanse of azure sky,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Instead of these perpetual walls so bare!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Could I but see the grouse upon the moor,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Or pluck again the beauteous heather bell!<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Freedom I know not in this dismal cell,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">As I my anguish from my heart outpour.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">My Scotland! know'st thou thy poor Queen's distress,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And canst thou hear my wailing and my woe?<br /></span> + <span class="i2">May the soft wind that o'er thy hills doth blow<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Waft thee these thoughts, that I cannot suppress!<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "Six Cylinder Happiness," a brief essay by William J. Dowdell, presents in + ingeniously pleasing style a precept not entirely new amongst + philosophers. Mr. Dowdell's skill with the pen is very considerable, + particularly when he ventures outside the domain of slang. We should like + to suggest a slightly less colloquial title for this piece, such as "Real + Happiness." "For Right and Liberty," a poem by Matthew Hilson, is + commendable in sentiment and clever in construction, but lacks perfection + in several details of phraseology. In the third line of the third stanza + the word <b>ruinous</b> must be replaced by a true dissyllable, preferably + <b>ruin'd</b>. "For Their Country," a short story by Margaret Trafford, is + vivid in plot and truly heroic in moral, but somewhat deficient in + technique, particularly at the beginning. Miss Trafford should use care in + moulding long sentences, and should avoid the employment of abbreviations + like <b>etc.</b> in the midst of narrative text. "That Sunny Smile," by + John Russell, is a cleverly optimistic bit of verse whose rhythm is very + facile, but which would be improved by the addition of two syllables to + the third and sixth lines of each stanza. The rhyme of <b>round you</b> + and <b>found true</b> is incorrect, since the second syllables of double + rhymes must be identical. "The Evil One," by Narcissus Blanchfield, is + announced as "A Prose-poem, after Oscar Wilde—a long way after." As + an allegory it is true to the facts of the case; though one cannot but + feel that there is room for a freer play of the poetic imagination in so + great a subject. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Toledo Amateur</b> for October is a literary publication which reflects + much credit upon its young editor, Mr. Wesley Hilon Porter, and upon the + several contributors. "Twilight," a correct and graceful poem by Miss von + der Heide opens the issue. "A Sabbath," by Mary Margaret Sisson, is a + sketch of great merit, though not wholly novel in subject. The hypocrisy + of many self-satisfied "pillars of the church" is only too well known both + in life and in literature. At the very close of the piece, the word <b>epithet</b> + is used in a slightly incorrect sense, meaning "motto." <b>Epithet</b>, as + its Greek derivation shows, signifies an <b>adjective</b> or descriptive + expression. "The Workers of the World," by Dora M. Hepner, is another + sociological sketch of no small merit, pleasantly distinguished by the + absence of slang. "Not All," by Olive G. Owen, is a poem of much fervour, + albeit having a somewhat too free use of italics. The words and rhythm of + a poet should be able to convey his images without the more artificial + devices of typographical variation. Another questionable<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> point is + the manner of using archaic pronouns and verb forms. Miss Owen seems to + use both ancient and modern conjugations of the verb indifferently with + such subjects as <b>thou</b>. "A Day at Our Summer Home," by Emma Marie + Voigt, is a descriptive sketch of considerable promise, and "My First + Amateur Convention," by Mrs. Addie L. Porter, is a well written chronicle + of events. "The Wild Rose," by Marguerite Allen, is a poem of no little + grace, though beset with many of the usual crudities of youthful work. In + the first place, the quatrains should have their rhymes regularly + recurring; either in both first and third, and second and fourth lines; or + only in second and fourth. A rhyme occurring only in first and third lines + gives an unmusical cast, since it causes the stanza to end unrhymed. + Secondly, the words <b>fence</b> and <b>scent</b> do not form a legitimate + rhyme. The easy correctness of the metre is an encouraging sign, and + indicates a poetic talent which Miss Allen would do well to cultivate. Mr. + Porter's article on amateur journalism is interesting and quite just, + though we hope that the United has not quite so "little to offer" the + devotee of "so-called high-class literature" as the author believes. If we + are to retain our cultivated members, or our younger members after they + acquire cultivation, we must necessarily cater to the better grade of + taste; though of course without neglecting the succeeding generation of + novices. The editorial column of this issue is bright and fluent, + concluding one of the best amateur journals of the season. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for September contains something only too seldom found + in the amateur press; a really meritorious short story. "The Shadow on the + Trail," by Eleanor J. Barnhart, possesses every element of good fiction; a + substantial and really interesting plot, a logical development from + beginning to conclusion, an adequate amount of suspense, a climax which + does not disappoint, and a praiseworthy degree of local colour. Besides + all of which it is fluent in language and correct in syntax. The rest of + the literary department in this issue is devoted to verse. "To a Friend," + by Alice M. Hamlet, is particularly pleasing through the hint of + old-school technique which its well ordered phrases convey. The one weak + point is the employment of <b>thy</b>, a singular expression, in connexion + with several objects; namely, "paper, pen, and ready hand." <b>Your</b> + should have been used. The metre is excellent throughout, and the whole + piece displays a gratifying skill on its author's part. "The Path Along + the Sea," by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, is a flawless and beautiful bit of + sentimental poetry, cast in fluent and felicitous heptameter. "Dad," by + Horace Fowler Goodwin, is decidedly the best of this writer's pieces yet + to appear in the amateur press. The defects are mostly technical, + including the bad rhyme of <b>engaged</b> and <b>dismayed</b>, and the + overweighted seventh line of the final stanza. The latter might be + rectified by substituting <b>blest</b>, or some other monosyllable, for <b>lucky</b>. + "Li'l Baby Mine," by W. Frank Booker, is a quaint and captivating darky + lullaby, whose accuracy of dialect and atmosphere comes from that + first-hand knowledge of the negroes which only a Southern writer can + possess. Mr. Booker is one of our most promising bards, and will be doubly + notable when his style shall have received its final polish. "When I Gaze + on Thee," by Kathleen Foster Smith, is an amatory poem of much grace and + fluency. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for October furnishes us with a species of composition + not frequently encountered in amateurdom; an official report which is also + a literary classic. Pres. Campbell's message is really an essay on + contemporary amateur journalism, and contains a multitude of well stated + truths which every member of the fraternity would do well to peruse. "The + Wanderer's Return," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is a beautiful piece of + anapaestic verse whose flow is as pleasing as its sentiment. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Woodbee</b> for October is edited by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, and + though not of large size, does credit both to her and to the Columbus + Club. "To the Woodbees," a witty parody of Poe's "Annabel Lee," exhibits + Miss Irene Metzger as the possessor of no little skill in numbers; and + incidentally suggests that other young bards might well improve their + styles by judicious exercises of this sort. Much of the spirit of metre + may be absorbed through copying the works of the standard poets. "Louise's + Letter," a short story by Norma Sanger, contains some of the defects of + early composition, notably an undue hastening of the action immediately + after the letter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> + quoted in the text. The plot involves a rather unusual coincidence, yet is + probably no more overstrained than that of the average piece of light + fiction. "The Ruling Passion," by Edna M. Haughton, is a story of + phenomenal power and interest, forming a psychological study worthy of + more than one perusal. All the requirements of good fiction, both + inspirational and technical, are complied with to the satisfaction of even + the most exacting critic. Miss Haughton's work is of a very high grade, + and would be welcomed in larger quantities by the amateur world. Miss + Harwood's interesting News Notes and Mrs. Haughton's thoughtful editorial + conclude an issue whose every feature deserves commendation. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MAY 1917</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>The Conservative</b> for January deserved distinction for its opening + poem, "The Vagrant," which proceeds from the thrice-gifted pen of Mrs. W. V. + Jordan. The piece is one well worthy of close attention, since it contains + to a marked degree those elements of charm which render its author so + prominent among amateur bards. Bold and discriminating choice of words and + phrases, apt and unique images and personifications, and a carefully + sustained atmosphere of delicate unreality, all unite to impart a + characteristic beauty to the lines. This beauty, searchingly analysed, + reveals itself as something more sylvan and spontaneous than studied and + bookish; indeed, all of Mrs. Jordan's verse is born rather than built. + </p> + <p> + "The Unbreakable Link," a prose sketch by Arthur W. Ashby, is smooth and + graphic in its delineation of a dream or vision of the past. The ancient + heritage of Old England and its hoary edifices is here vividly set forth. + Mr. Ashby's work, always notable for its command and intelligent + interpretation of detail, is welcome wherever encountered. + </p> + <p> + "When New-Year Comes," a poem by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, exhibits its + brilliant author in a most felicitous though decidedly novel vein. Turning + from his usual Alexandrines and heptameters, and laying aside his + characteristically stately and sonorous vocabulary, Dr. Kuntz has produced + a gem of brevity and simplicity in octosyllabic couplets. The ease and + naturalness of the language are so great that the reader feels no other + words or constructions could have been used with equal effect. The + remainder of <b>The Conservative</b>, being the work of the present + critic, deserves no particular mention. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Coyote</b> for January bears an attractive cover design + illustrating the gentle beast after which the publication is named. The + opening piece, an alleged poem by the present critic, contains an + humiliating error for which none but the author is responsible. The + impossible word <b>supremest</b> in line 16, should read <b>sublimest</b>. + The author is likewise responsible for the omission of the following + couplet after line 26: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Around his greatness pour disheart'ning woes,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">But still he tow'rs above his conquering foes."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + The rest of the magazine is devoted to prose of practical nature, + containing suggestions by Editor Harrington and Rev. Graeme Davis for the + resuscitation of one of the dormant press associations. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Coyote</b> for April, home-printed and reduced to the conventional + 5×7 page, opens with Mrs. Jordan's pleasant lines on "The Duty." + While the general sentiment of this piece is by no means novel, the + powerful and distinctive touch of the authoress is revealed by such highly + original passages as the following: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"And black-wing'd, clucking shadows<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Brought out their broods of fears."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + A poet of rather different type is displayed in "The Five-Minute School," + by Lovell Leland Massie. Mr. Massie is said to have "an unlimited supply + of poems on hand which he desires to publish," but it is evident that some + preliminary alterations would not be undesirable. In the first place, the + metre requires correction; though it is remarkably good for beginner's + work. Particularly weak lines are the second in stanza four, and the + second in stanza six. The phraseology is stiff but by no means hopeless, + and proclaims nothing more serious than the need of greater poetic + familiarity on the author's part. The rhymes are good with two exceptions; + <b>past</b> and <b>class</b>, and <b>jewel</b> and <b>school</b>. Mr. + Massie, however, is not the first bard to reduce <b>jew-el</b> to "<b>jool</b>!" + "The Coyote," by Obert O. Bakken, is a worthy and interesting composition + upon a well known animal. "A Soul," by Olive G. Owen, is reprinted from + the professional press, and amply merits the honour. The poem is of + unexceptionable technique and adequate sentiment. Miss Owen's brilliant, + fruitful, and long-continued poetical career has few parallels in the + amateur world. "The Amateur Christian," a brief prose essay by Benjamin + Winskill, presents more than one valuable truth; though we wish the word "<b>par</b>," + near the close, might be expanded to proper fulness. We presume that it is + intended to stand for <b>paragraph</b>. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Crazyquilt</b> for December is a highly entertaining illustrated + publication whose exact classification is a matter of some difficulty. We<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> might + perhaps best describe it as a bubbling over of youthful spirits, with here + and there a touch of unobtrusive seriousness. The editor, Mr. Melvin + Ryder, is to be commended upon his enterprise; which consists in + approximately equal parts of prose, verse, and whimsical <b>vers libre</b>. + It is the last named product which most absorbs our attention, since the + given specimens afford a very brilliant satire on the absurd medium in + which they are set. The choicest selections are due to the fertile pen of + Mr. William S. Wabnitz, assisted by that not unknown classic called + "Mother Goose," whose ideas accord well with the thought of the new + "poetry." "A Futuresk Romance," by Mr. Wabnitz alone, is of exceeding + cleverness. Among the genuine poems, we may give particular commendation + to "Bluebirds are Flying Over," by Mrs. Dora Hepner Moitoret; "Longin' and + Yearnin'," "Spring," "Verses," and "Dreaming," by J. H. Gavin; and + "Stars After Rain," by William S. Wabnitz. Mr. Gavin's "Dreaming" is a + hauntingly pretty piece, though marred by an imperfect line (the twelfth) + and by an incorrect accentuation of the word <b>romance</b>. This word + should be accented on the final syllable. + </p> + <p> + "Odd Patches and Even" is the title of the editorial column, which + contains many words of wisdom (though not too grave) by Mr. Ryder. We hope + to behold future issues of <b>The Crazyquilt</b>. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Dowdell's Bearcat</b> for October, partly compiled and financed by the + United's official board in lieu of the missing <b>Official Quarterly</b>, + comes to us unbound and without a cover; yet contains, aside from the + inexcusable editorials, a rich array of meritorious material. Mr. + Dowdell's comment on radical eccentrics and malcontents is apt and clever, + showing how bright this young writer can be when he avoids bad taste and + personalities. + </p> + <p> + "A Little Lovely Lyric," by Mrs. Dora H. Moitoret, is one of the choicest + of this author's poems, having a spirit and cadence of rare quality. In + "The Real Amateur Spirit," Pres. Campbell presents in vigorous prose many + important truths and principles of amateur journalism. The concluding + sentence forms a definition of our animating impulse which deserves + repeated publication as a motto and inspiration. "An American To Mother + England," by the present critic, is an expression of cultural and + ancestral ties which have now, through the fortunes of war, grown doubly + strong. The word <b>Saxon</b>, in the last line, should begin with a + capital. "Dream Life" is a vivid piece of prose mysticism by our versatile + and gifted Vice-President, Mr. Ira A. Cole. Defying precise grouping + either as a sketch or a story, this enigmatical bit of fancy deserves + highest praise for its fluent diction, rich imagination, potent + atmosphere, and graphic colouring. Mr. Cole has a bright future in prose + as well as in verse for in both of these media he is a genuine and + spontaneous poet. "United Impressions," by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, is + clear, interesting, and well-written, as is also the sketch by Mary M. + Sisson entitled "Passion versus Calm." "The Elm Tree," by James Tobey + Pyke, is a poem of remarkable sweetness and nobility, through whose lofty + sentiment shines the true splendour of the inspired bard. There is a + master touch in the passage referring to + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"——a sweet heaven<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Of singing birds and whispering leaves."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Mrs. Winifred Virginia Jordan, without one of whose delightful verses no + amateur publication can really compete, contributes a sparkling succession + of amatory anapaests entitled "Dear." The middle stanza rises to great + lyric heights, and should prove especially captivating to such + discriminating critics of lyricism as our colleague Mr. Kleiner. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Enthusiast</b> for February is a hectographed publication issued by + our latest young recruit, Mr. James Mather Mosely of Westfield, Mass. Mr. + Mosely is a youth of sterling ability and great promise, whose work is + already worthy of notice and encouragement. The editor's leading article, + "The Secret Inspiration of a Man Who Made Good," shows unusual fluency and + literary assurance, though we might wish for a more dignified title. The + expression <b>to make good</b> is pure slang, and should be supplanted by + one of the many legitimate English words and phrases which convey the same + meaning. Mr. Mosely's editorials are likewise open to criticism on the + ground of colloquialism, though the natural exuberance of youth excuses + much. "The Birds," by Harold Gordon Hawkins, is a truly excellent specimen + of juvenile verse, which contains much promise for the author's efforts. + Increased familiarity with standard literary models will remove<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> all + evidences of stiffness now perceptible. "How Men Go Wrong," a conventional + moral homily by Edgar Holmes Plummer, shows a slight want of original + ideas and a tendency to commonplaces; though having much merit in + construction. Another subject might display Mr. Plummer's talent to better + advantage. The use of the word <b>habitat</b> for <b>inhabitant</b> or <b>denizen</b> + is incorrect, for its true meaning is a <b>natural locality</b> or <b>place + of habitation</b>. "Blueberry Time," by Ruth Foster, is obviously a + schoolgirl composition, albeit a pleasing one. + </p> + <p> + F. R. Starr's cartoon scarcely comes within the province of a + literary critic, but is doubtless an excellent example of elementary art. + We question, however, the place of popular cartoons in serious papers; the + "funny picture" habit is essentially a plebeian one, and alien to + journalism of the highest grade. All things considered, <b>The Enthusiast</b> + is a creditable exponent of junior letters, which deserves the + encouragement and support of the United. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Excelsior</b> for March is in many respects the most notable of the + season's amateur magazines edited by our brilliant Laureate Recorder, Miss + Verna McGeoch, it contains a surprisingly ample and impressive collection + of prose and verse by our best writers; including the delectable lyricist + Perrin Holmes Lowrey, whose work has hitherto been unrepresented in the + press of the United. The issue opens with Mr. Jonathan E. Hoag's stately + "Ode to Old Ocean," whose appropriate imagery and smooth couplets are + exceedingly pleasant to the mind and ear alike. Mr. Hoag's unique charm is + no less apparent in the longer reminiscent piece entitled "The Old Farm + Home," which describes the author's boyhood scenes at Valley Falls, New + York, where he was born more than eighty-six years ago. This piece has + attracted much favorable notice in the professional world, having been + reprinted in <b>The Troy Times</b>. Perrin Holmes Lowrey contributes a + cycle of three poems touching on the beauties of the month of April; one + of which, "April in Killarney," will this summer be set to music by + Leopold Godowsky. The style of Mr. Lowrey possesses an attractive + individuality and delicacy which is already bringing him celebrity in the + larger literary sphere. What could be more thoroughly enchanting than such + a stanza as the following? + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Oh, it's April in Killarney,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Early April in Killarney,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Where + the Irish lanes are merry<br /></span> <span class="i4">And the lyric + breezes blow;<br /></span> <span class="i2">And the scented snows of + cherry<br /></span> <span class="i2">Drift across the fields of Kerry—<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Oh, it's April in Killarney<br /></span> <span class="i4">And + she loves the April so."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "Treasure Trove," by Henry Cleveland Wood, is a pleasant and urbane bit of + light verse; while "Percival Lowell," by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, is an + abominably dull elegiac piece of heavy verse. Edwin Gibson's "Sonnet to + Acyion" deserves keen attention as the work of a capable and rapidly + developing young bard. "Real versus Ideal" is a bright metrical + divertissement by John Russell, which suffers through the omission of the + opening line by the printer. This line is: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 15em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"For sale—a cottage by the sea."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + We recommend the final line to the attention of those careless bards who + pronounce <b>real</b> as <b>reel</b>, and <b>ideal</b> as <b>ideel</b>. + The correct quantities, as there given, will serve as examples. Verse of + deeper quality is furnished by amateurdom's foremost expressionist, Anne + Tillery Renshaw, two of whose poems appear. "The Singing Sea" contains an + error of technique, <b>hope</b> and <b>note</b> being placed in attempted + rhyme; but the structure is in general very regular, considering the + author's radical theories. Of the merit of the sentiment it is unnecessary + to speak. "A Wish" is cast in less fluent metre, but is so replete with + aptness, grandeur and refinement of ideas, that the sternest critic must + needs view its form with lenient glance. The prose contents of <b>Excelsior</b> + are worthy company for the verse. Paul J. Campbell is represented by a + very brief though characteristic essay entitled "The Price of Freedom," + wherein appears the sound reasoning and courageous philosophy for which + Mr. Campbell has always been distinguished. Another notable essay or + review is "English History," by Henry Clapham McGavack. Mr. McGavack here + ably employs his keen analysis and lucid style in dissecting Prof. Meyer's + absurdly biased but diabolically clever pro-German History of England. + </p> + <p> + "The Association," by David H. Whittier, teems with good advice concerning + the proper management of the United. Mr. Whittier's style is smooth and + dignified, exhibiting a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> + sober maturity unusual for a young author. "Tonio's Salvation," a short + story by Edna von der Heide, is the only bit of fiction in the magazine. + This brief glimpse of the cosmopolitan child life of a modern city is + marked equally by naturalness of plot and facility of technic, forming a + piece quite professional in quality and atmosphere. <b>Excelsior</b> has + done much to sustain the best traditions of the United, and we hope its + future appearance will be frequent and regular. The editorial column + reveals the genius and exquisite taste of its gifted publisher. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Merry Minutes</b> for December-January is an interesting number of an + interesting publication, opening with some extremely clever cartoons by + the United's soldier-member, George William Stokes. "Merry Minutes," a + poem in trochaic measure by Olive G. Owen, is distinguished by the touch + of beauty characteristic of all its author's work; but has a singular sort + of rhyming in the first and third lines of the stanzas. The cadence seems + to call for double rhymes, yet only the final syllables agree. The last + word of the first stanza is unfortunately shorn by the printer of its + final <b>s</b>. "The Dancing Tiger" is an excellent short story by Raymond + Blathwayt, which might, however, be improved in style by a slightly closer + attention to punctuation and structure of sentences. "Home," by Margaret + Mahon, is a poem in that rather popular modern measure which seems to + waver betwixt the iambus and anapaest. The imagery is pleasing, and the + sentiment, though not novel, is acceptable. "The Choice," a serial story + by Beryl Mappin, exhibits the same immaturities of style which mark the + didactic articles of this author; yet so active is the imagination shown + in some of the passages, that we believe Miss Mappin requires only time + and harder study in order to become a very meritorious writer. The + syntactical structure of this story is, on the average, smoother than that + of Miss Mappin's essays; indeed, there is reason to believe that fiction + is the better suited to her pen. "Absence," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, + is a brief poem of faultless harmony whose quaintly sparkling imagery + gives to an old theme a new lustre. "Education in Trinidad" is another of + F. E. Hercules' terse and informing descriptive sketches. "Alley," by + Mrs. Jordan, is a light pulsing lyric of almost Elizabethan quality, one + of whose rhymes is of a type which has caused much discussion in the + United's critical circles. The native pronunciation of New England makes + of <b>scarf</b> and <b>laugh</b> an absolutely perfect rhyme; this + perfection depending upon the curtailed phonetic value of the letter <b>r</b>; + which in a place such as this is silent, save as it modifies the quality + of the preceding vowel. In the London of Walker's day the same condition + existed. But the tongue and ear of the American West have become + accustomed to a certain roll which causes <b>scarf</b> to be enunciated as + <b>scarrf</b>, thus throwing it out of rhyme with words of similar sound + which lack the <b>r</b>. The Westerner would have to write <b>scahf</b>, + in order to express to his own mind the New-England sound of <b>scarf</b>. + Hitherto, the present critic has called no notice to rhymes of this type; + and has, indeed, frequently employed them himself; but recognition of + etymological principles involved will hereafter impel him to abandon and + discourage the practice, which was not followed by the older classicists. + To the New-England author this renunciation means relinquishment of many + rhymes which are to his ear perfect, yet in the interests of tradition and + universality it seems desirable that the sacrifice be made. "Why Mourn Thy + Soldier Dead," is a poem of brave sorrow by Olive G. Owen. The fervour of + the lines is deep, and the sentiments are of great nobility. Structurally + the piece is flawless. "Chaucer, the Father of English Poetry," is the + third of Miss Mappin's series of articles on literary history. An + unfortunate misprint relegates to the bottom of the footnote a line which + should immediately follow the specimen verse. The style is decidedly + clearer and better than that of the preceding instalment of the series. + "When You Went," by Mrs. Jordan, is an engagingly pathetic poem; with just + that touch of the unseen which lends so particular a charm to Jordanian + verse. Miss Trafford's appealing lines on "A Girl to Her Dead Lover" form + a vividly pathetic glimpse into low life. The poetic form is quite + satisfactory. As a whole, <b>Merry Minutes</b> constitutes a rather + remarkable enterprise, sustaining through troubled times the spark of + activity which will kindle anew the fires of British amateur journalism + after the victorious close of the war. May America, in her new crisis, do + as well!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Merry Minutes</b> for February opens with Margaret Mahon's poem "God's + Solace," a smooth and restful bit of versification. "Spencer and the + Beginning of the Elizabethan Era" is the current article of Beryl Mappin's + series on English Literature, and contains some very promising passages, + especially the almost poetic introduction. Miss Mappin has an unusual fund + of knowledge, and a pleasing gift of expression; but these advantages are + as yet not fully systematised or marshalled to best effect. Miss + Trafford's serial, "The Pursuit of the Innocent," concludes in this + number. This story bears many of the signs of juvenile workmanship, the + present instalment being so hurried in action that it almost attains the + brevity of a synopsis. Careful and analytical perusal of standard fiction + would assist greatly in maturing and perfecting the author's style. + "Religion and Superstition" is the current article in F. E. M. + Hercules' interesting series on Trinidad; and exhibits all the polish, + lucidity and conciseness of its predecessors. "His Photo," by Master + Randolph Trafford, is a very promising poem by a youthful bard. Every + rhyme is correct, which is more than can be claimed for a great deal of + the poesy perpetrated by older and more pretentious versifiers on this + side of the Atlantic. The present instalment of "The Choice," by Beryl + Mappin, is marked by considerable fluency and animation, though possessed + of certain limitations previously mentioned. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Merry Minutes</b> for March commences with the present critic's dull + lines "On Receiving a Picture of the Marshes at Ipswich." Passing to more + meritorious matter, we encounter Miss Mappin's latest literary article, + "Shakespeare," which interests even whilst it reveals deficiencies of + prose technique. "Jimmy's Little Girl," by Joseph Parks, is a vivid + transcript of military life by a military author. While the tale is not + one of vast originality, it nevertheless recommends itself through + simplicity and verisimilitude. Miss Mappin's serial "The Choice," + concludes in this issue. It is very praiseworthy for its many colourful + passages, but mildly censurable for its melodramatic atmosphere and + rhetorical lapses. The opening sentence of this instalment contains + instances of both of these faults: "A terrible foreboding gripped + Christabel's heart in bands of steel, as if for a moment to cleave her + tongue to the roof of her mouth." This is the last number of the + publication to appear under the present name. Beginning with the April + issue it will be known as <b>The Little Budget</b>; and will contain, on + the average, a rather higher grade of reading matter than heretofore. But + in forming a judgment of any kind, it is well to recognize that the + magazine's appeal is frankly popular. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Pep</b> for February is the first number of a somewhat extraordinary + enterprise conducted by George W. Macauley with the laudable object of + waking up a sleeping amateurdom. The editor very justly takes the press + associations to task for their manifold sins, particularly the dubious + circumstances surrounding a recent convention, in which it is needless to + say the United had no part. Mr. Macauley's literary attainments are very + considerable, but as yet unperfected. Possessed of rare charm in + descriptive prose, he needs to exercise a greater nicety of construction + in order to develop fully the riches which are his. Gifted with a large, + facile, and ingenious vocabulary, he is not sufficiently precise and + discriminating in his employment of words according to their finer shades + of meaning. This carelessness makes faults of his very virtues; for his + vigour of expression tends to take the form of <b>outre</b> and + inadmissible rhetoric, whilst his talent for word-painting tends to + degenerate into word-coining. It would be quite possible for an acute + critic to compile a dictionary of peculiarly Macaulian words and phrases, + to which the current <b>Pep</b> might contribute such terms as <b>probverb</b> + (proverb?). Spelling and punctuation also should claim more of Mr. + Macauley's time and attention; for he might easily avoid such slips as <b>believeing</b>, + <b>it's</b> (for <b>its</b>), <b>thots</b>, and the like. In short, Mr. + Macauley is at present a gifted writer and brilliant editor labouring + under the disadvantages of haste, carelessness, and perhaps a dash of + radicalism. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Phoenician</b> for Spring is the first number of an + enthusiastically conducted semi-professional venture of juvenile nature, + whose connexion with the United hinges on the associate editorship of our + clever recruit, Mr. James Mather Mosely. Like <b>Merry Minutes</b>, this + publication is of the popular rather than conservative sort; being + obviously designed primarily to please, secondarily to instruct.<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> We deplore + the use of commonplace and sensational topics, colloquial expressions, and + malformed spelling; but make due concessions to the youth of the editorial + staff and the nascent state of the periodical. So promising are the young + publishers that time cannot fail to refine and mature their efforts. "An + Hour with a Lunatic," by Harry B. Sadik, is a very short and very + thrilling tale of the "dime novel" variety. Mr. Sadik has a commendable + sense of the dramatic, which would serve him well should he choose a less + sensational field of endeavour. "Our Soldiers," a Canadian mother's war + song by Mrs. Minnie E. Taylor, exhibits merit, though having many signs of + imperfect technic. In line 2 of the first stanza <b>bid</b> should be + replaced by <b>bade</b>. The final rhyme of the poem, that of <b>gain</b> + and <b>name</b>, is false and inadmissible. Metrically there is much + roughness, which careful study and diligent reading of good verse can in + time correct. "Candy and Health," and "If You Were Down and Out," by James + Mather Mosely, are two typical newspaper interviews with representative + men. Mr. Mosely shows much aptitude as a reporter, having an almost + professional ease and fluency. This is not literature, but it is good + journalism. "The Dinner Never Paid For," by Viola Jameson, is a piece of + characteristic light fiction; commendably innocuous, and not at all + overburdened with philosophical complexity. "The Secret of Success," by + Edith L. Clark, is a promising bit of didactic prose. "The End of the + Road," by Pearl K. Merritt, is a brief essay of substantial worth. "The + Toll of the Sea," a poem by Harold Gordon Hawkins, shows considerable + merit despite irregularities. "Memories," by Arthur Goodenough, well + sustains the high poetical reputation of its author, though it is cruelly + marred by the illogical and censurable "simplified" spelling which the + young editors see fit to employ. One line affords a silent but striking + instance of the utter senselessness and confusion of the new + orthographical fad. This line reads: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Of human <b>thot</b> might well be <b>wrought</b>."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Now in the first place, <b>thot</b> does not express the true + pronunciation of <b>thought</b>. The word, thus written, tends to acquire + the vocal quality of <b>shot</b> or <b>blot</b>, as distinguished from <b>taught</b> + or <b>brought</b>. Secondly, in this place it is out of accord with <b>wrought</b>, + which is correctly spelled. If Messrs. Plummer and Mosely would be + logical, let them write <b>wrought</b> as <b>wrot</b>—or perhaps + plain <b>rot</b> would be still more correct and phonetic, besides + furnishing a laconic punning commentary on simple spelling in general. <b>The + Phoenician's</b> editorial column is conducted with laudable seriousness, + the item of "The Power of Books" being well worthy of perusal. What could + best be spared from the magazine are the vague jokes and cartoons, + purposeless "fillers" of miscellaneous nature, and columns of idle gossip + about things in general. Some of the moving picture items are greatly + suggestive of what a newspaper man would dub "press agent stuff." The + magazine represents a degree of purpose and energy quite rare amongst the + anaemic youth of today, and should receive corresponding encouragement + from the members of the United. Those who are inclined to censure its + professional aspect would do well to remember the much-vaunted beginnings + of amateur journalism, when the most highly respected sheets were of this + selfsame variety. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for November is heavily burdened with a sombre and + sinister short story from our own pen, entitled "The Alchemist." This is + our long unpublished credential to the United, and constitutes the first + and only piece of fiction we have ever laid before a critical and + discerning public wherefore we must needs beg all the charitable + indulgence the Association can extend to an humble though ambitious tyro. + A more interesting feature of the magazine is the biography of Mr. + Fritter, written by our brilliant Official Editor, Andrew Francis + Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart's quaint and friendly prose style is here displayed + at its best, giving a vivid and sympathetic portrayal of his prominent + subject. "Beyond the Law," by Mary Faye Durr, is a light short story of + excellent idea and construction, whose only censurable point is the use of + "simplified" spelling. We believe that some procedure of quite drastic + nature should be taken against the spread of this empty innovation before + our settled orthography shall have become completely disorganized. Even in + the United we can "do our bit." Our editors should band together in an + effort to exclude the new forms from their publications, and our + manuscript managers should see that every piece passing through their + hands is duly purged of these radical distortions. At<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> the same time, a series of + articles explaining and analysing the spelling problem should be given + wide publicity. The poetry in this issue is of encouraging quality. George + M. Whiteside, in "Dream of the Ideal," gives indications of real genius; + at the same time displaying a little of the technical infelicity which has + marked his earlier verse. Mr. Whiteside's greatest weakness is in the + domain of rhyme, a noticeable error in the present poem being the + attempted rhyming of <b>hours</b> with <b>bars</b> and <b>stars</b>. "I + Know a Garden," by Agnes Richmond Arnold, is a tuneful and beautiful lyric + of a somewhat Elizabethan type. The metre, as the lines are rendered, + appears to be quite unusual; but scansion reveals the fact that it is none + other than the octosyllabic couplet, disguised by the printer's art. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for December begins with "A Girl's Ambition," a poem by + Margaret Trafford. The general idea of the piece is both ingenious and + appropriate, but the language and technical development leave considerable + to be desired. In the first place, the rhyming plan is unfortunate; the + opening and concluding couplets of each stanza being unrhymed. In the + second place, the metre is irregular; departing very widely in places from + the iambic heptameter which appears to be the dominant measure. Miss + Trafford should cultivate an ear for rhythm, at the same time counting + very carefully the syllables in each line she composes. A third point + requiring mention is the occasional awkwardness of expression, a juvenile + fault which will doubtless amend itself in time. Just now we will call + attention to only one defect—the exceedingly forced abbreviation "<b>dresses'd</b>" + for <b>dresses would</b>. "To My Physician," by M. Estella Shufelt, is a + smooth, graceful, and serious poem whose only possible fault is the + infrequency of rhyme. This is not a technical defect, since the plan of + construction is well maintained throughout; but we believe a poem of this + type requires more than one rhyme to each stanza of eight lines. "The Old + Inn," a stirring short story by Gertrude L. Merkle, is a very promising + piece of work, albeit somewhat conventional and melodramatic. The + alliterative romance of Harry Henders and Hazel Hansen has a genuinely + mid-Victorian flavour. "Dead Men Tell No Tales," a short story by Ida + Cochran Haughton, is a ghastly and gruesome anecdote of the untenanted + clay; related by a village dressmaker. The author reveals much + comprehension of rural psychology in her handling of the theme; an + incident which might easily shake the reason of a sensitive and + imaginative person, merely "unnerves" the two quaint and prim maiden + ladies. Poe would have made of this tale a thing to gasp and tremble at; + Mrs. Haughton, with the same material, constructs genuine though grim + comedy! + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for January contains Editor Lockhart's captivatingly + graceful retrospect of the older amateur journalism, concluding with a + just and eloquent appeal for the revival of our ancient enthusiasm. "Who + Pays," by Helene H. Cole, is a brief and tragic story of considerable + sociological significance. We deplore the use of the false verbal form <b>alright</b>; + for while the expression <b>all right</b> may well occur in conversation + of the character uttering it, the two words should be written out in full. + "To a Babe," by Olive G. Owen, embodies in impeccable verse a highly + clever and pleasing array of poetical conceits; and deserves to be ranked + amongst the choicest of recent amateur offerings. "Girls are Like Gold," + by Paul J. Campbell, is a striking and witty adaptation of Thomas Hood's + celebrated lines on + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 15em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!<br /></span> <span class="i0">Bright + and yellow, hard and cold."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Campbell exhibits both ingenuity and metrical ability in this facile + <b>jeu d'esprit</b>. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for March contains "Love's Scarlet Roses," an exquisite + piece of lyric verse by Mary Henrietta Lehr of California. Miss Lehr, a + scholar and poetic genius of high order, is a prominent amateur of a few + years ago, lately returned to activity after a period of endeavour in + other fields. Her verse is uniformly distinguished by depth of + inspiration, delicacy of sentiment, and grace of structure; occupying a + place amongst the rarest products of amateurdom. Another poem of + remarkable merit in this issue is "The Gods' Return," by Olive G. Owen. + Inspired by a recent article from the pen of Richard Le Gallienne, these + well-wrought lines interpret one of the subtlest yet most potent of the<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> varied + moods created in the human breast by the momentous occurrences of the age. + Looking over the file of THE UNITED AMATEUR for the present administrative + year, one may discover a diverse and meritorious array of poetry and + prose, which amply proves the contention of Pres. Campbell that a literary + official organ is not only feasible but eminently desirable. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Woodbee</b> for January introduces to amateurdom a new bard, Mr. J. + Morris Widdows, Hoosier exponent of rural simplicity. Mr. Widdows has + enjoyed considerable success in the professional world as a poet, + song-writer, and musical composer; hence it is no untried or faltering + quill which he brings within our midst. "Stringtown on the Pike," which + adorns the first page of the magazine, is a very pleasing bit of dialect + verse whose accent and cadences suggest the work of the late James + Whitcomb Riley. The metre is gratifyingly correct, and the rusticisms + exceedingly colourful; though the average reader might find it somewhat + difficult to associate the name Miko with Yankee countryside. Such a + praenomen carries with it suggestions of a rich brogue rather than a nasal + drawl. "Personal Liberty," a brilliant short essay by Leo Fritter, ably + and sensibly explodes one of the characteristically specious arguments of + the liquor advocates. Mr. Fritter's legal training aids him in presenting + a clear, polished, and logical arraignment of anti-prohibition hypocrisy. + "Just a Little Love Tale," by Elizabeth M. Ballou, is a smoothly + constructed bit of very light fiction. Mrs. Haughton's editorial, "A + Review of Reviews," is concise and sensible; giving a merited rebuke to + those who seek to create unrest and dissatisfaction in amateur journalism. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Woodbee</b> for April is an ample and attractive number, opening + with Dora H. Moitoret's excellent poem in the heroic couplet, "The April + Maiden." The metre of this piece follows the fashion of the nineteenth + rather than of the eighteenth century, having very few "end-stopt" lines + or sense-limiting couplets. The final rhyme of <b>caprice</b> and <b>these</b> + is somewhat imperfect, the effect being that of an attempted rhyme of <b>s</b> + and <b>z</b>. "Her Fateful Day," a short story by Maude Dolby, is pleasing + and ingenious despite certain improbabilities. "Ashes of Roses," by Frieda + M. Sanger, belongs to that abnormal and lamentable type of + pseudo-literature known as <b>vers libre</b>, and is the first serious + specimen of its kind ever inflicted upon the United. We are sincerely + sorry that one so gifted as Miss Sanger should descend to this hybrid, + makeshift medium, when she could so well express her thoughts either in + legitimate prose or legitimate verse. "Free Verse" has neither the flow of + real verse nor the dignity of real prose. It tends to develop obnoxious + eccentricities of expression, and is closely associated with bizarre and + radical vagaries of thought. It is in nine cases out of ten a mere refuge + of the obtuse, hurried, indolent, ignorant, or negligent bard who cannot + or will not take the time and pains to compose genuine poetry or even + passable verse. It has absolutely no justification for existence, and + should be shunned by every real aspirant to literary excellence, no matter + how many glittering inducements it seems to hold out. True, a person of + very little knowledge or ability can make himself appear extremely + cultured, aesthetic, and aristocratic by juggling a few empty words in the + current fashion; scribbling several lines of unequal length, each + beginning with a capital letter. It is an admirably easy way to acquire a + literary reputation without much effort. As the late W. S. Gilbert + once wrote of a kindred fad: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 15em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"The meaning doesn't matter<br /></span> <span class="i2">If + it's only idle chatter<br /></span> <span class="i0">Of a transcendental + kind."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + But we believe that the members of the United are more earnest and solid + in their ambition, hence we advise Miss Sanger to turn her undoubted + talent into more substantial channels. That she possesses genuine poetic + genius is amply evident, even from the specimen of <b>vers libre</b> + before us. The labour of real versification will be more arduous, but the + fruits will prove richer in proportion. It is better to glean a little + gold than much fools' gold. Miss Sanger's nephew, Mr. Norman Sanger, is + more conservative in his tastes, and is creditably represented by his + lines on "The Ol' Fishin' Hole." This piece contains many of the + rhythmical defects common to juvenile composition, but is pervaded by a + naturalness and pastoral simplicity which promise well for its young + author. Wider reading and closer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> + rhetorical study will supply all that Mr. Sanger now lacks. At present we + should advise him to seek metrical regularity by taking some one well + defined line as a model, and moulding all the others to it by counting + the syllables and intoning the accents in each. In the case of the + present poem, the very first line will serve as a perfect guide; its + conformity to the iambic heptameter plan being absolute. The alternating + stresses of the fourteen syllables should be noted and copied: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 27em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"The <b>days</b> are <b>get</b>-tin' <b>balm</b>-y <b>now</b>, + and <b>first</b>-est <b>thing</b> you <b>know</b>."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Two defects of rhyme are to be noted. <b>By</b> and <b>lullaby</b> cannot + properly be rhymed, since the rhyming syllables are <b>identical</b>, + instead of merely <b>similar</b>. "<b>Rapcher</b>" and <b>laughter</b> do + not rhyme at all. Miss Haughton's essay "Is a Lie Ever Justifiable?" forms + a prominent feature of the magazine, and presents some very ingenious + though dogmatic reasoning. Mrs. Haughton's editorial, "United We Stand," + is an exceedingly timely appeal for genuine amateur activity, and should + be of much value in stimulating a renaissance of the Association. The + passage reading "Who has been the latest victim of Cupid? <b>Whom</b> of + Hymen?" arouses a query as to the grammatical status of <b>whom</b>. We + fear this is what Franklin P. Adams of the <b>New York Tribune</b> + playfully calls a "<b>Cyrilization</b>." It is, as all readers of "The + Conning Tower" can testify, a remarkably common error; and one into which + many of the leading authors of the age frequently fall. The jingle "A + Soldier's Delight," by George William Stokes, concludes the current issue + in tuneful manner. + </p> + <p> + Amidst the present dearth of amateur magazines it is ever a delight to + behold <b>The Woodbee</b>; meritorious in contents and regular in + issuance. The debt of the United to the Columbus Club is indeed a heavy + one. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc"> + <img src="images/002.png" width="537" height="39" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XVI + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 9 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + GEORGETOWN, ILL., JULY, 1917 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Ode For July Fourth, 1917</span> + </h3> + <div class="poem" style="width: 26em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">As Columbia's brave scions, in anger array'd,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Once defy'd a proud monarch and built a new nation;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">'Gainst their brothers of Britain unsheath'd the sharp + blade<br /></span> <span class="i2">That hath ne'er met defeat nor + endur'd desecration;<br /></span> <span class="i6">So must we in this + hour<br /></span> <span class="i6">Show our valour and pow'r,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And dispel the black perils that over us low'r:<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Whilst the sons of Britannia, no longer our foes,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Will rejoice in our triumphs and strengthen our blows!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">See the banners of Liberty float in the breeze<br /></span> + <span class="i2">That plays light o'er the regions our fathers defended;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Hear the voice of the million resound o'er the leas,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">As the deeds of the past are proclaim'd and commended;<br /></span> + <span class="i6">And in splendour on high<br /></span> <span class="i6">Where + our flags proudly fly,<br /></span> <span class="i0">See the folds we + tore down flung again to the sky:<br /></span> <span class="i2">For the + Emblem of England, in kinship unfurl'd,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Shall + divide with Old Glory the praise of the world!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Bury'd now are the hatreds of subject and King,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And the strife that once sunder'd an Empire hath + vanish'd.<br /></span> <span class="i0">With the fame of the Saxon the + heavens shall ring<br /></span> <span class="i2">As the vultures of + darkness are baffled and banish'd:<br /></span> <span class="i6">And the + broad British sea,<br /></span> <span class="i6">Of her enemies free,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Shall in tribute bow gladly, Columbia, to thee:<br /></span> + <span class="i2">For the friends of the Right, in the field side by + side,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Form a fabric of Freedom no hand can + divide!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + </div> + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Department of Public Criticism</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>The Conservative</b> for July opens with Ira A. Cole's delightful and + melodious lines "In Vita Elysium" (Heaven in Life), which present a strong + arraignment of those conventional theologians who deem all things + beautiful reserved for a vague existence after death. While the orthodox + reader may deem the flight of the imagination too free, the rational and + appreciative litterateur will delight in the vigour of imagination and + delicacy of fancy displayed. The metrical structure is beyond reproach in + taste and fluency, the regular and spirited heroic couplets affording a + refreshing contrast to the harsh and languid measures of the day. Mr. + Cole's poetical future is bright indeed, for he possesses an innate + conception of fitness and poetic values which too few of his + contemporaries can boast. We wish to emphasize to those readers who are + familiar with <b>The Conservative's</b> editorial policy, that the lines + appear practically without revision; every bold conception and stroke of + genius being Mr. Cole's own. Two couplets in particular delight the ear + and the imagination, proving the author's claim to distinction as a poet + of the purest classical type: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 23em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Go! Go! vain man, to those unbounded fanes<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Where God's one proven priest—fair Nature—reigns."<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Uplifted, glad, thy spirit then shall know<br /></span> + <span class="i0">That life is light, and heaven's here below!"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "The Genesis of the Revolutionary War," by Henry Clapham McGavack, is one + of those searchingly keen bits of iconoclastic analysis which have made + Mr. McGavack so famous as an essayist since his advent to the United. Our + author here explodes conclusively a large body of bombastic legend which + false textbooks have inflicted upon successive generations of innocent + American youth. We are shown beyond a doubt that the Revolution of 1776 + was no such one-sided affair as the petty political "historians" would + have us believe, and that our Mother Country indeed had a strong case + before the bar of International justice. It is an article which makes us + doubly proud of our racial and cultural affiliations. + </p> + <p> + "Sweet Frailty," a poem by Mary Henrietta Lehr, contains all those + elements of charm, delicacy, and ingenuity which mark its author as one of + amateurdom's most cultivated and gifted members. + </p> + <p> + Of the editorial column modesty forbids us to speak, but we hope the + amateur public may be duly charitable with our shortcomings as therein + displayed. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Inspiration</b> for April is a "Tribute Number," dedicated to the + amateur journalists of Great Britain and Canada who have devoted their + lives and fortunes to the cause of civilisation and the Empire. With so + wonderfully inspiring a subject, it is small wonder that the magazine + lives gloriously up to its name. Miss von der Heide shows extreme skill + and sympathy in the editorship of the publication, and in the verses which + she contributes; proving herself worthy indeed of the high place she has + occupied in amateurdom for so many years. + </p> + <p> + "The Lion's Brood," by Henry Clapham McGavack, exhibits the versatility of + this brilliant writer; for though he is by preference a concise essayist, + he here rises to great heights in the domain of rhetorical panegyric. His + stirring encomium is ingeniously continued by Mr. William T. Harrington, + who adds many merited words of praise for our kindred across the seas. The + present critic's lines are as full of heartfelt love of England as they + are wanting in merit; while the lines of Olive G. Owen possess both deep + fervour and conspicuous merit. Mrs. Griffith's tribute, "He Conquers who + Endures," breathes out the true spirit of the American nation today, + anticipating the official action of a cautious and slow-moving government. + The "Open Letters" of Messrs. Macauley, Stokes and Martin, speak the brave + spirit of the age, and make us the more sharply regretful of our own + rejection for military service. "Treasure," by Miss von der Heide, is an + appealing bit of sentiment, whose interest is timely indeed. + </p> + <p> + Viewed as a whole, <b>The Inspiration</b> takes first rank amongst the + amateur papers published since March. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Little Budget</b> for May opens with Paul<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> J. Campbell's meritorious poem + entitled "Signals." Mr. Campbell, always facile in metre, exhibits + increasing power in the realm of poetical imagination, and is entitled to + a substantial place on the slopes of Parnassus. A misprint in the present + version of "Signals" gives <b>look</b> when <b>looked</b> should appear. + </p> + <p> + "The Adventures of 'Dido' Plum," by Joseph Parks, is a pleasing story of + military life by one who is himself a soldier. Mr. Parks' brief sketches + form a pleasing feature of the contemporary amateur press, being + distinguished by a naturalness which intensifies their interest as literal + transcripts of the army atmosphere. "Road Song," a tuneful lyric by + Eleanor J. Barnhart, marks the first appearance of that brilliant author + as a poet. Her inexperience in this art, however, is not at all to be + suspected from this fervent and finished composition; which might well do + credit to some of our veteran bards. "Impulse," by Norah Sloane Stanley, + is described as "A Parisian Fragment," and exhibits much ingenuity in + spirit and atmosphere. "Keep a Cheerful Countenance," by Eugene B. Kuntz, + is a poem of great merit despite the doubtful rhyme of <b>way</b> and <b>quality</b> + in the last stanza. Miss Mappin, in her article on Milton, displays her + ample knowledge of literary history, and even more than her customary + fluency. "The Contented Robin," a poem by Margaret Mahon, is apt, pleasing + and harmonious; whilst Miss Trafford's brief jingle is quaint and clever. + "Spring," by Randolph Trafford (aetat 10) is full of the exuberant vigour + of youth, and speaks well for the future of this bright young bard. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Little Budget</b> for June gains distinction from Henry Clapham + McGavack's brilliant essay on American Anglophobia, entitled "Blood is not + Thicker Than Water." This acute analysis of anti-British sentiment among + certain classes in the States reveals a lamentable result of bigotry and + historical ignorance; which may, we hope, be cured by the new bonds of + alliance betwixt the Old and the New Englands. As Mr. McGavack well + demonstrates, most of our Anglophobia is manufactured by the alleged + "historians" who poison the minds of the young through mendacious + textbooks. This species of false teaching, an evil potently fostered by + the Fenians and Sinn Feiners who lurk serpent-like in our midst, is one + which cannot too soon be eradicated; for the cultural identity and moral + unity of the States and the Empire make such sources of unintelligent + prejudice increasingly nauseous and detrimental. We may add that the + textbook treatment of our War between the States is almost equally unfair, + the Northern cause being ridiculously exalted above the brave and + incredibly high-minded attitude of the Confederacy. + </p> + <p> + Another delightful prose contribution is "Back to Blighty," by Joseph + Parks, a vivid vignette of one phase of military life. "Trinidad and its + Forests," by F. E. M. Hercules, is marked by its author's + customary ease of expression and felicity of diction; presenting many + facts of general interest. The poetry in this issue includes work from the + pens of J. E. Hoag, H. P. Lovecraft, Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, Beryl + Mappin, and the Editor. Dr. Kuntz's lines to the memory of Phillips + Gamwell are animated with a nobility which well befits their subject, + though the rhyme of <b>day</b> and <b>melody</b> is not strictly correct. + Few amateur poets are able to achieve the sonorous dignity which Dr. Kuntz + imparts to his flowing Alexandrines, or to select with equal + appropriateness the vivid and musical words that so irresistibly delight + the ear and impress the imagination. Miss Mappin's metrical effort, + entitled "Only a Thought," betrays some of the crudities of youth; + including the attempted rhyme of <b>alone</b> and <b>home</b>. The metre, + phraseology, and plan of rhyming demand extensive revision, the following + being a possible amended version of the piece: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 24em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">As sad and alone in a distant land<br /></span> <span + class="i2">I sat by the dismal shore,<br /></span> <span class="i0">My + chin laid pensively in my hand,<br /></span> <span class="i2">And my + dreams all of home once more;<br /></span> <span class="i0">I watch'd and + mus'd o'er the sunless sea,<br /></span> <span class="i2">And study'd the + cruel foam;<br /></span> <span class="i0">For the waves bore an exile's + woe to me,<br /></span> <span class="i2">From my kindred forc'd to roam.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">But lo! floating light upon the wind<br /></span> <span + class="i2">And murm'ing o'er ocean crest,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Come + the thoughts of those I left behind,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Bringing + comfort and love and rest.<br /></span> <span class="i0">Only a word—aye, + only a thought!<br /></span> <span class="i2">Each speeds like a + heav'n-sent dart;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Who can measure the + gladness and aid they've brought—<br /></span> <span class="i2">These + thoughts—to the breaking heart?<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + The first line of the original, "<b>Far away</b> in a<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> <b>distant</b> land," is + lamentably pleonastic; whilst the identity or intended identity of the + second and fourth rhymes is undesirable. In a verse of this type, it is + not well to repeat a rhyme immediately. In the second stanza the first and + third lines and the fifth and seventh are unrhymed, a variation from the + original design which is not sanctioned by custom. Once a poet decides on + his metre and plan of rhyme, he should maintain them unchanged throughout + the poem. In the foregoing revised version, all these defects have been + remedied. Miss Trafford's poem, "After a Dream," shows much promise both + technically and in the thought. The final line of the first stanza, "And + the joy it contains is much," is very weak; and should be changed to read: + "And of joy it contains so much." In writing the definite article, Miss + Trafford mistakenly uses the contracted form <b>th'</b> when full syllabic + value is to be given. This contraction is employed only when the article + is metrically placed as a proclitic before another word, and is thereby + shorn of its separate pronunciation as follows: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0"><b>Th' ambitious</b> bard a nobler theme essays.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + The illustrated bit of humor by George William Stokes deserves mention as + presenting one of the cleverest drawings to appear lately in the amateur + press. It is difficult to decide in which domain Mr. Stokes shines the + more brightly, literature or pictorial art. His heading for <b>The Little + Budget</b> is a masterpiece of its kind. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Pippin</b> for May brings once more to our notice amateurdom's + foremost high-school club, the Appleton aggregation, whose existence is + due to Mr. Maurice W. Moe's untiring efforts. "Doings of the Pippins," by + Joseph Harriman, is a terse and informing chronicle of recent activity. + "Once Upon a Time," by Florence A. Miller, is a bit of humorous verse + whose metre might be improved by the use of greater care. "Some Cloth!," + by John Ingold, is an exceedingly clever piece of wit; which, though + avowedly Irish, bears the characteristic hall-mark of native American + humor. The delightful exaggerations recall some of the brightest spots in + American light literature. "Speed," by Matilda Harriman, is an interesting + sketch recalling Poe's "Mellonta Tauta," in its imaginative flights. "From + Over the Threshold," by Ruth Ryan, shows much promise in the realm of + fiction. "Once an Amateur, Always an Amateur" is one of those rare bits of + prose with which our distinguished Critical member, Mr. Moe, favours us. + We are proud of the unshaken amateur allegiance of so brilliant a + personality, and trust that some day he may realise his dream of "an attic + or basement printshop." "The Press Club," by Ruth Schumaker, is a pleasing + sketch, as is also Miss Kelly's "Our Club and the United." We trust that + the Appleton Club may safely weather the hard times of which Miss Kelly + complains. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + THE UNITED AMATEUR for May contains a captivating and graceful sketch by + W. Edwin Gibson, entitled "Beauty." Mr. Gibson is one of our younger + members who bids fair to become prominent in the coming amateur + generation. Of the month's poetry, we may mention with particular + commendation Miss von der Heide's "Worship," though through some error, + possibly typographical, the final line of the second stanza seems to lack + two syllables. "When Dreams Come True," by Kathleen Foster Smith, is + likewise of more than common merit, though the word <b>hear</b> in the + second line of the second stanza is probably a misprint for <b>heard</b>. + "Smile," by O. M. Blood, is ingenious though scarcely novel. Its + chief defects are inequalities in the lines, which care should be able to + correct. The first line contains two superfluous syllables, while the + fourth line contains one too many. The ninth line of the final section + contains two syllables too many, as do the tenth and eleventh lines as + well. The rhyme of <b>appear</b> and <b>disappear</b> is incorrect, since + syllables in rhyme should be merely similar—not the same. Mr. Blood + requires much practice in poetry, but undoubtedly possesses the germ of + success. "To the U. A. P. A.," by Matthew Hilson, is + acceptable in construction and delightful in sentiment, laying strata on + the new Anglo-American unity—the one redeeming feature of the + present international crisis. THE UNITED AMATEUR closes with a quotation + from Euripides, which we will not attempt to review here, since the author + has been receiving critical attention from far abler men for many + centuries! + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="sp8">H. P. LOVECRAFT,</span><br /> Chairman. + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + NEWS NOTES + </h3> + <p> + Maurice W. Moe, Chief of our Department of Private Criticism, is trying a + novel experiment this summer for the sake of his health. He has undertaken + a labourer's work on one of the new buildings of Lawrence College, lifting + planks, shovelling mud, and wheeling bags of cement like a seasoned + workingman. While painful at first, the regimen is proving actually + beneficial, and Mr. Moe is proud of the physical prowess he is beginning + to exhibit. One of our amateur poetasters recently perpetrated the + following four lines on the unusual occurrence of a learned instructor + working manually upon a college building: + </p> + <h4> + To M. W. M. + </h4> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Behold the labourer, who builds the walls<br /></span> + <span class="i0">That soon shall shine as Learning's sacred halls;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">A man so apt at ev'ry art and trade,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">He well might govern what his hands have made!<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <div class="figc" style="width: 552px;"> + <img src="images/004.png" width="552" height="64" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XVII + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 2 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + ATHOL, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1917 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Humphry Littlewit, Esq. + </h4> + <p> + The Privilege of Reminiscence, however rambling or tiresome, is one + generally allow'd to the very aged; indeed, 'tis frequently by means of + such Recollections that the obscure occurrences of History, and the lesser + Anecdotes of the Great, are transmitted to Posterity. + </p> + <p> + Tho' many of my readers have at times observ'd and remark'd a Sort of + antique Flow in my Stile of Writing, it hath pleased me to pass amongst + the Members of this Generation as a young Man, giving out the Fiction that + I was born in 1890, in <b>America</b>. I am now, however, resolv'd to + unburthen myself of a secret which I have hitherto kept thro' Dread of + Incredulity; and to impart to the Publick a true knowledge of my long + years, in order to gratifie their taste for authentick Information of an + Age with whose famous Personages I was on familiar Terms. Be it then known + that I was born on the family Estate in <b>Devonshire</b>, of the 10th day + of August, 1690, (or in the new <b>Gregorian</b> Stile of Reckoning, the + 20th of August) being therefore now in my 228th year. Coming early to <b>London</b>, + I saw as a Child many of the celebrated Men of King <b>William's</b> + Reign, including the lamented Mr. <b>Dryden</b>, who sat much at the + Tables of <b>Will's</b> Coffee-House. With Mr. <b>Addison</b> and Dr. <b>Swift</b> + I later became very well acquainted, and was an even more familiar Friend + to Mr. <b>Pope</b>, whom I knew and respected till the Day of his Death. + But since it is of my more recent Associate, the late Dr. <b>Johnson</b>, + that I am at this time desir'd to write; I will pass over my Youth for the + present. + </p> + <p> + I had first Knowledge of the Doctor in May of the year 1738, tho' I did + not at that Time meet him. Mr. <b>Pope</b> had just compleated his + Epilogue to his Satires, (the Piece beginning: "Not twice a Twelvemonth + you appear in Print.") and had arrang'd for its Publication. On the very + Day it appear'd, there was also publish'd a Satire in Imitation of <b>Juvenal</b>, + entituled "<b>London</b>," by the then unknown <b>Johnson</b>; and this so + struck the Town, that many Gentlemen of Taste declared, it was the Work of + a greater Poet than Mr. <b>Pope</b>. Notwithstanding what some Detractors + have said of Mr. <b>Pope's</b> petty Jealousy, he gave the Verses of his + new Rival no small Praise; and having learnt thro' Mr. <b>Richardson</b> + who the Poet was, told me, "that Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> + <b>Johnson</b> wou'd soon be <b>deterre</b>." + </p> + <p> + I had no personal Acquaintances with the Doctor till 1763, when I was + presented to him at the <b>Mitre</b> Tavern by Mr. <b>James Boswell</b>, a + young <b>Scotchman</b> of excellent Family and great Learning, but small + Wit, whose metrical Effusions I had sometimes revis'd. + </p> + <p> + Dr. <b>Johnson</b>, as I beheld him, was a full, pursy Man, very ill + drest, and of slovenly Aspect. I recall him to have worn a bushy Bob-Wig, + untyed and without Powder, and much too small for his Head. His Cloaths + were of rusty brown, much wrinkled, and with more than one Button missing. + His Face, too full to be handsom, was likewise marred by the Effects of + some scrofulous Disorder; and his Head was continually rolling about in a + sort of convulsive way. Of this Infirmity, indeed, I had known before; + having heard of it from Mr. <b>Pope</b>, who took the Trouble to make + particular Inquiries. + </p> + <p> + Being nearly seventy-three, full nineteen Years older than Dr. <b>Johnson</b>, + (I say Doctor, tho' his Degree came not till two Years afterward) I + naturally expected him to have some Regard for my Age; and was therefore + not in that Fear of him, which others confess'd. On my asking him what he + thought of my favourable Notice of his Dictionary in <b>The Londoner</b>, + my periodical Paper, he said: "Sir, I possess no Recollection of having + perus'd your Paper, and have not a great Interest in the Opinions of the + less thoughtful Part of Mankind." Being more than a little piqued at the + Incivility of one whose Celebrity made me solicitous of his Approbation, I + ventur'd to retaliate in kind, and told him, I was surpris'd that a Man of + Sense shou'd judge the Thoughtfulness of one whose Productions he admitted + never having read. "Why, Sir," reply'd <b>Johnson</b>, "I do not require + to become familiar with a Man's Writings in order to estimate the + Superficiality of his Attainments, when he plainly shews it by his + Eagerness to mention his own Productions in the first Question he puts to + me." Having thus become Friends, we convers'd on many Matters. When, to + agree with him, I said I was distrustful of the Authenticity of <b>Ossian's</b> + Poems, Mr. <b>Johnson</b> said: "That, Sir, does not do your Understanding + particular Credit; for what all the Town is sensible of, is no great + Discovery for a <b>Grub-Street</b> Critick to make. You might as well say, + you have a strong Suspicion that <b>Milton</b> wrote 'Paradise Lost!'" + </p> + <p> + I thereafter saw <b>Johnson</b> very frequently, most often at Meetings of + THE LITERARY CLUB, which was founded the next Year by the Doctor, together + with Mr. <b>Burke</b>, the parliamentary Orator, Mr. <b>Beauclerk</b>, a + Gentleman of Fashion, Mr. <b>Langton</b>, a pious Man and Captain of + Militia, Sir <b>J. Reynolds</b>, the widely known Painter, Dr. <b>Goldsmith</b>, + the Prose and poetick Writer, Dr. <b>Nugent</b>, father-in-law to Mr. <b>Burke</b>, + Sir <b>John Hawkins</b>, Mr. <b>Anthony Chamier</b>, and my self. We + assembled generally at seven o'clock of an Evening, once a Week, at the <b>Turk's-Head</b>, + in <b>Gerrard-Street</b>, <b>Soho</b>, till that Tavern was sold and made + into a private Dwelling; after which Event we mov'd our Gatherings + successively to <b>Prince's</b> in <b>Sackville-Street</b>, <b>Le + Tellier's</b> in <b>Dover-Street</b>, and <b>Parsloe's</b> and the <b>Thatched + House</b> in <b>St. James's-Street</b>. In these Meetings we preserv'd a + remarkable Degree of Amity and Tranquillity, which contrasts very + favourably with some of the Dissensions and Disruptions I observe in the + literary and amateur Press Associations of today. This Tranquillity was + the more remarkable, because we had amongst us Gentlemen of very opposed + Opinions. Dr. <b>Johnson</b> and I, as well as many others, were high + Tories; whilst Mr. <b>Burke</b> was a Whig, and against the <b>American</b> + War, many of his Speeches on that Subject having been widely publish'd. + The least congenial Member was one of the Founders, Sir <b>John Hawkins</b>, + who hath since written many misrepresentations of our Society. Sir <b>John</b>, + an eccentrick Fellow, once declin'd to pay his part of the Reckoning for + Supper, because 'twas his Custom at Home to eat no Supper. Later he + insulted Mr. <b>Burke</b> in so intolerable a Manner, that we all took + Pains to shew our Disapproval; after which Incident he came no more to our + Meetings. However, he never openly fell out with the Doctor, and was the + Executor of his Will; tho' Mr. <b>Boswell</b> and others have Reason to + question the genuineness of his Attachment. Other and later Members of the + CLUB were Mr. <b>David Garrick</b>, the Actor and early Friend of Dr. <b>Johnson</b>, + Messieurs <b>Tho.</b> and <b>Jos. Warton</b>, Dr. <b>Adam Smith</b>, Dr. + <b>Percy</b>, Author of the "Reliques," Mr. <b>Edw. Gibbon</b>, the + Historian, Dr. <b>Burney</b>, the Musician, Mr. <b>Malone</b>, the + Critick, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> + Mr. <b>Boswell</b>. Mr. <b>Garrick</b> obtain'd Admittance only with + Difficulty; for the Doctor, notwithstanding his great Friendship, was for + ever affecting to decry the Stage and all Things connected with it. <b>Johnson</b>, + indeed, had a most singular Habit of speaking for <b>Davy</b> when others + were against him, and of arguing against him, when others were for him. I + have no Doubt but that he sincerely lov'd Mr. <b>Garrick</b>, for he never + alluded to him as he did to <b>Foote</b>, who was a very coarse Fellow + despite his comick Genius. Mr. <b>Gibbon</b> was none too well lik'd, for + he had an odious sneering Way which offended even those of us who most + admir'd his historical Productions. Mr. <b>Goldsmith</b>, a little Man + very vain of his Dress and very deficient in Brilliancy of Conversation, + was my particular Favourite; since I was equally unable to shine in the + Discourse. He was vastly jealous of Dr. <b>Johnson</b>, tho' none the less + liking and respecting him. I remember that once a Foreigner, a <b>German</b>, + I think, was in our Company; and that whilst <b>Goldsmith</b> was + speaking, he observ'd the Doctor preparing to utter something. + Unconsciously looking upon <b>Goldsmith</b> as a meer Encumbrance when + compar'd to the greater Man, the Foreigner bluntly interrupted him and + incurr'd his lasting Hostility by crying, "Hush, Toctor <b>Shonson</b> iss + going to speak!" + </p> + <p> + In this luminous Company I was tolerated more because of my Years than for + my Wit or Learning; being no Match at all for the rest. My Friendship for + the celebrated Monsieur <b>Voltaire</b> was ever a Cause of Annoyance to + the Doctor; who was deeply orthodox, and who us'd to say of the <b>French</b> + Philosopher: "Vir est acerrimi Ingenii et paucarum Literarum." + </p> + <p> + Mr. <b>Boswell</b>, a little teazing Fellow whom I had known for some Time + previously, us'd to make Sport of my aukward Manners and old-fashion'd Wig + and Cloaths. Once coming in a little the worse for Wine (to which he was + addicted) he endeavour'd to lampoon me by means of an Impromptu in verse, + writ on the Surface of the Table; but lacking the Aid he usually had in + his Composition, he made a bad grammatical Blunder. I told him, he shou'd + not try to pasquinade the Source of his Poesy. At another Time <b>Bozzy</b> + (as we us'd to call him) complain'd of my Harshness toward new Writers in + the Articles I prepar'd for The Monthly Review. He said, I push'd every + Aspirant off the Slopes of Parnassus. "Sir," I reply'd, "you are mistaken. + They who lose their Hold do so from their own Want of Strength; but + desiring to conceal their Weakness, they attribute the absence of Success + to the first Critick that mentions them." I am glad to recall that Dr. <b>Johnson</b> + upheld me in this Matter. + </p> + <p> + Dr. <b>Johnson</b> was second to no Man in the Pains he took to revise the + bad Verses of others; indeed, 'tis said that in the book of poor blind old + Mrs. <b>Williams</b>, there are scarce two lines which are not the + Doctor's. At one Time <b>Johnson</b> recited to me some lines by a Servant + to the Duke of <b>Leeds</b>, which had so amus'd him, that he had got them + by Heart. They are on the Duke's Wedding, and so much resemble in Quality + the Work of other and more recent poetick Dunces, that I cannot forbear + copying them: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"When the Duke of <b>Leeds</b> shall marry'd be<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To a fine young Lady of high Quality<br /></span> <span + class="i0">How happy will that Gentlewoman be<br /></span> <span + class="i0">In his Grace of <b>Leeds'</b> good Company."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + I ask'd the Doctor, if he had ever try'd making Sense of this Piece; and + upon his saying he had not, I amus'd myself with the following Amendment + of it: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">When Gallant LEEDS auspiciously shall wed<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The virtuous Fair, of antient Lineage bred,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">How must the Maid rejoice with conscious Pride<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To win so great an Husband to her Side!<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + On shewing this to Dr. <b>Johnson</b>, he said, "Sir, you have + straightened out the Feet, but you have put neither Wit nor Poetry into + the Lines." + </p> + <p> + It wou'd afford me Gratification to tell more of my Experiences with Dr. + <b>Johnson</b> and his circle of Wits; but I am an old Man, and easily + fatigued. I seem to ramble along without much Logick or Continuity when I + endeavour to recall the Past; and fear I light upon but few Incidents + which others have not before discuss'd. Shou'd my present Recollections + meet with Favour, I might later set down some further Anecdotes of old + Times of which I am the only Survivor. I recall many Things of <b>Sam + Johnson</b> and his Club, having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> + kept up my Membership in the Latter long after the Doctor's Death, at + which I sincerely mourn'd. I remember how <b>John Burgoyne</b>, Esq., the + General, whose Dramatick and Poetical Works were printed after his Death, + was blackballed by three Votes; probably because of his unfortunate + Defeat in the <b>American</b> War, at <b>Saratoga</b>. Poor <b>John</b>! + His Son fared better, I think, and was made a Baronet. But I am very + tired. I am old, very old; it is Time for my Afternoon Nap. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">DEPARTMENT <i>of</i> PUBLIC CRITICISM</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>The Dabbler</b>, for September, in the entire unexpectedness and + splendor of its appearance, must be counted as one of the most effective + of recent rebukes to the pessimists. There have been several such rebukes, + and those who had already prepared themselves for another barren year in + amateur journalism are beginning to realize that even history cannot be + relied upon to repeat itself indefinitely. <b>The Dabbler</b> is issued by + H. L. Lindquist of Chicago, and contains 16 pages, exclusive of the + covers. The initial letters and a few incidental adornments are printed in + green, and the title-page, with its harmonious arrangement of type and + decoration, is a delight to the eye. The typography, throughout, is almost + flawless, and the contents, in general, are worthy of the care with which + they have been presented to the reader. Paul J. Campbell, in his article, + "What Does Amateur Journalism Mean to You?" once again defines the + peculiar benefits and pleasures to be derived from our hobby, and warns + away all those who come to it because of an idle curiosity, or a vain + desire for self-glorification, or any motive other than a true impulse + toward mental development and literary culture. "A Critical Review," by + Frank C. Reighter, is devoted to the July <b>Brooklynite</b>, and subjects + that publication to a well-nigh exhaustive analysis and criticism. The + article is both interesting and instructive and reveals Mr. Reighter as an + acute and capable critic. The verses with which he concludes his remarks + are particularly clever and melodious, and furnish an excellent example of + light verse when it is written by one possessing a natural aptitude for + that form of expression. Jennie M. Kendall, in her fragment, "The One + Thing Needful," makes a modern business woman give her opinion of idle + wives, which she does in forceful, although not always accurate, English. + "U. A. P. A. Convention Echoes," by Litta Voelchert; "The + Old-Timer's Comeback," by L. J. Cohen; and "The Only Hope of A. J.," + by W. E. Mellinger, consist of reminiscence, assurance and advice, + from three well-known amateur journalists. The articles were obviously + written somewhat hastily but are, nevertheless, very interesting and + suggestive. H. L. Lindquist, in "At It Again," tells how he severed + his connection with amateur journalism six years ago—being occupied + with several professional ventures—only to find that the old passion + would not die and finally compelled him to return to his early<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> love. Those + who have seen the result of Mr. Lindquist's acquiescence in his Fate will + gain some idea of what his activity must have meant in other days. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Dabbler</b>, for October, follows hard upon its predecessor and, in + all essentials, is of equal merit. "Hiking in the Rocky Mountain National + Park," by Louis H. Kerber, Jr., is a well-written account of a tour + through some of America's most wonderful scenery, and reflects great + credit on Mr. Kerber's powers of observation. "Day-Dreams," by Frank C. + Reighter, is a didactic poem and so labors under an initial handicap in + attempting to hold the attention of the reader. The technique of the poet, + however, is deserving of praise, and if a fault must be pointed out, it is + in the forced pronunciation of the word "idea" in the last line, which + seems too cheap a device to appear in poetry, even when, as in the present + case, it is used intentionally. "Dominion Day in Winnipeg," by W. B. + Stoddard, is an account of a patriotic celebration in Canada and was + evidently witnessed by the writer on his recent—and somewhat + protracted—travels. "Ecstasy," a poem, by Eleanor J. Barnhart, + begins rather promisingly but we do not proceed very far before detecting + various crudities of craftsmanship. Lines like the following: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 20em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"The changing fire splendor of sky opals, rare,"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + and + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Like sea gulls swift soaring in tireless sky flight,"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + and, once again, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Till star gleams bright glittering high in mid-sky,"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + contain the germ of true poetry, but when we read them we are aware not + only of a harsh and difficult combination of consonants but also of an + entire absence of metrical swing and grace. In fact, we get an impression + from the above lines that an excessive number of important words have been + crowded hap-hazard upon a metrical pattern which was not intended to hold + so many, and it is not surprising that the fabric should show signs of + being subjected to a severe strain. But care and practise may yet awaken + that poet's instinct within Miss Barnhart which will enable her to detect + and reject, instantly, all such blemishes in what should be the rounded + beauty of her song. + </p> + <p> + Thomas Curtis Clark is indeed a poet of "Ring and Swing," as an editorial + note to his poems declares him to be. "The Dawn of Liberty" and "America's + Men" must be read in their entirety to be appreciated, but a quotation + from the latter poem may not be amiss. + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">We are America's men,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Brave, + dauntless and true;<br /></span> <span class="i0">We are America's men,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Ready to dare and do;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Ready + to wield the sword with might,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Ready the + tyrant's brow to smite—<br /></span> <span class="i0">And ready to + sheath the sword—for Right!<br /></span> <span class="i2">We are + America's Men.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + The unsigned story entitled, "The Man Out of Work," is very brief, but + apparently not the effort of a tyro. It would probably hold the attention + even if it were much longer and we are almost inclined to regret its + extreme abruptness. Nevertheless, it is complete as it stands and an + artistic whole. "Still At It," by Mr. Lindquist, gives us interesting + information regarding the editor and also some sound advice as to finding + congenial employment. Mr. Lindquist seems to be a philosopher whose + practise will bear comparison with his theory. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Olympian</b> for October, awakens much of the old-time thrill with + which amateurs were wont to receive the once frequent issues of that + justly known and esteemed publication. The present number is not so + ambitious in some respects as many of its predecessors, but it must be + said that within a somewhat smaller scope it accomplishes quite as much as + a more pretentious issue could hope to do. Nor is the latest <b>Olympian</b> + at all in need of any apologies for shortcomings in the way of size, + appearance, or general literary quality. Indeed, publications that consist + of 12 pages and cover are always certain of a hearty welcome, while the + present production of Mr. and Mrs. Cole has qualifications in addition to + those just mentioned that recommend it warmly to all readers. The poem, + "Motherhood," by Ethelwyn Dithridge is a truly noble and inspired effort. + Amateur journalism is fortunate to number a poet of Miss Dithridge's + attainments in its ranks. In "Retrospect and Prospect," Edward H.<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> Cole sums + up the three years of amateur history which have just passed and comes to + the conclusion that "the best hope for amateur journalism in these days of + stress and strain ... is in the peaceful co-operation of the surviving + associations in a campaign of expansion of a practicable nature." "Here + and Now," by Helene Hoffman Cole, consists of suggestions for the + practical co-operation proposed by Mr. Cole, and should be a stimulus to + increased activity in some positive form among present-day amateurs. "The + Reviewers' Club" is quite as authoritative and sound in its criticisms as + in the past and must always be considered one of the most delightful and + instructive features of <b>The Olympian</b>. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The National Amateur Press Association could hardly inaugurate a year of + promised activity more auspiciously than it has by the sterling issue of + its president's <b>Sprite</b>. It is just about everything that one could + ask for in amateur journalism. The modest grey of the cover, the + excellence of the paper stock, the flawlessness of the typography, the + exquisite taste with which the component parts are blended—all these + strike the eye at the first glance. When one comes to read the contents, + he finds each contribution well worth the setting. For a leading article + we have something that is well nigh unique in literature, either amateur + or professional, an attempted reconstruction of a scene supposedly excised + from "King Lear." This is so unusual, in fact, that it might well be + called a "stunt," but certainly it is a successful stunt. In the not + overly long scene presented, which pictures the ruthless hanging of + Cordelia and the Fool before the eyes of the aged Lear, we can discern no + quality that is not strictly Shakespearian. The language has been purged + of every trace of modernism and flows with that semi-solemn, archaic, + Elizabethan cadence that almost makes it hard to believe that it was + written in this century. But all this might be done without achieving the + supreme Shakespearian touch. The triumph of the scene is that the + character delineation is carried on with such a mastery of its intricacies + that this scene might be interpolated in a new edition of the play and + fool the higher critics of the future. The author, Samuel Loveman, is an + amateur of former days who celebrates his return to the hobby with this + feat so characteristic of his peculiar genius. The United has its + Lovecraft, a belated Georgian who says he is nowhere so much at home today + as he would be in the coffee-houses of Pope or Johnson. The National once + more after a lapse of years has its Loveman, a belated Elizabethan who + could have walked into the Mermaid Tavern and proved a congenial soul to + Kit Marlowe and friend Will. The United welcomes him back. + </p> + <p> + Harry Martin, the editor, follows with an essay on the elements of the + classic Greek tragedy to be found in "King Lear," which in depth, tone, + and general literary quality are strongly reminiscent of the best work + that appears in the <b>Atlantic Monthly</b>. As an essay it is perfect in + form, its thesis is stated clearly and developed with forceful logic, and + the wealth of material brought to bear upon the subject displays a + knowledge of Shakespeare and the classic drama worthy of Truman Spencer, + of beloved amateur memory. + </p> + <p> + The editorial section is only to be criticized in that Mr. Martin has cut + us off with so few of his readable "Views Martinique," but we shall live + in hopes of another excellent <b>Sprite</b> with a longer editorial + department. George Cribbs' "History" is just a little poem used for a + filler, but this must not be taken in derogation, for it is filler chosen + with the good taste that characterizes the choice of all the other + contributions. In spite of its simplicity and its brevity, it plays with + the deft touch of mastery on that chord of pathos that always vibrates to + the thought of Time's ceaseless and inevitable surge. From every point of + view the whole journal is a symphony of excellence. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Yerma</b>, for October, is edited by John H. D. Smith of + Orondo, Washington, and, aside from the fact that it is an attractive and + well-printed publication, may be considered as being rather in the nature + of a promise of future achievement. The dedicatory verses "To the Yerma," + by Alice M. Hamlet are fairly good so far as rhyme and metre are + concerned. They run smoothly and are really graceful in sentiment. They + contain one or two grammatical inversions, however, such as<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 13em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"I would a little jingle write,"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + and + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 13em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"I'd love to be a poet great,"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + which have no more right to appear in verse than in prose. Then, too, they + betray an occasional inelegance of expression like the following: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 11em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"I find that I am stuck."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + But Miss Hamlet should by all means persist in her versifying, since there + can be no doubt that she owns an instinctive grasp of the basic laws of + rhyme and rhythm. If she will read and study the lighter efforts to be + found in any standard anthology of poetry and then, with such models ever + before her, strive sincerely to overcome her present defects by + unremitting practise, Miss Hamlet may yet become a truly clever and + accomplished versifier. "The Reform Spirit—Its Mission," by P. A. + Spain, M. D., is an exceedingly able and thought provoking essay. It + is to be hoped that in future issues Mr. Smith will give us an inkling of + his own ideas on various subjects. The chief defect in <b>The Yerma</b> is + the entire absence of editorial comment. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">REPORTS OF OFFICERS</span> + </h3> + <h4> + PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + </h4> + <p class="noin"> + Fellow-Amateurs:— + </p> + <p> + The fourth month of the United's official year opens with the organization + still nearer completion; Mrs. Helene Hoffman Cole, former President and + thoroughly active and capable amateur, having accepted appointment as + Supervisor of Amendments. The Fourth Vice-Presidency has been accepted by + Alfred Galpin, Jr., 779 Kimball St., Appleton, Wisconsin. + </p> + <p> + The Official Editor is to be commended for the excellence of the September + <b>United Amateur</b>, as is also the printer, Mr. W. Paul Cook. The + Association will be gratified to hear that Mr. Cook has accepted the + position of Official Publisher for the year; but the members must remember + that only by their liberality in replenishing the Official Organ Fund, can + regular issuance be ensured. + </p> + <p> + The 1916-1917 Year-Book of the Association, having been completed by the + Committee, is now undergoing critical inspection and condensation by the + expert judgment of Messrs. Paul J. Campbell and Edward F. Daas. Here again + we appeal to the generosity of the members, especially the veteran + members, to make possible the publication in full of this epitome of + amateur history. Unless the Year-Book Fund is materially swelled, the + volume cannot possibly be printed in its unabridged form of sixty-three + closely typed manuscript pages. + </p> + <p> + The amateur press is now showing signs of a gradual recovery from the late + period of minimum activity. Mr. Martin's remarkable production, <b>The + Sprite</b>, Mr. Lindquist's two numbers of <b>The Dabbler</b>, Mr. and + Mrs. Cole's welcome <b>Olympian</b>, Mr. Cook's wonderfully ample <b>Vagrant</b>, + and Mr. John H. D. Smith's small but enterprising <b>Yerma</b>, all + attest the reality of this awakening. Within the next few months many more + papers are to be expected; including an excellent one from Miss Lehr, a + scholarly <b>Piper</b> from Mr. Kleiner, a brilliant first venture, <b>The + Arcadian</b>, from Mrs. Jordan, and both a <b>Vagrant</b> and a <b>Monadnock</b> + from Mr. Cook. Mr. Cook makes a truly philanthropic offer to print small + papers at reasonable rates, and it is to be hoped that a large number of + members will avail themselves of it, communicating with Mr. Cook regarding + particulars. His address is 451 Main St., Athol, Mass. + </p> + <p> + Recruiting proceeds steadily if not with meteoric rapidity, some excellent + material having been obtained since the beginning of the year's campaign. + The most serious defect in our system is the lack of a general welcome + shown the new members, particularly as regards the distribution of papers. + One of our most important recruits of last July, now a responsible + officer, declares he has seen but a fraction of the papers issued since + his entrance; a fact indicating a censurable but easily remediable + condition. Let us impress it upon ourselves, that if we would do our full + share toward maintaining the Association and its literary life, we must + see that all our respective publications reach <b>every</b> member new or + old. A considerable part of our yearly losses in membership are + undoubtedly due to the indifferent reception which<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> so many gifted newcomers + receive. + </p> + <p> + The general signs of the times are bright and encouraging. A renascent + amateur press, a closer co-operation between members, an influx of + interested recruits, and an improved state of relations with our + contemporaries, are but a few of the good omens which promise to make the + coming year a pleasing and profitable one. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + </div> + <div class="lft"> + October 28, 1917. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JANUARY 1918</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">REPORTS OF OFFICERS</span> + </h3> + <h4> + PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + </h4> + <p class="noin"> + Fellow-Amateurs:— + </p> + <p> + The dawn of the new year discovers the United in what may, considering the + general condition of the times, be called a very enviable position. With a + full complement of officers, and with the recruiting machinery fairly + under way, our course seems clear and our voyage propitious. + </p> + <p> + The November Official Organ deserves praise of the highest sort; and will + remain as a lasting monument to the editorial ability of Miss McGeoch and + the mechanical good taste of Mr. Cook. It has set a standard beneath which + it should not fall, but to maintain which a well-supplied Official Organ + Fund is absolutely necessary. If each member of the Association would send + a dollar, or even less, to Custodian McGeoch, this Fund might be certain + of continuance at a level which would ensure a large and regularly + published UNITED AMATEUR. + </p> + <p> + The publication of lists of new and prospective members should arouse + every amateur to recruiting activity, and cause each newcomer to receive a + goodly number of letters, papers, and postcards. It would be well if the + line of demarcation between Recruiting Committees and the general amateur + public were not so sharply drawn; for whilst it is the duty of the + official recruiter to approach these new names, any other members confer + no less a favour on the United by doing so unofficially. We must remedy + the condition which permits able writers to join and pass out of the + Association almost without a realization of the fact of their membership. + How few of these gifted amateurs who entered in 1915-1916 are now with us! + </p> + <p> + Publishing activity is strikingly exemplified by the appearance of <b>Spindrift</b>, + a regularly issued monthly from the able pen of Sub-Lieut. Ernest Lionel + McKeag of the Royal Navy. When a busy naval officer in active service can + edit so excellent a magazine as this, no civilian should complain that the + present war has made amateur journalism an impossibility! The number of + papers expected in the near future has been increased by a plan of the + Second Vice-President to unite the members of the Recruiting Committee in + a co-operative editorial venture. It is to be hoped that this enterprise + may succeed as well as similar papers conducted during former + administrations. Of great interest to the literary element will be Mr. + Cook's contemplated volume of laureate poetry, containing the winning + pieces of all our competitions from the establishment of Laureateships to + the present time. + </p> + <p> + The Association extends its heartiest congratulations, individually and + collectively, to ex-Pres. Campbell and Treasurer Barnhart, who were most + auspiciously joined in wedlock on Thanksgiving Day. Its heartfelt sympathy + is transmitted to relatives of the late Rev. W. S. Harrison, whose + death on December 3d left a vacancy in the ranks of stately and spiritual + poets which cannot be filled. + </p> + <p> + A final word of commendation should be given to those more than generous + teachers, professors, and scholars who are making "The Reading Table" so + pleasing and successful a feature of the United's literary life. The idea, + originated by Miss McGeoch, has been ably developed by Messrs. Moe and + Lowrey, and is likely to redeem many of the promises of real progress + which have pervaded the Association during the past few years. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + </div> + <div class="lft"> + January 2, 1918. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MARCH 1918</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">REPORTS OF OFFICERS</span> + </h3> + <h4> + PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + </h4> + <p class="noin"> + Fellow-Amateurs:— + </p> + <p> + As the second half of the official year progresses, we behold the United + in excellent condition, though not marked by as great a degree of activity + as might be desired. The official organ faithfully maintains its + phenomenally high standard, the January issue indeed eclipsing all + precedents; but a larger number of other papers must be published, if we + are to make the present term as memorable quantitatively as it is + qualitatively. An excellent example is set by Mrs. Jordan, whose newly + established <b>Eurus</b> comes so opportunely. May this publication prove + permanent, and of frequent appearance! Besides this, we are indebted to + Miss Trafford, Lieut. McKeag, and Mr. Martin for a <b>Little Budget</b>, + <b>Spindrift</b>, and <b>Sprite</b>, respectively. Several other papers + are reported in press, including what promises to be a very remarkable <b>Vagrant</b>. + </p> + <p> + In order to increase the publishing activity of the Association, the + administration will endeavour to arrange for the publication of one or + more co-operative papers. Any United member able to contribute $1.50 or + more to such an enterprise should communicate with the undersigned, who + will attend to the details of issuance if a sufficient number of + contributing editors can be obtained. $1.50 will pay for one page, 7×10, + and each contributor is at liberty to take as many pages as he desires at + that rate. Contributors may utilise their space according to their own + wishes, and all will be equally credited with editorship. This plan, + successfully practiced four years ago, should enable many hitherto silent + members to appear in the editorial field to great advantage, in a journal + whose contents and appearance will alike be creditable. + </p> + <p> + The comparative scarcity of entries makes imperative a second warning + regarding the new conditions in the Laureateship department. Ten persons + must compete in any class before an award in that particular division can + be granted, and at present no class contains an adequate variety of + entries. Again it is urged that the members lose no time in submitting + their printed literary productions to Mr. Hoag for entry. + </p> + <p> + A careful study of the four proposed constitutional amendments is + necessary to ensure intelligent voting next July. The undersigned, as + their author, naturally favours their passage; but the one providing for + an abolition of the officers' activity requirements should not be adopted + without ample opportunity for debate and interchange of views. + </p> + <p> + The congratulations of the Association are extended to Mr. and Mrs. Edward + H. Cole upon the advent of a son, Edward Sherman Cole, on February 14. + With equal sincerity the United felicitates Ex-President Leo Fritter, on + his marriage to Miss Frances P. Hepner, March 6. + </p> + <p> + The United's 22nd annual convention will be held on July 22nd, 23d and + 24th, at the Dells of the Wisconsin River. Under the direction of Mr. Daas + this event cannot fail to be of interest and pleasure to all delegates, + and every member who finds attendance possible is urged to be present. + </p> + <p> + To commend the official board for its generous, harmonious, and + industrious co-operation this year, seems but a reiteration of needless + panegyric; yet it would not be just to conclude this message without some + such expression of grateful appreciation. The enthusiastic and unswerving + loyalty of all our leaders has been a constant shield against the + adversity of these gloomy times, and has been wonderfully successful in + maintaining the United at a high cultural level. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + </div> + <div class="lft"> + March 8, 1918. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MAY 1918</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Sunset</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Howard Phillips Lovecraft + </h4> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">The cloudless day is richer at its close;<br /></span> + <span class="i2">A golden glory settles on the lea;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Soft stealing shadows hint of cool repose<br /></span> <span + class="i2">To mellowing landscape, and to calming sea.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">And in that nobler, gentler, lovelier light,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">The soul to sweeter, loftier bliss inclines;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Freed from the noonday glare, the favour'd sight<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Increasing grace in earth and sky divines.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">But ere the purest radiance crowns the green,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Or fairest lustre fills th' expectant grove,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The twilight thickens, and the fleeting scene<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Leaves but a hallow'd memory of love!<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">DEPARTMENT <i>of</i> PUBLIC CRITICISM</span> + </h3> + <p> + <b>Eurus</b> for February serves a double purpose; to introduce to the + United in an editorial capacity the gifted poetess, Mrs. W. V. + Jordan, and to commemorate the 87th natal anniversary of amateurdom's best + beloved bard, Jonathan E. Hoag. The dedication to Mr. Hoag is both worthy + and well merited. There are few whose qualities could evoke so sincere an + encomium, and few encomiasts who could render so felicitous an expression + of esteem. The entire production sustains the best traditions of Mrs. + Jordan's work, and forms the most creditable individual paper to appear in + the United since the dawn of the new year. + </p> + <p> + The issue opens with Mr. Hoag's stately and beautiful poem, "To the Falls + of Dionondawa," which describes in an exquisite way the supposed history + of a delightful cascade in Greenwich, New York. The lines, which are cast + in the heroic couplet, have all the pleasing pomp and fire of the Augustan + age of English verse; and form a refreshing contrast to the harsh or + languid measures characteristic of the present day. Mr. Hoag brings down + to our time the urbane arts of a better literary period. + </p> + <p> + "An Appreciation," by Verna McGeoch, is a prose-poetical tribute to Mr. + Hoag, whose literary merit is of such a quality that we must needs lament + the infrequency with which the author contributes to the amateur press. Of + this piece a reader of broad culture lately said: "I have never read a + production of this kind, more finely phrased, more comprehensive, more + effective, and withal, so terse, and throughout, in such excellent taste." + <b>Eurus</b> has good reason for self-congratulation on carrying this + remarkable bit of composition. + </p> + <p> + "Chores," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, displays this versatile writer in a + very singular vein; that of sombre, repellent, rustic tragedy. It has all + the compelling power which marks Mrs. Jordan's darker productions, and is + conveyed in an arresting, staccato measure which emphasizes the homely + horror of the theme. The phraseology, with its large proportion of rural + and archaic words and constructions, adds vastly to the general effect and + atmosphere. We believe that Mrs. Jordan analyses the New-England rustic + mind more keenly and accurately than any other amateur writer; + interpreting rural moods and sentiments, be they bright or dark, with + unvarnished simplicity and absolute verisimilitude, notwithstanding the + fact that most of her verse is of a much more polished and classical + character. In "Chores" we are brought vividly face to face with the + bleakest aspect of rusticity; the dull, commonplace couple, dwelling so + far from the rest of mankind that they have become almost primitive in + thought and feelings, losing all the complex refinements and humanities of + social existence. The poem intensifies that feeling of hidden terror and + tragedy which sometimes strikes us on beholding a lonely farmer, + enigmatical of face and sparing of words, or on spying, through the + twilight, some grey, unpainted, ramshackle, cottage, perched upon a + wind-swept hill or propped up against the jutting boulders of some + deserted slope, miles from the town and remote from the nearest neighbour. + </p> + <p> + "Young Clare," by Edith Miniter, is a narrative poem of that power and + polish which might be expected of its celebrated author. The only + considerable objection which could possibly be brought against it is a + technical one, applying to the fourth line of the opening stanza: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 13em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"To work a cabaret show."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + Here we must needs wonder at the use of <b>work</b> as a transitive verb + when the intransitive sense is so clearly demanded, and at the evident + accentuation of <b>cabaret</b>. We believe that the correct pronunciation + of <b>cabaret</b> is trisyllabic, with the accent on the final syllable, + thus: "<b>cab-a-ray</b>." We will not be quite so dogmatic about <b>artiste</b> + in line 2 of the last stanza, though we think the best usage would demand + the accent on the final syllable. + </p> + <p> + "Gentle Gusts," the quaintly named editorial section, contains much matter + of merit, clothed in a pleasantly smooth style. The classical name of the + publication is here ingeniously explained, and its dedication formally + made. The tribute to Mr. Hoag is as well rendered as it is merited. The + editorial note on amateur criticism is sound and kindly; the author + voicing her protests in a manner which disarms them of malice, and putting + us in a receptive attitude. Personally, the present critic is in complete + agreement with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> + remarks on poetical elision and inversions; but we are confident that + those of our board who hold different views, will accept the dicta in the + friendly spirit intended. + </p> + <p> + "Someone—Somewhere," by Jennie E. T. Dowe, is a delightful + lyric by an authoress too well known in amateurdom to need an + introduction. Mrs. Dowe writes with the polish of long experience and + genuine culture, displaying an enviable poetic genius. + </p> + <p> + <b>Eurus</b> closes with some commendatory lines to Mr. Hoag from the pen + of H. P. Lovecraft. They are in heroics, and redolent of the spirit + of two centuries ago. We discern no striking violations of good taste or + metre, nor do we find any remarkable poetic power or elevation of thought. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Little Budget</b> for February and March is a double number, whose + size and quality are alike encouraging. The issue opens with an ornate and + felicitous Nature-poem by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, entitled "Above the + Clouds," in which the author for once breaks away from his favourite + Alexandrines and heptameters, presenting us with an ideally beautiful + specimen of the heroic quatrain. Despite the strong reasons which impel + Dr. Kuntz to adhere to long measures, we believe he should compose more in + pentameter. That his chosen metres have peculiar advantages, none will + deny; but it seems plain that the standard shorter line has other + advantages which amply outweigh them. It was not by chance that the line + of five iambuses became the dominant metre of our language. In the present + poem we discern a grace and flow far greater than any which could pervade + an Alexandrine piece; a condition well shown by parallel perusal of this + and one of the same author's more characteristic efforts. As a creator of + graphic, lofty, and majestic images, Dr. Kuntz has no peer in amateurdom. + His sense of colour and of music weaves a rich and gorgeous element into + the fabric of his work, and his sensitive literary faculty gives birth to + happy combinations of words and phrases which not only please the + imagination with their aptness, but delight the ear with their intrinsic + euphony. + </p> + <p> + "The Drama as a Medium of Education," by Lieut. Ernest L. McKeag, is a + short but terse essay on a neglected factor in liberal culture. It is true + that our ordinary curricula lay all too little stress on dramatic art; and + that as a result, this branch of æsthetic expression is grossly and + consistently undervalued. The low estimate of the dramatic profession + entertained by Dr. Johnson is a sad illustration of the one-sided state of + mind prevailing even amongst scholars, concerning an art which is + certainly not inferior to painting and sculpture, and probably much + superior to music, in the æsthetic and intellectual scale. + </p> + <p> + "The Wizard of the North," an essay on Sir Walter Scott, is the current + instalment of Miss Mappin's Modern Literature Series. It is marred by a + seeming hiatus, discernible not so much in the flow of words as in the + flow of the narrative, which leads us to believe that a considerable + portion has been left out, either through accident, or through an attempt + at abridgment. + </p> + <p> + "My Books," by Alfred H. Pearce is a sonnet of apt idea and perfect + construction. + </p> + <p> + "On Self-Sacrifice," by W. Townsend Ericson, is one of the "Essays of a + Dreamer" which are regularly appearing in the <b>Budget</b>. The effort is + marked by much sincerity and idealism, though in grammar and + practicability it is less distinguished. We might mention the erroneous + use of <b>whom</b> for <b>who</b> (a not uncommon defect amongst amateur + writers), the faulty use of the word <b>usurping</b> where <b>depriving</b> + is meant, and the split infinitive "to at least make;" all three of which + mistakes occur on page 138. Mr. Ericson should drill himself more + thoroughly in the principles of syntax. Other essays of this series are + included in the present issue. "On Contentment" gives an illustration + which we fear will injure Mr. Ericson's contention more than it will aid + it. It is the <b>reductio ad absurdum</b> of the typical "Pollyanna" + school of philosophy. + </p> + <p> + "Down an' Out," by Ernest L. McKeag, is a very clever ballad of the "rough + and ready" school; picturesque in atmosphere, but somewhat defective in + technique. Lieut. McKeag should pay a trifle more attention to his rhymes; + which are not, however, worse than many of the rhymes in "Hudibras" and + other comic pieces. + </p> + <p> + "Why Roses are White," a children's story, by Margaret Mahon, is marked by + much grace and ingenuity; the central idea being quite original so far as + we know.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> + Further contributions to the children's department are made by Miss + Birkmyre, whose woodland sketches will be appreciated by older readers as + well. + </p> + <p> + "Selfish Ambition," a poem, by Nell Hilliard, is as correct and fluent in + metre as we might expect from the author, though the expletive <b>does</b> + in the final line of the first stanza is not to be commended. The + sentiment is not precisely novel, but is well presented. + </p> + <p> + "The Flying Dutchman," a Romance of the Sea, by Joseph Parks, is more + replete with nautical verisimilitude than with literary force. As compared + with many of Mr. Parks' other tales, its plot is distinctly weak and + lacking in symmetry. We must, however, praise the generally salty + atmosphere. The picture of seafaring life is vivid and realistic. + </p> + <p> + The current <b>Budget</b> concludes with a summary of the year just + closed, displaying a record of achievement of which the editress may well + be proud. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Silver Clarion</b> for March is the publication of John Milton + Samples, of Macon, Ga., a new member of the United. In tone the paper is + quite serious and strongly inclined toward the religious; but so able are + the majority of the contributions, that it lacks nothing in interest. + </p> + <p> + "Singing on the Way," a poem by James Larkin Pearson, opens the issue in + attractive fashion. The lines are tuneful and felicitous, the triple + rhymes giving an especially pleasing effect; though we must criticise the + line + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 13em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Will certainly provide for us"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + as being a trifle prosaic. We should recommend "plenteously provide," or + something of that nature, as more poetic. Mr. Pearson is a poet of ability + and experience, with a volume of published verse to his credit, whose work + never falls below a high standard of merit. + </p> + <p> + "Just Icicles," by Sarah Story Duffee, is a sort of fairy tale with a + juvenile exterior; which contains, however, more than a slight hint of the + vanity of human wishes and fruitlessness of human endeavour. Whilst it + exhibits no little cleverness in construction, we must own that it + possesses certain looseness, insipidity, and almost rambling quality, + which detract from its merit as a piece of literature. Mrs. Duffee would + profit from a closer study of classical models, and a slighter attention + to the more ordinary folk tales. + </p> + <p> + "The Blessings of Thorns," by Sallie M. Adams, is a religious poem of + considerable excellence, containing a pious and worthy sentiment well + expressed. The chief defects are technical. In the first stanza, line 3 + lacks a syllable, whilst line 4 has one too many. Also, the <b>day-way</b> + rhyme is repeated too closely. To have but one rhyming sound through two + rhymes is a fault hard to excuse. All the defects above enumerated might + be removed with ease, as the following revised version of the opening + lines illustrates: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">When we thank our Heav'nly Father<br /></span> <span + class="i2">For the boons each day bestow'd;<br /></span> <span class="i0">For + the flowers that are scatter'd<br /></span> <span class="i2">O'er the + roughness of the road.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + In the third stanza we find the <b>day-way</b> rhyme again repeated, also + a superfluity of syllables in the sixth line. The latter might be cut down + by the omission of the second <b>the</b>. + </p> + <p> + "Springtime in Dixieland," by John Milton Samples, is a tuneful pastoral + which justifies the author's right to his first two names. But one or two + defects mar the general delightful effect. The phrase "zephyr breeze," in + the opening stanza, strikes us as a trifle pleonastic; since a <b>zephyr</b> + is itself a <b>breeze</b>; not a quality of a breeze. The syntax of the + latter part of this stanza is somewhat obscure, but might be cleared up if + the seventh line were thus amended: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 20em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"And save when cloud-ships cross their track."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + The sixth and seventh lines of the last stanza each have a syllable too + many, and in line 6 the word <b>raise</b> is used incorrectly; <b>rise</b> + being the word needed. This, of course, would necessitate a change of + rhyme. + </p> + <p> + "One Face is Passing," by Mamie Knight Samples, is a timely and excellent + sketch concerning soldiers. + </p> + <p> + "Co-ee," a poem by Harry E. Rieseberg, contains much genuine pathos, and + is generally smooth and commendable in technique. + </p> + <p> + "The Likeness of the Deity," by Arthur H. Goodenough, is one of the + characteristically excellent products of its author, who holds the proud + rank of "Literatus" in the United. The amount and quality of Mr.<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> + Goodenough's work is very unusual; few other amateurs producing so much + verse of the first order. As a religious poet, he stands alone; resembling + the celebrated Dr. Watts. He invests every theme he touches with an + atmosphere truly and richly poetic. + </p> + <p> + "Astral Nights," by John Milton Samples, is a genuinely poetic piece of + prose arranged in lines resembling those of verse. We believe that the + loftiness and excellence of this composition would justify its + metamorphosis into real verse. + </p> + <p> + Also by Editor Samples is the prose sketch entitled "The Present War: A + Blessing in Disguise." From the title, one would expect Mr. Samples' point + of view to be akin to that of the esteemed Gen. von Bernhardi; but such is + not the case, since Mr. Samples means to say that he considers the + conflict a just Divine Punishment for a sinful world—a punishment + which will bring about a sinless and exemplary future. We wish it were so. + </p> + <p> + "Lord, Keep My Spirit Sweet," by Mr. Samples, is a religious lyric of + substantial charm and grace. + </p> + <p> + The Editorials in this issue consist mainly of critical notes on previous + numbers, and in general show a gratifying soundness of opinion. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Spindrift</b> for January opens with "Mater Dolorosa," a poem, by Vere + M. Murphy, whose sentiment and technique are alike deserving of praise. + </p> + <p> + "The Spirit of January," a sketch by Jean Birkmyre, runs into the February + issue, and is quite acceptable from every point of view, though not + distinguished by that highly imaginative colouring which we find in many + of Miss Birkmyre's similar pieces. + </p> + <p> + "The Mystery of Murdor Grange" this month falls into the hands of Editor + McKeag, who furnishes one of the best chapters we have so far perused; + possibly the very best. It is exasperating to be cut off abruptly in the + midst of the exciting narrative, with the admonition to wait for page 47! + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Spindrift</b> for February has as its leading feature an essay on + "Heredity or Environment," by the Editor. In this brief article many + truths are stated, though we fear Lieut. McKeag slightly underestimates + the force of heredity. We might remind him of the Darwin family, beginning + with the poet and physician, Erasmus Darwin. The grandson of this + celebrated man was the immortal Charles Darwin, whilst the sons of Charles + have all occupied places of eminence in the world of intellect. + </p> + <p> + "To the Enlisted men of the United States," by Edna Hyde, is an ode of + admirable spirit and faultless construction. + </p> + <p> + "A Fragment," by S. L. (whose identity is now known to us!) shows + much poetical ability, though the metre would move much more smoothly if + judiciously touched up here and there. The description of the crescent + moon sinking in the morning, is astronomically erroneous. + </p> + <p> + "The Estates of Authors," by Albert E. Bramwell, is a brief but + informative article. As the late Dr. Johnson said of the Ordinary of + Newgate's account, "it contains strong facts." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Spindrift</b> for March very appropriately commences with a poem on + that blustering month, from the pen of Annie Pearce. Apparently the piece + is a juvenile effort, since despite a commendably poetic atmosphere there + are some striking errors of construction. In the third line of the first + stanza there is a very awkward use of the impersonal pronoun <b>one</b>. + This pronoun has no place in good poetry, and should always be avoided by + means of some equivalent arrangement. In the second stanza it appears that + the authoress, through the exigencies of versification, has fallen into + the paradox of calling the "fair green shoots" "roots!" Perhaps we are + mistaken, but our confusion is evidence of the lack of perspicuity in this + passage. A rather more obvious error is the evidently transitive use of + the verb <b>abound</b> in the last line of this stanza. Be it known, that + <b>abound</b> is strictly an intransitive verb! + </p> + <p> + "The Soul of Newcastle," an historical article by John M'Quillen, begins + in this number; and describes the Roman period. We regret the misprint + whereby the name <b>Aelii</b> becomes <b>Aelu</b>. The presence of a + Hunnish <b>umlaut</b> over the <b>u</b> adds insult to injury! Mr. + M'Quillen writes in an attractive style, and we shall look forward to the + remainder of the present article.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Heart Thirst," by Vere M. Murphy, is a very meritorious lyric, containing + an ingenious conceit worthy of a more classical age. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + As the literary contributions to the UNITED AMATEUR for January are mainly + in the form of verse, I shall devote most of my attention to them. Poetry, + like the poor, we have always with us; but the critic is moved to remark, + as he casts back in his mind over the last twenty years of amateur + publishing activity, that on the whole the tone of amateur poetry is + distinctly higher than it used to be. Banal verse we still have in larger + amounts than we should; but the amateur journals of a decade or two ago + had reams of it. On the other hand, they contained not a few poems with + more than a passing spark of the divine fire. The promising fact is that + in the poetry of today's journals we get much more frequent glimpses of + this true inspiration. In passing, the critic cannot forbear calling + attention to Mr. Kleiner's "Ruth" in the February <b>Brooklynite</b>, + which attains the highest levels of lyric expression, although only the + simplest of figure and diction are employed. It is not often that one runs + across a poem so simple and yet so pregnant with sincere emotion. + </p> + <p> + The first poem in the UNITED AMATEUR arouses mixed feelings. "Give Aid," + by Julia R. Johnson, presents a thought that cannot be too often or too + strongly stressed in this gloomy old world. Mrs. Johnson, furthermore, has + carved out her own poetic medium, alternating two tetrameter lines with a + single heptameter, a most unusual combination. It is always a promising + sign to find a new poet experimenting with unhackneyed verse forms, + although the experiments may not always be happy ones. But a word about + the thought of this poem. It is one of those "recipe" poems, so-called + because it can be produced in almost unlimited quantities by any writer + clever enough to follow the formula. Some day the critic is going to take + enough time off to write a book of poetic recipes, and already he has his + subject so well blocked out that he is sure his book will contain the + fundamental ingredients of a great majority of the amateur poems now + appearing. The poem under consideration belongs to the "glad" recipe, an + off-shoot of the Pollyanna school of fiction, and true to type it contains + its quota of "glad" ingredients such as "cheer," "merry song," "troubles," + and "sorrows," the last two, of course, for the sake of contrast. + </p> + <p> + "Astrophobos," by Ward Phillips, is another recipe poem; although his + recipe is so much more intricate that it is not to be recommended for the + Freshman. The critic would denominate a poem composed according to this + recipe, a ulalumish poem, as it has so many earmarks of Poe. True to type, + it is ulaluminated with gorgeous reds and crimsons, vistas of stupendous + distances, coined phrases, unusual words, and general touches of either + mysticism or purposeless obscurity. Such a poem is a feast for epicures + who delight in intellectual caviar, but is not half so satisfying to the + average poetic taste as Mr. Kleiner's "Ruth." + </p> + <p> + Theodore Gottlieb's "Contentment" is a clever and readable working out in + verse of Mr. Ruskin's theme in his "King's Treasures"; namely, the + satisfying companionship of great books. Mr. Gottlieb shows commendable + control of the felicitous phrase, while the literary allusions with which + his lines bristle mark a catholicity of taste entirely beyond the + ordinary. + </p> + <p> + Metrical versions of the Psalms are not at all new; they are used, in + fact, in Scotch Presbyterian churches in place of regular hymns. The + poetic paraphrase of the first Psalm by Wilson Tylor is well done, and + only in a few such phrases as "winds that blow" and "perish and shall not + be blest," does he get dangerously near redundancy for the sake of rhyme + and metre. + </p> + <p> + "A Thought," by Dorothy Downs, is a pretty little thought indeed, and + prettily expressed, although the term "holiness divine" is strained when + applied to a rose, and "we will be surprised" is frankly ungrammatical as + a simple future in the first person. The <b>sine qua non</b> of all poetry + is absolutely correct grammar and freedom from redundancy. + </p> + <p> + The bit of verse heading the War Items written by F. G. Morris, is + quite adequate except for the lack of a rhyme in the last line, where the + form of the stanza leads the reader to expect a rhyme for "part." + </p> + <p> + Matthew Hilson's rhymed greeting to the<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> United from across the water, + is on the whole, graceful and well done, and the United acknowledges its + receipt with thanks. + </p> + <p> + One other piece of work in this number deserves especial mention. Alfred + Galpin's "Mystery" introduces to the association a thinker more gifted for + his years than probably any other recruit within recent years. This + judgment is not based alone on the short article under consideration, but + even this little piece of thought, if carefully analysed, is enough to + stamp him as one who thinks with extreme facility in the deepest of + abstractions, and who for expression of that thought commands a vocabulary + of remarkable range. Mr. Galpin is going far in this world, and we hope + that he will sojourn long enough with us so that we can feel that whatever + glory he may attain will cast some of its rays upon the Association. + </p> + <p> + The editorial remarks in this issue of the UNITED AMATEUR are worthy of + close perusal on account of their graceful literary quality. Seldom has + the critic seen the subject of the New Year so felicitously treated as in + this brief study by Miss McGeoch. The author's mastery of appropriate + words, phrases, and images, and her intuitive perception of the most + delicate elements of literary harmony, combine to make the reader wish she + were more frequently before the Association as a writer, as well as in an + editorial capacity. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">REPORTS OF OFFICERS</span> + </h3> + <h4> + PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + </h4> + <p class="noin"> + Fellow-Amateurs:— + </p> + <p> + According to indications, the last few weeks of the United's + administrative year will exceed their predecessors in general activity and + work accomplished. The college recruiting campaign, delayed through an + unavoidable combination of circumstances, is now taking definite form; and + may be expected to show some actual results even before the close of the + present term, though its greatest fruits must necessarily be reaped by the + next administration. General recruiting is on the increase, and a more + satisfactory number of renewals and reinstatements is noted. + </p> + <p> + One of the greatest obstacles to be combated during this unsettled era, is + the mistaken notion that amateur journalism is a non-essential and a + luxury, unworthy of attention or support amidst the national stress. The + prevalence of this opinion is difficult to account for, since its logic is + so feeble. It is universally recognised that in times like these, some + form of relaxation is absolutely indispensable if the poise and sanity of + the people are to be preserved. Amusements of a lighter sort are + patronised with increased frequency, and have risen to the dignity of + essentials in the maintenance of the national morale. If, then, the + flimsiest of pleasures be accorded the respect and favour of the public, + what may we not say for amateur journalism, whose function is not only to + entertain and relieve the mind, but to uplift and instruct as well? Mr. + Edward H. Cole has ably treated this matter in his recent <b>Bema</b>, and + no one who thoughtfully reviews the situation can dispute the force and + verity of his conclusions. As Mr. Cole points out in a later + communication, war-time amateur effort must of course be less elaborate + than in pre-war days; but amateurdom itself is now worthy of double + encouragement, rather than discouragement, since by its soothing and + steadying influence it becomes a source of calm and strength, and + therefore an active factor in the winning of the war. Let us on this side + of the Atlantic view the rejuvenescence of British amateurdom after four + years of warfare, as exhibited in the formation of the prosperous Amateur + Press Club by Messrs. Winskill and Parks. The moral is not hard to deduce. + </p> + <p> + Of the new publications of the season it is hard to speak without using + superlatives, since Mr. Cook's epoch-making June <b>Vagrant</b> is among + their number. This veritable book of 148 pages and cover constitutes the + greatest achievement of contemporary amateurdom, and may legitimately be + considered as one of the outstanding features in the recent history of the + institution. It is the one product of our day which will bear actual + comparison with the publications of the departed "Halcyon" period. A July + <b>Vagrant</b>, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> + equal quality though lesser size, may be expected in the near future. A + newcomer to our list of journals is <b>The Silver Clarion</b>, issued by + Mr. John Milton Samples of Macon, Ga., a promising poet, essayist, and + editor, who has just entered the Association. <b>The Clarion</b>, whose + contents are distinguished for their wholesome tone and pleasing literary + quality, is a regularly issued monthly, and forms a substantial addition + to the literature of the United. Another welcome paper is <b>The Roamer</b>, + published by Mr. Louis H. Kerber, Jr., of Chicago. This journal, devoted + exclusively to travel articles, will occupy a unique place in the United. + Among the papers to be expected before the close of the official year are + a <b>Dabbler</b> from Mr. Lindquist and a <b>Yerma</b> from Mr. J. H. D. + Smith, now a soldier in the service of his country at Camp Laurel, Md. + </p> + <p> + Responses to the proposal for a co-operative paper have been slow in + coming in. Let the members once more reflect upon the advantages of the + plan, and unite in an effort to increase the literary output of the + Association. + </p> + <p> + The annual convention, to be held on the 22nd, 23d and 24th of next July + at the Dells of the Wisconsin River, may well be expected to stimulate + interest to an unusually high pitch. A large attendance is urged, and + since Mr. Daas is in charge of arrangements, the gathering will + undoubtedly prove a bright spot in the year's programme. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + </div> + <div class="lft"> + May 6, 1918. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JUNE 1918</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Astrophobos</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Ward Phillips + </h4> + <div class="poem" style="width: 18em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">In the midnight heavens burning<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Through ethereal deeps afar,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Once + I watch'd with restless yearning<br /></span> <span class="i2">An + alluring, aureate star;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Ev'ry eve aloft + returning,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Gleaming nigh the Arctic car.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Mystic waves of beauty blended<br /></span> <span + class="i2">With the gorgeous golden rays;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Phantasies + of bliss descended<br /></span> <span class="i2">In a myrrh'd Elysian + haze;<br /></span> <span class="i0">And in lyre-born chords extended<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Harmonies of Lydian lays.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">There (thought I) lie scenes of pleasure,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Where the free and blessed dwell,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">And each moment bears a treasure,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Freighted + with the lotus-spell,<br /></span> <span class="i0">And there floats a + liquid measure<br /></span> <span class="i2">From the lute of Israfel.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">There (I told myself) were shining<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Worlds of happiness unknown,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Peace + and Innocence entwining<br /></span> <span class="i2">By the Crowned + Virtue's throne;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Men of light, their + thoughts refining<br /></span> <span class="i2">Purer, fairer, than our + own.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Thus I mus'd, when o'er the vision<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Crept a red delirious change;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Hope + dissolving to derision,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Beauty to + distortion strange;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Hymnic chords in weird + collision,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Spectral sights in endless + range.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Crimson burn'd the star of sadness<br /></span> <span + class="i2">As behind the beams I peer'd;<br /></span> <span class="i0">All + was woe that seem'd but gladness<br /></span> <span class="i2">Ere my + gaze with truth was sear'd;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Cacodaemons, + mir'd with madness,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Through the fever'd + flick'ring leer'd.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Now I know the fiendish fable<br /></span> <span + class="i2">That the golden glitter bore;<br /></span> <span class="i0">Now + I shun the spangled sable<br /></span> <span class="i2">That I watch'd + and lov'd before;<br /></span> <span class="i0">But the horror, set and + stable,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Haunts my soul forevermore.<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JULY 1918</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">At the Root</span> + </h3> + <h4> + H. P. Lovecraft<br /><br /> <span class="sp5">(Editor Laureate)</span> + </h4> + <p> + To those who look beneath the surface, the present universal war drives + home more than one anthropological truth in striking fashion; and of these + verities none is more profound than that relating to the essential + immutability of mankind and its instincts. + </p> + <p> + Four years ago a large part of the civilised world laboured under certain + biological fallacies which may, in a sense, be held responsible for the + extent and duration of the present conflict. These fallacies, which were + the foundation of pacifism and other pernicious forms of social and + political radicalism, dealt with the capability of man to evolve mentally + beyond his former state of subservience to primitive instinct and + pugnacity, and to conduct his affairs and international or inter-racial + relations on a basis of reason and good-will. That belief in such + capability is unscientific and childishly naive, is beside the question. + The fact remains, that the most civilised part of the world, including our + own Anglo-Saxondom, did entertain enough of these notions to relax + military vigilance, lay stress on points of honour, place trust in + treaties, and permit a powerful and unscrupulous nation to indulge + unchecked and unsuspected in nearly fifty years of preparation for + world-wide robbery and slaughter. We are reaping the result of our + simplicity. + </p> + <p> + The past is over. Our former follies we can but regret, and expiate as + best we may by a crusade to the death against the Trans-Rhenane monster + which we allowed to grow and flourish beneath our very eyes. But the + future holds more of responsibility, and we must prepare to guard against + any renascence of the benevolent delusions that four years of blood have + barely been able to dispel. In a word, we must learn to discard forever + the sentimental standpoint, and to view our species through the cold eyes + of science alone. We must recognise the essential underlying savagery in + the animal called man, and return to older and sounder principles of + national life and defence. We must realise that man's nature will remain + the same so long as he remains man; that civilisation is but a slight + coverlet beneath which the dominant beast sleeps lightly and ever ready to + awake. To preserve civilisation, we must deal scientifically with the + brute element, using only genuine biological principles. In considering + ourselves, we think too much of ethics and sociology—too little of + plain natural history. We should perceive that man's period of historical + existence, a period so short that his physical constitution has not been + altered in the slightest degree, is insufficient to allow of any + considerable mental change. The instincts that governed the Egyptians and + the Assyrians of old, govern us as well; and as the ancients thought, + grasped, struggled, and deceived, so shall we moderns continue to think, + grasp, struggle, and deceive in our inmost hearts. Change is only + superficial and apparent. + </p> + <p> + Man's respect for the imponderables varies according to his mental + constitution and environment. Through certain modes of thought and + training it can be elevated tremendously, yet there is always a limit. The + man or nation of high culture may acknowledge to great lengths the + restraints imposed by conventions and honour, but beyond a certain point + primitive will or desire cannot be curbed. Denied anything ardently + desired, the individual or state will argue and parley just so long—then, + if the impelling motive be sufficiently great, will cast aside every rule + and break down every acquired inhibition, plunging viciously after the + object wished; all the more fantastically savage because of previous + repression. <b>The sole ultimate factor in human decisions is physical + force.</b> This we must learn, however repugnant the idea may seem, if we + are to protect ourselves and our institutions. Reliance on anything else + is fallacious and ruinous. Dangerous beyond description are the voices + sometimes heard today, decrying the continuance of armament after the + close of the present hostilities. + </p> + <p> + The specific application of the scientific truth regarding man's native + instincts will be found in the adoption of a post-bellum international + programme. Obviously, we must take into account the primordial + substructure and arrange for the upholding of culture by methods which + will stand the acid test of stress and conflicting ambitions. In + disillusioned diplomacy, ample armament, and universal military training + alone will be found the solution of the world's difficulties. It will not + be a perfect solution, because humanity is not perfect. It will not + abolish war, because war is the expression of a natural human tendency. + But it will at least produce an approximate stability of social and + political conditions, and prevent the menace of the entire world by the + greed of any one of its constituent parts. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">REPORTS OF OFFICERS</span> + </h3> + <h4> + PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + </h4> + <p class="noin"> + Fellow-Amateurs:— + </p> + <p> + The conclusion of an administrative year is naturally a time for + retrospection rather than for announcement and planning, and seldom may we + derive more satisfaction from such a backward glance than at the present + period. + </p> + <p> + The United has just completed a twelvemonth which, though not notable for + numerousness of publications or expansion of the membership list, will + nevertheless be long remembered for the tone and quality of its + literature, and the uniformly smooth maintenance of its executive + programme. The virtual extirpation of petty politics, and the elimination + of all considerations save development of literary taste and encouragement + of literary talent, have raised our Association to a new level of poise, + harmony, dignity, and usefulness to the serious aspirant. + </p> + <p> + Prime honours must be awarded to our Official Editor and Official + Publisher, who have given us an official organ unequalled and unapproached + in the history of amateur journalism. The somewhat altered nature of + contents, and radically elevated standard of editorship, mark an era in + the progress of the Association; since the UNITED AMATEUR is really the + nucleus of our activity and a reflection of the best in our current + thought and ideals. We have this year helped to shatter the foolish + fetichism which restricts the average official organ to a boresome and + needless display of facts and figures, relating to the political mechanism + of amateurdom. The organ has been a literary one, as befits a literary + association; and has been conducted with a sounder sense of relative + values than in times when amateurs seemed to place elections and annual + banquets above art, taste, and rhetoric. + </p> + <p> + The publications of the year have been distinguished for their merit, + general polish, and scholarly editorship. The percentage of crude matter + appearing in print has been reduced to a minimum through the careful and + conscientious critical service rendered both by the official bureau and by + private individuals. The artistic standard of the United has evolved to a + point where no aims short of excellence can win unqualified approval. The + classics have become our sole models, and whilst even the most glaring + faults of the sincere beginner receive liberal consideration and + sympathetically constructive attention, there is no longer a seat of + honour for complacent crudity. Genuine aspiration is our criterion of + worth. The spirit of this newer amateur journalism is splendidly shown by + such magazines of the year as <b>Eurus</b>, <b>Spindrift</b>, <b>The + Vagrant</b>, and the official organ. + </p> + <p> + Just before the close of the present term, several new publications have + appeared, amongst them a <b>Vagrant</b>, a <b>Conservative</b>, and Mr. + Moloney's splendid first venture, <b>The Voice From the Mountains</b>. + Early in the next fiscal year will appear <b>The United Co-Operative</b>, + the fruit of this year's planning, edited by Mrs. Jordan, Miss Lehr, Mr. + J. Clinton Pryor, and the undersigned. A revival of manuscript magazines, + inaugurated by the appearance of Sub-Lieut. McKeag's <b>Northumbrian</b>, + is in a measure solving the problems created by the high price of + printing. Next month the undersigned will put into circulation <b>Hesperia</b>, + a typewritten magazine designed to foster a closer relationship between + British and American amateurdom. + </p> + <p> + Judges of Award for the Laureateship contests have been appointed as + follows: Poetry, Mr. Nixon Waterman, a New England bard who needs no + introduction to the lover of lofty and graceful expression. Verse, Dr. + Henry T. Schnittkind of the Stratford Publishing Co. Essay, Prof. Lewis P. + Shanks of the University of Pennsylvania. Study, Mr. J. Lee Robinson, + Editor of the <b>Cambridge Tribune</b>. Story, Mr. William R. Murphy of + the Philadelphia <b>Evening Ledger</b>, a former United man of the highest + attainments. Editorial, Hon. Oliver Wayne Stewart, Associate Editor of <b>The + National Enquirer</b>. + </p> + <p> + In doffing the official mantle after a year of executive endeavour, the + undersigned must express regret at his inability to serve in as vigorous a + manner as would the ideal President. He is acutely conscious of his + shortcomings in a position which demands constant care and exertion, and + which imposes a strain that only the robust are perfectly qualified to + bear. It would be impossible for him fully to express his gratitude to his + faithful and capable colleagues, to whose unremitting and faultlessly + co-ordinated efforts all the successes of the present year must in justice + be attributed. Valete! + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + </div> + <div class="lft"> + June 26, 1918. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc" style="width: 552px;"> + <img src="images/004.png" width="552" height="64" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XVIII + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 2 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + ATHOL, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1918 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">DEPARTMENT <i>of</i> LITERATURE</span> + </h3> + <h4> + <span class="sp1 sp5">The Literature of Rome</span><br /><br /> H. P. + Lovecraft + </h4> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + <i>The centre of our studies, the goal of our thoughts, the point to + which all paths lead and the point from which all paths start again, is + to be found in Rome and her abiding power.</i>—Freeman. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Few students of mankind, if truly impartial, can fail to select as the + greatest of human institutions that mighty and enduring civilisation + which, first appearing on the banks of the Tiber, spread throughout the + known world and became the direct parent of our own. If to Greece is due + the existence of all modern thought, so to Rome is due its survival and + our possession of it; for it was the majesty of the Eternal City which, + reducing all Western Europe to a single government, made possible the wide + and uniform diffusion of the high culture borrowed from Greece, and + thereby laid the foundation of European enlightenment. To this day the + remnants of the Roman world exhibit a superiority over those parts which + never came beneath the sway of the Imperial Mother; a superiority + strikingly manifest when we contemplate the savage code and ideals of the + Germans, aliens to the priceless heritage of Latin justice, humanity, and + philosophy. The study of Roman literature, then, needs no plea to + recommend it. It is ours by intellectual descent; our bridge to all + antiquity and to those Grecian stores of art and thought which are the + fountain head of existing culture. + </p> + <p> + In considering Rome and her artistic history, we are conscious of a + subjectivity impossible in the case of Greece or any other ancient nation. + Whilst the Hellenes, with their strange beauty-worship and defective moral + ideals, are to be admired and pitied at once, as luminous but remote + phantoms; the Romans, with their greater practical sense, ancient virtue, + and love of law and order, seem like our own people. It is with personal + pride that we read of the valour and conquests of this mighty race, who + used the alphabet we use, spoke and wrote with but little difference many + of the words we speak and write, and with divine creative power evolved + virtually all the forms of law which govern us today. To the Greek, art + and literature were inextricably involved in daily life and thought; to + the Roman, as to us, they were a separate unit in a many-sided + civilisation. Undoubtedly this circumstance proves the inferiority of the + Roman culture to the Greek; but it is an inferiority shared by our own + culture, and therefore a bond of sympathy. + </p> + <p> + The race whose genius gave rise to the glories of Rome is, unhappily, not + now in existence. Centuries of devastating wars, and foreign immigration + into Italy, left but few real Latins after the early Imperial æra. + The original Romans were a blend of closely related dolichocephalic + Mediterranean tribes, whose racial affinities with the Greeks could not + have been very remote, plus a slight Etruscan element of doubtful + classification. The latter stock is an object of much mystery to + ethnologists, being at present described by most authorities as of the + brachycephalic Alpine variety. Many Roman customs and habits of thought + are traceable to this problematical people. + </p> + <p> + It is a singular circumstance, that classic Latin literature is, save in + the case of satire, almost wholly unrelated to the crude effusions of the + primitive Latins; being borrowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> + as to form and subject from the Greeks, at a comparatively late date in + Rome's political history. That this borrowing assisted greatly in Latin + cultural advancement, none may deny; but it is also true that the new + Hellenised literature exerted a malign influence on the nation's ancient + austerity, introducing lax Grecian notions which contributed to moral and + material decadence. The counter-currents, however, were strong; and the + virile Roman spirit shone nobly through the Athenian dress in almost + every instance, imparting to the literature a distinctively national + cast, and displaying the peculiar characteristics of the Italian mind. On + the whole, Roman life moulded Roman literature more than the literature + moulded the life. + </p> + <p> + The earliest writings of the Latins are, save for a fragment or two, lost + to posterity; though a few of their qualities are known. They were for the + most part crude ballads in an odd "Saturnian" metre copied from the + Etruscans, primitive religious chants and dirges, rough medleys of comic + verse forming the prototype of satire, and awkward "Fescennine" dialogues + or dramatic farces enacted by the lively peasantry. All doubtless + reflected the simple, happy and virtuous, if stern, life of the + home-loving agricultural race which was destined later to conquer the + world. In B. C. 364 the medleys or "Saturæ" were enacted upon + the Roman stage, the words supplemented by the pantomime and dancing of + Etruscan performers who spoke no Latin. Another early form of dramatic art + was the "fabula Atellana," which was adapted from the neighbouring tribe + of Oscans, and which possessed a simple plot and stock characters. While + this early literature embodied Oscan and Etruscan as well as Latin + elements, it was truly Roman; for the Roman was himself formed of just + such a mixture. All Italy contributed to the Latin stream, but at no time + did any non-Roman dialect rise to the distinction of a real literature. We + have here no parallel for the Æolic, Ionic, and Doric phases of + Greek literature. + </p> + <p> + Classical Latin literature dates from the beginning of Rome's free + intercourse with Greece, a thing brought about by the conquest of the + Hellenic colonies in Southern Italy. When Tarentum fell to the Romans in + B. C. 272, there was brought to Rome as a captive and slave a young + man of great attainments, by name Andronicus. His master, M. Livius + Salinator, was quick to perceive his genius, and soon gave him his + liberty, investing him according to custom with his own nomen of Livius, + so that the freedman was afterward known as Livius Andronicus. The + erstwhile slave, having established a school, commenced his literary + career by translating the Odyssey into Latin Saturnian verse for the use + of his pupils. This feat was followed by the translation of a Greek drama, + which was enacted in B. C. 240, and formed the first genuinely + classic piece beheld by the Roman public. The success of Livius Andronicus + was very considerable, and he wrote many more plays, in which he himself + acted, besides attempting lyric and religious poetry. His work, of which + but 41 lines remain in existence, was pronounced inferior by Cicero; yet + must ever be accorded respect as the very commencement of a great + literature. + </p> + <p> + Latin verse continued to depend largely on Greek models, but in prose the + Romans were more original, and the first celebrated prose writer was that + stern old Greek hater, M. Porcius Cato (234-149 B. C.), who prepared + orations and wrote on history, agriculture, and other subjects. His style + was clear, though by no means perfect, and it is a source of regret that + his historical work, the "Origines," is lost. Other prose writers, all + orators, extending from Cato's time down to the polished period, are Lælius, + Scipio, the Gracchi, Antonius, Crassus, and the celebrated Q. Hortensius, + early opponent of Cicero. + </p> + <p> + Satire, that one absolutely native product of Italy, first found + independent expression in C. Lucilius (180-103 B. C.), though the + great Roman inclination toward that form of expression had already found + an outlet in satirical passages in other sorts of writing. There is + perhaps no better weapon for the scourging of vice and folly than this + potent literary embodiment of wit and irony, and certainly no author ever + wielded that weapon more nobly than Lucilius. His æra was + characterised by great degeneracy, due to Greek influences, and the manner + in which he upheld failing Virtue won him the unmeasured regard of his + contemporaries and successors. Horace, Persius, and Juvenal all owe much + to him, and it is melancholy to reflect that<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> all his work, save a + fragment or two, is lost to the world. Lucilius, sometimes called "The + Father of Satire," was a man of equestrian rank, and fought with Scipio at + Numantia. + </p> + <p> + With the age of M. Tullius Cicero (106-43 B. C.)—the Golden Age—opens + the period of highest perfection in Roman literature. It is hardly + necessary to describe Cicero himself—his luminous talents have made + him synonymous with the height of Attic elegance in wit, forensic art, and + prose composition. Born of equestrian rank, he was educated with care, and + embarked on his career at the age of twenty-five. His orations against L. + Sergius Catilina during his consulship broke up one of the most dastardly + plots in history, and gained for him the title of "Father of His Country." + Philosophy claimed much of his time, and his delightful treatises "De + Amicitia" and "De Senectute" will be read as long as friendship endures on + earth, or men grow old. Near the end of his life Cicero, opposing the + usurpations of M. Antonius, delivered his masterpieces of oratory, the + "Philippics," modelled after the similar orations of the Greek Demosthenes + against Philip of Macedonia. His murder, demanded by the vengeful Antonius + in the proscription of the second triumvirate, was the direct result of + these Philippics. Contemporary with Cicero was M. Terentius Varro, styled + "most learned of the Romans," though ungraceful in style. Of his works, + embracing many diverse subjects, only one agricultural treatise survives. + </p> + <p> + In this survey we need allot but little space to Caius Julius Cæsar, + probably the greatest human being so far to appear on this globe. His + Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars are models of pure and + perspicuous prose, and his other work, voluminous but now lost, was + doubtless of equal merit. At the present time, passages of Cæsar's + Gallic War are of especial interest on account of their allusions to + battles against those perpetual enemies of civilisation, the Germans. How + familiar, for instance, do we find the following passage from Book Six, + describing German notions of honour: + </p> + <p> + "Latrocinia nullam habent infamiam, quæ extra fines cujusque + civitatis fiunt, atque ea juventutis exercendæ ac desidiæ + minuendæ causa fieri prædicant!" + </p> + <p> + The next generation of authors fall within what has been termed the + "Augustan Age," the period during which Octavianus, having become Emperor, + encouraged letters to a degree hitherto unknown; not only personally, but + through his famous minister Mæcenas (73-8 B. C.). The + literature of this period is immortal through the genius of Virgil, + Horace, and Ovid, and has made the name "Augustan" an universal synonyme + for classic elegance and urbanity. Thus in our own literary history, Queen + Anne's reign is known as the "Augustan Age" on account of the brilliant + wits and poets then at their zenith. Mæcenas, whose name must ever + typify the ideal of munificent literary patronage, was himself a scholar + and poet, as was indeed Augustus. Both, however, are overshadowed by the + titanic geniuses who gathered around them. + </p> + <p> + Succeeding the Golden Age, and extending down to the time of the + Antonines, is the so-called "Silver Age" of Latin literature, in which are + included several writers of the highest genius, despite a general + decadence and artificiality of style. In the reign of Tiberius we note the + annalists C. Velleius Paterculus and Valerius Maximus, the medical writer, + A. Cornelius Celsus, and the fabulist Phædrus, the latter a freedman + from Thrace who imitated his more celebrated predecessor Æsop. + </p> + <p> + The satirist, A. Persius Flaccus (34-62 A. D.), is the first eminent + poet to appear after the death of Ovid. Born at Volaterræ of an + equestrian family, carefully reared by his gifted mother, and educated at + Rome by the Stoic philosopher Cornutus, he became famous not only as a + moralist of the greatest power and urbanity, but as one whose life + accorded perfectly with his precepts; a character of unblemished virtue + and delicacy in an age of unprecedented evil. His work, which attacked + only the less repulsive follies of the day, contains passages of the + highest nobility. His early death terminated a career of infinite promise. + </p> + <p> + In the person of D. Junius Juvenalis (57-128 A. D.), commonly called + Juvenal, we behold the foremost satirist in literary history. Born at + Aquinum of humble but comfortably situated parents, he came to Rome as a + rhetorician; though upon discovering his natural bent, turned to poetical + satire. With a fierceness and moral<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> + seriousness unprecedented in literature, Juvenal attacked the darkest + vices of his age; writing as a relentless enemy rather than as a man of + the world like Horace, or as a detached spectator like Persius. The oft + repeated accusation that his minute descriptions of vice shew a morbid + interest therein, may fairly be refuted when one considers the almost + unthinkable depths to which the republic had fallen. Only a tolerant or a + secluded observer could avoid attacking openly and bitterly the evil + conditions which obtruded themselves on every hand; and Juvenal, a + genuine Roman of the active and virtuous old school, was neither tolerant + nor secluded. Juvenal wrote sixteen satires in all, the most famous of + which are the third and tenth, both imitated in modern times with great + success by Dr. Johnson. Contemporary with Juvenal was the Spaniard, M. + Valerius Martialis (43-117 A. D.), commonly called Martial, master + of the classic epigram. Unsurpassed in compact, scintillant wit, his + works present a subjective and familiar picture of that society which + Juvenal so bitterly attacked from without. + </p> + <p> + We come now upon one of the most distressing spectacles of human history. + The mighty empire of Rome; its morals corrupted through Eastern + influences, its spirit depressed through despotic government, and its + people reduced to mongrel degeneracy through unrestrained immigration and + foreign admixture; suddenly ceases to be an abode of creative thought, and + sinks into a mental lethargy which dries up the very fountains of art and + literature. The Emperor Constantinus, desirous of embellishing his new + capital with the most magnificent decorations, can find no artist capable + of fashioning them; and is obliged to strip ancient Greece of her choicest + sculptures to fulfil his needs. Plainly, the days of Roman glory are over; + and only a few and mainly mediocre geniuses are to be expected in the + years preceding the actual downfall of Latin civilisation. + </p> + <p> + It is interesting, in a melancholy way, to trace the course of Roman + poetry down to its very close, when it is lost amidst the darkness of the + Middle Ages. Claudius Rutilius Namatianus, who flourished in the 5th + century, was a Gaul, and wrote a very fair piece culled the "Itinerarium," + describing a voyage from Rome to his native province. Though inferior to + his contemporary, Claudian, in genius, Rutilius excels him in purity of + diction and refinement of taste. At this period, pure Latin was probably + confined to the highest circles, the masses already using that <b>eloquium + vulgare</b> which later on formed the several modern Romance Languages; + hence Rutilius must have been in a sense a classical antiquarian. + </p> + <p> + The end draws near. Compilers, grammarians, critics, commentators, and + encyclopædists; summarising the past and quibbling over technical + minutiæ; are the last survivors of a dying literature from whence + inspiration has already fled. Macrobius, a critic and grammarian of + celebrity, flourished in the fourth or fifth century, and interests us as + being one through knowledge of whose works Samuel Johnson first attracted + notice at Oxford. Priscian, conceded to be one of the principal + grammatical authorities of the Roman world, flourished about the year 500. + Isidorus Hispalensis, Bishop of Seville, grammarian, historian and + theologian, was the most celebrated and influential literary character of + the crumbling Roman fabric, save the philosopher Boetius and the historian + Cassiodorus, and was highly esteemed during the Middle Ages, of which, + indeed, he was as much a part, as he was a part of expiring classicism. + </p> + <p> + Now falls the curtain. <b>Roma fuit.</b> At the time of Isidorus' death in + A. D. 636, the beginnings of mediævalism were fully under way. + Authorship had disappeared in the broader sense; learning, such as it was, + had retired into the monasteries; whilst the populace of the erstwhile + Empire, living side by side with the invading barbarians, no longer spoke + a language justly to be called classical Latin. With the revival of + letters we shall see more Latin writings, but they will not be Roman; for + their authors will have new and strange idioms for their mother-tongues, + and will view life in a somewhat different manner. The link of continuity + will have been irreparably broken, and these revivers will be Romans only + in an artificial and antiquarian sense. He who calls himself "Pomponius Lætus" + will be found to have been baptised Pomponio Leto. Classical antiquity, + with its simple magnificence, can never return.<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + In glancing back over the literature we have examined, we are impressed by + its distinctiveness, despite its Greek form. It is truly characteristic of + the Roman people, and expresses Rome's majestic mind in a multitude of + ways. Law, order, justice, and supremacy; "these things, O Roman, shall to + you be arts!" All through the works of Latin authors runs this love of + fame, power, order, and permanence. Art is not a prime phase of life or + entirely an intrinsic pleasure, but a means of personal or national + glorification; the true Roman poet writes his own epitaph for posterity, + and exults in the lasting celebrity his memory will receive. Despite his + debt to Hellas, he detests the foreign influence, and can find no term of + satirical opprobrium more biting than "Græculus." The sense of rigid + virtue, so deficient in the Greek, blossoms forth nobly in the Roman; + making moral satire the greatest of native growths. Naturally, the Roman + mind is most perfectly expressed in those voluminous works of law, + extending all the way down to the Byzantine age of Justinianus, which have + given the modern world its entire foundation of jurisprudence; but of + these, lack of space forbids us to treat. They are not, strictly speaking, + a part of literature proper. + </p> + <p> + The influence of the Latin classics upon modern literature has been + tremendous. They are today, and will ever be, vital sources of inspiration + and guidance. Our own most correct age, that of Queen Anne and the first + three Georges, was saturated with their spirit; and there is scarce a + writer of note who does not visibly reflect their immediate influence. + Each classic English author has, after a fashion, his Latin counterpart. + Mr. Pope was a Horace; Dr. Johnson a Juvenal. The early Elizabethan + tragedy was a reincarnation of Seneca, as comedy was of Plautus. English + literature teems with Latin quotations and allusions to such a degree that + no reader can extract full benefit if he have not at least a superficial + knowledge of Roman letters. + </p> + <p> + Wherefore it is enjoined upon the reader not to neglect cultivation of + this rich field; a field which offers as much of pure interest and + enjoyment of necessary cultural training and wholesome intellectual + discipline. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">To Alan Seeger:</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Howard Phillips Lovecraft<br /><br /> (In National Enquirer) + </h4> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">SEEGER, whose soul, with animated lyre<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Wak'd the dull dreamer to a manlier fire;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Whose martial voice, by martial deeds sustain'd,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Denounc'd the age when shameful peace remain'd;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Let thy brave spirit yet among us dwell,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And linger where thy form in valour fell:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Proudly before th' invader's fury mass'd,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Behold thy country's cohorts, rous'd at last!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">It was not for thy mortal eye to see<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Columbia arm'd for right and liberty;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Thine was the finer heart, that could not stay<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To wait for laggards in the vital fray,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And ere the millions felt thy sacred heat,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thou hadst thy gift to Freedom made complete.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">But while thou sleepest in an honour'd grave<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Beneath the Gallic sod thou bledst to save,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">May thy soul's vision scan the ravag'd plain,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And tell thee that thou didst not fall in vain:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Here, as though pray'dst, a million men advance,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To prove Columbia one with flaming France,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And heeding now the long-forgotten debt,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Pay with their blood the gen'rous LAFAYETTE!<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thy ringing odes to prophecies are turn'd,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Whilst legions feel the blaze that in thee burn'd.<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Not as a lonely stranger dost thou lie,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thy form forsaken 'neath a foreign sky,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">On Gallic tongues thy name forever lives,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">First of the mighty host thy country gives:<br /></span> + <span class="i0">All that thou dreamt'st in life shall come to be,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">And proud Columbia find her voice in thee!<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + (Alan Seeger fell in the Cause of Civilisation at Belloy-en-Santerre, July + 4, 1916.) + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JANUARY 1919</span> + </h2> + <h3> + THEODORE ROOSEVELT<br /> 1858-1919 + </h3> + <div class="poem" style="width: 23em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Last of the giants, in whose soul shone clear<br /></span> + <span class="i2">The sacred torch of greatness and of right,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">A stricken world, that cannot boast thy peer,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Mourns o'er thy grave amidst the new-born night.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Sage, seer and statesman, wise in ev'ry art;<br /></span> + <span class="i2">First to behold, and first to preach, the truth;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Soldier and patriot, in whose mighty heart<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Throbb'd the high valour of eternal youth.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Foremost of citizens and best of chiefs,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Within thy mind no weak inaction lay;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Leal to thy standards, firm in thy beliefs;<br /></span> <span + class="i2">As quick to do, as others are to say.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Freeman and gentleman, whose spirit glow'd<br /></span> + <span class="i2">With kindness' and with goodness' warmest fire;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">To prince and peasant thy broad friendship flow'd,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Each proud to take, and eager to admire.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Within thy book of life each spotless page<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Lies open for a world's respecting view;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thou stand'st the first and purest of our age,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">To private, as to public virtue true.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">In thee did such transcendent greatness gleam,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">That none might grudge thee an Imperial place;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Yet such thy modesty, thou need'st must seem<br /></span> + <span class="i2">The leader, not the monarch, of thy race.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Courage and pow'r, to wit and learning join'd,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">With energy that sham'd the envious sun;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The ablest, bravest, noblest of mankind—<br /></span> + <span class="i2">A Caesar and Aurelius mixt in one.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">At thy stern gaze Dishonour bow'd its head;<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Oppression slunk ingloriously away;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">The virtuous follow'd where thy footsteps led,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And Freedom bless'd thy uncorrupted sway.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">When from the East invading Vandals pour'd,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And selfish ignorance restrain'd our hand,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thy voice was first to bid us draw the sword<br /></span> + <span class="i2">To guard our liberties and save our land.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Envy deny'd thee what thy spirit sought,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And held thee from the battle-seething plain;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Yet thy proud blood in filial bodies fought,<br /></span> + <span class="i2">And poppies blossom o'er thy QUENTIN slain.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">'Twas thine to see the triumph of thy cause;<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Thy grateful eyes beheld a world redeem'd;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Would that thy wisdom might have shap'd the laws<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Of the new age, and led to heights undream'd!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Yet art thou gone? Will not thy presence cling<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Like that of all the great who liv'd before?<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Will not new wonders of thy fashioning<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Rise from thy words, as potent as of yore?<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Absent in flesh, thou with a brighter flame<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Shin'st as the beacon of the brave and free;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thou art our country's soul—our loftiest aim<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Is but to honour and to follow thee!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="nb"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + </div> + <div class="lft"> + January 13, 1919. + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MARCH 1919</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">A Note on Howard P. Lovecraft's Verse</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Rheinhart Kleiner + </h4> + <p> + Comment occasioned by the verse of Mr. Howard P. Lovecraft, who is a more + or less frequent contributor to the amateur press, has not consisted of + unmixed praise. + </p> + <p> + Certain critics have regarded his efforts as too obviously imitative of a + style that has long been discredited. Others have accepted his work with + admiration and have even gone so far as to imitate the couplets which he + produces with such apparent ease. + </p> + <p> + Between these two opinions there is a critical neutral ground, the holders + of which realise how large an element of conscious parody enters into many + of Mr. Lovecraft's longer and more serious productions, and who are + capable of appreciating the cleverness and literary charm of these + pastoral echoes without being dominated by them to the extent of + indiscriminate praise and second-hand imitation. + </p> + <p> + Those who would beguile Mr. Lovecraft from his chosen path are probably + unaware of the attitude which he consistently maintains toward hostile + criticism. Mr. Lovecraft contends that it gives him pleasure to write as + the Augustans did, and that those who do not relish his excursions into + classic fields need not follow him. He tries to conciliate no one, and is + content to be his own sole reader! What critic, with these facts before + him, will think it worthwhile to break a lance with the poet? + </p> + <p> + But even Mr. Lovecraft is willing to be original, at times. He has written + verse of a distinctly modern atmosphere, and where his imagery is not too + obtrusively artificial—according to the modern idea—many of + his quatrains possess genuine poetic value. + </p> + <p> + Many who cannot read his longer and more ambitious productions find Mr. + Lovecraft's light or humorous verse decidedly refreshing. As a satirist + along familiar lines, particularly those laid down by Butler, Swift and + Pope, he is most himself—paradoxical though it seems. In reading his + satires one cannot help but feel the zest with which the author has + composed them. They are admirable for the way in which they reveal the + depth and intensity of Mr. Lovecraft's convictions, while the wit, irony, + sarcasm and humour to be found in them serve as an indication of his + powers as a controversialist. The almost relentless ferocity of his + satires is constantly relieved by an attendant broad humour which has the + merit of causing the reader to chuckle more than once in the perusal of + some attack levelled against the particular person or policy which may + have incurred Mr. Lovecraft's displeasure. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">OFFICIAL REPORTS</span> + </h3> + <h4> + DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + </h4> + <p> + <b>The Coyote</b> for October-January is a "Special War Number," dedicated + to Cpl. Raymond Wesley Harrington, the editor's valiant soldier brother, + and having a general martial atmosphere throughout. Among the contents are + two bits of verse by the gallant overseas warrior to whom the issue is + inscribed, both of which speak well for the poetic sentiment of their + heroic author. + </p> + <p> + "Lord Love You, Lad," a poem by Winifred V. Jordan, is the opening + contribution; and deserves highest commendation both for its spirit and + for its construction. + </p> + <p> + "The Paramount Issue," by William T. Harrington, is a somewhat ambitious + attempt to trace the responsibility for the great war to alcoholic liquor + and its degenerative effect on mankind. The author even goes so far as to + say that "had man been represented in his true and noble form, then war + would have been impossible." Now although the present critic is and always + has been an ardent prohibitionist, he must protest at this extravagant + theory. Vast and far-reaching as are the known evil effects of drink, it + is surely transcending fact to accuse it of causing mankind's natural + greed, pride, and combative instincts, which lie at the base of all + warfare. It may, however, be justly suggested that much of the peculiar + bestiality of the Huns is derived from their swinish addiction to beer. + Technically, Mr. Harrington's essay is marked by few crudities, and + displays an encouraging fluency. Other pieces by Mr. Harrington are "A Bit + of My Diary," wherein the author relates his regrettably brief military + experience at Camp Dodge, and "Victory," a stirring editorial. + </p> + <p> + "Black Sheep," by Edna Hyde, is an excellent specimen of blank verse by + our gifted laureate. Line 14 seems to lack a syllable, but this deficiency + is probably the result of a typographical error. + </p> + <p> + A word of praise is due the general appearance of the magazine. The cover + presents a refreshing bit of home-made pictorial art, whilst the + photograph of Corporal Harrington makes a most attractive frontispiece. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Pathfinder</b> for January is easily the best issue yet put forth + by its enterprising young editor. "Hope," which adorns the cover, is a + poem of much merit by Annie Pearce. The apparent lack of a syllable in + line 2 of the third stanza is probably due to a printer's error whereby + the word <b>us</b> is omitted immediately after the word <b>for</b>. + </p> + <p> + "How and Why Roses Are White," by Margaret Mahon, is a fairy legend of + much charm and decided originality, which argues eloquently for its + author's imaginative scope and literary ability. + </p> + <p> + "Happiness in a Glove" is a very facile and pleasing rendering of a bit of + Spanish dialogue. Through a mistake, the authorship is credited to the + translator, Miss Ella M. Miller, though her own manuscript fully + proclaimed the text as a translation. + </p> + <p> + "Welcome, 1919," is a brief contemplative essay by Editor Glause; in + spirit admirable, but in phraseology showing some of the uncertainty of + youthful work. Mr. Glause might well pay more attention to compact + precision in his prose, using as few and as forceful words as possible to + express his meaning. For instance, his opening words would gain greatly in + strength if contracted to the following: "Now that a new year is + beginning." Farther down the page we find the word <b>namely</b> in a + place which impels us to question its use. Its total omission would + strengthen the sentence which contains it. Another point we must mention + is the excessive punctuation, especially the needless hyphenation of <b>amateurdom</b> + and <b>therefore</b>, and the apostrophe in the possessive pronoun <b>its</b>. + The form <b>it's</b> is restricted to the colloquial contraction of "<b>it + is</b>"; the similarly spelled pronoun is written solidly without an + apostrophe. Additional notes by Mr. Glause are of equal merit, and his + reply to a recent article on travel is highly sensible and commendable. He + is a writer and thinker of much power, and needs only technical training + in order to develop into an essayist of the first rank. As an editor he + cannot be praised too highly for his faithfulness in publishing his + welcome and attractive quarterly. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>Pine Cones</b> for February well maintains the high standard set by Mr. + Pryor in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> + opening number. "Life, Death and Immortality," by Jonathan E. Hoag, is a + brief but appealing piece from the pen of a gifted and venerable bard, and + thoroughly deserves its place of honour on the cover. On the next page + occurs a metrical tribute to this sweet singer on his 88th birthday, + written by H. P. Lovecraft in the latter's typical heroic strain. + </p> + <p> + "The Helpful Twins," a clever child story by Editor Pryor, is the prose + treat of the issue. It would, indeed, be hard to find more than one or two + equally interesting, human, and well-developed bits of fiction in any + current amateur periodicals. Not only are the characters drawn with + delightful naturalness, but there is real humour present; and the plot + moves on to its climax without a single instance of awkwardness or a + single intrusive or extraneous episode. In short, the story is almost a + model of its kind; one which ought to prove a success in a professional as + well as an amateur magazine. Mr. Pryor's humour is more broadly shown in + the smile-producing pseudo-anecdotes of "The Boy Washington." + </p> + <p> + The bit of unsigned verse, "A New Year Wish," is excellent, though we + question the advisability of having an Alexandrine for the final line. + </p> + <p> + "Comment Pryoristic" is always interesting, and that in the current <b>Pine + Cones</b> forms no exception to the rule. The appearance of this + vigorously alive and intelligently edited publication is proving a great + and gratifying factor in amateurdom's post-bellum renaissance. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Recruiter</b> for January marks the advent to amateurdom of a new + paper, which easily takes its place among the very best of recent + editorial enterprises. Edited by Misses Mary Faye Durr and L. Evelyn + Schump in the interest of the United recruits whom they are securing, its + thoroughly meritorious quality speaks well for the new members thus added + to our circle. + </p> + <p> + The issue opens auspiciously with a lyric poem of distinguished excellence + by Helen McFarland, entitled "A Casualty." In depth of sentiment, fervour + of expression, and correctness of construction, these melodious lines + leave little to be desired; and seem to indicate that the United has + acquired one more poet of the first rank. + </p> + <p> + "Billy," a character sketch by L. Evelyn Schump, introduces to the + Association a light essayist of unusual power and grace, whose work is + vividly natural through keen insight, apt and fluent expression, and + mastery of homely and familiar detail. The present sketch is captivatingly + lifelike and thoroughly well-written, arousing a response from every lover + of children. + </p> + <p> + "Winter," a brief poem by Hettie Murdock, celebrates in a pleasant way an + unpleasant season. The lines are notable for correctness, spontaneity and + vitality, though not in the least ambitious in scope. + </p> + <p> + Martha Charlotte Macatee's "Song of Nature" reveals its 12-year-old + creator as a genuine "Galpiness" (if we may coin a word which only + amateurs and Appletonians will understand). Mistress Macatee has succeeded + in infusing more than a modicum of really poetic atmosphere and imagery + into her short lyric, and may be relied upon to produce important work in + the coming years of greater maturity. The chief defect of her present + piece is the absence of rhyme, which should always occur in a short + stanzaic poem. Rhyming is not at all difficult after a little practice, + and we trust that the young writer will employ it in later verses. + </p> + <p> + "Tarrytown," by Florence Fitzgerald, is a reminiscent poem of phenomenal + strength, marred only by a pair of false rhymes in the opening stanza. + Assonance must never be mistaken for true rhyme, and combinations like <b>boats-float</b> + or <b>them-brim</b> should be avoided. The imagery of this piece is + especially appealing, and testifies to its author's fertility of fancy. + </p> + <p> + "Shades of Adam," by Mary Faye Durr, is an interesting and humorously + written account of the social side of our 1918 convention. Miss Durr is + exceptionally gifted in the field of apt, quiet, and laconic wit, and in + this informal chronicle neglects no opportunity for dryly amusing comment + on persons and events. + </p> + <p> + "Spring," by L. Evelyn Schump, is a refreshingly original poem in blank + verse, on a somewhat familiar subject. For inspiration and technique + alike, the piece merits enthusiastic commendation; though we may vindicate + our reputation as a fault-finding critic by asking why alternate lines are + indented despite the non-existence of alternate rhymes. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Recruiter's</b> editorial column is brief and businesslike, + introducing the magazine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> + as a whole, and its contributors individually. Amateurdom is deeply + indebted to the publishers of this delightful newcomer, and it is to be + hoped that they may continue their efforts; both toward seeking recruits + as high in quality as those here represented, and toward issuing their + admirable journal as frequently as is feasible. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Silver Clarion</b> for January comes well up to the usual standard, + containing a number of pieces of considerable power. In "The Temple of the + Holy Ghost," Mr. Arthur Goodenough achieves his accustomed success as a + religious poet, presenting a variety of apt images, and clothing them in + facile metre. The only defect is a lack of uniformity in rhyming plan. The + poet, in commencing a piece like this, should decide whether or not to + rhyme the first and third lines of quatrains; and having decided, should + adhere to his decision. Instead, Mr. Goodenough omits these optional + rhymes in the first stanza and in the first half of the third and fourth + stanzas; elsewhere employing them. The result, while not flagrantly + inharmonious, nevertheless gives an impression of imperfection, and tends + to alienate the fastidious critic. Mr. Goodenough possesses so great a + degree of inspiration, and so wide an array of allusions and imagery; that + he owes it to himself to complete the excellence of his vivid work with an + unexceptionable technique. + </p> + <p> + "The Cross," a sonnet by Captain Theodore Draper Gottlieb, is dedicated to + the Red Cross, with which the author is serving so valiantly. In thought + and form this piece deserves unqualified praise. + </p> + <p> + "Death," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, exhibits our versatile Western bard + in sober mood. The poem contains that unmistakable stamp of genuine + emotion which we have come to associate with Mr. Lockhart's work, and is + technically faultless. + </p> + <p> + "Destiny," by W. F. Pelton, is a sonnet of smooth construction and + thorough excellence by one whom we know better as "Wilfrid Kemble." + </p> + <p> + The lines "To My Pal, Fred" present Mr. Harry E. Rieseberg, a new member + of the United who has for some time been a regular <b>Clarion</b> + contributor. In this piece Mr. Rieseberg falls somewhat below his usual + standard; for though the sentiment is appropriate, the metre is sadly + irregular. Mr. Rieseberg should count the syllables in his lines, for he + is a young poet of much promise, and should allow his technique to keep + pace with his genius. + </p> + <p> + "Faith," by Winifred V. Jordan, enunciates a familiar doctrine in + melodious and original metaphor, and well sustains the poetical reputation + of its celebrated author. + </p> + <p> + "The Song Unsung," by W. F. Booker, is a war poem in minor key, which + deserves much praise. + </p> + <p> + "You're Like a Willow," by Eugene B. Kuntz, is marked by that warmth of + fancy and wealth of imagery for which its author is noted. + </p> + <p> + "Thoughts," a courtly offering from the quill of James Laurence Crowley, + winds up the poetical part of the magazine; this month a very ample part. + In rhyme and metre this sentimental gem is quite satisfactory. + </p> + <p> + The only prose in this issue is Mr. Samples' well-written editorial on + "The Passing Year." Herein we find some really excellent passages, + savouring somewhat of the oratorical in style. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>The Silver Clarion</b> for February is of ample size and ample merit. + Opening the issue is an excellent poem in heroic couplets by Mrs. Stella + L. Tully of Mountmellick, Ireland, a new member of the United. Mrs. Tully, + whose best work is in a lyric and religious vein, is one endowed with + hereditary or family genius; as the Association no doubt appreciated when + reading the poetry of her gifted sister, Mrs. S. Lilian McMullen of Newton + Centre, in the preceding issue of THE UNITED AMATEUR. The present piece by + Mrs. Tully, "The Greatest of These is Love," is based upon a Biblical + text, and sets forth its ideas very effectively, despite a few passages + whose stiff construction betrays a slight inexperience in the traditions + of heroic verse. + </p> + <p> + "The Two Crosses," by Capt. Theodore Gottlieb, is also in heroics, and + graphically compares the most holy symbols of today and of nineteen + hundred years ago. + </p> + <p> + More of the religious atmosphere is furnished by John Milton Samples' + trochaic composition entitled "The Millennium"—from whose title, by + the way, one of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> + necessary n's is missing. In this pleasing picture of an impossible age we + note but three things requiring critical attention. (1) The term + "super-race" in stanza 5, is too technically philosophical to be really + poetic. (2) The rhyme of <b>victory</b> and <b>eternally</b> is not very + desirable, because both the rhyming syllables bear only a secondary + accent. (3) There is something grotesque and unconsciously comic in the + prophecy "Then the lamb shall kiss the lion." Such grotesqueness is not to + be found in the original words of Mr. Samples' predecessor and source of + inspiration, the well-known prophet Isaiah. (Vide Isaiah, xi: 6-7.) + </p> + <p> + "Nature Worship," by Arthur Goodenough, is one of the most meritorious + poems in the issue, despite some dubious grammar in the first stanza, and + an internal rhyme in the final stanza which has no counterpart in the + lines preceding. The first named error consists of a disagreement in + number betwixt subject and verb: "faith and form and ... mazes which ... + perplexes, dazes." + </p> + <p> + "The New Order," an essay by John Milton Samples, is an eloquent but + fantastically idealistic bit of speculation concerning the wonderful + future which dreamers picture as arising out of the recent war. To us, + there is a sort of pathos in these vain hopes and mirage-like visions of + an Utopia which can never be; yet if they can cheer anyone, they are + doubtless not altogether futile. Indeed, after the successive menaces of + the Huns and the Bolsheviki, we can call almost any future Utopian, if it + will but afford the comparative calm of pre-1914 days! + </p> + <p> + "No Night So Dark, No Day So Drear," by Mamie Knight Samples, is a poem + which reveals merit despite many crudities. The outstanding fault is + defective metre—Mrs. Samples should carefully count her syllables, + and repeat her lines aloud, to make sure of perfect scansion. Since the + intended metre appears to be iambic tetrameter, we shall here give a + revised rendering of the first stanza; showing how it can be made to + conform to that measure: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"No night so dark, no day so drear,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">But we may sing our songs of cheer."<br /></span> <span + class="i0">These words, borne from the world without,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Cheer'd a heart sick with grief and doubt.<br /></span> <span + class="i0">O doubting soul, bow'd down so low,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">If thou couldst feel, and only know<br /></span> <span + class="i0">The darkness is in thee alone,<br /></span> <span class="i0">For + grief and tears it would atone.<br /></span> <span class="i0">"No night + so dark, no day so drear,<br /></span> <span class="i0">But we may sing + our songs of cheer."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + Let the authoress note that each line must have eight syllables—no + more, no less. For the trite ideas and hackneyed rhymes, nothing can be + recommended save a more observant and discriminating perusal of standard + poets. It must be kept in mind that the verse found in current family + magazines and popular hymn-books is seldom, if ever, true poetry. The only + authors suitable as models, are those whose names are praised in histories + of English literature. + </p> + <p> + W. F. Booker's "Song" is a delightful short lyric whose sentiment and + technique deserve naught but praise. + </p> + <p> + "When I Am Gone," a poem in pentameter quatrains by James Laurence + Crowley, contains the customary allotment of sweet sentiment, together + with some really commendable imagery. Mr. Crowley's genius will shine + brightly before long. + </p> + <p> + "The Path to Glory," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is perhaps the poetic gem + of the issue. In this virile anapæstic piece Mr. Lockhart sums up + all the horrors of the trenches in such a way that the reader may guess at + the extent of the sacrifice undergone by those who have given all for + their country. + </p> + <p> + In "Coconino Jim, Lumberjack," Mr. Harry E. Rieseberg shows himself a true + and powerful poet of the rugged, virile school of Kipling, Service, + Knibbs, and their analogues. The present piece is entirely correct in + rhyme and well-developed in thought, wanting only good metre to make it + perfect. This latter accomplishment Mr. Rieseberg should strive hard to + attain, for his poetry surely deserves as good a form as he can give it. + </p> + <p> + A word of praise should be given Mr. Samples' editorial, "The Professional + in Amateur Journalism," in which he shows the fallacy of the plea for a + cruder, more juvenile amateurdom, which often emanates from members of the + older and less progressive associations. As the editor contends, + intellectual evolution must occur; and the whole recent career of the + United demonstrates the value of a purely literary society for genuine + literary aspirants of every age and every stage of mental development. + </p> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MAY 1919</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Helene Hoffman Cole—Litterateur</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Howard Phillips Lovecraft + </h4> + <p> + Of the various authors who have contributed to the fame of our + Association, few can be compared in sustained ability and breadth of + interests to the late Helene Hoffman Cole. Represented in the press as a + poet, critic, essayist, and fiction-writer, Mrs. Cole achieved distinction + in all of these departments; rising during recent years to an almost + unique prominence in the field of book-reviewing. Her compositions display + a diversity of attainments and catholicity of taste highly remarkable in + one of so relatively slight an age, familiar knowledge of foreign and + archaic literature supplying a mature background too seldom possessed by + amateur authors. + </p> + <p> + It is as a poet that Mrs. Cole has been least known, since her verse was + not of frequent occurrence in the amateur press. A glance at the few + existing specimens, however, demonstrates conclusively that her poetical + gifts were by no means inconsiderable; and that had she chosen such a + course, she might easily have become one of the leading bards of the + United. Verse like the unnamed autumn pieces in <b>Leaflets</b> and <b>The + Hellenian</b> possess an aptness and cleverness of fancy which bespeak the + true poet despite trivial technical imperfections. + </p> + <p> + In fiction the extent of Mrs. Cole's genius was still further revealed, + nearly all her narratives moving along with impeccable grace and fluency. + Her plots were for the most part light and popular in nature, and would + have reflected credit on any professional writer of modern magazine tales. + Of her stories, "The Picture," appearing in <b>Leaflets</b> for October, + 1913, is an excellent example. More dramatic in quality is "Her Wish," in + the August, 1914, <b>Olympian</b>. This brief tragedy of a Serbian and his + bride is perhaps one of the very first tales written around the World War. + </p> + <p> + But it is in the domain of the literary essay that this authoress rose to + loftiest altitude. Of wide and profound reading, and of keen and + discriminating mind, Mrs. Cole presented in a style of admirable grace and + lucidity her reactions to the best works of numerous standard authors, + ancient and modern, English and foreign. The value of such work in + amateurdom, extending the cultural outlook and displaying the outside + world as seen through the eyes of a gifted, respected, and representative + member, scarce needs the emphasis of the commentator. He who can link the + amateur and larger spheres in a pleasing and acceptable fashion, deserves + the highest approbation and panegyric that the United can bestow. Notable + indeed are Mrs. Cole's sound reviews of Sir Thomas Browne's "Hydriotaphia" + in THE UNITED AMATEUR, of "Pelle, the Conqueror" in <b>The Tryout</b>, and + of numerous South American works but little known to Northern readers. Of + equal merit are such terse and delightful essays as "M. Tullius Cicero, + Pater Patriae," where the essayist invests a classical theme with all the + living charm of well-restrained subjectivity. The style of these writings + is in itself captivating; the vocabulary containing enough words of Latin + derivation to rescue it from the Boeotian harshness typical of this age. + All that has been said of Mrs. Cole's broader reviews may be said of her + amateur criticism, much of which graced the columns of <b>The Olympian</b> + and other magazines. + </p> + <p> + The exclusively journalistic skill of Mrs. Cole now remains to be + considered, and this we find as brilliant as her other attainments. As the + editor of numerous papers during every stage of her career, she exhibited + phenomenal taste and enterprise; never failing to create enthusiasm and + evoke encomium with her ventures both individual and co-operative. Her + gift for gathering, selecting and writing news was quite unexampled. As + the reporter <b>par excellence</b> of both associations, she was the main + reliance of other editors for convention reports and general items; all of + which were phrased with an ease, urbanity, and personality that lent them + distinctiveness. Not the least of her qualities was a gentle and + unobtrusive humour which enlivened her lighter productions. Amateurdom + will long remember the quaint piquancy of the issues of <b>The Martian</b> + which she cleverly published in the name of her infant son. + </p> + <p> + During these latter days nearly every amateur has expressed a kind of + incredulity that Mrs. Cole can indeed be no more, and in this the present + writer must needs share. To realise that her gifted pen has ceased to + enrich our small literary world requires a painful effort on the part of + everyone who has followed her brilliant progress in the field of letters. + The United loses more by her sudden and untimely demise than can well be + reckoned at this moment. + </p> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JULY 1919</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Americanism</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Howard Phillips Lovecraft<br /><br /> Laureate + </h4> + <p> + It is easy to sentimentalise on the subject of "the American spirit"—what + it is, may be, or should be. Exponents of various novel political and + social theories are particularly given to this practice, nearly always + concluding that "true Americanism" is nothing more or less than a national + application of their respective individual doctrines. + </p> + <p> + Slightly less superficial observers hit upon the abstract principle of + "Liberty" as the keynote of Americanism, interpreting this justly esteemed + principle as anything from Bolshevism to the right to drink 2.75 per cent. + beer. "Opportunity" is another favourite byword, and one which is + certainly not without real significance. The synonymousness of "America" + and "opportunity" has been inculcated into many a young head of the + present generation by Emerson via Montgomery's "Leading Facts of American + History." But it is worthy of note that nearly all would-be definers of + "Americanism" fail through their prejudiced unwillingness to trace the + quality to its European source. They cannot bring themselves to see that + abiogenesis is as rare in the realm of ideas as it is in the kingdom of + organic life; and consequently waste their efforts in trying to treat + America as if it were an isolated phenomenon without ancestry. + </p> + <p> + "Americanism" is expanded Anglo-Saxonism. It is the spirit of England, + transplanted to a soil of vast extent and diversity, and nourished for a + time under pioneer conditions calculated to increase its democratic + aspects without impairing its fundamental virtues. It is the spirit of + truth, honour, justice, morality, moderation, individualism, conservative + liberty, magnanimity, toleration, enterprise, industriousness, and + progress—which is England—plus the element of equality and + opportunity caused by pioneer settlement. It is the expression of the + world's highest race under the most favourable social, political, and + geographical conditions. Those who endeavour to belittle the importance of + our British ancestry, are invited to consider the other nations of this + continent. All these are equally "American" in every particular, differing + only in race-stock and heritage; yet of them all, none save British Canada + will even bear comparison with us. We are great because we are a part of + the great Anglo-Saxon cultural sphere; a section detached only after a + century and a half of heavy colonisation and English rule, which gave to + our land the ineradicable stamp of British civilisation. + </p> + <p> + Most dangerous and fallacious of the several misconceptions of Americanism + is that of the so-called "melting-pot" of races and traditions. It is true + that this country has received a vast influx of non-English immigrants who + come hither to enjoy without hardship the liberties which our British + ancestors carved out in toil and bloodshed. It is also true that such of + them as belong to the Teutonic and Celtic races are capable of + assimilation to our English type and of becoming valuable acquisitions to + the population. But, from this it does not follow that a mixture of really + alien blood or ideas has accomplished or can accomplish anything but harm. + Observation of Europe shows us the relative status and capability of the + several races, and we see that the melting together of English gold and + alien brass is not very likely to produce any alloy superior or even equal + to the original gold. Immigration cannot, perhaps, be cut off altogether, + but it should be understood that aliens who choose America as their + residence must accept the prevailing language and culture as their own; + and neither try to modify our institutions, nor to keep alive their own in + our midst. We must not, as the greatest man of our age declared, suffer + this nation to become a "polyglot boarding house." + </p> + <p> + The greatest foe to rational Americanism is that dislike for our parent + nation which holds sway amongst the ignorant and bigoted, and which is + kept alive largely by certain elements of the population who seem to + consider the sentiments of Southern and Western Ireland more important + than those of the United States. In spite of the plain fact that a + separate Ireland would weaken civilisation and menace the world's peace by + introducing a hostile and undependable wedge betwixt the two major parts + of Saxondom, these irresponsible elements continue to encourage rebellion + in the Green Isle; and in so doing tend to place this nation in a + distressingly anomalous position as an abettor of crime and sedition + against the Mother Land. Disgusting beyond words are the public honours + paid to political criminals like Edward, alias Eamonn, de Valera, whose + very presence at large among us is an affront to our dignity and heritage. + Never may we appreciate or even fully comprehend our own place and mission + in the world, till we can banish those clouds of misunderstanding which + float between us and the source of our culture. + </p> + <p> + But the features of Americanism peculiar to this continent must not be + belittled. In the abolition of fixed and rigid class lines a distinct + sociological advance is made,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> + permitting a steady and progressive recruiting of the upper levels from + the fresh and vigorous body of the people beneath. Thus opportunities of + the choicest sort await every citizen alike, whilst the biological + quality of the cultivated classes is improved by the cessation of that + narrow inbreeding which characterises European aristocracy. + </p> + <p> + Total separation of civil and religious affairs, the greatest political + and intellectual advance since the Renaissance, is also a local American—and + more particularly a Rhode Island—triumph. Agencies are today subtly + at work to undermine this principle, and to impose upon us through devious + political influences the Papal chains which Henry VIII first struck from + our limbs; chains unfelt since the bloody reign of Mary, and infinitely + worse than the ecclesiastical machinery which Roger Williams rejected. But + when the vital relation of intellectual freedom to genuine Americanism + shall be fully impressed upon the people, it is likely that such sinister + undercurrents will subside. + </p> + <p> + The main struggle which awaits Americanism is not with reaction, but with + radicalism. Our age is one of restless and unintelligent iconoclasm, and + abounds with shrewd sophists who use the name "Americanism" to cover + attacks on that institution itself. Such familiar terms and phrases as + "democracy," "liberty," or "freedom of speech" are being distorted to + cover the wildest forms of anarchy, whilst our old representative + institutions are being attacked as "un-American" by foreign immigrants who + are incapable both of understanding them or of devising anything better. + </p> + <p> + This country would benefit from a wider practice of sound Americanism, + with its accompanying recognition of an Anglo-Saxon source. Americanism + implies freedom, progress, and independence; but it does not imply a + rejection of the past, nor a renunciation of traditions and experience. + Let us view the term in its real, practical, and unsentimental meaning. + </p> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">NOVEMBER 1919</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">The White Ship</span> + </h3> + <h4> + Howard Phillips Lovecraft + </h4> + <p> + I am Basil Elton, keeper of the North Point light that my father and + grandfather kept before me. Far from the shore stands the grey lighthouse, + above sunken slimy rocks that are seen when the tide is low, but unseen + when the tide is high. Past that beacon for a century have swept the + majestic barques of the seven seas. In the days of my grandfather there + were many; in the days of my father not so many; and now there are so few + that I sometimes feel strangely alone, as though I were the last man on + our planet. + </p> + <p> + From far shores came those white-sailed argosies of old; from far Eastern + shores where warm suns shine and sweet odours linger about strange gardens + and gay temples. The old captains of the sea came often to my grandfather + and told him of these things, which in turn he told to my<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> father, + and my father told to me in the long autumn evenings when the wind howled + eerily from the East. And I have read more of these things, and of many + things besides, in the books men gave me when I was young and filled with + wonder. + </p> + <p> + But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the + secret lore of ocean. Blue, green, grey, white or black; smooth, ruffled, + or mountainous; that ocean is not silent. All my days have I watched it + and listened to it, and I know it well. At first it told to me only the + plain little tales of calm beaches and near ports, but with the years it + grew more friendly and spoke of other things; of things more strange and + more distant in space and in time. Sometimes at twilight the grey vapours + of the horizon have parted to grant me glimpses of the ways beyond; and + sometimes at night the deep waters of the sea have grown clear and + phosphorescent, to grant me glimpses of the ways beneath. And these + glimpses have been as often of the ways that were and the ways that might + be, as of the ways that are; for ocean is more ancient than the mountains, + and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time. + </p> + <p> + Out of the South it was that the White Ship used to come when the moon was + full and high in the heavens. Out of the South it would glide very + smoothly and silently over the sea. And whether the sea was rough or calm, + and whether the wind was friendly or adverse, it would always glide + smoothly and silently, its sails distent and its long strange tiers of + oars moving rhythmically. One night I espied upon the deck a man, bearded + and robed, and he seemed to beckon me to embark for fair unknown shores. + Many times afterward I saw him under the full moon, and ever did he beckon + me. + </p> + <p> + Very brightly did the moon shine on the night I answered the call, and I + walked out over the waters to the White Ship on a bridge of moonbeams. The + man who had beckoned now spoke a welcome to me in a soft language I seemed + to know well, and the hours were filled with soft songs of the oarsmen as + we glided away into a mysterious South, golden with the glow of that full, + mellow moon. + </p> + <p> + And when the day dawned, rosy and effulgent, I beheld the green shore of + far lands, bright and beautiful, and to me unknown. Up from the sea rose + lordly terraces of verdure, tree-studded, and shewing here and there the + gleaming white roofs and colonnades of strange temples. As we drew nearer + the green shore the bearded man told me of that land, the Land of Zar, + where dwell all the dreams and thoughts of beauty that come to men once + and then are forgotten. And when I looked upon the terraces again I saw + that what he said was true, for among the sights before me were many + things I had once seen through the mists beyond the horizon in the + phosphorescent depths of ocean. There too were forms and fantasies more + splendid than I had ever known; the visions of young poets who died in + want before the world could learn of what they had seen and dreamed. But + we did not set foot upon the sloping meadows of Zar, for it is told that + he who treads them may nevermore return to his native shore. + </p> + <p> + As the White Ship sailed silently away from the templed terraces of Zar, + we beheld on the distant horizon ahead the spires of a mighty city; and + the bearded man said to me, "This is Thalarion, the City of a Thousand + Wonders, wherein reside all those mysteries that man has striven in vain + to fathom." And I looked again, at closer range, and saw that the city was + greater than any city I had known or dreamed of before. Into the sky the + spires of its temples reached, so that no man might behold their peaks; + and far back beyond the horizon stretched the grim, grey walls, over which + one might spy only a few roofs, weird and ominous, yet adorned with rich + friezes and alluring sculptures. I yearned mightily to enter this + fascinating yet repellent city, and beseeched the bearded man to land me + at the stone pier by the huge carven gate Akariel; but he gently denied my + wish, saying, "Into Thalarion, the City of a Thousand Wonders, many have + passed but none returned. Therein walk only dæmons and mad things + that are no longer men, and the streets are white with the unburied bones + of those who have looked upon the eidolon Lathi, that reigns over the + city." So the White Ship sailed on past the walls of Thalarion, and + followed for many days a southward-flying bird, whose glossy plumage + matched the sky out of which it had appeared. + </p> + <p> + Then came we to a pleasant coast gay with blossoms of every hue, where as + far<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> + inland as we could see basked lovely groves and radiant arbours beneath a + meridian sun. From bowers beyond our view came bursts of song and snatches + of lyric harmony, interspersed with faint laughter so delicious that I + urged the rowers onward in my eagerness to reach the scene. And the + bearded man spoke no word, but watched me as we approached the lily-lined + shore. Suddenly a wind blowing from over the flowery meadows and leafy + woods brought a scent at which I trembled. The wind grew stronger, and the + air was filled with the lethal, charnel odour of plague-stricken towns and + uncovered cemeteries. And as we sailed madly away from that damnable coast + the bearded man spoke at last, saying, "This is Xura, the Land of + Pleasures Unattained." + </p> + <p> + So once more the White Ship followed the bird of heaven, over warm blessed + seas fanned by caressing, aromatic breezes. Day after day and night after + night did we sail, and when the moon was full we would listen to soft + songs of the oarsmen, sweet as on that distant night when we sailed away + from my far native land. And it was by moonlight that we anchored at last + in the harbour of Sona-Nyl, which is guarded by twin headlands of crystal + that rise from the sea and meet in a resplendent arch. This is the Land of + Fancy, and we walked to the verdant shore upon a golden bridge of + moonbeams. + </p> + <p> + In the Land of Sona-Nyl there is neither time nor space, neither suffering + nor death; and there I dwelt for many æons. Green are the groves and + pastures, bright and fragrant the flowers, blue and musical the streams, + clear and cool the fountains, and stately and gorgeous the temples, + castles, and cities of Sona-Nyl. Of that land there is no bound, for + beyond each vista of beauty rises another more beautiful. Over the + countryside and amidst the splendour of cities can move at will the happy + folk, of whom all are gifted with unmarred grace and unalloyed happiness. + For the æons that I dwelt there I wandered blissfully through + gardens where quaint pagodas peep from pleasing clumps of bushes, and + where the white walks are bordered with delicate blossoms. I climbed + gentle hills from whose summits I could see entrancing panoramas of + loveliness, with steepled towns nestling in verdant valleys, and with the + golden domes of gigantic cities glittering on the infinitely distant + horizon. And I viewed by moonlight the sparkling sea, the crystal + headlands, and the placid harbour wherein lay anchored the White Ship. + </p> + <p> + It was against the full moon one night in the immemorial year of Tharp + that I saw outlined the beckoning form of the celestial bird, and felt the + first stirrings of unrest. Then I spoke with the bearded man, and told him + of my new yearning to depart for remote Cathuria, which no man hath seen, + but which all believe to lie beyond the basalt pillars of the West. It is + the Land of Hope, and in it shine the perfect ideals of all that we know + elsewhere; or at least so men relate. But the bearded man said to me, + "Beware of those perilous seas wherein men say Cathuria lies. In Sona-Nyl + there is no pain nor death, but who can tell what lies beyond the basalt + pillars of the West?" Natheless at the next full moon I boarded the White + Ship, and with the reluctant bearded man left the happy harbour for + untravelled seas. + </p> + <p> + And the bird of heaven flew before, and led us toward the basalt pillars + of the West, but this time the oarsmen sang no soft songs under the full + moon. In my mind I would often picture the unknown Land of Cathuria with + its splendid groves and palaces, and would wonder what new delights there + awaited me. "Cathuria," I would say to myself, "is the abode of gods and + the land of unnumbered cities of gold. Its forests are of aloe and + sandalwood, even as the fragrant groves of Camorin, and among the trees + flutter gay birds sweet with song. On the green and flowery mountains of + Cathuria stand temples of pink marble, rich with carven and painted + glories, and having in their courtyards cool fountains of silver, where + purl with ravishing music the scented waters that come from the + grotto-born river Narg. And the cities of Cathuria are cinctured with + golden walls, and their pavements are also of gold. In the gardens of + these cities are strange orchids, and perfumed lakes whose beds are of + coral and amber. At night the streets and the gardens are lit with gay + lanthorns fashioned from three-coloured shell of the tortoise, and here + resound the soft notes of the singer and the lutanist. And the houses of + the cities of Cathuria are all palaces, each built over a fragrant canal + bearing the waters of the sacred Narg. Of marble and porphyry are the + houses, and roofed with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> + glittering gold that reflects the rays of the sun and enhances the + splendour of the cities as blissful gods view them from the distant + peaks. Fairest of all is the palace of the great monarch Dorieb, whom + some say to be a demigod and others a god. High is the palace of Dorieb, + and many are the turrets of marble upon its walls. In its wide halls may + multitudes assemble, and here hang the trophies of the ages. And the roof + is of pure gold, set upon tall pillars of ruby and azure, and having such + carven figures of gods and heroes that he who looks up to those heights + seem to gaze upon the living Olympus. And the floor of the palace is of + glass, under which flow the cunningly lighted waters of the Narg, gay + with gaudy fish not known beyond the bounds of lovely Cathuria." + </p> + <p> + Thus would I speak to myself of Cathuria, but ever would the bearded man + warn me to turn back to the happy shores of Sona-Nyl; for Sona-Nyl is + known of men, while none hath ever beheld Cathuria. + </p> + <p> + And on the thirty-first day that we followed the bird, we beheld the + basalt pillars of the West. Shrouded in mist they were, so that no man + might peer beyond them or see their summits—which indeed some say + reach even to the heavens. And the bearded man again implored me to turn + back, but I heeded him not; for from the mists beyond the basalt pillars I + fancied there came the notes of singer and lutanist; sweeter than the + sweetest songs of Sona-Nyl, and sounding mine own praises; the praises of + me, who had voyaged far under the full moon and dwelt in the Land of + Fancy. + </p> + <p> + So to the sound of melody the White Ship sailed into the mist betwixt the + basalt pillars of the West. And when the music ceased and the mist lifted, + we beheld not the Land of Cathuria, but a swift-rushing resistless sea, + over which our helpless barque was borne toward some unknown goal. Soon to + our ears came the distant thunder of falling waters, and to our eyes + appeared on the far horizon ahead the titanic spray of a monstrous + cataract, wherein the oceans of the world drop down to abysmal + nothingness. Then did the bearded man say to me with tears on his cheek, + "We have rejected the beautiful Land of Sona-Nyl, which we may never + behold again. The gods are greater than men, and they have conquered." And + I closed my eyes before the crash that I knew would come, shutting out the + sight of the celestial bird which flapped its mocking blue wings over the + brink of the torrent. + </p> + <p> + Out of that crash came darkness, and I heard the shrieking of men and of + things which were not men. From the East tempestuous winds arose, and + chilled me as I crouched on the slab of damp stone which had risen beneath + my feet. Then as I heard another crash I opened my eyes and beheld myself + upon the platform of that lighthouse from whence I had sailed so many + æons ago. In the darkness below there loomed the vast blurred + outlines of a vessel breaking up on the cruel rocks, and as I glanced out + over the waste I saw that the light had failed for the first time since my + grandfather had assumed its care. + </p> + <p> + And in the later watches of the night, when I went within the tower, I saw + on the wall a calendar which still remained as when I had left it at the + hour I sailed away. With the dawn I descended the tower and looked for + wreckage upon the rocks, but what I found was only this: a strange dead + bird whose hue was as of the azure sky, and a single shattered spar, of a + whiteness greater than that of the wave-tips or of the mountain snow. + </p> + <p> + And thereafter the ocean told me its secrets no more; and though many + times since has the moon shone full and high in the heavens, the White + Ship from the South came never again. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + TO MISTRESS SOPHIA SIMPLE, QUEEN OF THE CINEMA + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + (With humblest apologies to Randolph St. John, Gent.) + </div> + <h4> + L. Theobald, Jun. + </h4> + <div class="poem" style="width: 19em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Before our sight your mobile face<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Depicts your joys or woes distracting;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">We marvel at your winsome grace—<br /></span> <span + class="i2">And wish you'd learn the art of acting!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Your eyes, we vow, surpass the stars;<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Your mouth is like the bow of Cupid;<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Your rose-ting'd cheeks no wrinkle mars—<br /></span> + <span class="i2">Yet why are you so sweetly stupid?<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">The hero views you with delight,<br /></span> <span + class="i2">To win your hand forever working;<br /></span> <span class="i0">We + pity him—the witless wight—<br /></span> <span class="i2">To + fall a victim to your smirking!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">And yet, why should we wail in rhyme<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Because so crudely you dissemble?<br /></span> <span class="i0">We + can't expect for one small dime,<br /></span> <span class="i2">To see a + Woffington or Kemble!<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JANUARY 1920</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Literary Composition</span> + </h3> + <h4> + H. P. Lovecraft + </h4> + <p> + In a former article our readers have been shewn the fundamental sources of + literary inspiration, and the leading prerequisites to expression. It + remains to furnish hints concerning expression itself; its forms, customs, + and technicalities, in order that the young writer may lose nothing of + force or charm in presenting his ideas to the public. + </p> + <h5> + Grammar + </h5> + <p> + A review of the elements of English grammar would be foreign to the + purpose of this department. The subject is one taught in all common + schools, and may be presumed to be understood by every aspirant to + authorship. It is necessary, however, to caution the beginner to keep a + reliable grammar and dictionary always beside him, that he may avoid in + his compositions the frequent errors which imperceptibly corrupt even the + purest ordinary speech. As a general rule, it is well to give close + critical scrutiny to all colloquial phrases and expressions of doubtful + parsing, as well as to all words and usages which have a strained or + unfamiliar sound. The human memory is not to be trusted too far, and most + minds harbour a considerable number of slight linguistic faults and + inelegancies picked up from random discourse or from the pages of + newspapers, magazines, and popular modern books. + </p> + <h5> + Types of Mistakes + </h5> + <p> + Most of the mistakes of young authors, aside from those gross violations + of syntax which ordinary education corrects, may perhaps be enumerated as + follows. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + (1) Erroneous plurals of nouns, as <b>vallies</b> or <b>echos</b>. + </p> + <p> + (2) Barbarous compound nouns, as <b>viewpoint</b> or <b>upkeep</b>. + </p> + <p> + (3) Want of correspondence in number between noun and verb where the two + are widely separated or the construction involved. + </p> + <p> + (4) Ambiguous use of pronouns. + </p> + <p> + (5) Erroneous case of pronouns, as <b>whom</b> for <b>who</b>, and vice + versa, or phrases like "between you and <b>I</b>," or "Let <b>we</b> who + are loyal, act promptly." + </p> + <p> + (6) Erroneous use of <b>shall</b> and <b>will</b>, and of other + auxiliary verbs. + </p> + <p> + (7) Use of intransitive for transitive verbs, as "he <b>was graduated</b> + from college," or vice versa, as "he <b>ingratiated</b> with the + tyrant." + </p> + <p> + (8) Use of nouns for verbs, as "he <b>motored</b> to Boston," or "he <b>voiced</b> + a protest." + </p> + <p> + (9) Errors in moods and tenses of verbs, as "If I <b>was</b> he, I + should do otherwise," or "He said the earth <b>was</b> round." + </p> + <p> + (10) The split infinitive, as "<b>to</b> calmly <b>glide</b>." + </p> + <p> + (11) The erroneous perfect infinitive, as "Last week I expected <b>to + have met</b> you." + </p> + <p> + (12) False verb-forms, as "I <b>pled</b> with him." + </p> + <p> + (13) Use of <b>like</b> for <b>as</b>, as "I strive to write <b>like</b> + Pope wrote." + </p> + <p> + (14) Misuse of prepositions, as "The gift was bestowed <b>to</b> an + unworthy object," or "The gold was divided <b>between</b> the five men." + </p> + <p> + (15) The superfluous conjunction, as "I wish <b>for</b> you to do this." + </p> + <p> + (16) Use of words in wrong <b>senses</b>, as "The book greatly <b>intrigued</b> + me," "<b>Leave</b> me take this," "He was <b>obsessed</b> with the + idea," or "He is a <b>meticulous</b> writer." + </p> + <p> + (17) Erroneous use of non-Anglicised foreign forms, as "a strange <b>phenomena</b>," + or "two <b>stratas</b> of clouds." + </p> + <p> + (18) Use of false or unauthorized words, as <b>burglarize</b> or <b>supremest</b>. + </p> + <p> + (19) Errors of taste, including vulgarisms, pompousness, repetition, + vagueness, ambiguousness, colloquialism, bathos, bombast, pleonasm, + tautology, harshness, mixed metaphor, and every sort of rhetorical + awkwardness. + </p> + <p> + (20) Errors of spelling and punctuation, and confusion of forms such as + that which leads many to place an apostrophe in the possessive pronoun + <b>its</b>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Of all blunders, there is hardly one which might not be avoided through + diligent study of simple textbooks on grammar and rhetoric, intelligent + perusal of the best authors, and care and forethought in composition. + Almost no excuse exists for their persistent occurrence, since the sources + of correction are so numerous and so available. Many of the popular + manuals of good English are extremely useful, especially to persons whose + reading is not as yet extensive; but such works sometimes err in being too + pedantically precise and formal. For correct writing, the cultivation of + patience and mental accuracy is essential. Throughout the young author's + period of apprenticeship, he must keep reliable dictionaries and textbooks + at his elbow; eschewing as far as possible that hasty extemporaneous + manner of writing which is the privilege of more advanced students. He + must take no popular usage for granted, nor must he ever hesitate, in<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> case of + doubt, to fall back on the authority of his books. + </p> + <h5> + Reading + </h5> + <p> + No aspiring author should content himself with a mere acquisition of + technical rules. As Mrs. Renshaw remarked in the preceding article, + "Impression should ever precede and be stronger than expression." All + attempts at gaining literary polish must begin with judicious <b>reading</b>, + and the learner must never cease to hold this phase uppermost. In many + cases, the usage of good authors will be found a more effective guide than + any amount of precept. A page of Addison or of Irving will teach more of + style than a whole manual of rules, whilst a story of Poe's will impress + upon the mind a more vivid notion of powerful and correct description and + narration than will ten dry chapters of a bulky textbook. Let every + student read unceasingly the best writers, guided by the admirable Reading + Table which has adorned the UNITED AMATEUR during the past two years. + </p> + <p> + It is also important that cheaper types of reading, if hitherto followed, + be dropped. Popular magazines inculcate a careless and deplorable style + which is hard to unlearn, and which impedes the acquisition of a purer + style. If such things must be read, let them be skimmed over as lightly as + possible. An excellent habit to cultivate is the analytical study of the + King James Bible. For simple yet rich and forceful English, this masterly + production is hard to equal; and even though its Saxon vocabulary and + poetic rhythm be unsuited to general composition, it is an invaluable + model for writers on quaint or imaginative themes. Lord Dunsany, perhaps + the greatest living prose artist, derived nearly all of his stylistic + tendencies from the Scriptures; and the contemporary critic Boyd points + out very acutely the loss sustained by most Catholic Irish writers through + their unfamiliarity with the historic volume and its traditions. + </p> + <h5> + Vocabulary + </h5> + <p> + One superlatively important effect of wide reading is the enlargement of + vocabulary which always accompanies it. The average student is gravely + impeded by the narrow range of words from which he must choose, and he + soon discovers that in long compositions he cannot avoid monotony. In + reading, the novice should note the varied mode of expression practiced by + good authors, and should keep in his mind for future use the many + appropriate synonymes he encounters. Never should an unfamiliar word be + passed over without elucidation; for with a little conscientious research + we may each day add to our conquests in the realm of philology, and become + more and more ready for graceful independent expression. + </p> + <p> + But in enlarging the vocabulary, we must beware lest we misuse our new + possessions. We must remember that there are fine distinctions betwixt + apparently similar words, and that language must ever be selected with + intelligent care. As the learned Dr. Blair points out in his Lectures, + "Hardly in any language are there two words that convey precisely the same + idea; a person thoroughly conversant in the propriety of language will + always be able to observe something that distinguishes them." + </p> + <h5> + Elemental Phases + </h5> + <p> + Before considering the various formal classes of composition, it is well + to note certain elements common to them all. Upon analysis, every piece of + writing will be found to contain one or more of the following basic + principles: <b>Description</b>, or an account of the appearance of things; + <b>Narration</b>, or an account of the actions of things; <b>Exposition</b>, + which defines and explains with precision and lucidity; <b>Argument</b>, + which discovers truth and rejects error; and <b>Persuasion</b>, which + urges to certain thoughts or acts. The first two are the bases of fiction; + the third didactic, scientific, historical and editorial writings. The + fourth and fifth are mostly employed in conjunction with the third, in + scientific, philosophical, and partisan literature. All these principles, + however, are usually mingled with one another. The work of fiction may + have its scientific, historical, or argumentative side; whilst the + textbook or treatise may be embellished with descriptions and anecdotes. + </p> + <h5> + Description + </h5> + <p> + Description, in order to be effective, calls upon two mental qualities; + observation and discrimination. Many descriptions depend for their + vividness upon the accurate reproduction of details; others upon the + judicious selection of salient, typical, or significant points.<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> + </p> + <p> + One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for descriptions. + Words or compounds which describe precisely, and which convey exactly the + right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are essential. As an example, + let us consider the following list of epithets applicable to a <b>fountain</b>, + taken from Richard Green Parker's admirable work on composition. + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + Crystal, gushing, rustling, silver, gently-gliding, parting, pearly, + weeping, bubbling, gurgling, chiding, clear, grass-fringed, + moss-fringed, pebble-paved, verdant, sacred, grass-margined, + moss-margined, trickling, soft, dew-sprinkled, fast-flowing, delicate, + delicious, clean, straggling, dancing, vaulting, deep-embosomed, + leaping, murmuring, muttering, whispering, prattling, twaddling, + swelling, sweet-rolling, gently-flowing, rising, sparkling, flowing, + frothy, dew-distilling, dew-born, exhaustless, inexhaustible, + never-decreasing, never-failing, heaven-born, earth-born, + deep-divulging, drought-dispelling, thirst-allaying, refreshing, + soul-refreshing, earth-refreshing, laving, lavish, plant-nourishing. + </p> + </div> + <p> + For the purpose of securing epithets at once accurate and felicitous, the + young author should familiarize himself thoroughly with the general aspect + and phenomena of Nature, as well as with the ideas and associations which + these things produce in the human mind. + </p> + <p> + Descriptions may be of objects, of places, of animals, and of persons. The + complete description of an object may be said to consist of the following + elements: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + 1. When, where, and how seen; when made or found; how affected by time. + </p> + <p> + 2. History and traditional associations. + </p> + <p> + 3. Substance and manner of origin. + </p> + <p> + 4. Size, shape, and appearance. + </p> + <p> + 5. Analogies with similar objects. + </p> + <p> + 6. Sensations produced by contemplating it. + </p> + <p> + 7. Its purpose or function. + </p> + <p> + 8. Its effects—the results of its existence. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Descriptions of places must of course vary with the type of the place. Of + natural scenery, the following elements are notable: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + 1. How beheld—at dawn, noon, evening, or night; by starlight or + moonlight. + </p> + <p> + 2. Natural features—flat or hilly; barren or thickly grown; kind + of vegetation; trees, mountains, and rivers. + </p> + <p> + 3. Works of man—cultivation, edifices, bridges; modifications of + scenery produced by man. + </p> + <p> + 4. Inhabitants and other forms of animal life. + </p> + <p> + 5. Local customs and traditions. + </p> + <p> + 6. Sounds—of water; forest; leaves; birds; barnyards; human + beings; machinery. + </p> + <p> + 7. View—prospect on every side, and the place itself as seen from + afar. + </p> + <p> + 8. Analogies to other scenes, especially famous scenes. + </p> + <p> + 9. History and associations. + </p> + <p> + 10. Sensations produced by contemplating it. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Descriptions of animals may be analyzed thus: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + 1. Species and size. + </p> + <p> + 2. Covering. + </p> + <p> + 3. Parts. + </p> + <p> + 4. Abode. + </p> + <p> + 5. Characteristics and habits. + </p> + <p> + 6. Food. + </p> + <p> + 7. Utility or harmfulness. + </p> + <p> + 8. History and associations. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Descriptions of persons can be infinitely varied. Sometimes a single + felicitous touch brings out the whole type and character, as when the + modern author Leonard Merrick hints at shabby gentility by mentioning the + combination of a frock coat with the trousers of a tweed suit. Suggestion + is very powerful in this field, especially when mental qualities are to be + delineated. Treatment should vary with the author's object; whether to + portray a mere personified idea, or to give a quasi photographic view, + mental and physical, of some vividly living character. In a general + description, the following elements may be found: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + 1. Appearance, stature, complexion, proportions, features. + </p> + <p> + 2. Most conspicuous feature. + </p> + <p> + 3. Expression. + </p> + <p> + 4. Grace or ugliness. + </p> + <p> + 5. Attire—nature, taste, quality. + </p> + <p> + 6. Habits, attainments, graces, or awkwardnesses. + </p> + <p> + 7. Character—moral and intellectual—place in the community. + </p> + <p> + 8. Notable special qualities. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In considering the preceding synopses, the reader must remember that they + are only suggestions, and not for <b>literal</b> use. The extent of any + description is to be determined by its place in the composition; by taste + and fitness. It should be added, that in fiction description must not be + carried to excess. A plethora of it leads to dulness, so that it must ever + be balanced by a brisk flow of <b>Narration</b>, which we are about to + consider. + </p> + <h5> + Narration + </h5> + <p> + Narration is an account of action, or of successive events, either real or + imagined; and is therefore the basis both of<span class="pagenum"><a + name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> history and of fiction. To + be felicitous and successful, it demands an intelligent exercise of taste + and discrimination; salient points must be selected, and the order of time + and of circumstances must be well maintained. It is deemed wisest in most + cases to give narratives a climactic form; leading from lesser to greater + events, and culminating in that chief incident upon which the story is + primarily founded, or which makes the other parts important through its + own importance. This principle, of course, cannot be literally followed in + all historical and biographical narratives. + </p> + <h5> + Fictional Narration + </h5> + <p> + The essential point of fictional narration is <b>plot</b>, which may be + defined as a <b>sequence of incidents designed to awaken the reader's + interest and curiosity as to the result</b>. Plots may be simple or + complex; but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to + another, are essential. Every incident in a fictional work should have + some bearing on the climax or denouement, and any denouement which is not + the inevitable result of the preceding incidents is awkward and + unliterary. No formal course in fiction-writing can equal a close and + observant perusal of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe or Ambrose Bierce. In + these masterpieces one may find that unbroken sequence and linkage of + incident and result which mark the ideal tale. Observe how, in "The Fall + of the House of Usher," each separate event foreshadows and leads up to + the tremendous catastrophe and its hideous suggestion. Poe was an absolute + master of the mechanics of his craft. Observe also how Bierce can attain + the most stirring denouements from a few simple happenings; denouements + which develop purely from these preceding circumstances. + </p> + <p> + In fictional narration, verisimilitude is absolutely essential. A story + must be consistent and must contain no event glaringly removed from the + usual order of things, unless that event is the main incident, and is + approached with the most careful preparation. In real life, odd and + erratic things do occasionally happen; but they are out of place in an + ordinary story, since fiction is a sort of idealization of the average. + Development should be as lifelike as possible, and a weak, trickling + conclusion should be assiduously avoided. The end of a story must be + stronger rather than weaker than the beginning; since it is the end which + contains the denouement or culmination, and which will leave the strongest + impression upon the reader. It would not be amiss for the novice to write + the last paragraph of his story first, once a synopsis of the plot has + been carefully prepared—as it always should be. In this way he will + be able to concentrate his freshest mental vigour upon the most important + part of his narrative; and if any changes be later found needful, they can + easily be made. In no part of a narrative should a grand or emphatic + thought or passage be followed by one of tame or prosaic quality. This is + <b>anticlimax</b>, and exposes a writer to much ridicule. Notice the + absurd effect of the following couplet—which was, however, written + by no less a person than Waller: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Under the tropic is our language spoke,<br /></span> + <span class="i0"><b>And part of Flanders hath receiv'd our yoke</b>."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <h5> + Unity, Mass, Coherence + </h5> + <p> + In developing a theme, whether descriptive or narrative, it is necessary + that three structural qualities be present: Unity, Mass, and Coherence. + Unity is that principle whereby every part of a composition must have some + bearing on the central theme. It is the principle which excludes all + extraneous matter, and demands that all threads converge toward the + climax. Classical violations of Unity may be found in the <b>episodes</b> + of Homer and other epic poets of antiquity, as well as in the digressions + of Fielding and other celebrated novelists; but no beginner should venture + to emulate such liberties. Unity is the quality we have lately noted and + praised in Poe and Bierce. + </p> + <p> + Mass is that principle which requires the more important parts of a + composition to occupy correspondingly important places in the whole + composition, the paragraph, and the sentence. It is that law of taste + which insists that emphasis be placed where emphasis is due, and is most + strikingly embodied in the previously mentioned necessity for an emphatic + ending. According to this law, the end of a composition is its most + important part, with the beginning next in importance. + </p> + <p> + Coherence is that principle which groups related parts together and keeps + unrelated parts removed from one another. It applies, like Mass, to the + whole composition,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> + the paragraph, or the sentence. It demands that kindred events be narrated + without interruption, effect following cause in a steady flow. + </p> + <h5> + Forms of Composition + </h5> + <p> + Few writers succeed equally in all the various branches of literature. + Each type of thought has its own particular form of expression, based on + natural appropriateness; and the average author tends to settle into that + form which best fits his particular personality. Many, however, follow + more than one form; and some writers change from one form to another as + advancing years produce alterations in their mental processes or points of + view. + </p> + <p> + It is well, in the interests of breadth and discipline, for the beginner + to exercise himself to some degree in every form of literary art. He may + thus discover that which best fits his mind, and develop hitherto + unsuspected potentialities. + </p> + <p> + We have so far surveyed only those simpler phases of writing which centre + in prose fiction and descriptive essays. Hereafter we hope to touch upon + didactic, argumentative, and persuasive writing; to investigate to some + extent the sources of rhetorical strength and elegance; and to consider a + few major aspects of versification. + </p> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MAY 1920</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">For What Does the United Stand?</span> + </h3> + <p> + It is easy to comply in 500 words with a request for an article on what + the United represents. An amateur journalistic association is generally + too democratic to have any one object for long; it is rather a + battle-ground between the proponents of opposed ideas. + </p> + <p> + I think, however, that since the dawn of the Hoffman administration, when + the best elements were automatically sifted out through the secession of + most of the confirmed politicians, we have been gradually acquiring a + policy and a tradition which will endure. The printing-press, political + and frivolous phases have been passed through; and our aspirations seem to + be crystallising into a form more worthy than any of our past aspirations. + </p> + <p> + Judging from the majority of our truly active members, the United now aims + at the development of its adherents in the direction of purely artistic + literary perception and expression; to be effected by the encouragement of + writing, the giving of constructive criticism, and the cultivation of + correspondence friendships among scholars and aspirants capable of + stimulating and aiding one another's efforts. It aims at the revival of + the uncommercial spirit; the real creative thought which modern conditions + have done their worst to suppress and eradicate. It seeks to banish + mediocrity as a goal and standard; to place before its members the + classical and the universal and to draw their minds from the commonplace + to the beautiful. + </p> + <p> + The United aims to assist those whom other forms of literary influence + cannot reach. The non-university man, the dwellers in distant places, the + recluse, the invalid, the very young, the elderly; all these are included + within our scope. And beside our novices stand persons of mature + cultivation and experience, ready to assist for the sheer joy of + assisting. In no other society does wealth or previous learning count for + so little. Merit and aspiration form the only criterion we apply to our + members, nor has poverty or primitive crudity ever retarded the steady + progress of any determined aspirant among us. We ask only that the goal be + high; that the souls of our band be seeking the antique legacy of verdant + Helicon. + </p> + <p> + Practically, we are aware of many obstacles; yet we think we are in the + main fulfilling our functions. Naturally, we do not expect to make a + Shelley or Swinburne of every rhymer who joins us, or a Poe or Dunsany of + every teller of tales; but if we enable these persons to appreciate + Shelley and Swinburne and Poe and Dunsany, and teach them how to shed + their dominant faults and use words correctly and expressively, we cannot + call ourselves unsuccessful and only genius can lead to the heights; it is + our province merely to point the way and assist on the gentler, lower + slopes. + </p> + <p> + The United, then, stands for education in the eternal truths of literary + art, and for personal aid in the realisation of its members' literary + potentialities. It is a university, stripped of every artificiality and + conventionality, and thrown open to all without distinction. Here may + every man shine according to his genius, and here may the small as well as + the great writer know the bliss of appreciation and the glory of + recognised achievement. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> + </p> + <div class="figc" style="width: 489px;"> + <img src="images/003.png" width="489" height="44" alt="THE UNITED AMATEUR" + title="" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h2> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><b>Official Organ of the United Amateur Press Association</b></small> + </div> + <div class="bk2"> + <div class="vl"> + Volume XX + </div> + <div class="nb"> + Number 1 + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + Elroy, Wis., September, 1920 + </div> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Poetry and the Gods</span> + </h3> + <h4> + <span class="smcap">Anna Helen Crofts and Henry Paget-Lowe</span> + </h4> + <p> + A damp, gloomy evening in April it was, just after the close of the Great + War, when Marcia found herself alone with strange thoughts and wishes; + unheard-of yearnings which floated out of the spacious twentieth-century + drawing-room, up the misty deeps of the air, and Eastward to far + olive-groves in Arcady which she had seen only in her dreams. She had + entered the room in abstraction, turned off the glaring chandeliers, and + now reclined on a soft divan by a solitary lamp which shed over the + reading table a green glow as soothing and delicious as moonlight through + the foliage about an antique shrine. Attired simply, in a low-cut evening + dress of black, she appeared outwardly a typical product of modern + civilisation; but tonight she felt the immeasurable gulf that separated + her soul from all her prosaic surroundings. Was it because of the strange + home in which she lived; that abode of coldness where relations were + always strained and the inmates scarcely more than strangers? Was it that, + or was it some greater and less explicable misplacement in Time and Space, + whereby she had been born too late, too early, or too far away from the + haunts of her spirit ever to harmonise with the unbeautiful things of + contemporary reality? To dispel the mood which was engulfing her more + deeply each moment, she took a magazine from the table and searched for + some healing bit of poetry. Poetry had always relieved her troubled mind + better than anything else, though many things in the poetry she had seen + detracted from the influence. Over parts of even the sublimest<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> verses + hung a chill vapour of sterile ugliness and restraint, like dust on a + window-pane through which one views a magnificent sunset. + </p> + <p> + Listlessly turning the magazine's pages, as if searching for an elusive + treasure, she suddenly came upon something which dispelled her languor. An + observer could have read her thoughts and told that she had discovered + some image or dream which brought her nearer to her unattained goal than + any image or dream she had seen before. It was only a bit of <i>vers libre</i>, + that pitiful compromise of the poet who overleaps prose yet falls short of + the divine melody of numbers; but it had in it all the unstudied music of + a bard who lives and feels, and who gropes ecstatically for unveiled + beauty. Devoid of regularity, it yet had the wild harmony of winged, + spontaneous words; a harmony missing from the formal, convention-bound + verse she had known. As she read on, her surroundings gradually faded, and + soon there lay about her only the mists of dream; the purple, star-strown + mists beyond Time, where only gods and dreamers walk. + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 24em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Moon over Japan,<br /></span> <span class="i0">White + butterfly moon!<br /></span> <span class="i0">Where the heavy-lidded + Buddhas dream<br /></span> <span class="i0">To the sound of the cuckoo's + call....<br /></span> <span class="i0">The white wings of + moon-butterflies<br /></span> <span class="i0">Flicker down the streets + of the city,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Blushing into darkness the + useless wicks of round lanterns in the hands of girls.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Moon over the tropics,<br /></span> <span class="i0">A + white-curved bud<br /></span> <span class="i0">Opening its petals slowly + in the warmth of heaven....<br /></span> <span class="i0">The air is full + of odours<br /></span> <span class="i0">And languorous warm sounds....<br /></span> + <span class="i0">A flute drones its insect music to the night<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Below the curving moon-petal of the heavens.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Moon over China,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Weary + moon on the river of the sky,<br /></span> <span class="i0">The stir of + light in the willows is like the flashing of a thousand silver minnows<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Through dark shoals;<br /></span> <span class="i0">The + tiles on graves and rotting temples flash like ripples,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">The sky is flecked with clouds like the scales of a + dragon."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + Amid the mists of dream the reader cried to the rhythmical stars of her + delight at the coming of a new age of song, a rebirth of Pan. Half closing + her eyes, she repeated words whose melody lay hid like crystals at the + bottom of a stream before the dawn; hidden but to gleam effulgently at the + birth of day. + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 24em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Moon over Japan,<br /></span> <span class="i0">White + butterfly moon!<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Moon over the tropics,<br /></span> <span class="i0">A + white-curved bud<br /></span> <span class="i0">Opening its petals slowly + in the warmth of heaven.<br /></span> <span class="i0">The air is full of + odours<br /></span> <span class="i0">And languorous warm sounds ... + languorous warm sounds.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Moon over China,<br /></span> <span class="i0">Weary + moon on the river of the sky ... weary moon!"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <p> + Out of the mists gleamed godlike the figure of a youth in winged helmet + and sandals, caduceus-bearing, and of a beauty like to nothing on earth. + Before the face of the sleeper he thrice waved the rod which Apollo had + given him in trade for the nine-corded shell of melody, and upon her brow + he placed a wreath of myrtle and roses. Then, adoring, Hermes spoke: + </p> + <p> + "O Nymph more fair than the golden-haired sisters of Cyane or the + sky-inhabiting Atlantides, beloved of Aphrodite and blessed of Pallas, + thou hast indeed discovered the secret of the Gods, which lieth in beauty + and song. O Prophetess more lovely than the Sybil of Cumae when Apollo + first knew her, thou hast truly spoken of the new age, for even now on + Maenalus, Pan sighs and stretches in his sleep, wishful to awake and + behold about him the little rose-crowned Fauns and the antique Satyrs. In + thy yearning hast thou divined what no mortal else, saving only a few whom + the world reject, remembereth; <i>that the Gods were never dead</i>, but + only sleeping the sleep and dreaming the dreams of Gods in lotos-filled + Hesperian gardens beyond the golden sunset. And now draweth nigh the time + of their awaking, when coldness and ugliness shall perish, and Zeus sit + once more on Olympus. Already the sea about Paphos trembleth into a foam + which only ancient skies have looked on before, and at night on Helicon + the shepherds hear strange murmurings and half-remembered notes. Woods and + fields are tremulous at twilight with the shimmering of white saltant + forms, and immemorial Ocean yields up curious sights beneath thin moons. + The Gods are patient, and have slept long, but neither man nor giant shall + defy the Gods forever. In Tartarus the Titans writhe, and beneath the + fiery Aetna groan the children of Uranus and Gaea. The day now dawns when<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> man must + answer for his centuries of denial, but in sleeping the Gods have grown + kind, and will not hurl him to the gulf made for deniers of Gods. Instead + will their vengeance smite the darkness, fallacy and ugliness which have + turned the mind of man; and under the sway of bearded Saturnus shall + mortals, once more sacrificing unto him, dwell in beauty and delight. This + night shalt thou know the favour of the Gods, and behold on Parnassus + those dreams which the Gods have through ages sent to Earth to show that + they are not dead. For poets are the dreams of the Gods, and in each age + someone hath sung unknowing the message and the promise from the + lotos-gardens beyond the sunset." + </p> + <p> + Then in his arms Hermes bore the dreaming maiden through the skies. Gentle + breezes from the tower of Aiolos wafted them high above warm, scented + seas, till suddenly they came upon Zeus holding court on the double-headed + Parnassus; his golden throne flanked by Apollo and the Muses on the right + hand, and by ivy-wreathed Dionysus and pleasure-flushed Bacchae on the + left hand. So much of splendour Marcia had never seen before, either awake + or in dreams, but its radiance did her no injury, as would have the + radiance of lofty Olympus; for in this lesser court the Father of Gods had + tempered his glories for the sight of mortals. Before the laurel-draped + mouth of the Corycian cave sat in a row six noble forms with the aspect of + mortals, but the countenances of Gods. These the dreamer recognised from + images of them which she had beheld, and she knew that they were none else + than the divine Maeonides, the Avernian Dante, the more than mortal + Shakespeare, the chaos-exploring Milton, the cosmic Goethe, and the + Musaean Keats. These were those messengers whom the Gods had sent to tell + men that Pan had passed not away, but only slept; for it is in poetry that + Gods speak to men. Then spake the Thunderer: + </p> + <p> + "O daughter, for, being one of my endless line, thou art indeed my + daughter, behold upon ivory thrones of honour the august messengers that + Gods have sent down, that in the words and the writings of men there may + still be some trace of divine beauty. Other bards have men justly crowned + with enduring laurels, but these hath Apollo crowned, and these have I set + in places apart, as mortals who have spoken the language of the Gods. Long + have we dreamed in lotos-gardens beyond the West, and spoken only through + our dreams; but the time approaches when our voices shall not be silent. + It is a time of awaking and of change. Once more hath Phaeton ridden low, + searing the fields and drying the streams. In Gaul lone nymphs with + disordered hair weep beside fountains that are no more, and pine over + rivers turned red with the blood of mortals. Ares and his train have gone + forth with the madness of Gods, and have returned, Deimos and Phobos + glutted with unnatural delight. Tellus moans with grief, and the faces of + men are as the faces of the Erinyes, even as when Astraea fled to the + skies, and the waves of our bidding encompassed all the land saving this + high peak alone. Amidst this chaos, prepared to herald his coming yet to + conceal his arrival, even now toileth our latest-born messenger, in whose + dreams are all the images which other messengers have dreamed before him. + He it is that we have chosen to blend into one glorious whole all the + beauty that the world hath known before, and to write words wherein shall + echo all the wisdom and the loveliness of the past. He it is who shall + proclaim our return, and sing of the days to come when Fauns and Dryads + shall haunt their accustomed groves in beauty. Guided was our choice by + those who now sit before the Corycian grotto on thrones of ivory, and in + whose songs thou shalt hear notes of sublimity by which years hence thou + shall know the greater messenger when he cometh. Attend their voices as + one by one they sing to thee here. Each note shalt thou hear again in the + poetry which is to come; the poetry which shall bring peace and pleasure + to thy soul, though search for it through bleak years thou must. Attend + with diligence, for each chord that vibrates away into hiding shall appear + again to thee after thou hast returned to earth, as Alpheus, sinking his + waters into the soil of Hellas, appears as the crystal Arethusa in remote + Sicilia." + </p> + <p> + Then arose Homeros, the ancient among bards, who took his lyre and + chaunted his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> + hymn to Aphrodite. No word of Greek did Marcia know, yet did the message + fall not vainly upon her ears; for in the cryptic rhythm was that which + spake to all mortals and Gods, and needed no interpreter. + </p> + <p> + So too the songs of Dante and Goethe, whose unknown words clave the ether + with melodies easy to read and to adore. But at last remembered accents + rebounded before the listener. It was the Swan of Avon, once a God among + men, and still a God among Gods: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Write, write, that from the bloody course of war,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">My dearest master, your dear son, may hie;<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Bless him at home in peace, whilst I from far,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">His name with zealous fervour sanctify."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + Accents still more familiar arose as Milton, blind no more, declaimed + immortal harmony: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Or let my lamp at midnight hour<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Be seen in some high lonely tower,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Where I might oft outwatch the Bear<br /></span> <span + class="i0">With thrice-great Hermes, or unsphere<br /></span> <span + class="i0">The spirit of Plato, to unfold<br /></span> <span class="i0">What + worlds or what vast regions hold<br /></span> <span class="i0">Th' + immortal mind, that hath forsook<br /></span> <span class="i0">Her + mansion in this fleshy nook.<br /></span> + <div class="sp3"> + ·<span class="sp3">·</span><span class="sp3">·</span> + </div> + <span class="i0">Sometime let gorgeous Tragedy<br /></span> <span + class="i0">In sceptred pall come sweeping by,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Presenting Thebes, or Pelops' line,<br /></span> <span + class="i0">Or the tale of Troy divine."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + Last of all came the young voice of Keats, closest of all the messengers + to the beauteous faun-folk. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on....<br /></span> + <div class="sp3"> + ·<span class="sp3">·</span><span class="sp3">·</span> + </div> + <span class="i0">When old age shall this generation waste,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,<br /></span> + <span class="i0">'Beauty is truth, truth beauty'—that is all<br /></span> + <span class="i0">Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + As the singer ceased, there came a sound in the wind blowing from far + Egypt, where at night Aurora mourns by the Nile for her slain son Memnon. + To the feet of the Thunderer flew the rosy-fingered Goddess, and kneeling, + cried, "Master, it is time I unlocked the gates of the East." And Phoebus, + handing his lyre to Calliope, his bride among the Muses, prepared to + depart for the jewelled and column-raised Palace of the Sun, where fretted + the steeds already harnessed to the golden car of day. So Zeus descended + from his carven throne and placed his hand upon the head of Marcia, + saying: + </p> + <p> + "Daughter, the dawn is nigh, and it is well that thou shouldst return + before the awaking of mortals to thy home. Weep not at the bleakness of + thy life, for the shadow of false faiths will soon be gone, and the Gods + shall once more walk among men. Search thou unceasingly for our messenger, + for in him wilt thou find peace and comfort. By his word shall thy steps + be guided to happiness, and in his dreams of beauty shall thy spirit find + all that it craveth." As Zeus ceased, the young Hermes gently seized the + maiden and bore her up toward the fading stars; up, and westward over + unseen seas. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Many years have passed since Marcia dreamt of the Gods and of their + Parnassian conclave. Tonight she sits in the same spacious drawing-room, + but she is not alone. Gone is the old spirit of unrest, for beside her is + one whose name is luminous with celebrity; the young poet of poets at + whose feet sits all the world. He is reading from a manuscript words which + none has ever heard before, but which when heard will bring to men the + dreams and fancies they lost so many centuries ago, when Pan lay down to + doze in Arcady, and the greater Gods withdrew to sleep in lotos-gardens + beyond the lands of the Hesperides. In the subtle cadences and hidden + melodies of the bard the spirit of the maiden has found rest at last, for + there echo the divinest notes of Thracian Orpheus; notes that moved the + very rocks and trees by Hebrus' banks. The singer ceases, and with + eagerness asks a verdict, yet what can Marcia say but that the strain is + "fit for the Gods"? + </p> + <p> + And as she speaks there comes again a vision of Parnassus and the far-off + sound of a mighty voice saying, "By his word shall thy steps be guided to + happiness, and in his dreams of beauty shall thy spirit find all that it + craveth." + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <div class="bk6"> + <p> + Mr. Paul J. Campbell deserves the most unstinted thanks of the United + this year, for besides serving as First Vice-President he has furnished + free of charge a supply of recruiting booklets and application blanks, + thus relieving us of one of our most onerous burdens. Mr. Campbell's + eighteen years of undiminished devotion to amateurdom form a thing + worthy of emulation. + </p> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">NOVEMBER 1920</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Nyarlathotep</span> + </h3> + <h4> + <span class="smcap sp5">H. P. Lovecraft</span> + </h4> + <p> + Nyarlathotep ... the crawling chaos ... I am the last ... I will tell the + audient void.... + </p> + <p> + I do not recall distinctly when it began, but it was months ago. The + general tension was horrible. To a season of political and social upheaval + was added a strange and brooding apprehension of hideous physical danger; + a danger widespread and all-embracing, such a danger as may be imagined + only in the most terrible phantasms of the night. I recall that the people + went about with pale and worried faces, and whispered warnings and + prophecies which no one dared consciously repeat or acknowledge to himself + that he had heard. A sense of monstrous guilt was upon the land, and out + of the abysses between the stars swept chill currents that made men shiver + in dark and lonely places. There was a demoniac alteration in the sequence + of the seasons—the autumn heat lingered fearsomely, and everyone + felt that the world and perhaps the universe had passed from the control + of known gods or forces to that of gods or forces which were unknown. + </p> + <p> + And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none + could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a Pharaoh. + The fellahin knelt when they saw him, yet could not say why. He said he + had risen up out of the blackness of twenty-seven centuries, and that he + had heard messages from places not on this planet. Into the lands of + civilisation came Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister, always + buying strange instruments of glass and metal and combining them into + instruments yet stranger. He spoke much of the sciences—of + electricity and psychology—and gave exhibitions of power which sent + his spectators away speechless, yet which swelled his fame to exceeding + magnitude. Men advised one another to see Nyarlathotep, and shuddered. And + where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished; for the small hours were rent with + the screams of nightmare. Never before had the screams of nightmare been + such a public problem; now the wise men almost wished they could forbid + sleep in the small hours, that the shrieks of cities might less horribly + disturb the pale, pitying moon as it glimmered on green waters gliding + under bridges, and old steeples crumbling against a sickly sky. + </p> + <p> + I remember when Nyarlathotep came to my city—the great, the old, the + terrible city of unnumbered crimes. My friend had told me of him, and of + the impelling fascination and allurement of his revelations, and I burned + with eagerness to explore his uttermost mysteries. My friend said they + were horrible and impressive beyond my most fevered imaginings; that what + was thrown on a screen in the darkened room prophesied things none but + Nyarlathotep dare prophesy, and that in the sputter of his sparks there + was taken from men that which had never been taken before yet which shewed + only in the eyes. And I heard it hinted abroad that those who knew + Nyarlathotep looked on sights which others saw not. + </p> + <p> + It was in the hot autumn that I went through the night with the restless + crowds to see Nyarlathotep; through the stifling night and up the endless + stairs into the choking room. And shadowed on a screen, I saw hooded forms + amidst ruins, and yellow evil faces peering from behind fallen monuments. + And I saw the world battling against blackness; against the waves of + destruction from ultimate space; whirling, churning; struggling around the + dimming, cooling sun. Then the sparks played amazingly around the heads of + the spectators, and hair stood up on end whilst shadows more grotesque + than I can tell came out and squatted on the heads. And when I, who was + colder and more scientific than the rest, mumbled a trembling protest + about "imposture" and "static electricity," Nyarlathotep drave us all out, + down the dizzy stairs into the damp, hot, deserted midnight streets. I + screamed aloud that I was <i>not</i> afraid; that I never could be afraid; + and others screamed with me for solace. We sware to one another that the + city <i>was</i> exactly the same, and still alive; and when the electric + lights began to fade we cursed the company over and over again, and + laughed at the queer faces we made. + </p> + <p> + I believe we felt something coming down from the greenish moon, for when + we began to depend on its light we drifted into curious involuntary + marching formations and seemed to know our destinations though we dared + not think of them. Once we looked at the pavement and found the blocks + loose and displaced by grass, with scarce a line of rusted metal to show + where the tramways had run. And again we saw a tram-car, lone, windowless, + dilapidated, and almost on its side. When we gazed around the horizon, we + could not find the third tower by the river, and noticed that the + silhouette of the second tower was ragged at the top. Then we split up + into narrow columns, each of which seemed drawn in a different direction. + One disappeared in a narrow alley to the left, leaving only the echo of a + shocking moan. Another filed down a weed-choked subway entrance, howling + with a laughter that was mad. My own column was sucked toward the open + country, and presently felt a chill which was not of the hot autumn: for + as we stalked out on the dark moor, we beheld around us the hellish + moon-glitter of evil snows. Trackless, inexplicable snows, swept asunder + in one direction only, where lay a gulf all the blacker for its glittering + walls. The column seemed very thin indeed as it plodded dreamily into the + gulf. I lingered behind, for the black rift in the green-litten snow was + frightful, and I thought I had heard the reverberations of a disquieting + wail as my companions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> + vanished; but my power to linger was slight. As if beckoned by those who + had gone before, I half-floated between the titanic snowdrifts, quivering + and afraid, into the sightless vortex of the unimaginable. + </p> + <p> + Screamingly sentient, dumbly delirious, only the gods that were can tell. + A sickened, sensitive shadow writhing in hands that are not hands, and + whirled blindly past ghastly midnights of rotting creation, corpses of + dead worlds with sores that were cities, charnel winds that brush the + pallid stars and make them flicker low. Beyond the worlds vague ghosts of + monstrous things; half-seen columns of unsanctified temples that rest on + nameless rocks beneath space and reach up to dizzy vacua above the spheres + of light and darkness. And through this revolving graveyard of the + universe the muffled, maddening beating of drums, and thin, monotonous + whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond + Time; the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance slowly, awkwardly + and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous ultimate gods—the blind, + voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyarlathotep. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Editorial</span> + </h3> + <p> + Editorial comment upon amateur journalism generally falls within one of + two classes; complacent self-congratulation upon a mythical perfection, or + hectic urging toward impossible achievements. It is our purpose this month + to indulge in neither of these rhetorical recreations, but to make one + very prosaic and practical appeal which springs solely from realistic + observation. + </p> + <p> + This appeal concerns the official situation in the United. For several + years our foes have reproached us for excessive centralisation of + authority: asserting that the control of our society is anything from + oligarchical to monarchial, and pointing to the large amount of influence + wielded by a very few leaders. Denials on our part, prompted by the + conspicuous absence of any dictatorial ambitions in the minds of our + executives, have been largely nullified by the fact that while power has + not been autocratically usurped and arbitrarily exercised, the burden of + administrative work has certainly been thrust by common consent on a small + number of reluctant though loyal shoulders. A few persons have been forced + to retain authority because no others have arisen to relieve them of their + burdens, until official nominations have come to mean no more than a + campaign by one or two active spirits to persuade certain patient drudges + to "carry on" another year. Nor does the formal official situation reflect + all of the prevailing condition. Much of the Association's most important + activity, such as recruiting, welcoming and criticism, verges into the + field of unorganised effort; and here the tendency to leave everything to + a narrow group is overwhelming. + </p> + <p> + Obviously, this condition demands a remedy; and that remedy lies in one + direction only—an acceptance of potential official responsibility by + all of those members who possess the time and experience to act as + leaders. As the fiscal year progresses, the season for candidacies draws + near; and amateurs who feel competent to sustain their share of the + administrative burden should come forward as nominees, or at least should + respond when approached by their friends. That office-holding involves + tedious work, all admit, but this tedium is a small enough price to pay + for the varied boons of amateurdom. In unofficial labour an equal + willingness should be shown. Why is it that all the private revision in + the United is performed by about three men at most, despite the presence + in our ranks of a full score of scholars abundantly capable of rendering + such service? If the <i>literati</i> as a whole will not awaken to the + needs of the day, one of two things will occur. The United will stagnate + quietly under the perpetual dictatorship of a limited group of unwilling + but benevolent autocrats, or it will succumb to the onslaught of some + political clique of vigorous barbarians who will destroy in a month what + it has taken the United over ten years to build up. Memories of 1919 + should prove to us the reality of such a danger of sudden relapse. + </p> + <p> + Our appeal, then, is for responsible candidates for high office, and for + volunteers in the work of maintaining interest and lending literary aid. + We know that executive energy and enthusiasm tend to be more abundant in + the Goth than in the Greek; that those best qualified to serve are + generally least moved by political ambition. But we are sure that the + needs of our society should arouse enough sense of duty among its + cultivated membership to draw to the front a new generation of leaders. We + ask for new presidential and editorial candidates who are prepared to + serve faithfully and independently if elected; for new critics and + recruiters who understand our traditions and are willing to expend energy + in upholding and diffusing them. Shall 1921 bring them to light? + </p> + <div class="rgt smcap"> + —H. P. Lovecraft + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Official Organ Fund</span> + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>RECEIPTS</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Woodbee Press Club + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $25.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + From Treasurer, up to October 15 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 23.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Susan Nelson Furgerson + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 6.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Jonathan E. Hoag + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 5.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Verna McGeoch (for each issue) + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 5.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Howard R. Conover + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 3.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Victor O. Schwab + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 3.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Mr. and Mrs. Fritter (for each issue) + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 2.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.50 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Anne Tillery Renshaw + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.50 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Anonymous + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + .25 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp7"> + <i>One dollar each</i>: Margaret Abraham,<br /> Agnes R. Arnold, + Elizabeth Barnhart,<br /> Grace M. Bromley, Mary Faye Durr,<br /> + Alice M. Hamlet, Hester Harper. + </td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Total on hand, November 6, 1920 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $82.25 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>REMARKS</small> + </div> + <div class="bk3"> + <p> + The doubling of printing rates makes large contributions imperative if + the Organ is to approach its customary standard. Acknowledgments are due + the Woodbee Press Club for its exceedingly generous contribution, and + ex-Editor Renshaw for the mailing of an appeal which has proved most + effective in the campaign for funds. Emulation of the Woodbees' + generosity by other clubs would save a situation which is very + threatening. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="smcap sp8">H. P. Lovecraft,</span><br /> Custodian. + </div> + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JANUARY 1921</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND</span> + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + Providence, R. I., April 1, 1921. + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>RECEIPTS SINCE NOVEMBER 6, 1920</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + From Treasurer, up to April 1, 1921 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $21.50 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Verna McGeoch (3 instalments) + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 15.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + E. Edward Ericson + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 10.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Edward F. Daas + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 6.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Howard R. Conover + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 2.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Anna H. Crofts + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Ernest L. McKeag + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + John Milton Samples + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Anonymous + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + .75 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Balance on Hand, November 6, 1920 + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $82.25 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Received, November 6, 1920, to April 1, 1921 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 58.25 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="rgt sp8"> + Total Receipts + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $140.50 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>EXPENDITURES</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for September U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $48.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for November U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 48.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for January U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 36.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="rgt sp8"> + Total Expenditures + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $132.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Balance on Hand, April 1, 1921 + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $8.50 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="bk3 rgt"> + <span class="smcap sp8">H. P. Lovecraft,</span><br /> Custodian. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MARCH 1921</span> + </h2> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Winifred Virginia Jackson: A "Different" Poetess</span> + </h3> + <h4> + <span class="smcap sp5">H. P. Lovecraft</span> + </h4> + <p> + In these days of unrestrained license in poetry, it would at first sight + seem difficult to single out any one bard as the possessor of ideas and + modes of expression so unique and original that the overworked adjective + "different" is merited. Every poetaster of the modern school claims to be + "different," and bases his claim to celebrity upon this "difference"; an + effect usually achieved by the adoption of a harsh, amorphous style, and a + tone of analytical, introspective subjectivity so individual that all the + common and universal elements of beauty and poetry are excluded. Indeed, + eccentricity has come so completely into fashion, that he who follows up + the wildest vagaries is actually the least different from the hectic + scribbling throng about him. + </p> + <p> + But notwithstanding this malady of the times, there does remain among us + an ample field for genius and artistic distinctiveness. The laws of human + thought are unchangeable, and whenever there is born a soul<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> attuned + to real harmony, and inspired by that rare sensitiveness which enables it + to feel and express the latent beauty and hidden relationships of Nature, + the world receives a new poet. Such an one will of necessity break through + the decadent customs of the period; and falling back to the forms of true + melody, sing a spontaneous song which can not help being original, because + it represents the unforced reaction of a keen and delicate mind to the + panorama of life. And when this reaction is enabled to bring out in the + simplest and most beautiful style fancies and images which the world has + not received or noted before, we are justified in claiming that the bard + is "different." + </p> + <p> + Such a bard is Winifred Virginia Jackson, whose poetry has for six years + been the pride of the United Amateur Press Association. Born in Maine, and + through childhood accustomed to the mystical spell of the ancient + New-England countryside, Miss Jackson for a long period quietly and + unconsciously absorbed a prodigious store of beauty and phantasy from + life. Having no design to become a poet, she accepted these ethereal gifts + as a matter of course; until about a decade ago they manifested themselves + in a burst of spontaneous melody which can best be described as a sheer + overflowing of delightful dreams and pictures from a mind filled to the + brim with poetic loveliness. Since that time Miss Jackson has written vast + quantities of verse; always rich and musical, and if one may speak in + paradox, always artless with supreme art. None of these poems is in any + sense premeditated or consciously composed; they are more like visions of + the fancy, instantaneously photographed for the perception of others, and + unerringly framed in the most appropriate metrical medium. + </p> + <p> + When we peruse the poetry of Miss Jackson we are impressed first by its + amazing variety, and almost as quickly by a certain distinctive quality + which gives all the varied specimens a kind of homogeneity. As we analyse + our impressions, we find that both of these qualities have a common source—the + complete objectivity and almost magical imagination of supreme genius. + Objectivity and imagination, the gifts of the epic bards of classical + antiquity, are today the rarest of blessings. We live in an age of morbid + emotion and introspectiveness; wherein the poets, such as they are, have + sunk to the level of mere pathologists engaged in the dissection of their + own ultra-sophisticated spirits. The fresh touch of Nature is lost to the + majority, and rhymesters rant endlessly and realistically about the + relation of man to his fellows and to himself; overlooking the real + foundations of art and beauty—wonder, and man's relation to the + unknown cosmos. But Miss Jackson is not of the majority, and has not + overlooked these things. In her the ancient and unspoiled bard is + refulgently reincarnated; and with an amazing universality and freedom + from self-consciousness she suppresses the ego completely, delineating + Nature's diverse moods and aspects with an impersonal fidelity and + delicacy which form the delight of the discriminating reader, and the + despair of the stupid critic who works by rule and formula rather than by + brain. There is no medium which the spirit of Miss Jackson can not + inhabit. The same mind which reflects the daintiest and most gorgeous + phantasies of the faery world, or furnishes the most finely wrought + pictures or refined pathos and sentiment, can abruptly take up its abode + in some remote Maine timber region and pour out such a wild, virile + chantey of the woods and the river that we seem to glimpse the singer as + the huskiest of a tangle-bearded, fight-scarred, loud-shouting logging + crew sprawling about a pine campfire. + </p> + <p> + A critic has grouped the poetical work of Miss Jackson into six classes: + Lyrics of ideal beauty, including delightful Nature-poems replete with + local colour; delicate amatory lyrics; rural dialect lyrics and vigorous + colloquial pieces; poems of sparkling optimism; child verse; and poems of + potent terror and dark suggestion. "With her," he adds, "sordid realism + has no place; and her poems glow with a subtle touch of the fanciful and + the supernatural which is well sustained by tasteful and unusual + word-combinations, images, and onomatopoetic effects." This estimate is + confirmed by the latest productions of the poetess, as we shall endeavour<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> to show + by certain specimens lately published or about to be published, selected + almost at random: + </p> + <p> + "The Bonnet" is a characteristic bit of Jacksonian delicacy and + originality. We here behold a sustained metaphor of that striking type + which the author so frequently creates; a metaphor which draws on all + Nature and the unseen world for its basis, and whose analogies are just + the ones which please us most, yet which our own minds are never finely + attuned enough to conceive unaided. The swain in the poem tells of his + intention to make a bonnet for his chosen nymph to wear. He will fashion + it with "golden thimble, scissors, needle, thread"; taking velvet from the + April sky as a groundwork, stars for trimming, moonlight for banding, and + a web of dreams for lining. He will scent it with the perfume of "the + reddest rose that the singing wind finds sweetest where it farthest + blows," and "will take it at the twilight for his love to wear." Here we + have nothing of the bizarre or the conspicuous, yet in the six little + stanzas of quaintly regular metre there is suggested all of that world of + faery beauty which the eye can glimpse beyond the leaden clouds of + reality; a world which exists because it can be dreamed of. The poem is + "different" in the truest way; it is original because it conveys beauty + originally in an inconspicuous and harmonious vehicle. + </p> + <p> + But turn now to "Ellsworth to Great Pond" and marvel! True, we still find + the vivid delineation of human feelings, but what a distance we have + travelled! Gone is the young dreamer with his world of moonshine, for here + roars the Maine lumberjack with all the uncouth vigour and rude natural + expressiveness of the living satyr. It is life; primal, uncovered, and + unpolished—the ebullient, shouting vitality of healthy animalism. + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Drink hard cider, swig hard cider,<br /></span> <span + class="i2">Swill hard cider, Boys!<br /></span> <span class="i0">Throw + yer spikers, throw yer peavies,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Beller out + yer noise!"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + We have drifted from the aether of Keats to the earth of Fielding, yet + under the guidance of the same author. Greater proof of Miss Jackson's + absolute objectivity and marvellous imagination could not be produced or + asked. + </p> + <p> + Yet who shall say that the Jackson pendulum is powerful only at the + extremes of its sweeping arc? In "Workin' Out" we discover a pastoral + love-lyric which for quaintness and graphic humanness could not well be + surpassed. Here the distinctive and spontaneous inventiveness of Miss + Jackson's fancy is displayed with especial vividness. The rural youth, + "workin' out" far from his loved Molly, enumerates the prosaic chores he + can perform with easy heart; but mentions in each case some more poetic + thing which stirs his emotions and gives him loneliness for the absent + fair. He can cut and husk corn, but the golden-rod reminds him of his + Molly's golden hair. He can milk cows, but the gentian reminds him of his + Molly's blue eyes. Aside from their intrinsic ingeniousness, these images + possess an unconscious lesson for the poet who can read it. They expose + with concrete illustrations the fallacy of the so-called "new poetry," + which disregards the natural division between beautiful and unbeautiful + things and rhapsodises as effusively over a sewer-pipe as over the + crescent moon. + </p> + <p> + "The Token" exhibits Miss Jackson in her airiest lyrical mood; a mood + original because it possesses the rare lyrism of pure music and fancy + rather than the common lyrism of unsubtilised emotion. There is bounding + music in thought and medium alike, whilst the naive plunge into the theme + without introduction or explanation is a stroke savouring of the + simplicity of genius. Equally effective is the simple metrical transition + whereby the chorus assumes the trochaic measure of a childhood chant or + carol: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Lightly O, brightly O,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Down + the long lane she will go!<br /></span> <span class="i0">Dancing she, + glancing she,<br /></span> <span class="i2">Down the lane with eyes + aglow!"<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + In "Assurance" and "It's Lovetime," the author displays a lyrical fervour + of more conventional type; adding the touch of originality by means of + melodious simplicity and reiteration in the one case, and pure lyric + ecstasy in the other. + </p> + <p> + The metrical originality of Miss Jackson, displayed in all classes of her + work, should not be slighted amidst the enthusiasm one entertains for her + magical mastery of thoughts and images. No other conservative<span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> poet of + the period is more versatile and individual in choice of numbers, or in + adaptation of measure to mood. "Driftwood," a wonderfully original poem of + imagination describing the fancies which arise from the smoke of logs + wafted from far mysterious lands where once the trees grew under strange + suns, moons, and rainbows, is as remarkable in form as in idea. One may + judge by a sample pair of stanzas: + </p> + <div class="poem" style="width: 15em;"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"You warm your hands<br /></span> <span class="i2">And + smile<br /></span> <span class="i0">Before the fire of driftwood.<br /></span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"I feel old lands'<br /></span> <span class="i2">Wan + guile<br /></span> <span class="i0">That writhes in fire of driftwood."<br /></span> + </div> + </div> + <p> + We have so far viewed poetry which would lead us to classify Miss Jackson + as a delineator of moods rather than of character; yet knowing her + versatility, we naturally expect to find among her works some potent + character studies. Nor are we disappointed. "Joe," a song of the Maine + woods, describes in admirably appropriate verbiage—as simple and as + nearly monosyllabic as possible—the typical Anglo-Saxon stoic of far + places, who faces comfort and disaster, life and death, with the same + unemotional attitude which Miss Jackson sums up so skilfully in the one + ejaculatory bit of colloquial indifference—"Dunno!" + </p> + <p> + "The Song of Jonny Laughlin" is a highly unusual ballad relating the + history of a peculiarly good and self-sacrificing river character. The + story is simple, but the piece gains distinctiveness from its absolutely + faithful reproduction of the spirit of frontier balladry. In words, swing, + and weird refrain, there exists every internal evidence of traditional + authenticity; and that such a bit of Nature could be composed by a + cultivated feminine author is an overwhelming testimonial to Miss + Jackson's unique gifts. + </p> + <p> + That Miss Jackson can reflect the spirit of the most dissimilar characters + is further proved by the two immensely powerful studies of the vagabond + type entitled "The Call" and "John Worthington Speaks." These things are + masterpieces of their kind; the self-revealing narratives of restless + wanderers by land and sea, crammed to repletion with details and local + colour which no one but their author could command without actual + experience as a derelict of five continents and as many oceans. They leave + the reader veritably breathless with wonder at the objectivity and + imagination which can enable a New-England poetess to mirror with such + compelling vividness in thought and language the sentiments of so utterly + opposite a type. Not even the narrowly specialised genius of such + rough-and-ready writers as Service and Knibbs, working in their own + peculiar field, can surpass this one slight phase of Miss Jackson's + universal genius. + </p> + <p> + It remains to speak of the singular power of Miss Jackson in the realm of + the gruesome and the terrible. With that same sensitiveness to the unseen + and the unreal which lends witchery to her gayer productions, she has + achieved in darker fields of verse results inviting comparison with the + best prose work of Ambrose Bierce or Maurice Level. Among her older poems + the ghastly and colourful phantasy "Insomnia" and the grimly realistic + rustic tragedy "Chores" excited especial praise, a critic referring as + follows to the latter piece: + </p> + <div class="blockquot"> + <p> + "It has all the compelling power which marks Miss Jackson's darker + productions, and is conveyed in an arresting staccato measure which + emphasises the homely horror of the theme. The phraseology, with its + large proportion of rural and archaic words and constructions, adds + vastly to the general effect and atmosphere." + </p> + </div> + <p class="noin"> + This reference to Miss Jackson's unusual vocabulary deserves elaboration, + for one of the secrets of her effective poetry is the wide and diverse + array of words and word-combinations which she commands. Recondite + archaisms and ruralisms, together with marvellously apt and original + descriptive compounds, are things which perpetually astonish and delight + her readers. Of recent specimens of Miss Jackson's darker verse, + "Finality," "The Song" and "Fallen Fences" deserve especial praise. The + horrible picture conjured up in the closing lines of the first named piece + is one well calculated to haunt the dreams of the imaginative. + </p> + <p> + As we conclude this survey of rich and varied poetry, our dominant + impression aside from admiration is that of wonder at the tardiness with + which the author has been recognised by the non-amateur public. As yet the + name of Jackson is a comparative novelty to the literary world, a thing + explainable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> + only by the reluctance of its possessor to adopt that species of + trumpeting which helps less modest and less genuine poets into the glare + of celebrity. But genius such as Miss Jackson's can not remain forever + hidden, however slight be her striving for fame; so that we may reasonably + expect the next few years to witness her establishment among the leading + literary figures, as one of the ablest, broadest and most original of + contemporary bards. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Ex Oblivione</span> + </h3> + <h4> + <span class="smcap sp5">Ward Phillips</span> + </h4> + <p> + When the last days were upon me, and the ugly trifles of existence began + to drive me to madness like the small drops of water that torturers let + fall ceaselessly upon one spot of their victim's body, I loved the + irradiate refuge of sleep. In my dreams I found a little of the beauty I + had vainly sought in life, and wandered through old gardens and enchanted + woods. + </p> + <p> + Once when the wind was soft and scented I heard the south calling, and + sailed endlessly and languorously under strange stars. + </p> + <p> + Once when the gentle rain fell I glided in a barge down a sunless stream + under the earth till I reached another world of purple twilight, + iridescent arbours and undying roses. + </p> + <p> + And once I walked through a golden valley that led to shadowy groves and + ruins, and ended in a mighty wall green with antique vines, and pierced by + a little gate of bronze. + </p> + <p> + Many times I walked through that valley, and longer and longer would I + pause in the spectral half-light where the giant trees squirmed and + twisted grotesquely, and the grey ground stretched damply from trunk to + trunk, sometimes disclosing the mould-stained stones of buried temples. + And always the goal of my fancies was the mighty vine-grown wall with the + little gate of bronze therein. + </p> + <p> + After a while, as the days of waking became less and less bearable from + their greyness and sameness, I would often drift in opiate peace through + the valley and the shadowy groves, and wonder how I might seize them for + my eternal dwelling-place, so that I need no more crawl back to a dull + world stript of interest and new colours. And as I looked upon the little + gate in the mighty wall, I felt that beyond it lay a dream-country from + which, once it was entered, there would be no return. + </p> + <p> + So each night in sleep I strove to find the hidden latch of the gate in + the ivied antique wall, though it was exceedingly well-hidden. And I would + tell myself that the realm beyond the wall was not more lasting merely, + but more lovely and radiant as well. + </p> + <p> + Then one night in the dream-city of Zakarion I found a yellowed papyrus + filled with the thoughts of dream-sages who dwelt of old in that city, and + who were too wise ever to be born in the waking world. Therein were + written many things concerning the world of dream, and among them was lore + of a golden valley and a sacred grove with temples, and a high wall + pierced by a little bronze gate. When I saw this lore, I knew that it + touched on the scenes I had haunted, and I therefore read long in the + yellowed papyrus. + </p> + <p> + Some of the dream-sages wrote gorgeously of the wonders beyond the + irrepassable gate, but others told of horror and disappointment. I knew + not which to believe, yet longed more and more to cross forever into the + unknown land; for doubt and secrecy are the lure of lures, and no new + horror can be more terrible than the daily torture of the commonplace. So + when I learned of the drug which would unlock the gate and drive me + through, I resolved to take it when next I awaked. + </p> + <p> + Last night I swallowed the drug and floated dreamily into the golden + valley and the shadowy groves; and when I came this time to the antique + wall, I saw that the small gate of bronze was ajar. From beyond came a + glow that weirdly lit the giant twisted trees and tops of the buried + temples, and I drifted on songfully, expectant of the glories of the land + from whence I should never return. + </p> + <p> + But as the gate swung wider and the sorcery of drug and dream pushed me + through, I knew that all sights and glories were at an end; for in that + new realm was neither land nor sea, but only the white void of unpeopled + and illimitable space. So, happier than I had ever dared hope to be, I + dissolved again into that native infinity of crystal oblivion from which + the daemon Life had called me for one brief and desolate hour. + </p> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + Providence, R. I., July 1, 1921. + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>RECEIPTS SINCE APRIL 1, 1921</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + From Treasurer, up to July 1, 1921 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $18.50 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Verna McGeoch (2 instalments) + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 10.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + E. Edward Ericson + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 10.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 2.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + John Milton Samples + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Balance on Hand, April 1, 1921 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 8.50 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="rgt sp8"> + Total Receipts + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $50.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>EXPENDITURES</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for March U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $46.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Balance on Hand, July 1, 1921 + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $4.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="bk3 rgt"> + <span class="smcap sp8">H. P. Lovecraft,</span><br /> Custodian. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">SEPTEMBER 1921</span> + </h2> + <h3> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h3> + <p class="tdc noin"> + Official Organ<br /> of the<br /> <span class="smcap">United Amateur Press + Association</span> + </p> + <div class="bk4"> + <div class="smcap vl"> + H. P. Lovecraft<br />E. Edward Ericson + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + <i>Official Editor<br />Official Publisher</i> + </div> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bb bk4"> + <p> + Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + </p> + </div> + <h4> + <span class="sp5"><i>SEPTEMBER 1921</i></span> + </h4> + <h4> + <span class="sp5">OFFICIAL BOARD</span> + </h4> + <div class="bk5"> + <p> + <i>President</i>—Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, 1372 E. Long St., Columbus, + Ohio. + </p> + <p> + <i>First Vice-President</i>—Frank Belknap Long, Jr., 823 West End + Ave., New York City. + </p> + <p> + <i>Second Vice-President</i>—Eleanor Beryl North, 316 Beaver Ave., + State College, Pa. + </p> + <p> + <i>Secretary-Treasurer</i>—Alma B. Sanger, 667 Lilley Ave., + Columbus, Ohio. + </p> + <p> + <i>Official Editor</i>—H. P. Lovecraft, 598 Angell St., + Providence, R. I. + </p> + <p> + <i>Official Publisher</i>—E. Edward Ericson, Elroy, Wis. + </p> + <p> + <i>Laureate Recorder</i>—Howard R. Conover, Route 1, Cozaddale, + Ohio. + </p> + <p> + <i>Manuscript Manager</i>—Grace M. Bromley, 1432 R St., N. W., + Washington, D. C. + </p> + <p> + <i>Historian</i>—Myrta Alice Little, Westville, N. H. + </p> + <p> + <i>Supervisor of Amendments</i>—(To be appointed.) + </p> + <p> + <i>Directors</i>—Paul J. Campbell, Route 2, Ridgefarm, Ill.; Anne + T. Renshaw, 2109 F St., N. W., Washington, D. C.; Jay Fuller + Spoerri, 304 House Office Bldg., Washington, D. C. + </p> + <p> + <i>Department of Public Criticism</i>—Alfred Galpin, Jr., + Chairman, 830 W. Johnson St., Madison, Wis. + </p> + <p> + <i>Department of Private Criticism</i>—Maurice W. Moe, Chairman, + 2812 Chestnut St., Milwaukee, Wis. + </p> + <p> + <i>Recruiting Committee</i>—Frank Belknap Long, Jr., Chairman, + Paul J. Campbell, Leo Fritter, Alfred L. Hutchinson, Gavin T. McColl, + Maurice W. Moe. + </p> + <p> + <i>Ladies' Auxiliary Committee</i>—Eleanor Beryl North, Chairman, + Mary Faye Durr, Jennie Eva Harris, Winifred Virginia Jackson, Margaret + Mahon, Anne T. Renshaw. + </p> + <hr /> + <h4> + <span class="sp5">LAUREATE TITLES</span> + </h4> + <p> + <i>Poetry</i>—S. Lilian McMullen; Honourable Mention, Mary Carver + Williams. + </p> + <p> + <i>Story</i>—H. P. Lovecraft; Honourable Mention, Alfred Galpin, + Jr. + </p> + <p> + <i>Essay</i>—Anna Helen Crofts and H. P. Lovecraft; + Honourable Mention, Alfred Galpin, Jr. + </p> + <p> + <i>Editorial</i>—(To be awarded.) + </p> + <hr /> + <h4> + <span class="sp5">LITERATI</span> + </h4> + <p> + <i>Poetry</i>—Arthur Goodenough, Olive G. Owen (deceased). + </p> + <p> + <i>Story</i>—Eleanor Barnhart Campbell. + </p> + <p> + <i>Editorial</i>—H. P. Lovecraft. + </p> + <hr /> + <h4> + <span class="sp5">INFORMATION</span> + </h4> + </div> + <div class="bk6"> + <p> + "Amateur Journalism is for those who cultivate literature from taste or + attachment, for those who write for the love of writing, for those who + pursue the art of letters for its own sake. They may or may not be + engaged (or aspire to be engaged) in authorship as a business, but those + who are members of that profession will undoubtedly find in Amateur + Journalism the air of freedom which develops personality in writing. + They will find every encouragement to self-development, amid an + environment of art. Amateur Journalism is for all those who do literary + work for the love of it." + </p> + <p> + "The privileges of the United Amateur Press Association are: The use of + the Manuscript Bureau and the columns of the papers connected with the + Association; the Official Organ; attendance at Conventions; proxy + representation at elections; laureate competitions, etc." + </p> + <p> + "Any person who edits or contributes prose or poetry to any amateur + paper is eligible to membership." + </p> + <p> + "Application for membership must be accompanied by one dollar dues and a + printed or written credential.... If rejected, dues will be returned." + </p> + <p> + "Renewal or reinstatement fee is two dollars." + </p> + <p> + "Applicants for membership should address their applications, with + credential and dues, to the Secretary, Miss Alma B. Sanger, 667 Lilley + Ave., Columbus, Ohio." + </p> + <p> + "Any person wishing to become connected with the Association without + furnishing a credential or becoming active, may upon payment of two + dollars be enrolled as a sustaining member for one year. A sustaining + member shall be entitled to all the privileges of active membership + except the right to vote or hold office." + </p> + <p> + "Laureate entries shall be poem, story, essay and editorial." + </p> + <p> + "Entries must be printed in an amateur paper, and a marked copy sent to + the Laureate Recorder by June 1." + </p> + <p> + Anyone desiring application blanks for recruiting may receive them by + applying to the Secretary. + </p> + <hr /> + <h4> + <span class="sp5">IMPORTANT</span> + </h4> + <p> + Members are urged to remember the recent doubling of dues, whereby all + renewals became <i>Two Dollars</i> each. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The fullest of apologies is due the membership for the lateness of this + issue of <span class="smcap">The United Amateur</span>. A prostrating + and overwhelming flood of professional duties, coupled with a state of + health permitting only the shortest of working hours, has forced the + editor to delay transmission of this copy to the publisher until + November 4: a date which should be remembered in justice to the latter + official, who is equally handicapped in the matter of conflicting + duties. + </p> + <div class="rgt smcap"> + The Editor + </div> + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> + </p> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Editorial</span> + </h3> + <p> + In the excellent October <i>Woodbee</i>, Mr. Leo Fritter criticises with + much force the attempt of the present editor to conduct <span class="smcap">The + United Amateur</span> on a tolerably civilised plane. He points out that + the appearance of a journal representing a fairly uniform maturity of + thought and artistic development may perhaps tend to discourage those + newer aspirants who have not yet attained their full literary stature, and + thus defeat the educational ends of the Association. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fritter gathers his material for complaint from the opinions of + certain amateurs with whom he has held communication, and on this basis + alleges a "wide-spreading dissatisfaction" with the present editorial + policy. We have ourselves received numerous and enthusiastic assurances of + an opposite nature, especially since the Fritter attack, so that we must + rebut at least his charge that we are ignoring the membership's wishes and + "trying to conform them to a mould we have arbitrarily cast according to + ideas of our own." To adopt a lower standard would, indeed, be affronting + a more influential element than that which may at present be dissatisfied; + an element which has possibly gained higher claims to consideration + through the <i>continuous</i> nature of its services to the Association + during trying times when others were silent and inactive. + </p> + <p> + But in determining the question of editorial policy, the abstract merits + of the case are more important than the act of pleasing this or that + person or group. Were we convinced that the existing order hampered the + sincere novice, we would abandon it without pride or ceremony. That we do + not, is because we are certain that retrogression and decadence would + constitute a fatal mistake. The public we serve is assumed to be a + genuinely progressive one, a group bent upon attaining some measure of + proficiency in that sincere self-expression which is art. If it were not, + it would have joined some other association of different purposes—the + defiantly crude Erford pseudo-United or the complacently social and + stationary National. What justifies the separate existence and support of + the United is its higher aesthetic and intellectual cast; its demand for + the unqualified best as a goal—which demand, by the way, must not be + construed as discriminating against even the crudest beginner who honestly + cherishes that goal. With these objects in mind, it will be seen that the + self-satisfied exultation of the superficial, the obvious, the + commonplace, and the conventional, would form the greatest possible + tactical error. The goal would be unjustifiably obscured, and the + aspiration of the membership stunted, through the enshrining of a false + and inferior goal—a literary Golden Calf. We must envisage a genuine + scale of values, and possess a model of genuine excellence toward which to + strive. It would pay better to work toward a high standard oneself, than + to seek to drag the standard down to fit whatever particular grade of + ignorance one may happen to have at a given moment. With proper effort any + member may eventually produce work of the <span class="smcap">United + Amateur</span> grade, and such work will be certain of a cordial welcome + in this office. The official organ is not so narrow as it seems; if more + of our capable members would favour it with their literary contributions, + the range of authors represented would not be so restricted. It is not the + editor but the body of our <i>literati</i> who must bear responsibility + for the constant reappearance of certain names. This issue is headed by + the same poet who headed the last two—but only because another + eminent amateur, so far unrepresented during the present regime, utterly + ignored our repeated requests for a contribution. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fritter—who, I fear, wrongs etymology in his acceptance of the + word <i>amateur</i> as meaning a tyro rather than a genuine and + disinterested artist—forgets that a relapse to cruder standards + would totally unfit the United for serving that staunch element which has + contributed most to its present welfare. Many would find a society of the + lower grade intolerable; certainly it could not hope to hold the very ones + who have given this organization its existing distinctiveness and + pre-eminence. + </p> + <p> + Yet in the arguments of Mr. Fritter there is an underlying soundness which + misapplication should not obscure to the analytical reader. He is right in + lamenting, as we believe he does, the absence of a suitable publishing + medium for the work of our younger writers. It is not in a spirit of + affront to him that we give preference to the plan of President Haughton, + as outlined in her opening message, for the re-establishment of a special + magazine for credentials. We should be glad to curtail the official organ + in the interest of such a magazine, as indeed we offered to do at the + beginning of the term. + </p> + <p> + <i>Frustra laborat</i>, says the old proverb, <i>qui omnibus placere + studet</i>. We regret that any one policy must of necessity displease a + few members, yet do not see how any improvement could be effected by + making a change which would merely shift the displeasure to another and + even more continuously industrious group. It is significant that the + Gothic party have no editorial candidate of their own to offer, so that + the thankless and toilsome office has been forced upon one whose + indifferent health<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> + makes it an almost unbearable burden to him. The question is one which + should ultimately be decided at the polls, each party putting forward a + nominee who can be depended upon to fulfil its mandates. Meanwhile the + present editor, whose sincere beliefs and policies were fully known long + before his unopposed election, stands ready to resign most cheerfully + whenever a suitable successor can be found. Bitterness, division and + personalities must be avoided at any cost, and we may be reckoned as a + supporter of <span class="smcap">The United Amateur</span> under any + editor and policy. + </p> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">NOVEMBER 1921</span> + </h2> + <h3> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h3> + <p class="tdc noin"> + Official Organ<br /> of the<br /> <span class="smcap">United Amateur Press + Association</span> + </p> + <div class="bk4"> + <div class="smcap vl"> + H. P. Lovecraft<br />E. Edward Ericson + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + <i>Official Editor<br />Official Publisher</i> + </div> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bb bk4"> + <p> + Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bk6"> + <hr /> + <p> + Members who criticised the present editor for severity during the + chairmanship of the critical department are invited to take a vicarious + revenge this month, observing the uncensored remarks of the present + juvenile chairman concerning our pathetic ignorance. Of us Master Galpin + says: "when the author approaches involved or technical subjects, he + shows clearly the unfortunate circumstance that he has never profited by + an advanced education." This certainly should purge us of all suspicion + of conducting <span class="smcap">The United Amateur</span> on too + Olympian a level, although the critic qualifies his dictum by conceding + that we realise our own crudity and are striving in our old age to + acquire at least the rudiments of an elementary education. In the course + of a few years we hope to guarantee our readers an official organ + practically free from the grosser errors of spelling and grammar: + meanwhile, <i>vivat Galpinius parvulus</i>! + </p> + <hr /> + <p style="text-indent: 0;"> + Myrta Alice Little, Eugene B. Kuntz, Leo G. Schussman, Margaret Richard, + Daisy Crump Whitehead, Clara L. Bell, John O. Baldwin, and the Editor. + </p> + <p> + The Tryout. October 1921. Uniform size. Contributions by H. P. + Lovecraft, Margaret Richard, Beth Cheney Nichols, Arthur Goodenough, K. + Leyson Brown, Horace L. Lawson, John Milton Samples, Washington Van + Dusen, Leo G. Schussman, Lilian Middleton, Anita Roberta Kirksey, and + the Editor. + </p> + <p> + <span class="smcap">The United Amateur.</span> March 1921. Official + Organ of the United Amateur Press Association. 14 Pages and cover. 7×10. + Contributions by Winifred Virginia Jackson, Lilian Middleton, Frank + Belknap Long, Jr., J. E. Hoag, Anna H. Crofts, Eleanor Beryl North, + Ward Phillips, and the Editor, H. P. Lovecraft. + </p> + <p> + <span class="smcap">The United Amateur.</span> May 1921. 8 pages. 7×10. + Contributions by Lilian Middleton, Alfred Galpin, Jr., Eugene B. Kuntz, + Margaret Mahon, Winifred Virginia Jackson, and Adam Harold Brown. + </p> + <p> + <span class="smcap">The United Amateur.</span> July 1921. 6 pages. 7×10. + Contributions by Lilian Middleton and Myrta Alice Little. + </p> + <p> + The United Co-Operative. April 1921. 16 pages. 6×9. Contributions + by Lilian Middleton, Elizabeth Berkeley and Lewis Theobald, Jr., W. + Edwin Gibson, John C. Pryor, H. P. Lovecraft, Samuel Loveman, + Eugene B. Kuntz. Published under the auspices of the U. A. P. A. + by the following members: Anne Tillery Renshaw, Rev. John Clinton Pryor, + W. Edwin Gibson, H. P. Lovecraft. + </p> + <p> + The Woodbee. October 1921. 16 pages and cover. 5×7. Contributions + by Bess Ballou, Alma B. Sanger, Norma Helena Marie Sanger, Leo Fritter, + Edna M. Haughton, Peggy Hepner Fritter, Henriette Ziegfeld, and the + President, Ida C. Haughton. Official Organ of the Woodbee Press Club, + Columbus, Ohio. + </p> + <p> + Ziegfeld's Follies. September 1921. 1 page. 5½×8½. + Contributions by the Editor, Arthur F. Ziegfeld. + </p> + <p> + Ziegfeld's Follies. October 1921. 4 pages. Uniform size. Contributions + by Ida C. Haughton, Leo Fritter, and the Editor, Arthur F. Ziegfeld. + </p> + <div class="rgt"> + <span class="smcap sp8">Myrta Alice Little,</span><br /> Historian. + </div> + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + Providence, R. I., December 29, 1921. + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + On Hand, July 1, 1921 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $4.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>RECEIPTS SINCE JULY 1</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Sonia H. Greene + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $50.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + From Treasury, up to Dec. 29, 1921 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 41.60 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + H. P. Lovecraft + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 15.40 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 6.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Howard R. Conover + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 5.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Woodbee Press Club + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 5.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Theodore D. Gottlieb + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Ida C. Haughton + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 1.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="rgt sp8"> + Total Receipts + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $129.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>EXPENDITURES</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for May U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $24.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for July U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 18.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for Sept. U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 36.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for Nov. U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 36.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="rgt sp8"> + Total Expenditures + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $114.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Balance on Hand, December 29, 1921 + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $15.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="bk3 rgt"> + <span class="smcap sp8">H. P. Lovecraft,</span><br /> Custodian. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">JANUARY 1922</span> + </h2> + <h3> + THE UNITED AMATEUR + </h3> + <p class="tdc noin"> + Official Organ<br /> of the<br /> <span class="smcap">United Amateur Press + Association</span> + </p> + <div class="bk4"> + <div class="smcap vl"> + H. P. Lovecraft<br />E. Edward Ericson + </div> + <div class="rgt"> + <i>Official Editor<br />Official Publisher</i> + </div> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bk4"> + <p> + Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + </p> + </div> + <div class="bb bk4"> + <p> + Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + </p> + </div> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">Editorial</span> + </h3> + <p> + Amidst the prevailing efforts of a small but pugnacious group to "liven" + up the United through attacks on the Official Organ, a few basic + principles should be remembered by those who stand in bewilderment. + </p> + <p> + Our constitution does not define the functions of <span class="smcap">The + United Amateur</span> beyond making imperative the publication of certain + official documents. The rest is left to an unwritten combination of + tradition and editorial judgment. Any editor, once elected, is absolutely + in control of the magazine aside from the essential official matter; his + only external obligation being a tacit recognition of the prevailing + objects of the Association. In the present case a narrow circle of + agitators seems to be seeking political capital by accusing the editor of + placing too high an estimate on the membership and purposes of the United. + </p> + <p> + Since the whole development of the Association is involved in this matter, + it is important that a prompt and perfect understanding be reached. The + opinions of all members should be known, and if the editor finds that he + has been in error, he will be glad to arrange for the accommodation of the + Organ to the wishes of the majority. Up to the present time, despite the + florid overstatements of the few who are trying to work up a new and + wholly artificial dissatisfaction, this office has received <i>not so much + as one complaint</i> as to policy save from the two politicians who are + seeking to lower the United's standards. Endorsements as to the existing + policy have been many, and as long as these remain so tremendously in the + Majority, it would be a betrayal of trust to make a change to please a + tiny group. If there are those who differ, why do they not speak? + </p> + <p> + Since truth is the only perfect clarifier when politics seeks to becloud, + it is necessary that the editor state his policy here and now with the + utmost candour. Shorn of all irrelevant things, that policy is simply the + maintenance of those standards established in the United by the departure + of the chronically political element in 1912. Prior to that time the + Official Organ was mainly a bulletin of reports: not, as the present + agitators would imply, a repository for indiscriminate amateur writings. + The standard developed since then is the creation of no one person, but a + logical outgrowth of the rising calibre of a vital and progressive + society. It is neither one of favouritism nor one of autocracy; but merely + one of <i>stimulation</i>. It is an embodiment of the United's desire to + let the Official Organ exemplify the members' progress by using the best + available material. No genuine aspirant has ever been frowned upon, or so + far as we know given any ground for discouragement. The Organ is a + beckoner and encourager, designed to inspire the members to renewed + efforts to produce work worthy of symbolising the United. Would anyone so + far insult the Association as to wish its official exponent to cater to + that type of mediocrity which neither improves nor wishes to improve? Our + columns are open to all who toil for the fruits of art, and statements to + the contrary cannot be interpreted as other than irresponsibly ignorant or + craftily misrepresentative. While insistence on a certain degree of merit + is of course necessary, it is not true that <span class="smcap">The United + Amateur</span> makes any arbitrary restrictions. The Organ was not + designed for the publication of various members' work, nor is access to + its columns one of the special objects of membership, as certain agitators + are artfully intimating. But notwithstanding those technical points, all + proficient writers are welcome. It is illuminating, in view of the + prevalent loose statements, to reflect that throughout the present + editor's service <i>not more than three manuscripts have been rejected</i>; + and that even these three were or will be elsewhere placed. Those seeking + an Associational disturbance will not scruple to take advantage of every + outward appearance which seems to favour them—unavoidable delays, + spatial limitations, and other things interfering with prompt publication + of all matter offered to this office. The present editor will be denounced + as a "tyrant" by elements attempting to degrade standards which he did not + establish! + </p> + <p> + The life and well-being of the United are at stake, and it is imperative + that the membership exercise the most careful and independent reflection + before accepting the views of radicals bent on retrogressive experiments. + </p> + <hr class="chp" /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MARCH 1922</span> + </h2> + <h3> + OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + Providence, R. I., April 25, 1922. + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + On Hand, December 29, 1921 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $15.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>RECEIPTS SINCE DECEMBER 29</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + From Treasury, up to April 25 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $31.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Woodbee Press Club + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 10.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + H. P. Lovecraft + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 7.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Anonymous + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 5.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 2.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Ida C. Haughton + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 2.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Total Receipts + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $72.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small>EXPENDITURES</small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for January U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $36.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for March U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 36.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Total Expenditures + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $72.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Balance on Hand, April 25, 1922 + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + None + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="bk3 rgt"> + <span class="smcap sp8">H. P. Lovecraft,</span><br /> Custodian. + </div> + <hr class="chp" /> + <h2> + THE UNITED AMATEUR <span class="sp4">MAY 1922</span> + </h2> + <h3> + OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + Providence, R. I., June 23, 1922. + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + On Hand, April 25, 1922 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + None + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><i>Receipts Since April 25</i></small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + From Treasury, up to June 23 + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $28.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Alfred Galpin, Jr. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 6.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Woodbee Press Club + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 5.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + 2.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp4"> + Total Receipts + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $41.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <small><i>Expenditures</i></small> + </div> + <div class="tdc"> + <table class="bk3" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + To E. E. Ericson, for May U. A. + </td> + <td class="rgt"> + $24.00 + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="sp8"> + Balance on Hand, June 23, 1922 + </td> + <td class="bt rgt"> + $17.00 + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="bk3 rgt"> + <span class="smcap">H. P. Lovecraft,</span> Custodian. + </div> + <hr class="tb" /> + <h3> + <span class="sp1 sp5">At the Home of Poe</span> + </h3> + <div class="tdc"> + <i>A Poem in Prose</i><br /><br /> To H. P. Lovecraft + </div> + <h4> + <span class="smcap sp1 sp5">Frank Belknap Long, Jr.</span> + </h4> + <p> + The home of Poe! It is like a fairy dwelling, a gnomic palace built of the + aether of dreams. It is tiny and delicate and lovely, and replete with + memories of sere leaves in November and of lilies in April. It is a castle + of vanished hopes, of dimly-remembered dreams, of sad memories older than + the deluge. The dead years circle slowly and solemnly around its low white + walls, and clothe it in a mystic veil of unseen tears. And many marvellous + stories could this quaint little old house tell, many weird and cryptic + stories of him of the Raven hair, and high, pallid brow, and sad, sweet + face, and melancholy mien; and of the beloved Virginia, that sweet child + of a thousand magic visions, child of the lonesome, pale-gray latter + years, child of the soft and happy South. And how the dreamer of the + spheres must have loved this strange little house. Every night the hollow + boards of its porch must have echoed to his footfall, and every morn the + great rising sun must have sent its rays through the little window, and + bathed the lovely tresses of the dream-child in mystical yellow. And + perhaps there was laughter within the walls of that house—laughter + and merriment and singing. But we know that the Evil One came at last, the + grim humourless spectre who loves not beauty, and is not of this world. + And we know that the house of youth and of love became a house of death, + and that memories bitter as the tears of a beautiful woman assailed the + dreamer within. And at last he himself left that house of mourning and + sought solace among the stars. But the house remains a vision out of a + magical book; a thing seen darkly as in a looking-glass; but lovely beyond + the dreams of mortals, and ineffably sad. + </p> + <div class="tn2"> + <div class="hd2 tdc"> + <b><big>Transcriber's Note</big></b> + </div> + <div style="text-align: justify;"> + Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Significant + amendments, author's corrections and further notes have been recorded + below. American and British forms of typography, in addition to variant, + dialect and archaic spellings, have been retained except where obvious + errors exist. + </div> + <div class="hd2"> + <big><b>Author's Corrections:</b></big> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_14">14</a>,</span> see p. <a + href="#Page_30">30</a> for details: + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'long' corrected to <i>longer</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_49">49</a>,</span> see p. <a + href="#Page_60">60</a> for details: + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'sublime' corrected to <i>sublimer</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'star's' corrected to <i>stars</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'father's' corrected to <i>fathers</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'hollow'd' corrected to <i>hallow'd</i>. + </p> + <div class="hd2"> + <big><b>Transcriber's Amendments:</b></big> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_7">7</a>,</span> 'insanity' amended + to <i>inanity</i>: 'triteness and inanity'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'permissable' amended to <i>permissible</i>: 'permissible clause'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'breath' amended to <i>breadth</i>: 'present moderate breadth'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_8">8</a>,</span> 'woud' amended to <i>would</i>: + 'would do much'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'editorials' amended to <i>editorial</i>: 'Mr Stokes' editorial'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'istincts' amended to <i>instincts</i>: 'in our instincts'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'amateurs' amended to <i>amateur</i>: 'in amateur circles'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_9">9</a>,</span> 'from' amended to <i>form</i>: + 'Credentials form the'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_11">11</a>,</span> 'scacely' amended + to <i>scarcely</i>: 'but scarcely equal'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'colums' amended to <i>columns</i>: 'Coyote's editorial columns'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_12">12</a>,</span> 'Sappo' amended to + <i>Sappho</i>: '"To Sappho", by Olive G. Owen'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_13">13</a>,</span> 'Morrish' amended + to <i>Moorish</i>: 'old Moorish Spain'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_14">14</a>,</span> 'Houghton' amended + to <i>Haughton</i>: 'Edna Mitchell Haughton's'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_15">15</a>,</span> '<span + class="smcap">Derartment</span>' amended to <i><span class="smcap">Department</span></i>: + '<span class="smcap">Department Of Public</span>'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'witheld' amended to <i>withheld</i>: 'merely withheld from'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_16">16</a>,</span> added <i>is</i>: + 'no praise is needed'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Niagra' amended to <i>Niagara</i>: 'Visit to Niagara'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'wormth' amended to <i>warmth</i>: 'and genuine warmth'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Weeks' amended to <i>Week</i>: 'History of an Eight-Week-Old'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_17">17</a>,</span> 'advantage' + amended to <i>advantages</i>: 'advantages ... are many'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_18">18</a>,</span> 'pronounciation' + amended to <i>pronunciation</i>: 'New York pronunciation'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Mrs.' amended to <i>Mr.</i>, referring to Ricardo Santiago. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_19">19</a>,</span> 'phenomerally' + amended to <i>phenomenally</i>: 'phenomenally pure'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Hennesey' amended to <i>Hennessey</i>: 'James J. Hennessey'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,</span> 'bestrown' amended + to <i>bestrewn</i>: 'is bestrewn with slang'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_25">25</a>,</span> 'away' amended to + <i>way</i>: 'giving way to'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,</span> 'techique' amended + to <i>technique</i>: 'plot and technique'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_33">33</a>,</span> 'Heindall's' + amended to <i>Heimdall's</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_34">34</a>,</span> 'Heindall' amended + to <i>Heimdall</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Sehrimner' amended to <i>Sehrimnir</i>: 'the boar Sehrimnir'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,</span> 'Jordon' amended + to <i>Jordan</i> (3 instances); + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'inconsistancy ... is' amended to <i>inconsistency ... it</i>: + 'inconsistency, but it seems'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'a' amended to <i>of</i>: 'rank as a poet is of very high tone'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,</span> 'beautful' amended + to <i>beautiful</i>: 'delicately beautiful'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'posessive' amended to <i>possessive</i>: 'possessive case'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'ungramatical' amended to <i>ungrammatical</i>: 'by the ungrammatical'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Harington' amended to <i>Harrington</i>: 'William T. Harrington'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'abnorman pschology' amended to <i>abnormal psychology</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'letre' amended to <i>metre</i>: 'tuneful metre'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Chrismas' amended to <i>Christmas</i>: 'Christmas number'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Jordon' amended to <i>Jordan</i>: 'Winifred V. Jordan's'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_37">37</a>,</span> 'propertly' + amended to <i>properly</i>: 'be properly welcomed'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'throught' amended to <i>through</i>: 'recording thought through'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_38">38</a>,</span> 'Buterfly' amended + to <i>Butterfly</i>: 'To a Butterfly'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Jordon' amended to <i>Jordan</i>: 'Winifred V. Jordan'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'con-conception' amended to <i>conception</i>: 'his conception of'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_39">39</a>,</span> 'classoical' + amended to <i>classical</i>: 'more classical myths'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + added <i>by</i>: 'also by Mr. Cole'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'beautful' amended to <i>beautiful</i>: 'many beautiful passages'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'physhological' amended to <i>psychological</i>: 'a psychological as'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'dignnity' amended to <i>dignity</i>: 'humility and dignity'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'gramatical' amended to <i>grammatical</i>: 'of grammatical or'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_40">40</a>,</span> 'Emile' amended to + <i>Emilie</i>: 'Emilie C. Holladay'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'ocasional' amended to <i>occasional</i>: 'the occasional metrical + lines'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Jordon' amended to <i>Jordan</i>: 'Winifred V. Jordan'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Willam' amended to <i>William</i>: 'William de Ryee'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'technicly' amended to <i>technically</i>: 'are technically no'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Canvass' amended to <i>Canvas</i>: 'the Canvas Wall'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'but is' amended to <i>is but</i>: 'novel is but a'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_41">41</a>,</span> 'mosiac' amended + to <i>mosaic</i>: 'skillful mosaic of'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'unaquainted' amended to <i>unacquainted</i>: 'totally unacquainted'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'embarassed' amended to <i>embarrassed</i>: 'a little embarrassed'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_42">42</a>,</span> 'staza' amended to + <i>stanza</i>: 'first stanza might'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_43">43</a>,</span> 'pharse' amended + to <i>phrase</i>: 'the awkward phrase'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'ryhthm' amended to <i>rhythm</i>: 'swinging dactylic rhythm'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'uder' amended to <i>under</i>: 'coat under the wayside'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_44">44</a>,</span> 'develope' amended + to <i>develop</i>: 'all develop naturally'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Macauly' amended to <i>Macauley</i>: 'George W. Macauley'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_45">45</a>,</span> 'pratically' + amended to <i>practically</i>: 'for practically all'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'amatuer' amended to <i>amateur</i>: 'professionalized amateur'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'happly' amended to <i>happily</i>: 'happily extinct tribe'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_47">47</a>,</span> 'apearance' + amended to <i>appearance</i>: 'the appearance of'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'incongrous' amended to <i>incongruous</i>: 'a rather incongruous'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_48">48</a>,</span> 'reminiscense' + amended to <i>reminiscence</i>: 'pensive reminiscence'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Haaughton' amended to <i>Haughton</i>: 'Ida C. Haughton'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_50">50</a>,</span> 'unamimous' + amended to <i>unanimous</i>: 'absolutely unanimous vote'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'sustined' amended to <i>sustained</i>: 'and sustained his'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_52">52</a>,</span> 'Kliner' amended + to <i>Kleiner</i>: 'the Kleiner type'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Henrietta' amended to <i>Henriette</i>: 'Henriette and Florenz'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'thoughfulness' amended to <i>thoughtfulness</i>: 'for thoughtfulness'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_53">53</a>,</span> 'essays-writers' + amended to <i>essay-writers</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_54">54</a>,</span> 'prosed' amended + to <i>proposed</i>: 'the proposed alteration'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_57">57</a>,</span> 'Statess' amended + to <i>States</i>: 'the United States'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_59">59</a>,</span> 'Mathew' amended + to <i>Matthew</i>: 'Matthew Hilson'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_61">61</a>,</span> 'ancesters' + amended to <i>ancestors</i>: 'of my ancestors'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_63">63</a>,</span> 'ancesters' + amended to <i>ancestors</i>: 'ancestors had met'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'told' amended to <i>tolled</i>: 'clock ... tolled off'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_64">64</a>,</span> 'Godfry' amended + to <i>Godfrey</i>: 'son of Godfrey'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'particularily' amended to <i>particularly</i>: 'most particularly'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'gastly' amended to <i>ghastly</i>: 'ghastly radiance'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_66">66</a>,</span> 'rhym' amended to + <i>rhyme</i>: 'nobility of the rhyme'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'bouyant' amended to <i>buoyant</i>: 'joy and buoyant'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'tireomely' amended to <i>tiresomely</i>: 'tiresomely commonplace'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'savour' amended to <i>savours</i>: 'savours too much'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_67">67</a>,</span> 'solesisms' + amended to <i>solecisms</i>: 'such solecisms as'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'avoid' amended to <i>avoided</i>: 'should be avoided'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_68">68</a>,</span> 'awkard' amended + to <i>awkward</i>: 'not wholly awkward'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'copmlete' amended to <i>complete</i>: 'more complete'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + repeated line removed: 'sentiment, deriving much force from the'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'poplarly' amended to <i>popularly</i>: 'are popularly supposed'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + added <i>a</i>: 'it is a comfort'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_69">69</a>,</span> repeated line + removed: 'ology. In the third line of the third stanza'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'hypocricy' amended to <i>hypocrisy</i>: 'The hypocrisy of'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_70">70</a>,</span> 'occuring' amended + to <i>occurring</i>: 'A rhyme occurring'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'colum' amended to <i>column</i>: 'editorial column of'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'techinque' amended to <i>technique</i>: 'old-school technique'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_71">71</a>,</span> 'unsual' amended + to <i>unusual</i>: 'rather unusual'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + repeated text 'of' removed: 'pen of of Mrs. W. V. Jordan'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_72">72</a>,</span> 'accentuaton' + amended to <i>accentuation</i>: 'accentuation of the'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'hsould' amended to <i>should</i>: 'word should be'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'citic' amended to <i>critic</i>: 'the present critic'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_73">73</a>,</span> 'denizon' amended + to <i>denizen</i>: 'or <b>denizen</b> is'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'year' amended to <i>years</i>: 'eighty-six years ago'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'contents ... is' amended to <i>contents ... are</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'McGavach' amended to <i>McGavack</i> (2 instances). + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_74">74</a>,</span> added <i>is</i>: + '"Education in Trinidad" is another'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_77">77</a>,</span> 'revails' amended + to <i>reveals</i>: 'but scansion reveals'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Gallenne' amended to <i>Gallienne</i>: 'Richard Le Gallienne'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_78">78</a>,</span> 'vesy' amended to + <i>very</i>: 'a very pleasing'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'gartifyingly' amended to <i>gratifyingly</i>: 'metre is gratifyingly'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'hypocracy' amended to <i>hypocrisy</i>: 'anti-prohibition hypocrisy'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'earsest' amended to <i>earnest</i>: 'are more earnest'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_79">79</a>,</span> 'propertly' + amended to <i>properly</i>: 'cannot properly be rhymed'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_81">81</a>,</span> 'posses ... + conspicious' amended to <i>possess ... conspicuous</i>: 'possess both + deep fervour and conspicuous merit'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'McGavach' amended to <i>McGavack</i> (3 instances). + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_82">82</a>,</span> 'Parke's' amended + to <i>Mr. Parks'</i>: 'Mr. Parks' brief sketches'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'McGavach' amended to <i>McGavack</i> (2 instances); + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'irresistly' amended to <i>irresistibly</i>: 'irresistibly delight'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'metriacl' amended to <i>metrical</i>: 'metrical effort'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_84">84</a>,</span> 'ocurrences' + amended to <i>occurrences</i>: 'obscure occurrences of'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_85">85</a>,</span> 'Authour' amended + to <i>Author</i>: 'Author of the'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_88">88</a>,</span> 'Ecstacy' amended + to <i>Ecstasy</i>: '"Ecstasy," a poem'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'imporant' amended to <i>important</i>: 'number of important'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_90">90</a>,</span> 'rtaes' amended to + <i>rates</i>: 'at reasonable rates'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_91">91</a>,</span> 'cooperateion' + amended to <i>co-operation</i>: 'closer co-operation'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Asociation' amended to <i>Association</i>: 'out of the Association'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_92">92</a>,</span> 'productons' + amended to <i>productions</i>: 'literary productions'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_93">93</a>,</span> 'twilght ... + unpanted' amended to <i>twilight ... unpainted</i>: 'through the + twilight, some grey, unpainted'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'pronounciation' amended to <i>pronunciation</i>: 'pronunciation of'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_94">94</a>,</span> 'dsplaying' + amended to <i>displaying</i>: 'displaying an enviable'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Medum' amended to <i>Medium</i>: 'Medium of Education'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'it' amended to <i>in</i>: 'picturesque in atmosphere'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_95">95</a>,</span> 'wth' amended to + <i>with</i>: 'compared with many'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'Reiseberg' amended to <i>Rieseberg</i>: 'Harry E. Rieseberg'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_98">98</a>,</span> 'adminstrative' + amended to <i>administrative</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_99">99</a>,</span> 'Lindquqist' + amended to <i>Lindquist</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_100">100</a>,</span> 'insuffcient' + amended to <i>insufficient</i>: 'is insufficient to'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_103">103</a>,</span> 'it' amended to + <i>is</i>: 'and it is a source'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_104">104</a>,</span> 'rhetorican' + amended to <i>rhetorician</i>: 'as a rhetorician'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_105">105</a>,</span> 'Namantius' + amended to <i>Namatianus</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_106">106</a>,</span> 'corect' amended + to <i>correct</i>: 'most correct age'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_109">109</a>,</span> 'similiarly' + amended to <i>similarly</i>: 'the similarly spelled'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_110">110</a>,</span> + 'psuedo-anecdotes' amended to <i>pseudo-anecdotes</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'gratfying' amended to <i>gratifying</i>: 'great and gratifying'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_112">112</a>,</span> 'persual' + amended to <i>perusal</i>: 'perusal of standard'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_113">113</a>,</span> 'demonstrate' + amended to <i>demonstrates</i>: 'A glance ... demonstrates'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'econium' amended to <i>encomium</i>: 'evoke encomium with'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_119">119</a>,</span> 'gorss' amended + to <i>gross</i>: 'gross violations of'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + repeated text 'and verb' removed: 'noun and verb and verb'; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'ues' amended to <i>use</i>: 'Ambiguous use of pronouns'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_122">122</a>,</span> 'versimilitude' + amended to <i>verisimilitude</i>; + </p> + <p class="pr1"> + 'qualiy' amended to <i>quality</i>: 'prosaic quality'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_126">126</a>,</span> 'Deinos' amended + to <i>Deimos</i>: 'Deimos and Phobos'. + </p> + <div class="hd2"> + <big><b>Further Notes:</b></big> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_16">16</a>,</span> 'Dempsey' and p. + <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, 'Dempesy', conflicted spelling: 'Caryl Wilson + Demp[se/es]y'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_41">41</a>,</span> 'Frazer' and p. <a + href="#Page_51">51</a>, 'Frazier', conflicted spelling: 'John W. + Fraz[i]er'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_73">73</a>,</span> 'Acyion', possible + misprint of <i>Alcyon</i> or <i>Alcyone</i>: 'Edwin Gibson's "Sonnet to + Acyion"'. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pg">p. <a href="#Page_93">93</a>,</span> 'Dionondawa', + possible misprint of <i>Dionondehowa</i>: 'To the Falls of Dionondawa'. + </p> + </div> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNITED AMATEUR ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ +concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, +and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following +the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use +of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for +copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very +easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation +of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project +Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may +do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected +by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark +license, especially commercial redistribution. +</div> + +<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> +<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project +Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full +Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at +www.gutenberg.org/license. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or +destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your +possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a +Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound +by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person +or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this +agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ +electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the +Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection +of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual +works in the collection are in the public domain in the United +States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the +United States and you are located in the United States, we do not +claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, +displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as +all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope +that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting +free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ +works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the +Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily +comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the +same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when +you share it without charge with others. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are +in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, +check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this +agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, +distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any +other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no +representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any +country other than the United States. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other +immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear +prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work +on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the +phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, +performed, viewed, copied or distributed: +</div> + +<blockquote> + <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> + This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most + other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions + whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms + of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online + at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you + are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws + of the country where you are located before using this eBook. + </div> +</blockquote> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is +derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not +contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the +copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in +the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are +redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project +Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply +either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or +obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ +trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any +additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms +will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works +posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the +beginning of this work. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg™ License. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including +any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access +to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format +other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official +version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website +(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense +to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means +of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain +Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the +full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +provided that: +</div> + +<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed + to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has + agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid + within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are + legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty + payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project + Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in + Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg + Literary Archive Foundation.” + </div> + + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ + License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all + copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue + all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ + works. + </div> + + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of + any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of + receipt of the work. + </div> + + <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> + • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. + </div> +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project +Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than +are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing +from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of +the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set +forth in Section 3 below. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project +Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ +electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may +contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate +or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or +other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or +cannot be read by your equipment. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right +of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium +with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you +with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in +lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person +or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second +opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If +the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing +without further opportunities to fix the problem. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO +OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of +damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement +violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the +agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or +limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or +unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the +remaining provisions. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in +accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the +production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ +electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, +including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of +the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this +or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or +additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any +Defect you cause. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of +computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It +exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations +from people in all walks of life. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future +generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see +Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by +U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, +Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up +to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website +and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread +public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND +DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state +visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To +donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate +</div> + +<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project +Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be +freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and +distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of +volunteer support. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in +the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not +necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper +edition. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Most people start at our website which has the main PG search +facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. +</div> + +</div> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/30637-h/images/001.jpg b/30637-h/images/001.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b0ca0f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-h/images/001.jpg diff --git a/30637-h/images/002.png b/30637-h/images/002.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a4d69b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-h/images/002.png diff --git a/30637-h/images/003.png b/30637-h/images/003.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..19f7ec0 --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-h/images/003.png diff --git a/30637-h/images/004.png b/30637-h/images/004.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..efb2b4b --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-h/images/004.png diff --git a/30637-h/images/005.png b/30637-h/images/005.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f899c09 --- /dev/null +++ b/30637-h/images/005.png diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8c00e53 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #30637 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30637) diff --git a/old/30637.txt b/old/30637.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ed4a81 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/30637.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11594 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922, by +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922 + +Author: Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +Contributor: Andrew Francis Lockhart + Rheinhart Kleiner + Frank Belknap Long + +Release Date: December 9, 2009 [EBook #30637] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNITED AMATEUR *** + + + + +Produced by David Starner, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Italic text has been marked by _underscores_, whilst bold text + appears as =bold=. The following table of contents has been added + for convenience: + + United Amateur Press Association: + Exponent of Amateur Journalism 4 + + The United Amateur, January 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 7 + + The United Amateur, March 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 10 + March 14 + + The United Amateur, May 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 15 + + The United Amateur, September 1915 + Department of Public Criticism 21 + Little Journeys to the Homes of Prominent Amateurs 31 + + The United Amateur, February 1916 + The Teuton's Battle-Song 33 + + The United Amateur, April 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 35 + + The United Amateur, June 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 42 + The Poetry of the Month: Content 49 + + The United Amateur, August 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 50 + + The United Amateur, September 1916 + Department of Public Criticism 54 + + The United Amateur, November 1916 + The Alchemist 61 + + The United Amateur, March 1917 + Department of Public Criticism 65 + + The United Amateur, May 1917 + Department of Public Criticism 71 + + The United Amateur, July 1917 + Ode for July Fourth, 1917 80 + Department of Public Criticism 81 + News Notes: To M. W. M. 84 + + The United Amateur, November 1917 + A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson 84 + Department of Public Criticism 87 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 90 + + The United Amateur, January 1918 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 91 + + The United Amateur, March 1918 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 92 + + The United Amateur, May 1918 + Sunset 92 + Department of Public Criticism 93 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 98 + + The United Amateur, June 1918 + Astrophobos 99 + + The United Amateur, July 1918 + At the Root 100 + Reports of Officers: President's Message 101 + + The United Amateur, November 1918 + Department of Literature: The Literature of Rome 102 + To Alan Seeger 106 + + The United Amateur, January 1919 + Theodore Roosevelt 107 + + The United Amateur, March 1919 + A Note on Howard P. Lovecraft's Verse 108 + Official Reports: Department of Public Criticism 109 + + The United Amateur, May 1919 + Helene Hoffman Cole--Litterateur 113 + + The United Amateur, July 1919 + Americanism 114 + + The United Amateur, November 1919 + The White Ship 115 + To Mistress Sophia Simple, Queen of the Cinema 118 + + The United Amateur, January 1920 + Literary Composition 119 + + The United Amateur, May 1920 + For What Does the United Stand? 123 + + The United Amateur, September 1920 + Poetry and the Gods 124 + + The United Amateur, November 1920 + Nyarlathotep 128 + Editorial 129 + Official Organ Fund 130 + + The United Amateur, January 1921 + Official Organ Fund 130 + + The United Amateur, March 1921 + Winifred Virginia Jackson: A "Different" Poetess 130 + Ex Oblivione 134 + Official Organ Fund 134 + + The United Amateur, September 1921 + The United Amateur 135 + Editorial 136 + + The United Amateur, November 1921 + The United Amateur 138 + Official Organ Fund 138 + + The United Amateur, January 1922 + The United Amateur 139 + Editorial 139 + + The United Amateur, March 1922 + Official Organ Fund 140 + + The United Amateur, May 1922 + Official Organ Fund 140 + At the Home of Poe 140 + + + + + THE + UNITED AMATEUR + + SEPTEMBER 1915 + + [Illustration: HOWARD P. LOVECRAFT + First Vice-President U. A. P. A.] + + + + +United Amateur Press Association + +EXPONENT OF AMATEUR JOURNALISM + + +ITS OBJECT + +The desire to write for publication is one which inheres strongly in +every human breast. From the proficient college graduate, storming the +gates of the high-grade literary magazines, to the raw schoolboy, vainly +endeavoring to place his first crude compositions in the local +newspapers, the whole intelligent public are today seeking expression +through the printed page, and yearning to behold their thoughts and +ideals permanently crystallized in the magic medium of type. But while a +few persons of exceptional talent manage eventually to gain a foothold +in the professional world of letters rising to celebrity through the +wide diffusion of their art, ideals, or opinions; the vast majority, +unless aided in their education by certain especial advantages, are +doomed to confine their expression to the necessarily restricted sphere +of ordinary conversation. To supply these especial educational +advantages which may enable the general public to achieve the +distinction of print, and which may prevent the talented but unknown +author from remaining forever in obscurity, has arisen that largest and +foremost of societies for literary education =The United Amateur Press +Association=. + + +ITS ORIGIN + +Amateur journalism, or the composition and circulation of small, +privately printed magazines, is an instructive diversion which has +existed in the United States for over half a century. In the decade of +1866-1876 this practice first became an organized institution; a +short-lived society of amateur journalists, including the now famous +publisher, Charles Scribner, having existed from 1869 to 1874. In 1876 a +more lasting society was formed, which exists to this day as an exponent +of light dilettantism. Not until 1895, however, was amateur journalism +established as a serious branch of educational endeavour. On September +2nd of that year, Mr. William H. Greenfield, a gifted professional +author, of Philadelphia, founded =The United Amateur Press Association=, +which has grown to be the leader of its kind, and the representative of +amateur journalism in its best phases throughout the English-speaking +world. + + +ITS NATURE + +In many respects the word "amateur" fails to do full credit to amateur +journalism and the association which best represents it. To some minds +the term conveys an idea of crudity and immaturity, yet the =United= can +boast of members and publications whose polish and scholarship are +well-nigh impeccable. In considering the adjective "amateur" as applied +to the press association, we must adhere to the more basic +interpretation, regarding the word as indicating the non-mercenary +nature of the membership. Our amateurs write purely for love of their +art, without the stultifying influence of commercialism. Many of them +are prominent professional authors in the outside world, but their +professionalism never creeps into their association work. The atmosphere +is wholly fraternal, and courtesy takes the place of currency. + +The real essential of amateur journalism and =The United Amateur Press +Association= is the amateur paper or magazine, which somewhat resembles +the average high-school or college publication. These journals, varying +greatly in size and character, are issued by various members at their +own expense, and contain, besides the literary work of their several +editors or publishers, contributions from all the many members who do +not publish papers of their own. Their columns are open to every person +in the association, and it may be said with justice that no one will +find it impossible to secure the publication of any literary composition +of reasonable brevity. The papers thus published are sent free to all +our many members, who constitute a select and highly appreciative +reading public. Since each member receives the published work of every +other member, many active and brilliant minds are brought into close +contact, and questions of every sort, literary, historical, and +scientific, are debated both in the press and in personal +correspondence. The correspondence of members is one of the most +valuable features of the =United=, for through this medium a great +intellectual stimulus, friendly and informal in nature, is afforded. +Congenial members are in this way brought together in a lettered +companionship, which often grows into life-long friendship, while +persons of opposed ideas may mutually gain much breadth of mind by +hearing the other side of their respective opinions discussed in a +genial manner. In short, the =United= offers an exceptionally +well-proportioned mixture of instruction and fraternal cheer. There are +no limits of age, sex, education, position, or locality in this most +complete of democracies. Boys and girls of twelve and men and women of +sixty, parents and their sons and daughters, college professors and +grammar-school pupils, aristocrats and intelligent labourers, Easterners +and Westerners, are here given equal advantages, those of greater +education helping their cruder brethren until the common fund of culture +is as nearly level as it can be in any human organization. Members are +classified according to age; "A" meaning under sixteen, "B" from 16 to +21, and "C" over 21. The advantages offered to those of limited +acquirements are immense, many persons having gained practically all +their literary polish through membership in the =United=. A much +cherished goal is professional authorship or editorship, and numerous +indeed are the =United= members who have now become recognized authors, +poets, editors, and publishers. True, though trite, is the saying that +amateur journalism is an actual training school for professional +journalism. + + +ITS PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES + +Members of the =United= may or may not publish little papers of their +own. This is a matter of choice, for there are always enough journals to +print the work of the non-publishing members. Youths who possess +printing presses will find publishing an immense but inexpensive +pleasure, whilst other publishers may have their printing done at very +reasonable rates by those who do own presses. The favorite size for +amateur papers is 5x7 inches, which can be printed at 55 or 60 cents per +page, each page containing about 250 words. Thus a four-page issue +containing 1000 words can be published for less than $2.50, if +arrangements are made, as is often the case, for its free mailing with +any other paper. Certain of the more pretentious journals affect the +7x10 size, which costs about $1.60 for each page of 700 words. These +figures allow for 250 copies, the most usual number to be mailed. Mr. +E. E. Ericson of Elroy, Wisconsin, is our Official Printer, and his work +is all that the most fastidious could demand. Other printers may be +found amongst the young men who print their own papers. In many cases +they can quote very satisfactory prices. Two or more members may issue a +paper co-operatively, the individual expense then being very slight. + + +ITS CONTRIBUTED LITERATURE + +The =United= welcomes all literary contributions; poems, stories, and +essays, which the various members may submit. However, contribution is +by no means compulsory, and in case a member finds himself too busy for +activity, he may merely enjoy the free papers which reach him, without +taxing himself with literary labour. For those anxious to contribute, +every facility is provided. In some cases negotiations are made directly +between publisher and contributor, but the majority are accommodated by +the two Manuscript Bureaus, Eastern and Western, which receive +contributions in any quantity from the non-publishing members, and are +drawn upon for material by those who issue papers. These bureaus +practically guarantee on the one hand to find a place for each member's +manuscript, and on the other hand to keep each publisher well supplied +with matter for his journal. + + +ITS CRITICAL DEPARTMENTS + +The two critical departments of the =United= are at present the most +substantial of its various educational advantages. The Department of +Private Criticism is composed exclusively of highly cultured members, +usually professors or teachers of English, who practically mould the +taste of the whole association, receiving and revising before +publication the work of all who choose to submit it to them. The service +furnished free by this department is in every way equal to that for +which professional critical bureaus charge about two dollars. +Manuscripts are carefully corrected and criticised in every detail, and +authors are given comprehensive advice designed to elevate their taste, +style, and grammar. Many a crude but naturally gifted writer has been +developed to polished fluency and set on the road to professional +authorship through the =United's= Department of Private Criticism. + +The Department of Public Criticism reviews thoroughly and impartially +the various printed papers and their contents, offering precepts and +suggestions for improvement. Its reports are printed in the official +organ of the association, and serve as a record of our literary +achievement. + + +ITS LITERARY AWARDS + +To encourage excellence amongst the members of the =United=, annual +honours or "laureateships" are awarded the authors of the best poems, +stories, essays, or editorials. Participation in these competitions is +not compulsory, since they apply only to pieces which have been +especially "entered for laureateship." The entries are judged not by the +members of the association, but by highly distinguished litterateurs of +the professional world, selected particularly for the occasion. Our +latest innovation is a laureateship for the best home-printed paper, +which will excite keen rivalry among our younger members, and bring out +some careful specimens of the typographical art. Besides the +laureateships there are other honours and prizes awarded by individual +publishers within the =United=, many of the amateur journals offering +excellent books for the best stories, reviews, or reports submitted to +them. + + +ITS OFFICIAL ORGAN + +The association, as a whole, publishes a voluminous 7x10 monthly +magazine called =The United Amateur=, which serves as the official +organ. In this magazine may be found the complete revised list of +members, the reports of officers and committees, the ample reviews +issued by the Department of Public Criticism, a selection of the best +contemporary amateur literature, together with the latest news of +amateur journalists and their local clubs from all over the Anglo-Saxon +world. =The United Amateur= is published by an annually elected Official +Editor, and printed by the Official Publisher. It is sent free to all +members of the association. + + +ITS GOVERNMENT + +=The United Amateur Press Association= is governed by a board of +officers elected by popular vote. The elections take place at the annual +conventions, where amateurs from all sections meet and fraternize. Those +who attend vote in person, whilst all others send in proxy ballots. +There is much friendly rivalry between cities concerning the selection +of the convention seat each year. The principal elective officers of the +=United= are the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, the +Official Editor and the three members of the Board of Directors. There +are also a Historian, a Laureate Recorder, and two Manuscript Managers. +Appointed by the President are the members of the two Departments of +Criticism, the Supervisor of Amendments, the Official Publisher, and the +Secretary of the association. All save Secretary and Official Publisher, +serve without remuneration. The basic law of the =United= comprises an +excellent Constitution and By-Laws. + + +ITS LOCAL CLUBS + +The =United= encourages the formation of local literary or press clubs +in cities or towns containing several members. These clubs generally +publish papers, and hold meetings wherein the pleasures of literature +are enlivened by those of the society. The most desirable form of club +activity is that in which a high-school instructor forms a literary +society of the more enthusiastic members of his class. + + +ITS PLACE IN EDUCATION + +During the past two years, as it has approached and passed its twentieth +birthday, the =United= has been endeavoring more strongly than ever to +find and occupy its true place amongst the many and varied phases of +education. That it discharges an unique function in literary culture is +certain, and its members have of late been trying very actively to +establish and define its relation to the high-school and the university. +Mr. Maurice Winter Moe, Instructor of English at the Appleton High +School, Appleton, Wisconsin, and one of our very ablest members, took +the first decisive step by organizing his pupils into an amateur press +club, using the =United= to supplement his regular class-room work. The +scholars were delighted, and many have acquired a love of good +literature which will never leave them. Three or four, in particular, +have become prominent in the affairs of the =United=. After +demonstrating the success of his innovation, Mr. Moe described it in +=The English Journal=, his article arousing much interest in educational +circles, and being widely reprinted by other papers. In November, 1914, +Mr. Moe addressed an assemblage of English teachers in Chicago, and +there created so much enthusiasm for the =United=, that scores of +instructors have subsequently joined our ranks, many of them forming +school clubs on the model of the original club at Appleton. Here, then, +is one definite destiny for our association: to assist the teaching of +advanced English in the high-school. We are especially eager for +high-school material, teachers and pupils alike. + +But there still remain a numerous class, who, though not connected with +school or college, have none the less sincere literary aspirations. At +present they are benefited immensely through mental contact with our +more polished members, yet for the future we plan still greater aids for +their development, by the creation of a systematic "Department of +Instruction," which will, if successfully established, amount +practically to a free correspondence school, and an "Authors' Placing +Bureau," which will help amateurs in entering the professional field. +Our prime endeavor is at present to secure members of high mental and +scholastic quality, in order that the =United= may be strengthened for +its increasing responsibility. Professors, teachers, clergymen, and +authors have already responded in gratifying numbers to our wholly +altruistic plea for their presence among us. The reason for the +=United's= success as an educational factor seems to lie principally in +the splendid loyalty and enthusiasm which all the members somehow +acquire upon joining. Every individual is alert for the welfare of the +association, and its activities form the subject of many of the current +essays and editorials. The ceaseless writing in which most of the +members indulge is in itself an aid to fluency, while the mutual +examples and criticisms help on still further the pleasantly unconscious +acquisition of a good literary style. When regular courses of +instruction shall have been superimposed upon these things, the +association can indeed afford to claim a place of honour in the world of +education. + + +ITS ENTRANCE CONDITIONS + +The only requirement for admission to the =United= is earnest literary +aspiration. Any member will furnish the candidate for admission with an +application blank, signed in recommendation. This application, filled +out and forwarded to the Secretary of the association with the sum of +fifty cents as dues for the first year, and accompanied by a +"credential," or sample of the candidate's original literary work, will +be acted upon with due consideration by the proper official. No +candidate of real sincerity will be denied admittance, and the applicant +will generally be soon rewarded by his certificate of membership, signed +by the President and Secretary. Papers, letters, and postal cards of +welcome will almost immediately pour in upon him, and he will in due +time behold his credential in print. (Unless it be something already +printed.) Once a member, his dues will be one dollar yearly, and if he +should ever leave the =United=, later desiring to join again, his +reinstatement fee will be one dollar. + + +ITS REPRESENTATIVES + +=The United Amateur Press Association= is anything but local in its +personnel. Its active American membership extends from Boston to Los +Angeles, and from Milwaukee to Tampa, thus bringing all sections in +contact, and representing every phase of American thought. Its English +membership extends as far north as Newcastle-on-Tyne. Typical papers are +published in England, California, Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, +Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, District of Columbia, New York, +and Rhode Island. + +In writing for entrance blanks or for further information concerning the +=United=, the applicant may address any one of the following officers, +who will gladly give details, and samples of amateur papers: Leo +Fritter, President, 503 Central National Bank Bldg., Columbus, Ohio; +H. P. Lovecraft, Vice-President, 598 Angell St., Providence, R. I.; Mrs. +J. W. Renshaw, Second Vice-President, Coffeeville, Miss.; William J. +Dowdell, Secretary, 2428 East 66th St., Cleveland, Ohio; or Edward F. +Daas, Official Editor, 1717 Cherry St., Milwaukee, Wis. Professional +authors interested in our work are recommended to communicate with the +Second Vice-President, while English teachers may derive expert +information from Maurice W. Moe, 658 Atlantic St., Appleton, Wis. Youths +who possess printing-presses are referred to the Secretary, who is +himself a young typographer. + + +ITS PROVINCE SUMMARIZED + + =If you are= a student of elementary English desirous of attaining + literary polish in an enjoyable manner, + + =If you are= an ordinary citizen, burning with the ambition to + become an author, + + =If you are= a solitary individual wishing for a better chance to + express yourself, + + =If you own= a printing-press and would like to learn how to issue a + high-grade paper, + + =If you are= a mature person eager to make up for a youthful lack of + culture, + + =If you are= a professor or teacher seeking a new method of + interesting your English class, or + + =If you are= an author or person of ripe scholarship, anxious to aid + your cruder brothers on their way, then + + YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE UNITED AMATEUR + PRESS ASSOCIATION. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Vice-President. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA + + VOLUME XIV GEORGETOWN, ILL., JANUARY, 1915. NUMBER 3 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +THE BADGER for January is the first number of a strikingly meritorious +and serious paper published by George S. Schilling. We here behold none +of the frivolity which spoils the writings of those who view amateur +journalism merely as a passing amusement. The Badger shows evidence of +careful and tasteful editorship, combined with a commendable artistic +sense in choice of paper and cover. + +The leading article, an essay on the minimum wage, is from the pen of +the editor, and shows both literary ability and a sound knowledge of +economics. "Sister to the Ox", by A. W. Ashby, is an excellent short +story whose strength is rather in its moral than in its plot. The +editorials are certainly not lacking in force, and seem well calculated +to stir the average amateur from his torpor of triteness and inanity. + +THE INSPIRATION for November is an "Official Number", containing the +work of none but titled authors. Rheinhart Kleiner contributes the +single piece of verse, a smooth and pleasing lyric entitled "Love +Again", which is not unlike his previous poem, "Love, Come Again". As an +amatory poet, Mr. Kleiner shows much delicacy of sentiment, refinement +of language, and appreciation of metrical values; his efforts in this +direction entitle him to a high place among amateur bards. + +One of the truly notable prose features of the magazine is Walter John +Held's delightful sketch of Joaquin Miller's home and haunts. This +artistic picture of Californian scenery exhibits a real comprehension of +the beauties of Nature, and stirs to an unusual degree the imagination +of the reader. Mr. Held's prose possesses a fluency and grace that bring +it close to the professional quality, and its few faults are far less +considerable than might be expected from the pen of a young author. +However, we must remark some rather awkward examples of grammatical +construction. The correct plural of "eucalyptus" is "eucalypti", without +any final "s", the name being treated as a Latin noun of the second +declension. "Slowly and dignified--it pursues its way" is hardly a +permissible clause; the adjective "dignified" must be exchanged for an +adverb. Perhaps Mr. Held sought to employ poetical enallage, but even +so, the adjective does not correspond with "slowly"; besides, the use of +enallage in prose is at best highly questionable. "This free and rank +flowers and brush" is another bad clause. But it is not well to dissect +the sketch too minutely. A youth of Mr. Held's ability needs only time +and continued practice to raise him to the highest rank in prose +composition. + +INVICTUS for January, the first number of Mr. Paul J. Campbell's new +individual paper, is one of those rare journals concerning which it is +almost impossible to speak without enthusiasm. Not one of its twenty-six +pages fails to delight us. Foremost in merit, and most aptly suited to +Mr. Campbell's particular type of genius, are the three inspiring +essays, "The Impost of the Future", "The Sublime Ideal", and "Whom God +Hath Put Asunder". Therein appears to great advantage the keen reasoning +and sound materialistic philosophy of the author. "The Sublime Ideal" is +especially absorbing, tracing as it does the expansion of the human mind +from a state of the narrowest and most violent bigotry to its present +moderate breadth. + +The three pieces of verse, "Inspiration", "The Larger Life", and "Down +in Mexico", are all of smooth construction and musical metre, though +not exhibiting their author's powers as well as his essays. "Down in +Mexico", a virile poem in Kipling's style, is unquestionably the best of +the three. + +Mr. Campbell's comments on amateur affairs are well-written and +entertaining, especially his reminiscent article entitled "After Seven +Years". + +OUTWARD BOUND for January is an excellent journal edited by George +William Stokes of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. It is gratifying to behold +such a paper as this, one of the links between America and the parent +country which the United is helping to forge. + +Herbert B. Darrow opens the issue with a short story entitled "A +Lesson". The tale is of conventional pattern, containing a sound though +not strikingly original moral. The language is generally good, except in +one sentence where the author speaks of "the vehicles in the street and +buildings about him". Surely he does not mean that the vehicles were in +the buildings as well as in the street. The use of the definite article +before the word "buildings" would do much toward dispelling the +ambiguous effect. + +"The Haunted Forest", a poem by J. H. Fowler, is almost Poe-like in its +grimly fantastic quality. We can excuse rather indefinite metre when we +consider the admirably created atmosphere, the weird harmony of the +lines, the judicious use of alliteration, and the apt selection of +words. "Bird-shunned", as applied to the thickets of the forest, is a +particularly graphic epithet. Mr. Fowler is to be congratulated upon his +glowing imagination and poetical powers. + +"A Bit o' Purple Heather", by Edna von der Heide, is a delightful piece +of verse in modified Scottish dialect, which well justifies the +dedication of the magazine to this poetess. + +Mr. Stokes' editorial, headed "Ships that Pass", sustains the nautical +atmosphere of his periodical. We wish he had given his thoughts a larger +space for expression. + +THE PIPER for December comes as a surprise to those who have known +Rheinhart Kleiner only as a master of metre, for he is here displayed as +the possessor of a pure and vigorous prose style as well. In this, the +opening number of his individual journal, Mr. Kleiner provides us with a +pleasing variety of literary matter; two serious poems, two rhymes of +lighter character, an essay on the inevitable topic of Consolidation, +and a brilliant collection of short editorials and criticisms. + +"A Carnation", which begins the issue, is an exquisite piece of +sentiment couched in faultless verse. The odd measure of the poem is one +peculiarly suited to the author's delicate type of genius; an iambic +line of only three feet. The other lyric, "Heart, Do Not Wake", is +likewise of excellent quality, though the succession of "again" and +"pain" in the first line might suggest to some ears an unnecessary +internal rhyme. + +"The Rhyme of the Hapless Poet" is very clever, and can be truly +appreciated by every author of printed matter. Perhaps the misfortune of +which the poet complains is the cause of the extra syllable in the first +line of the second stanza; we hope that the following is what Mr. +Kleiner intended: + + "I wrote a poem, 'twas a prize". + +Otherwise we are forced to believe that he pronounces "poem" as a +monosyllable, "pome". "My Favorite Amateur" is a good specimen of light, +imitative verse. + +The article on Consolidation is cynical in tone, but eminently sensible. +It is only too true that our greatest intellectual stimulus is found in +controversy and antagonism; we are really quite bellicose in our +instincts, despite the utterances of the peace advocates. + +Mr. Kleiner concludes his journal with a sparkling epigram on a rather +obvious though regrettable tendency in amateur circles. + +The Piper is in general a paper of satisfying merit, to whose future +issues we shall look forward with eagerness. + +THE RECRUITING FEMININE for 1914-1915 is a publication of unusual worth. +"The Rose Supreme," by Coralie Austin, is a delicate little poem in +which we regret the presence of one inexcusably bad rhyme. To rhyme the +words "rose" and "unclosed" is to exceed the utmost limits of poetic +license. It is true that considerable variations in vowel sounds have +been permitted; "come" makes, or at least used to make, an allowable +rhyme with "home", "clock" with "look", or "grass" with "place"; but a +final consonant attached to one of two otherwise rhyming syllables +positively destroys the rhyme. + +Mrs. Myra Cole's essay on "The Little Things of Life" is well written +and instructive. + +"The Dirge of the Great Atlantic", by Anne Vyne Tillery Renshaw, is a +grim and moving bit of verse, cast in the same primitively stirring +metre which this author used in her professionally published poem, "The +Chant of Iron". Mrs. Renshaw possesses an enviable power to reach the +emotions through the medium of written words. + +"Two Octobers--A Contrast", by Eloise N. Griffith, is a meritorious +sketch ending with the usual appeal for the cessation of the European +war. We fear that the author cannot quite realize the ambitious +passions, essential ingredients of human nature, which render necessary +a final decision. + +Miss Edna von der Heide, in an able article, rallies to the defense of +Mr. W. E. Griffin's now famous "Favorite Pastime". The Modern Lothario +is fortunate in having so competent and experienced a champion. However, +we cannot wholly endorse the sentiments of these excellent writers. The +statement that "all amateur journalists are flirts, more or less", is a +base and unwarranted libel which we are prepared completely to refute. + +"The Audience", by Mrs. Florence Shepphird, is a masterly defense of +those inactive amateurs whom we are all too prone to consider as +delinquent. It is indeed true that authors would be useless were it not +for some sort of a reading public. + +TOLEDO AMATEUR for December is a wholesome juvenile product. The +typography still leaves something to be desired, but the evidences of +care are everywhere visible, and we may reasonably expect to see it +improve from month to month, into one of the leading amateur papers. +Credentials form the keynote of the current issue, and a very promising +assortment of recruits are here introduced to the members of the United. +Miss Sandborn, who is fortunate enough to be one of Mr. Moe's pupils at +Appleton, contributes an interesting school anecdote, narrated in simple +fashion. Miss Thie gives information concerning the "Campfire Girls". +Some new members of adult years are also represented in this number. Mr. +Jenkins shows an admirable command of light prose, and will undoubtedly +prove one of the United's most entertaining writers. Misses Kline and +McGeoch both exhibit marked poetical tendencies in prose, the latter +writer having something of Mr. Fritter's facility in the use of +metaphor. Mr. Porter's editorials are refreshingly naive and unaffected. +His grammar is generally good, except in the one sentence where he +speaks of the Toledo Times. He should say, "the newspaper which has +given me much experience, and to whose publishers I owe a great deal of +experience gained." + +THE UNITED OFFICIAL QUARTERLY for November marks the beginning of a +laudable enterprise on the part of the official board. The magazine is +of artistic appearance in cover, paper, and typography alike, while the +contents show considerable care in preparation. + +Ira A. Cole's essay on "The Gods of Our Fathers" is the leading feature +and, though not of perfect perspicuity nor faultless unity, is none the +less noteworthy as a sincere expression of Pantheism. Mr. Cole keenly +feels the incongruity of our devotion to Semitic theological ideals, +when as a matter of fact we are descended from Aryan polytheists, and +his personification of the Grecian deities in the men of today is a +pleasing and ingenious conception. We are inclined to wonder whether the +author or the printer is to blame for rendering the poet Hesiod's name +as "Hesoid". + +The metric art is represented by three contributions. Paul J. Campbell's +lines on "The Heritage of Life" are smooth in construction and proper in +sentiment, though they are far from showing their author at his best. +Mr. Campbell is a supreme master of the philosophical essay and of +pointed, satirical prose, being a very "Junius" in bold, biting +invective; but is placed at something of a disadvantage in the domain of +conventional poetry. Rheinhart Kleiner and ourselves revel in heroic +couplets of widely differing nature. Our own masterpiece is in full +Queen Anne style with carefully balanced lines and strictly measured +quantities. We have succeeded in producing eighteen lines without a +single original sentiment or truly poetical image. Rev. Mr. Pyke, the +object of the verses, deserves a better encomiast. Mr. Kleiner, on the +other hand, uses an heroic metre of that softened type which was +evolved at the close of the eighteenth century from the disruption of +the more formal style. In this sort of verse the stiff, classic +expressions are discarded, and the sense frequently overflows from +couplet to couplet, giving the romantic poet a greater latitude for +expression than was possible in the old models. "Vacation" is not +distinguished by any strikingly novel idea, but is in general a very +clever piece of light work. The only substantial defect is in the eighth +line, where the word "resort" is so placed, that the accent must fall +wrongfully upon the first syllable. + +Leo Fritter's article on criticism is timely and sensible. As he justly +contends, some authorized amateur critics deal far too roughly with the +half-formed products of the young author, while most unofficial and +inexperienced reviewers fairly run mad with promiscuous condemnation. +The fancied brilliancy of the critic is always greatest when he censures +most, so that the temptations of the tribe are many. We are at best but +literary parasites, and need now and then just such a restraining word +as our counter-critic gives us. Mr. Fritter's style is here, as usual, +highly ornamented with metaphor. One slight defect strikes the +fastidious eye, but since split infinitives are becoming so common in +these days, we shall attend the author's plea for gentleness, and remain +silent. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman, Department of Public Criticism. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1915 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +THE BLARNEY STONE for November-December is dedicated to its contributors +and wholly given over to their work. "Did You Ever Go A-Fishin'?," by +Olive G. Owen, is a vivid poetical portrayal of that peculiar attraction +which the angler's art exerts on its devotees. While the whole is of +high and pleasing quality, exception must be taken to the rhyming of +"low" with itself at the very beginning of the poem. It may be that the +second "low" is a misprint for "slow", yet even in that case, the rhyme +is scarcely allowable, since the dominant rhyming sound would still be +"low". Miss Edna von der Heide, in "The Christmas of Delsato's Maria", +tells how an Italian thief utilized his questionable art to replace a +loss in his family. "To General Villa" is a peculiar piece of verse +written last summer for the purpose of defying those who had charged its +author with pedantry and pomposity. It has suffered somewhat at the +hands of the printer; "Intrepido" being spelled "Intrepedo", and the +word "own" being dropped from the clause "your own name can't write" in +the third line of the second stanza. Also, the first of the Spanish +double exclamation marks around the oath "Santa Maria" is right side up +instead of inverted according to Castilian custom. Having been hastily +written, the piece is wholly without merit. "Senor", in the second line +of the third stanza is placed so that the accent must fall erroneously +on the first syllable. The changes of time and revolutions have rendered +the last stanza sadly out of date. + +The issue is concluded with a beautiful editorial on "The Service With +Love", wherein is described the ideal spirit of brotherhood which should +pervade amateur journalism. We regret the two blank pages at the back of +the magazine, and wish that some talented Blarney had seen fit to adorn +them with his work. + +THE BROOKLYNITE for January is of unusual merit, fairly teeming with +features of a well-written and substantial character. + +The short story by Mrs. Carson is developed with admirable simplicity +and ease; the plot not too strained, and the moral not too pragmatically +forced upon the reader. The conversation, always a difficult point with +amateur authors, is surprisingly natural. + +Mrs. Adams' essay on ghosts displays considerable literary knowledge, +though the anecdote at the end is rather ancient for use today. We last +heard it about ten years ago, with a Scotchman instead of a negro +preacher as the narrator, and with the word "miracle" instead of +"phenomena" as the subject. + +Mr. Goodwin's "Cinigrams" are delightful, and we expect soon to hear the +author heralded as the Martial of amateur journalism. "Ford, Do Not +Shake", Mr. Goodwin's parody on Kleiner's "Heart, Do Not Wake", is +actually side-splitting. The metre is handled to perfection, and the +humor is extremely clever. + +"Consolidation", by George Julian Houtain, is a fair example of the +manner in which some of the less dignified National politicians try to +cast silly aspersions on the United. The elaborately sarcastic phrase: +"United boys and girls", seems to please its author, since he uses it +twice. There is unconscious irony in the spectacle of a National man, +once a member of the notorious old Gotham ring, preaching virtuously +against the "unenviable record" of the United. + +Mr. Stoddard's brief essay, composed at a meeting of the Blue Pencil +Club, is excellent, and his concluding quatrain regular and melodious. +We wish, however, that he would give us some more of the serious fiction +that he can write so splendidly, and which used several years ago to +appear in the amateur press. + +"Music Moods", by Charles D. Isaacson, is an emotional sketch of great +power and delicate artistry. Mr. Isaacson has an active imagination and +a literary ability which makes his readers see very vividly the images +he creates. + +Mrs. Houtain's poem shows great but as yet undeveloped talent. The +repeated use of the expletive "do" in such phrases as "I do sigh", or "I +pray and do pine", mars the verse somewhat. As Pope remarked and +humorously illustrated in his Essay on Criticism: + + "Expletives their feeble aid DO join." + +Mr. Ayres' jocose epic is clever and tuneful. The climax, or rather +anticlimax, comes quite effectively. + +Mr. Adams, in his brilliant verses entitled "Gentlemen, Please Desist", +exposes in a masterly way the fatuity of our loud-mouthed peace workers. +Miss Silverman's lines on the same subject are very good, but scarcely +equal in keenness of wit. It is all very well to "keep industry +booming", but industry cannot take the place of military efficiency in +protecting a nation against foreign aggression. + +As a whole, the January Brooklynite is the best number we have yet seen. + +THE COYOTE for March is not a revival of Ex-President Brechler's +well-known amateur journal of that name, but a semi-professional leaflet +edited by Mr. William T. Harrington, a rather new recruit. The leading +feature is a sensational short story by the editor, entitled "What +Gambling Did". In this tale, Mr. Harrington exhibits at least a strong +ambition to write, and such energy, if well directed, may eventually +make of him one of our leading authors of fiction. Just now, however, we +must protest against his taste in subject and technique. His models are +obviously not of the classical order, and his ideas of probability are +far from unexceptionable. In developing the power of narration, it is +generally best, as one of our leading amateurs lately reiterated, to +discard the thought of elaborate plots and thrilling climaxes, and to +begin instead with the plain and simple description of actual incidents +with which the author is familiar. Likewise, the young author may avoid +improbability by composing his earliest efforts in the first person. He +knows what he himself would do in certain circumstances, but he does not +always know very exactly what some others might do in similar cases. +Meanwhile, above all things he should read classic fiction, abstaining +entirely from "Wild West Weeklies" and the like. Mr. Harrington has a +taste for excitement, and would probably thrive on Scott, Cooper, or +Poe. Let him read the Leather Stocking Tales if he loves pioneers and +frontier life. Not until after he has acquired a familiarity with the +methods of the best authors, and refined his imagination by a perusal of +their works, should he make attempts at writing outside his own +experience. He will then be able to produce work of a quality which +would surprise him now. + +We are sorry to note that the Coyote's editorial columns are occupied by +a mere condensed copy of the United's standard recruiting circular. This +space might have been filled much more profitably with brief original +comments by the editor on the numerous exchanges which are listed in +another part of his paper. The paid advertising and subscription price +are not to be commended. Such things have no place in a truly amateur +paper. But continued membership in the United will doubtless fill Mr. +Harrington with the genuine amateur spirit, and cause The Coyote to +become a worthy successor to its older namesake. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for October is a modest but very promising little +paper, mostly composed of amateur notes and brief reviews. The editor +has interest in his work, and fluency in his language, foundations on +which a more elaborate structure may some day be erected. One feature +open to criticism is Mr. Dowdell's sudden change in his editorial column +from the usual first person plural to the third person singular. It +would be better to save "The Old Bear" and his interesting chat, for a +separate column. The typography of Dowdell's Bearcat is not perfect, but +may be expected to improve from issue to issue. + +THE EMISSARY for July is a National paper, but contains the work of +several United members. Of the publication itself we need not stop to +speak. Mr. Reading, though only eighteen years of age, is an editor and +printer of the highest grade, and has produced an issue which will be +long remembered in the amateur world. + +"Ausonius, the Nature-Lover", by Edward H. Cole, is a pleasing and +judicious appreciation of a later Latin poet, showing how a bard of the +decaying Roman Empire approached in certain passages the spirit of +modern romanticism. Mr. Cole's translated extracts are beautifully +phrased, and his comment upon the subject well exhibits his wide and +careful scholarship. Articles of this quality are rarely found in the +amateur press, and it will be interesting to note what effect their more +frequent appearance would have upon the literary tone of the +associations. + +"To Sappho", by Olive G. Owen, is a lyrical poem of much merit, yet +having a defective line. Why, we wonder, did the author see fit to leave +two necessary syllables out of the third line of the opening verse? + +"Lamb o' Mine", by Dora M. Hepner, is probably the most attractive bit +of verse in the magazine. The negro dialect is inimitable, and the +consoling spirit of the old black "mammy" fairly radiates from the +lines. Metrically, the piece is faultless, and we wish its author were a +more frequent contributor to the amateur journals. + +Miss von der Heide's two poems, "The Mill Mother", and "Greeting", +express admirably the sentiments of pathos and natural beauty, +respectively. Personally, we prefer "Greeting". + +Mr. Campbell's lines on "Huerta's Finish" are distinctly below the usual +standard of this talented writer's work. The metre is satisfactory, but +the humor is somewhat strained, and the pun in the last line based on a +mispronunciation of the old Indian's name. "Wehr-ta" is probably the +correct sound, rather than "Hurt-a". + +THE INSPIRATION for January must be judged strictly by its quality; not +its quantity. Pinkney C. Grissom, a very young amateur, cheers us +greatly with his article on "Smiles", while Miss von der Heide's +microscopic story, "A Real Victory", is indeed a literary treat. We +trust that the editor's threat of discontinuance may not be realized. + +THE KANSAN for July reaches us at a late date through the kindness of +Mr. Daas. In this magazine the Sunflower Club of Bazine makes its formal +debut, being ushered into amateur society by means of a pleasing and +well-written article from the pen of Miss Hoffman. The informal +"Exchange Comment" is a charitable and generally delightful department, +whose anonymity we rather regret. The Editorial pages are brilliant in +their justification of the United's sunny spirit, as contrasted with the +National's forbidding frigidity. + +THE OLYMPIAN for September-February well sustains the lofty traditions +of that magazine. Mr. Cole defines with considerable precision his +latest editorial policy and his true attitude toward the United, +revealing only the more strongly, however, his remarkable and +ineradicable prejudice against our association in favor of the National. +"Evening Prayer", by Rheinhart Kleiner, is a poem of great beauty and +real worth, couched in the alternating iambic pentameter and trimeter +which this poet seems to have made his own particular medium of +expression. Mr. Kleiner is rapidly assuming a very high rank among +amateur poets. + +"The Public Library", by Eloise N. Griffith, is a delightful and +appreciative reminiscence of quiet hours of lettered joy. + +"The Play Hour", consisting of two clever bits of metre dedicated to a +very young amateur, appears in a collection of short and sprightly +pieces signed by the Senior Editor himself. It is difficult, +nevertheless, to imagine the dignified Olympian Zeus as the author. +Though the second of these tuneful rhymes is apparently written in the +"simplified" spelling now so popular among certain amateur editors, a +closer inspection reveals the fact that the spelling is merely made +juvenile to suit the subject. After all, however, simplified spelling +and baby-talk are but little removed from each other. The Reviewers' +Club is in this issue represented by both editors, whose criticisms are +as usual just and illuminating. + +PROMETHEUS for September-November is a journal of unusual literary and +artistic value, edited by our poet-laureate, Miss Olive G. Owen. The +paper well lives up to its sub-title, "A Magazine of Aspirations Dreamed +into Reality". Mr. William H. Greenfield, the honored founder of the +United, claims the first page with a graceful Pindaric ode, "To My +Friend". "The Weaver of Dreams", by Edna G. Thorne, is a strikingly +well-written short story pervaded with a delicate pathos and expressing +a beautiful Christian philosophy. George W. Macauley, continuing to +concentrate his narrative powers on the Oriental tale, presents a +pleasing fable of old Moorish Spain, entitled "Ali Ahmed and the +Aqueduct". "The Ethics of Stimulation", by Maurice W. Moe, is an +eminently sound exposition of the relative evil of coffee and alcoholic +liquor as stimulants. "Partners", by H. A. Reading, exhibits great +ability on the part of its author, and is well calculated to arouse the +emotions of affectionate fathers and sons. + +Miss Owen's work, scattered here and there throughout the magazine, is +naturally of the very first quality. It is hard to choose between the +two poems "Atthis, I Love Thee", and "To Elizabeth Knopf", but we +incline slightly toward the former. The sketches "The Visitor" and "Some +Things I Like in New York" are both delightful in their artistic +simplicity. + +Critically analyzed, Prometheus may be classed as one of the most varied +and generally readable magazines of the season. + +RED LETTER DAYS for October is the first of an informal individual paper +by George W. Macauley, representing the most purely personal phase of +amateur journalism. This issue is almost completely devoted to an +animated account of the "Red Letter Days" spent by Mr. Macauley last +summer with the amateurs who stopped to see him while on their way to +the various conventions. The author's style is familiar and pleasing, +though rather careless, and slightly marred by defects in spelling and +grammar. For instance, we are told of the caution which he and Mr. +Stoddard exercised in changing seats in a boat, since neither "could +swim, had the boat DID the usual thing." We are sorry that Mr. Macauley +has adopted "simplified" spelling, but it is an evil in which he is by +no means alone. + +Red Letter Days, broadly considered, is a highly commendable paper; its +simplicity and lack of affectation are alone sufficient to win general +approval. + +STRAY LEAVES for May-June is another paper which has arrived late and +indirectly. In this publication we note with disapproval some evidence +of pseudo-professionalism, such as a subscription rate and +advertisements, but we trust that Miss Draper will ere long acquire the +perfect amateur spirit. "Love Proved To Be the Master of Hate", a short +story by Frances Wood, is handicapped by its unwieldy title. "The +Triumph of Love", or some heading of equal brevity, would better suit +it. Indications of immaturity are here and there perceptible, and at the +very beginning there is an inexplicable mass of hyphenation. However, +the tale is undeniably of considerable merit, conveying a pleasing +picture of jealousy overcome. + +The Editorial department might be improved by a judicious copying of the +best amateur models. The reference to anti-Suffrage and Suffrage as "two +vital questions" is hardly permissible; these are the two sides of only +one question. + +"Thinkers", by G. D., is really excellent as an essay, despite the +awkwardness of style. + +The Bermuda letter is highly interesting in its descriptions, but +painfully unscholarly in its phraseology. We here behold a case of real +talent obscured by want of literary polish, and hope that F. A. B., +whoever he or she may be, will profit by his or her connection with the +United. + +Stray Leaves has great possibilities, and will doubtless prove one of +the leading papers of amateur journalism in times to come. + +THE UNITED OFFICIAL QUARTERLY for January hardly lives up to the +artistic standard set by the first number, though it contains much +valuable matter. Herbert B. Darrow pleads very ably for the personal +acknowledgement of amateur papers received, while Paul J. Campbell +writes convincingly on the true value of amateur journalism. Pres. +Hepner, in the concluding article, opposes with considerable vigor the +Hoffman policy of issuing co-operative magazines. We are not, however, +inclined entirely to agree with our executive's conclusions. The +co-operative journal is practically the only adequate medium of +expression for the amateur of limited means, and most of the later +journals of this class, of which the Official Quarterly is itself an +example, have been of excellent quality. It is perhaps too much to +expect the average President, encumbered with a host of other duties, to +conduct this work, but in any event some suitable official should be +delegated for that purpose. The association should not lightly abandon a +policy which made the preceding administration one of the most brilliant +and successful in years. + +THE WOODBEE for January exhibits amateur journalism at its best. Mrs. +Anne Tillery Renshaw opens the magazine with a pleasing poem, dedicated +to the Woodbees, which combines simplicity of diction with regularity of +metre. Those decasyllabic quatrains are a decided departure from Mrs. +Renshaw's usual style, which explains the slight lack of fluency. The +last line of the third stanza contains a redundant syllable, a defect +which might be corrected by the removal of the article before the word +"louder", or by the poetical contraction of "sympathy" into "symp'thy". +The third line of the fourth stanza possesses only four feet. This may +be an intentional shortening to give rhetorical effect, yet it mars none +the less the symmetry of the verse. + +"The Spiritual Significance of the Stars", by Leo Fritter, is the +leading feature of the issue. The inspiring influence of astronomical +study on the cultivated intellect is here shown to best advantage. Mr. +Fritter traces the slow unfolding of celestial knowledge to the world, +and points out the divinity of that mental power which enables man to +discern the vastness of the universe, and to comprehend the complex +principles by which it is governed. In the laws of the heavens he finds +the prototype of all human laws, and the one perfect model for human +institutions. Mr. Fritter's essay is eminently worthy of a place among +the classics of amateur journalism. + +"A Morn in June", by Harriet E. Daily, is a short and dainty poem of +excellent quality, though marred by a reprehensible attempt to rhyme +"grass" with "task". As we mentioned in connection with another amateur +poem, a final consonant on one of two otherwise rhyming syllables +utterly destroys the rhyme. "We Are Builders All", by Elizabeth M. +Ballou, is a graceful allegory based on the temple of Solomon. Edna +Mitchell Haughton's character sketch, "The Family Doctor", is just and +well drawn. + +"A Dog for Comfort", by Edna von der Heide, is a meritorious poem of +gloomy impressiveness. We cannot quite account for the defective second +line of the fourth stanza, since Miss von der Heide is so able a +poetess. Perhaps it is intentional, but we wish the line were of normal +decasyllabic length. "My Grandmother's Garden", by Ida Cochran Haughton, +is a truly delightful bit of reminiscent description which deserves more +than one reading. "A Little Girl's Three Wishes", by Mrs. R. M. Moody, +is entertaining in quality and correct in metre. It is a relief to +behold amidst the formless cacophony of modern poetry such a regular, +old-fashioned specimen of the octosyllabic couplet. "Two Little +Waterwheels", by Dora M. Hepner, is an exquisite idyllic sketch. In the +second paragraph we read of a channel "damned" up by a projecting root +of a tree; which somewhat surprises us, since we did not know that +tree-roots are accustomed to use profane language. Perhaps the author +intended to write "dammed". + +The editorials are brief. In one of them it is stated that the paper is +submitted without fear to the critics AND Eddie Cole. In view of Mr. +Cole's scholarly and conscientious critical work, we hope that no +reflection upon him is there intended. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman, Department of Public Criticism. + + +MARCH + + Let other bards with nobler talents sing + The beauties of the mild, maturer spring. + My rustic Muse on bleaker times must dwell, + When Earth, but new-escap'd from winter's spell, + Uncloth'd, unshelter'd, unadorn'd, is seen; + Stript of white robes, nor yet array'd in green. + Hard blows the breeze, but with a warmer force. + The melting ground, the brimming watercourse, + The wak'ning air, the birds' returning flight, + The longer sunshine, and the shorter night, + Arcturus' beams, and Corvus' glitt'ring rays, + Diffuse a promise of the genial days. + Yon muddy remnant of the winter snow + Shrinks humbly in the equinoctial glow, + Whilst in the fields precocious grass-blades peep + Above the earth so lately wrapt in sleep. + What sweet, elusive odor fills the soil, + To rouse the farmer to his yearly toil! + Though thick the clouds, and bare the maple bough, + With what gay song he guides the cumbrous plough! + In him there stirs, like sap within the tree, + The joyous call to new activity: + The outward scene, however dull and drear, + Takes on a splendor from the inward cheer. + Prophetic month! Would that I might rehearse + Thy hidden beauties in sublimer verse: + Thy glorious youth, thy vigor all unspent, + Thy stirring winds, of spring and winter blent. + Summer brings blessings of enervate kind; + Thy joys, O March, are ecstasies of mind. + In June we revel in the bees' soft hum, + But March exalts us with the bliss to come. + + --H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA + + VOLUME XIV GEORGETOWN, ILL., MAY, 1915. NUMBER 5 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +THE BLARNEY STONE for January-February is replete with good literature, +amidst which may particularly be mentioned Arthur Goodenough's +harmonious poem, "God Made Us All of Clay". The theme is not new, but +appears advantageously under Mr. Goodenough's delicate treatment. + +M. W. Hart's short story, "The Redemption", is intended to portray a +righteous transformation from conventional false morality to true +Christian life, but in reality presents a very repulsive picture of +bestial atavism. The meaner character was not "reformed by mercy", but +merely withheld from wholesale vice by isolation. Mr. Hart is so plainly +in earnest when he relates this dismal tale as a sermon, that we must +not be too harsh in questioning his taste or condemning his free +standards of civilized morality; yet we doubt seriously if stories or +essays of this type should appear in the press, and especially in the +amateur press. Two or three technical points demand attention. The word +"diversified" on page 2 might better be "diverse", while "environment" +on page 4, could well be replaced by "condition" or "state". On page 5 +occurs the sentence "All intelligence ... were ... instinct". Obviously +the verb should be in the singular number to correspond with its +subject. Mr. Hart is developing a prose style of commendable dignity, +unusually free from the jarring touch of modern frivolity. + +H. B. Scott is proving himself a finished scholar and a thoughtful +editor in his conduct of The Blarney Stone; his able essay on +"Personality" is eminently worthy of more than one perusal. + +THE BOYS' HERALD for May presents us with a highly interesting account +of Robert Louis Stevenson's career as an amateur journalist, together +with a facsimile reproduction of the cover of "The Sunbeam Magazine", +Stevenson's hand-written periodical. The column of reminiscences, +containing letters from various old-time amateurs, is extremely +inspiring to the younger members, showing how persistently the amateur +spirit adheres to all who have truly acquired it. "Nita at the Passing +Show" is a witty and entertaining parody by Mr. Smith, illustrating the +theatrical hobby of Miss Gerner; one of the latest United recruits. The +Boys' Herald discharges a peculiar and important function in the life of +the associations, connecting the present with the past, and furnishing +us with just standards for comparison. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for December opens with a Christmas poem of great +beauty and harmonious construction from the pen of Dora M. Hepner. The +thoughts and images are without exception lofty and well selected, and +the only possible defect is the attempt to rhyme "come" with "run" in +the last stanza. Edward H. Cole's review of a recent booklet in memory +of Miss Susan Brown Robbins, a former amateur, is more than a criticism. +It is a rare appreciation of the bonds of mutual esteem and respect +which grow up amongst the congenial members of the press associations. +Mr. Cole is peculiarly well fitted to deal with his subject, and no +praise is needed beyond the statement that the review is characteristic +of him. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for January marks the metamorphosis of that periodical +into a newspaper. With youthful ambition, Mr. Dowdell is resolved to +furnish the United with the latest items of interest concerning +amateurs. While the general style of the paper is fluent and pleasing, +we believe that "Bruno" might gain much force of expression through the +exercise of a little more care and dignity in his prose. For instance, +many colloquial contractions like "don't", "won't", or "can't" might be +eliminated, while such slang phrases as "neck of the woods", "make +good", "somewhat off", or "bunch of yellow-backs" were better omitted. + +DOWDELL'S BEARCAT for March is notable for an increase in size. "A Visit +to Niagara Falls", by Andrew R. Koller, is an intelligent and animated +piece of description, which promises well for the development of its +author. What looseness of construction exists may be charged to youth. +"An Ambition and a Vision", by Nettie A. Hartman, is a neat and +grammatically written little sketch, probably autobiographical, +describing the evolution of an amateur. Greater cultivation of +rhetorical taste would improve Miss Hartman's style, and we are certain +that it possesses a fundamental merit which will make improvement an +easy matter. With the usual regret we observe an instance of "simple +spelling", which Mr. Dowdell, who does not fall into this vice himself, +has evidently overlooked in editing. The news items this month are +timely and vivacious, exhibiting "Bruno" at his best. + +THE LAKE BREEZE for March inaugurates a very welcome revival of the +United's foremost news sheet, now to be issued monthly. Mr. Daas is so +active an amateur, and so closely connected with the development of the +association, that his ably edited journal has almost the authority of an +official organ. + +The editorial entitled "Ashes and Roses" is a powerful and convincing +reply to a rather weak attack lately made on the United by a member of a +less active association. Mr. Daas uses both sense and sarcasm to great +advantage, leaving but little ground for his opponent to occupy. + +"The Amateur Press" is a well conducted column of contributed reviews, +among which Mrs. A. M. Adams' eulogy of Mrs. Griffith's essay in Outward +Bound is perhaps the best. "What is Amateur Journalism?", by "El +Imparcial", is a sketch of the various types of amateurs, with a +suggestion of the ideal type. While free from glaring defects, the essay +gives no really new information, and brings out no strikingly original +ideas. "Some Objections to Moving Pictures", by Edmund L. Shehan, +presents a strong array of evidence against one of the most popular and +instructive amusements of today. We do not believe, however, that the +objections here offered are vital. The moving picture has infinite +possibilities for literary and artistic good when rightly presented, and +having achieved a permanent place, seems destined eventually to convey +the liberal arts to multitudes hitherto denied their enjoyment. Mr. +Shehan's prose style is clear and forceful, capable of highly +advantageous development. + +LITERARY BUDS for April is the first number of a paper issued by the new +Athenaeum Club of Journalism, Harvey, Ill. Though the text of most of +the contributions has suffered somewhat through a slight misapprehension +concerning the editing, the issue is nevertheless pleasing and +creditable. + +"A la Rudyard", a poem by George A. Bradley, heads the contents. While +hampered by some of the heaviness natural to authors of school age, Mr. +Bradley has managed to put into his lines a laudable enthusiasm and +genuine warmth. The editorial column is well conducted, the second item +being especially graphic, though the "superdreadnought" metaphor seems +rather forced. Clara Inglis Stalker, the enthusiastic and capable +educator through whose efforts the club was formed, gives a brief +account of her organization, under the title "The History of an +Eight-Week-Old", and in a prose style of uniformly flowing and +attractive quality. "A Love Song", Miss Stalker's other contribution, is +a poem of delicate imagery and unusual metre. "Our Paring Knife", by +Gertrude Van Lanningham, is a short sketch with an aphorism at the end. +Though this type of moral lesson is a little trite, Miss Van Lanningham +shows no mean appreciation of literary form, and will, when she has +emerged from the "bud" stage, undoubtedly blossom into a graphic and +sympathetic writer. "Co-Education", by Caryl W. Dempsey, is an +interesting but only partially convincing article on a topic of +considerable importance. The author, being enthusiastically in favor of +the practice, enumerates its many benefits; yet the arguments are +decidedly biased. While the advantage of co-education to young ladies +is made quite obvious, it remains far from clear that young men receive +equal benefit. A desirable decline of cliques and hazing might, it is +true, result from the admission of women to men's universities, but the +young men would undoubtedly lose much in earnest, concentrated energy +and dignified virility through the presence of the fair. The experiment, +radical at best, has failed more than once. The style of this essay is +slightly wanting in ease and continuity, yet possesses the elements of +force. "The Traitor", by Agnes E. Fairfield, is a short story of +artistic development but questionable sentiment. The present fad of +peace-preaching should not be allowed to influence a writer of sense +into glorifying a socialistic, unpatriotic fanatic who refuses to uphold +the institutions that his fathers before him created with their toil, +blood, and sacrifice. It is not the right of the individual to judge of +the necessity of a war; no layman can form an intelligent idea of the +dangers that may beset his fatherland. The man is but a part of the +state, and must uphold it at any cost. We are inclined to wonder at Miss +Fairfield's mention of a king, when the name Phillipe La Roque so +clearly proclaims the hero a Frenchman. France, be it known, has been a +republic for some little time. "Penny in the Slot", by Vaughn Flannery, +possesses a humor that is pleasing and apparently quite spontaneous. We +should like to behold more of Mr. Flannery's efforts in this field. + +Viewed in its entirety, allowance being made for its present essentially +juvenile nature, Literary Buds may be regarded as a pronounced success. +That it will mature in consonance with the club which it represents is +certain, and each future issue can be relied upon to surpass its +predecessor. + +OLE MISS' for March, edited by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Renshaw, easily falls +into the very front rank of the season's amateur journals. In this +number Mr. Joseph W. Renshaw makes his initial appearance before the +members of the United, producing a very favorable impression with his +pure, attractive prose. The introduction, credited in another column to +Mr. Renshaw, is of graceful and pleasing character, recalling the +elusively beautiful atmosphere of the Old South which is too soon +passing away. + +"The Humble Swallow", an anonymous essay, praises with singularly +delicate art a feathered creature whose charms lie not on the surface. +The concluding paragraph, condemning the wanton slaughter of this winged +friend to mankind, is especially apt at a time of hysterical peace +agitation. While the well meaning advocates of peace call wildly upon +men to abandon just warfare against destructive and malignant enemies, +they generally pass over without thought or reproof the wholesale murder +of these innocent little birds, who never did nor intended harm to +anyone. "A Higher Recruiting Standard", by Mrs. Renshaw, is an able +exposition of the newer and loftier type of ideals prevailing in the +United. Our association has never lacked numbers, but would undoubtedly +be the better for an increased standard of scholarship such as is here +demanded. Mrs. Renshaw's work as a recruiter is in keeping with her +policy, and this, together with Mr. Moe's work amongst the English +teachers, seems destined to raise the United far above its lesser +contemporaries. "An A. J. Suggestion", by Mr. Renshaw, deals ingeniously +and logically with the always difficult problem of selecting a printer. +Though evidently written quite independently, it ably seconds Paul J. +Campbell's original suggestion in the UNITED AMATEUR. The advantages of +having one printer for all amateur work are many, and the well presented +opinions of Mr. Renshaw should aid much in securing this desirable +innovation. + +The poetry in Ole Miss' is all by Mrs. Renshaw, and therefore of first +quality. "Some One I Know" is a lightly amatory piece of tuneful rhythm. +"Night of Rain" gives a peculiarly pleasing aspect to a type of scene +not usually celebrated in verse. The only jarring note is the rather +mundane metaphor which compares the trees to a "beautiful mop". Though +Mrs. Renshaw holds unusual ideas regarding the use of art in poetry, we +contend that this instance of rhetorical frigidity is scarcely +permissible. It is too much like Sir Richard Blackmore's description of +Mount Aetna, wherein he compares a volcanic eruption to a fit of colic; +or old Ben Johnson's battle scene in the fifth act of "Catiline", where +he represents the sun perspiring. "Man of the Everyday" is a noble +panegyric on the solid, constructive virtues of the ordinary citizen, +portraying very graphically the need of his presence in a world that +heeds him but little. + +Considered in all its aspects, Ole Miss' is a notable contribution to +amateur literature, and one which we hope to see oft repeated. + +THE PASSING SHOW for February is the "second annual production" of an +excellent though informal little paper by Nita Edna Gerner, a new member +of the United, and the daughter of an old-time amateur. Miss Gerner is +an enthusiast on all matters pertaining to the theatre, and has +impressed her hobby very strongly on the pages of her publication. + +The dominant theme of the current issue is that of amateur romance, +exhibiting the press associations in the role of matrimonial agencies. +"The Twos-ers", by Edwin Hadley Smith, is a long list of couples who +became wedded through acquaintanceships formed in amateur journalism. +This catalogue, recording 26 marriages and engagements from the +earliest ages to the present, must have cost its author much time and +research. "A Romance of Amateur Journalism", by Edward F. Daas, is a +very brief statement of facts in unornamented style. "An 'Interstate' +Romance", by Leston M. Ayres, is more elaborate in treatment, and +displays an easy, colloquial style. + +The editorial column, headed "Through the Opera-Glasses", is bright and +informal. We note with regret that Miss Gerner has seen fit to adopt the +popular mutilated orthography of the day, a fad which we trust she will +discard in time. + +PEARSON'S PET for April is a bright and attractive little paper +throughout. "Burnin' Off" is a delightful specimen of dialect verse +which conveys a graphic image. We have never witnessed such an +agricultural function as Mr. Pearson describes, but can gain from his +clever lines a vivid idea of its weird impressiveness. "How I Met Elbert +Hubbard" is narrated in commendably easy prose, which same may be said +of the sketch or editorial entitled "Broke Loose Again". Mr. Pearson is +assuredly a competent exponent of amateur journalism's lighter and less +formal side. + +THE PIPER for May is as pleasing and meritorious as the first number, +both in its verse and its prose. "The Modern Muse", exhibiting Mr. +Kleiner in a somewhat humorous mood, is very forceful in its satire on +the altered ideals of the poetical fraternity, but is marred by the +noticeably imperfect rhyming of "garret" and "carrot", it is barely +possible that according to the prevailing New York pronunciation this +rhyme is not so forced as it appears, but we are of New England, and +accustomed to hearing the sounds more classically differentiated. The +defect is trivial at most, and mentioned here only because Mr. Kleiner +professes such a rigid adherence to the law of perfect rhyming. "The +Books I Used to Read" is the most delightful appreciation of juvenile +literature that has appeared in amateur journalism within our memory. +There are few of us in whom this poem will fail to arouse glad +reminiscences. "Spring" is a pleasing poem on a subject which though not +exactly new, is nevertheless susceptible to an infinite variety of +treatment. The four stanzas are highly creditable, both sentimentally +and metrically. Apart from the poetry, criticism seems the dominant +element in The Piper, and it would be difficult indeed to find a more +lucid and discerning series of reviews. Mr. Kleiner's unvarying advocacy +of correct metre and perfect rhyming is refreshing to encounter in this +age of laxity and license. Perhaps he is a little stern in his +condemnation of the "allowable" rhymes of other days, especially in view +of his recent "garret-carrot" attempt, yet we admit that there is much +to be said in favor of his attitude. + +THE PLAINSMAN for February contains a gruesome moral tale by Ricardo +Santiago, entitled "The Bell of Huesca". It is proper to remark here, +that an important sentence was omitted at the top of page 3. The passage +should read "'Sire, thy bell has no clapper!' 'Thy head shall be the +clapper'; said the king, and he sent him to the block" etc. Whatever may +be said of the aptness of the allegory, it is evident that Mr. Santiago +possesses the foundations of a pure and forcible prose style, and a +commendable sense of unity in narration and development of climax. This +story is undoubtedly worthy of its distinction as winner in The +Plainsman's post-card contest. + +THE SPECTATOR for June-July, 1914, though somewhat trite in title, is +the first number of a magazine notable for its quality. Walter John Held +is without doubt one of the most enterprising youths who have ever +joined the ranks of the association, though his views on paid +subscriptions and advertisements show his still imperfect acquisition of +the true amateur spirit. Mr. Held mistakes commercial progress for +artistic development, believing that the aim of every amateur in his +ascent toward professional authorship is to write remunerative matter. +He therefore considers a publisher's advancement to be best shown in +ability to extract an odd penny now and then from a few subscribers who +really subscribe only out of courtesy. We wish that Mr. Held might come +to consider amateur journalism in its higher aspects; as a medium for +improvement in literature and taste; an aid to the cultivation of the +art for its own sake in the manner of gentlemen, not of cheap tradesmen. +The selection of commercial prosperity as a goal will ruin any true +literary progress, and dull the artistic aspiration of the student as +soon as his mercenary instincts shall have been satisfied. Besides, +there is really no sound business principle in the so-called "sale" of +little papers. No youth could ever found or sustain a real magazine of +substantial price and more than nominal circulation. The various +ten-cents-a-year journals which some "amateurs" try to edit are no +logical steps toward actually professional publishing. The latter comes +only after literary skill has been attained, and literary skill must at +first be developed without regard for immediate monetary profit. + +But the merit of Mr. Held's work is none the less unusual. "The Frank +Friend" gives evidence of considerable critical ability, despite the +touch of arrogance, apologized for in a latter issue, shown in imperfect +appreciation of Mr. Edward H. Cole's phenomenally pure English. Mr. +Held, in his enthusiasm for "local color", forgets that all the +English-speaking world is heir to one glorious language which should be +the same from Cape Colony to California or New York to New Zealand. + +The only poem in this issue is Olive G. Owen's "How Prayest Thou?", a +piece of true sentiment and artistic beauty. The only fault is metrical; +the use of the word "trial" as a monosyllable. This tendency to slur +over words appears to be Miss Owen's one poetical vice, as exemplified +in the imperfect rendering of "jewel", "realness", and "cruelness" +elsewhere. + +THE SPECTATOR for August-September is marred by a resurrection of the +ever odious topic of Consolidation, but is otherwise of remarkable +merit. Elbert Hubbard, a professional advertiser and writer of +considerable popularity in certain circles, relates in an interesting +way the history of his most widely known literary effort. Mr. Hubbard's +prose style is direct and pointed, though rather abrupt and barren. "The +Midnight Extra", by Dora M. Hepner, is a humorous short story of unusual +merit, leading from a well created atmosphere of terror to a clever and +unexpected anticlimax. + +THE SPECTATOR for October-November contains much matter of very +substantial worth. "Creation", by Edward R. Taylor, Dean of the +University of California, is a beautiful bit of poetical sentiment and +harmonious metre, while "Half-past-twelve", by Miss von der Heide, is +likewise of great merit, both in thought and in structure. We have +lately been told that many apparent metrical defects which we have noted +are really no more than typographical errors, wherefore we will here +content ourselves by expressing the belief that the third line of the +second stanza of "Half-past-twelve" was originally written thus: + + "Across the dark their shrilling laughter floats". + +This rendering would do away with two seeming errors in the printed +copy. Olive G. Owen's "Battle-Prayer" is powerful in its appeal and +faultless in its construction. Of marked interest is "Divine +Self-Tower", a brief essay by Takeshi Kanno, the Japanese philosopher. +These words, in a tongue foreign to the writer, contain material for +more than a moment's thought. + +"The Frank Friend" is in this number as interesting a critic as before. +The passage of four months has tempered his undue severity; indeed, we +fear that he has in certain cases veered a little too far toward the +other extreme. The most ambitious review is that of "Pig-pen Pete", by +Elbert Hubbard, which gives Mr. Held an opportunity to display his +powers to great advantage. Of the two editorials, that entitled "Life" +is the more notable. Though its philosophy must necessarily be rather +artificial, considering Mr. Held's age, it is none the less a very +artistic and generally creditable piece of composition. The cover of The +Spectator would be less Hearst-like if the fulsome announcements were +eliminated. + +TOLEDO AMATEUR for April greets us in altered form, as a two-column +paper. Having given over the previous issue to the credentials of new +members, Mr. Porter very justly claims a goodly space for himself this +month, commenting ably on the affairs and activities of the +associations. + +"Camp Columbia", by James J. Hennessey, gives an interesting outline of +the American army routine in Cuba during the years 1907 and 1908. +"Observations of an Outsider", by Mrs. Porter, mother of the editor, +sheds light on amateur journalism from a hitherto unusual angle. We note +with pleasure that Toledo Amateur remains immune from the destructive +bacillus of deformed spelling. + +THE WOODBEE for April contains "The Cycle Eternal", a lucid +philosophical article by Samuel James Schilling, wherein is described +the dispersal and new combinations of the organic cells that compose the +body of mankind. By the perpetual reincorporation or reincarnation of +these cells in all other forms of matter, man is shown to be immortal, +and in the closest degree akin to every natural object surrounding him. +His outward form is merely one transient phase of a ceaseless +rearrangement of atoms; he is simply one aspect of infinite and eternal +Nature. Save for a few slight traces of rhetorical awkwardness, Mr. +Schilling's expository style is remarkable for its force and clearness; +the arrangement of the essay into Prologue, Body, and Epilogue is +especially favorable to comprehensiveness. + +While Mr. Schilling deals with mankind in the abstract, Miss Mabel +McKee, in "A Gift from the City", presents a concrete example of the +workings of the human heart. Her subject and treatment are not +startlingly original, but such themes lose very little when repeated in +pure English and attractive style. The story is distinctly pleasing, and +artistically developed throughout. + +A notable feature of the April Woodbee is Miss Hepner's fervent and +unstudied tribute to Mr. Leo Fritter, candidate for the United's +Presidency. Though the editorial is bestrewn with slang and distinctly +familiar in construction, it produces upon the reader an impression of +absolute sincerity and intensity of feeling which more elaborate +rhetoric might fail so forcibly to convey. Great as is the tribute, +however, we feel that Mr. Fritter is worthy of it, and must congratulate +him on having such support. Our own efforts for his election, appearing +in The Conservative, seem slight in comparison. The only verse in this +number is "My Shrine", by Harriet E. Daily. Though containing an attempt +to rhyme the words "time" and "shrine", this ethereal little poem of +spring is of great attractiveness. + +ZEPPELIN for March, a publication emanating from the pen of Mr. O. S. +Hackett of Canton, Pennsylvania, is scarcely as formidable and menacing +as its name, being distinctly friendly and fraternal in its general +tone. Mr. Hackett's prose has obviously not received its final +polishing, but it is so filled with aspiration, ambition, and enthusiasm +for the cause of amateur journalism, that it evidently requires only +such development as is obtainable from a closer study of grammar and +rhetoric, and a wider perusal of classic English literature. In one +matter Mr. Hackett seems to harbor a wrong impression. The name +"credential", in the language of the amateurs, is not applied to all +literary productions, but only to those which are submitted by the new +recruits as evidence of their educational fitness for membership in the +association they seek to enter. + +Joseph R. Schaffman's poem, "Think of Times Yet Coming", shows the same +innate sense of rhyme and metre that has distinguished his earlier work. +Only the conclusion lacks perfect ease and naturalness. Mr. Schaffman +has so far confined his Muse to optimistic opinions and moral maxims; we +hope that in the near future he will vary his efforts and attempt to +reflect more of his general reading in his poetry. The field is large +for one so happily favored with the gift of song. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ of the United Amateur Press Association + + VOLUME XV ELROY, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1915 NUMBER 2 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +_The Alabamian_ for Spring is a magazine unique amongst the publications +of the United. Devoted wholly to poetry, it contains some of the finest +short verses to appear this season, whilst even the crudest part of its +contents possesses some undoubted merit. The opening poem, a delightful +and ornate nature sonnet entitled "The Brook," professes to be a +translation from the Spanish, a claim borne out by the use of the word +"jasmine" in a place where the metre throws the accent anomalously on +the last syllable, as in the corresponding Spanish word "jazmin." The +sentiment of the whole is exquisite, and every image exhibits striking +beauty. It is to be regretted that both author and translator are +suffered to remain unrevealed. "A Poet's Songs," by Miss Owen, is a +powerful and well-written tribute to her fellow-bards both ancient and +modern. In Coralie Austin's "Tribute to Our President," dedicated to +Miss Hepner, we may discern the native talent of the true poet, slightly +obscured by the crudities of youth. The opening line appears to lack a +syllable, though this may be due only to the printer's omission of the +article before the word "laurel." In stanza 1, line 2, the trisyllabic +word "violets" appears as a dissyllable. This contraction is a rather +natural one, and must not be criticised too sternly. Indeed, there is +here a sort of middle zone betwixt error and allowableness, wherein no +decisive precepts may be laid down. Words like "radiant," "difference," +and so forth, are nearly always slurred into dissyllables, and we were +ourselves guilty of an even greater liberalism when we wrote that line +in "Quinsnicket Park" which reads: + + "The bending boughs a _diamond_ wealth amass." + +But in Miss Austin's second stanza occur two errors of graver nature. +"For only her alone" is a lamentably tautological line which requires +the omission either of "only" or "alone," and the substitution of some +word to carry on the flow of metre. The attempted rhyming of "alone" and +"home" is obviously incorrect. The dissimilar consonantal sounds render +agreement impossible. This "m-n" rhyme, as we may call it, is becoming +alarmingly frequent in careless modern verse, and must ever be avoided +with utmost diligence. In the third stanza we discover a marked error in +maintenance of number. We are told that the "years go" and that at "its +end" we will lay trophies, etc. This mistake may be obviated with ease, +by changing "years go" to "year goes." Miss Austin's poetic talent is +great, but shows the want of precise cultivation. "Mother o' Mine," by +Miss von der Heide, is a beautiful piece of anapaestic verse whose metre +and sentiment alike attract the reader. "Parsifal," by Miss Owen, shows +satisfactory depth of thought, but is rather modern in metre. From the +conformation of the last line of the first stanza, we are led to believe +that the word "viol" is contracted to a monosyllable, or, to make a +rather reprehensible pun, that "vi-ol" has here a "vile" pronunciation. +"Frailties of Life," by Editor Baxley, shows a remarkable system of +extended rhyming, coupled with a noticeable lack of metrical harmony. +Mr. Baxley's technique is such that we believe his improvement would be +best effected by a repeated perusal of the older poets, whose classical +exactitude of form would teach him rhythm by rote, so to speak. Let him +cultivate his ear for metre, even though forced to acquire it through +nonsensical jingles. We believe that many a child has obtained from his +"Mother Goose" a love of correct rhythm which has later helped him in +serious poetical efforts. "Paid Back," a short, powerful poem by Miss +von der Heide, concludes an excellent and praiseworthy issue. + +_Aurora_ for April is a delightful individual leaflet by Mrs. Ida C. +Haughton, exclusively devoted to poetical matters. The first poem, +"Aurora," is truly exquisite as a verbal picture of the summer dawn, +though rather rough-hewn metrically. Most open to criticism of all the +features of this piece, is the dissimilarity of the separate stanzas. In +a stanzaic poem the method of rhyming should be identical in every +stanza, yet Mrs. Haughton has here wavered between couplets and +alternate rhymes. In the opening stanza we behold first a quatrain, then +a quadruple rhyme. In the second we find couplets only. In the third a +quatrain is followed by an arrangement in which two rhyming lines +enclose a couplet, while in the final stanza the couplet again reigns +supreme. The metre also lacks uniformity, veering from iambic to +anapaestic form. These defects are, of course, merely technical, not +affecting the beautiful thought and imagery of the poem; yet the +sentiment would seem even more pleasing were it adorned with the garb of +metrical regularity. "On the Banks of Old Wegee" is a sentimental poem +of considerable merit, which suffers, however, from the same faults that +affect "Aurora." Most of these defects might have been obviated when the +stanzas were composed, by a careful counting of syllables in each line +and a constant consultation of some one, definite plan of rhyming. We +must here remark an error made in the typewritten copy of the original +manuscript, and reproduced in the finished magazine, for which, of +course, neither the poetical art of the author nor the technique of the +printer is to blame. In the second stanza, lines 6 and 7 were originally +written: + + "How oft I've essayed to be + A fisherman bold, but my luck never told." + +"Anent the Writing of Poetry" is a short prose essay, in which many +valuable truths are enunciated. Mrs. Haughton has evidently taken up the +poetic art with due seriousness, and considering the marked talent shown +in the first issue of her paper, we may justly expect to behold a +wonderfully rapid development in the near future. + +_The Badger_ for June fulfills the promise of January, and shows us that +the present year has given the United a new and serious periodical of +satisfying quality. In the "Introductory," Mr. George Schilling +discusses in lively fashion the latest topics of the day, thereby +atoning for our own tedious "Finale." "Ready Made," by Samuel J. +Schilling, is a thoughtful presentation of a lamentable fact. The evil +which he portrays is one that has rendered the masses of America almost +wholly subservient to the vulgar press; to be led astray into every sort +of radicalism through low tricks of sensationalism. Our own poetical +attempt, entitled "Quinsnicket Park," contains 112 lines, and spoils +three and a half otherwise excellent pages. It is probable that but few +have had the fortitude to read it through, or even to begin it, hence we +will pass over its defects in merciful silence. "What May I Own?" by +A. W. Ashby, is an able sociological essay which displays considerable +familiarity with the outward aspects of economic conditions. Mr. Ashby, +condemning the present system practiced in the coal and iron industries, +declares that on moral grounds he had rather be a brewer or purveyor of +liquor than a coal magnate or an ironmaster. In this statement, +evidently born of hasty fervour, Mr. Ashby forgets the basic character +of the two types of industry which he contrasts. Beneath the liquor +traffic lies a foundation accursed by decency and reason. The entire +industry is designed to pander to a false craving whose gratification +lowers man in the scale of mental and physical evolution. The distiller +and vendor of rum is elementally the supreme foe of the human race, and +the most powerful, dangerous and treacherous factor in the defiance of +progress and the betrayal of mankind. His trade can never be improved or +purified, being itself a crime against Nature. On the other hand, the +coal and iron industries are, in their fundamental forms, desirable and +necessary adjuncts to an expanding civilization. Their present evils are +wholly alien to their essential principles, being connected only with +the uneasy industrialism of this age. These faults are not confined to +coal-mining and iron-working, but are merely those possessed in common +with all great industries. Joseph E. Shufelt's article on the European +war is an amazing outburst of socialism in its worst form. The idea that +this shocking carnage is the result of a deliberate plot of the ruling +classes of all the belligerents to destroy their labouring element is +wonderfully ludicrous in its extravagance. We are led to infer that +those best of friends, der Kaiser and his cousins George and Nicholas, +are merely pretending hostility in order to rid themselves of a +troublesome peasantry! We do not know what Mr. Shufelt has been reading +lately, but we hope that time may modify his ideas to such a degree that +he will turn his dignified style and pure English to some object worthy +of their employment. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for July marks the beginning of an unprecedented era +of improvement in the quality of that periodical. Having settled down to +the conventional 5x7 size, it has now acquired a cover and an abundance +of pages which the editor informs us will never be lessened. The +influence of _The Olympian_ is perceptible in the _Bearcat_, and for his +taste in the selection of so worthy a model Mr. Dowdell is to be +commended. "When the Tape Broke" is the first article of the editorial +column, and well describes an example of collapsed activity which the +United should avoid. "A Runaway Horse," by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, is a +brief and vivid sketch of a fatal accident. "Tragedy," an exquisite poem +by Emilie C. Holladay, deserves very favourable notice for the delicate +pathos of its sentiment, and perfect adaptation of the measure to the +subject. We may discern a few traces of immaturity in the handling of +the metre and in the presence of "allowable" rhymes. As elsewhere +stated, we personally approve and employ the old-fashioned "allowable" +rhyming sounds, but the best modern taste, as exemplified in the United +by its Laureate, Rheinhart Kleiner, demands absolute perfection in this +regard. As to the metre, we respectfully offer the following amended +second stanza as an example. It is absolutely uniform with the original +first stanza, which, of course, furnishes the model. + + The summer rains + And autumn winds + The snowdrop find yet standing; + A petal gone, + And all alone, + Her tender roots expanding. + +The remarkable poetical talent exhibited by Miss Holladay deserves a +cultivation that shall invest her productions with a technique of the +highest order. "The Dignity of Journalism," by ourselves, may be taken +by the reader as a sort of supplement to this Department. We there +enumerate in the abstract some of the precepts which we shall here apply +to individual writers. There are several misprints, which we hope will +not be taken as evidences of our bad spelling, and at the conclusion the +word "even" is omitted from the phrase which should read: "the +necessity, or _even_ the expediency." "June Journals" is an excellent +set of short reviews which display very favourably the critical ability +of Mr. Dowdell. The concluding notes on "Amateur Affairs" are brief, but +very interesting. The general excellence of _Dowdell's Bearcat_ excuses +the instances of imperfect proof-reading, which fault we are sure will +soon be eliminated. + +_The Blarney Stone_ for March-April contains "Thoughts," a meritorious +poem by Chester P. Munroe. The tone of the piece is that of sentimental +and almost melancholy reverie, hence the metre is not quite uniform; but +a commendable absence of rough breaks lends a delightful flow to the +lines. We hope to behold further efforts from Mr. Munroe's pen. "The +Amateur's Creed," by Mrs. Renshaw, is written in the style of this +author's previous and now well-known poem, "A Symphony," and should do +much toward lifting the United upward to the highest literary ideals. + +_The Blarney Stone_ for May-June has cast off all undue seriousness, and +teems with light and attractive matter concerning the recent Rocky Mount +convention. Some of the displays of wit and cleverness are very striking +and entertaining indeed, while no page departs so far from merit that it +may be justly adjudged as dull. + +_The Boys' Herald_ for August is an issue of unusual elaborateness, +announcing the engagement of its editor, Mr. Edwin Hadley Smith, and +Miss Nita Edna Gerner of New York. Excellent portraits of the happy +couple follow the formal announcement, and Miss Gerner, now Associate +Editor, describes in an excellent prose style the romance which +culminated in the engagement. "Gerneriana," consisting mainly of a +reprint from an earlier issue, is an interesting account of the late +Richard Gerner, an old-time amateur, and father of the prospective +bride. This article is well supplemented by the reproductions of parts +of old amateur papers which adorn the back cover of the magazine. The +remainder of _The Boys' Herald_ is wholly statistical, dealing with the +amateur career of Mr. Smith. Few members of the association could +produce superior records of activity. + +_The Brooklynite_ for April maintains the high standard set by the +previous number. "A Miracle," the opening poem, was composed by Alice L. +Carson during the course of a meeting of the Blue Pencil Club, yet +exhibits all the grace and harmony expected in a carefully planned and +laboriously polished work. "Spring Thoughts," by A. M. Adams, is a +humorous prose masterpiece by the National's new Critic. Seldom is the +amateur press favoured with such a well-sustained succession of +brilliant epigrams. Miss Owen's "Ode to Trempealeau Mountain" is a noble +specimen of heroic blank verse, containing some very striking +antithetical lines. The title, however, is a misnomer, since a true ode +is necessarily of irregular form. "Some Late Amateur Magazines," by +W. B. Stoddard, is a series of brief, informal reviews. As a critic, Mr. +Stoddard shows considerable discernment, though having a rather +unpleasant air of conscious superiority in certain places. A little more +stateliness of style would add to the force of his criticisms. "Spring" +reveals Rheinhart Kleiner in his favourite domain of amatory verse. Mr. +Kleiner's tuneful numbers and pure diction render his poetry ever a +delight. "Rebellion," by Miss von der Heide, is a metrically perfect +piece of verse whose artistry is marred only by the use of the +unpoetical philosophical term "subconscious" instead of "unconscious." + +_The Brooklynite_ for July is of especial interest as the first paper to +print an account of the Rocky Mount convention. This description, from +the facile and versatile pen of Miss von der Heide, is of distinctly +informal character, yet is none the less interesting as an animated +chronicle of an enjoyable event. Rheinhart Kleiner's account of the +National convention is more dignified, and may be considered as a model +for this sort of composition. Mr. Kleiner shines as brightly in prose as +in verse, and each day surprises us with revelations of excellence in +various dissimilar departments of literature. + +_The Conservative_ for July is notable for Mr. Ira Cole's delightfully +pantheistic poem, "A Dream of the Golden Age." The unusual poetic genius +of Mr. Cole has been revealed but recently, yet the imaginative +qualities pervading some of his prose long ago gave indications of this +gift. The pantheistic, Nature-worshipping mind of our author lends to +his productions an unique and elusive atmosphere which contrasts very +favourably with the earthy tone of some of our less fanciful bards. +Metrically, Mr. Cole adopts instinctively the regular, conservative +forms of a saner generation. In this specimen of heroic verse he +inclines toward the practice of Keats, and does not always confine +single thoughts to single couplets in the manner of the +eighteenth-century poets. We believe that Mr. Cole is commencing a +successful career as a United poet, and await the day when he shall be +accorded the honor of a laureateship. + +_The Coyote_ for July reveals a wonderful improvement over the March +number, both in the literary quality of its contributions and in general +editorial excellence. Never before have we seen the perfect amateur +spirit acquired so quickly as in Mr. Harrington's case. "Night Fancies," +by Helen H. Salls, is a sonnet of exceptional power and artistry, whose +faultless metre is equalled only by its bold and striking images. Amidst +this profusion of excellent metaphor, it is difficult to select +individual instances for particular praise, but we might commend +especially the passage: + + "... the stars still keep + Afloat like boats that black sky-billows ride." + +Miss Salls is clearly an amateur poet of the first rank, and it is to be +hoped that she will be a liberal contributor to United magazines. "The +Rebirth of the British Empire," by William T. Harrington, is a clear and +concise exposition of the virtues whereby Old England maintains her +proud position as Mistress of the Seas, and chief colonial empire of the +world. The style of the essay is admirable, and well exhibits the +progressive qualities of Mr. Harrington. "An Ideal," by Nettie Hartman, +is a short poem of pleasing sentiment and harmonious metre. The notes on +amateur affairs are interesting and well composed, revealing Mr. +Harrington's increasing enthusiasm for the cause. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for May is another striking illustration of the +improvement which can affect a paper within a very short time. Since +last October Mr. Dowdell has been progressing swiftly toward +journalistic excellence, and even this cleverly conceived and uniquely +shaped issue fails to mark the limit of his ambition. "Knowest Thou?" by +Mrs. Renshaw, is an expressive tribute to a nation whose recent infamies +can never wholly becloud its rugged virtues. "With Nature I Rejoice" is +probably the best poem which Joseph R. Schaffman has yet written. As his +remarkable talent matures, the didactic element in his verse is +gradually giving way to the more purely poetic, and this latest effort +is one of which he may be justly proud. Concerning Mr. Dowdell's own +spirited prose, we need only repeat the previous suggestion, that a +little less slang would add much to its force and dignity. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for May 26 contains another poem by Mrs. Renshaw +whose national tone is not likely to be popular just now outside the +country to which it refers; in fact, Editor Dowdell has deemed it wise +to make an apologetic statement concerning it. However, if we call "Ein +Mann" Col. Theodore Roosevelt, and shift the scene to San Juan Hill, we +may be able to appreciate the real patriotism delineated. + +_Dowdell's Bearcat_ for June is wholly given over to notes of the +amateur world. Mr. Dowdell is indeed a pleasing young writer, and leaves +none of his topics without a characteristic touch of light adornment. + +_The Lake Breeze_ for April is distinguished by James L. Crowley's poem +entitled "April," a brief lyric of marked merit, highly expressive of +the season. "Writing Poetry," an essay by Dora M. Hepner, is a clear and +tasteful analysis of the poet's art and inspiration. "The Norwegian +Recruit," a dialect monologue by Maurice W. Moe, is the leading feature +of this issue. This exquisite bit of humor, recited by Mr. Moe at the +United's 1913 convention, is a sketch of rare quality. "The Amateur +Press," now firmly established as a column of contributed reviews, is +this month of substantial size and fair quality. It is needless to say +that the news pages are interesting, and that the paper as a whole well +maintains the high reputation it has ever enjoyed. + +_The Lake Breeze_ for June apparently opens an era of unprecedented +improvement, being of distinctly literary rather than political nature. +The plea for a Department of Instruction is a just one, and ought to +meet with response from some of our pedagogical members. "Broken Metre," +by Mrs. Renshaw, is an attempt at defending the popular atrocities +committed in the name of freedom by the modern poets. While the article +is superficially quite plausible, we feel that the settled forms of +regular metre have too much natural justification thus to be disturbed. +The citation of Milton, intended to strengthen Mrs. Renshaw's argument, +really weakens it; for while he undoubtedly condemns _rhyme_, he laments +in the course of this very condemnation the _lame metre_ which is +sometimes concealed by apt rhyming. "Some Views on Versification," by +Clara I. Stalker, is an essay written from a sounder and more +conservative point of view. The middle course in poetical composition, +which avoids alike wild eccentricities and mechanical precision, has +much to recommend it, and Miss Stalker does well to point out its +virtues. However, we do not see why even the few irregularities which +are here said to be inevitable, cannot be smoothed out by the bard +without destroying the sense of his poetry. "Disappointment," by Mrs. +Maude K. Barton, is a clever piece of light verse whose sprightly humour +makes up for its slight metrical roughness. The imperfect but allowable +rhyming of "bear" and "appear" in the first stanza is entirely correct +according to the old-time standards which we ourselves follow, but we +fear that the delicate ear of a precise metrical artist like Rheinhart +Kleiner would object to its liberalism. "The Amateur Press" is +distinguished by an excellent review from the pen of Mrs. Renshaw. The +style is satisfactory, and the criticism just, making the whole well +worthy of the prize book it has secured for its author. "'Pollyanna,' +the Glad Book" is a meritorious and entertaining review by Mrs. +Griffith. "Hope," by Marguerite Sisson, is commendable for its use of +that noble but neglected measure, the heroic couplet. Mr. Daas' +concluding editorial, "Literature and Politics," is admirable for its +concise exposition of the United's new ideals, and its masterly +refutation of the common fallacy that political quarrels are necessary +to stimulate activity in the press associations. + +_The Looking Glass_ for May is a journal unique in purpose and quality. +Edited by Mrs. Renshaw in behalf of her many gifted recruits, it reveals +a condition absolutely unexampled; the acquisition by one member of so +many high-grade novices that a special publication is required properly +to introduce them to the United. "To a Critic of Shelley," by Helen H. +Salls, is a long piece of beautiful blank verse, marred only by one +accidental rhyme. Miss Salls is evidently one of those few really +powerful poets who come all too seldom into Amateur Journalism, +startling the Association with impeccable harmony and exalted images. +The present poem grows even more attractive on analysis. The diction is +of phenomenal purity and wholly unspoiled by any ultra-modern touch. It +might have been a product of Shelley's own age. The metaphor is +marvellous, exhibiting a soul overflowing with true spirituality, and a +mind trained to express beautiful thought in language of corresponding +beauty. Such unforced ornateness is rarely met in the domain of amateur +poetry. We feel certain that Miss Salls has already become a fixed star +in the empyrean of the United. Exalted poetry of quite another type is +furnished by the work of our new Director, Rev. Frederick Chenault, +whose two exquisite lyrics, "Birth" and "The Sea of Somewhere," appear +in this issue. With little use of formal rhyme and metre, Mr. Chenault +abounds in delicate conceptions and artistic renditions. +"Retrospection," by Kathleen Baldwin, is likewise a poem of high order, +and of fairly regular metre, evidently following comparatively recent +models in technique. "The Faithful Man," by I. T. Valentine, shows +growing poetical talent, but is cruelly injured by the anticlimactic +line. Not that there is any anticlimax of sentiment, but the colloquial +mode of expression shocks the reader who has been perusing the more +dignified lines which go before. "The Stonework of Life" is an excellent +prose sermon by Joseph Ernest Shufelt, which displays great ability in +the field of metaphor and allegory. Mr. Shufelt possesses an admirable +style, unusually well fitted for didactic matter of this sort; indeed, +it is regrettable that he should ever depart from such congenial themes +and turn to the wild sensationalism which he shows in _The Badger_. In +demonstrating the beauties of morality and religion, he has few +superiors, and a task so appropriate to his genius ought to claim his +whole attention. True, his thoughts may follow strange courses in their +quest for truth and beauty, but were he always to curb them within the +bounds of probability and conservatism, as here, he would never lose the +confidence of his public, as he has done with his strange war theories. +"The Autocracy of Art," by Anne Vyne Tillery Renshaw, is the leading +article of the magazine. Herein the author proclaims the supremacy of +spiritual utterances over all restrictions created by the mind, and +urges the emancipation of the soaring bard from the earthly chains of +rhyme and metre. That the inward promptings of the poetic instinct are +of prime value to the poet, few will dispute; but that they may give +final form to his soul's creations without some regulation by the +natural laws of rhythm, few will agree. The metric sense lies far deeper +in the breast of man than Mrs. Renshaw is here disposed to acknowledge. +After this article, the perfectly regular stanzas of "Fellow Craftsman," +_by the same author_, are refreshing. The typography and form of _The +Looking Glass_ leave something to be desired, but the riches within make +ample compensation for outward crudity. + +_The New Member_ for May, edited by William Dowdell, contains but one +credential, yet doubtless paves the way for a resumption of the +enterprise so ably conducted by Miss Hoffman last year. "Melancholy," a +poem by I. T. Valentine, shows traces of the beginner's crudeness, yet +has about it a quality which promises much for the future of the poet. +"Lock-Step Pete," by Miss von der Heide, is an unusual poem with a +thoughtful suggestion embodied in its concluding stanza. + +_The New Member_ bound with the May _Official Quarterly_ is a model that +should henceforth be followed as the nearest approach to perfection yet +beheld. Credentials, lists of prospective members, news of recruits, and +accounts of local clubs are here given in just and pleasing proportion. +"Bluets and Butterflies," by Carolyn L. Amoss, is a poem of great +delicacy and ethereal atmosphere. The solitary, tiny flaw is the +attempted rhyming of "Miss" and "yes." "War in America," by Annette E. +Foth, is a pleasant juvenile story. E. Ralph Cheyney's extract from his +essay on "Youth" is in many ways remarkable, and shows us that we have +another recruit of choice quality. His rather peculiar ideas are well +expressed, though their soundness is quite debatable. A few abnormal +characters like Byron and Shelley doubtless experienced all the +adolescent phenomena which Mr. Cheyney describes, but we believe that +the average youth is a copyist, and for the most part reflects his +environment. Radicalism and novel ideas arise just as much from blase, +elderly cynics, who are tired of sane and sober conservatism. We have +been reflecting on Life for about twenty years, ever since we were five, +and have consistently believed that the wisdom of the ancient sage is +the true wisdom; that Life is essentially immutable, and that the +glorious dreams of youth are no more than dreams, to be dissipated by +the dawn of maturity and the full light of age. "Flowers on the Grave," +a poem by J. D. Hill, has a commendable sentiment, and is remarkable for +its possession of only one repeated rhyming sound. Whether or not the +latter feature be monotonous, all must admit that the versification is +attractive. "We Are All Desperate!" is a striking philosophical fragment +by Melvin Ryder, which first appeared as an editorial in the _Ohio State +Lantern_. The conjectures are plausible, and the precepts sound. The +news items in this paper are all fresh and interesting, concluding an +issue uniformly excellent. + +_The Pippin_ for May displays very favourably the high-school club whose +founding and maintenance are due entirely to the genius of Mr. Maurice +W. Moe. "The Coasters," by Esther Ronning, is the only poem in the +issue, but its quality atones for the absence of other verse. The +pleasures and perils of coasting are here portrayed with wonderfully +graphic pen, whilst the metre is, so far as technical correctness is +concerned, all that might be desired. However, we wish that Miss +Ronning were less fond of unusual rhyming arrangements. The lines here +given are of regular ballad length. Were they disposed in couplets, we +should have a tuneful lay of the "Chevy Chase" order; but as it is, our +ear misses the steady couplet effect to which the standard models have +accustomed us. "With the Assistance of Carmen" is a clever short story +by Gladys Bagg, derived from the same plot nucleus by Mr. Moe which +likewise evoked Miss Moore's story in the March UNITED AMATEUR. The +structure of the narrative is excellent, but we do not like the use of +the plebeian expression "onto" on page 3. There is properly no such word +as "onto" in the English language, "upon" being the preposition here +required. Webster clearly describes "onto" as a low provincialism or +colloquialism. "Little Jack in Fairyland," by Ruth Ryan, is a well +written account of a dream, with the usual awakening just as events are +coming to a climax. The style is very attractive, and the images +ingenious. "Getting What You Want," by Mr. Moe, is a brief one-act farce +illustrating the subtle devices whereby the sharp housewife bewilders +the good-natured landlord into the granting of extraordinary favours. +Had the heroine kept on to still greater lengths, she might have secured +an entire new house. The present number of _The Pippin_ is, save for the +absence of photographs, quite as pleasing as the previous number. We +trust that Mr. Moe's editorial prophecy may be fulfilled, and that we +may soon behold another issue which shall make us familiar with the new +faces brought by revolving time into the congenial Appleton circle. + +_The Plainsman_ for July is the best number yet issued, the two +eleventh-hour contributions being very cleverly introduced. "Revised +Edition," by Mrs. Jeanette Timkin, is a versified piece of keen humour +and good metre, well illustrating the opening of the third or aerial +element to human travel. "To Bazine, Kansas" is a sprightly prose +account by James J. Hennessey of his journey from Boston to Bazine. "An +Incident of Early Days," by Mrs. John Cole, is presented in the same +attractive reminiscent style which makes her article in _The Trail_ so +readable and interesting. We are here told of the times when herds of +bison were common sights, and are given a pleasing account of the +formation of the Bazine Sunday-School. The articles by Mr. and Mrs. Ira +Cole show their appreciation of the amateurs who have visited them, and +conclude an issue of thoroughly entertaining quality. + +_The Providence Amateur_ for June introduces to the United another local +press club of great enthusiasm. Owing to some unauthorized omissions +made by the printer, this first issue is scarcely representative of the +club's entire personnel, but that which still remains affords, after +all, a fair index to the character and ideals of the new organization. +The editorials by John T. Dunn are both frank and fearless. We detest a +shifty club whose allegiance wavers betwixt the United, the Morris +Faction and the National, and so are greatly pleased at Mr. Dunn's manly +and open stand for the one real United. The editor's opinions on +acknowledgment of papers is certainly just from one point of view, +though much may be said for the opposite side. When an amateur journal +has been prepared with unusual labour, and mailed conscientiously to +every member of the Association, the publisher has substantial reason +for resenting any marked display of neglect. We do not blame _The +Blarney Stone_ for its attitude on this question, and shall probably +follow its custom by mailing the next _Conservative_ only to those who +have acknowledged one or both of the previous issues. + +_The Reflector_ for June is a British amateur magazine, transplanted on +American soil by its able editor, Ernest A. Dench. "Crossing the +Atlantic in War Time" is a pleasing account of Mr. Dench's voyage from +Liverpool to New York. "Chunks of Copy" forms the title of an excellent +though informal editorial department, while "A Brain Tank at Your +Service" teems with witticisms concerning various members of the Blue +Pencil Club. This magazine has no connection with any former journal of +like title, but seems likely to prove a worthy successor to all its +namesakes. + +_The Trail_ for Spring is a new and substantial illustrated magazine of +20 pages and cover, issued by our well-known Private Critic, Mr. Alfred +L. Hutchinson. At the head of the contents are the reminiscences of the +editor, which prove extremely interesting reading, and which are well +supplemented by the lines entitled "The Tramp Printer." Also by Mr. +Hutchinson is the well written and animated account of Mr. Nicholas +Bruehl, whose artistic photographical work adorns the inside covers of +this issue. "Pioneer Life in Kansas," by Mrs. John Cole, is a +delightfully graphic picture of the trials and adventures of the early +settlers in the West. Being written from actual personal experience, the +various incidents leave a lasting impression on the mind of the reader, +while a pleasing smoothness of style enhances the vividness of the +narrative. "Memory-Building" is the first of a series of psychological +articles by our master amateur, Maurice W. Moe. It is here demonstrated +quite conclusively, that the faculty of memory is dependent on the +fundamental structure and quality of the brain, and may never be +acquired or greatly improved through cultivation. "Evening at Magnolia +Springs," by Laura E. Moe, exhibits the same type of literary talent +that her gifted husband possesses; in fact, this sketch may be compared +with Mr. Moe's well-known "Cedar Lake Days." The use of trivial +incidents gives an intense naturalness to the description. "Caught," by +Ruth M. Lathrop, is a brilliant short story whose development and climax +are natural and unforced. Fiction is generally the amateur's weakest +spot, but Miss Lathrop is evidently one of the few shining exceptions. +So thoroughly excellent is _The Trail_, that we hope to see not merely a +second issue, but its permanent establishment as one of the United's +leading magazines. + +_The Tryout_ for June belongs to the National, but contains much matter +by United members. "Tempora Mutantur," a very meritorious short story by +Marguerite Sisson, affords an illuminating contrast between the solid +culture of 1834 and the detestable shallowness of the present time. This +prevailing frivolity and unscholarliness is something which the United +is seeking to remedy, and we are thankful indeed for stories such as +this, which expose modern levity in all its nauseousness. It is evident +that Miss Sisson is emulating the appreciative Anne Carroll of 1834, +rather than her obtuse and indifferent descendant. "The District +School," by Edna R. Guilford, describes very vividly the many petty +annoyances that beset the average teacher. While the picture is +extremely well presented as a whole, certain roughnesses of diction +nevertheless arrest the critical eye. "Onto," in the first paragraph, is +a provincialism which should be superseded by "to." Further on we hear +the teacher admonishing a youth to wash up some ink, and "wash it +_good_"! Would a _teacher_ thus express herself? "Well" is the adverb +here needed. "Too tired _to hardly stand_" is a seriously ungrammatical +phrase, which should read: "almost too tired to stand." We note that one +of the pupils' names is given as "Robert Elsmere." While it may not be +essentially a fault thus to use the name of a famous character of +fiction, we feel that the exercise of a little more originality might +have avoided this appropriation of Mrs. Humphry Ward's celebrated hero. +Miss Guilford's fundamental talent is unmistakable, but needs +cultivation and practice before it can shine out in full splendour. + +_The Tryout_ for July contains "Cripple George," a beautiful short story +by Mrs. Rose L. Elmore, commendable alike in plot and technique. "A Day +in the Mountains," by Harry H. Connell, is a very interesting sketch +whose style exhibits considerable promise. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for March contains a literary department which will, +we hope, remain as a regular feature. "Tobias Smithers, Leading Man" is +Miss Ellen Moore's prize-winning attempt at constructing a story from a +very brief nucleus given by Mr. Moe. Miss Moore here exhibits a facile +pen and a just appreciation of humorous situations. "Ghosts," by Mrs. +Renshaw, well illustrates the vague superstitions of the negroes, those +strange creatures of darkness who seem never to cross completely the +threshold from apedom to humanity. "March," by ourselves, is a gem of +exquisite poesy, etc., etc., which we have here praised because no one +else could ever conscientiously do so. Line 10 apparently breaks the +metre, but this seeming break is due wholly to the printer. The line +should read: + + "The longer sunshine, and the shorter night." + +"The Unknown Equation" is a love story by Mrs. Florence Shepphird. +Though the major portion is quite polished and consistent, we cannot but +deem the conclusion too abrupt and precipitate. Perhaps, being a frigid +old critic without experience in romance, we ought to submit the +question to some popular newspaper column of Advice to the Lovelorn, +inquiring whether or not it be permissible for a young lady, after only +a few hours' acquaintanceship with a young gentleman, to encourage him +to "put his arm around her yielding form and kiss her passionately"!! + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for May is graced by "Reveille," a powerful and +stirring poem written in collaboration by our two gifted bards, Mr. +Kleiner, the Laureate, and Miss von der Heide. "Nature and the +Countryman," by A. W. Ashby, is an iconoclastic attack on that love of +natural beauty which is inherent in every poetical, imaginative and +delicately strung brain. In prose of faultless technique and polished +style, Mr. Ashby catalogues like a museum curator every species of flaw +that he can possibly pick in the scenes and events of rustic life. But +while the career of the farmer is assuredly not one of uninterrupted +bliss, it were folly to assert that Nature's superlative loveliness is +not more than enough to compensate for its various infelicities. No mind +of high grade is so impervious to aesthetic emotion that it can behold +without admiration the wonders of the rural realm, even though a vein of +sordid suffering ran through the beauteous ensemble. Of all our personal +friends, the one who most adores and loves to personify Nature is a +successful farmer of unceasing diligence. Mr. Ashby errs, we are +certain, in taking the point of view of the unimaginative and +unappreciative peasant. This sort of animal interprets Nature by +physical, not mental associations, and is unfitted by heredity to +receive impressions of the beautiful in its less material aspects. +Whilst he grumbles at the crimson flames of Aurora, thinking only of the +afternoon rain thus predicted, the man of finer mould, though equally +cognizant that a downpour may follow, rejoices impulsively at the pure +beauty of the scene itself, a scene whose intellectual exaltation will +help him the better to bear the dull afternoon. Is not the beauty-lover +the happier of the two? Both must endure the trials, but the poet enjoys +compensating pleasures which the boor may never know. The +personification and deification of Nature is a legacy from primitive +ages which will delight us in an atavistical way till our very race +shall have perished. And let Mr. Ashby remember that those early tribes +who placed a god or goddess in every leafy tree, crystal fount, reedy +lake or sparkling brook, were far closer to Nature and the soil than is +any modern tenant farmer. + +_The United Official Quarterly_ for May has resumed its former +attractive appearance, and contains a very creditable assortment of +literary matter. "Atmosphere," by Mrs. Shepphird, is a thoughtful and +pleasing essay, whose second half well describes the individuality of +the various amateur authors and editors. "The Kingly Power of Laughter," +by Louena Van Norman, is no less just and graphic, illustrating the +supreme force of humour and ridicule. Leo Fritter, in "Concerning +Candidates," points out some important details for office-seekers, +whilst Ira A. Cole, in "Five Sticks on Finance," gives some interesting +suggestions for economy. "Opportunity," an essay by Mildred Blanchard, +concludes the issue, and successfully disputes the noxious old +platitude, that "Opportunity knocks but once at each man's door." With +the _Quarterly_ is bound _The New Member_, reviewed elsewhere, the two +forming a tasteful and meritorious magazine. + +_The Woodbee_ for July is an issue of unusual interest, revealing the +more serious and substantial activities of the prosperous Columbus Club. +The opening feature is a sonnet by Alma Sanger, "To Autumn Violets," +which exhibits some poetical talent and a just sense of metrical values. +We are sure that the defective second line is the fault of the printer +rather than of the author. "The Blind Prince," by Henriette Ziegfeld, is +an excellent juvenile tale involving a fairy story. The only serious +objection is the undercurrent of adult comment which flows through the +narrative. Particularly cynical is the closing sentence: "'And here's +Mother,' finished poor Auntie with a sigh of relief." The ordinary fairy +stories told to children are bits of actual Teutonic mythology, and +should be related with a grave, absolute simplicity and naivete. +However, as a psychological study of the typical childish auditor, the +sketch as a whole is highly meritorious. We are inclined to wonder at +the possible meaning of the strange word "alright," which appears more +than once in Miss Ziegfeld's tale. It is certainly no part of our +language, and if it be a corruption of "all right," we must say that we +fail to perceive why the correct expression could not have been used. +"What's in a Name?" by Irene Metzger, is a clever sketch concerning +the silly modern practice of giving fancy names to helpless infants. +Glancing backward a little through history, Miss Metzger would probably +sympathize with the innocent offspring of the old Puritans, who +received such names as "Praise-God," and the like. Praise-God Barebones, +a leading and fanatical member of Cromwell's rebel parliament, +went a step further than his father, naming his own son +"If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-Damned"! All this +was actually the first name of young Barebones, but after he grew up and +took a Doctor's degree, he was called by his associates, "_Damned Dr. +Barebones_"! "Moonlight on the River," by Ida Cochran Haughton, is an +exquisite sentimental poem, each stanza of which ends with the same +expression. The atmosphere is well created, and the images dexterously +introduced. The whole piece reminds the reader of one of Thomas Moore's +beautiful old "Irish Melodies." That Mrs. Haughton's talent has +descended to the second generation is well proven by Edna M. Haughton's +"Review of the Literary Work of the Quarter." Miss Haughton is a +polished and scholarly reviewer, and her criticisms are in every +instance just and helpful. The editorial on "Miss United" is very well +written, and should be carefully perused by those in danger of +succumbing to the autumnal advances of that sour old maid, Miss +National. + + --HOWARD P. LOVECRAFT + Chairman. + + +Little Journeys to the Homes of Prominent Amateurs + +Among the many amateurs I have never met in the flesh and realness of +Life, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, poet, critic and student, appeals to me +as no other recent "find" in the circles of amateuria has ever appealed. +And Lovecraft _is_ a distinct "find." Just why he holds a firm grip on +my heart-strings is something of a mystery to me. Perhaps it is because +of his wholesome ideals; perhaps it is because he is a recluse, content +to nose among books of ancient lore; perhaps it's because of his +physical afflictions; his love of things beautiful in Life; his ardent +advocacy of temperance, cleanliness and purity--I don't know. We +disagree on many questions; he criticises my literary activities; he +smiles at my suffrage theories, and disapproves of my language in _Chain +Lightning_. But I like him. + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft has an interesting history, and this fact was +known to Official Editor Daas when he asked me to take a little journey +to the study-home of the Vice-President. "Don't stint yourself for +space" was noted on the assignment tab, and after glancing over the +biographical notes before me--I am sure that Daas has again exemplified +his quiet humor during a serious moment. + +Lovecraft was born at 454 Angell St., Providence, R. I., on August 20, +1890. His nationality is Anglo-American, and under British law he can +claim to be a British subject, since he is a grandson in direct male +line of a British subject not naturalized in the United States. His +ancestry is purely English. On the paternal side he is a descendant of +the Lovecrafts, a Devonshire family which has furnished a great many +clergymen to the Church of England, and the Allgoods of Northumberland, +a history-honored family of which several members have been knighted. +The Allgoods have been a military line, and this may account for +Lovecraft's militarism and belief in the justice of war. On the maternal +side he is a typical Yankee, coming from East English stock which +settled in Rhode Island about 1680. Lovecraft is a student of +astronomy--it is a domineering passion with him--and this love was +apparently inherited from his maternal grandmother, Rhoby Phillips, who +studied it thoroughly in her youth at Lapham Seminary, and whose +collection of old astronomical books first interested him. Lovecraft +came from pure-blood stock, and he is the last male descendant of that +family in the United States. With him the name will die in America. He +is unmarried. + +As he was about to enter college at the age of eighteen, his feeble +health gave way, and since then he has been physically incapacitated and +rendered almost an invalid. Being thus deprived of his cherished hope to +further his education and prepare himself for a life of letters, he has +contented himself with his home, which is just three squares from his +birthplace, and where he lives with his mother. And his home life is +ideal. His personal library--his haven of contentment--contains more +than 1500 volumes, many of them yellowed with age, and crude examples of +the printer's art. Among these treasured books may be found volumes +which have passed through the various branches of his family, some +dating back to 1681 and 1702, and methinks I can see Lovecraft poring +over these time-stained bits o' bookish lore as the monks of old +followed the printed lines with quivering fingers in the taper's +uncertain, flickering light. For Lovecraft appeals to me as a +bookworm--one of those lovable mortals whose very existence seems to +hang on the numbered pages of a heavy, clumsy book! + +His connection with organized amateur journalism is of recent date. On +April 6, 1914, his application for membership in the United Amateur +Press Association of America was forwarded to the Secretary. Like a +great many of the recruits, Lovecraft was completely ignored for several +months. In July of last year he became active, and he has proven to be +an invaluable asset to the literary life of the Association. He is _not_ +a politician. However, his literary activities had been prosecuted many +years before he had ever heard of the United. At the age of eight and +one-half years he published the _Scientific Gazette_, a weekly +periodical, written in pencil and issued in editions of four carbon +copies. This journal was devoted to the science of chemistry, which was +one of his earliest hobbies, and ran from March, 1899, to February, +1904. As in most cases, my knowledge of chemistry was acquired after I +had spent four years in high-school, and the fact that any boy should be +interested in that study at the age of eight and one-half years appeals +to me as something out of the ordinary. But Lovecraft was not an +ordinary boy. His second and more ambitious venture was the _Rhode +Island Journal of Astronomy_. This was at first published as a weekly, +and later changed to a monthly publication. This was carefully printed +by hand and then duplicated on the hectograph and issued in lots of +twenty-five copies. The _Journal_ was issued from 1903 to 1907, and +contained the latest astronomical news, re-written from the original +telegraphic reports issued from Harvard University and seen at the Ladd +Observatory. It also contained many of his original articles and +forecasts of phenomena. He owns a 3-inch telescope of French make, and +aside from amateur journalism, his one great hobby is astronomy. At the +age of sixteen he commenced writing monthly astronomical articles for +the Providence _Tribune_, and later changed to the _Evening News_, to +which he still contributes. During the present year he has contributed a +complete elementary treatise on astronomy in serial form to the +Asheville (N. C.) _Gazette-News_. Besides contributing a great many +poems and articles to the amateur press, editing _The Conservative_ and +assisting with the editorial work on _The Badger_, the appearance of Mr. +Lovecraft's work in the professional magazines is of common occurrence. +During the past year he has had charge of the Bureau of Public Criticism +in THE UNITED AMATEUR, where he has proven himself a just, impartial and +painstaking critic. That he will achieve a great popularity in the world +of amateur letters is a foregone conclusion, and I do not think that I +am indulging in extravagant praise in predicting a brilliant future for +him in the professional field. + +I am acquainted with Howard Phillips Lovecraft only through +correspondence; I have never felt the flesh of his palm, and yet, I know +he is a man--every inch of him--and that amateur journalism will be +enriched and promoted to its highest plane through his kindly influence +and literary leadership. + + ANDREW FRANCIS LOCKHART + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR FEBRUARY 1916 + + +The Teuton's Battle-Song + + "Omnis erat vulnus unda + Terra rubefacta calido + Frendebat gladius in loricas + Gladius findebat clypeos-- + Non retrocedat vir a viro + Hoc fuit viri fortis nobilitas diu-- + Laetus cerevisiam cum Asis + In summa sede bibam + Vitae elapsae sunt horae + Ridens moriar." + --REGNER LODBROG + + The mighty Woden laughs upon his throne, + And once more claims his children for his own. + The voice of Thor resounds again on high, + While arm'd Valkyries ride from out the sky: + The Gods of Asgard all their pow'rs release + To rouse the dullard from his dream of peace. + Awake! ye hypocrites, and deign to scan + The actions of your "brotherhood of Man." + Could your shrill pipings in the race impair + The warlike impulse put by Nature there? + Where now the gentle maxims of the school, + The cant of preachers, and the Golden Rule? + What feeble word or doctrine now can stay + The tribe whose fathers own'd Valhalla's sway? + Too long restrain'd, the bloody tempest breaks, + And Midgard 'neath the tread of warriors shakes. + On to thy death, Berserker bold! And try + In acts of Godlike bravery to die! + Who cares to find the heaven of the priest, + When only warriors can with Woden feast? + The flesh of Sehrimnir, and the cup of mead, + Are but for him who falls in martial deed: + Yon luckless boor, that passive meets his end, + May never in Valhalla's court contend. + Slay, brothers, Slay! And bathe in crimson gore; + Let Thor, triumphant, view the sport once more! + All other thoughts are fading in the mist, + But to attack, or if attack'd, resist. + List, great Alfadur, to the clash of steel; + How like a man does each brave swordsman feel! + The cries of pain, the roars of rampant rage, + In one vast symphony our ears engage. + Strike! Strike him down! Whoever bars the way; + Let each kill many ere he die today! + Ride o'er the weak; accomplish what ye can; + The Gods are kindest to the strongest man! + Why should we fear? What greater joy than this? + Asgard alone could give us sweeter bliss! + My strength is waning; dimly can I see + The helmeted Valkyries close to me. + Ten more I slay! How strange the thought of fear, + With Woden's mounted messengers so near! + The darkness comes; I feel my spirit rise; + A kind Valkyrie bears me to the skies. + With conscience clear, I quit the earth below, + The boundless joys of Woden's halls to know. + The grove of Glasir soon shall I behold, + And on Valhalla's tablets be enroll'd: + There to remain, till Heimdall's horn shall sound, + And Ragnarok enclose creation round; + And Bifrost break beneath bold Surtur's horde, + And Gods and men fall dead beneath the sword; + When sun shall die, and sea devour the land, + And stars descend, and naught but Chaos stand. + Then shall Alfadur make his realm anew, + And Gods and men with purer life indue. + In that blest country shall Abundance reign, + Nor shall one vice or woe of earth remain. + Then, not before, shall men their battles cease, + And live at last in universal peace. + Through cloudless heavens shall the eagle soar, + And happiness prevail forevermore. + + --H. P. LOVECRAFT + + +_Author's Note._ + +The writer here endeavours to trace the ruthless ferocity and incredible +bravery of the modern Teutonic soldier to the hereditary influence of +the ancient Northern Gods and Heroes. Despite the cant of the +peace-advocate, we must realise that our present Christian civilisation, +the product of an alien people, rests but lightly upon the Teuton when +he is deeply aroused, and that in the heat of combat he is quite prone +to revert to the mental type of his own Woden-worshipping progenitors, +losing himself in that superb fighting zeal which baffled the conquering +cohorts of a Caesar, and humbled the proud aspirations of a Varus. +Though appearing most openly in the Prussian, whose recent acts of +violence are so generally condemned, this native martial ardour is by no +means peculiar to him, but is instead the common heritage of every +branch of our indomitable Xanthochroic race, British and Continental +alike, whose remote forefathers were for countless generations reared in +the stern precepts of the virile religion of the North. Whilst we may +with justice deplore the excessive militarism of the Kaiser Wilhelm and +his followers, we cannot rightly agree with those effeminate preachers +of universal brotherhood who deny the virtue of that manly strength +which maintains our great North European family in its position of +undisputed superiority over the rest of mankind, and which in its purest +form is today the bulwark of Old England. It is needless to say to an +educated audience that the term "Teuton" is in no way connected with the +modern German Empire, but embraces the whole Northern stock, including +English and Belgians. + +In the Northern religion, Alfadur, or the All-Father, was a vague though +supreme deity. Beneath him were among others Woden, or Odin, practically +the supreme deity, and Woden's eldest son Thor, the God of War. Asgard, +or heaven, was the dwelling-place of the Gods, whilst Midgard was the +earth, or abode of man. The rainbow, or bridge of Bifrost, which +connected the two regions, was guarded by the faithful watchman +Heimdall. Woden lived in the palace of Valhalla, near the grove of +Glasir, and had as messengers to earth the Valkyries, armed, mailed and +mounted virgins who conveyed from the earth to Asgard such men as had +fallen bravely in battle. Only those who fell thus could taste to the +full the joys of paradise. These joys consisted of alternate feasting +and fighting. At Woden's feasts in Valhalla was served the flesh of the +boar Sehrimnir, which, though cooked and eaten at every meal, would +regain its original condition the next day. The wounds of the warriors +in each celestial combat were miraculously healed at the end of the +fighting. + +But this heaven was not to last forever. Some day would come Ragnarok, +or the Twilight of the Gods, when all creation would be destroyed, and +all the Gods and men save Alfadur perish. Surtur, after killing the last +of these Gods, would burn up the world. Afterward the supreme Alfadur +would make a new earth or paradise, creating again the Gods and men, and +suffering them ever after to dwell in peace and plenty. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XV GEORGETOWN, ILL., APRIL, 1916 NUMBER 9 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Brooklynite= for January contains one of Rheinhart Kleiner's +characteristic poems, entitled "A Mother's Song". Mr. Kleiner's command +of good taste, harmony, and correctness requires no further panegyric +amongst those who know him; but to the more recent United members who +have not yet read extensively in our journals, his work may well be +recommended as undoubtedly the safest of all amateur poetical models for +emulation. Mr. Kleiner has a sense of musical rhythm which few amateur +bards have ever possessed, and his choice of words and phrases is the +result of a taste both innate and cultivated, whose quality appears to +rare advantage in the present degenerate age. This remarkable young poet +has not yet fully displayed in verse the variety of thoughts and images +of which his fertile brain and well selected reading have made him +master, but has preferred to concentrate most of his powers upon +delicate amatory lyrics. While some of his readers may at times regret +this limitation of endeavor, and wish he might practice to a greater +extent that immense versatility which he permitted the amateur public to +glimpse in the September =Piper=; it is perhaps not amiss that he should +cultivate most diligently that type of composition most natural and easy +to him, for he is obviously a successor of those polished and elegant +poets of gallantry whose splendour adorned the reigns of Queen Elizabeth +and King James the First. + + * * * * * + +=The Conservative= for January opens with Winifred Virginia Jordan's +"Song of the North Wind", one of the most powerful poems lately seen in +the amateur press. Mrs. Jordan is the newest addition to the United's +constellation of genuine poetical luminaries; shining as an artist of +lively imagination, faultless taste, and graphic expression, whose work +possesses touches of genius and individualism that have already brought +her renown in amateur circles. In the poem under consideration, Mrs. +Jordan displays a phenomenal comprehension of the sterner aspects of +Nature, producing a thoroughly virile effect. Words are chosen with care +and placed with remarkable force, whilst both alliteration and +onomatopoeia are employed with striking success. By the same author is +the shorter poem entitled "Galileo and Swammerdam", which though vastly +different in aspect and rhythm, yet retains that suggestion of mysticism +so frequently encountered in Mrs. Jordan's work. + +James Tobey Pyke, a lyrical and philosophical poet of high scholastic +attainments, contributes two poems; "Maia", and "The Poet". The latter +is a stately sonnet, rich in material for reflection. Such is the +quality of Mr. Pyke's work, that his occasional contributions are ever +to be acclaimed with the keenest interest and appreciation. + +Rheinhart Kleiner, our Laureate, is another bard twice represented in +the January =Conservative=. His two poems, "Consolation" and "To Celia", +though widely different in structure, are yet not unrelated in +sentiment, being both devoted to the changing heart. One amateur critic +has seen fit to frown upon so skilled an apotheosis of inconsistency, +but it seems almost captious thus to analyse an innocuous bit of art so +daintily and tastefully arrayed. "To Celia" is perhaps slightly the +better of the two, having a very commendable stateliness of cadence, and +a gravity of thought greater than that of "Consolation". + +"The Horizon of Dreams", by Mrs. Renshaw, is a graphic and enthralling +venture into the realm of nocturnal unreality. The free play of active +imagination, the distorted and transitory conceptions and apparitions, +and the strangely elusive analogies, all lend charm and color to this +happy portrayal of the vague boundaries of Somnus' domain. Mrs. +Renshaw's rank as a poet is of very high tone, most of her productions +involving a spiritual insight and metaphysical comprehension vastly +beyond that of the common mind. But this very nobility of imagination, +and superiority to the popular appeal, are only too likely to render her +best work continually underestimated and unappreciated by the majority. +She is not a "poet of the masses", and her graver efforts must needs +reach audiences more notable for cultured than numerical magnitude. Of +Mrs. Renshaw's liberal metrical theories, enough is said elsewhere. This +Department can neither endorse principles so radical, nor refrain from +remarking that want of proper rhyme and metre has relegated to obscurity +many a rich and inspired poem. + +"Departed", by Maude Kingsbury Barton, is a sentimental poem of +undoubted grace and sweetness, happily cast in unbroken metre. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for January is adorned by no less than three of Mrs. +Winifred V. Jordan's exquisite short poems. "The Night-Wind" is a +delicately beautiful fragment of dreamy metaphor. There is probably a +slight misprint in the last line, since the construction there becomes +somewhat obscure. "My Love's Eyes" has merit, but lacks polish. The word +"azure" in the first stanza, need not be in the possessive case; whilst +the use of a singular verb with a plural noun in the second stanza +(smiles-beguiles) is a little less than grammatical. "Longing" exhibits +the author at her best, the images and phraseology alike showing the +touch of genius. + +Other poetry in this issue is by Adam Dickson, a bard of pleasing manner +but doubtful correctness. "Smile" needs rigorous metrical and rhetorical +revision to escape puerility. "Silver Bells of Memory" is better, though +marred by the ungrammatical passage "thoughts doth linger". In this +passage, either the noun must be made singular, or the verb form plural. + +"Prohibition in Kansas" is a well written prose article by Editor +William T. Harrington, wherein he exhibits a commendably favourable +attitude toward the eradication of the menace of strong drink. Mr. +Harrington is an able and active amateur, and takes an intelligent +interest in many public questions. His style and taste are steadily +improving, so that =The Coyote= has already become a paper of importance +among us. + + * * * * * + +=The Dixie Booster= for January is Mr. Raymond E. Nixon's =Capital City +News=, transferred to the amateur world, and continued under the new +name. With this number the editor's brother, Mr. Roy W. Nixon, assumes +the position of Associate Editor. This neat little magazine is +home-printed throughout, and may well remind the old-time amateurs of +those boyish "palmy days" whose passing they lament so frequently. By +means of a cut on the third page, we are properly introduced to Editor +Nixon, who at present boasts but thirteen years of existence. The gifted +and versatile associate editor, Mr. Roy W. Nixon, shows marked talent in +three distinct departments of literature; essay-writing, fiction, and +verse. "Writing as a Means of Self-Improvement" is a pure, dignified and +graceful bit of prose whose thought is as commendable as its structure. +"A Bottle of Carbolic Acid" is a gruesome but clever short story of the +Poe type, exhibiting considerable comprehension of abnormal psychology +as treated in literature. "My Valentine" is a poem of tuneful metre and +well expressed sentiment, though not completely polished throughout. The +third stanza, especially, might be made less like prose in its images. + + * * * * * + +=Dowdell's Bearcat= for December is quaint and attractive in appearance. +The youthful editor has provided himself with a series of cuts of the +metaphorical "Bruin" in various attitudes and various employments, these +clever little pictures lending a pleasing novelty to the cover and the +margins. Judiciously distributed red ink, also, aids in producing a +Christmas number of truly festive quality. Mr. Dowdell's "Growls from +the Pit" is a series of editorials both timely and interesting, while +his "Did You Hear That" is a lively page of fresh news. This issue is +notable for Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan's poetical contributions, of which +there are three. "Life's Sunshine and Shadows" is a tuneful moral poem +whose rhythm and imagery are equally excellent. "Contentment" is brief +but delightful. "When the Woods Call" is a virile, graphic piece; +vibrant with the thrill of the chase, and crisp with the frosty air of +the Northern Woods. + +The present reviewer's lines "To Samuel Loveman" contain five misprints, +as follows: + + Line 3 for =are= read =art= + " 5 " =Appollo= " =Apollo= + " 6 " =versus= " =verses= + " 15 " =eternal= " =ethereal= + " 18 " =the= " =thee= + +"Beads from my Rosary", by Mary M. Sisson, is a collection of well +written and sensible paragraphs on amateur journalism, which ought to +assist in arousing enthusiasm amongst many members hitherto dormant. +Editor Dowdell's pithy little epigrams at the foot of each page form an +entertaining feature, many of them being of considerable cleverness. +=Dowdell's Bearcat= will soon revert to its original newspaper form, +since Mr. Dowdell intends to make newspaper work his life Profession. + + * * * * * + +=The Inspiration= for November is a decidedly informal though +exceedingly clever personal paper issued by Miss Edna von der Heide as a +reminiscence of the Rocky Mount convention. Prose and verse of +whimsically humorous levity are employed with success in recording the +social side of the amateur gathering. + + * * * * * + +=The Looking Glass= for January is composed wholly of biographical +matter, introducing to the association the multitude of accomplished +recruits obtained through Mrs. Renshaw and others. In these forty life +stories, most of them autobiographical, the student of human nature may +find material for profound reflection on the variety of mankind. The +more recent members of the United, as here introduced, are in the +aggregate a maturer, more serious, and more scholarly element than that +which once dominated the amateur world; and if they can be properly +welcomed and acclimated to the realm of amateur letters, they will be of +great value indeed in building up the ideals and character of the +association. For this influx of sedate, cultivated members, the United +has Mrs. Renshaw to thank, since the present policy of recruiting was +originated and is conducted largely by the Second Vice-President. + + * * * * * + +=Ole Miss'= for December is the most important of all recent additions +to amateur letters, and it is with regret that we learn of the +magazine's prospective discontinuance. The issue under consideration is +largely local, most of the contributions being by Mississippi talent, +and it must be said that the contributors all reflect credit upon their +native or adopted State. + +Mr. J. W. Renshaw's page of editorials is distinguished equally by good +sense and good English. His attitude of disapproval toward petty +political activities and fruitless feuds in the United is one which +every loyal member will endorse, for nearly all of the past disasters in +amateur history have been caused not by serious literary differences, +but by conflicting ambitions among those seeking no more than cheap +notoriety. + +Mrs. Renshaw is well represented both by prose and by verse, the most +interesting of her pieces being possibly the essay entitled "Poetic +Spontaneity", wherein more arguments are advanced in her effort to prove +the inferior importance of form and metre in poesy. According to Mrs. +Renshaw, the essence of all genuine poetry is a certain spontaneous and +involuntary spiritual or psychological perception and expression; +incapable of rendition in any prescribed structure, and utterly +destroyed by subsequent correction or alteration of any kind. That is, +the bard must respond unconsciously to the noble impulse furnished by a +fluttering bird, a dew-crowned flower, or a sun-blest forest glade; +recording his thoughts exactly as evolved, and never revising the +result, even though it be detestably cacophonous, or absolutely +unintelligible to his less inspired circle of readers. To such a theory +as this we must needs reply, that while compositions of the sort +indicated may indeed represent poesy, they certainly represent art in +its proper sense no more than do "futuristic" pictures and other modern +monstrosities of a like nature. The only exact means whereby a poet may +transmit his ideas to others is language, a thing both definite and +intellectual. Granting that vague, chaotic, dissonant lines are the best +form in which the tender suitor of the Muses may record his spiritual +impressions for his own benefit and comprehension, it by no means +follows that such lines are at all fitted to convey those impressions to +minds other than his own. When language is used without appropriateness, +harmony, or precision, it can mean but little save to the person who +writes it. The soul of a poem lies not in words but in meaning; and if +the author have any skill at all in recording thought through language, +he will be able to refine the uncouth mass of spontaneous verbiage +which first comes to him as representing his idea, but which in its +original amorphous state may fail entirely to suggest the same idea to +another brain. He will be able to preserve and perpetuate his idea in a +style of language which the world may understand, and in a rhythm which +may not offend the reader's sense of propriety with conspicuous +harshness, breaks, or sudden transitions. + +"Flames of the Shadow", Mrs. Renshaw's longest poetical contribution to +this issue, is a powerful piece which, despite the author's theory, +seems in no way injured by its commendably regular structure. +"Immortality of Love" is likewise rather regular, though the plan of +rhyming breaks down in the last stanza. "For You" and "Sacrament of +Spirit" are short pieces, the former containing an "allowable" rhyming +of "tongue" and "long", which would not meet with the approval of the +Kleiner type of critic, but upon which this department forbears to +frown. + +James T. Pyke's two poems, "To a Butterfly" and "Life and Time" are gems +of incomparable beauty. "Ole Gardens", by Winifred V. Jordan, is a +haunting bit of semi-irregular verse which deserves warm applause for +the cleverness of its imagery and the aptness of its phraseology. "The +Reward of it All", by Emilie C. Holladay, is a potent but pathetic poem +of sentiment, whose development is highly commendable, but whose +metrical construction might be improved by judicious care. "A +Mississippi Autumn" was written as prose by Mrs. Renshaw, and set in +heroic verse without change of ideas by the present critic. The metaphor +is uniformly lofty and delicate, whilst the development of the sentiment +is facile and pleasing. It is to be hoped that the original thoughts of +the author are not impaired or obscured by the technical turns of the +less inspired versifier. "My Dear, Sweet, Southern Blossom", dedicated +to Mr. and Mrs. Renshaw with Compliments of the Author, James Laurence +Crowley, is a saccharine and sentimental piece of verse reminiscent of +the popular ballads which flourished ten or more years ago. Triteness is +the cardinal defect, for each genuine image is what our discerning +private critic Mr. Moe would call a "rubber-stamp" phrase. Mr. Crowley +requires a rigorous course of reading among the classic poets of our +language, and a careful study of their art as a guide to the development +of his taste. At present his work has about it a softness bordering on +effeminacy, which leads us to believe that his conception of the poet's +art is rather imperfect. It is only in caricature that we discover the +poet as a sighing, long-haired scribbler of gushing flights of infantile +awe or immature adoration. Earnestness, dignity, and at times, sonorous +stateliness, become a good poet; and such thoughts as are generally +suggested by the confirmed use of "Oh", "Ah", "dear", "little", +"pretty", "darling", "sweetest flow'ret of all", "where the +morning-glory twineth", and so on, belong less to literary poetry than +to the Irving Berlin song-writing industry of "Tin Pan Alley" in the +Yiddish wilds of New York City. Mr. Crowley has energy of no mean sort, +and if he will apply himself assiduously to the cultivation of masculine +taste and technic, he can achieve a place of prominence among United +bards. + +W. S. Harrison deserves a word of praise for his poem of Nature, +entitled "Our Milder Clime", wherein he celebrates the charms of +Mississippi, his native state. The lines contain an old-fashioned grace +too often wanting in contemporary verse. Other contributions to =Ole +Miss'= are Mrs. Maude K. Barton's "Something of Natchez", a very +interesting descriptive sketch in prose, and Dr. Rolfe Hunt's two negro +dialect pieces, both of which are of inimitable wit and cleverness. + + * * * * * + +=The Pippin= for February is the first number of this important +high-school journal to be issued without the supervision of Mr. Moe, and +its excellence well attests the substantial independent merit of the +Appleton Club. The city of Appleton forms the dominant theme in this +number, and with the assistance of seven attractive half-tone +illustrations, the publication well displays the beauty and advantages +of the pleasant Wisconsin town. Miss Eleanor Halls cleverly weaves into +conversational form much information concerning the remote history of +Appleton, emphasizing the superior character resulting from the select +quality of the settlers, and the early introduction of learning. Mr. +Alfred Galpin surprises many readers when he reveals the fact that +Appleton possessed the first of all telephone systems, a surprise +quickly followed by Mr. Joseph Harriman's illustrated paragraph telling +of the first street-car, also an Appleton innovation. Among other +articles, that by Miss Torrey on Lawrence College is of unusual +interest. "The Immortalization of the Princess", by Miss Fern Sherman, +is an excellent Indian tale, whose structure and atmosphere well suggest +not only the characteristic tribal legends of the red folk, but other +and more classical myths as well. Though Miss Sherman is not yet a +member of the United, one of such gifts would be heartily welcomed in +the ranks. + + * * * * * + +=The Plainsman= for December is the most substantial number of his +journal which Mr. Ira Cole has yet issued. First in order of importance +among the contents is perhaps the editor's own prose sketch entitled +"Monuments", wherein Mr. Cole reveals to particular advantage his +exceptional skill in depicting and philosophizing upon the various +aspects and phenomena of Nature. Mr. Cole's style is constantly +improving, though not now of perfect polish, it is none the less +remarkable for its grace and fluency. "To Florence Shepphird", also by +Mr. Cole, is a rather long piece of blank verse, containing many +beautiful passages. The author's skill in stately and sonorous poetry is +far above the common level, and his work has about it an atmosphere of +the polished past which that of most amateur bards lacks; yet the +present poem is not without errors. The passage (lines 10-11) reading: +"calm =days= that =knoweth= not dread Boreas' chilling breath" must be +changed so that either the noun shall be singular or the verb plural. +The double negative in line 23 might well be eliminated. Two lines whose +metre could be improved are the 13th and 50th. The final quatrain is +pleasing to the average ear, including that of the present critic; +though the very exact taste of today, as represented by Mr. Kleiner, +frowns upon such deviation from the dominant blank verse arrangement. +"On the Cowboys of the West" is a brief bit of verse by this reviewer, +accompanied by a note from the pen of Mr. Cole. The note is better than +the verse, and exhibits Mr. Cole's vivid and imaginative prose at its +best. "The Sunflower", a versified composition by James Laurence +Crowley, concludes the issue. There is much attractiveness in the lines; +though we may discover particularly in the second stanza, that touch of +excessive softness which occasionally mars Mr. Crowley's work. No one +can fail to discern the weakness of such a line as "You big giant of all +the flowers". + + * * * * * + +=The Providence Amateur= for February is worthy of particular attention +on account of Mr. Peter J. MacManus' absorbing article on "The Irish and +the Fairies". Mr. MacManus firmly believes not only that fairies exist +in his native Ireland, but that he has actually beheld a troop of them; +facts which impart to this article a psychological as well as a literary +interest. The prose style of Mr. MacManus is very good, being notable +alike for fluency and freedom from slang, whilst his taste is of the +best. His future work will be eagerly awaited by the amateur public. +Edmund L. Shehan contributed both verse and prose to this issue. "Death" +is a stately poem on a grave subject, whose sentiments are all of +suitable humility and dignity. The apparently anomalous pronoun "her", +in the tenth line, is a misprint for "he". The piece ends with a rhyming +couplet, to which Mr. Kleiner, representing correct modern taste, takes +marked exception. The present reviewer, however, finds no reason to +object to any part of Mr. Shehan's poem, and attributes this concluding +couplet to the influence of similar Shakespearian terminations. The +prose piece by Mr. Shehan well describes a visit to a cinematograph +studio, and is entitled "The Making of a Motion Picture". In the verses +entitled "A Post-Christmas Lament", Mr. John T. Dunn combines much +keenness of wit with commendable regularity of metre. Mr. Dunn is among +the cleverest of the United's humorous writers. "To Charlie of the +Comics" is a harmless parody on our Laureate's excellent poem "To Mary +of the Movies", which appeared some time ago in =The Piper=. In "The +Bride of the Sea", Mr. Lewis Theobald, Jr., presents a rather weird +piece of romantic sentimentality of the sort afforded by bards of the +early nineteenth century. The metre is regular, and no flagrant +violations of grammatical or rhetorical precepts are to be discerned, +yet the whole effort lacks clearness, dignity, inspiration, and poetic +spontaneity. The word printed "enhanc'd" in the sixth stanza is properly +"entranc'd". + + * * * * * + +=Tom Fool, Le Roi= bears no definite date, but is a sort of pensive +autumn reverie following the Rocky Mount convention of last summer. This +grave and dignified journal is credited to the House of Tillery, and if +typographical evidence may be accepted, it belongs most particularly to +that branch now bearing the name of Renshaw and having its domain in +Coffeeville, Mississippi. "Mother Gooseries from the Convention", by +Emilie C. Holladay, is a long stanzaic and Pindaric ode, whose taste and +technic are alike impeccable. The exalted images are sketched with +artistic touch, whilst the deep underlying philosophy, skillfully +clothed in well balanced lines, arouses a sympathetic reaction from +every cultural intellect. "The Carnival", by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, is an +admirable example of stately descriptive prose mixed with aesthetic +verse. The long and euphonious periodic sentences suggest the style of +Gibbon or of Dr. Johnson, whilst the occasional metrical lines remind +the reviewer of Dr. Young's solemn "Night Thoughts". "Dummheit", by Dora +M. Hepner, is a grave discourse on Original Sin, describing the planning +of =Tom Fool, Le Roi=. Elizabeth M. Ballou's article entitled "Our +Absent Friend" forms a notable contribution to amateur historical +annals, and displays Miss Ballou as the possessor of a keen faculty for +observation, and a phenomenally analytical intellect. "Banqueters from +the Styx", Mrs. Renshaw's masterly description of the convention dinner +and its honoured guests from the regions of Elysium and elsewhere, +reminds the reviewer of the 11th book of the Odyssey and the 6th book of +the Aeneid, wherein the fraternizing of men with the shades of men is +classically delineated. + +=Tom Fool= is a memorable publication, suggesting the old "fraternal" +papers, whose passing so many amateurs regret. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for November contains besides the official matter a +small but select assortment of poems, prominent among which is "The +Meadow Cricket", by Jas. T. Pyke. It is impossible to overestimate the +beauty of thought and expression which Mr. Pyke shows in all his verses, +and the United is fortunate in being able to secure specimens of his +work. + +"Remorse", by James Laurence Crowley, is one of the best samples of this +gentleman's poesy which we have yet seen, though Mr. Crowley insists +that one of the punctuation marks has been wrongfully located by the +reviser. Since the present critic prepared the manuscript for +publication, he is willing to assume full culpability for this crime. +There is genuine poetic feeling in this short piece; and it seems an +undoubted fact that Mr. Crowley with a little added restraint and +dignity of expression, is capable of producing excellent work. "List to +the Sea", by Winifred V. Jordan, is a delightfully musical lyric, whose +dancing dactyls and facile triple rhymes captivate alike the fancy and +the ear. "The Wind and the Beggar", by Maude K. Barton, is sombre and +powerful. "Ambition", by William de Ryee, is regular in metre and +commendable in sentiment, yet not exactly novel or striking in +inspiration. "Choose ye", by Ella C. Eckert, is a moral poem of clever +conception and correct construction. + + * * * * * + +=The United Official Quarterly= for January opens with "A Prayer for the +New Year", by Frederick R. Chenault. Mr. Chenault is a poet of the first +order so far as inspiration is concerned, but his work is frequently +marred by irregularity of metre, and the use of assonance in place of +rhyme. The metre of this poem is correct, but the two attempted rhymes +"deeper-meeker" and "supremely-sincerely" are technically no more than +assonant sounds. Pres. Fritter writes very powerfully on our publishing +situation in this number; and his article should not only be perused +with attention, but heeded with sincerity and industriousness. + +"Behind the Canvas Wall", by William J. Dowdell, is one of the cleverest +and most ingenious bits of fiction which the amateur press has contained +for some time. That it is of a nature not exactly novel is but a trivial +objection. The homely, appealing plot, and the simple, sympathetic +treatment, both point to Mr. Dowdell as a possible success in the realm +of short story writing, should he ever care to enter it seriously. +Another excellent tale is "The Good Will of a Dog", by P. J. Campbell. +The plot is of a well defined type which always pleases, whilst the +incidents are graphically delineated. "The Bookstall" is a metrical +monstrosity by the present reviewer. Mr. Maurice W. Moe, the +distinguished Private Critic, lately gave us the following opinion of +our verse. "You are," he writes, "steeped in the poetry of a certain +age; an age, by the way, which cut and fit its thought with greater +attention to one model than any other age before or since; and the +result is that when you turn to verse as a medium of expression, it is +just as if you were pressing a button liberating a perfect flood of +these perfectly good but stereotyped formulae of expression. The result +is very ingenious, but just because it is such a skillful mosaic of +Georgian 'rubber-stamp' phrases, it must ever fall short of true art." +Mr. Moe is correct. We have, in fact, heard this very criticism +reiterated by various authorities ever since those prehistoric days when +we began to lisp in numbers. Yet somehow we perversely continue to +"mosaic" along in the same old way! But then, we have never claimed to +possess "true art"; we are merely a metrical mechanic. "A New Point of +View In Home Economics", a clever article by Miss Eleanor Barnhart, +concludes the =Official Quarterly= proper. + +But the =New Member= supplement, with its profusion of brilliant +credentials, yet remains to be considered. "Dutch Courage", by Louis E. +Boutwell, is a liquorish sketch whose scene is laid in a New Jersey +temple of Bacchus. Being totally unacquainted with the true saloon +atmosphere, we find ourself a little embarrassed as to critical +procedure, yet we may justly say that the characters are all well drawn, +every man in his humor. + +"Ol' Man Murdock" is a quaint, and in two senses an =absorbing=, figure. +The rest of the issue is given over to the Muses of poesy. "The Saturday +Fray" is a clever piece by Daisy Vandenbank. The rhyming is a little +uneven, and in one case assonance is made to answer for true rhyme. +"Cream" and "mean" cannot make an artistic couplet. "The Common +Soldiers", by John W. Frazer, is a poem of real merit; whilst "Little +Boy Blue", by W. Hume, is likewise effective. Mr. Hume's pathetic touch +is fervent and in no manner betrays that weakness bordering on the +ridiculous, to which less skillful flights of pathos are prone. "The Two +Springs" is a pleasant moral sermon in verse by Margaret Ellen Cooper. +Concluding the issue is "The Under Dog in the Fight", a vigorous +philosophical poem by Andrew Stevenson. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for January is distinguished by Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan's +brilliant short poem entitled "Oh, Where is Springtime?" The sentiment +of the piece is an universal one, and the pleasing lines will appeal to +all. "Retribution", by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, is a clever story, but the +present critic's extreme fondness for cats makes it difficult to review +after reading the first sentence. However, the well-approached +conclusion is indeed just. The "moral" is a pathetic example of +unregeneracy! Miss Edna M. Haughton's critical article is direct and +discerning; the Woodbee Club is fortunate in having among its members so +capable a reviewer. Editor Fritter likewise mounts the reviewer's throne +in this issue, proceeding first of all to demolish our own fond dream of +yesterday; =The Conservative=. Looking backward down the dim vista of +those bygone but memory-haunted days of October, 1915, when we +perpetrated the horribly plainspoken and frightfully ungentle number +whereof Mr. Fritter treats, we are conscious of our manifold sins, and +must beg the pardon of the liquor interests for shouting so rudely in +the cause of total abstinence. Pres. Fritter's critical style is a good +one, and is developing from month to month. His advocacy of lukewarmness +in writing is perhaps not so complete as one might judge from this +article; though his use of the cautious phrase "it is rumored" in +connection with a well known statement seems hardly necessary. Rigid +impartiality, the critic's greatest asset, is manifest throughout the +review, and we thoroughly appreciate the favorable mention not +infrequently accorded us. In passing upon the merits of =Dowdell's +Bearcat=, Mr. Fritter shows equal penetration and perspicuity, and we +are convinced that his rank amongst amateur reviewers is very high. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XV GEORGETOWN, ILL., JUNE, 1916 NUMBER 11 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Coyote= for July opens with Harry E. Rieseberg's verses entitled +"The Sum of Life", whose structure is excellent as a whole, though +defective in certain places. The word "mirage" is properly accented on +the second syllable, hence is erroneously situated in the first stanza. +"A mirage forever seeming" is a possible substitute line. Other defects +are the attempted rhymes of "decay" with "constancy", "carried" with +"hurried", and "appalled" with "all". The metre is without exception +correct, and the thoughts and images in general well presented, +wherefore we believe that with a little more care Mr. Rieseberg can +become a very pleasing poet indeed. "The Philippine Question", by Earl +Samuel Harrington, aged 15, is an excellent juvenile essay, and +expresses a very sound opinion concerning our Asiatic colonies. It is +difficult to be patient with the political idiots who advocate the +relinquishment of the archipelago by the United States, either now or at +any future time. The mongrel natives, in whose blood the Malay strain +predominates, are not and never will be racially capable of maintaining +a civilized condition by themselves. "How Fares the Garden Rose?" is a +poem bearing the signature of Winifred Virginia Jordan, which is a +sufficient guarantee of its thorough excellence. "To a Breeze", also by +Mrs. Jordan, is distinguished by striking imagery, and displays in the +epithet "moon-moored", that highly individualistic touch which is +characteristic of its author. "Peace", by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is a +poem of excellent construction, though marred by two serious misprints +which destroy the harmony of the first and third lines. + + * * * * * + +=The Dixie Booster= for March-April is an exceedingly neat and clever +paper from the House of Nixon. "Spring in the South", a poem by Maude K. +Barton, opens the issue in pleasant fashion, the attractive images well +atoning for certain slight mechanical deficiencies. "Dick's Success", by +Gladys L. Bagg, is a short story whose phraseology exhibits considerable +talent and polish. The didactic element is possibly more emphasized than +the plot, though not to a tedious extent. Whether or not a rough draft +of a novel may be completed in the course of a single afternoon, a feat +described in this tale, we leave for the fiction-writing members of the +United to decide! Of the question raised regarding the treatment of the +Indian by the white man in America it is best to admit in the words of +Sir Roger de Coverly, "that much might be said on both sides". Whilst +the driving back of the aborigines has indeed been ruthless and +high-handed, it seems the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon to sweep inferior +races from his path wherever he goes. There are few who love the Indian +so deeply that they would wish this continent restored to its original +condition, peopled by savage nomads instead of civilized colonists. "The +Deuce and Your Add", by Melvin Ryder, is a bit of light philosophy whose +allegorical case is well maintained. "To a Warbler", by Roy W. Nixon, is +a meritorious piece of verse whose rhythm moves with commendable +sprightliness, though the first line of the first stanza might be made +to correspond better with the first line of the second stanza. The word +"apparent" in the last line, seems a little unsuited to the general +style of the poem, being more suggestive of the formal type of +composition. "Grandma", also by Mr. Roy Nixon, is a noble sonnet whose +quality foreshadows real poetical distinction for its author. "You", by +Dora M. Hepner, contains sublime images, but possesses metrical +imperfections. The general anapaestic or dactylic rhythm is much +disturbed by the iambic fourth line of the first stanza. The editorials, +jokes, and jingles in this issue are all clever, and proclaim Mr. +Raymond Nixon as a capable and discriminating editor. + + * * * * * + +=Literary Buds= for February exhibits the amateurs of Harvey, Illinois, +after a long absence from the publishing arena. The present issue, +edited by Mr. Caryl Wilson Dempesy, contains matter of merit and +interest. "The Dells of the Wisconsin", by A. Myron Lambert, is an +interesting account of an outing spent amidst scenes of natural grandeur +and beauty. The author's style is fluent and pleasing, though a few +slight crudities are to be discerned. On page 1, where the height of a +large dam is mentioned, it is stated "that the water must raise that +distance before it can fall". Of course, "=rise=" is the verb which +should have been used. Another erroneous phrase is "nature tract". +"=Nature=" is not an adjective, but a noun; "=natural=" is the correct +word. However, this anomalous use of nouns for adjectives has only too +much prevalence amongst all grades of writers today, and must not be too +harshly censured in this case. On page 4 the word "=onto=" should be +supplanted by "=upon=", and the awkward phrase: "to be convinced that we +had ventured to a place that we did not know any dangers were connected +with", should be changed to something like this: "to convince us that we +had ventured to a seemingly dangerous place whose apparent dangers we +had not then noticed". "A Song of Love", by Editor Dempesy, is cast in +uniformly flowing and regular metre, but some of the words require +comment. "=Lover=" is not generally applied by bards to adored members +of the gentler sex, "=love=" being the conventional term. Likewise, the +phrase "heart which always softly does its beating" might well be +revised with greater attention to poetical precedent. Yet the whole is +of really promising quality, and exhibits a metrical correctness much +above the average. "The Operation" is a very witty sketch by Miss Clara +I. Stalker, with a sudden turn toward the end which arouses the complete +surprise and unexpected mirth of the reader. "The High Cost of +Flivving", by Albert Thompson, is a bright bit of versified humour +involving novel interpretations of certain technical terms of +literature. The swinging dactylic rhythm is well managed except where +the words "descending" and "ascending" occur, and where, in line 24, the +metre becomes momentarily anapaestic. + + * * * * * + +=The Looking Glass= for May is the final number of Mrs. Renshaw's +journal of introductions, and makes known to the association a group of +27 new members. One of the most interesting autobiographies is that of +Mr. J. E. Hoag of Greenwich, New York, whose friendly sentences, written +from the cumulative experience of 85 years of life, possess an elusively +captivating quality. Of the non-biographical matter in this issue, Mrs. +Renshaw's compilation entitled "Writing for Profit" deserves particular +perusal. This is well set off by the same author's colloquial lines, +"Pride O' The Pen", wherein the lethal taint of trade in literature is +effectively deplored. "Something", by David H. Whittier, is a thoughtful +analysis of conditions in the United, with suggestions for improvement. +"One Bright Star Enough For Me", by Mr. John Hartman Oswald of Texas, is +a pious poem reminding one of Mr. Addison's well known effort which +begins: "The spacious firmament on high". We doubt, however, if Mr. +Addison has been much improved upon, since several instances of +imperfect poetical taste are to be found in Mr. Oswald's lines. But +there are evidences of a great soul throughout the ten stanzas, and the +metre is in the main correct. What Mr. Oswald appears to require is a +thorough reading of the English classics, with minute attention to their +phraseology and images. With such study we believe him capable of +development into a poet of enviable force and sincerity. + + * * * * * + +=Toledo Amateur= for April marks the welcome reappearance of Mr. Wesley +H. Porter's neat little journal after a year's absence. "A Story", by +David H. Whittier, possesses a tragical plot whose interest is slightly +marred by triteness and improbable situations. Of the latter we must +point out the strained coincidence whereby four distinct things, +proceeding from entirely unrelated causes, give rise to the final +denouement. The culmination of the aged father's resolve to kill his +enemy, the conditions which make possible the return of the son, the +presence of the enemy's hat and coat under the wayside tree, and the +storm which prompts the son to don these garments, are all independent +circumstances, whose simultaneous occurrence, each at exactly the proper +time to cause the catastrophe, may justly be deemed a coincidence too +great for the purpose of good literature. In an artistically constructed +tale, the various situations all develop naturally out of that original +cause which in the end brings about the climax; a principle which, if +applied to the story in question, would limit the events and their +sequences to those arising either directly or indirectly from the wrong +committed by the father's enemy. Since there is no causative connection +between the immediate decision of the father to kill his foe, and the +developments or discoveries which enable the son to return, the +simultaneous occurrence of these unusual things is scarcely natural. +Superadded to this coincidence are two more extraneous events; the +rather strange presence of the hat and coat near the road, and the +timely or untimely breaking of the storm, the improbability indeed +increasing in geometrical progression with each separate circumstance. +It must, however, be admitted that such quadruple coincidences in +stories are by no means uncommon among even the most prominent and +widely advertised professional fiction-blacksmiths of the day. Mr. +Whittier's style is that of a careful and sincere scholar, and we +believe that his work will become notable in this and the succeeding +amateur journalistic generation. The minuteness of the preceding +criticism has been prompted not by a depreciatory estimate of his +powers, but rather by an appreciative survey of his possibilities. "Say, +Brother", by Mrs. Renshaw, is a poem describing life in the trenches of +the Huns. The metre is quite regular, and the plan of rhyming but once +broken. Mr. Porter's prose work; editorial, introductory, and narrative, +is all pleasing, though, not wholly free from a certain slight looseness +of scholarship. We should advise rigorous exercise in parsing and +rhetoric. "Respite", by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, shows real poetical genius, +and the iambic heptameters are very well handled, save where one +redundant syllable breaks the flow of the last line. Even that would be +perfect if the tongue could condense the noun and article "the music", +into "th' music". + + * * * * * + +=The Tornado= for April constitutes the publishing debut of Mrs. Addie +L. Porter, mother of =Toledo Amateur's= gifted young editor. Mrs. +Porter's "Recollections From Childhood" are pleasant and well phrased, +bringing to mind very vividly the unrivalled joys of Christmas as +experienced by the young. Wesley H. Porter, in "My Vacation", tells +entertainingly of his visit to the hive of the Woodbees last September. +The editorial and news paragraphs are all of attractive aspect, +completing a bright paper whose four pages teem with enthusiasm and +personality. It is to be hoped that other comparatively new United +members may follow Mr. Porter's example in entering the publishing +field; for individual journals, though of no greater size than this, are +ever welcome, and do more than anything else to maintain interest and +promote progress in the association. + + * * * * * + +=The Trail= for April must by no means be confused with Alfred L. +Hutchinson's professionalized magazine of identical title, for this +=Trail= is an older and emphatically non-professional publication issued +co-operatively by Dora M. Hepner and George W. Macauley. +Non-professionalism, indeed, seems to dominate the entire issue to a +degree unusual in the broadened and developed United. With the exception +of one poem and one short story or sketch, the contents are wholly +personal and social. "He Reached my Hand", by Dora M. Hepner, is an +excellent piece of verse, though perhaps not of that extreme polish +which is observed in the productions of very careful bards. Miss Hepner +has great refinement of fancy and vigour of expression, but evidently +neglects to cultivate that beautiful rhetoric and exquisite rhythmic +harmony which impress us so forcibly in the work of scholars and bookmen +like Rheinhart Kleiner. "A Girl of the U. S.", by George W. Macauley, is +a prose piece whose nature seems to waver between that of a story and a +descriptive sketch. Though description apparently preponderates, the +narrative turn toward the conclusion may sanction classification as +fiction. The faults are all faults of imperfect technique rather than of +barren imagination, for Mr. Macauley wields a graphic pen, and adorns +every subject he approaches. In considering minor points, we must remark +the badly fractured infinitive "to no longer walk", and the unusual +word "reliefful". We have never seen the latter expression before, and +though it may possibly be a modernism in good usage, it was certainly +unknown in the days when we attempted to acquire our education. Mr. +Macauley, with his marked descriptive ability, is less at ease in +stories of contemporary life than in historical fiction, particularly +mediaeval and Oriental tales. His genius is not unlike that of Sir +Walter Scott, and shows to especial advantage in annals of knights and +chivalry. "Scratchings" are by the pen of Miss Hepner, and display an +active wit despite the profusion of slang. It would seem, however, that +so brilliant a writer could preserve the desired air of vivacity without +quite so many departures from the standard idioms of our language. + +Miss Hepner's remarks on the assimilation of new United members are +worthy of note. The cruder amateurs should not feel discouraged by the +extraordinary average scholarship of the recent element, but should +rather use it as a model for improvement. They should establish +correspondence with the cultivated recruits, thereby not only benefiting +themselves, but helping each gifted newcomer to find a useful and +congenial place amongst us. The present situation is pitifully +ludicrous, for practically all young aspirants call upon only one or two +sadly overburdened older members for literary aid, forgetting that there +are scores of brilliant writers, teachers, and professors waiting +anxiously but vainly to be of real service to their fellow-amateurs. +Several of the scholarly new members have particularly inquired how they +can best assist the association; yet the association, as represented by +its literary novices, has failed to take advantage of most of these +offers of instructions and co-operation. We are impelled here to +reiterate the slogan which Mr. Daas has so frequently printed in his +various journals: "=Welcome the Recruits!=". Such a welcome is certain +to react with double felicity upon the giver. + +"From the Michigan Trail" is Mr. Macauley's personal column, and +contains so bitter an attack on some of the United's policies of +improvement, that we are tempted to remonstrate quite loudly. The +captious criticism of the Second Vice-President's invaluable activities, +constructive labours which have practically regenerated the association +and raised it to a higher plane in the world of educational endeavour, +is positively ungenerous. To speak of the article in =Ole Miss'= +entitled "Manuscripts and Silver" as "mercenary", is the summit of +injustice, for it was nothing more or less than the absolutely +gratuitous offer to the United of what is now the Symphony Literary +Service. We are rather at a loss to divine Mr. Macauley's precise notion +of amateur journalism. He speaks of it as a "tarn", but we cannot +believe he would have it so stagnant a thing as that name implies. +Surely, the United is something greater than a superficial fraternal +order composed of mediocre and unambitious dabblers. Progress leads +toward the outside world of letters, and to cavil at work such as Mrs. +Renshaw's is to set obstacles in the path of progress. Professional +literary success on the part of amateur journalists can never react +unfavorably on the United, and it seems far from kind and proper to +impede the development of members. Why is a professional author +necessarily less desirable as an amateur journalist than a professional +plumber or boiler-maker? But there is one sound principle at the base of +Mr. Macauley's argument, which deserves more emphasis than the points he +elaborates. Professionalism must not enter into the workings of the +association, nor should the professionalized amateur take advantage of +amateur connexions to create a market for writings otherwise unsalable. +This applies to the now happily extinct tribe of "ten-cents-a-year" +publishers, who coolly expected all amateur journalists to subscribe to +their worthless misprints as a matter of fraternal obligation. Mr. +Macauley is an extremist on the subject of amateur rating, a fact which +explains many otherwise puzzling allusions in his current editorials. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for February is the final number of the Daas regime, +and constitutes a noble valedictory indeed. We find it impossible to +express with sufficient force our regret at the withdrawal of Mr. Daas +from the United, and we can but hope that the retirement may prove +merely temporary. The February official organ is wholly literary in +contents, and in quality sustains the best traditions of amateur +journalism. Miss Olive G. Owen's poem, "Give us Peace!", which opens +the issue, is tasteful in imagery and phraseology, and correct in rhyme +and metre, but contains the customary unrealities and substitutions of +emotion for reasoning which are common to all pacific propaganda. "The +Little Old Lady's Dream", by M. Almedia Bretholl, is a short story of +the almost unpleasantly "realistic" type, whose development and +atmosphere exhibit much narrative talent and literary skill. "The +Teuton's Battle-Song" is an attempt of the present critic to view the +principles of human warfare without the hypocritical spectacles of +sentimentality. "Nature in Literature", by Arthur W. Ashby, is an essay +of unusual quality, revealing a depth of well assimilated scholarship +and a faculty for acute observation and impartial analysis, of which few +amateur writers may justly boast. "His All", is an excellent poem by +Mrs. Ella Colby Eckert, distinguished equally for its noble thought and +facile rhythm. "'Twixt the Red and the White", a short story by Miss +Coralie Austin, displays marked skill in construction and phraseology, +though its development is not without a few of the typical crudities of +youthful work. There is a trifling suspicion of triteness and banality +in plot and dialogue; which is, however, compensated for in the artistic +passages so frequently encountered. "Romance, Mystery, and Art", an +essay by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, reflects the learning and thoughtfulness +of its author. The poetical fragments entitled "Songs from Walpi", by +Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan, describe the hopeless affection of a +Southwestern Indian prince for a maiden of the conquering white race. +The atmosphere and images are cleverly wrought, whilst the rhythm is in +every detail satisfactory. "Nescio Quo", by Kathleen Baldwin, is a poem +of great attractiveness both in structure and sentiment. "A Crisis", by +Eleanor J. Barnhart, is a short story of distinctly modern type, whose +substance and development compare well with professional work. "My Heart +and I", a sonnet by James T. Pyke, exhibits the skill and philosophical +profundity characteristic of its author. "My Native Land", a poem by +Adam Dickson, describes the Scottish Border with pleasing imagery and +bounding anapaestic metre. Mr. Dickson is a poet whose progress should +be carefully watched. His improvement is steady, the present piece being +easily the best specimen of his work to appear in the amateur press. +"Poetry and its Power", by Helen M. Woodruff, is a delightful essay +containing liberal quotations from various classic bards. "A +Resolution", by Harry Z. Moore, seems to be modelled after Mrs. +Renshaw's well known poem, "A Symphony". The various precepts are +without exception sound and commendable. Helene E. Hoffman presents a +brief but pleasing critique of Sir Thomas Browne's "Hydriotaphia, +Urn-Burial; or a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in +Norfolk". It is refreshing to discover a modern reader who can still +appreciate the quaint literature of the seventeenth century, and Miss +Hoffman is to be thanked for her sympathetic review of the pompous, +Latinised phrases of the old physician. "He and She", by Margaret A. +Richard, is a thoroughly meritorious poem whose two "allowable rhymes", +"fair-dear", and "head-prayed", would be censured only by a critic of +punctilious exactitude. "At Sea", a witty bit of =vers de societe= by +Henry Cleveland Wood, forms an appropriately graceful conclusion to a +richly enjoyable issue of the magazine. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for March brings to the fore Mr. George S. +Schilling's unusual editorial talent, and makes manifest the bright +future of the official organ for the balance of the present +administrative year. The chief literary contribution is "Hail, Autumn!", +one of Mr. Arthur Ashby's brilliant and scholarly essays on Nature. The +quality of Mr. Ashby's work deserves particular attention for its +reflective depth of thought, and glowing profusion of imagery. His style +is remarkably mature, and escapes completely that subtle suggestion of +the schoolboy's composition which seems inseparable from the average +amateur's attempts at natural description and philosophizing. Mr. +Schilling's editorials are forcible and straightforward, vibrant with +enthusiasm for the welfare of the association. "A Representative +Official Organ", by Paul J. Campbell, serves to explain the author's +highly desirable constitutional amendment proposed for consideration at +the coming election, which will open the columns of THE UNITED AMATEUR +to the general membership at a very reasonable expense. The News Notes +in the present issue are sprightly and interesting. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for April is made brilliant by the presence of Henry +Clapham McGavack's terse and lucid exposure of hyphenated hypocrisy, +entitled "Dr. Burgess, Propagandist". Mr. McGavack's phenomenally virile +and convincing style is supported by a remarkable fund of historical and +diplomatic knowledge, and the feeble fallacies of the pro-German embargo +advocates collapse in speedy fashion before the polished but vigorous +onslaughts of his animated pen. Another essay inspired by no superficial +thinking is Edgar Ralph Cheyney's "Nietzschean Philosophy", wherein some +of the basic precepts of the celebrated iconoclast are set forth in +comprehensive array. "The Master Voice of Ages Calls for Peace", a poem +by Mrs. Frona Scott, has fairly regular metre, though its sentiment is +one of conventional and purely emotional pacifism. "A Gentle Satire on +Friendship", by Freda de Larot, is a very clever piece of light prose; +which could, however, be improved by the deletion of much slang, and the +rectification of many loose constructions. "A Wonderful Play" is Mrs. +Eloise R. Griffith's well worded review of Jerome K. Jerome's "The +Passing of the Third Floor Back", as enacted by Forbes-Robertson. Mrs. +Griffith has here, as in all her essays, achieved a quietly pleasing +effect, and pointed a just moral. "Fire Dreams" is a graphic and +commendably regular poem by Mrs. Renshaw. "The Beach", a poem by O. M. +Blood, requires grammatical emendation. "How better could the hours been +spent" and "When life and love true pleasure brings" cannot be excused +even by the exigencies of rhyme and metre. After the second stanza, the +couplet form shifts in an unwarranted manner to the quatrain +arrangement. The phraseology of the entire piece displays poetical +tendencies yet reveals a need for their assiduous cultivation through +reading and further practice. "My Shrine", by James Laurence Crowley, +exhibits real merit both in wording and metre, yet has a rather weak +third stanza. The lines: + + "One day I crossed the desert sands; + One day I ride my train;" + +are obviously anticlimactic. To say that the subject is trite would be a +little unjust to Mr. Crowley's Muse, for all amatory themes, having been +worked over since the very dawn of poesy, are necessarily barren of +possibilities save to the extremely skilled metrist. Contemporary +love-lyrics can scarcely hope to shine except through brilliant and +unexpected turns of wit, or extraordinarily tuneful numbers. The +following lines by Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle, who died in 1673, +well express the situation despite their crudeness: + + "O Love, how thou art tired out with rhyme! + Thou art a tree whereon all poets climb; + And from thy branches every one takes some + Of the sweet fruit, which Fancy feeds upon. + But now thy tree is left so bare and poor, + That they can hardly gather one plum more!" + +"Indicatory", a brilliant short sketch by Ethel Halsey, well illustrates +the vanity of the fair, and completes in pleasing fashion a very +creditable number of our official magazine. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for May forms still another monument to the taste and +energy of our official editor, Mr. Schilling. Biography is the keynote +of the current issue, Mrs. Renshaw, Mr. J. E. Hoag, and Mr. Henry +Cleveland Wood each receiving mention. Miss Emilie C. Holladay displays +a pleasing prose style in her account of our Second Vice-President, and +arouses interest with double force through the introduction of juvenile +incidents. + +"Happiness Defined" is a delightful little sketch by Ida C. Haughton, +whose philosophy will awake an universal response from the breasts of +the majority. "The Wind Fairies", by Jean F. Barnum, is a poem in prose +which contains more of the genuine poetic essence than does the average +contemporary versified effort. The grace and grandeur of the clouds and +the atmosphere have in all ages been admired, and it is but natural that +they figure to a great extent in the beautiful legends of primitive +mythology. "The Ship that Sails Away", by J. E. Hoag, is a delicate and +attractive poem whose images and phraseology are equally meritorious. +Mr. Hoag's poetical attainments are such that we await with eagerness +the appearance of the pieces predicted in his biography. "To Flavia", by +Chester Pierce Munroe, is a sweet lyric addressed to a young child and +pervaded throughout with a quaintly whimsical, almost Georgian, +semblance of stately gallantry. The first word of the seventeenth line +should read "=small=" instead of "=swell=". As misprinted, this line +conveys a rather incongruous impression. "Mountains in Purple Robes of +Mist", a vivid and powerful poem of Nature by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, is +cast in Alexandrine quatrains, a rather uncommon measure. The only +possible defect is in line thirteen, where the accent of the word +"sublime" seems to impede the flow of the metre. Line nineteen +apparently lacks two syllables, but the deficiency is probably +secretarial or typographical rather than literary. "Man as Cook", also +by Dr. Kuntz, is a clever bit of humorous verse in octosyllabic +couplets. "Consolation" well exhibits Andrew Francis Lockhart's +remarkable progress as a poet. His verse is increasing every day in +polish, and is fast becoming one of the most pleasing and eagerly +awaited features of amateur letters. "At the End of the Road", by Mary +Faye Durr, is a graphic and touching description of a deserted +schoolhouse. The atmosphere of pensive reminiscence is well sustained by +the judiciously selected variety of images and allusions. "There's None +Like Mine at Home", by James Laurence Crowley, is a characteristic bit +of Crowleian sentimentality which requires revision and condensation. +There is not enough thought to last out three stanzas of eight lines +each. Technically we must needs shudder at the apparent incurable use of +"m-n" assonance. "Own" and "known" are brazenly and repeatedly flaunted +with "roam" and "home" in attempted rhyme. But the crowning splendour of +impossible assonance is attained in the "Worlds-girls" atrocity. Mr. +Crowley needs a long session with the late Mr. Walker's well-known +Rhyming Dictionary! Metrically, Mr. Crowley is showing a decided +improvement of late. The only censurable points in the measure of this +piece are the redundant syllables in lines 1 and 3, which might in each +case be obviated by the substitution of "=I've=" for "=I have=", and the +change of form in the first half of the concluding stanza. Of the +general phraseology and imagery we may only remark that Mr. Crowley has +much to forget, as well as to learn, before he can compete with Mr. +Kleiner or other high-grade amatory poets in the United. Such +expressions as "my guiding star", "my own dear darling Kate", or "she's +the sweetest girl that e'er on earth did roam", tell the whole sad story +to the critical eye and ear. If Mr. Crowley would religiously eschew the +popular songs and magazine "poetry" of the day, and give over all his +time to a perusal of the recognized classics of English verse, the +result would immediately be reflected in his own compositions. As yet, +he claims to be independent of scholarly tradition, but we must remind +him of the Latin epigram of Mr. Owen, which Mr. Cowper thus translated +under the title of "Retaliation": + + "The works of ancient bards divine, + Aulus, thou scorn'st to read; + And should posterity read thine, + It would be strange indeed!" + +So energetic and prolific a writer as Mr. Crowley owes it alike to +himself and to his readers to develop as best he can the talent which +rests latent within him. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for April opens with a melodious poem by Adam Dickson, +entitled "Love". While the metre might well be changed in the interests +of uniformity, the general effect is not at all harsh, and the author is +entitled to no small credit for his production. The only other poem in +the magazine is "Alone With Him", by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton. This piece is +remarkable for its rhyming arrangement, each rhyme being carried through +four lines instead of the usual couplet. The sentiments are just, the +images well drawn, and the technique correct; the whole forming a highly +commendable addition to amateur literature. "The Melody and Colour of +'The Lady of Shalott'", by Mary Faye Durr, is a striking Tennysonian +critique, whose psychological features, involving a comparison of +chromatic and poetic elements, are ingenious and unusual. Miss Durr is +obviously no careless student of poesy, for the minute analyses of +various passages give evidence of thorough assimilation and intelligent +comprehension. "On Being Good", by Newton A. Thatcher, contains sound +sense and real humour, whilst its pleasingly familiar style augurs well +for Mr. Thatcher's progress in this species of composition. "War +Reflections", by Herbert Albing, is an apt and thoughtful epitome of the +compensating benefits given to mankind by the present belligerent +condition of the world. The cogent and comprehensive series of reviews +by Miss Edna M. Haughton, and the crisp and pertinent paragraphs by +Editor Fritter, combine with the rest of =The Woodbee's= contents to +produce an issue uniformly meritorious. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + +THE POETRY OF THE MONTH + +CONTENT. + +An Epistle to RHEINHART KLEINER, Esq., Poet-Laureate, and Author of +"Another Endless Day". + + _Beatus ille qui procul negotiis, + Ut prisca gens mortalium, + Paterna rura bobus exercet suis._ + --HORACE. + + KLEINER! in whose quick pulses wildly beat + The youth's ambition, and the lyrist's heat, + Whose questing spirit scorns our lowly flights, + And dares the heavens for sublimer heights: + If passion's force will grant an hour's relief, + Attend a calmer song, nor nurse thy grief. + What is true bliss? Must mortals ever yearn + For stars beyond their reach, and vainly burn; + Must suff'ring man, impatient, seek to scale + Forbidden steeps, where sharper pangs prevail? + Alas for him who chafes at soothing ease, + And cries for fever'd joys and pains to please: + They please a moment, but the pleasure flies, + And the rack'd soul, a prey to passion, dies. + Away, false lures! and let my spirit roam + O'er sweet Arcadia, and the rural home; + Let my sad heart with no new sorrow bleed, + But rest content in Morven's mossy mead. + Wild thoughts and vain ambitions circle near, + Whilst I, at peace, the abbey chimings hear. + Loud shakes the surge of Life's unquiet sea, + Yet smooth the stream that laves the rustic lea. + Let others feel the world's destroying thrill, + As 'midst the kine I haunt the verdant hill. + Rise, radiant sun! to light the grassy glades, + Whose charms I view from grateful beechen shades; + O'er spire and peak diffuse th' expanding gleam + That gilds the grove, and sparkles on the stream. + Awake! ye sylphs of Flora's gorgeous train, + To scent the fields, and deck the rising main. + Soar, feathered flock, and carol o'er the scene, + To cheer the lonely watcher on the green. + Sweet is the song the morning meadow bears, + And with the darkness fade ambitious cares: + Above the abbey tow'r the rays ascend, + As light and peace in matchless beauty blend. + Why should I sigh for realms of toil and stress, + When now I bask in Nature's loveliness; + What thoughts so great, that they must needs expand + Beyond the hills that bound this fragrant land? + These friendly hills my infant vision knew, + And in the shelt'ring vale from birth I grew. + Yon distant spires Ambition's limit show, + For who, here born, could farther wish to go? + When sky-blest evening soothes the world and me, + Are moon and stars more distant from my lea? + No urban glare my sight of heav'n obscures, + And orbs undimm'd rise o'er the neighb'ring moors. + What priceless boon may spreading Fame impart, + When village dignity hath cheer'd the heart? + The little group that hug the tavern fire + To air their wisdom, and salute their squire, + Far kinder are, than all the courtly throng + That flatter Kings, and shield their faults in song! + And in the end; what if no man adore + My senseless ashes 'neath Westminster's floor? + May not my weary frame, at Life's dim night, + Sleep where my childhood first enjoy'd the light? + Rest were the sweeter in the sacred shade + Of that dear fane where all my fathers pray'd; + Ancestral spirits bless the air around, + And hallow'd mem'ries fill the gentle ground. + So stay, belov'd Content! nor let my soul + In fretful passion seek a farther goal. + Apollo, chasing Daphne, gain'd his prize, + But lo! she turn'd to wood before his eyes! + Our earthly prizes, though as holy sought, + Prove just as fleeting, and decay to naught. + Enduring bliss a man may only find + In virtuous living, and contented mind. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR AUGUST 1916 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 1915-1916. + +Following a novel idea originated by the present Columbus +administration, the Department of Public Criticism will herewith submit +for the first time in its history an annual report, or summary of the +preceding year's literary events within the United Amateur Press +Association. + +The programme of improvement informally decided upon in the official +year of 1913-1914 received its definite ratification at the Rocky Mount +Convention, when the assembled representatives of the United pledged +"Individual collective support" to Mr. Fritter, the new President, in +his endeavors to raise the literary standard of our society, and when an +absolutely unanimous vote invested Mrs. J. W. Renshaw, the leading +spirit of progress, with the important office of Second Vice-President. +Pres. Fritter has since discharged his obligations and sustained his +responsibilities in a thoroughly satisfactory manner despite many trying +difficulties, whilst Mrs. Renshaw, as a recruiter, has succeeded in +laying the foundations of a completely broadened, elevated, and +rejuvenated association. Yet all that has been accomplished is merely +the prologue of that greater period of change which must bring about the +final assimilation of Mrs. Renshaw's phenomenally gifted recruits, and +the materialization of the still nebulous plans evolved during the past +twelvemonth. + +The undersigned has on several occasions advocated the formation of a +regular "Department of Instruction" in the United, to be conducted by +professional teachers and college instructors for the purpose of guiding +the more or less inexperienced members. He has communicated his idea to +several high-school preceptors of great ability, and has learned that +under present conditions such a department is not perfectly feasible. It +has been suggested that if each experienced and educated amateur would +assume a personal and sympathetic advisory position toward some one of +the younger or cruder members, much actual good might result. As our +list now stands, the crude and the cultured are perhaps evenly balanced, +yet instant success even in this modified course can scarcely be +expected. At least another year seems to be required, in which the +various members may gain a closer knowledge of each other through the +wider diffusion of their printed efforts. However, the need for a more +uniformly educated membership is pressing, and the undersigned will +welcome aid or advice of any kind from those willing to assist him in +establishing some sort of scholastic Department. + +Another idea which has received undeserved neglect and discouraging +opposition is the Authors' Placing Bureau or "United Literary Service", +as outlined by the Second Vice-President. The normal goal of the amateur +writer is the outside world of letters, and the United should certainly +be able to provide improved facilities for the progress of its members +into the professional field. The objections offered to this plan are +apparently less vital than those affecting the Department of +Instruction, and it is to be hoped that the mistaken zeal of our +non-professional sticklers may not serve to prevent a step so sorely +needed. + +Passing on to the details of Departmental work, the undersigned is +pleased to report a remarkable increase in the literary value of the +compositions brought forth in the United this year; an increase which +may be fairly declared to constitute a true elevation of our +intellectual standard, and which undoubtedly compensates for the present +regrettable paucity of amateur publishing media. In verse, particularly, +is the advance notable. Some of our poets are securing recognition in +the outside world of letters, whilst many lesser bards show a steady +upward trend in their amateur efforts. Prose continues to suffer because +of the seemingly unavoidable brevity of the average amateur journal. It +is impossible to crowd any really well developed piece of prose within +the limits generally assigned, hence our best authors seem almost to be +driven into verse as a medium of expression. Financial prosperity of +sufficient extent to ensure the publication of larger papers is +obviously the only remedy for this deplorable condition. + +Of our poets, the Laureate Rheinhart Kleiner (also Laureate of the +National for 1916-1917) continues as the foremost technician and +harmonist. His accurate and tasteful lines satisfy the ear and the +understanding with equal completeness, and he shows no sign of yielding +to the corrupting influences of decadent modern standards. In his own +journal, =The Piper=, he reveals a versatile and phenomenally well +stocked mind. The September number, containing imitations of the work of +other amateur poets, will long be remembered. Mrs. Renshaw maintains her +high place as a philosophical and expressionistic bard, though hampered +by unusual theories of spontaneous versification. A greater deference to +the human ear and metrical sense would render her already lofty poetry +as attractive as it is exalted. Miss Olive G. Owen, former Laureate, has +lately returned to activity, and may well be expected to duplicate her +former successes in the domain of the Muses. The poetical progress of +Andrew Francis Lockhart is a notable feature of amateur letters this +year. Mr. Lockhart has always possessed the true genius of the bard, +writing ably and voluminously; but his recent technical care is bringing +out hitherto undiscovered beauties in his verse, and placing him in the +very front rank of United poets. "Benediction" and "Consolation" are +vastly above the average. + +Of the new poets of prime magnitude who have risen above our horizon +during the past year, Mrs. Winifred Virginia Jordan of Newton Centre, +Mass., deserves especial mention both for high quality and great volume +of work. Mrs. Jordan's poetry is of a tunefully delicate and highly +individualistic sort which has placed it in great demand amongst amateur +editors, and it is not unlikely that the author may be rewarded with a +Laureateship at no distant date. The work is invariably of spontaneously +graceful rhythm and universally pleasing in sentiment, having frequently +an elusive suggestion of the unreal. A few of Mrs. Jordan's poems are of +the grimly weird and powerful variety. "The Song of the North Wind" is a +remarkable contribution to amateur letters, and has won the enthusiastic +admiration of the United's poetical element. Professional success has +recently crowned the efforts of Mrs. Jordan. =Weekly Unity= for June 17 +contains her lines on "The Singing Heart", whilst several other poems +from her pen have been accepted by =The National Magazine=. Rev. James +Tobey Pyke is another poet of the first order whose writings have lately +enriched the literature of the United. His style is correct, and his +thought deep and philosophical. "The Meadow Cricket" is a poem which +deserved more than a superficial perusal. John Russell, formerly of +Scotland but now of Florida, is a satirist and dialect writer of +enviable talent. His favorite measure is the octosyllabic couplet, and +in his skilled hands this simple metre assumes a new and sparkling +lustre. Rev. Frederick Chenault is a prolific lyrical poet whose +sentiments are of uniform loftiness. The substitution of exact rhyme for +assonance in his lines would double the already immense merit of his +work. Other new bards of established ability are W. S. Harrison, +Kathleen Baldwin, Eugene B. Kuntz, Mary Evelyn Brown, Henry Cleveland +Wood, John W. Frazier, William Hume, Ella Colby Eckert, J. E. Hoag, +Edgar Ralph Cheyney, Margaret A. Richard, William de Ryee, Helen H. +Salls, and Jeanette Aylworth. + +Of the poets whom we may term "rising", none presents a more striking +figure than Ira A. Cole of Bazine, Kansas. Previously well known as a +prose writer and publisher, he made his debut as a metrist just a year +ago, through a very beautiful piece in the heroic couplet entitled "A +Dream of the Golden Age". Mr. Cole is one of the few survivors of the +genuine classic school, and constitutes a legitimate successor to the +late Georgian poets. His development has been of extraordinary rapidity, +and he will shortly surprise the amateur public both by a poetic drama +called "The Pauper and the Prince", and by a long mythological poem not +unlike Moore's "Lalla Rookh". The natural and pantheistic character of +Mr. Cole's philosophy adapts him with phenomenal grace to his position +as a mirror of classical antiquity. Another developing poet is Mr. Roy +Wesley Nixon of Florida. "Grandma", his latest published composition, is +a sonnet of real merit. Adam Dickson, a Scotsman by birth, but now a +resident of Los Angeles, writes tunefully and pleasantly. His pieces are +not yet of perfect polish, but each exhibits improvement over the +preceding. He tends to favor the anapaest and the iambic tetrameter. +Mrs. Ida Cochran Haughton of Columbus is scarcely a novice, but her +latest pieces are undeniably showing a great increase of technical +grace. Chester Pierce Munroe of North Carolina is a delicate amatory +lyrist of the Kleiner type. He has the quaint and attractive Georgian +touch, particularly evident in "To Flavia" and "To Chloris". Miss M. +Estella Shufelt is absolutely new to the kingdom of poesy, yet has +already produced work of phenomenal sweetness and piety. Mrs. E. L. +Whitehead, though formerly confined wholly to prose, has entered the +poetical field with intelligent and discriminating care. Her words are +thoughtfully weighed and selected, whilst her technique has rapidly +assumed a scholarly exactitude. Two new poets whose work requires much +technical improvement are Mrs. Agnes R. Arnold and Mr. George M. +Whiteside. Mr. Whiteside has indications of qualities not far remote +from genius, and would be well repaid by a rigorous course of study. +Messrs. John Hartman Oswald and James Laurence Crowley are both gifted +with a fluency and self-sufficiency which might prove valuable assets in +a study of poesy. W. F. Booker of North Carolina possesses phenomenal +grace, which greater technical care would develop into unusual power. +Rev. Robert L. Selle, D. D., of Little Rock, Arkansas, is inspired by +sincerest religious fervor, and has produced a voluminous quantity of +verse whose orthodoxy is above dispute. Mrs. Maude K. Barton writes +frequently and well, though her technical polish has not yet attained +its maximum. John Osman Baldwin of Ohio is a natural poet of spontaneous +grace, though requiring cultivation in correct style. + +From the foregoing estimate it may easily be gathered that imperfect +technique is the cardinal sin of the average amateur poet. We have among +us scores of writers blest with beautiful thoughts and attractive +fluency, yet the number of precise versifiers may be counted on one's +fingers. Our association needs increased requirements in classic +scholarship and literary exactitude. At present, it is impossible for an +impartial critic to give unstinted approval to the technique of any well +known United poet save Rheinhart Kleiner. + +Turning to the consideration of our prose writers, the undersigned finds +it difficult to render a true judgment, owing to the adverse conditions +mentioned earlier in this report. Many fluent pens are doubtless cramped +into feebleness through want of space. + +Fiction is among us the least developed of all the branches of +literature. Really good stories are rare phenomena, whilst even +mediocrity is none too common. The best short stories of the year are +probably those by M. Almedia Bretholl and Eleanor Barnhart; the others +are mainly juvenile work. Roy W. Nixon and Miss Coralie Austin represent +the extremes of excitement and tameness, with "A Bottle of Carbolic +Acid" on the one hand, and with "Jane" and "'Twixt the Red and the +White" on the other. Both of these authors possess substantial ability. +David H. Whittier is developing along classic lines, and will be a +prominent figure in the next generation of amateur journalists. Mr. +Moe's pupils are all good story-tellers, the work of Miss Gladys L. Bagg +standing forth quite prominently this year. Florence Brugger's "Tale of +the Sea" is a graphic narrative from a youthful pen, as is William +Dowdell's "Behind the Canvas Wall", in a somewhat different way. +Henriette and Florenz Ziegfeld have each contributed excellent work, nor +must Mary M. Sisson's "Tempora Mutantur" be forgotten. + +The rather loosely defined domain of the "sketch" has thriven this year, +since it elicits fluent expression from those less prolific in other +branches of literature. Mr. Melvin Ryder has entertained us with an +entire magazine of this sort of material, whilst Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, +Irene Metzger, Benjamin Repp, Mary Faye Durr, Ethel Halsey, Clara Inglis +Stalker, Freda de Larot, Helene E. Hoffman Cole, Helen M. Woodruff, Ira +A. Cole, and Eloise N. Griffith prove no less entertaining with shorter +sketches. + +Criticism is well represented by Leo Fritter, Edna M. Haughton, Mrs. +J. W. Renshaw, and Rheinhart Kleiner. The latter is no less gifted a +critic than a poet, and gives out very acute judgments in his journal, +=The Piper=. + +In viewing the formal essays of the year, one is impressed with the +profusion of mere schoolboy compositions. Masters of the Addisonian art +are few but those few almost atone for the general lack of polish. Henry +Clapham McGavack leads the list with a clarity of style and keenness of +reasoning unsurpassed in the association. His "Dr. Burgess, +Propagandist" is an amateur classic. Edgar Ralph Cheyney is an extreme +radical, but is none the less a masterful essayist. His articles take a +very high rank both for thoughtfulness and for diction. A third writer +of unusual power and analytical depth is Arthur W. Ashby, whose essays +on the varied aspects of Nature command our serious attention. The two +Schillings, George and Samuel, deserve more than a passing mention, +whilst Pres. Fritter's Laureateship well attests his merit. Rev. E. P. +Parham has produced work of attractive quality. Joseph W. Renshaw's +essays and editorials command notice whenever beheld; whilst Ira A. +Cole, ever versatile, will shortly display his epistolary skill in the +now unpublished series of "Churchill-Tutcombie Letters". William T. +Harrington has progressed by leaps and bounds to a prominent place +amongst our essay-writers, his able encomiums of Old England being a +delightful feature of the year. It would be gratifying to speak of +Maurice W. Moe's splendid style and terse English at this point, for he +is one of our very foremost essayists; but his enforced inactivity in +amateur journalism this year has deprived us of any current specimens +save the brief editorial in the February =Pippin=. + +The general quality of our prose is by no means satisfactory. Too many +of our authors are contaminated with modern theories which cause them to +abandon grace, dignity, and precision, and to cultivate the lowest forms +of slang. + +Papers and magazines have been neither ample nor numerous this year; in +fact, the tendency of the times appears to be a centralization of effort +in THE UNITED AMATEUR; something which is for many reasons to be +applauded, and for a few reasons to be deplored. Those members who feel +capable of issuing individual papers should be encouraged to do so; +whilst those who are ordinarily silent, should be encouraged to join the +contributing staff of THE UNITED AMATEUR as provided by the Campbell +amendment. + +The best individual journal of the year is =Ole Miss'=. For frequency +and regularity, =The Scot=, =The Woodbee=, =The Dixie Booster=, and =The +Coyote= are to be commended. THE UNITED AMATEUR has prospered as a +monthly despite adverse conditions. The elaborate September, October and +February numbers put us in deep debt to Mr. Edward F. Daas, while +subsequent examples of good editorship must be accredited to Mr. George +Schilling. It is gratifying to note the increasing literary character of +the Official Organ; purely official numbers are invariably tedious, many +of the long, detailed reports being quite superfluous. It is a strong +and sincere hope of the undersigned, that Mr. Daas may rejoin us at and +after the present convention. The resumption of =The Lake Breeze= would +supply a pressing need. Mr. Moitoret's =Cleveland Sun=, which promises +to be a frequently issued paper, made its first appearance lately, and +will, after much of its "loudness" has been removed, be of substantial +benefit to new members. The "sporting" features should be eliminated at +once, as not only being in bad taste, but exerting a noxious influence +over the literary development of the younger members. + +While upon the subject of papers, the undersigned would like to enter a +renewed protest against the persistent use of certain distorted forms of +spelling commonly called "simplified". These wretched innovations, +popular amongst the less educated element during the past decade, are +now becoming offensively prominent in certain periodicals of supposedly +better grade, and require concerted opposition on the part of all +friends of our language. The advantages claimed for the changes are +almost wholly unsubstantial, whilst the inevitable disadvantages are +immense. Let us see fewer "thrus" and "thoros" in the amateur press! + +What the association needs above all things is a return to earlier forms +in prose and verse alike; to poetry that does not pain the ear, and +paragraphs that do not affront the aesthetic sense of the reader. If our +writers would pay more attention to the tasteful Georgian models, they +would produce work of infinitely less cacophonous quality. Almost every +one of our authors who is familiar with the literature of the past, is +distinguished by exceptional grace and fluency of composition. + +As this report draws toward its conclusion, a few minor aims of the +Department of Public Criticism are to be noted. It is now the desire of +the undersigned to aid authors in rectifying the injustices to which +they are subjected by the wretched typography of most amateur journals. +Writers are hereby encouraged to transmit to this Department corrected +copies of all misprinted work, the corrections to be made public in THE +UNITED AMATEUR. By this method it is hoped that no amateur journalist +will again be forced to suffer for faults not his own, as so many have +suffered in the past. Of course, the critical reports themselves are +frequently misprinted, but the vast majority of mistakes may with care +be eliminated. + +Concerning the name of this association, which a number wish changed in +a manner that will eliminate the word "amateur", the undersigned feels +that the sentiment of the veteran element is too strongly against such a +move to warrant its immediate adoption. The primary object is the +training of young writers before they have attained the professional +grade, wherefore the present title is by no means such a misnomer as +might be inferred from the talents of the more cultivated members. +However, the proposed alteration is certainly justified in many ways, +hence the idea should be deferred rather than abandoned altogether. + +The wane of interest in amateur political affairs is to be commended as +a recognition of the superior importance of literary matters. Amateur +journalism is rapidly progressing nearer and nearer its ideal: a device +for the instruction of the young and crude, and an aid for the obscure +author of any sort, rather than a playground for the aimless and the +frivolous. + +Last of all, the undersigned wishes to thank the membership for its kind +reception of the Department's reports. It is ever the Chairman's design +to render impartial judgment, and if harshness or captiousness may at +any time have been noticed in the reports, it has in each case been +unintentional. An ideal of sound conservatism has been followed, but in +no instance has the critic sought to enforce upon others that peculiarly +archaic style of which he is personally fond, and which he is accustomed +to employ in his own compositions. The Department of Public Criticism +aspires to be of substantial assistance to the members of the United, +and hopes next year to co-operate with Mr. Lockhart in presenting +reviews of truly constructive quality. + +Solicitous for the approval, and confident of the indulgence of the +association, the Department herewith has the honor to conclude its first +annual report; in the hope that such a summary of events and estimate of +conditions may be of use to the incoming administration. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR SEPTEMBER 1916 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Amateur Special= for July is a voluminous magazine of credentials +and other work of new members, edited by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, retiring +Eastern Manuscript Manager, with the assistance of the Recruiting +Committee. Of all papers lately issued in the United, this is without +doubt among the most valuable and most significant; since it is the +pioneer of the new regime, whereby the talent of all our membership is +to be brought out by better publishing facilities. Mrs. Whitehead, with +notable generosity, has reserved for herself but one page, on which we +find a clever and correct bit of verse, and a number of graceful +acknowledgments and useful suggestions. The contents in general are well +calculated to display the thorough literary excellence and supremacy of +the United in its present condition; for in this collection of stories, +poems, and articles, taken practically at random from the manuscript +bureaus, there is scarce a line unworthy of commendation. + +"Tatting", by Julian J. Crump, is a fluent and graceful colloquial +sketch. "Mother and Child", by J. E. Hoag, is a sombre and thoughtful +poem having a certain atmosphere of mysticism. The metre, which is well +handled, consists of regular iambic pentameter quatrains with a couplet +at the conclusion. An annoying misprint mars the first stanza, where +"=sigh=" is erroneously rendered as "=sight=". "Homesick for the +Spring", a poem by Bessie Estelle Harvey, displays real merit in thought +and construction alike. "Mother Earth", by Rev. E. P. Parham, is a well +adorned little essay in justification of the traditional saying that +"the earth is mother of us all". George M. Whiteside, a new member of +the United, makes his first appearance before us as a poet in "The +Little Freckled Face Kid". Mr. Whiteside's general style is not unlike +that of the late James Whitcomb Riley, and its prevailing air of homely +yet pleasing simplicity is well maintained. "To Chloris", by Chester +Pierce Munroe, is a smooth and melodious amatory poem of the Kleiner +school. The imagery is refined, and the polish of the whole amply +justifies the inevitable triteness of the theme. The word "=adorns=", in +next the last line, should read "=adorn=". "A Dream", by Helen Harriet +Salls, is a hauntingly mystical succession of poetic images cast in +appropriate metre. The natural phenomena of the morning are vividly +depicted in a fashion possible only to the true poet. The printer has +done injustice to this exquisite phantasy in three places. In the first +stanza "=wonderous=" should read "=wondrous=", while in the seventh +stanza "=arient=" should be "=orient=". "=Thou'st=", in the eleventh +stanza, should be "=Thou'rt=". "Prayers", a religious poem by Rev. +Robert L. Selle, D. D., displays the classic touch of the eighteenth +century in its regular octosyllabic couplets, having some resemblance to +the work of the celebrated Dr. Watts. "Snow of the Northland", by M. +Estella Shufelt, is a religious poem of different sort, whose tuneful +dactylic quatrains contain much noble and appropriate metaphor. In the +final line the word "=re-cleaned=" should read "=re-cleansed=". "In +Passing By", by Sophie Lea Fox, is a meritorious poem of the thoughtful, +introspective type, which has been previously honoured with professional +publication. "A Time to Sing", by M. B. Andrews, introduces to the +United another genuine poet of worth. The lines are happy in inspiration +and finished in form, having only one possible defect, the use of +"=heralding=" as a dissyllable. "The Stately Mountains", by Rev. Eugene +B. Kuntz, D. D., is a notable contribution to amateur poetic literature. +Dr. Kuntz chooses as his favourite metre the stately Alexandrine; and +using it in a far more flexible and ingenious manner than that of +Drayton, he manages to achieve a dignified and exalted atmosphere +virtually impossible in any other measure. The even caesural break so +common to Alexandrines, and so often urged by critics as an objection +against them, is here avoided with great ingenuity and good taste. Dr. +Kuntz's sentiments and phrases are as swelling and sublime as one might +expect from his metre. His conception of Nature is a broad and noble +one, and his appreciation of her beauties is that of the innate poet. +"An April Memory" acquaints us with W. Frank Booker, a gifted lyrist +whose lines possess all the warmth, witchery and grace of his native +Southland. James J. Hennessey, in his essay on "The Army in Times of +Peace", exhibits very forcibly the various indispensable services so +quietly and efficiently performed by the United States Army in every-day +life. Mr. Hennessey makes plain the great value of having among us a +body of keen, versatile, and well-trained men ready for duty of any +sort, and ever alert for their country's welfare in peace or in war. The +American Soldier well deserves Mr. Hennessey's tribute, and the present +essay adds one more to the already incontrovertible array of arguments +in favour of an adequate military system. As printed, the article is +marred by a superfluous letter "=s=" on the very last word, which should +read "=citizen=". "Sowing the Good", a brief bit of moralizing by Horace +Fowler Goodwin, contains a serious misprint, for the final word of line +1, stanza 2, should be "=say=". "Bobby's Literary Lesson", by Gladys L. +Bagg, is a delightful specimen of domestic satire in prose. The handling +of the conversation exhibits Miss Bagg as a writer of considerable skill +and promise. "The Leaf", a clever poem of Nature by Emily Barksdale, +contains some gruesome atrocities by the printer. In the second stanza +"=it's=" should be "=it=", and "=wonderous=" should be "=wondrous=". In +the third stanza the typographical artist has killed a pretty woodland +"=copse=" with the letter "=r=", so that it reads "=corpse="! In the +fourth stanza "=head=" should read "=heard=". Perhaps the "=r=" which +murdered the "=copse=" escaped from this sadly mutilated word! In stanza +five, "=Chaots=" should be "=chants=". But why continue the painful +chronicle? Mr. Kleiner said just what we would like to say about +misprints over a year ago, when he wrote "The Rhyme of the Hapless +Poet"! "Submission", by Eugene B. Kuntz, is a delightful bit of light +prose, forming the autobiography of a much-rejected manuscript. This +piece well exhibits Dr. Kuntz's remarkable versatility. The humour is +keen, and nowhere overstrained. "Number 1287", a short story by Gracia +Isola Yarbrough, exhibits many of the flaws of immature work, yet +contains graphic touches that promise well for the author. The lack of +unity in plot and development detracts somewhat from the general effect, +while the unusual lapses of time and artificial working up of the later +situations are also antagonistic to technical polish. Triteness is +present, but that is to be expected in all amateur fiction. "A Drama of +Business", by Edgar Ralph Cheyney, is a terse bit of prose which might +well serve as an editorial in a liberal literary magazine. "The Schools +of Yesterday and Today", a sketch by Selma Guilford, presents in +pleasing fashion an interesting and optimistic contrast. In "Mother", +George M. Whiteside treats a noble theme in rather skilful fashion, +though the rhyming of "=breezes=" and "=trees is=" can hardly be deemed +suitable in a serious poem. "When the Sea Calls", a poem by Winifred +Virginia Jordan, is possibly the most striking feature of the magazine. +Mrs. Jordan's style in dealing with the wilder aspects of Nature has a +grim potency all its own, and we can endorse without qualification the +judgment of Mr. Moe when he calls this poem "positively magnificent in +dynamic effect". To Mrs. Jordan is granted a natural poetic genius which +few other amateurs can hope to parallel. Not many of our literary +artists can so aptly fit words to weird or unusual passages, or so +happily command all the advantages of alliteration and onomatopoeia. We +believe that Mrs. Jordan's amateur eminence will eventually ripen into +professional recognition. "Preachers in Politics", by Rev. James Thomas +Self, is a long, thoughtful, and extremely well phrased essay against +the descent of the ministry to the uncertain affairs of practical +legislation. Dr. Self has a just idea of the dignity of the cloth; an +idea which some clergymen of less conservative habits would do well to +acquire. Very painful is the sight of the slang-mouthing "evangelist" +who deserts his pulpit for the stump or the circus-tent. "Peace, +Germany!", a poem by Maude Kingsbury Barton, constitutes an appeal to +the present outlaw among nations. We feel, however, that it is only from +London that Germany will eventually be convinced of the futility of her +pseudo-Napoleonic enterprise. And when peace does come to Germany, it +will be British-made peace! The structure of Mrs. Barton's poem is +regular, and many of the images are very well selected. The worst +misprints are those in the sixth stanza, where "=in=" is omitted before +the word "=pomp=", and in the seventh stanza where "=come=" is printed +as "=came=". In the biographical sketch entitled "Two Lives", Helen +Hamilton draws a powerful moral from the contrasting but contemporaneous +careers of Florence Nightingale and the ex-Empress Eugenie. "Class-Room +Spirits I Have Known", an essay by Bessie Estelle Harvey, displays a +sound comprehension of pedagogical principles. Two more poems by Mrs. +Jordan conclude the issue. "The Time of Peach Tree Bloom" is the fourth +of the "Songs from Walpi", three of which appeared in THE UNITED +AMATEUR. "In a Garden" is a gem of delightful delicacy and ethereal +elegance. It is indeed not without just cause that the author has, from +the very first, held the distinction of being the most frequent poetical +contributor in all amateur journalism. + + * * * * * + +=The Cleveland Sun= for June is the first number of an amateur newspaper +edited by Anthony F. Moitoret, Edwin D. Harkins, and William J. Dowdell; +and remarkable for an excellent heading, drawn by a staff artist of the +=Cleveland Leader=. The present issue is printed in close imitation of +the modern professional daily, and displays some interesting examples of +"newspaper English". Mr. Moitoret is an old-time United man, now +reentering the sphere of activity, and he is to be commended warmly both +for his generous attitude toward the new members, and for his really +magnanimous offer of aid to those desirous of issuing individual papers. +His editorial hostility toward the Campbell amendment is, we believe, +mistaken; yet is none the less founded on a praiseworthy desire to serve +what he deems the best interests of the Association. Were Mr. Moitoret +more in touch with the rising ideals of the newer United, he would +realize the essential childishness of our "official business" as +contrasted with the substantial solidity of our developing literature. +Possibly the plan of Mr. Campbell, as experimentally tried during the +present year, will alter Mr. Moitoret's present opinion. Taken +altogether, we are not sure whether the =Sun= will prove beneficial or +harmful to the United. We most assuredly need some sort of stimulus to +activity, yet the comparatively crude atmosphere of newspaperdom is +anything but inspiring in a literary society. We cannot descend from the +ideals of Homer to those of Hearst without a distinct loss of quality, +for which no possible gain in mere enthusiasm can compensate. Headlines +such as "Columbus Bunch Boosting Paul" or "Hep Still Shows Pep", are +positive affronts to the dignity of amateur journalism. There is room +for an alert and informing news sheet in the United, yet we feel certain +that the =Sun= must become a far more sedate and scholarly publication +before it can adequately supply the need. At present, its garish rays +dazzle and blind more than they illuminate; in a perusal of its pages we +experience more of =sunstroke= than of =sunshine=. Of "The Best Sport +Page In Amateurdom" we find it difficult to speak or write. Not since +perusing the delectable lines of "Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress", by +jovial old "Anacreon Moore", have we beheld such an invasion of +prize-fight philosophy and race-track rhetoric. We learn with interest +that a former United member named "Handsome Harry" has now graduated +from literature to =left field=, and has, through sheer genius, risen +from the lowly level of the ambitious author, to the exalted eminence of +the =classy slugger=. Too proud to =push the pen=, he now =swats the +pill=. Of such doth the dizzy quality of sempiternal Fame consist! +Speaking without levity, we cannot but censure Mr. Dowdell's +introduction of the ringside or ball-field spirit into an Association +purporting to promote culture and lettered skill. Our members can +scarcely be expected to place the Stygian-hued John Arthur Johnson, +Esq., on a pedestal beside his well-known namesake Samuel; or calmly to +compare the stinging wit of a Sidney Smith with the stinging fist-cuffs +of a "Gunboat" Smith. In a word, what is suited to the street-corner is +not always suited to the library, and the taste of the United is as yet +but imperfectly attuned to the lyrical liltings of the pool-room Muse. +It is both hard and unwise to take the "Best Sport Page" seriously. As a +copy of "yellow" models it is a work of artistic verisimilitude; indeed, +were Mr. Dowdell a somewhat older man, we might justly suspect a +satirical intention on his part. + +We trust that =The Cleveland Sun= may shine on without cloud or setting, +though we must needs hope that the United's atmosphere of academic +refinement will temper somewhat the scorching glare with which the +bright orb has risen. + + * * * * * + +=The Conservative= for April opens with Andrew Francis Lockhart's +melodious and attractive poem entitled "Benediction". As a whole, this +is possibly the best piece of verse which Mr. Lockhart has yet written; +the sentiment is apt, if not entirely novel, whilst the technical +construction is well-nigh faultless. Such expressions as "pearl-scarr'd" +serve to exhibit the active and original quality of Mr. Lockhart's +genius. "Another Endless Day", by Rheinhart Kleiner, is a beautiful and +harmonious poetical protest against monotony. Much to be regretted is +the misprint in line 3 of the third stanza, where the text should read: + + "=A= love to thrill with new delight". + +"April", by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a seasonable and extremely +tuneful poem whose imagery is of that dainty, sprightly sort which only +Mrs. Jordan can create. "In Morven's Mead", also by Mrs. Jordan, +contains an elusive and haunting suggestion of the unreal, in the +author's characteristic style. "The Night Wind Bared My Heart" completes +a highly meritorious trilogy. In justice to the author, it should be +stated that the last of these three poems is, as here presented, merely +a rough draft. Through our own reprehensible editorial oversight, the +printer received this unpolished copy instead of the finished poem. The +following emendations should be observed: + + Stanza I, line 4, to read: "Awak'd my anguish'd sighs". + + Stanza II, line 3, to read: "But Oh, from grief =were= prest". + +"The Best Wine", by William de Ryee, is an earnestly introspective poem, +well cast in iambic pentameter quatrains. "Ye Ballade of Patrick von +Flynn" is a comic delineation of the cheap pseudo-Irish, England-hating +agitators who have been so offensively noisy on this side of the +Atlantic ever since the European war began, and particularly since the +late riots in Dublin. This class, which so sadly misrepresents the loyal +Irish people, deserves but little patience from Americans. Its members +stutter childishly about "breaches of neutrality" every time a real +American dares speak a word in favour of the Mother Country; yet they +constantly violate neutrality themselves in their clumsy attempts to use +the United States as a catspaw against England. The actual German +propagandists have the excuse of patriotism for their race and +Vaterland, but these Hibernian hybrids, neither good Irishmen nor good +Americans, have no excuse whatever when they try to subvert the +functions of the country which is giving them protection and livelihood. + + * * * * * + +=The Conservative= for July pays a deserved tribute to one of the most +lucid and acute of our amateur essayists, by devoting the entire issue +to his work. Henry Clapham McGavack, in "The American Proletariat versus +England", exposes with admirable fearlessness the silly Anglophobic +notions which a mistaken conception of the Revolution, and an ignorant +Irish population, have diffused among our lower classes. It is seldom +that an author ventures to speak so frankly on this subject, for the +servile tendency of the times impels most writers and publishers to play +the demagogue by essaying to feed the Irish masses with the anti-English +swill they desire; but Mr. McGavack wields an independent pen, and +records the truth without fear of the =mobile vulgus= and its shallow +views. In power, directness, urbanity, and impartiality, Mr. McGavack +cannot be excelled. He marshals his arguments without passion, bias, or +circumlocution; piling proof upon proof until none but the most stubborn +England-hater can fail to blush at the equal injustice and stupidity of +those who malign that mighty empire to whose earth-wide circle of +civilisation we all belong. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for April is a Special English Number, dedicated to our +soldier-member, George William Stokes of Newcastle-on-Tyne. The opening +poem "To England", well exhibits the versatility of Mrs. Winifred V. +Jordan, who here appears as a national panegyrist of commendable dignity +and unexceptionable taste. The word at the beginning of the fourth line +should read "=Is=" instead of "=To=". The short yet stirring metre is +particularly well selected. "Active English Amateurs I Have Met", by +Ernest A. Dench, is a rather good prose piece, though not without marks +of careless composition. "The Vultur", by Henry J. Winterbone of the +B. A. P. A., is a remarkably good story whose development and conclusion +would do credit to a professional pen. We hope Mr. Winterbone may join +the United, thereby giving American readers a more ample opportunity to +enjoy his work. Editor William T. Harrington, whose prose is so rapidly +acquiring polish and fluency, contributes two brief but able essays: +"History Repeats" and "How Great Britain Keeps Her Empire". In "History +Repeats", certain parts of the second sentence might well be amended a +trifle in structure, to read thus: "it must be remembered =that= the +first half was a series of victories for the South, and =that= only +after the Battle of Gettysburg did the strength of the North begin to +assert itself". This number of =The Coyote= is an exceedingly timely and +tasteful tribute to our Mother Country, appearing at an hour when the +air of America reeks with the illiterate anti-British trash of the "Sinn +Fein" simpletons and Prussian propagandists. + + * * * * * + +=Invictus= for July is the second number of Mr. Paul J. Campbell's +personal organ, and represents the strictly individual magazine in its +most tasteful and elaborate form. Unimpeachably artistic in appearance, +its contents justify the exterior; the whole constituting a publication +of the first rank, wherein are joined the virtues both of the old and of +the new schools of amateur journalism. Since Mr. Campbell is +preeminently an essayist, it is to his dissertations on "The Pursuit of +Happiness" and "The Age of Accuracy" which we turn most eagerly; and +which in no way disappoint our high expectations. The first of these +essays is a dispassionate survey of mankind in its futile but frantic +scramble after that elusive but unreal sunbeam called "happiness". The +author views the grimly amusing procession of human life with the +genuine objective of an impartial spectator, and with commendable +freedom from the hypocritical colouring of those who permit commonplace +emotions and tenuous idealizings to obscure the less roseate but more +substantial vision of their intellects. "The Age of Accuracy" presents +an inspiring panorama of the evolution of Intellect, and of its +increasing domination over the more elemental faculties of instinct and +emotion. At the same time, much material for reflection is furnished, +since it is obvious that the advance is necessarily confined to a +comparatively small and select part of humanity. Instinct and emotion +are still forces of tremendous magnitude, against which Reason wages an +upward struggle of incredible bravery. Only the strong can escape the +clutch of the primitive, wherefore there can be no successful social +order which does not conform in its essentials to the blind impulses of +the natural man or man-ape. We are in danger of overestimating the +ascendancy and stability of Reason, for it is in reality the most +fragile and rudimentary element in our mortal fabric. A heavy blow on +certain parts of the skull, or a bullet in certain parts of the brain, +can destroy in an instant all the accumulated intellect which aeons of +heredity have bestowed, depressing the victim from the zenith of culture +and refinement to a condition separated only by colour and contour from +that of the negro or the gorilla; yet not all the edicts of the +lawgiver, devices of the educator, measures of the reformer, or skill of +the surgeon, can extirpate the ingrained instincts and seated +superstitions of the average human animal. + +The poetry of Mr. Campbell is represented in =Invictus= by three +specimens, whose merit speaks well for the author's progress in the art. +"The Sunshine Girl" is an amatory panegyric of no small skill and +polish, though not strikingly novel in sentiment or expression. "German +Kultur" is a scathing and virile indictment of the present enemies of +humanity. The versification is bold, and in places rugged, whilst the +imagery is appropriately grim and sardonic. Points which we might +criticise are the repeated use of "=civilization=" as a word of only +four syllables, and the archaic pronunciation of "=drown-ed=" as a +dissyllable. This latter usage would be objectionable in verse of +stately or conservative cast, but here grates upon the ear as an +anachronism. The trenchant wit of the piece is well sustained, and +brought out with particular force in the second and fourth stanzas. "The +Major Strain" is without doubt the foremost verse of the issue. This is +real poetry. The sustained rhyming, whereby each stanza contains only +one rhyming sound, is pleasing and unusual. Mr. Campbell's comment on +"Amateur Affairs" really deserves to be classed as an essay, for its +thoughtful conclusions and intelligent analyses of human nature +certainly draw it within the pale of true literature. The broad +comprehension and continued love of amateur journalism here exhibited, +are potent justifications of the author's practically unanimous election +to the Presidency of the United. =Invictus= is one of the very foremost +journals of the amateur world, and the only possible objection which can +be raised against it, is its infrequency of appearance. It is the voice +of a virile and vibrant personality who unites vigour of thought with +urbanity of expression. + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for May marks the advent of this highly entertaining and well +conducted magazine to the United, and extends the northern frontier of +amateur journalism to Bonnie Dundee, in Auld Scotland, the Land of +Mountain and Flood. "Hidden Beauty", a poem in blank verse by R. M. +Ingersley, opens the issue with a combination of lofty conceptions, +vivid imagery, and regular structure. "England's Glory", by Clyde Dane, +is a stirring tale of that fearless and self-sacrificing honour which +has given to the Anglo-Saxon the supremacy of the world. It would be in +bad taste to cavil at slight technical imperfections or instances of +triteness when considering so earnest and glowing a delineation of the +British character; the noblest human type ever moulded by the Creator. +"Oh Rose, Red Rose!" is a tuneful little lyric by Winifred V. Jordan, +whose work is never too brief to be pleasing, or too long to be +absorbing. "Clemency versus Frightfulness", by William T. Harrington, is +a thoughtful and lucid exposition of the British governmental ideal of +lenient justice; an ideal whose practical success has vividly +demonstrated its thorough soundness. "At Last", by Muriel Wilson, is a +blank verse poem of much merit. "Do You Remember?", by the late Lieut. +Roy Arthur Thackara, R. N., is a delicate sketch possessing the +additional interest of coming from the pen of one who has now given his +life for King and Country; the author having gone down with H. M. S. +=India=. "A Battle with the Sea", a sketch by Midshipman Ernest L. +McKeag, exhibits descriptive power of no common order, yet might well +have a less abrupt conclusion. "To Some One", by Margaret Trafford, is a +poem in dactylic measure, dedicated to the women of Britain. The +sentiment is noble, and the encomium well bestowed, though the metre +could be improved in polish. "Gum", by Henry J. Winterbone, is a +delightfully humorous sketch. It is evident that those who depreciate +British humour must have taken pains to avoid its perusal, since it has +a quietly pungent quality seldom found save among Anglo-Saxons. +Personally, we believe that the summit of clumsy pseudo-jocoseness is +attained by the average "comic" supplement of the Hearst Sunday papers. +These, and not the British press, present the pathetic spectacle of +utter inanity and repulsive grotesqueness without the faintest redeeming +touch of genuine comedy, legitimate satire, or refined humour. "Life's +Voyage", by Matthew Hilson, is a poem of great attractiveness, though of +scarcely impeccable construction. Concerning the expression "tempests +wild do roar", we must reiterate the advice of Mr. Pope, who condemned +the expletive "do", "doth", or "did" as a "feeble aid". Such usage has, +in fact, been in bad taste ever since the reign of Queen Anne; Dryden +being the last bard in whom we need not censure the practice. Mr. +McColl's editorials are brief but informing. He may well be +congratulated on his work as a publisher, and he certainly deserves as +hearty a welcome as the United can give. + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for June is a "British Old-Timers' Number", confined wholly +to the work of the senior amateur journalists of the Mother Country. +Edward F. Herdman, to whom this number is dedicated, opens the issue +with a religious poem entitled "Life", which compares well with the bulk +of current religious verse. Mr. Herdman also contributes one of several +prose essays on amateur journalism, in which the various authors view +our field of endeavor from similar angles. "A Song of a Sailor", by +R. D. Roosemale-Cocq, exhibits buoyant animation, and considerable ease +in the handling of a rollicking measure. The internal rhymes are for the +most part well introduced, though greater uniformity might have been +used in their distribution. The first two lines have none. In the last +stanza there are two lines whose metre seems deficient, but being +conscious of the uncertainties of the secretarial and typographical +arts, we suspend judgment on the author. "A Song of Cheer", by Alfred H. +Pearce, is an optimistic ode of real merit. The last line furnishes a +particularly pleasing example of sprightly wit. Mr. Gavin T. McColl is +sensible and perspicuous in all his editorial utterances. His work in +issuing one of the only two regular monthly magazines in amateurdom has +already brought him to prominence, though his connexion with the press +associations is still new. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for June is given over largely to critical and +official matter, though two pieces of verse serve to vary the monotony. +"Content", from our own pen, is an answer to Mr. Rheinhart Kleiner's +delightful poem in the April =Conservative=, entitled "Another Endless +Day". The lines are notable chiefly on account of some fearful and +wonderful typographical errors. In the fourth line "=sublime=" should +read "=sublimer=". In the eighth line there should be no apostrophe in +the word "=stars=". In the second column, eleventh line from the end, +there should be no apostrophe in the word "=fathers=", and finally, in +the ninth line from the end, "=hollow'd=" should read "=hallow'd=". "The +Swing in the Great Oak Tree", by Mrs. Agnes Richmond Arnold, is a +reminiscent poem whose measure is as swinging as its subject, and whose +atmosphere is pleasantly rural. There are flaws in the metre, and +irregularities in the rhyming arrangement, but the spirit of the whole +rises blithesomely above such slight technical matters. Editor +Schilling's column is to be praised for its dignified style, and +endorsed for its sound opinions. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for July is an attractive and important contribution to +the history of amateur journalism; since it is entirely devoted to the +biographies of the gifted Columbus amateurs, and to the annals of their +brilliant local organization. The Woodbees undoubtedly form the most +active and representative adult club in the United; to which only the +Appleton Club, representing the juvenile Muse, may justly be compared. +The Woodbees are typical, in a sense, of all that is best in the entire +association. They are pursuing courses of serious literary study, +producing a regularly issued magazine of unfailing merit and good taste, +working enthusiastically for the welfare and expansion of the United, +and leading or following every worthy or progressive movement in amateur +politics. They reflect credit upon themselves, their society, the +Association, and amateur journalism as a whole. The delightful +biographical article which occupies the major portion of the current +=Woodbee= is unsigned; but deserves particular praise, whoever the +author may be. The various characters are well displayed, and their +pleasing qualities and manifold activities well exhibited. + +Mr. Fritter's editorials are as usual timely, lucid, and sensible. His +advocacy of the Campbell Amendment is to be applauded; and will, we +trust, be justified by the year's trial which that measure is now +undergoing. The present issue marks the conclusion of Mr. Fritter's term +as editor. He has given the amateur public a creditable volume, and is +entitled to the gratitude of every member of our Association. A final +word of praise is due the excellent group photograph of the Woodbees +which forms the frontispiece of the magazine. Added to the biographical +matter, it completes a thoroughly commendable introduction to a +thoroughly commendable body of literary workers. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVI GEORGETOWN, ILL., NOVEMBER, 1916 NUMBER 4 + + +THE ALCHEMIST + +High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are +wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, +stands the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty +battlements have frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside +about, serving as a home and stronghold for the proud house whose +honoured line is older even than the moss-grown castle walls. These +ancient turrets, stained by the storms of generations and crumbling +under the slow yet mighty pressure of time, formed in the ages of +feudalism one of the most dreaded and formidable fortresses in all +France. From its machicolated parapets and mounted battlements Barons, +Counts, and even Kings had been defied, yet never had its spacious halls +resounded to the footstep of the invader. + +But since those glorious years all is changed. A poverty but little +above the level of dire want, together with a pride of name that forbids +its alleviation by the pursuits of commercial life, have prevented the +scions of our line from maintaining their estates in pristine splendour; +and the falling stones of the walls, the overgrown vegetation in the +parks, the dry and dusty moat, the ill-paved courtyards, and toppling +towers without, as well as the sagging floors, the worm-eaten wainscots, +and the faded tapestries within, all tell a gloomy tale of fallen +grandeur. As the ages passed, first one, then another of the four great +turrets were left to ruin, until at last but a single tower housed the +sadly reduced descendants of the once mighty lords of the estate. + +It was in one of the vast and gloomy chambers of this remaining tower +that I, Antoine, last of the unhappy and accursed Comtes de C----, first +saw the light of day, ninety long years ago. Within these walls, and +amongst the dark and shadowy forests, the wild ravines and grottoes of +the hillside below, were spent the first years of my troubled life. My +parents I never knew. My father had been killed at the age of +thirty-two, a month before I was born, by the fall of a stone somehow +dislodged from one of the deserted parapets of the castle, and my mother +having died at my birth, my care and education devolved solely upon one +remaining servitor, an old and trusted man of considerable intelligence, +whose name I remember as Pierre. I was an only child, and the lack of +companionship which this fact entailed upon me was augmented by the +strange care exercised by my aged guardian in excluding me from the +society of the peasant children whose abodes were scattered here and +there upon the plains that surround the base of the hill. At the time, +Pierre said that this restriction was imposed upon me because my noble +birth placed me above association with such plebeian company. Now I know +that its real object was to keep from my ears the idle tales of the +dread curse upon our line, that were nightly told and magnified by the +simple tenantry as they conversed in hushed accents in the glow of their +cottage hearths. + +Thus isolated, and thrown upon my own resources, I spent the hours of my +childhood in poring over the ancient tomes that filled the +shadow-haunted library of the chateau, and in roaming without aim or +purpose through the perpetual dusk of the spectral wood that clothes the +sides of the hill near its foot. It was perhaps an effect of such +surroundings that my mind early acquired a shade of melancholy. Those +studies and pursuits which partake of the dark and occult in nature most +strongly claimed my attention. + +Of my own race I was permitted to learn singularly little, yet what +small knowledge of it I was able to gain, seemed to depress me much. +Perhaps it was at first only the manifest reluctance of my old preceptor +to discuss with me my paternal ancestry that gave rise to the terror +which I ever felt at the mention of my great house, yet as I grew out of +childhood, I was able to piece together disconnected fragments of +discourse, let slip from the unwilling tongue which had begun to falter +in approaching senility, that had a sort of relation to a certain +circumstance which I had always deemed strange, but which now became +dimly terrible. The circumstance to which I allude is the early age at +which all the Comtes of my line had met their end. Whilst I had hitherto +considered this but a natural attribute of a family of short-lived men, +I afterward pondered long upon these premature deaths, and began to +connect them with the wanderings of the old man, who often spoke of a +curse which for centuries had prevented the lives of the holders of my +title from much exceeding the span of thirty-two years. Upon my +twenty-first birthday, the aged Pierre gave to me a family document +which he said had for many generations been handed down from father to +son, and continued by each possessor. Its contents were of the most +startling nature, and its perusal confirmed the gravest of my +apprehensions. At this time, my belief in the supernatural was firm and +deep-seated, else I should have dismissed with scorn the incredible +narrative unfolded before my eyes. + +The paper carried me back to the days of the thirteenth century, when +the old castle in which I sat had been a feared and impregnable +fortress. It told of a certain ancient man who had once dwelt on our +estates, a person of no small accomplishments, though little above the +rank of peasant; by name, Michel, usually designated by the surname of +Mauvais, the Evil, on account of his sinister reputation. He had studied +beyond the custom of his kind, seeking such things as the Philosopher's +Stone, or the Elixir of Eternal Life, and was reputed wise in the +terrible secrets of Black Magic and Alchemy. Michel Mauvais had one son, +named Charles, a youth as proficient as himself in the hidden arts, and +who had therefore been called Le Sorcier, or the Wizard. This pair, +shunned by all honest folk, were suspected of the most hideous +practices. Old Michel was said to have burnt his wife alive as a +sacrifice to the Devil, and the unaccountable disappearances of many +small peasant children were laid at the dreaded door of these two. Yet +through the dark natures of the father and the son ran one redeeming ray +of humanity; the evil old man loved his offspring with fierce intensity, +whilst the youth had for his parent a more than filial affection. + +One night the castle on the hill was thrown into the wildest confusion +by the vanishment of young Godfrey, son to Henri, the Comte. A searching +party, headed by the frantic father, invaded the cottage of the +sorcerers and there came upon old Michel Mauvais, busy over a huge and +violently boiling cauldron. Without certain cause, in the ungoverned +madness of fury and despair, the Comte laid hands on the aged wizard, +and ere he released his murderous hold his victim was no more. Meanwhile +joyful servants were proclaiming aloud the finding of young Godfrey in a +distant and unused chamber of the great edifice, telling too late that +poor Michel had been killed in vain. As the Comte and his associates +turned away from the lowly abode of the alchemists, the form of Charles +Le Sorcier appeared through the trees. The excited chatter of the +menials standing about told him what had occurred, yet he seemed at +first unmoved at his father's fate. Then, slowly advancing to meet the +Comte, he pronounced in dull yet terrible accents the curse that ever +afterward haunted the house of C----. + + "May ne'er a noble of thy murd'rous line + Survive to reach a greater age than thine!" + +spake he, when, suddenly leaping backwards into the black wood, he drew +from his tunic a phial of colourless liquid which he threw in the face +of his father's slayer as he disappeared behind the inky curtain of the +night. The Comte died without utterance, and was buried the next day, +but little more than two and thirty years from the hour of his birth. No +trace of the assassin could be found, though relentless bands of +peasants scoured the neighboring woods and the meadow-land around the +hill. + +Thus time and the want of a reminder dulled the memory of the curse in +the minds of the late Comte's family, so that when Godfrey, innocent +cause of the whole tragedy and now bearing the title, was killed by an +arrow whilst hunting, at the age of thirty-two, there were no thoughts +save those of grief at his demise. But when, years afterward, the next +young Comte, Robert by name, was found dead in a nearby field from no +apparent cause, the peasants told in whispers that their seigneur had +but lately passed his thirty-second birthday when surprised by early +death. Louis, son to Robert, was found drowned in the moat at the same +fateful age, and thus down through the centuries ran the ominous +chronicle; Henris, Roberts, Antoines, and Armands snatched from happy +and virtuous lives when a little below the age of their unfortunate +ancestor at his murder. + +That I had left at most but eleven years of further existence was made +certain to me by the words which I read. My life, previously held at +small value, now became dearer to me each day, as I delved deeper and +deeper into the mysteries of the hidden world of black magic. Isolated +as I was, modern science had produced no impression upon me, and I +laboured as in the Middle Ages, as wrapt as had been old Michel and +young Charles themselves in the acquisition of demonological and +alchemical learning. Yet read as I might, in no manner could I account +for the strange curse upon my line. In unusually rational moments, I +would even go so far as to seek a natural explanation, attributing the +early deaths of my ancestors to the sinister Charles Le Sorcier and his +heirs; yet having found upon careful inquiry that there were no known +descendants of the alchemist, I would fall back to my occult studies, +and once more endeavour to find a spell that would release my house from +its terrible burden. Upon one thing I was absolutely resolved. I should +never wed, for since no other branches of my family were in existence, I +might thus end the curse with myself. + +As I drew near the age of thirty, old Pierre was called to the land +beyond. Alone I buried him beneath the stones of the courtyard about +which he had loved to wander in life. Thus was I left to ponder on +myself as the only human creature within the great fortress, and in my +utter solitude my mind began to cease its vain protest against the +impending doom, to become almost reconciled to the fate which so many of +my ancestors had met. Much of my time was now occupied in the +exploration of the ruined and abandoned halls and towers of the old +chateau, which in youth fear had caused me to shun, and some of which +old Pierre had once told me had not been trodden by human foot for over +four centuries. Strange and awsome were many of the objects I +encountered. Furniture, covered by the dust of ages and crumbling with +the rot of long dampness met my eyes. Cobwebs in a profusion never +before seen by me were spun everywhere, and huge bats flapped their bony +and uncanny wings on all sides of the otherwise untenanted gloom. + +Of my exact age, even down to days and hours, I kept a most careful +record, for each movement of the pendulum of the massive clock in the +library tolled off so much more of my doomed existence. At length I +approached that time which I had so long viewed with apprehension. Since +most of my ancestors had been seized some little while before they +reached the exact age of the Comte Henri at his end, I was every moment +on the watch for the coming of the unknown death. In what strange form +the curse should overtake me, I knew not; but I was resolved at least +that it should not find me a cowardly or a passive victim. With new +vigour I applied myself to my examination of the old chateau and its +contents. + +It was upon one of the longest of all my excursions of discovery in the +deserted portion of the castle, less than a week before that fatal hour +which I felt must mark the utmost limit of my stay on earth, beyond +which I could have not even the slightest hope of continuing to draw +breath, that I came upon the culminating event of my whole life. I had +spent the better part of the morning in climbing up and down half ruined +staircases in one of the most dilapidated of the ancient turrets. As the +afternoon progressed, I sought the lower levels, descending into what +appeared to be either a mediaeval place of confinement, or a more +recently excavated storehouse for gunpowder. As I slowly traversed the +nitre-encrusted passageway at the foot of the last staircase, the paving +became very damp, and soon I saw by the light of my flickering torch +that a blank, water-stained wall impeded my journey. Turning to retrace +my steps, my eye fell upon a small trap-door with a ring, which lay +directly beneath my feet. Pausing, I succeeded with difficulty in +raising it, whereupon there was revealed a black aperture, exhaling +noxious fumes which caused my torch to sputter, and disclosing in the +unsteady glare the top of a flight of stone steps. As soon as the torch, +which I lowered into the repellent depths, burned freely and steadily, I +commenced my descent. The steps were many, and led to a narrow +stone-flagged passage which I knew must be far underground. This passage +proved of great length, and terminated in a massive oaken door, +dripping with the moisture of the place, and stoutly resisting all my +attempts to open it. Ceasing after a time my efforts in this direction, +I had proceeded back some distance toward the steps, when there suddenly +fell to my experience one of the most profound and maddening shocks +capable of reception by the human mind. Without warning, =I heard the +heavy door behind me creak slowly open upon its rusted hinges=. My +immediate sensations are incapable of analysis. To be confronted in a +place as thoroughly deserted as I had deemed the old castle with +evidence of the presence of man or spirit, produced in my brain a horror +of the most acute description. When at last I turned and faced the seat +of the sound, my eyes must have started from their orbits at the sight +that they beheld. There in the ancient Gothic doorway stood a human +figure. It was that of a man clad in a skull-cap and long mediaeval +tunic of dark colour. His long hair and flowing beard were of a terrible +and intense black hue, and of incredible profusion. His forehead, high +beyond the usual dimensions; his cheeks, deep sunken and heavily lined +with wrinkles; and his hands, long, claw-like and gnarled, were of such +a deathly, marble-like whiteness as I have never elsewhere seen in man. +His figure, lean to the proportions of a skeleton, was strangely bent +and almost lost within the voluminous folds of his peculiar garment. But +strangest of all were his eyes; twin caves of abysmal blackness; +profound in expression of understanding, yet inhuman in degree of +wickedness. These were now fixed upon me, piercing my soul with their +hatred, and rooting me to the spot whereon I stood. At last the figure +spoke in a rumbling voice that chilled me through with its dull +hollowness and latent malevolence. The language in which the discourse +was clothed was that debased form of Latin in use amongst the more +learned men of the Middle Ages, and made familiar to me by my prolonged +researches into the works of the old alchemists and demonologists. The +apparition spoke of the curse which had hovered over my house, told me +of my coming end, dwelt on the wrong perpetrated by my ancestor against +old Michel Mauvais, and gloated over the revenge of Charles Le Sorcier. +He told me how the young Charles had escaped into the night, returning +in after years to kill Godfrey the heir with an arrow just as he +approached the age which had been his father's at his assassination; how +he had secretly returned to the estate and established himself, unknown, +in the even then deserted subterranean chamber whose doorway now framed +the hideous narrator; how he had seized Robert, son of Godfrey, in a +field, forced poison down his throat and left him to die at the age of +thirty-two, thus maintaining the foul provisions of his vengeful curse. +At this point I was left to imagine the solution of the greatest mystery +of all, how the curse had been fulfilled since that time when Charles Le +Sorcier must in the course of nature have died, for the man digressed +into an account of the deep alchemical studies of the two wizards, +father and son, speaking most particularly of the researches of Charles +Le Sorcier concerning the elixir which should grant to him who partook +of it eternal life and youth. + +His enthusiasm had seemed for the moment to remove from his terrible +eyes the hatred that had at first so haunted them, but suddenly the +fiendish glare returned, and with a shocking sound like the hissing of a +serpent, the stranger raised a glass phial with the evident intent of +ending my life as had Charles Le Sorcier, six hundred years before, +ended that of my ancestor. Prompted by some preserving instinct of +self-defense, I broke through the spell that had hitherto held me +immovable, and flung my now dying torch at the creature who menaced my +existence. I heard the phial break harmlessly against the stones of the +passage as the tunic of the strange man caught fire and lit the horrid +scene with a ghastly radiance. The shriek of fright and impotent malice +emitted by the would-be assassin proved too much for my already shaken +nerves, and I fell prone upon the slimy floor in a total faint. + +When at last my senses returned, all was frightfully dark, and my mind +remembering what had occurred, shrank from the idea of beholding more; +yet curiosity overmastered all. Who, I asked myself, was this man of +evil, and how came he within the castle walls? Why should he seek to +avenge the death of poor Michel Mauvais, and how had the curse been +carried on through all the long centuries since the time of Charles Le +Sorcier? The dread of years was lifted off my shoulders, for I knew that +he whom I had felled was the source of all my danger from the curse; and +now that I was free, I burned with the desire to learn more of the +sinister thing which had haunted my line for centuries, and made of my +own youth one long-continued nightmare. Determined upon further +exploration, I felt in my pockets for flint and steel, and lit the +unused torch which I had with me. First of all, the new light revealed +the distorted and blackened form of the mysterious stranger. The hideous +eyes were now closed. Disliking the sight, I turned away and entered the +chamber beyond the Gothic door. Here I found what seemed much like an +alchemist's laboratory. In one corner was an immense pile of a shining +yellow metal that sparkled gorgeously in the light of the torch. It may +have been gold, but I did not pause to examine it, for I was strangely +affected by that which I had undergone. At the farther end of the +apartment was an opening leading out into one of the many wild ravines +of the dark hillside forest. Filled with wonder, yet now realizing how +the man had obtained access to the chateau, I proceeded to return. I had +intended to pass by the remains of the stranger with averted face, but +as I approached the body, I seemed to hear emanating from it a faint +sound, as though life were not yet wholly extinct. Aghast, I turned to +examine the charred and shrivelled figure on the floor. + +Then all at once the horrible eyes, blacker even than the seared face in +which they were set, opened wide with an expression which I was unable +to interpret. The cracked lips tried to frame words which I could not +well understand. Once I caught the name of Charles Le Sorcier, and again +I fancied that the words "years" and "curse" issued from the twisted +mouth. Still I was at a loss to gather the purport of his disconnected +speech. At my evident ignorance of his meaning, the pitchy eyes once +more flashed malevolently at me, until, helpless as I saw my opponent to +be, I trembled as I watched him. + +Suddenly the wretch, animated with his last burst of strength, raised +his hideous head from the damp and sunken pavement. Then, as I remained, +paralyzed with fear, he found his voice and in his dying breath screamed +forth those words which have ever afterward haunted my days and my +nights. "Fool," he shrieked, "can you not guess my secret? Have you no +brain whereby you may recognize the will which has through six long +centuries fulfilled the dreadful curse upon your house? Have I not told +you of the great elixir of eternal life? Know you not how the secret of +Alchemy was solved? I tell you, it is I! I! =I! that have lived for six +hundred years to maintain my revenge=, FOR I AM CHARLES LE SORCIER!" + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1917 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Conservative= for October opens with Miss Olive G. Owen's tuneful +lines on "The Mocking Bird." Of the quality of Miss Owen's poetry it is +scarce necessary to speak; be it sufficient to say that the present +piece ranks among her best. In the intense fervour of the sentiment, and +the felicitous choice of the imagery, the touch of the born poet is +alike shown. Through an almost inexcusable editorial mistake of our own, +the first word of this poem is erroneously rendered. Line 1 should read: + + "=Where= Southern moonlight softly falls." + +"Old England and the Hyphen" is an attempt of the present critic to +demonstrate why relations between the United States and Mother England +must necessarily be closer than those between the States and any of the +really foreign powers. So patent and so inevitable is the essential +unity of the Anglo-Saxon world that such an essay as this ought really +to be superfluous; but its practical justification is found in the silly +clamour of those Anglophobes who are unfortunately permitted to reside +within our borders. "Insomnia," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a +remarkable piece of verse whose dark turns of fancy are almost worthy of +a Poe. The grotesque tropes, the cleverly distorted images, the bizarre +atmosphere, and ingeniously sinister repetitions all unite to produce +one of the season's most notable poems. Each of the stanzas is vibrant +with the hideous, racking turmoil of the insomnious mind. "Prussianism," +by William Thomas Harrington, is a concise and lucid essay on a timely +subject, reviewing ably the cause and responsibility of the present war. +It is especially valuable at this season of incoherent peace +discussion, for it explodes very effectively that vague, brainless +"neutrality" which prompts certain pro-German pacifists to cry for peace +before the normal and final settlement of Europe's troubles shall have +been attained by the permanent annihilation of the Prussian military +machine. "Twilight," by Chester Pierce Munroe, is a beautiful bit of +poetic fancy and stately phraseology. Mr. Munroe, a Rhode Islander +transplanted to the mountains of North Carolina, is acquiring all the +grace and delicacy of the native Southern bard, while retaining that +happy conservatism of expression which distinguishes his work from that +of most contemporary poets. Callously modern indeed must be he who would +wish Mr. Munroe's quaintly euphonious lines transmuted into the +irritatingly abrupt and barren phraseology of the day. "The Bond +Invincible," by David H. Whittier, is a short story of great power and +skilful construction, suggesting Poe's "Ligeia" in its central theme. +The plot is developed with much dexterity, and the climax comes so +forcibly and unexpectedly upon the reader, that one cannot but admire +Mr. Whittier's mastery of technique. Certain overnice critics may +possibly object to the tale, as containing incidents which no one +survives to relate; but when we reflect that Poe has similarly written a +story without survivors, ("The Masque of the Red Death") we can afford +to applaud without reservation. The complete absence of slang and of +doubtful grammar recommends this tale as a model to other amateur +fiction-writers. "Respite" is a lachrymose lament in five stanzas by the +present critic. The metre is regular, which is perhaps some excuse for +its creation and publication. "By the Waters of the Brook," by Rev. +Eugene B. Kuntz, D. D., is one of the noblest amateur poems of the year. +While the casual reader may find in the long heptameter lines a want of +sing-song facility; the true lover of the Nine pauses in admiration at +the deep flowing nobility of the rhyme. The quick rippling of the brook +is duplicated within each line, rather than from line to line. The +imagery and phraseology are of the sort which only Dr. Kuntz can +fashion, and are rich in that exalted pantheism of fancy which comes to +him who knows Nature in her wilder and more rugged moods and aspects. +"The Pool," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, contains an elusive hint of the +terrible and the supernatural which gives it high rank as poetry. Mrs. +Jordan has two distinct, yet related, styles in verse. One of these +mirrors all the joy and buoyant happiness of life, whilst the other +reflects that undertone of grimness which is sometimes felt through the +exterior of things. The kinship betwixt these styles lies in their +essentially fanciful character, as distinguished from the tiresomely +commonplace realism of the average modern rhymester. Another bit of +sinister psychology in verse is "The Unknown," by Elizabeth Berkeley. +Mrs. Berkeley's style is less restrained than that of Mrs. Jordan, and +presents a picture of stark, meaningless horror, the like of which is +not often seen in the amateur press. It is difficult to pass upon the +actual merit of so peculiar a production, but we will venture the +opinion that the use of italics, or heavy-faced type, is not desirable. +The author should be able to bring out all needed emphasis by words, not +printer's devices. The issue concludes with "Inspiration," a poem by +Lewis Theobald, Jun. The form and rhythm of this piece are quite +satisfactory, but the insipidity of the sentiment leaves much to be +desired. The whole poem savours too much of the current magazine style. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for October is made notable by Editor Harrington's +thoughtful and well compiled article on "Worldwide Prohibition," wherein +an extremely important step in the world's progress is truthfully +chronicled. That legislation against alcohol is spreading rapidly +throughout civilization, is something which not even the densest +champions of "personal liberty" can deny. The utter emptiness of all +arguments in behalf of strong drink is made doubly apparent by the swift +prohibitory enactments of the European nations when confronted by the +emergencies of war, and by the abolition of liquor in a large number of +American states for purely practical reasons. All these things point to +a general recognition of liquor as a foe to governmental and industrial +welfare. Mr. Harrington's style in this essay is clear and in most +respects commendable; though certain passages might gain force and +dignity through a less colloquial manner. In particular, we must protest +against the repeated use of the vulgarism =booze=, a word probably +brought into public favour by the new school of gutter evangelism, +whose chief exponent is the Reverend William Sunday. The verb =to +booze=, =boose=, or =bouse=, meaning "to drink immoderately," and the +adjective =boozy=, =boosy=, or =bousy=, meaning "drunken," are by no +means new to our language, Dryden having written the form =bousy= in +some of his verses; but =booze= as a noun signifying "liquor" is +certainly too vulgar a word for constant employment in any formal +literary composition. Another essay of Mr. Harrington's is "The Divine +Book," a plea for the restoration of the Bible as a source of popular +reading and arbiter of moral conduct. Whatever may be the opinion of the +searching critic regarding the place of the Scriptures in the world of +fact, it is undeniably true that a closer study of the revered volume, +and a stricter adherence to its best precepts, would do much toward +mending the faults of a loose age. We have yet to find a more +efficacious means of imparting virtue and contentment of heart to the +masses of mankind. "Pioneers of New England," an article by Alice M. +Hamlet, gives much interesting information concerning the sturdy +settlers of New Hampshire and Vermont. In the unyielding struggles of +these unsung heroes against the sting of hardship and the asperity of +primeval Nature, we may discern more than a trace of that divine fire of +conquest which has made the Anglo-Saxon the empire builder of all the +ages. In Mr. Harrington's editorial column there is much discussion of a +proposed "International Amateur Press Association," but we fail to +perceive why such an innovation is needed, now that the United has +opened itself unreservedly to residents of all the countries of the +globe. + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for November is a clever publication of +semi-professional character, edited by Miss Margaret Trafford of London, +and containing a pleasant variety of prose, verses, and puzzles. "King +of the Nursery Realm," by Margaret Mahon, is a smooth and musical piece +of juvenile verse which excels in correctness of form rather than in +novelty of thought. + +"Bards and Minstrels, and The Augustan Age," by Beryl Mappin, is the +second of a series of articles on English literature and its classical +foundations. The erudition and enthusiasm displayed in this essay speak +well for the future of the authoress, though certain faults of style and +construction demand correction. Careful grammatical study would +eliminate from Miss Mappin's style such solecisms as the use of =like= +for =as=, whilst greater attention to the precepts of rhetoric would +prevent the construction of such awkward sentences as the following: +"The same if one is reading an interesting book, can one not see all +that is happening there as clearly with one's inner eyes as if it was +all taking place before one, and viewed with one's outer ones?" This +passage is not only wanting in coherence and correctness of syntax, but +is exceedingly clumsy through redundancy of statement, and repetition of +the word =one=. This word, though essential to colloquial diction, +becomes very tiresome when used to excess; and should be avoided in many +cases through judicious transpositions of the text. The following is a +revised version of the sentence quoted above: "Thus, in reading an +interesting book, can one not see with the inner eyes all that is +happening there, as clearly as if it were taking place in reality before +the outer eyes?" Other parts of the essay require similar revision. +Concerning the development of the whole, we must needs question the +unity of the topics. Whilst the connecting thread is rather evident +after a second or third perusal, the cursory reader is apt to become +puzzled over the skips from the Graeco-Roman world to the early Saxon +kingdoms, and thence to the dawn of our language amongst the +Anglo-Normans. What Miss Mappin evidently wishes to bring out, is that +the sources of English literature are twofold; being on the one hand the +polished classics of antiquity, inspired by Greece, amplified and +diffused by Rome, preserved by France, and brought to England by the +Normans; and on the other hand the crude but virile products of our +Saxon ancestors, brought from the uncivilized forests of the continent +or written after the settlement in Britain. From this union of +Graeco-Roman classicism with native Anglo-Saxon vitality springs the +unquestioned supremacy of English literature. Assiduous devotion to the +mastery of rhetoric, and the habit of constructing logical synopses +before writing the text of articles would enable Miss Mappin to utilise +her knowledge of literary history in a manner truly worthy of its depth. +"Trinidad and its People," by "F. E. M. Hercules," exhibits a somewhat +maturer style, and forms a very interesting piece of geographical +description. "The Pursuit of the Innocent," is a serial story by Miss +Trafford, and though only a small part of it is printed in the current +issue, we judge that it derives its general atmosphere from the popular +"thrillers" of the day. The dialogue is not wholly awkward, but there is +a noticeable want of proportion in the development of the narrative. +Miss Trafford would probably profit by a more faithful study of the +standard novelists, and a more complete avoidance of the type of fiction +found in modern weekly periodicals such as =Answers= or =Tit-Bits=. +Those who feel impelled to introduce stirring adventure into their +tales, can do so without sacrifice of excitement and interest by +following really classic writers like Poe and Stevenson; or +semi-standard authors like Sir A. Conan Doyle. The puzzles propounded by +Miss Hillman are quite interesting, though matter of this sort is +scarcely to be included within the domain of pure literature. We guess +=airship= as the answer to the first one, but have not space to record +our speculations concerning the second. =Merry Minutes= closes with the +following poem by Master Randolph Trafford, a very young author: + + "Once upon a time, there was a little boy, + And, if you please, he went to school; + That little boy, he always would annoy, + And found at school a very nasty rule." + +Without undue flattery to Master Trafford, we may conclusively state +that we deem his poem a great deal better than most of the =vers libre= +effusions which so many of his elders are perpetrating nowadays! + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for July is devoted completely to the work of the feminine +amateurs of the United States, and is announced by its editor as an +"American 'Petticoat' Number"; a title which might possibly bear +replacement by something rather less colloquial. "Over the Edge of the +World," a poem by Olive G. Owen, is correct in construction and +appropriate in sentiment, deriving much force from the continued +repetition of the first line. "In Morven's Mead," by Winifred V. Jordan, +is one of a series of fanciful poems all bearing the same title. The +present verses show all the charm and delicacy which characterise the +whole. "Patience--A Woman's Virtue," is one of Mrs. Eloise N. Griffith's +thoughtful moral essays, and is as commendable for its precepts as for +its pure style. "His Flapper," by Edna von der Heide, is a clever piece +of trochaic verse in Cockney dialect, which seems, so far as an American +critic can judge, to possess a very vivid touch of local colour. "An Eye +for an Eye," by the same authoress, seems vaguely familiar, having +possibly been published in the amateur press before. If so, it is well +worthy of republication. "Women and Snakes," a sketch by Eleanor J. +Barnhart, is not a misogynistical attempt at comparison, but a theory +regarding the particular fear with which the former are popularly +supposed to regard the latter. Whilst Miss Barnhart writes with the +bravery of the true scientist, we are constrained to remark that a +certain dislike of snakes, mice, and insects is a very real thing; not +only amongst the fair, but equally amongst those sterner masculine souls +who would stoutly deny it if questioned. It is an atavistical fear, +surviving from primitive ages when the venomous qualities of reptiles, +insects, and the like, made their quick avoidance necessary to +uninstructed man. "Be Tolerant," by Winifred V. Jordan, is a didactic +poem of the sort formerly published in =The Symphony=. While it does not +possess in fullest measure the grace and facility observed in Mrs. +Jordan's more characteristic work; it is nevertheless correct and +melodious, easily equalling most poetry of its kind. Mr. McColl's +editorial column, the only masculine feature of the issue, contains a +very noble tribute to the two soldier cousins of Miss von der Heide, who +have laid down their lives for the cause of England and the right. From +such men springs the glory of Britannia. + + * * * * * + +=The Scot= for August opens with Winifred V. Jordan's tuneful lines, "If +You but Smile," whose inspiration and construction are alike of no mean +order. "Hoary Kent," by Benjamin Winskill, is an exquisite sketch of a +region where the past still lives. In an age of turmoil and unrest, it +is a comfort to think that in one spot, at least, the destroying claws +of Time have left no scars. There lie the scenes dear to every son and +grandson of Britain; there are bodied forth the eternal and unchanging +traditions that place above the rest of the world + + "This precious stone set in the silver sea-- + This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England." + +"Meditation of a Scottish Queen on Imprisonment," a poem by Margaret +Trafford, contains noble passages, but is marred by defective technique. +Passing over the use of the expletives =do= and =doth= as legitimate +archaisms in this case, we must call attention to some awkward +phraseology, and to the roughness of certain lines, which have either +too few or too many syllables. The very first line of the poem requires +contraction, which might be accomplished by substituting =hapless= for +=unhappy=. Line 8 would read better if thus amended: + + "I would that death might come and me release." + +The final line of the first stanza lacks a syllable, which might be +supplied by replacing =vile= with =hateful=. The second stanza will pass +as it is, but the entire remainder of the poem requires alteration, +since but two of the lines are of normal decasyllabic length. The +following is rough revision, though we have not attempted to build the +poetry anew: + + Oh! could I breathe again dear Scotland's air; + Behold once more her stately mountains high, + Thence view the wide expanse of azure sky, + Instead of these perpetual walls so bare! + + Could I but see the grouse upon the moor, + Or pluck again the beauteous heather bell! + Freedom I know not in this dismal cell, + As I my anguish from my heart outpour. + + My Scotland! know'st thou thy poor Queen's distress, + And canst thou hear my wailing and my woe? + May the soft wind that o'er thy hills doth blow + Waft thee these thoughts, that I cannot suppress! + +"Six Cylinder Happiness," a brief essay by William J. Dowdell, presents +in ingeniously pleasing style a precept not entirely new amongst +philosophers. Mr. Dowdell's skill with the pen is very considerable, +particularly when he ventures outside the domain of slang. We should +like to suggest a slightly less colloquial title for this piece, such as +"Real Happiness." "For Right and Liberty," a poem by Matthew Hilson, is +commendable in sentiment and clever in construction, but lacks +perfection in several details of phraseology. In the third line of the +third stanza the word =ruinous= must be replaced by a true dissyllable, +preferably =ruin'd=. "For Their Country," a short story by Margaret +Trafford, is vivid in plot and truly heroic in moral, but somewhat +deficient in technique, particularly at the beginning. Miss Trafford +should use care in moulding long sentences, and should avoid the +employment of abbreviations like =etc.= in the midst of narrative text. +"That Sunny Smile," by John Russell, is a cleverly optimistic bit of +verse whose rhythm is very facile, but which would be improved by the +addition of two syllables to the third and sixth lines of each stanza. +The rhyme of =round you= and =found true= is incorrect, since the second +syllables of double rhymes must be identical. "The Evil One," by +Narcissus Blanchfield, is announced as "A Prose-poem, after Oscar +Wilde--a long way after." As an allegory it is true to the facts of the +case; though one cannot but feel that there is room for a freer play of +the poetic imagination in so great a subject. + + * * * * * + +=Toledo Amateur= for October is a literary publication which reflects +much credit upon its young editor, Mr. Wesley Hilon Porter, and upon the +several contributors. "Twilight," a correct and graceful poem by Miss +von der Heide opens the issue. "A Sabbath," by Mary Margaret Sisson, is +a sketch of great merit, though not wholly novel in subject. The +hypocrisy of many self-satisfied "pillars of the church" is only too +well known both in life and in literature. At the very close of the +piece, the word =epithet= is used in a slightly incorrect sense, meaning +"motto." =Epithet=, as its Greek derivation shows, signifies an +=adjective= or descriptive expression. "The Workers of the World," by +Dora M. Hepner, is another sociological sketch of no small merit, +pleasantly distinguished by the absence of slang. "Not All," by Olive G. +Owen, is a poem of much fervour, albeit having a somewhat too free use +of italics. The words and rhythm of a poet should be able to convey his +images without the more artificial devices of typographical variation. +Another questionable point is the manner of using archaic pronouns and +verb forms. Miss Owen seems to use both ancient and modern conjugations +of the verb indifferently with such subjects as =thou=. "A Day at Our +Summer Home," by Emma Marie Voigt, is a descriptive sketch of +considerable promise, and "My First Amateur Convention," by Mrs. Addie +L. Porter, is a well written chronicle of events. "The Wild Rose," by +Marguerite Allen, is a poem of no little grace, though beset with many +of the usual crudities of youthful work. In the first place, the +quatrains should have their rhymes regularly recurring; either in both +first and third, and second and fourth lines; or only in second and +fourth. A rhyme occurring only in first and third lines gives an +unmusical cast, since it causes the stanza to end unrhymed. Secondly, +the words =fence= and =scent= do not form a legitimate rhyme. The easy +correctness of the metre is an encouraging sign, and indicates a poetic +talent which Miss Allen would do well to cultivate. Mr. Porter's article +on amateur journalism is interesting and quite just, though we hope that +the United has not quite so "little to offer" the devotee of "so-called +high-class literature" as the author believes. If we are to retain our +cultivated members, or our younger members after they acquire +cultivation, we must necessarily cater to the better grade of taste; +though of course without neglecting the succeeding generation of +novices. The editorial column of this issue is bright and fluent, +concluding one of the best amateur journals of the season. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for September contains something only too seldom +found in the amateur press; a really meritorious short story. "The +Shadow on the Trail," by Eleanor J. Barnhart, possesses every element of +good fiction; a substantial and really interesting plot, a logical +development from beginning to conclusion, an adequate amount of +suspense, a climax which does not disappoint, and a praiseworthy degree +of local colour. Besides all of which it is fluent in language and +correct in syntax. The rest of the literary department in this issue is +devoted to verse. "To a Friend," by Alice M. Hamlet, is particularly +pleasing through the hint of old-school technique which its well ordered +phrases convey. The one weak point is the employment of =thy=, a +singular expression, in connexion with several objects; namely, "paper, +pen, and ready hand." =Your= should have been used. The metre is +excellent throughout, and the whole piece displays a gratifying skill on +its author's part. "The Path Along the Sea," by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, is +a flawless and beautiful bit of sentimental poetry, cast in fluent and +felicitous heptameter. "Dad," by Horace Fowler Goodwin, is decidedly the +best of this writer's pieces yet to appear in the amateur press. The +defects are mostly technical, including the bad rhyme of =engaged= and +=dismayed=, and the overweighted seventh line of the final stanza. The +latter might be rectified by substituting =blest=, or some other +monosyllable, for =lucky=. "Li'l Baby Mine," by W. Frank Booker, is a +quaint and captivating darky lullaby, whose accuracy of dialect and +atmosphere comes from that first-hand knowledge of the negroes which +only a Southern writer can possess. Mr. Booker is one of our most +promising bards, and will be doubly notable when his style shall have +received its final polish. "When I Gaze on Thee," by Kathleen Foster +Smith, is an amatory poem of much grace and fluency. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for October furnishes us with a species of +composition not frequently encountered in amateurdom; an official report +which is also a literary classic. Pres. Campbell's message is really an +essay on contemporary amateur journalism, and contains a multitude of +well stated truths which every member of the fraternity would do well to +peruse. "The Wanderer's Return," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is a +beautiful piece of anapaestic verse whose flow is as pleasing as its +sentiment. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for October is edited by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, and though +not of large size, does credit both to her and to the Columbus Club. "To +the Woodbees," a witty parody of Poe's "Annabel Lee," exhibits Miss +Irene Metzger as the possessor of no little skill in numbers; and +incidentally suggests that other young bards might well improve their +styles by judicious exercises of this sort. Much of the spirit of metre +may be absorbed through copying the works of the standard poets. +"Louise's Letter," a short story by Norma Sanger, contains some of the +defects of early composition, notably an undue hastening of the action +immediately after the letter quoted in the text. The plot involves a +rather unusual coincidence, yet is probably no more overstrained than +that of the average piece of light fiction. "The Ruling Passion," by +Edna M. Haughton, is a story of phenomenal power and interest, forming a +psychological study worthy of more than one perusal. All the +requirements of good fiction, both inspirational and technical, are +complied with to the satisfaction of even the most exacting critic. Miss +Haughton's work is of a very high grade, and would be welcomed in larger +quantities by the amateur world. Miss Harwood's interesting News Notes +and Mrs. Haughton's thoughtful editorial conclude an issue whose every +feature deserves commendation. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1917 + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Conservative= for January deserved distinction for its opening +poem, "The Vagrant," which proceeds from the thrice-gifted pen of Mrs. +W. V. Jordan. The piece is one well worthy of close attention, since it +contains to a marked degree those elements of charm which render its +author so prominent among amateur bards. Bold and discriminating choice +of words and phrases, apt and unique images and personifications, and a +carefully sustained atmosphere of delicate unreality, all unite to +impart a characteristic beauty to the lines. This beauty, searchingly +analysed, reveals itself as something more sylvan and spontaneous than +studied and bookish; indeed, all of Mrs. Jordan's verse is born rather +than built. + +"The Unbreakable Link," a prose sketch by Arthur W. Ashby, is smooth and +graphic in its delineation of a dream or vision of the past. The ancient +heritage of Old England and its hoary edifices is here vividly set +forth. Mr. Ashby's work, always notable for its command and intelligent +interpretation of detail, is welcome wherever encountered. + +"When New-Year Comes," a poem by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, exhibits its +brilliant author in a most felicitous though decidedly novel vein. +Turning from his usual Alexandrines and heptameters, and laying aside +his characteristically stately and sonorous vocabulary, Dr. Kuntz has +produced a gem of brevity and simplicity in octosyllabic couplets. The +ease and naturalness of the language are so great that the reader feels +no other words or constructions could have been used with equal effect. +The remainder of =The Conservative=, being the work of the present +critic, deserves no particular mention. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for January bears an attractive cover design illustrating +the gentle beast after which the publication is named. The opening +piece, an alleged poem by the present critic, contains an humiliating +error for which none but the author is responsible. The impossible word +=supremest= in line 16, should read =sublimest=. The author is likewise +responsible for the omission of the following couplet after line 26: + + "Around his greatness pour disheart'ning woes, + But still he tow'rs above his conquering foes." + +The rest of the magazine is devoted to prose of practical nature, +containing suggestions by Editor Harrington and Rev. Graeme Davis for +the resuscitation of one of the dormant press associations. + + * * * * * + +=The Coyote= for April, home-printed and reduced to the conventional 5x7 +page, opens with Mrs. Jordan's pleasant lines on "The Duty." While the +general sentiment of this piece is by no means novel, the powerful and +distinctive touch of the authoress is revealed by such highly original +passages as the following: + + "And black-wing'd, clucking shadows + Brought out their broods of fears." + +A poet of rather different type is displayed in "The Five-Minute +School," by Lovell Leland Massie. Mr. Massie is said to have "an +unlimited supply of poems on hand which he desires to publish," but it +is evident that some preliminary alterations would not be undesirable. +In the first place, the metre requires correction; though it is +remarkably good for beginner's work. Particularly weak lines are the +second in stanza four, and the second in stanza six. The phraseology is +stiff but by no means hopeless, and proclaims nothing more serious than +the need of greater poetic familiarity on the author's part. The rhymes +are good with two exceptions; =past= and =class=, and =jewel= and +=school=. Mr. Massie, however, is not the first bard to reduce =jew-el= +to "=jool=!" "The Coyote," by Obert O. Bakken, is a worthy and +interesting composition upon a well known animal. "A Soul," by Olive G. +Owen, is reprinted from the professional press, and amply merits the +honour. The poem is of unexceptionable technique and adequate sentiment. +Miss Owen's brilliant, fruitful, and long-continued poetical career has +few parallels in the amateur world. "The Amateur Christian," a brief +prose essay by Benjamin Winskill, presents more than one valuable truth; +though we wish the word "=par=," near the close, might be expanded to +proper fulness. We presume that it is intended to stand for =paragraph=. + + * * * * * + +=The Crazyquilt= for December is a highly entertaining illustrated +publication whose exact classification is a matter of some difficulty. +We might perhaps best describe it as a bubbling over of youthful +spirits, with here and there a touch of unobtrusive seriousness. The +editor, Mr. Melvin Ryder, is to be commended upon his enterprise; which +consists in approximately equal parts of prose, verse, and whimsical +=vers libre=. It is the last named product which most absorbs our +attention, since the given specimens afford a very brilliant satire on +the absurd medium in which they are set. The choicest selections are due +to the fertile pen of Mr. William S. Wabnitz, assisted by that not +unknown classic called "Mother Goose," whose ideas accord well with the +thought of the new "poetry." "A Futuresk Romance," by Mr. Wabnitz alone, +is of exceeding cleverness. Among the genuine poems, we may give +particular commendation to "Bluebirds are Flying Over," by Mrs. Dora +Hepner Moitoret; "Longin' and Yearnin'," "Spring," "Verses," and +"Dreaming," by J. H. Gavin; and "Stars After Rain," by William S. +Wabnitz. Mr. Gavin's "Dreaming" is a hauntingly pretty piece, though +marred by an imperfect line (the twelfth) and by an incorrect +accentuation of the word =romance=. This word should be accented on the +final syllable. + +"Odd Patches and Even" is the title of the editorial column, which +contains many words of wisdom (though not too grave) by Mr. Ryder. We +hope to behold future issues of =The Crazyquilt=. + + * * * * * + +=Dowdell's Bearcat= for October, partly compiled and financed by the +United's official board in lieu of the missing =Official Quarterly=, +comes to us unbound and without a cover; yet contains, aside from the +inexcusable editorials, a rich array of meritorious material. Mr. +Dowdell's comment on radical eccentrics and malcontents is apt and +clever, showing how bright this young writer can be when he avoids bad +taste and personalities. + +"A Little Lovely Lyric," by Mrs. Dora H. Moitoret, is one of the +choicest of this author's poems, having a spirit and cadence of rare +quality. In "The Real Amateur Spirit," Pres. Campbell presents in +vigorous prose many important truths and principles of amateur +journalism. The concluding sentence forms a definition of our animating +impulse which deserves repeated publication as a motto and inspiration. +"An American To Mother England," by the present critic, is an expression +of cultural and ancestral ties which have now, through the fortunes of +war, grown doubly strong. The word =Saxon=, in the last line, should +begin with a capital. "Dream Life" is a vivid piece of prose mysticism +by our versatile and gifted Vice-President, Mr. Ira A. Cole. Defying +precise grouping either as a sketch or a story, this enigmatical bit of +fancy deserves highest praise for its fluent diction, rich imagination, +potent atmosphere, and graphic colouring. Mr. Cole has a bright future +in prose as well as in verse for in both of these media he is a genuine +and spontaneous poet. "United Impressions," by Mrs. E. L. Whitehead, is +clear, interesting, and well-written, as is also the sketch by Mary M. +Sisson entitled "Passion versus Calm." "The Elm Tree," by James Tobey +Pyke, is a poem of remarkable sweetness and nobility, through whose +lofty sentiment shines the true splendour of the inspired bard. There is +a master touch in the passage referring to + + "----a sweet heaven + Of singing birds and whispering leaves." + +Mrs. Winifred Virginia Jordan, without one of whose delightful verses no +amateur publication can really compete, contributes a sparkling +succession of amatory anapaests entitled "Dear." The middle stanza rises +to great lyric heights, and should prove especially captivating to such +discriminating critics of lyricism as our colleague Mr. Kleiner. + + * * * * * + +=The Enthusiast= for February is a hectographed publication issued by +our latest young recruit, Mr. James Mather Mosely of Westfield, Mass. +Mr. Mosely is a youth of sterling ability and great promise, whose work +is already worthy of notice and encouragement. The editor's leading +article, "The Secret Inspiration of a Man Who Made Good," shows unusual +fluency and literary assurance, though we might wish for a more +dignified title. The expression =to make good= is pure slang, and should +be supplanted by one of the many legitimate English words and phrases +which convey the same meaning. Mr. Mosely's editorials are likewise open +to criticism on the ground of colloquialism, though the natural +exuberance of youth excuses much. "The Birds," by Harold Gordon Hawkins, +is a truly excellent specimen of juvenile verse, which contains much +promise for the author's efforts. Increased familiarity with standard +literary models will remove all evidences of stiffness now perceptible. +"How Men Go Wrong," a conventional moral homily by Edgar Holmes Plummer, +shows a slight want of original ideas and a tendency to commonplaces; +though having much merit in construction. Another subject might display +Mr. Plummer's talent to better advantage. The use of the word =habitat= +for =inhabitant= or =denizen= is incorrect, for its true meaning is a +=natural locality= or =place of habitation=. "Blueberry Time," by Ruth +Foster, is obviously a schoolgirl composition, albeit a pleasing one. + +F. R. Starr's cartoon scarcely comes within the province of a literary +critic, but is doubtless an excellent example of elementary art. We +question, however, the place of popular cartoons in serious papers; the +"funny picture" habit is essentially a plebeian one, and alien to +journalism of the highest grade. All things considered, =The Enthusiast= +is a creditable exponent of junior letters, which deserves the +encouragement and support of the United. + + * * * * * + +=Excelsior= for March is in many respects the most notable of the +season's amateur magazines edited by our brilliant Laureate Recorder, +Miss Verna McGeoch, it contains a surprisingly ample and impressive +collection of prose and verse by our best writers; including the +delectable lyricist Perrin Holmes Lowrey, whose work has hitherto been +unrepresented in the press of the United. The issue opens with Mr. +Jonathan E. Hoag's stately "Ode to Old Ocean," whose appropriate imagery +and smooth couplets are exceedingly pleasant to the mind and ear alike. +Mr. Hoag's unique charm is no less apparent in the longer reminiscent +piece entitled "The Old Farm Home," which describes the author's boyhood +scenes at Valley Falls, New York, where he was born more than eighty-six +years ago. This piece has attracted much favorable notice in the +professional world, having been reprinted in =The Troy Times=. Perrin +Holmes Lowrey contributes a cycle of three poems touching on the +beauties of the month of April; one of which, "April in Killarney," will +this summer be set to music by Leopold Godowsky. The style of Mr. Lowrey +possesses an attractive individuality and delicacy which is already +bringing him celebrity in the larger literary sphere. What could be more +thoroughly enchanting than such a stanza as the following? + + "Oh, it's April in Killarney, + Early April in Killarney, + Where the Irish lanes are merry + And the lyric breezes blow; + And the scented snows of cherry + Drift across the fields of Kerry-- + Oh, it's April in Killarney + And she loves the April so." + +"Treasure Trove," by Henry Cleveland Wood, is a pleasant and urbane bit +of light verse; while "Percival Lowell," by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, +is an abominably dull elegiac piece of heavy verse. Edwin Gibson's +"Sonnet to Acyion" deserves keen attention as the work of a capable and +rapidly developing young bard. "Real versus Ideal" is a bright metrical +divertissement by John Russell, which suffers through the omission of +the opening line by the printer. This line is: + + "For sale--a cottage by the sea." + +We recommend the final line to the attention of those careless bards who +pronounce =real= as =reel=, and =ideal= as =ideel=. The correct +quantities, as there given, will serve as examples. Verse of deeper +quality is furnished by amateurdom's foremost expressionist, Anne +Tillery Renshaw, two of whose poems appear. "The Singing Sea" contains +an error of technique, =hope= and =note= being placed in attempted +rhyme; but the structure is in general very regular, considering the +author's radical theories. Of the merit of the sentiment it is +unnecessary to speak. "A Wish" is cast in less fluent metre, but is so +replete with aptness, grandeur and refinement of ideas, that the +sternest critic must needs view its form with lenient glance. The prose +contents of =Excelsior= are worthy company for the verse. Paul J. +Campbell is represented by a very brief though characteristic essay +entitled "The Price of Freedom," wherein appears the sound reasoning and +courageous philosophy for which Mr. Campbell has always been +distinguished. Another notable essay or review is "English History," by +Henry Clapham McGavack. Mr. McGavack here ably employs his keen analysis +and lucid style in dissecting Prof. Meyer's absurdly biased but +diabolically clever pro-German History of England. + +"The Association," by David H. Whittier, teems with good advice +concerning the proper management of the United. Mr. Whittier's style is +smooth and dignified, exhibiting a sober maturity unusual for a young +author. "Tonio's Salvation," a short story by Edna von der Heide, is the +only bit of fiction in the magazine. This brief glimpse of the +cosmopolitan child life of a modern city is marked equally by +naturalness of plot and facility of technic, forming a piece quite +professional in quality and atmosphere. =Excelsior= has done much to +sustain the best traditions of the United, and we hope its future +appearance will be frequent and regular. The editorial column reveals +the genius and exquisite taste of its gifted publisher. + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for December-January is an interesting number of an +interesting publication, opening with some extremely clever cartoons by +the United's soldier-member, George William Stokes. "Merry Minutes," a +poem in trochaic measure by Olive G. Owen, is distinguished by the touch +of beauty characteristic of all its author's work; but has a singular +sort of rhyming in the first and third lines of the stanzas. The cadence +seems to call for double rhymes, yet only the final syllables agree. The +last word of the first stanza is unfortunately shorn by the printer of +its final =s=. "The Dancing Tiger" is an excellent short story by +Raymond Blathwayt, which might, however, be improved in style by a +slightly closer attention to punctuation and structure of sentences. +"Home," by Margaret Mahon, is a poem in that rather popular modern +measure which seems to waver betwixt the iambus and anapaest. The +imagery is pleasing, and the sentiment, though not novel, is acceptable. +"The Choice," a serial story by Beryl Mappin, exhibits the same +immaturities of style which mark the didactic articles of this author; +yet so active is the imagination shown in some of the passages, that we +believe Miss Mappin requires only time and harder study in order to +become a very meritorious writer. The syntactical structure of this +story is, on the average, smoother than that of Miss Mappin's essays; +indeed, there is reason to believe that fiction is the better suited to +her pen. "Absence," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, is a brief poem of +faultless harmony whose quaintly sparkling imagery gives to an old theme +a new lustre. "Education in Trinidad" is another of F. E. Hercules' +terse and informing descriptive sketches. "Alley," by Mrs. Jordan, is a +light pulsing lyric of almost Elizabethan quality, one of whose rhymes +is of a type which has caused much discussion in the United's critical +circles. The native pronunciation of New England makes of =scarf= and +=laugh= an absolutely perfect rhyme; this perfection depending upon the +curtailed phonetic value of the letter =r=; which in a place such as +this is silent, save as it modifies the quality of the preceding vowel. +In the London of Walker's day the same condition existed. But the tongue +and ear of the American West have become accustomed to a certain roll +which causes =scarf= to be enunciated as =scarrf=, thus throwing it out +of rhyme with words of similar sound which lack the =r=. The Westerner +would have to write =scahf=, in order to express to his own mind the +New-England sound of =scarf=. Hitherto, the present critic has called no +notice to rhymes of this type; and has, indeed, frequently employed them +himself; but recognition of etymological principles involved will +hereafter impel him to abandon and discourage the practice, which was +not followed by the older classicists. To the New-England author this +renunciation means relinquishment of many rhymes which are to his ear +perfect, yet in the interests of tradition and universality it seems +desirable that the sacrifice be made. "Why Mourn Thy Soldier Dead," is a +poem of brave sorrow by Olive G. Owen. The fervour of the lines is deep, +and the sentiments are of great nobility. Structurally the piece is +flawless. "Chaucer, the Father of English Poetry," is the third of Miss +Mappin's series of articles on literary history. An unfortunate misprint +relegates to the bottom of the footnote a line which should immediately +follow the specimen verse. The style is decidedly clearer and better +than that of the preceding instalment of the series. "When You Went," by +Mrs. Jordan, is an engagingly pathetic poem; with just that touch of the +unseen which lends so particular a charm to Jordanian verse. Miss +Trafford's appealing lines on "A Girl to Her Dead Lover" form a vividly +pathetic glimpse into low life. The poetic form is quite satisfactory. +As a whole, =Merry Minutes= constitutes a rather remarkable enterprise, +sustaining through troubled times the spark of activity which will +kindle anew the fires of British amateur journalism after the victorious +close of the war. May America, in her new crisis, do as well! + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for February opens with Margaret Mahon's poem "God's +Solace," a smooth and restful bit of versification. "Spencer and the +Beginning of the Elizabethan Era" is the current article of Beryl +Mappin's series on English Literature, and contains some very promising +passages, especially the almost poetic introduction. Miss Mappin has an +unusual fund of knowledge, and a pleasing gift of expression; but these +advantages are as yet not fully systematised or marshalled to best +effect. Miss Trafford's serial, "The Pursuit of the Innocent," concludes +in this number. This story bears many of the signs of juvenile +workmanship, the present instalment being so hurried in action that it +almost attains the brevity of a synopsis. Careful and analytical perusal +of standard fiction would assist greatly in maturing and perfecting the +author's style. "Religion and Superstition" is the current article in +F. E. M. Hercules' interesting series on Trinidad; and exhibits all the +polish, lucidity and conciseness of its predecessors. "His Photo," by +Master Randolph Trafford, is a very promising poem by a youthful bard. +Every rhyme is correct, which is more than can be claimed for a great +deal of the poesy perpetrated by older and more pretentious versifiers +on this side of the Atlantic. The present instalment of "The Choice," by +Beryl Mappin, is marked by considerable fluency and animation, though +possessed of certain limitations previously mentioned. + + * * * * * + +=Merry Minutes= for March commences with the present critic's dull lines +"On Receiving a Picture of the Marshes at Ipswich." Passing to more +meritorious matter, we encounter Miss Mappin's latest literary article, +"Shakespeare," which interests even whilst it reveals deficiencies of +prose technique. "Jimmy's Little Girl," by Joseph Parks, is a vivid +transcript of military life by a military author. While the tale is not +one of vast originality, it nevertheless recommends itself through +simplicity and verisimilitude. Miss Mappin's serial "The Choice," +concludes in this issue. It is very praiseworthy for its many colourful +passages, but mildly censurable for its melodramatic atmosphere and +rhetorical lapses. The opening sentence of this instalment contains +instances of both of these faults: "A terrible foreboding gripped +Christabel's heart in bands of steel, as if for a moment to cleave her +tongue to the roof of her mouth." This is the last number of the +publication to appear under the present name. Beginning with the April +issue it will be known as =The Little Budget=; and will contain, on the +average, a rather higher grade of reading matter than heretofore. But in +forming a judgment of any kind, it is well to recognize that the +magazine's appeal is frankly popular. + + * * * * * + +=Pep= for February is the first number of a somewhat extraordinary +enterprise conducted by George W. Macauley with the laudable object of +waking up a sleeping amateurdom. The editor very justly takes the press +associations to task for their manifold sins, particularly the dubious +circumstances surrounding a recent convention, in which it is needless +to say the United had no part. Mr. Macauley's literary attainments are +very considerable, but as yet unperfected. Possessed of rare charm in +descriptive prose, he needs to exercise a greater nicety of construction +in order to develop fully the riches which are his. Gifted with a large, +facile, and ingenious vocabulary, he is not sufficiently precise and +discriminating in his employment of words according to their finer +shades of meaning. This carelessness makes faults of his very virtues; +for his vigour of expression tends to take the form of =outre= and +inadmissible rhetoric, whilst his talent for word-painting tends to +degenerate into word-coining. It would be quite possible for an acute +critic to compile a dictionary of peculiarly Macaulian words and +phrases, to which the current =Pep= might contribute such terms as +=probverb= (proverb?). Spelling and punctuation also should claim more +of Mr. Macauley's time and attention; for he might easily avoid such +slips as =believeing=, =it's= (for =its=), =thots=, and the like. In +short, Mr. Macauley is at present a gifted writer and brilliant editor +labouring under the disadvantages of haste, carelessness, and perhaps a +dash of radicalism. + + * * * * * + +=The Phoenician= for Spring is the first number of an enthusiastically +conducted semi-professional venture of juvenile nature, whose connexion +with the United hinges on the associate editorship of our clever +recruit, Mr. James Mather Mosely. Like =Merry Minutes=, this publication +is of the popular rather than conservative sort; being obviously +designed primarily to please, secondarily to instruct. We deplore the +use of commonplace and sensational topics, colloquial expressions, and +malformed spelling; but make due concessions to the youth of the +editorial staff and the nascent state of the periodical. So promising +are the young publishers that time cannot fail to refine and mature +their efforts. "An Hour with a Lunatic," by Harry B. Sadik, is a very +short and very thrilling tale of the "dime novel" variety. Mr. Sadik has +a commendable sense of the dramatic, which would serve him well should +he choose a less sensational field of endeavour. "Our Soldiers," a +Canadian mother's war song by Mrs. Minnie E. Taylor, exhibits merit, +though having many signs of imperfect technic. In line 2 of the first +stanza =bid= should be replaced by =bade=. The final rhyme of the poem, +that of =gain= and =name=, is false and inadmissible. Metrically there +is much roughness, which careful study and diligent reading of good +verse can in time correct. "Candy and Health," and "If You Were Down and +Out," by James Mather Mosely, are two typical newspaper interviews with +representative men. Mr. Mosely shows much aptitude as a reporter, having +an almost professional ease and fluency. This is not literature, but it +is good journalism. "The Dinner Never Paid For," by Viola Jameson, is a +piece of characteristic light fiction; commendably innocuous, and not at +all overburdened with philosophical complexity. "The Secret of Success," +by Edith L. Clark, is a promising bit of didactic prose. "The End of the +Road," by Pearl K. Merritt, is a brief essay of substantial worth. "The +Toll of the Sea," a poem by Harold Gordon Hawkins, shows considerable +merit despite irregularities. "Memories," by Arthur Goodenough, well +sustains the high poetical reputation of its author, though it is +cruelly marred by the illogical and censurable "simplified" spelling +which the young editors see fit to employ. One line affords a silent but +striking instance of the utter senselessness and confusion of the new +orthographical fad. This line reads: + + "Of human =thot= might well be =wrought=." + +Now in the first place, =thot= does not express the true pronunciation +of =thought=. The word, thus written, tends to acquire the vocal quality +of =shot= or =blot=, as distinguished from =taught= or =brought=. +Secondly, in this place it is out of accord with =wrought=, which is +correctly spelled. If Messrs. Plummer and Mosely would be logical, let +them write =wrought= as =wrot=--or perhaps plain =rot= would be still +more correct and phonetic, besides furnishing a laconic punning +commentary on simple spelling in general. =The Phoenician's= editorial +column is conducted with laudable seriousness, the item of "The Power of +Books" being well worthy of perusal. What could best be spared from the +magazine are the vague jokes and cartoons, purposeless "fillers" of +miscellaneous nature, and columns of idle gossip about things in +general. Some of the moving picture items are greatly suggestive of what +a newspaper man would dub "press agent stuff." The magazine represents a +degree of purpose and energy quite rare amongst the anaemic youth of +today, and should receive corresponding encouragement from the members +of the United. Those who are inclined to censure its professional aspect +would do well to remember the much-vaunted beginnings of amateur +journalism, when the most highly respected sheets were of this selfsame +variety. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for November is heavily burdened with a sombre and +sinister short story from our own pen, entitled "The Alchemist." This is +our long unpublished credential to the United, and constitutes the first +and only piece of fiction we have ever laid before a critical and +discerning public wherefore we must needs beg all the charitable +indulgence the Association can extend to an humble though ambitious +tyro. A more interesting feature of the magazine is the biography of Mr. +Fritter, written by our brilliant Official Editor, Andrew Francis +Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart's quaint and friendly prose style is here +displayed at its best, giving a vivid and sympathetic portrayal of his +prominent subject. "Beyond the Law," by Mary Faye Durr, is a light short +story of excellent idea and construction, whose only censurable point is +the use of "simplified" spelling. We believe that some procedure of +quite drastic nature should be taken against the spread of this empty +innovation before our settled orthography shall have become completely +disorganized. Even in the United we can "do our bit." Our editors should +band together in an effort to exclude the new forms from their +publications, and our manuscript managers should see that every piece +passing through their hands is duly purged of these radical distortions. +At the same time, a series of articles explaining and analysing the +spelling problem should be given wide publicity. The poetry in this +issue is of encouraging quality. George M. Whiteside, in "Dream of the +Ideal," gives indications of real genius; at the same time displaying a +little of the technical infelicity which has marked his earlier verse. +Mr. Whiteside's greatest weakness is in the domain of rhyme, a +noticeable error in the present poem being the attempted rhyming of +=hours= with =bars= and =stars=. "I Know a Garden," by Agnes Richmond +Arnold, is a tuneful and beautiful lyric of a somewhat Elizabethan type. +The metre, as the lines are rendered, appears to be quite unusual; but +scansion reveals the fact that it is none other than the octosyllabic +couplet, disguised by the printer's art. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for December begins with "A Girl's Ambition," a poem +by Margaret Trafford. The general idea of the piece is both ingenious +and appropriate, but the language and technical development leave +considerable to be desired. In the first place, the rhyming plan is +unfortunate; the opening and concluding couplets of each stanza being +unrhymed. In the second place, the metre is irregular; departing very +widely in places from the iambic heptameter which appears to be the +dominant measure. Miss Trafford should cultivate an ear for rhythm, at +the same time counting very carefully the syllables in each line she +composes. A third point requiring mention is the occasional awkwardness +of expression, a juvenile fault which will doubtless amend itself in +time. Just now we will call attention to only one defect--the +exceedingly forced abbreviation "=dresses'd=" for =dresses would=. "To +My Physician," by M. Estella Shufelt, is a smooth, graceful, and serious +poem whose only possible fault is the infrequency of rhyme. This is not +a technical defect, since the plan of construction is well maintained +throughout; but we believe a poem of this type requires more than one +rhyme to each stanza of eight lines. "The Old Inn," a stirring short +story by Gertrude L. Merkle, is a very promising piece of work, albeit +somewhat conventional and melodramatic. The alliterative romance of +Harry Henders and Hazel Hansen has a genuinely mid-Victorian flavour. +"Dead Men Tell No Tales," a short story by Ida Cochran Haughton, is a +ghastly and gruesome anecdote of the untenanted clay; related by a +village dressmaker. The author reveals much comprehension of rural +psychology in her handling of the theme; an incident which might easily +shake the reason of a sensitive and imaginative person, merely +"unnerves" the two quaint and prim maiden ladies. Poe would have made of +this tale a thing to gasp and tremble at; Mrs. Haughton, with the same +material, constructs genuine though grim comedy! + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for January contains Editor Lockhart's captivatingly +graceful retrospect of the older amateur journalism, concluding with a +just and eloquent appeal for the revival of our ancient enthusiasm. "Who +Pays," by Helene H. Cole, is a brief and tragic story of considerable +sociological significance. We deplore the use of the false verbal form +=alright=; for while the expression =all right= may well occur in +conversation of the character uttering it, the two words should be +written out in full. "To a Babe," by Olive G. Owen, embodies in +impeccable verse a highly clever and pleasing array of poetical +conceits; and deserves to be ranked amongst the choicest of recent +amateur offerings. "Girls are Like Gold," by Paul J. Campbell, is a +striking and witty adaptation of Thomas Hood's celebrated lines on + + "Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! + Bright and yellow, hard and cold." + +Mr. Campbell exhibits both ingenuity and metrical ability in this facile +=jeu d'esprit=. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for March contains "Love's Scarlet Roses," an +exquisite piece of lyric verse by Mary Henrietta Lehr of California. +Miss Lehr, a scholar and poetic genius of high order, is a prominent +amateur of a few years ago, lately returned to activity after a period +of endeavour in other fields. Her verse is uniformly distinguished by +depth of inspiration, delicacy of sentiment, and grace of structure; +occupying a place amongst the rarest products of amateurdom. Another +poem of remarkable merit in this issue is "The Gods' Return," by Olive +G. Owen. Inspired by a recent article from the pen of Richard Le +Gallienne, these well-wrought lines interpret one of the subtlest yet +most potent of the varied moods created in the human breast by the +momentous occurrences of the age. Looking over the file of THE UNITED +AMATEUR for the present administrative year, one may discover a diverse +and meritorious array of poetry and prose, which amply proves the +contention of Pres. Campbell that a literary official organ is not only +feasible but eminently desirable. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for January introduces to amateurdom a new bard, Mr. J. +Morris Widdows, Hoosier exponent of rural simplicity. Mr. Widdows has +enjoyed considerable success in the professional world as a poet, +song-writer, and musical composer; hence it is no untried or faltering +quill which he brings within our midst. "Stringtown on the Pike," which +adorns the first page of the magazine, is a very pleasing bit of dialect +verse whose accent and cadences suggest the work of the late James +Whitcomb Riley. The metre is gratifyingly correct, and the rusticisms +exceedingly colourful; though the average reader might find it somewhat +difficult to associate the name Miko with Yankee countryside. Such a +praenomen carries with it suggestions of a rich brogue rather than a +nasal drawl. "Personal Liberty," a brilliant short essay by Leo Fritter, +ably and sensibly explodes one of the characteristically specious +arguments of the liquor advocates. Mr. Fritter's legal training aids him +in presenting a clear, polished, and logical arraignment of +anti-prohibition hypocrisy. "Just a Little Love Tale," by Elizabeth M. +Ballou, is a smoothly constructed bit of very light fiction. Mrs. +Haughton's editorial, "A Review of Reviews," is concise and sensible; +giving a merited rebuke to those who seek to create unrest and +dissatisfaction in amateur journalism. + + * * * * * + +=The Woodbee= for April is an ample and attractive number, opening with +Dora H. Moitoret's excellent poem in the heroic couplet, "The April +Maiden." The metre of this piece follows the fashion of the nineteenth +rather than of the eighteenth century, having very few "end-stopt" lines +or sense-limiting couplets. The final rhyme of =caprice= and =these= is +somewhat imperfect, the effect being that of an attempted rhyme of =s= +and =z=. "Her Fateful Day," a short story by Maude Dolby, is pleasing +and ingenious despite certain improbabilities. "Ashes of Roses," by +Frieda M. Sanger, belongs to that abnormal and lamentable type of +pseudo-literature known as =vers libre=, and is the first serious +specimen of its kind ever inflicted upon the United. We are sincerely +sorry that one so gifted as Miss Sanger should descend to this hybrid, +makeshift medium, when she could so well express her thoughts either in +legitimate prose or legitimate verse. "Free Verse" has neither the flow +of real verse nor the dignity of real prose. It tends to develop +obnoxious eccentricities of expression, and is closely associated with +bizarre and radical vagaries of thought. It is in nine cases out of ten +a mere refuge of the obtuse, hurried, indolent, ignorant, or negligent +bard who cannot or will not take the time and pains to compose genuine +poetry or even passable verse. It has absolutely no justification for +existence, and should be shunned by every real aspirant to literary +excellence, no matter how many glittering inducements it seems to hold +out. True, a person of very little knowledge or ability can make himself +appear extremely cultured, aesthetic, and aristocratic by juggling a few +empty words in the current fashion; scribbling several lines of unequal +length, each beginning with a capital letter. It is an admirably easy +way to acquire a literary reputation without much effort. As the late +W. S. Gilbert once wrote of a kindred fad: + + "The meaning doesn't matter + If it's only idle chatter + Of a transcendental kind." + +But we believe that the members of the United are more earnest and solid +in their ambition, hence we advise Miss Sanger to turn her undoubted +talent into more substantial channels. That she possesses genuine poetic +genius is amply evident, even from the specimen of =vers libre= before +us. The labour of real versification will be more arduous, but the +fruits will prove richer in proportion. It is better to glean a little +gold than much fools' gold. Miss Sanger's nephew, Mr. Norman Sanger, is +more conservative in his tastes, and is creditably represented by his +lines on "The Ol' Fishin' Hole." This piece contains many of the +rhythmical defects common to juvenile composition, but is pervaded by a +naturalness and pastoral simplicity which promise well for its young +author. Wider reading and closer rhetorical study will supply all that +Mr. Sanger now lacks. At present we should advise him to seek metrical +regularity by taking some one well defined line as a model, and moulding +all the others to it by counting the syllables and intoning the accents +in each. In the case of the present poem, the very first line will serve +as a perfect guide; its conformity to the iambic heptameter plan being +absolute. The alternating stresses of the fourteen syllables should be +noted and copied: + + "The =days= are =get=-tin' =balm=-y =now=, and =first=-est =thing= + you =know=." + +Two defects of rhyme are to be noted. =By= and =lullaby= cannot properly +be rhymed, since the rhyming syllables are =identical=, instead of +merely =similar=. "=Rapcher=" and =laughter= do not rhyme at all. Miss +Haughton's essay "Is a Lie Ever Justifiable?" forms a prominent feature +of the magazine, and presents some very ingenious though dogmatic +reasoning. Mrs. Haughton's editorial, "United We Stand," is an +exceedingly timely appeal for genuine amateur activity, and should be of +much value in stimulating a renaissance of the Association. The passage +reading "Who has been the latest victim of Cupid? =Whom= of Hymen?" +arouses a query as to the grammatical status of =whom=. We fear this is +what Franklin P. Adams of the =New York Tribune= playfully calls a +"=Cyrilization=." It is, as all readers of "The Conning Tower" can +testify, a remarkably common error; and one into which many of the +leading authors of the age frequently fall. The jingle "A Soldier's +Delight," by George William Stokes, concludes the current issue in +tuneful manner. + +Amidst the present dearth of amateur magazines it is ever a delight to +behold =The Woodbee=; meritorious in contents and regular in issuance. +The debt of the United to the Columbus Club is indeed a heavy one. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVI GEORGETOWN, ILL., JULY, 1917 NUMBER 9 + + +ODE FOR JULY FOURTH, 1917 + + As Columbia's brave scions, in anger array'd, + Once defy'd a proud monarch and built a new nation; + 'Gainst their brothers of Britain unsheath'd the sharp blade + That hath ne'er met defeat nor endur'd desecration; + So must we in this hour + Show our valour and pow'r, + And dispel the black perils that over us low'r: + Whilst the sons of Britannia, no longer our foes, + Will rejoice in our triumphs and strengthen our blows! + + See the banners of Liberty float in the breeze + That plays light o'er the regions our fathers defended; + Hear the voice of the million resound o'er the leas, + As the deeds of the past are proclaim'd and commended; + And in splendour on high + Where our flags proudly fly, + See the folds we tore down flung again to the sky: + For the Emblem of England, in kinship unfurl'd, + Shall divide with Old Glory the praise of the world! + + Bury'd now are the hatreds of subject and King, + And the strife that once sunder'd an Empire hath vanish'd. + With the fame of the Saxon the heavens shall ring + As the vultures of darkness are baffled and banish'd: + And the broad British sea, + Of her enemies free, + Shall in tribute bow gladly, Columbia, to thee: + For the friends of the Right, in the field side by side, + Form a fabric of Freedom no hand can divide! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Conservative= for July opens with Ira A. Cole's delightful and +melodious lines "In Vita Elysium" (Heaven in Life), which present a +strong arraignment of those conventional theologians who deem all things +beautiful reserved for a vague existence after death. While the orthodox +reader may deem the flight of the imagination too free, the rational and +appreciative litterateur will delight in the vigour of imagination and +delicacy of fancy displayed. The metrical structure is beyond reproach +in taste and fluency, the regular and spirited heroic couplets affording +a refreshing contrast to the harsh and languid measures of the day. Mr. +Cole's poetical future is bright indeed, for he possesses an innate +conception of fitness and poetic values which too few of his +contemporaries can boast. We wish to emphasize to those readers who are +familiar with =The Conservative's= editorial policy, that the lines +appear practically without revision; every bold conception and stroke of +genius being Mr. Cole's own. Two couplets in particular delight the ear +and the imagination, proving the author's claim to distinction as a poet +of the purest classical type: + + "Go! Go! vain man, to those unbounded fanes + Where God's one proven priest--fair Nature--reigns." + + "Uplifted, glad, thy spirit then shall know + That life is light, and heaven's here below!" + +"The Genesis of the Revolutionary War," by Henry Clapham McGavack, is +one of those searchingly keen bits of iconoclastic analysis which have +made Mr. McGavack so famous as an essayist since his advent to the +United. Our author here explodes conclusively a large body of bombastic +legend which false textbooks have inflicted upon successive generations +of innocent American youth. We are shown beyond a doubt that the +Revolution of 1776 was no such one-sided affair as the petty political +"historians" would have us believe, and that our Mother Country indeed +had a strong case before the bar of International justice. It is an +article which makes us doubly proud of our racial and cultural +affiliations. + +"Sweet Frailty," a poem by Mary Henrietta Lehr, contains all those +elements of charm, delicacy, and ingenuity which mark its author as one +of amateurdom's most cultivated and gifted members. + +Of the editorial column modesty forbids us to speak, but we hope the +amateur public may be duly charitable with our shortcomings as therein +displayed. + + * * * * * + +=The Inspiration= for April is a "Tribute Number," dedicated to the +amateur journalists of Great Britain and Canada who have devoted their +lives and fortunes to the cause of civilisation and the Empire. With so +wonderfully inspiring a subject, it is small wonder that the magazine +lives gloriously up to its name. Miss von der Heide shows extreme skill +and sympathy in the editorship of the publication, and in the verses +which she contributes; proving herself worthy indeed of the high place +she has occupied in amateurdom for so many years. + +"The Lion's Brood," by Henry Clapham McGavack, exhibits the versatility +of this brilliant writer; for though he is by preference a concise +essayist, he here rises to great heights in the domain of rhetorical +panegyric. His stirring encomium is ingeniously continued by Mr. William +T. Harrington, who adds many merited words of praise for our kindred +across the seas. The present critic's lines are as full of heartfelt +love of England as they are wanting in merit; while the lines of Olive +G. Owen possess both deep fervour and conspicuous merit. Mrs. Griffith's +tribute, "He Conquers who Endures," breathes out the true spirit of the +American nation today, anticipating the official action of a cautious +and slow-moving government. The "Open Letters" of Messrs. Macauley, +Stokes and Martin, speak the brave spirit of the age, and make us the +more sharply regretful of our own rejection for military service. +"Treasure," by Miss von der Heide, is an appealing bit of sentiment, +whose interest is timely indeed. + +Viewed as a whole, =The Inspiration= takes first rank amongst the +amateur papers published since March. + + * * * * * + +=The Little Budget= for May opens with Paul J. Campbell's meritorious +poem entitled "Signals." Mr. Campbell, always facile in metre, exhibits +increasing power in the realm of poetical imagination, and is entitled +to a substantial place on the slopes of Parnassus. A misprint in the +present version of "Signals" gives =look= when =looked= should appear. + +"The Adventures of 'Dido' Plum," by Joseph Parks, is a pleasing story of +military life by one who is himself a soldier. Mr. Parks' brief sketches +form a pleasing feature of the contemporary amateur press, being +distinguished by a naturalness which intensifies their interest as +literal transcripts of the army atmosphere. "Road Song," a tuneful lyric +by Eleanor J. Barnhart, marks the first appearance of that brilliant +author as a poet. Her inexperience in this art, however, is not at all +to be suspected from this fervent and finished composition; which might +well do credit to some of our veteran bards. "Impulse," by Norah Sloane +Stanley, is described as "A Parisian Fragment," and exhibits much +ingenuity in spirit and atmosphere. "Keep a Cheerful Countenance," by +Eugene B. Kuntz, is a poem of great merit despite the doubtful rhyme of +=way= and =quality= in the last stanza. Miss Mappin, in her article on +Milton, displays her ample knowledge of literary history, and even more +than her customary fluency. "The Contented Robin," a poem by Margaret +Mahon, is apt, pleasing and harmonious; whilst Miss Trafford's brief +jingle is quaint and clever. "Spring," by Randolph Trafford (aetat 10) +is full of the exuberant vigour of youth, and speaks well for the future +of this bright young bard. + + * * * * * + +=The Little Budget= for June gains distinction from Henry Clapham +McGavack's brilliant essay on American Anglophobia, entitled "Blood is +not Thicker Than Water." This acute analysis of anti-British sentiment +among certain classes in the States reveals a lamentable result of +bigotry and historical ignorance; which may, we hope, be cured by the +new bonds of alliance betwixt the Old and the New Englands. As Mr. +McGavack well demonstrates, most of our Anglophobia is manufactured by +the alleged "historians" who poison the minds of the young through +mendacious textbooks. This species of false teaching, an evil potently +fostered by the Fenians and Sinn Feiners who lurk serpent-like in our +midst, is one which cannot too soon be eradicated; for the cultural +identity and moral unity of the States and the Empire make such sources +of unintelligent prejudice increasingly nauseous and detrimental. We may +add that the textbook treatment of our War between the States is almost +equally unfair, the Northern cause being ridiculously exalted above the +brave and incredibly high-minded attitude of the Confederacy. + +Another delightful prose contribution is "Back to Blighty," by Joseph +Parks, a vivid vignette of one phase of military life. "Trinidad and its +Forests," by F. E. M. Hercules, is marked by its author's customary ease +of expression and felicity of diction; presenting many facts of general +interest. The poetry in this issue includes work from the pens of J. E. +Hoag, H. P. Lovecraft, Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, Beryl Mappin, and the +Editor. Dr. Kuntz's lines to the memory of Phillips Gamwell are animated +with a nobility which well befits their subject, though the rhyme of +=day= and =melody= is not strictly correct. Few amateur poets are able +to achieve the sonorous dignity which Dr. Kuntz imparts to his flowing +Alexandrines, or to select with equal appropriateness the vivid and +musical words that so irresistibly delight the ear and impress the +imagination. Miss Mappin's metrical effort, entitled "Only a Thought," +betrays some of the crudities of youth; including the attempted rhyme of +=alone= and =home=. The metre, phraseology, and plan of rhyming demand +extensive revision, the following being a possible amended version of +the piece: + + As sad and alone in a distant land + I sat by the dismal shore, + My chin laid pensively in my hand, + And my dreams all of home once more; + I watch'd and mus'd o'er the sunless sea, + And study'd the cruel foam; + For the waves bore an exile's woe to me, + From my kindred forc'd to roam. + + But lo! floating light upon the wind + And murm'ing o'er ocean crest, + Come the thoughts of those I left behind, + Bringing comfort and love and rest. + Only a word--aye, only a thought! + Each speeds like a heav'n-sent dart; + Who can measure the gladness and aid they've brought-- + These thoughts--to the breaking heart? + +The first line of the original, "=Far away= in a =distant= land," is +lamentably pleonastic; whilst the identity or intended identity of the +second and fourth rhymes is undesirable. In a verse of this type, it is +not well to repeat a rhyme immediately. In the second stanza the first +and third lines and the fifth and seventh are unrhymed, a variation from +the original design which is not sanctioned by custom. Once a poet +decides on his metre and plan of rhyme, he should maintain them +unchanged throughout the poem. In the foregoing revised version, all +these defects have been remedied. Miss Trafford's poem, "After a Dream," +shows much promise both technically and in the thought. The final line +of the first stanza, "And the joy it contains is much," is very weak; +and should be changed to read: "And of joy it contains so much." In +writing the definite article, Miss Trafford mistakenly uses the +contracted form =th'= when full syllabic value is to be given. This +contraction is employed only when the article is metrically placed as a +proclitic before another word, and is thereby shorn of its separate +pronunciation as follows: + + =Th' ambitious= bard a nobler theme essays. + +The illustrated bit of humor by George William Stokes deserves mention +as presenting one of the cleverest drawings to appear lately in the +amateur press. It is difficult to decide in which domain Mr. Stokes +shines the more brightly, literature or pictorial art. His heading for +=The Little Budget= is a masterpiece of its kind. + + * * * * * + +=The Pippin= for May brings once more to our notice amateurdom's +foremost high-school club, the Appleton aggregation, whose existence is +due to Mr. Maurice W. Moe's untiring efforts. "Doings of the Pippins," +by Joseph Harriman, is a terse and informing chronicle of recent +activity. "Once Upon a Time," by Florence A. Miller, is a bit of +humorous verse whose metre might be improved by the use of greater care. +"Some Cloth!," by John Ingold, is an exceedingly clever piece of wit; +which, though avowedly Irish, bears the characteristic hall-mark of +native American humor. The delightful exaggerations recall some of the +brightest spots in American light literature. "Speed," by Matilda +Harriman, is an interesting sketch recalling Poe's "Mellonta Tauta," in +its imaginative flights. "From Over the Threshold," by Ruth Ryan, shows +much promise in the realm of fiction. "Once an Amateur, Always an +Amateur" is one of those rare bits of prose with which our distinguished +Critical member, Mr. Moe, favours us. We are proud of the unshaken +amateur allegiance of so brilliant a personality, and trust that some +day he may realise his dream of "an attic or basement printshop." "The +Press Club," by Ruth Schumaker, is a pleasing sketch, as is also Miss +Kelly's "Our Club and the United." We trust that the Appleton Club may +safely weather the hard times of which Miss Kelly complains. + + * * * * * + +THE UNITED AMATEUR for May contains a captivating and graceful sketch by +W. Edwin Gibson, entitled "Beauty." Mr. Gibson is one of our younger +members who bids fair to become prominent in the coming amateur +generation. Of the month's poetry, we may mention with particular +commendation Miss von der Heide's "Worship," though through some error, +possibly typographical, the final line of the second stanza seems to +lack two syllables. "When Dreams Come True," by Kathleen Foster Smith, +is likewise of more than common merit, though the word =hear= in the +second line of the second stanza is probably a misprint for =heard=. +"Smile," by O. M. Blood, is ingenious though scarcely novel. Its chief +defects are inequalities in the lines, which care should be able to +correct. The first line contains two superfluous syllables, while the +fourth line contains one too many. The ninth line of the final section +contains two syllables too many, as do the tenth and eleventh lines as +well. The rhyme of =appear= and =disappear= is incorrect, since +syllables in rhyme should be merely similar--not the same. Mr. Blood +requires much practice in poetry, but undoubtedly possesses the germ of +success. "To the U. A. P. A.," by Matthew Hilson, is acceptable in +construction and delightful in sentiment, laying strata on the new +Anglo-American unity--the one redeeming feature of the present +international crisis. THE UNITED AMATEUR closes with a quotation from +Euripides, which we will not attempt to review here, since the author +has been receiving critical attention from far abler men for many +centuries! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Chairman. + + +NEWS NOTES + +Maurice W. Moe, Chief of our Department of Private Criticism, is trying +a novel experiment this summer for the sake of his health. He has +undertaken a labourer's work on one of the new buildings of Lawrence +College, lifting planks, shovelling mud, and wheeling bags of cement +like a seasoned workingman. While painful at first, the regimen is +proving actually beneficial, and Mr. Moe is proud of the physical +prowess he is beginning to exhibit. One of our amateur poetasters +recently perpetrated the following four lines on the unusual occurrence +of a learned instructor working manually upon a college building: + + To M. W. M. + + Behold the labourer, who builds the walls + That soon shall shine as Learning's sacred halls; + A man so apt at ev'ry art and trade, + He well might govern what his hands have made! + + + + + _THE + UNITED AMATEUR_ + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVII ATHOL, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1917 NUMBER 2 + + +A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson + +Humphry Littlewit, Esq. + +The Privilege of Reminiscence, however rambling or tiresome, is one +generally allow'd to the very aged; indeed, 'tis frequently by means of +such Recollections that the obscure occurrences of History, and the +lesser Anecdotes of the Great, are transmitted to Posterity. + +Tho' many of my readers have at times observ'd and remark'd a Sort of +antique Flow in my Stile of Writing, it hath pleased me to pass amongst +the Members of this Generation as a young Man, giving out the Fiction +that I was born in 1890, in =America=. I am now, however, resolv'd to +unburthen myself of a secret which I have hitherto kept thro' Dread of +Incredulity; and to impart to the Publick a true knowledge of my long +years, in order to gratifie their taste for authentick Information of an +Age with whose famous Personages I was on familiar Terms. Be it then +known that I was born on the family Estate in =Devonshire=, of the 10th +day of August, 1690, (or in the new =Gregorian= Stile of Reckoning, the +20th of August) being therefore now in my 228th year. Coming early to +=London=, I saw as a Child many of the celebrated Men of King +=William's= Reign, including the lamented Mr. =Dryden=, who sat much at +the Tables of =Will's= Coffee-House. With Mr. =Addison= and Dr. =Swift= +I later became very well acquainted, and was an even more familiar +Friend to Mr. =Pope=, whom I knew and respected till the Day of his +Death. But since it is of my more recent Associate, the late Dr. +=Johnson=, that I am at this time desir'd to write; I will pass over my +Youth for the present. + +I had first Knowledge of the Doctor in May of the year 1738, tho' I did +not at that Time meet him. Mr. =Pope= had just compleated his Epilogue +to his Satires, (the Piece beginning: "Not twice a Twelvemonth you +appear in Print.") and had arrang'd for its Publication. On the very Day +it appear'd, there was also publish'd a Satire in Imitation of +=Juvenal=, entituled "=London=," by the then unknown =Johnson=; and this +so struck the Town, that many Gentlemen of Taste declared, it was the +Work of a greater Poet than Mr. =Pope=. Notwithstanding what some +Detractors have said of Mr. =Pope's= petty Jealousy, he gave the Verses +of his new Rival no small Praise; and having learnt thro' Mr. +=Richardson= who the Poet was, told me, "that Mr. =Johnson= wou'd soon +be =deterre=." + +I had no personal Acquaintances with the Doctor till 1763, when I was +presented to him at the =Mitre= Tavern by Mr. =James Boswell=, a young +=Scotchman= of excellent Family and great Learning, but small Wit, whose +metrical Effusions I had sometimes revis'd. + +Dr. =Johnson=, as I beheld him, was a full, pursy Man, very ill drest, +and of slovenly Aspect. I recall him to have worn a bushy Bob-Wig, +untyed and without Powder, and much too small for his Head. His Cloaths +were of rusty brown, much wrinkled, and with more than one Button +missing. His Face, too full to be handsom, was likewise marred by the +Effects of some scrofulous Disorder; and his Head was continually +rolling about in a sort of convulsive way. Of this Infirmity, indeed, I +had known before; having heard of it from Mr. =Pope=, who took the +Trouble to make particular Inquiries. + +Being nearly seventy-three, full nineteen Years older than Dr. +=Johnson=, (I say Doctor, tho' his Degree came not till two Years +afterward) I naturally expected him to have some Regard for my Age; and +was therefore not in that Fear of him, which others confess'd. On my +asking him what he thought of my favourable Notice of his Dictionary in +=The Londoner=, my periodical Paper, he said: "Sir, I possess no +Recollection of having perus'd your Paper, and have not a great Interest +in the Opinions of the less thoughtful Part of Mankind." Being more than +a little piqued at the Incivility of one whose Celebrity made me +solicitous of his Approbation, I ventur'd to retaliate in kind, and told +him, I was surpris'd that a Man of Sense shou'd judge the Thoughtfulness +of one whose Productions he admitted never having read. "Why, Sir," +reply'd =Johnson=, "I do not require to become familiar with a Man's +Writings in order to estimate the Superficiality of his Attainments, +when he plainly shews it by his Eagerness to mention his own Productions +in the first Question he puts to me." Having thus become Friends, we +convers'd on many Matters. When, to agree with him, I said I was +distrustful of the Authenticity of =Ossian's= Poems, Mr. =Johnson= said: +"That, Sir, does not do your Understanding particular Credit; for what +all the Town is sensible of, is no great Discovery for a =Grub-Street= +Critick to make. You might as well say, you have a strong Suspicion that +=Milton= wrote 'Paradise Lost!'" + +I thereafter saw =Johnson= very frequently, most often at Meetings of +THE LITERARY CLUB, which was founded the next Year by the Doctor, +together with Mr. =Burke=, the parliamentary Orator, Mr. =Beauclerk=, a +Gentleman of Fashion, Mr. =Langton=, a pious Man and Captain of Militia, +Sir =J. Reynolds=, the widely known Painter, Dr. =Goldsmith=, the Prose +and poetick Writer, Dr. =Nugent=, father-in-law to Mr. =Burke=, Sir +=John Hawkins=, Mr. =Anthony Chamier=, and my self. We assembled +generally at seven o'clock of an Evening, once a Week, at the +=Turk's-Head=, in =Gerrard-Street=, =Soho=, till that Tavern was sold +and made into a private Dwelling; after which Event we mov'd our +Gatherings successively to =Prince's= in =Sackville-Street=, =Le +Tellier's= in =Dover-Street=, and =Parsloe's= and the =Thatched House= +in =St. James's-Street=. In these Meetings we preserv'd a remarkable +Degree of Amity and Tranquillity, which contrasts very favourably with +some of the Dissensions and Disruptions I observe in the literary and +amateur Press Associations of today. This Tranquillity was the more +remarkable, because we had amongst us Gentlemen of very opposed +Opinions. Dr. =Johnson= and I, as well as many others, were high Tories; +whilst Mr. =Burke= was a Whig, and against the =American= War, many of +his Speeches on that Subject having been widely publish'd. The least +congenial Member was one of the Founders, Sir =John Hawkins=, who hath +since written many misrepresentations of our Society. Sir =John=, an +eccentrick Fellow, once declin'd to pay his part of the Reckoning for +Supper, because 'twas his Custom at Home to eat no Supper. Later he +insulted Mr. =Burke= in so intolerable a Manner, that we all took Pains +to shew our Disapproval; after which Incident he came no more to our +Meetings. However, he never openly fell out with the Doctor, and was the +Executor of his Will; tho' Mr. =Boswell= and others have Reason to +question the genuineness of his Attachment. Other and later Members of +the CLUB were Mr. =David Garrick=, the Actor and early Friend of Dr. +=Johnson=, Messieurs =Tho.= and =Jos. Warton=, Dr. =Adam Smith=, Dr. +=Percy=, Author of the "Reliques," Mr. =Edw. Gibbon=, the Historian, Dr. +=Burney=, the Musician, Mr. =Malone=, the Critick, and Mr. =Boswell=. +Mr. =Garrick= obtain'd Admittance only with Difficulty; for the Doctor, +notwithstanding his great Friendship, was for ever affecting to decry +the Stage and all Things connected with it. =Johnson=, indeed, had a +most singular Habit of speaking for =Davy= when others were against him, +and of arguing against him, when others were for him. I have no Doubt +but that he sincerely lov'd Mr. =Garrick=, for he never alluded to him +as he did to =Foote=, who was a very coarse Fellow despite his comick +Genius. Mr. =Gibbon= was none too well lik'd, for he had an odious +sneering Way which offended even those of us who most admir'd his +historical Productions. Mr. =Goldsmith=, a little Man very vain of his +Dress and very deficient in Brilliancy of Conversation, was my +particular Favourite; since I was equally unable to shine in the +Discourse. He was vastly jealous of Dr. =Johnson=, tho' none the less +liking and respecting him. I remember that once a Foreigner, a =German=, +I think, was in our Company; and that whilst =Goldsmith= was speaking, +he observ'd the Doctor preparing to utter something. Unconsciously +looking upon =Goldsmith= as a meer Encumbrance when compar'd to the +greater Man, the Foreigner bluntly interrupted him and incurr'd his +lasting Hostility by crying, "Hush, Toctor =Shonson= iss going to +speak!" + +In this luminous Company I was tolerated more because of my Years than +for my Wit or Learning; being no Match at all for the rest. My +Friendship for the celebrated Monsieur =Voltaire= was ever a Cause of +Annoyance to the Doctor; who was deeply orthodox, and who us'd to say of +the =French= Philosopher: "Vir est acerrimi Ingenii et paucarum +Literarum." + +Mr. =Boswell=, a little teazing Fellow whom I had known for some Time +previously, us'd to make Sport of my aukward Manners and old-fashion'd +Wig and Cloaths. Once coming in a little the worse for Wine (to which he +was addicted) he endeavour'd to lampoon me by means of an Impromptu in +verse, writ on the Surface of the Table; but lacking the Aid he usually +had in his Composition, he made a bad grammatical Blunder. I told him, +he shou'd not try to pasquinade the Source of his Poesy. At another Time +=Bozzy= (as we us'd to call him) complain'd of my Harshness toward new +Writers in the Articles I prepar'd for The Monthly Review. He said, I +push'd every Aspirant off the Slopes of Parnassus. "Sir," I reply'd, +"you are mistaken. They who lose their Hold do so from their own Want of +Strength; but desiring to conceal their Weakness, they attribute the +absence of Success to the first Critick that mentions them." I am glad +to recall that Dr. =Johnson= upheld me in this Matter. + +Dr. =Johnson= was second to no Man in the Pains he took to revise the +bad Verses of others; indeed, 'tis said that in the book of poor blind +old Mrs. =Williams=, there are scarce two lines which are not the +Doctor's. At one Time =Johnson= recited to me some lines by a Servant to +the Duke of =Leeds=, which had so amus'd him, that he had got them by +Heart. They are on the Duke's Wedding, and so much resemble in Quality +the Work of other and more recent poetick Dunces, that I cannot forbear +copying them: + + "When the Duke of =Leeds= shall marry'd be + To a fine young Lady of high Quality + How happy will that Gentlewoman be + In his Grace of =Leeds'= good Company." + +I ask'd the Doctor, if he had ever try'd making Sense of this Piece; and +upon his saying he had not, I amus'd myself with the following Amendment +of it: + + When Gallant LEEDS auspiciously shall wed + The virtuous Fair, of antient Lineage bred, + How must the Maid rejoice with conscious Pride + To win so great an Husband to her Side! + +On shewing this to Dr. =Johnson=, he said, "Sir, you have straightened +out the Feet, but you have put neither Wit nor Poetry into the Lines." + +It wou'd afford me Gratification to tell more of my Experiences with Dr. +=Johnson= and his circle of Wits; but I am an old Man, and easily +fatigued. I seem to ramble along without much Logick or Continuity when +I endeavour to recall the Past; and fear I light upon but few Incidents +which others have not before discuss'd. Shou'd my present Recollections +meet with Favour, I might later set down some further Anecdotes of old +Times of which I am the only Survivor. I recall many Things of =Sam +Johnson= and his Club, having kept up my Membership in the Latter long +after the Doctor's Death, at which I sincerely mourn'd. I remember how +=John Burgoyne=, Esq., the General, whose Dramatick and Poetical Works +were printed after his Death, was blackballed by three Votes; probably +because of his unfortunate Defeat in the =American= War, at =Saratoga=. +Poor =John=! His Son fared better, I think, and was made a Baronet. But +I am very tired. I am old, very old; it is Time for my Afternoon Nap. + + +DEPARTMENT _of_ PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Dabbler=, for September, in the entire unexpectedness and splendor +of its appearance, must be counted as one of the most effective of +recent rebukes to the pessimists. There have been several such rebukes, +and those who had already prepared themselves for another barren year in +amateur journalism are beginning to realize that even history cannot be +relied upon to repeat itself indefinitely. =The Dabbler= is issued by +H. L. Lindquist of Chicago, and contains 16 pages, exclusive of the +covers. The initial letters and a few incidental adornments are printed +in green, and the title-page, with its harmonious arrangement of type +and decoration, is a delight to the eye. The typography, throughout, is +almost flawless, and the contents, in general, are worthy of the care +with which they have been presented to the reader. Paul J. Campbell, in +his article, "What Does Amateur Journalism Mean to You?" once again +defines the peculiar benefits and pleasures to be derived from our +hobby, and warns away all those who come to it because of an idle +curiosity, or a vain desire for self-glorification, or any motive other +than a true impulse toward mental development and literary culture. "A +Critical Review," by Frank C. Reighter, is devoted to the July +=Brooklynite=, and subjects that publication to a well-nigh exhaustive +analysis and criticism. The article is both interesting and instructive +and reveals Mr. Reighter as an acute and capable critic. The verses with +which he concludes his remarks are particularly clever and melodious, +and furnish an excellent example of light verse when it is written by +one possessing a natural aptitude for that form of expression. Jennie M. +Kendall, in her fragment, "The One Thing Needful," makes a modern +business woman give her opinion of idle wives, which she does in +forceful, although not always accurate, English. "U. A. P. A. Convention +Echoes," by Litta Voelchert; "The Old-Timer's Comeback," by L. J. Cohen; +and "The Only Hope of A. J.," by W. E. Mellinger, consist of +reminiscence, assurance and advice, from three well-known amateur +journalists. The articles were obviously written somewhat hastily but +are, nevertheless, very interesting and suggestive. H. L. Lindquist, in +"At It Again," tells how he severed his connection with amateur +journalism six years ago--being occupied with several professional +ventures--only to find that the old passion would not die and finally +compelled him to return to his early love. Those who have seen the +result of Mr. Lindquist's acquiescence in his Fate will gain some idea +of what his activity must have meant in other days. + + * * * * * + +=The Dabbler=, for October, follows hard upon its predecessor and, in +all essentials, is of equal merit. "Hiking in the Rocky Mountain +National Park," by Louis H. Kerber, Jr., is a well-written account of a +tour through some of America's most wonderful scenery, and reflects +great credit on Mr. Kerber's powers of observation. "Day-Dreams," by +Frank C. Reighter, is a didactic poem and so labors under an initial +handicap in attempting to hold the attention of the reader. The +technique of the poet, however, is deserving of praise, and if a fault +must be pointed out, it is in the forced pronunciation of the word +"idea" in the last line, which seems too cheap a device to appear in +poetry, even when, as in the present case, it is used intentionally. +"Dominion Day in Winnipeg," by W. B. Stoddard, is an account of a +patriotic celebration in Canada and was evidently witnessed by the +writer on his recent--and somewhat protracted--travels. "Ecstasy," a +poem, by Eleanor J. Barnhart, begins rather promisingly but we do not +proceed very far before detecting various crudities of craftsmanship. +Lines like the following: + + "The changing fire splendor of sky opals, rare," + +and + + "Like sea gulls swift soaring in tireless sky flight," + +and, once again, + + "Till star gleams bright glittering high in mid-sky," + +contain the germ of true poetry, but when we read them we are aware not +only of a harsh and difficult combination of consonants but also of an +entire absence of metrical swing and grace. In fact, we get an +impression from the above lines that an excessive number of important +words have been crowded hap-hazard upon a metrical pattern which was not +intended to hold so many, and it is not surprising that the fabric +should show signs of being subjected to a severe strain. But care and +practise may yet awaken that poet's instinct within Miss Barnhart which +will enable her to detect and reject, instantly, all such blemishes in +what should be the rounded beauty of her song. + +Thomas Curtis Clark is indeed a poet of "Ring and Swing," as an +editorial note to his poems declares him to be. "The Dawn of Liberty" +and "America's Men" must be read in their entirety to be appreciated, +but a quotation from the latter poem may not be amiss. + + We are America's men, + Brave, dauntless and true; + We are America's men, + Ready to dare and do; + Ready to wield the sword with might, + Ready the tyrant's brow to smite-- + And ready to sheath the sword--for Right! + We are America's Men. + +The unsigned story entitled, "The Man Out of Work," is very brief, but +apparently not the effort of a tyro. It would probably hold the +attention even if it were much longer and we are almost inclined to +regret its extreme abruptness. Nevertheless, it is complete as it stands +and an artistic whole. "Still At It," by Mr. Lindquist, gives us +interesting information regarding the editor and also some sound advice +as to finding congenial employment. Mr. Lindquist seems to be a +philosopher whose practise will bear comparison with his theory. + + * * * * * + +=The Olympian= for October, awakens much of the old-time thrill with +which amateurs were wont to receive the once frequent issues of that +justly known and esteemed publication. The present number is not so +ambitious in some respects as many of its predecessors, but it must be +said that within a somewhat smaller scope it accomplishes quite as much +as a more pretentious issue could hope to do. Nor is the latest +=Olympian= at all in need of any apologies for shortcomings in the way +of size, appearance, or general literary quality. Indeed, publications +that consist of 12 pages and cover are always certain of a hearty +welcome, while the present production of Mr. and Mrs. Cole has +qualifications in addition to those just mentioned that recommend it +warmly to all readers. The poem, "Motherhood," by Ethelwyn Dithridge is +a truly noble and inspired effort. Amateur journalism is fortunate to +number a poet of Miss Dithridge's attainments in its ranks. In +"Retrospect and Prospect," Edward H. Cole sums up the three years of +amateur history which have just passed and comes to the conclusion that +"the best hope for amateur journalism in these days of stress and +strain ... is in the peaceful co-operation of the surviving associations +in a campaign of expansion of a practicable nature." "Here and Now," by +Helene Hoffman Cole, consists of suggestions for the practical +co-operation proposed by Mr. Cole, and should be a stimulus to increased +activity in some positive form among present-day amateurs. "The +Reviewers' Club" is quite as authoritative and sound in its criticisms +as in the past and must always be considered one of the most delightful +and instructive features of =The Olympian=. + + * * * * * + +The National Amateur Press Association could hardly inaugurate a year of +promised activity more auspiciously than it has by the sterling issue of +its president's =Sprite=. It is just about everything that one could ask +for in amateur journalism. The modest grey of the cover, the excellence +of the paper stock, the flawlessness of the typography, the exquisite +taste with which the component parts are blended--all these strike the +eye at the first glance. When one comes to read the contents, he finds +each contribution well worth the setting. For a leading article we have +something that is well nigh unique in literature, either amateur or +professional, an attempted reconstruction of a scene supposedly excised +from "King Lear." This is so unusual, in fact, that it might well be +called a "stunt," but certainly it is a successful stunt. In the not +overly long scene presented, which pictures the ruthless hanging of +Cordelia and the Fool before the eyes of the aged Lear, we can discern +no quality that is not strictly Shakespearian. The language has been +purged of every trace of modernism and flows with that semi-solemn, +archaic, Elizabethan cadence that almost makes it hard to believe that +it was written in this century. But all this might be done without +achieving the supreme Shakespearian touch. The triumph of the scene is +that the character delineation is carried on with such a mastery of its +intricacies that this scene might be interpolated in a new edition of +the play and fool the higher critics of the future. The author, Samuel +Loveman, is an amateur of former days who celebrates his return to the +hobby with this feat so characteristic of his peculiar genius. The +United has its Lovecraft, a belated Georgian who says he is nowhere so +much at home today as he would be in the coffee-houses of Pope or +Johnson. The National once more after a lapse of years has its Loveman, +a belated Elizabethan who could have walked into the Mermaid Tavern and +proved a congenial soul to Kit Marlowe and friend Will. The United +welcomes him back. + +Harry Martin, the editor, follows with an essay on the elements of the +classic Greek tragedy to be found in "King Lear," which in depth, tone, +and general literary quality are strongly reminiscent of the best work +that appears in the =Atlantic Monthly=. As an essay it is perfect in +form, its thesis is stated clearly and developed with forceful logic, +and the wealth of material brought to bear upon the subject displays a +knowledge of Shakespeare and the classic drama worthy of Truman Spencer, +of beloved amateur memory. + +The editorial section is only to be criticized in that Mr. Martin has +cut us off with so few of his readable "Views Martinique," but we shall +live in hopes of another excellent =Sprite= with a longer editorial +department. George Cribbs' "History" is just a little poem used for a +filler, but this must not be taken in derogation, for it is filler +chosen with the good taste that characterizes the choice of all the +other contributions. In spite of its simplicity and its brevity, it +plays with the deft touch of mastery on that chord of pathos that always +vibrates to the thought of Time's ceaseless and inevitable surge. From +every point of view the whole journal is a symphony of excellence. + + * * * * * + +=The Yerma=, for October, is edited by John H. D. Smith of Orondo, +Washington, and, aside from the fact that it is an attractive and +well-printed publication, may be considered as being rather in the +nature of a promise of future achievement. The dedicatory verses "To the +Yerma," by Alice M. Hamlet are fairly good so far as rhyme and metre are +concerned. They run smoothly and are really graceful in sentiment. They +contain one or two grammatical inversions, however, such as + + "I would a little jingle write," + +and + + "I'd love to be a poet great," + +which have no more right to appear in verse than in prose. Then, too, +they betray an occasional inelegance of expression like the following: + + "I find that I am stuck." + +But Miss Hamlet should by all means persist in her versifying, since +there can be no doubt that she owns an instinctive grasp of the basic +laws of rhyme and rhythm. If she will read and study the lighter efforts +to be found in any standard anthology of poetry and then, with such +models ever before her, strive sincerely to overcome her present defects +by unremitting practise, Miss Hamlet may yet become a truly clever and +accomplished versifier. "The Reform Spirit--Its Mission," by P. A. +Spain, M. D., is an exceedingly able and thought provoking essay. It is +to be hoped that in future issues Mr. Smith will give us an inkling of +his own ideas on various subjects. The chief defect in =The Yerma= is +the entire absence of editorial comment. + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +The fourth month of the United's official year opens with the +organization still nearer completion; Mrs. Helene Hoffman Cole, former +President and thoroughly active and capable amateur, having accepted +appointment as Supervisor of Amendments. The Fourth Vice-Presidency has +been accepted by Alfred Galpin, Jr., 779 Kimball St., Appleton, +Wisconsin. + +The Official Editor is to be commended for the excellence of the +September =United Amateur=, as is also the printer, Mr. W. Paul Cook. +The Association will be gratified to hear that Mr. Cook has accepted the +position of Official Publisher for the year; but the members must +remember that only by their liberality in replenishing the Official +Organ Fund, can regular issuance be ensured. + +The 1916-1917 Year-Book of the Association, having been completed by the +Committee, is now undergoing critical inspection and condensation by the +expert judgment of Messrs. Paul J. Campbell and Edward F. Daas. Here +again we appeal to the generosity of the members, especially the veteran +members, to make possible the publication in full of this epitome of +amateur history. Unless the Year-Book Fund is materially swelled, the +volume cannot possibly be printed in its unabridged form of sixty-three +closely typed manuscript pages. + +The amateur press is now showing signs of a gradual recovery from the +late period of minimum activity. Mr. Martin's remarkable production, +=The Sprite=, Mr. Lindquist's two numbers of =The Dabbler=, Mr. and Mrs. +Cole's welcome =Olympian=, Mr. Cook's wonderfully ample =Vagrant=, and +Mr. John H. D. Smith's small but enterprising =Yerma=, all attest the +reality of this awakening. Within the next few months many more papers +are to be expected; including an excellent one from Miss Lehr, a +scholarly =Piper= from Mr. Kleiner, a brilliant first venture, =The +Arcadian=, from Mrs. Jordan, and both a =Vagrant= and a =Monadnock= from +Mr. Cook. Mr. Cook makes a truly philanthropic offer to print small +papers at reasonable rates, and it is to be hoped that a large number of +members will avail themselves of it, communicating with Mr. Cook +regarding particulars. His address is 451 Main St., Athol, Mass. + +Recruiting proceeds steadily if not with meteoric rapidity, some +excellent material having been obtained since the beginning of the +year's campaign. The most serious defect in our system is the lack of a +general welcome shown the new members, particularly as regards the +distribution of papers. One of our most important recruits of last July, +now a responsible officer, declares he has seen but a fraction of the +papers issued since his entrance; a fact indicating a censurable but +easily remediable condition. Let us impress it upon ourselves, that if +we would do our full share toward maintaining the Association and its +literary life, we must see that all our respective publications reach +=every= member new or old. A considerable part of our yearly losses in +membership are undoubtedly due to the indifferent reception which so +many gifted newcomers receive. + +The general signs of the times are bright and encouraging. A renascent +amateur press, a closer co-operation between members, an influx of +interested recruits, and an improved state of relations with our +contemporaries, are but a few of the good omens which promise to make +the coming year a pleasing and profitable one. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + October 28, 1917. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1918 + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +The dawn of the new year discovers the United in what may, considering +the general condition of the times, be called a very enviable position. +With a full complement of officers, and with the recruiting machinery +fairly under way, our course seems clear and our voyage propitious. + +The November Official Organ deserves praise of the highest sort; and +will remain as a lasting monument to the editorial ability of Miss +McGeoch and the mechanical good taste of Mr. Cook. It has set a standard +beneath which it should not fall, but to maintain which a well-supplied +Official Organ Fund is absolutely necessary. If each member of the +Association would send a dollar, or even less, to Custodian McGeoch, +this Fund might be certain of continuance at a level which would ensure +a large and regularly published UNITED AMATEUR. + +The publication of lists of new and prospective members should arouse +every amateur to recruiting activity, and cause each newcomer to receive +a goodly number of letters, papers, and postcards. It would be well if +the line of demarcation between Recruiting Committees and the general +amateur public were not so sharply drawn; for whilst it is the duty of +the official recruiter to approach these new names, any other members +confer no less a favour on the United by doing so unofficially. We must +remedy the condition which permits able writers to join and pass out of +the Association almost without a realization of the fact of their +membership. How few of these gifted amateurs who entered in 1915-1916 +are now with us! + +Publishing activity is strikingly exemplified by the appearance of +=Spindrift=, a regularly issued monthly from the able pen of Sub-Lieut. +Ernest Lionel McKeag of the Royal Navy. When a busy naval officer in +active service can edit so excellent a magazine as this, no civilian +should complain that the present war has made amateur journalism an +impossibility! The number of papers expected in the near future has been +increased by a plan of the Second Vice-President to unite the members of +the Recruiting Committee in a co-operative editorial venture. It is to +be hoped that this enterprise may succeed as well as similar papers +conducted during former administrations. Of great interest to the +literary element will be Mr. Cook's contemplated volume of laureate +poetry, containing the winning pieces of all our competitions from the +establishment of Laureateships to the present time. + +The Association extends its heartiest congratulations, individually and +collectively, to ex-Pres. Campbell and Treasurer Barnhart, who were most +auspiciously joined in wedlock on Thanksgiving Day. Its heartfelt +sympathy is transmitted to relatives of the late Rev. W. S. Harrison, +whose death on December 3d left a vacancy in the ranks of stately and +spiritual poets which cannot be filled. + +A final word of commendation should be given to those more than generous +teachers, professors, and scholars who are making "The Reading Table" so +pleasing and successful a feature of the United's literary life. The +idea, originated by Miss McGeoch, has been ably developed by Messrs. Moe +and Lowrey, and is likely to redeem many of the promises of real +progress which have pervaded the Association during the past few years. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + January 2, 1918. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1918 + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +As the second half of the official year progresses, we behold the United +in excellent condition, though not marked by as great a degree of +activity as might be desired. The official organ faithfully maintains +its phenomenally high standard, the January issue indeed eclipsing all +precedents; but a larger number of other papers must be published, if we +are to make the present term as memorable quantitatively as it is +qualitatively. An excellent example is set by Mrs. Jordan, whose newly +established =Eurus= comes so opportunely. May this publication prove +permanent, and of frequent appearance! Besides this, we are indebted to +Miss Trafford, Lieut. McKeag, and Mr. Martin for a =Little Budget=, +=Spindrift=, and =Sprite=, respectively. Several other papers are +reported in press, including what promises to be a very remarkable +=Vagrant=. + +In order to increase the publishing activity of the Association, the +administration will endeavour to arrange for the publication of one or +more co-operative papers. Any United member able to contribute $1.50 or +more to such an enterprise should communicate with the undersigned, who +will attend to the details of issuance if a sufficient number of +contributing editors can be obtained. $1.50 will pay for one page, 7x10, +and each contributor is at liberty to take as many pages as he desires +at that rate. Contributors may utilise their space according to their +own wishes, and all will be equally credited with editorship. This plan, +successfully practiced four years ago, should enable many hitherto +silent members to appear in the editorial field to great advantage, in a +journal whose contents and appearance will alike be creditable. + +The comparative scarcity of entries makes imperative a second warning +regarding the new conditions in the Laureateship department. Ten persons +must compete in any class before an award in that particular division +can be granted, and at present no class contains an adequate variety of +entries. Again it is urged that the members lose no time in submitting +their printed literary productions to Mr. Hoag for entry. + +A careful study of the four proposed constitutional amendments is +necessary to ensure intelligent voting next July. The undersigned, as +their author, naturally favours their passage; but the one providing for +an abolition of the officers' activity requirements should not be +adopted without ample opportunity for debate and interchange of views. + +The congratulations of the Association are extended to Mr. and Mrs. +Edward H. Cole upon the advent of a son, Edward Sherman Cole, on +February 14. With equal sincerity the United felicitates Ex-President +Leo Fritter, on his marriage to Miss Frances P. Hepner, March 6. + +The United's 22nd annual convention will be held on July 22nd, 23d and +24th, at the Dells of the Wisconsin River. Under the direction of Mr. +Daas this event cannot fail to be of interest and pleasure to all +delegates, and every member who finds attendance possible is urged to be +present. + +To commend the official board for its generous, harmonious, and +industrious co-operation this year, seems but a reiteration of needless +panegyric; yet it would not be just to conclude this message without +some such expression of grateful appreciation. The enthusiastic and +unswerving loyalty of all our leaders has been a constant shield against +the adversity of these gloomy times, and has been wonderfully successful +in maintaining the United at a high cultural level. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + March 8, 1918. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1918 + + +Sunset + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + + The cloudless day is richer at its close; + A golden glory settles on the lea; + Soft stealing shadows hint of cool repose + To mellowing landscape, and to calming sea. + + And in that nobler, gentler, lovelier light, + The soul to sweeter, loftier bliss inclines; + Freed from the noonday glare, the favour'd sight + Increasing grace in earth and sky divines. + + But ere the purest radiance crowns the green, + Or fairest lustre fills th' expectant grove, + The twilight thickens, and the fleeting scene + Leaves but a hallow'd memory of love! + + +DEPARTMENT _of_ PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=Eurus= for February serves a double purpose; to introduce to the United +in an editorial capacity the gifted poetess, Mrs. W. V. Jordan, and to +commemorate the 87th natal anniversary of amateurdom's best beloved +bard, Jonathan E. Hoag. The dedication to Mr. Hoag is both worthy and +well merited. There are few whose qualities could evoke so sincere an +encomium, and few encomiasts who could render so felicitous an +expression of esteem. The entire production sustains the best traditions +of Mrs. Jordan's work, and forms the most creditable individual paper to +appear in the United since the dawn of the new year. + +The issue opens with Mr. Hoag's stately and beautiful poem, "To the +Falls of Dionondawa," which describes in an exquisite way the supposed +history of a delightful cascade in Greenwich, New York. The lines, which +are cast in the heroic couplet, have all the pleasing pomp and fire of +the Augustan age of English verse; and form a refreshing contrast to the +harsh or languid measures characteristic of the present day. Mr. Hoag +brings down to our time the urbane arts of a better literary period. + +"An Appreciation," by Verna McGeoch, is a prose-poetical tribute to Mr. +Hoag, whose literary merit is of such a quality that we must needs +lament the infrequency with which the author contributes to the amateur +press. Of this piece a reader of broad culture lately said: "I have +never read a production of this kind, more finely phrased, more +comprehensive, more effective, and withal, so terse, and throughout, in +such excellent taste." =Eurus= has good reason for self-congratulation +on carrying this remarkable bit of composition. + +"Chores," by Winifred Virginia Jordan, displays this versatile writer in +a very singular vein; that of sombre, repellent, rustic tragedy. It has +all the compelling power which marks Mrs. Jordan's darker productions, +and is conveyed in an arresting, staccato measure which emphasizes the +homely horror of the theme. The phraseology, with its large proportion +of rural and archaic words and constructions, adds vastly to the general +effect and atmosphere. We believe that Mrs. Jordan analyses the +New-England rustic mind more keenly and accurately than any other +amateur writer; interpreting rural moods and sentiments, be they bright +or dark, with unvarnished simplicity and absolute verisimilitude, +notwithstanding the fact that most of her verse is of a much more +polished and classical character. In "Chores" we are brought vividly +face to face with the bleakest aspect of rusticity; the dull, +commonplace couple, dwelling so far from the rest of mankind that they +have become almost primitive in thought and feelings, losing all the +complex refinements and humanities of social existence. The poem +intensifies that feeling of hidden terror and tragedy which sometimes +strikes us on beholding a lonely farmer, enigmatical of face and sparing +of words, or on spying, through the twilight, some grey, unpainted, +ramshackle, cottage, perched upon a wind-swept hill or propped up +against the jutting boulders of some deserted slope, miles from the town +and remote from the nearest neighbour. + +"Young Clare," by Edith Miniter, is a narrative poem of that power and +polish which might be expected of its celebrated author. The only +considerable objection which could possibly be brought against it is a +technical one, applying to the fourth line of the opening stanza: + + "To work a cabaret show." + +Here we must needs wonder at the use of =work= as a transitive verb when +the intransitive sense is so clearly demanded, and at the evident +accentuation of =cabaret=. We believe that the correct pronunciation of +=cabaret= is trisyllabic, with the accent on the final syllable, thus: +"=cab-a-ray=." We will not be quite so dogmatic about =artiste= in line +2 of the last stanza, though we think the best usage would demand the +accent on the final syllable. + +"Gentle Gusts," the quaintly named editorial section, contains much +matter of merit, clothed in a pleasantly smooth style. The classical +name of the publication is here ingeniously explained, and its +dedication formally made. The tribute to Mr. Hoag is as well rendered as +it is merited. The editorial note on amateur criticism is sound and +kindly; the author voicing her protests in a manner which disarms them +of malice, and putting us in a receptive attitude. Personally, the +present critic is in complete agreement with the remarks on poetical +elision and inversions; but we are confident that those of our board who +hold different views, will accept the dicta in the friendly spirit +intended. + +"Someone--Somewhere," by Jennie E. T. Dowe, is a delightful lyric by an +authoress too well known in amateurdom to need an introduction. Mrs. +Dowe writes with the polish of long experience and genuine culture, +displaying an enviable poetic genius. + +=Eurus= closes with some commendatory lines to Mr. Hoag from the pen of +H. P. Lovecraft. They are in heroics, and redolent of the spirit of two +centuries ago. We discern no striking violations of good taste or metre, +nor do we find any remarkable poetic power or elevation of thought. + + * * * * * + +=The Little Budget= for February and March is a double number, whose +size and quality are alike encouraging. The issue opens with an ornate +and felicitous Nature-poem by Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz, entitled "Above the +Clouds," in which the author for once breaks away from his favourite +Alexandrines and heptameters, presenting us with an ideally beautiful +specimen of the heroic quatrain. Despite the strong reasons which impel +Dr. Kuntz to adhere to long measures, we believe he should compose more +in pentameter. That his chosen metres have peculiar advantages, none +will deny; but it seems plain that the standard shorter line has other +advantages which amply outweigh them. It was not by chance that the line +of five iambuses became the dominant metre of our language. In the +present poem we discern a grace and flow far greater than any which +could pervade an Alexandrine piece; a condition well shown by parallel +perusal of this and one of the same author's more characteristic +efforts. As a creator of graphic, lofty, and majestic images, Dr. Kuntz +has no peer in amateurdom. His sense of colour and of music weaves a +rich and gorgeous element into the fabric of his work, and his sensitive +literary faculty gives birth to happy combinations of words and phrases +which not only please the imagination with their aptness, but delight +the ear with their intrinsic euphony. + +"The Drama as a Medium of Education," by Lieut. Ernest L. McKeag, is a +short but terse essay on a neglected factor in liberal culture. It is +true that our ordinary curricula lay all too little stress on dramatic +art; and that as a result, this branch of aesthetic expression is grossly +and consistently undervalued. The low estimate of the dramatic +profession entertained by Dr. Johnson is a sad illustration of the +one-sided state of mind prevailing even amongst scholars, concerning an +art which is certainly not inferior to painting and sculpture, and +probably much superior to music, in the aesthetic and intellectual scale. + +"The Wizard of the North," an essay on Sir Walter Scott, is the current +instalment of Miss Mappin's Modern Literature Series. It is marred by a +seeming hiatus, discernible not so much in the flow of words as in the +flow of the narrative, which leads us to believe that a considerable +portion has been left out, either through accident, or through an +attempt at abridgment. + +"My Books," by Alfred H. Pearce is a sonnet of apt idea and perfect +construction. + +"On Self-Sacrifice," by W. Townsend Ericson, is one of the "Essays of a +Dreamer" which are regularly appearing in the =Budget=. The effort is +marked by much sincerity and idealism, though in grammar and +practicability it is less distinguished. We might mention the erroneous +use of =whom= for =who= (a not uncommon defect amongst amateur writers), +the faulty use of the word =usurping= where =depriving= is meant, and +the split infinitive "to at least make;" all three of which mistakes +occur on page 138. Mr. Ericson should drill himself more thoroughly in +the principles of syntax. Other essays of this series are included in +the present issue. "On Contentment" gives an illustration which we fear +will injure Mr. Ericson's contention more than it will aid it. It is the +=reductio ad absurdum= of the typical "Pollyanna" school of philosophy. + +"Down an' Out," by Ernest L. McKeag, is a very clever ballad of the +"rough and ready" school; picturesque in atmosphere, but somewhat +defective in technique. Lieut. McKeag should pay a trifle more attention +to his rhymes; which are not, however, worse than many of the rhymes in +"Hudibras" and other comic pieces. + +"Why Roses are White," a children's story, by Margaret Mahon, is marked +by much grace and ingenuity; the central idea being quite original so +far as we know. Further contributions to the children's department are +made by Miss Birkmyre, whose woodland sketches will be appreciated by +older readers as well. + +"Selfish Ambition," a poem, by Nell Hilliard, is as correct and fluent +in metre as we might expect from the author, though the expletive =does= +in the final line of the first stanza is not to be commended. The +sentiment is not precisely novel, but is well presented. + +"The Flying Dutchman," a Romance of the Sea, by Joseph Parks, is more +replete with nautical verisimilitude than with literary force. As +compared with many of Mr. Parks' other tales, its plot is distinctly +weak and lacking in symmetry. We must, however, praise the generally +salty atmosphere. The picture of seafaring life is vivid and realistic. + +The current =Budget= concludes with a summary of the year just closed, +displaying a record of achievement of which the editress may well be +proud. + + * * * * * + +=The Silver Clarion= for March is the publication of John Milton +Samples, of Macon, Ga., a new member of the United. In tone the paper is +quite serious and strongly inclined toward the religious; but so able +are the majority of the contributions, that it lacks nothing in +interest. + +"Singing on the Way," a poem by James Larkin Pearson, opens the issue in +attractive fashion. The lines are tuneful and felicitous, the triple +rhymes giving an especially pleasing effect; though we must criticise +the line + + "Will certainly provide for us" + +as being a trifle prosaic. We should recommend "plenteously provide," or +something of that nature, as more poetic. Mr. Pearson is a poet of +ability and experience, with a volume of published verse to his credit, +whose work never falls below a high standard of merit. + +"Just Icicles," by Sarah Story Duffee, is a sort of fairy tale with a +juvenile exterior; which contains, however, more than a slight hint of +the vanity of human wishes and fruitlessness of human endeavour. Whilst +it exhibits no little cleverness in construction, we must own that it +possesses certain looseness, insipidity, and almost rambling quality, +which detract from its merit as a piece of literature. Mrs. Duffee would +profit from a closer study of classical models, and a slighter attention +to the more ordinary folk tales. + +"The Blessings of Thorns," by Sallie M. Adams, is a religious poem of +considerable excellence, containing a pious and worthy sentiment well +expressed. The chief defects are technical. In the first stanza, line 3 +lacks a syllable, whilst line 4 has one too many. Also, the =day-way= +rhyme is repeated too closely. To have but one rhyming sound through two +rhymes is a fault hard to excuse. All the defects above enumerated might +be removed with ease, as the following revised version of the opening +lines illustrates: + + When we thank our Heav'nly Father + For the boons each day bestow'd; + For the flowers that are scatter'd + O'er the roughness of the road. + +In the third stanza we find the =day-way= rhyme again repeated, also a +superfluity of syllables in the sixth line. The latter might be cut down +by the omission of the second =the=. + +"Springtime in Dixieland," by John Milton Samples, is a tuneful pastoral +which justifies the author's right to his first two names. But one or +two defects mar the general delightful effect. The phrase "zephyr +breeze," in the opening stanza, strikes us as a trifle pleonastic; since +a =zephyr= is itself a =breeze=; not a quality of a breeze. The syntax +of the latter part of this stanza is somewhat obscure, but might be +cleared up if the seventh line were thus amended: + + "And save when cloud-ships cross their track." + +The sixth and seventh lines of the last stanza each have a syllable too +many, and in line 6 the word =raise= is used incorrectly; =rise= being +the word needed. This, of course, would necessitate a change of rhyme. + +"One Face is Passing," by Mamie Knight Samples, is a timely and +excellent sketch concerning soldiers. + +"Co-ee," a poem by Harry E. Rieseberg, contains much genuine pathos, and +is generally smooth and commendable in technique. + +"The Likeness of the Deity," by Arthur H. Goodenough, is one of the +characteristically excellent products of its author, who holds the proud +rank of "Literatus" in the United. The amount and quality of Mr. +Goodenough's work is very unusual; few other amateurs producing so much +verse of the first order. As a religious poet, he stands alone; +resembling the celebrated Dr. Watts. He invests every theme he touches +with an atmosphere truly and richly poetic. + +"Astral Nights," by John Milton Samples, is a genuinely poetic piece of +prose arranged in lines resembling those of verse. We believe that the +loftiness and excellence of this composition would justify its +metamorphosis into real verse. + +Also by Editor Samples is the prose sketch entitled "The Present War: A +Blessing in Disguise." From the title, one would expect Mr. Samples' +point of view to be akin to that of the esteemed Gen. von Bernhardi; but +such is not the case, since Mr. Samples means to say that he considers +the conflict a just Divine Punishment for a sinful world--a punishment +which will bring about a sinless and exemplary future. We wish it were +so. + +"Lord, Keep My Spirit Sweet," by Mr. Samples, is a religious lyric of +substantial charm and grace. + +The Editorials in this issue consist mainly of critical notes on +previous numbers, and in general show a gratifying soundness of opinion. + + * * * * * + +=Spindrift= for January opens with "Mater Dolorosa," a poem, by Vere M. +Murphy, whose sentiment and technique are alike deserving of praise. + +"The Spirit of January," a sketch by Jean Birkmyre, runs into the +February issue, and is quite acceptable from every point of view, though +not distinguished by that highly imaginative colouring which we find in +many of Miss Birkmyre's similar pieces. + +"The Mystery of Murdor Grange" this month falls into the hands of Editor +McKeag, who furnishes one of the best chapters we have so far perused; +possibly the very best. It is exasperating to be cut off abruptly in the +midst of the exciting narrative, with the admonition to wait for page +47! + + * * * * * + +=Spindrift= for February has as its leading feature an essay on +"Heredity or Environment," by the Editor. In this brief article many +truths are stated, though we fear Lieut. McKeag slightly underestimates +the force of heredity. We might remind him of the Darwin family, +beginning with the poet and physician, Erasmus Darwin. The grandson of +this celebrated man was the immortal Charles Darwin, whilst the sons of +Charles have all occupied places of eminence in the world of intellect. + +"To the Enlisted men of the United States," by Edna Hyde, is an ode of +admirable spirit and faultless construction. + +"A Fragment," by S. L. (whose identity is now known to us!) shows much +poetical ability, though the metre would move much more smoothly if +judiciously touched up here and there. The description of the crescent +moon sinking in the morning, is astronomically erroneous. + +"The Estates of Authors," by Albert E. Bramwell, is a brief but +informative article. As the late Dr. Johnson said of the Ordinary of +Newgate's account, "it contains strong facts." + + * * * * * + +=Spindrift= for March very appropriately commences with a poem on that +blustering month, from the pen of Annie Pearce. Apparently the piece is +a juvenile effort, since despite a commendably poetic atmosphere there +are some striking errors of construction. In the third line of the first +stanza there is a very awkward use of the impersonal pronoun =one=. This +pronoun has no place in good poetry, and should always be avoided by +means of some equivalent arrangement. In the second stanza it appears +that the authoress, through the exigencies of versification, has fallen +into the paradox of calling the "fair green shoots" "roots!" Perhaps we +are mistaken, but our confusion is evidence of the lack of perspicuity +in this passage. A rather more obvious error is the evidently transitive +use of the verb =abound= in the last line of this stanza. Be it known, +that =abound= is strictly an intransitive verb! + +"The Soul of Newcastle," an historical article by John M'Quillen, begins +in this number; and describes the Roman period. We regret the misprint +whereby the name =Aelii= becomes =Aelu=. The presence of a Hunnish +=umlaut= over the =u= adds insult to injury! Mr. M'Quillen writes in an +attractive style, and we shall look forward to the remainder of the +present article. + +"Heart Thirst," by Vere M. Murphy, is a very meritorious lyric, +containing an ingenious conceit worthy of a more classical age. + + * * * * * + +As the literary contributions to the UNITED AMATEUR for January are +mainly in the form of verse, I shall devote most of my attention to +them. Poetry, like the poor, we have always with us; but the critic is +moved to remark, as he casts back in his mind over the last twenty years +of amateur publishing activity, that on the whole the tone of amateur +poetry is distinctly higher than it used to be. Banal verse we still +have in larger amounts than we should; but the amateur journals of a +decade or two ago had reams of it. On the other hand, they contained not +a few poems with more than a passing spark of the divine fire. The +promising fact is that in the poetry of today's journals we get much +more frequent glimpses of this true inspiration. In passing, the critic +cannot forbear calling attention to Mr. Kleiner's "Ruth" in the February +=Brooklynite=, which attains the highest levels of lyric expression, +although only the simplest of figure and diction are employed. It is not +often that one runs across a poem so simple and yet so pregnant with +sincere emotion. + +The first poem in the UNITED AMATEUR arouses mixed feelings. "Give Aid," +by Julia R. Johnson, presents a thought that cannot be too often or too +strongly stressed in this gloomy old world. Mrs. Johnson, furthermore, +has carved out her own poetic medium, alternating two tetrameter lines +with a single heptameter, a most unusual combination. It is always a +promising sign to find a new poet experimenting with unhackneyed verse +forms, although the experiments may not always be happy ones. But a word +about the thought of this poem. It is one of those "recipe" poems, +so-called because it can be produced in almost unlimited quantities by +any writer clever enough to follow the formula. Some day the critic is +going to take enough time off to write a book of poetic recipes, and +already he has his subject so well blocked out that he is sure his book +will contain the fundamental ingredients of a great majority of the +amateur poems now appearing. The poem under consideration belongs to the +"glad" recipe, an off-shoot of the Pollyanna school of fiction, and true +to type it contains its quota of "glad" ingredients such as "cheer," +"merry song," "troubles," and "sorrows," the last two, of course, for +the sake of contrast. + +"Astrophobos," by Ward Phillips, is another recipe poem; although his +recipe is so much more intricate that it is not to be recommended for +the Freshman. The critic would denominate a poem composed according to +this recipe, a ulalumish poem, as it has so many earmarks of Poe. True +to type, it is ulaluminated with gorgeous reds and crimsons, vistas of +stupendous distances, coined phrases, unusual words, and general touches +of either mysticism or purposeless obscurity. Such a poem is a feast for +epicures who delight in intellectual caviar, but is not half so +satisfying to the average poetic taste as Mr. Kleiner's "Ruth." + +Theodore Gottlieb's "Contentment" is a clever and readable working out +in verse of Mr. Ruskin's theme in his "King's Treasures"; namely, the +satisfying companionship of great books. Mr. Gottlieb shows commendable +control of the felicitous phrase, while the literary allusions with +which his lines bristle mark a catholicity of taste entirely beyond the +ordinary. + +Metrical versions of the Psalms are not at all new; they are used, in +fact, in Scotch Presbyterian churches in place of regular hymns. The +poetic paraphrase of the first Psalm by Wilson Tylor is well done, and +only in a few such phrases as "winds that blow" and "perish and shall +not be blest," does he get dangerously near redundancy for the sake of +rhyme and metre. + +"A Thought," by Dorothy Downs, is a pretty little thought indeed, and +prettily expressed, although the term "holiness divine" is strained when +applied to a rose, and "we will be surprised" is frankly ungrammatical +as a simple future in the first person. The =sine qua non= of all poetry +is absolutely correct grammar and freedom from redundancy. + +The bit of verse heading the War Items written by F. G. Morris, is quite +adequate except for the lack of a rhyme in the last line, where the form +of the stanza leads the reader to expect a rhyme for "part." + +Matthew Hilson's rhymed greeting to the United from across the water, +is on the whole, graceful and well done, and the United acknowledges its +receipt with thanks. + +One other piece of work in this number deserves especial mention. Alfred +Galpin's "Mystery" introduces to the association a thinker more gifted +for his years than probably any other recruit within recent years. This +judgment is not based alone on the short article under consideration, +but even this little piece of thought, if carefully analysed, is enough +to stamp him as one who thinks with extreme facility in the deepest of +abstractions, and who for expression of that thought commands a +vocabulary of remarkable range. Mr. Galpin is going far in this world, +and we hope that he will sojourn long enough with us so that we can feel +that whatever glory he may attain will cast some of its rays upon the +Association. + +The editorial remarks in this issue of the UNITED AMATEUR are worthy of +close perusal on account of their graceful literary quality. Seldom has +the critic seen the subject of the New Year so felicitously treated as +in this brief study by Miss McGeoch. The author's mastery of appropriate +words, phrases, and images, and her intuitive perception of the most +delicate elements of literary harmony, combine to make the reader wish +she were more frequently before the Association as a writer, as well as +in an editorial capacity. + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +According to indications, the last few weeks of the United's +administrative year will exceed their predecessors in general activity +and work accomplished. The college recruiting campaign, delayed through +an unavoidable combination of circumstances, is now taking definite +form; and may be expected to show some actual results even before the +close of the present term, though its greatest fruits must necessarily +be reaped by the next administration. General recruiting is on the +increase, and a more satisfactory number of renewals and reinstatements +is noted. + +One of the greatest obstacles to be combated during this unsettled era, +is the mistaken notion that amateur journalism is a non-essential and a +luxury, unworthy of attention or support amidst the national stress. The +prevalence of this opinion is difficult to account for, since its logic +is so feeble. It is universally recognised that in times like these, +some form of relaxation is absolutely indispensable if the poise and +sanity of the people are to be preserved. Amusements of a lighter sort +are patronised with increased frequency, and have risen to the dignity +of essentials in the maintenance of the national morale. If, then, the +flimsiest of pleasures be accorded the respect and favour of the public, +what may we not say for amateur journalism, whose function is not only +to entertain and relieve the mind, but to uplift and instruct as well? +Mr. Edward H. Cole has ably treated this matter in his recent =Bema=, +and no one who thoughtfully reviews the situation can dispute the force +and verity of his conclusions. As Mr. Cole points out in a later +communication, war-time amateur effort must of course be less elaborate +than in pre-war days; but amateurdom itself is now worthy of double +encouragement, rather than discouragement, since by its soothing and +steadying influence it becomes a source of calm and strength, and +therefore an active factor in the winning of the war. Let us on this +side of the Atlantic view the rejuvenescence of British amateurdom after +four years of warfare, as exhibited in the formation of the prosperous +Amateur Press Club by Messrs. Winskill and Parks. The moral is not hard +to deduce. + +Of the new publications of the season it is hard to speak without using +superlatives, since Mr. Cook's epoch-making June =Vagrant= is among +their number. This veritable book of 148 pages and cover constitutes the +greatest achievement of contemporary amateurdom, and may legitimately be +considered as one of the outstanding features in the recent history of +the institution. It is the one product of our day which will bear actual +comparison with the publications of the departed "Halcyon" period. A +July =Vagrant=, of equal quality though lesser size, may be expected in +the near future. A newcomer to our list of journals is =The Silver +Clarion=, issued by Mr. John Milton Samples of Macon, Ga., a promising +poet, essayist, and editor, who has just entered the Association. =The +Clarion=, whose contents are distinguished for their wholesome tone and +pleasing literary quality, is a regularly issued monthly, and forms a +substantial addition to the literature of the United. Another welcome +paper is =The Roamer=, published by Mr. Louis H. Kerber, Jr., of +Chicago. This journal, devoted exclusively to travel articles, will +occupy a unique place in the United. Among the papers to be expected +before the close of the official year are a =Dabbler= from Mr. Lindquist +and a =Yerma= from Mr. J. H. D. Smith, now a soldier in the service of +his country at Camp Laurel, Md. + +Responses to the proposal for a co-operative paper have been slow in +coming in. Let the members once more reflect upon the advantages of the +plan, and unite in an effort to increase the literary output of the +Association. + +The annual convention, to be held on the 22nd, 23d and 24th of next July +at the Dells of the Wisconsin River, may well be expected to stimulate +interest to an unusually high pitch. A large attendance is urged, and +since Mr. Daas is in charge of arrangements, the gathering will +undoubtedly prove a bright spot in the year's programme. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + May 6, 1918. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JUNE 1918 + + +Astrophobos + +Ward Phillips + + In the midnight heavens burning + Through ethereal deeps afar, + Once I watch'd with restless yearning + An alluring, aureate star; + Ev'ry eve aloft returning, + Gleaming nigh the Arctic car. + + Mystic waves of beauty blended + With the gorgeous golden rays; + Phantasies of bliss descended + In a myrrh'd Elysian haze; + And in lyre-born chords extended + Harmonies of Lydian lays. + + There (thought I) lie scenes of pleasure, + Where the free and blessed dwell, + And each moment bears a treasure, + Freighted with the lotus-spell, + And there floats a liquid measure + From the lute of Israfel. + + There (I told myself) were shining + Worlds of happiness unknown, + Peace and Innocence entwining + By the Crowned Virtue's throne; + Men of light, their thoughts refining + Purer, fairer, than our own. + + Thus I mus'd, when o'er the vision + Crept a red delirious change; + Hope dissolving to derision, + Beauty to distortion strange; + Hymnic chords in weird collision, + Spectral sights in endless range. + + Crimson burn'd the star of sadness + As behind the beams I peer'd; + All was woe that seem'd but gladness + Ere my gaze with truth was sear'd; + Cacodaemons, mir'd with madness, + Through the fever'd flick'ring leer'd. + + Now I know the fiendish fable + That the golden glitter bore; + Now I shun the spangled sable + That I watch'd and lov'd before; + But the horror, set and stable, + Haunts my soul forevermore. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JULY 1918 + + +At the Root + +H. P. Lovecraft + +(Editor Laureate) + +To those who look beneath the surface, the present universal war drives +home more than one anthropological truth in striking fashion; and of +these verities none is more profound than that relating to the essential +immutability of mankind and its instincts. + +Four years ago a large part of the civilised world laboured under +certain biological fallacies which may, in a sense, be held responsible +for the extent and duration of the present conflict. These fallacies, +which were the foundation of pacifism and other pernicious forms of +social and political radicalism, dealt with the capability of man to +evolve mentally beyond his former state of subservience to primitive +instinct and pugnacity, and to conduct his affairs and international or +inter-racial relations on a basis of reason and good-will. That belief +in such capability is unscientific and childishly naive, is beside the +question. The fact remains, that the most civilised part of the world, +including our own Anglo-Saxondom, did entertain enough of these notions +to relax military vigilance, lay stress on points of honour, place trust +in treaties, and permit a powerful and unscrupulous nation to indulge +unchecked and unsuspected in nearly fifty years of preparation for +world-wide robbery and slaughter. We are reaping the result of our +simplicity. + +The past is over. Our former follies we can but regret, and expiate as +best we may by a crusade to the death against the Trans-Rhenane monster +which we allowed to grow and flourish beneath our very eyes. But the +future holds more of responsibility, and we must prepare to guard +against any renascence of the benevolent delusions that four years of +blood have barely been able to dispel. In a word, we must learn to +discard forever the sentimental standpoint, and to view our species +through the cold eyes of science alone. We must recognise the essential +underlying savagery in the animal called man, and return to older and +sounder principles of national life and defence. We must realise that +man's nature will remain the same so long as he remains man; that +civilisation is but a slight coverlet beneath which the dominant beast +sleeps lightly and ever ready to awake. To preserve civilisation, we +must deal scientifically with the brute element, using only genuine +biological principles. In considering ourselves, we think too much of +ethics and sociology--too little of plain natural history. We should +perceive that man's period of historical existence, a period so short +that his physical constitution has not been altered in the slightest +degree, is insufficient to allow of any considerable mental change. The +instincts that governed the Egyptians and the Assyrians of old, govern +us as well; and as the ancients thought, grasped, struggled, and +deceived, so shall we moderns continue to think, grasp, struggle, and +deceive in our inmost hearts. Change is only superficial and apparent. + +Man's respect for the imponderables varies according to his mental +constitution and environment. Through certain modes of thought and +training it can be elevated tremendously, yet there is always a limit. +The man or nation of high culture may acknowledge to great lengths the +restraints imposed by conventions and honour, but beyond a certain point +primitive will or desire cannot be curbed. Denied anything ardently +desired, the individual or state will argue and parley just so +long--then, if the impelling motive be sufficiently great, will cast +aside every rule and break down every acquired inhibition, plunging +viciously after the object wished; all the more fantastically savage +because of previous repression. =The sole ultimate factor in human +decisions is physical force.= This we must learn, however repugnant the +idea may seem, if we are to protect ourselves and our institutions. +Reliance on anything else is fallacious and ruinous. Dangerous beyond +description are the voices sometimes heard today, decrying the +continuance of armament after the close of the present hostilities. + +The specific application of the scientific truth regarding man's native +instincts will be found in the adoption of a post-bellum international +programme. Obviously, we must take into account the primordial +substructure and arrange for the upholding of culture by methods which +will stand the acid test of stress and conflicting ambitions. In +disillusioned diplomacy, ample armament, and universal military training +alone will be found the solution of the world's difficulties. It will +not be a perfect solution, because humanity is not perfect. It will not +abolish war, because war is the expression of a natural human tendency. +But it will at least produce an approximate stability of social and +political conditions, and prevent the menace of the entire world by the +greed of any one of its constituent parts. + + +REPORTS OF OFFICERS + +PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE + +Fellow-Amateurs:-- + +The conclusion of an administrative year is naturally a time for +retrospection rather than for announcement and planning, and seldom may +we derive more satisfaction from such a backward glance than at the +present period. + +The United has just completed a twelvemonth which, though not notable +for numerousness of publications or expansion of the membership list, +will nevertheless be long remembered for the tone and quality of its +literature, and the uniformly smooth maintenance of its executive +programme. The virtual extirpation of petty politics, and the +elimination of all considerations save development of literary taste and +encouragement of literary talent, have raised our Association to a new +level of poise, harmony, dignity, and usefulness to the serious +aspirant. + +Prime honours must be awarded to our Official Editor and Official +Publisher, who have given us an official organ unequalled and +unapproached in the history of amateur journalism. The somewhat altered +nature of contents, and radically elevated standard of editorship, mark +an era in the progress of the Association; since the UNITED AMATEUR is +really the nucleus of our activity and a reflection of the best in our +current thought and ideals. We have this year helped to shatter the +foolish fetichism which restricts the average official organ to a +boresome and needless display of facts and figures, relating to the +political mechanism of amateurdom. The organ has been a literary one, as +befits a literary association; and has been conducted with a sounder +sense of relative values than in times when amateurs seemed to place +elections and annual banquets above art, taste, and rhetoric. + +The publications of the year have been distinguished for their merit, +general polish, and scholarly editorship. The percentage of crude matter +appearing in print has been reduced to a minimum through the careful and +conscientious critical service rendered both by the official bureau and +by private individuals. The artistic standard of the United has evolved +to a point where no aims short of excellence can win unqualified +approval. The classics have become our sole models, and whilst even the +most glaring faults of the sincere beginner receive liberal +consideration and sympathetically constructive attention, there is no +longer a seat of honour for complacent crudity. Genuine aspiration is +our criterion of worth. The spirit of this newer amateur journalism is +splendidly shown by such magazines of the year as =Eurus=, =Spindrift=, +=The Vagrant=, and the official organ. + +Just before the close of the present term, several new publications have +appeared, amongst them a =Vagrant=, a =Conservative=, and Mr. Moloney's +splendid first venture, =The Voice From the Mountains=. Early in the +next fiscal year will appear =The United Co-Operative=, the fruit of +this year's planning, edited by Mrs. Jordan, Miss Lehr, Mr. J. Clinton +Pryor, and the undersigned. A revival of manuscript magazines, +inaugurated by the appearance of Sub-Lieut. McKeag's =Northumbrian=, is +in a measure solving the problems created by the high price of printing. +Next month the undersigned will put into circulation =Hesperia=, a +typewritten magazine designed to foster a closer relationship between +British and American amateurdom. + +Judges of Award for the Laureateship contests have been appointed as +follows: Poetry, Mr. Nixon Waterman, a New-England bard who needs no +introduction to the lover of lofty and graceful expression. Verse, Dr. +Henry T. Schnittkind of the Stratford Publishing Co. Essay, Prof. Lewis +P. Shanks of the University of Pennsylvania. Study, Mr. J. Lee Robinson, +Editor of the =Cambridge Tribune=. Story, Mr. William R. Murphy of the +Philadelphia =Evening Ledger=, a former United man of the highest +attainments. Editorial, Hon. Oliver Wayne Stewart, Associate Editor of +=The National Enquirer=. + +In doffing the official mantle after a year of executive endeavour, the +undersigned must express regret at his inability to serve in as vigorous +a manner as would the ideal President. He is acutely conscious of his +shortcomings in a position which demands constant care and exertion, and +which imposes a strain that only the robust are perfectly qualified to +bear. It would be impossible for him fully to express his gratitude to +his faithful and capable colleagues, to whose unremitting and +faultlessly co-ordinated efforts all the successes of the present year +must in justice be attributed. Valete! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, President. + June 26, 1918. + + + + + _THE + UNITED AMATEUR_ + + OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + VOLUME XVIII ATHOL, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1918 NUMBER 2 + + +DEPARTMENT _of_ LITERATURE + +The Literature of Rome + +H. P. Lovecraft + + _The centre of our studies, the goal of our thoughts, the point to + which all paths lead and the point from which all paths start again, + is to be found in Rome and her abiding power._--Freeman. + +Few students of mankind, if truly impartial, can fail to select as the +greatest of human institutions that mighty and enduring civilisation +which, first appearing on the banks of the Tiber, spread throughout the +known world and became the direct parent of our own. If to Greece is due +the existence of all modern thought, so to Rome is due its survival and +our possession of it; for it was the majesty of the Eternal City which, +reducing all Western Europe to a single government, made possible the +wide and uniform diffusion of the high culture borrowed from Greece, and +thereby laid the foundation of European enlightenment. To this day the +remnants of the Roman world exhibit a superiority over those parts which +never came beneath the sway of the Imperial Mother; a superiority +strikingly manifest when we contemplate the savage code and ideals of +the Germans, aliens to the priceless heritage of Latin justice, +humanity, and philosophy. The study of Roman literature, then, needs no +plea to recommend it. It is ours by intellectual descent; our bridge to +all antiquity and to those Grecian stores of art and thought which are +the fountain head of existing culture. + +In considering Rome and her artistic history, we are conscious of a +subjectivity impossible in the case of Greece or any other ancient +nation. Whilst the Hellenes, with their strange beauty-worship and +defective moral ideals, are to be admired and pitied at once, as +luminous but remote phantoms; the Romans, with their greater practical +sense, ancient virtue, and love of law and order, seem like our own +people. It is with personal pride that we read of the valour and +conquests of this mighty race, who used the alphabet we use, spoke and +wrote with but little difference many of the words we speak and write, +and with divine creative power evolved virtually all the forms of law +which govern us today. To the Greek, art and literature were +inextricably involved in daily life and thought; to the Roman, as to us, +they were a separate unit in a many-sided civilisation. Undoubtedly this +circumstance proves the inferiority of the Roman culture to the Greek; +but it is an inferiority shared by our own culture, and therefore a bond +of sympathy. + +The race whose genius gave rise to the glories of Rome is, unhappily, +not now in existence. Centuries of devastating wars, and foreign +immigration into Italy, left but few real Latins after the early +Imperial aera. The original Romans were a blend of closely related +dolichocephalic Mediterranean tribes, whose racial affinities with the +Greeks could not have been very remote, plus a slight Etruscan element +of doubtful classification. The latter stock is an object of much +mystery to ethnologists, being at present described by most authorities +as of the brachycephalic Alpine variety. Many Roman customs and habits +of thought are traceable to this problematical people. + +It is a singular circumstance, that classic Latin literature is, save in +the case of satire, almost wholly unrelated to the crude effusions of +the primitive Latins; being borrowed as to form and subject from the +Greeks, at a comparatively late date in Rome's political history. That +this borrowing assisted greatly in Latin cultural advancement, none may +deny; but it is also true that the new Hellenised literature exerted a +malign influence on the nation's ancient austerity, introducing lax +Grecian notions which contributed to moral and material decadence. The +counter-currents, however, were strong; and the virile Roman spirit +shone nobly through the Athenian dress in almost every instance, +imparting to the literature a distinctively national cast, and +displaying the peculiar characteristics of the Italian mind. On the +whole, Roman life moulded Roman literature more than the literature +moulded the life. + +The earliest writings of the Latins are, save for a fragment or two, +lost to posterity; though a few of their qualities are known. They were +for the most part crude ballads in an odd "Saturnian" metre copied from +the Etruscans, primitive religious chants and dirges, rough medleys of +comic verse forming the prototype of satire, and awkward "Fescennine" +dialogues or dramatic farces enacted by the lively peasantry. All +doubtless reflected the simple, happy and virtuous, if stern, life of +the home-loving agricultural race which was destined later to conquer +the world. In B. C. 364 the medleys or "Saturae" were enacted upon the +Roman stage, the words supplemented by the pantomime and dancing of +Etruscan performers who spoke no Latin. Another early form of dramatic +art was the "fabula Atellana," which was adapted from the neighbouring +tribe of Oscans, and which possessed a simple plot and stock characters. +While this early literature embodied Oscan and Etruscan as well as Latin +elements, it was truly Roman; for the Roman was himself formed of just +such a mixture. All Italy contributed to the Latin stream, but at no +time did any non-Roman dialect rise to the distinction of a real +literature. We have here no parallel for the AEolic, Ionic, and Doric +phases of Greek literature. + +Classical Latin literature dates from the beginning of Rome's free +intercourse with Greece, a thing brought about by the conquest of the +Hellenic colonies in Southern Italy. When Tarentum fell to the Romans in +B. C. 272, there was brought to Rome as a captive and slave a young man +of great attainments, by name Andronicus. His master, M. Livius +Salinator, was quick to perceive his genius, and soon gave him his +liberty, investing him according to custom with his own nomen of Livius, +so that the freedman was afterward known as Livius Andronicus. The +erstwhile slave, having established a school, commenced his literary +career by translating the Odyssey into Latin Saturnian verse for the use +of his pupils. This feat was followed by the translation of a Greek +drama, which was enacted in B. C. 240, and formed the first genuinely +classic piece beheld by the Roman public. The success of Livius +Andronicus was very considerable, and he wrote many more plays, in which +he himself acted, besides attempting lyric and religious poetry. His +work, of which but 41 lines remain in existence, was pronounced inferior +by Cicero; yet must ever be accorded respect as the very commencement of +a great literature. + +Latin verse continued to depend largely on Greek models, but in prose +the Romans were more original, and the first celebrated prose writer was +that stern old Greek hater, M. Porcius Cato (234-149 B. C.), who +prepared orations and wrote on history, agriculture, and other subjects. +His style was clear, though by no means perfect, and it is a source of +regret that his historical work, the "Origines," is lost. Other prose +writers, all orators, extending from Cato's time down to the polished +period, are Laelius, Scipio, the Gracchi, Antonius, Crassus, and the +celebrated Q. Hortensius, early opponent of Cicero. + +Satire, that one absolutely native product of Italy, first found +independent expression in C. Lucilius (180-103 B. C.), though the great +Roman inclination toward that form of expression had already found an +outlet in satirical passages in other sorts of writing. There is perhaps +no better weapon for the scourging of vice and folly than this potent +literary embodiment of wit and irony, and certainly no author ever +wielded that weapon more nobly than Lucilius. His aera was characterised +by great degeneracy, due to Greek influences, and the manner in which he +upheld failing Virtue won him the unmeasured regard of his +contemporaries and successors. Horace, Persius, and Juvenal all owe much +to him, and it is melancholy to reflect that all his work, save a +fragment or two, is lost to the world. Lucilius, sometimes called "The +Father of Satire," was a man of equestrian rank, and fought with Scipio +at Numantia. + +With the age of M. Tullius Cicero (106-43 B. C.)--the Golden Age--opens +the period of highest perfection in Roman literature. It is hardly +necessary to describe Cicero himself--his luminous talents have made him +synonymous with the height of Attic elegance in wit, forensic art, and +prose composition. Born of equestrian rank, he was educated with care, +and embarked on his career at the age of twenty-five. His orations +against L. Sergius Catilina during his consulship broke up one of the +most dastardly plots in history, and gained for him the title of "Father +of His Country." Philosophy claimed much of his time, and his delightful +treatises "De Amicitia" and "De Senectute" will be read as long as +friendship endures on earth, or men grow old. Near the end of his life +Cicero, opposing the usurpations of M. Antonius, delivered his +masterpieces of oratory, the "Philippics," modelled after the similar +orations of the Greek Demosthenes against Philip of Macedonia. His +murder, demanded by the vengeful Antonius in the proscription of the +second triumvirate, was the direct result of these Philippics. +Contemporary with Cicero was M. Terentius Varro, styled "most learned of +the Romans," though ungraceful in style. Of his works, embracing many +diverse subjects, only one agricultural treatise survives. + +In this survey we need allot but little space to Caius Julius Caesar, +probably the greatest human being so far to appear on this globe. His +Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars are models of pure and +perspicuous prose, and his other work, voluminous but now lost, was +doubtless of equal merit. At the present time, passages of Caesar's +Gallic War are of especial interest on account of their allusions to +battles against those perpetual enemies of civilisation, the Germans. +How familiar, for instance, do we find the following passage from Book +Six, describing German notions of honour: + +"Latrocinia nullam habent infamiam, quae extra fines cujusque civitatis +fiunt, atque ea juventutis exercendae ac desidiae minuendae causa fieri +praedicant!" + +The next generation of authors fall within what has been termed the +"Augustan Age," the period during which Octavianus, having become +Emperor, encouraged letters to a degree hitherto unknown; not only +personally, but through his famous minister Maecenas (73-8 B. C.). The +literature of this period is immortal through the genius of Virgil, +Horace, and Ovid, and has made the name "Augustan" an universal synonyme +for classic elegance and urbanity. Thus in our own literary history, +Queen Anne's reign is known as the "Augustan Age" on account of the +brilliant wits and poets then at their zenith. Maecenas, whose name must +ever typify the ideal of munificent literary patronage, was himself a +scholar and poet, as was indeed Augustus. Both, however, are +overshadowed by the titanic geniuses who gathered around them. + +Succeeding the Golden Age, and extending down to the time of the +Antonines, is the so-called "Silver Age" of Latin literature, in which +are included several writers of the highest genius, despite a general +decadence and artificiality of style. In the reign of Tiberius we note +the annalists C. Velleius Paterculus and Valerius Maximus, the medical +writer, A. Cornelius Celsus, and the fabulist Phaedrus, the latter a +freedman from Thrace who imitated his more celebrated predecessor AEsop. + +The satirist, A. Persius Flaccus (34-62 A. D.), is the first eminent +poet to appear after the death of Ovid. Born at Volaterrae of an +equestrian family, carefully reared by his gifted mother, and educated +at Rome by the Stoic philosopher Cornutus, he became famous not only as +a moralist of the greatest power and urbanity, but as one whose life +accorded perfectly with his precepts; a character of unblemished virtue +and delicacy in an age of unprecedented evil. His work, which attacked +only the less repulsive follies of the day, contains passages of the +highest nobility. His early death terminated a career of infinite +promise. + +In the person of D. Junius Juvenalis (57-128 A. D.), commonly called +Juvenal, we behold the foremost satirist in literary history. Born at +Aquinum of humble but comfortably situated parents, he came to Rome as a +rhetorician; though upon discovering his natural bent, turned to +poetical satire. With a fierceness and moral seriousness unprecedented +in literature, Juvenal attacked the darkest vices of his age; writing as +a relentless enemy rather than as a man of the world like Horace, or as +a detached spectator like Persius. The oft repeated accusation that his +minute descriptions of vice shew a morbid interest therein, may fairly +be refuted when one considers the almost unthinkable depths to which the +republic had fallen. Only a tolerant or a secluded observer could avoid +attacking openly and bitterly the evil conditions which obtruded +themselves on every hand; and Juvenal, a genuine Roman of the active and +virtuous old school, was neither tolerant nor secluded. Juvenal wrote +sixteen satires in all, the most famous of which are the third and +tenth, both imitated in modern times with great success by Dr. Johnson. +Contemporary with Juvenal was the Spaniard, M. Valerius Martialis +(43-117 A. D.), commonly called Martial, master of the classic epigram. +Unsurpassed in compact, scintillant wit, his works present a subjective +and familiar picture of that society which Juvenal so bitterly attacked +from without. + +We come now upon one of the most distressing spectacles of human +history. The mighty empire of Rome; its morals corrupted through Eastern +influences, its spirit depressed through despotic government, and its +people reduced to mongrel degeneracy through unrestrained immigration +and foreign admixture; suddenly ceases to be an abode of creative +thought, and sinks into a mental lethargy which dries up the very +fountains of art and literature. The Emperor Constantinus, desirous of +embellishing his new capital with the most magnificent decorations, can +find no artist capable of fashioning them; and is obliged to strip +ancient Greece of her choicest sculptures to fulfil his needs. Plainly, +the days of Roman glory are over; and only a few and mainly mediocre +geniuses are to be expected in the years preceding the actual downfall +of Latin civilisation. + +It is interesting, in a melancholy way, to trace the course of Roman +poetry down to its very close, when it is lost amidst the darkness of +the Middle Ages. Claudius Rutilius Namatianus, who flourished in the 5th +century, was a Gaul, and wrote a very fair piece culled the +"Itinerarium," describing a voyage from Rome to his native province. +Though inferior to his contemporary, Claudian, in genius, Rutilius +excels him in purity of diction and refinement of taste. At this period, +pure Latin was probably confined to the highest circles, the masses +already using that =eloquium vulgare= which later on formed the several +modern Romance Languages; hence Rutilius must have been in a sense a +classical antiquarian. + +The end draws near. Compilers, grammarians, critics, commentators, and +encyclopaedists; summarising the past and quibbling over technical +minutiae; are the last survivors of a dying literature from whence +inspiration has already fled. Macrobius, a critic and grammarian of +celebrity, flourished in the fourth or fifth century, and interests us +as being one through knowledge of whose works Samuel Johnson first +attracted notice at Oxford. Priscian, conceded to be one of the +principal grammatical authorities of the Roman world, flourished about +the year 500. Isidorus Hispalensis, Bishop of Seville, grammarian, +historian and theologian, was the most celebrated and influential +literary character of the crumbling Roman fabric, save the philosopher +Boetius and the historian Cassiodorus, and was highly esteemed during +the Middle Ages, of which, indeed, he was as much a part, as he was a +part of expiring classicism. + +Now falls the curtain. =Roma fuit.= At the time of Isidorus' death in +A. D. 636, the beginnings of mediaevalism were fully under way. +Authorship had disappeared in the broader sense; learning, such as it +was, had retired into the monasteries; whilst the populace of the +erstwhile Empire, living side by side with the invading barbarians, no +longer spoke a language justly to be called classical Latin. With the +revival of letters we shall see more Latin writings, but they will not +be Roman; for their authors will have new and strange idioms for their +mother-tongues, and will view life in a somewhat different manner. The +link of continuity will have been irreparably broken, and these revivers +will be Romans only in an artificial and antiquarian sense. He who calls +himself "Pomponius Laetus" will be found to have been baptised Pomponio +Leto. Classical antiquity, with its simple magnificence, can never +return. + +In glancing back over the literature we have examined, we are impressed +by its distinctiveness, despite its Greek form. It is truly +characteristic of the Roman people, and expresses Rome's majestic mind +in a multitude of ways. Law, order, justice, and supremacy; "these +things, O Roman, shall to you be arts!" All through the works of Latin +authors runs this love of fame, power, order, and permanence. Art is not +a prime phase of life or entirely an intrinsic pleasure, but a means of +personal or national glorification; the true Roman poet writes his own +epitaph for posterity, and exults in the lasting celebrity his memory +will receive. Despite his debt to Hellas, he detests the foreign +influence, and can find no term of satirical opprobrium more biting than +"Graeculus." The sense of rigid virtue, so deficient in the Greek, +blossoms forth nobly in the Roman; making moral satire the greatest of +native growths. Naturally, the Roman mind is most perfectly expressed in +those voluminous works of law, extending all the way down to the +Byzantine age of Justinianus, which have given the modern world its +entire foundation of jurisprudence; but of these, lack of space forbids +us to treat. They are not, strictly speaking, a part of literature +proper. + +The influence of the Latin classics upon modern literature has been +tremendous. They are today, and will ever be, vital sources of +inspiration and guidance. Our own most correct age, that of Queen Anne +and the first three Georges, was saturated with their spirit; and there +is scarce a writer of note who does not visibly reflect their immediate +influence. Each classic English author has, after a fashion, his Latin +counterpart. Mr. Pope was a Horace; Dr. Johnson a Juvenal. The early +Elizabethan tragedy was a reincarnation of Seneca, as comedy was of +Plautus. English literature teems with Latin quotations and allusions to +such a degree that no reader can extract full benefit if he have not at +least a superficial knowledge of Roman letters. + +Wherefore it is enjoined upon the reader not to neglect cultivation of +this rich field; a field which offers as much of pure interest and +enjoyment of necessary cultural training and wholesome intellectual +discipline. + + +To Alan Seeger: + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +(In =National Enquirer=) + + SEEGER, whose soul, with animated lyre + Wak'd the dull dreamer to a manlier fire; + Whose martial voice, by martial deeds sustain'd, + Denounc'd the age when shameful peace remain'd; + Let thy brave spirit yet among us dwell, + And linger where thy form in valour fell: + Proudly before th' invader's fury mass'd, + Behold thy country's cohorts, rous'd at last! + It was not for thy mortal eye to see + Columbia arm'd for right and liberty; + Thine was the finer heart, that could not stay + To wait for laggards in the vital fray, + And ere the millions felt thy sacred heat, + Thou hadst thy gift to Freedom made complete. + But while thou sleepest in an honour'd grave + Beneath the Gallic sod thou bledst to save, + May thy soul's vision scan the ravag'd plain, + And tell thee that thou didst not fall in vain: + Here, as thou pray'dst, a million men advance, + To prove Columbia one with flaming France, + And heeding now the long-forgotten debt, + Pay with their blood the gen'rous LAFAYETTE! + Thy ringing odes to prophecies are turn'd, + Whilst legions feel the blaze that in thee burn'd. + Not as a lonely stranger dost thou lie, + Thy form forsaken 'neath a foreign sky, + On Gallic tongues thy name forever lives, + First of the mighty host thy country gives: + All that thou dreamt'st in life shall come to be, + And proud Columbia find her voice in thee! + +(Alan Seeger fell in the Cause of Civilisation at Belloy-en-Santerre, +July 4, 1916.) + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1919 + + +THEODORE ROOSEVELT + +1858-1919 + + Last of the giants, in whose soul shone clear + The sacred torch of greatness and of right, + A stricken world, that cannot boast thy peer, + Mourns o'er thy grave amidst the new-born night. + + Sage, seer and statesman, wise in ev'ry art; + First to behold, and first to preach, the truth; + Soldier and patriot, in whose mighty heart + Throbb'd the high valour of eternal youth. + + Foremost of citizens and best of chiefs, + Within thy mind no weak inaction lay; + Leal to thy standards, firm in thy beliefs; + As quick to do, as others are to say. + + Freeman and gentleman, whose spirit glow'd + With kindness' and with goodness' warmest fire; + To prince and peasant thy broad friendship flow'd, + Each proud to take, and eager to admire. + + Within thy book of life each spotless page + Lies open for a world's respecting view; + Thou stand'st the first and purest of our age, + To private, as to public virtue true. + + In thee did such transcendent greatness gleam, + That none might grudge thee an Imperial place; + Yet such thy modesty, thou need'st must seem + The leader, not the monarch, of thy race. + + Courage and pow'r, to wit and learning join'd, + With energy that sham'd the envious sun; + The ablest, bravest, noblest of mankind-- + A Caesar and Aurelius mixt in one. + + At thy stern gaze Dishonour bow'd its head; + Oppression slunk ingloriously away; + The virtuous follow'd where thy footsteps led, + And Freedom bless'd thy uncorrupted sway. + + When from the East invading Vandals pour'd, + And selfish ignorance restrain'd our hand, + Thy voice was first to bid us draw the sword + To guard our liberties and save our land. + + Envy deny'd thee what thy spirit sought, + And held thee from the battle-seething plain; + Yet thy proud blood in filial bodies fought, + And poppies blossom o'er thy QUENTIN slain. + + 'Twas thine to see the triumph of thy cause; + Thy grateful eyes beheld a world redeem'd; + Would that thy wisdom might have shap'd the laws + Of the new age, and led to heights undream'd! + + Yet art thou gone? Will not thy presence cling + Like that of all the great who liv'd before? + Will not new wonders of thy fashioning + Rise from thy words, as potent as of yore? + + Absent in flesh, thou with a brighter flame + Shin'st as the beacon of the brave and free; + Thou art our country's soul--our loftiest aim + Is but to honour and to follow thee! + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + January 13, 1919. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1919 + + +A Note on Howard P. Lovecraft's Verse + +Rheinhart Kleiner + +Comment occasioned by the verse of Mr. Howard P. Lovecraft, who is a +more or less frequent contributor to the amateur press, has not +consisted of unmixed praise. + +Certain critics have regarded his efforts as too obviously imitative of +a style that has long been discredited. Others have accepted his work +with admiration and have even gone so far as to imitate the couplets +which he produces with such apparent ease. + +Between these two opinions there is a critical neutral ground, the +holders of which realise how large an element of conscious parody enters +into many of Mr. Lovecraft's longer and more serious productions, and +who are capable of appreciating the cleverness and literary charm of +these pastoral echoes without being dominated by them to the extent of +indiscriminate praise and second-hand imitation. + +Those who would beguile Mr. Lovecraft from his chosen path are probably +unaware of the attitude which he consistently maintains toward hostile +criticism. Mr. Lovecraft contends that it gives him pleasure to write as +the Augustans did, and that those who do not relish his excursions into +classic fields need not follow him. He tries to conciliate no one, and +is content to be his own sole reader! What critic, with these facts +before him, will think it worthwhile to break a lance with the poet? + +But even Mr. Lovecraft is willing to be original, at times. He has +written verse of a distinctly modern atmosphere, and where his imagery +is not too obtrusively artificial--according to the modern idea--many of +his quatrains possess genuine poetic value. + +Many who cannot read his longer and more ambitious productions find Mr. +Lovecraft's light or humorous verse decidedly refreshing. As a satirist +along familiar lines, particularly those laid down by Butler, Swift and +Pope, he is most himself--paradoxical though it seems. In reading his +satires one cannot help but feel the zest with which the author has +composed them. They are admirable for the way in which they reveal the +depth and intensity of Mr. Lovecraft's convictions, while the wit, +irony, sarcasm and humour to be found in them serve as an indication of +his powers as a controversialist. The almost relentless ferocity of his +satires is constantly relieved by an attendant broad humour which has +the merit of causing the reader to chuckle more than once in the perusal +of some attack levelled against the particular person or policy which +may have incurred Mr. Lovecraft's displeasure. + + +OFFICIAL REPORTS + +DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC CRITICISM + +=The Coyote= for October-January is a "Special War Number," dedicated to +Cpl. Raymond Wesley Harrington, the editor's valiant soldier brother, +and having a general martial atmosphere throughout. Among the contents +are two bits of verse by the gallant overseas warrior to whom the issue +is inscribed, both of which speak well for the poetic sentiment of their +heroic author. + +"Lord Love You, Lad," a poem by Winifred V. Jordan, is the opening +contribution; and deserves highest commendation both for its spirit and +for its construction. + +"The Paramount Issue," by William T. Harrington, is a somewhat ambitious +attempt to trace the responsibility for the great war to alcoholic +liquor and its degenerative effect on mankind. The author even goes so +far as to say that "had man been represented in his true and noble form, +then war would have been impossible." Now although the present critic is +and always has been an ardent prohibitionist, he must protest at this +extravagant theory. Vast and far-reaching as are the known evil effects +of drink, it is surely transcending fact to accuse it of causing +mankind's natural greed, pride, and combative instincts, which lie at +the base of all warfare. It may, however, be justly suggested that much +of the peculiar bestiality of the Huns is derived from their swinish +addiction to beer. Technically, Mr. Harrington's essay is marked by few +crudities, and displays an encouraging fluency. Other pieces by Mr. +Harrington are "A Bit of My Diary," wherein the author relates his +regrettably brief military experience at Camp Dodge, and "Victory," a +stirring editorial. + +"Black Sheep," by Edna Hyde, is an excellent specimen of blank verse by +our gifted laureate. Line 14 seems to lack a syllable, but this +deficiency is probably the result of a typographical error. + +A word of praise is due the general appearance of the magazine. The +cover presents a refreshing bit of home-made pictorial art, whilst the +photograph of Corporal Harrington makes a most attractive frontispiece. + + * * * * * + +=The Pathfinder= for January is easily the best issue yet put forth by +its enterprising young editor. "Hope," which adorns the cover, is a poem +of much merit by Annie Pearce. The apparent lack of a syllable in line 2 +of the third stanza is probably due to a printer's error whereby the +word =us= is omitted immediately after the word =for=. + +"How and Why Roses Are White," by Margaret Mahon, is a fairy legend of +much charm and decided originality, which argues eloquently for its +author's imaginative scope and literary ability. + +"Happiness in a Glove" is a very facile and pleasing rendering of a bit +of Spanish dialogue. Through a mistake, the authorship is credited to +the translator, Miss Ella M. Miller, though her own manuscript fully +proclaimed the text as a translation. + +"Welcome, 1919," is a brief contemplative essay by Editor Glause; in +spirit admirable, but in phraseology showing some of the uncertainty of +youthful work. Mr. Glause might well pay more attention to compact +precision in his prose, using as few and as forceful words as possible +to express his meaning. For instance, his opening words would gain +greatly in strength if contracted to the following: "Now that a new year +is beginning." Farther down the page we find the word =namely= in a +place which impels us to question its use. Its total omission would +strengthen the sentence which contains it. Another point we must mention +is the excessive punctuation, especially the needless hyphenation of +=amateurdom= and =therefore=, and the apostrophe in the possessive +pronoun =its=. The form =it's= is restricted to the colloquial +contraction of "=it is="; the similarly spelled pronoun is written +solidly without an apostrophe. Additional notes by Mr. Glause are of +equal merit, and his reply to a recent article on travel is highly +sensible and commendable. He is a writer and thinker of much power, and +needs only technical training in order to develop into an essayist of +the first rank. As an editor he cannot be praised too highly for his +faithfulness in publishing his welcome and attractive quarterly. + + * * * * * + +=Pine Cones= for February well maintains the high standard set by Mr. +Pryor in his opening number. "Life, Death and Immortality," by Jonathan +E. Hoag, is a brief but appealing piece from the pen of a gifted and +venerable bard, and thoroughly deserves its place of honour on the +cover. On the next page occurs a metrical tribute to this sweet singer +on his 88th birthday, written by H. P. Lovecraft in the latter's typical +heroic strain. + +"The Helpful Twins," a clever child story by Editor Pryor, is the prose +treat of the issue. It would, indeed, be hard to find more than one or +two equally interesting, human, and well-developed bits of fiction in +any current amateur periodicals. Not only are the characters drawn with +delightful naturalness, but there is real humour present; and the plot +moves on to its climax without a single instance of awkwardness or a +single intrusive or extraneous episode. In short, the story is almost a +model of its kind; one which ought to prove a success in a professional +as well as an amateur magazine. Mr. Pryor's humour is more broadly shown +in the smile-producing pseudo-anecdotes of "The Boy Washington." + +The bit of unsigned verse, "A New Year Wish," is excellent, though we +question the advisability of having an Alexandrine for the final line. + +"Comment Pryoristic" is always interesting, and that in the current +=Pine Cones= forms no exception to the rule. The appearance of this +vigorously alive and intelligently edited publication is proving a great +and gratifying factor in amateurdom's post-bellum renaissance. + + * * * * * + +=The Recruiter= for January marks the advent to amateurdom of a new +paper, which easily takes its place among the very best of recent +editorial enterprises. Edited by Misses Mary Faye Durr and L. Evelyn +Schump in the interest of the United recruits whom they are securing, +its thoroughly meritorious quality speaks well for the new members thus +added to our circle. + +The issue opens auspiciously with a lyric poem of distinguished +excellence by Helen McFarland, entitled "A Casualty." In depth of +sentiment, fervour of expression, and correctness of construction, these +melodious lines leave little to be desired; and seem to indicate that +the United has acquired one more poet of the first rank. + +"Billy," a character sketch by L. Evelyn Schump, introduces to the +Association a light essayist of unusual power and grace, whose work is +vividly natural through keen insight, apt and fluent expression, and +mastery of homely and familiar detail. The present sketch is +captivatingly lifelike and thoroughly well-written, arousing a response +from every lover of children. + +"Winter," a brief poem by Hettie Murdock, celebrates in a pleasant way +an unpleasant season. The lines are notable for correctness, spontaneity +and vitality, though not in the least ambitious in scope. + +Martha Charlotte Macatee's "Song of Nature" reveals its 12-year-old +creator as a genuine "Galpiness" (if we may coin a word which only +amateurs and Appletonians will understand). Mistress Macatee has +succeeded in infusing more than a modicum of really poetic atmosphere +and imagery into her short lyric, and may be relied upon to produce +important work in the coming years of greater maturity. The chief defect +of her present piece is the absence of rhyme, which should always occur +in a short stanzaic poem. Rhyming is not at all difficult after a little +practice, and we trust that the young writer will employ it in later +verses. + +"Tarrytown," by Florence Fitzgerald, is a reminiscent poem of phenomenal +strength, marred only by a pair of false rhymes in the opening stanza. +Assonance must never be mistaken for true rhyme, and combinations like +=boats-float= or =them-brim= should be avoided. The imagery of this +piece is especially appealing, and testifies to its author's fertility +of fancy. + +"Shades of Adam," by Mary Faye Durr, is an interesting and humorously +written account of the social side of our 1918 convention. Miss Durr is +exceptionally gifted in the field of apt, quiet, and laconic wit, and in +this informal chronicle neglects no opportunity for dryly amusing +comment on persons and events. + +"Spring," by L. Evelyn Schump, is a refreshingly original poem in blank +verse, on a somewhat familiar subject. For inspiration and technique +alike, the piece merits enthusiastic commendation; though we may +vindicate our reputation as a fault-finding critic by asking why +alternate lines are indented despite the non-existence of alternate +rhymes. + +=The Recruiter's= editorial column is brief and businesslike, +introducing the magazine as a whole, and its contributors individually. +Amateurdom is deeply indebted to the publishers of this delightful +newcomer, and it is to be hoped that they may continue their efforts; +both toward seeking recruits as high in quality as those here +represented, and toward issuing their admirable journal as frequently as +is feasible. + + * * * * * + +=The Silver Clarion= for January comes well up to the usual standard, +containing a number of pieces of considerable power. In "The Temple of +the Holy Ghost," Mr. Arthur Goodenough achieves his accustomed success +as a religious poet, presenting a variety of apt images, and clothing +them in facile metre. The only defect is a lack of uniformity in rhyming +plan. The poet, in commencing a piece like this, should decide whether +or not to rhyme the first and third lines of quatrains; and having +decided, should adhere to his decision. Instead, Mr. Goodenough omits +these optional rhymes in the first stanza and in the first half of the +third and fourth stanzas; elsewhere employing them. The result, while +not flagrantly inharmonious, nevertheless gives an impression of +imperfection, and tends to alienate the fastidious critic. Mr. +Goodenough possesses so great a degree of inspiration, and so wide an +array of allusions and imagery; that he owes it to himself to complete +the excellence of his vivid work with an unexceptionable technique. + +"The Cross," a sonnet by Captain Theodore Draper Gottlieb, is dedicated +to the Red Cross, with which the author is serving so valiantly. In +thought and form this piece deserves unqualified praise. + +"Death," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, exhibits our versatile Western bard +in sober mood. The poem contains that unmistakable stamp of genuine +emotion which we have come to associate with Mr. Lockhart's work, and is +technically faultless. + +"Destiny," by W. F. Pelton, is a sonnet of smooth construction and +thorough excellence by one whom we know better as "Wilfrid Kemble." + +The lines "To My Pal, Fred" present Mr. Harry E. Rieseberg, a new +member of the United who has for some time been a regular =Clarion= +contributor. In this piece Mr. Rieseberg falls somewhat below his usual +standard; for though the sentiment is appropriate, the metre is sadly +irregular. Mr. Rieseberg should count the syllables in his lines, for he +is a young poet of much promise, and should allow his technique to keep +pace with his genius. + +"Faith," by Winifred V. Jordan, enunciates a familiar doctrine in +melodious and original metaphor, and well sustains the poetical +reputation of its celebrated author. + +"The Song Unsung," by W. F. Booker, is a war poem in minor key, which +deserves much praise. + +"You're Like a Willow," by Eugene B. Kuntz, is marked by that warmth of +fancy and wealth of imagery for which its author is noted. + +"Thoughts," a courtly offering from the quill of James Laurence Crowley, +winds up the poetical part of the magazine; this month a very ample +part. In rhyme and metre this sentimental gem is quite satisfactory. + +The only prose in this issue is Mr. Samples' well-written editorial on +"The Passing Year." Herein we find some really excellent passages, +savouring somewhat of the oratorical in style. + + * * * * * + +=The Silver Clarion= for February is of ample size and ample merit. +Opening the issue is an excellent poem in heroic couplets by Mrs. Stella +L. Tully of Mountmellick, Ireland, a new member of the United. Mrs. +Tully, whose best work is in a lyric and religious vein, is one endowed +with hereditary or family genius; as the Association no doubt +appreciated when reading the poetry of her gifted sister, Mrs. S. Lilian +McMullen of Newton Centre, in the preceding issue of THE UNITED AMATEUR. +The present piece by Mrs. Tully, "The Greatest of These is Love," is +based upon a Biblical text, and sets forth its ideas very effectively, +despite a few passages whose stiff construction betrays a slight +inexperience in the traditions of heroic verse. + +"The Two Crosses," by Capt. Theodore Gottlieb, is also in heroics, and +graphically compares the most holy symbols of today and of nineteen +hundred years ago. + +More of the religious atmosphere is furnished by John Milton Samples' +trochaic composition entitled "The Millennium"--from whose title, by the +way, one of the necessary n's is missing. In this pleasing picture of +an impossible age we note but three things requiring critical attention. +(1) The term "super-race" in stanza 5, is too technically philosophical +to be really poetic. (2) The rhyme of =victory= and =eternally= is not +very desirable, because both the rhyming syllables bear only a secondary +accent. (3) There is something grotesque and unconsciously comic in the +prophecy "Then the lamb shall kiss the lion." Such grotesqueness is not +to be found in the original words of Mr. Samples' predecessor and source +of inspiration, the well-known prophet Isaiah. (Vide Isaiah, xi: 6-7.) + +"Nature Worship," by Arthur Goodenough, is one of the most meritorious +poems in the issue, despite some dubious grammar in the first stanza, +and an internal rhyme in the final stanza which has no counterpart in +the lines preceding. The first named error consists of a disagreement in +number betwixt subject and verb: "faith and form and ... mazes which ... +perplexes, dazes." + +"The New Order," an essay by John Milton Samples, is an eloquent but +fantastically idealistic bit of speculation concerning the wonderful +future which dreamers picture as arising out of the recent war. To us, +there is a sort of pathos in these vain hopes and mirage-like visions of +an Utopia which can never be; yet if they can cheer anyone, they are +doubtless not altogether futile. Indeed, after the successive menaces of +the Huns and the Bolsheviki, we can call almost any future Utopian, if +it will but afford the comparative calm of pre-1914 days! + +"No Night So Dark, No Day So Drear," by Mamie Knight Samples, is a poem +which reveals merit despite many crudities. The outstanding fault is +defective metre--Mrs. Samples should carefully count her syllables, and +repeat her lines aloud, to make sure of perfect scansion. Since the +intended metre appears to be iambic tetrameter, we shall here give a +revised rendering of the first stanza; showing how it can be made to +conform to that measure: + + "No night so dark, no day so drear, + But we may sing our songs of cheer." + These words, borne from the world without, + Cheer'd a heart sick with grief and doubt. + O doubting soul, bow'd down so low, + If thou couldst feel, and only know + The darkness is in thee alone, + For grief and tears it would atone. + "No night so dark, no day so drear, + But we may sing our songs of cheer." + +Let the authoress note that each line must have eight syllables--no +more, no less. For the trite ideas and hackneyed rhymes, nothing can be +recommended save a more observant and discriminating perusal of standard +poets. It must be kept in mind that the verse found in current family +magazines and popular hymn-books is seldom, if ever, true poetry. The +only authors suitable as models, are those whose names are praised in +histories of English literature. + +W. F. Booker's "Song" is a delightful short lyric whose sentiment and +technique deserve naught but praise. + +"When I Am Gone," a poem in pentameter quatrains by James Laurence +Crowley, contains the customary allotment of sweet sentiment, together +with some really commendable imagery. Mr. Crowley's genius will shine +brightly before long. + +"The Path to Glory," by Andrew Francis Lockhart, is perhaps the poetic +gem of the issue. In this virile anapaestic piece Mr. Lockhart sums up +all the horrors of the trenches in such a way that the reader may guess +at the extent of the sacrifice undergone by those who have given all for +their country. + +In "Coconino Jim, Lumberjack," Mr. Harry E. Rieseberg shows himself a +true and powerful poet of the rugged, virile school of Kipling, Service, +Knibbs, and their analogues. The present piece is entirely correct in +rhyme and well-developed in thought, wanting only good metre to make it +perfect. This latter accomplishment Mr. Rieseberg should strive hard to +attain, for his poetry surely deserves as good a form as he can give it. + +A word of praise should be given Mr. Samples' editorial, "The +Professional in Amateur Journalism," in which he shows the fallacy of +the plea for a cruder, more juvenile amateurdom, which often emanates +from members of the older and less progressive associations. As the +editor contends, intellectual evolution must occur; and the whole recent +career of the United demonstrates the value of a purely literary society +for genuine literary aspirants of every age and every stage of mental +development. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1919 + + +Helene Hoffman Cole--Litterateur + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +Of the various authors who have contributed to the fame of our +Association, few can be compared in sustained ability and breadth of +interests to the late Helene Hoffman Cole. Represented in the press as a +poet, critic, essayist, and fiction-writer, Mrs. Cole achieved +distinction in all of these departments; rising during recent years to +an almost unique prominence in the field of book-reviewing. Her +compositions display a diversity of attainments and catholicity of taste +highly remarkable in one of so relatively slight an age, familiar +knowledge of foreign and archaic literature supplying a mature +background too seldom possessed by amateur authors. + +It is as a poet that Mrs. Cole has been least known, since her verse was +not of frequent occurrence in the amateur press. A glance at the few +existing specimens, however, demonstrates conclusively that her poetical +gifts were by no means inconsiderable; and that had she chosen such a +course, she might easily have become one of the leading bards of the +United. Verse like the unnamed autumn pieces in =Leaflets= and =The +Hellenian= possess an aptness and cleverness of fancy which bespeak the +true poet despite trivial technical imperfections. + +In fiction the extent of Mrs. Cole's genius was still further revealed, +nearly all her narratives moving along with impeccable grace and +fluency. Her plots were for the most part light and popular in nature, +and would have reflected credit on any professional writer of modern +magazine tales. Of her stories, "The Picture," appearing in =Leaflets= +for October, 1913, is an excellent example. More dramatic in quality is +"Her Wish," in the August, 1914, =Olympian=. This brief tragedy of a +Serbian and his bride is perhaps one of the very first tales written +around the World War. + +But it is in the domain of the literary essay that this authoress rose +to loftiest altitude. Of wide and profound reading, and of keen and +discriminating mind, Mrs. Cole presented in a style of admirable grace +and lucidity her reactions to the best works of numerous standard +authors, ancient and modern, English and foreign. The value of such work +in amateurdom, extending the cultural outlook and displaying the outside +world as seen through the eyes of a gifted, respected, and +representative member, scarce needs the emphasis of the commentator. He +who can link the amateur and larger spheres in a pleasing and acceptable +fashion, deserves the highest approbation and panegyric that the United +can bestow. Notable indeed are Mrs. Cole's sound reviews of Sir Thomas +Browne's "Hydriotaphia" in THE UNITED AMATEUR, of "Pelle, the Conqueror" +in =The Tryout=, and of numerous South American works but little known +to Northern readers. Of equal merit are such terse and delightful essays +as "M. Tullius Cicero, Pater Patriae," where the essayist invests a +classical theme with all the living charm of well-restrained +subjectivity. The style of these writings is in itself captivating; the +vocabulary containing enough words of Latin derivation to rescue it from +the Boeotian harshness typical of this age. All that has been said of +Mrs. Cole's broader reviews may be said of her amateur criticism, much +of which graced the columns of =The Olympian= and other magazines. + +The exclusively journalistic skill of Mrs. Cole now remains to be +considered, and this we find as brilliant as her other attainments. As +the editor of numerous papers during every stage of her career, she +exhibited phenomenal taste and enterprise; never failing to create +enthusiasm and evoke encomium with her ventures both individual and +co-operative. Her gift for gathering, selecting and writing news was +quite unexampled. As the reporter =par excellence= of both associations, +she was the main reliance of other editors for convention reports and +general items; all of which were phrased with an ease, urbanity, and +personality that lent them distinctiveness. Not the least of her +qualities was a gentle and unobtrusive humour which enlivened her +lighter productions. Amateurdom will long remember the quaint piquancy +of the issues of =The Martian= which she cleverly published in the name +of her infant son. + +During these latter days nearly every amateur has expressed a kind of +incredulity that Mrs. Cole can indeed be no more, and in this the +present writer must needs share. To realise that her gifted pen has +ceased to enrich our small literary world requires a painful effort on +the part of everyone who has followed her brilliant progress in the +field of letters. The United loses more by her sudden and untimely +demise than can well be reckoned at this moment. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JULY 1919 + + +Americanism + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +Laureate + +It is easy to sentimentalise on the subject of "the American +spirit"--what it is, may be, or should be. Exponents of various novel +political and social theories are particularly given to this practice, +nearly always concluding that "true Americanism" is nothing more or less +than a national application of their respective individual doctrines. + +Slightly less superficial observers hit upon the abstract principle of +"Liberty" as the keynote of Americanism, interpreting this justly +esteemed principle as anything from Bolshevism to the right to drink +2.75 per cent. beer. "Opportunity" is another favourite byword, and one +which is certainly not without real significance. The synonymousness of +"America" and "opportunity" has been inculcated into many a young head +of the present generation by Emerson via Montgomery's "Leading Facts of +American History." But it is worthy of note that nearly all would-be +definers of "Americanism" fail through their prejudiced unwillingness to +trace the quality to its European source. They cannot bring themselves +to see that abiogenesis is as rare in the realm of ideas as it is in the +kingdom of organic life; and consequently waste their efforts in trying +to treat America as if it were an isolated phenomenon without ancestry. + +"Americanism" is expanded Anglo-Saxonism. It is the spirit of England, +transplanted to a soil of vast extent and diversity, and nourished for a +time under pioneer conditions calculated to increase its democratic +aspects without impairing its fundamental virtues. It is the spirit of +truth, honour, justice, morality, moderation, individualism, +conservative liberty, magnanimity, toleration, enterprise, +industriousness, and progress--which is England--plus the element of +equality and opportunity caused by pioneer settlement. It is the +expression of the world's highest race under the most favourable social, +political, and geographical conditions. Those who endeavour to belittle +the importance of our British ancestry, are invited to consider the +other nations of this continent. All these are equally "American" in +every particular, differing only in race-stock and heritage; yet of them +all, none save British Canada will even bear comparison with us. We are +great because we are a part of the great Anglo-Saxon cultural sphere; a +section detached only after a century and a half of heavy colonisation +and English rule, which gave to our land the ineradicable stamp of +British civilisation. + +Most dangerous and fallacious of the several misconceptions of +Americanism is that of the so-called "melting-pot" of races and +traditions. It is true that this country has received a vast influx of +non-English immigrants who come hither to enjoy without hardship the +liberties which our British ancestors carved out in toil and bloodshed. +It is also true that such of them as belong to the Teutonic and Celtic +races are capable of assimilation to our English type and of becoming +valuable acquisitions to the population. But, from this it does not +follow that a mixture of really alien blood or ideas has accomplished or +can accomplish anything but harm. Observation of Europe shows us the +relative status and capability of the several races, and we see that the +melting together of English gold and alien brass is not very likely to +produce any alloy superior or even equal to the original gold. +Immigration cannot, perhaps, be cut off altogether, but it should be +understood that aliens who choose America as their residence must accept +the prevailing language and culture as their own; and neither try to +modify our institutions, nor to keep alive their own in our midst. We +must not, as the greatest man of our age declared, suffer this nation to +become a "polyglot boarding house." + +The greatest foe to rational Americanism is that dislike for our parent +nation which holds sway amongst the ignorant and bigoted, and which is +kept alive largely by certain elements of the population who seem to +consider the sentiments of Southern and Western Ireland more important +than those of the United States. In spite of the plain fact that a +separate Ireland would weaken civilisation and menace the world's peace +by introducing a hostile and undependable wedge betwixt the two major +parts of Saxondom, these irresponsible elements continue to encourage +rebellion in the Green Isle; and in so doing tend to place this nation +in a distressingly anomalous position as an abettor of crime and +sedition against the Mother Land. Disgusting beyond words are the public +honours paid to political criminals like Edward, alias Eamonn, de +Valera, whose very presence at large among us is an affront to our +dignity and heritage. Never may we appreciate or even fully comprehend +our own place and mission in the world, till we can banish those clouds +of misunderstanding which float between us and the source of our +culture. + +But the features of Americanism peculiar to this continent must not be +belittled. In the abolition of fixed and rigid class lines a distinct +sociological advance is made, permitting a steady and progressive +recruiting of the upper levels from the fresh and vigorous body of the +people beneath. Thus opportunities of the choicest sort await every +citizen alike, whilst the biological quality of the cultivated classes +is improved by the cessation of that narrow inbreeding which +characterises European aristocracy. + +Total separation of civil and religious affairs, the greatest political +and intellectual advance since the Renaissance, is also a local +American--and more particularly a Rhode Island--triumph. Agencies are +today subtly at work to undermine this principle, and to impose upon us +through devious political influences the Papal chains which Henry VIII +first struck from our limbs; chains unfelt since the bloody reign of +Mary, and infinitely worse than the ecclesiastical machinery which Roger +Williams rejected. But when the vital relation of intellectual freedom +to genuine Americanism shall be fully impressed upon the people, it is +likely that such sinister undercurrents will subside. + +The main struggle which awaits Americanism is not with reaction, but +with radicalism. Our age is one of restless and unintelligent +iconoclasm, and abounds with shrewd sophists who use the name +"Americanism" to cover attacks on that institution itself. Such familiar +terms and phrases as "democracy," "liberty," or "freedom of speech" are +being distorted to cover the wildest forms of anarchy, whilst our old +representative institutions are being attacked as "un-American" by +foreign immigrants who are incapable both of understanding them or of +devising anything better. + +This country would benefit from a wider practice of sound Americanism, +with its accompanying recognition of an Anglo-Saxon source. Americanism +implies freedom, progress, and independence; but it does not imply a +rejection of the past, nor a renunciation of traditions and experience. +Let us view the term in its real, practical, and unsentimental meaning. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR NOVEMBER 1919 + + +The White Ship + +Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +I am Basil Elton, keeper of the North Point light that my father and +grandfather kept before me. Far from the shore stands the grey +lighthouse, above sunken slimy rocks that are seen when the tide is low, +but unseen when the tide is high. Past that beacon for a century have +swept the majestic barques of the seven seas. In the days of my +grandfather there were many; in the days of my father not so many; and +now there are so few that I sometimes feel strangely alone, as though I +were the last man on our planet. + +From far shores came those white-sailed argosies of old; from far +Eastern shores where warm suns shine and sweet odours linger about +strange gardens and gay temples. The old captains of the sea came often +to my grandfather and told him of these things, which in turn he told to +my father, and my father told to me in the long autumn evenings when +the wind howled eerily from the East. And I have read more of these +things, and of many things besides, in the books men gave me when I was +young and filled with wonder. + +But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the +secret lore of ocean. Blue, green, grey, white or black; smooth, +ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent. All my days have I +watched it and listened to it, and I know it well. At first it told to +me only the plain little tales of calm beaches and near ports, but with +the years it grew more friendly and spoke of other things; of things +more strange and more distant in space and in time. Sometimes at +twilight the grey vapours of the horizon have parted to grant me +glimpses of the ways beyond; and sometimes at night the deep waters of +the sea have grown clear and phosphorescent, to grant me glimpses of the +ways beneath. And these glimpses have been as often of the ways that +were and the ways that might be, as of the ways that are; for ocean is +more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the +dreams of Time. + +Out of the South it was that the White Ship used to come when the moon +was full and high in the heavens. Out of the South it would glide very +smoothly and silently over the sea. And whether the sea was rough or +calm, and whether the wind was friendly or adverse, it would always +glide smoothly and silently, its sails distent and its long strange +tiers of oars moving rhythmically. One night I espied upon the deck a +man, bearded and robed, and he seemed to beckon me to embark for fair +unknown shores. Many times afterward I saw him under the full moon, and +ever did he beckon me. + +Very brightly did the moon shine on the night I answered the call, and I +walked out over the waters to the White Ship on a bridge of moonbeams. +The man who had beckoned now spoke a welcome to me in a soft language I +seemed to know well, and the hours were filled with soft songs of the +oarsmen as we glided away into a mysterious South, golden with the glow +of that full, mellow moon. + +And when the day dawned, rosy and effulgent, I beheld the green shore of +far lands, bright and beautiful, and to me unknown. Up from the sea rose +lordly terraces of verdure, tree-studded, and shewing here and there the +gleaming white roofs and colonnades of strange temples. As we drew +nearer the green shore the bearded man told me of that land, the Land of +Zar, where dwell all the dreams and thoughts of beauty that come to men +once and then are forgotten. And when I looked upon the terraces again I +saw that what he said was true, for among the sights before me were many +things I had once seen through the mists beyond the horizon in the +phosphorescent depths of ocean. There too were forms and fantasies more +splendid than I had ever known; the visions of young poets who died in +want before the world could learn of what they had seen and dreamed. But +we did not set foot upon the sloping meadows of Zar, for it is told that +he who treads them may nevermore return to his native shore. + +As the White Ship sailed silently away from the templed terraces of Zar, +we beheld on the distant horizon ahead the spires of a mighty city; and +the bearded man said to me, "This is Thalarion, the City of a Thousand +Wonders, wherein reside all those mysteries that man has striven in vain +to fathom." And I looked again, at closer range, and saw that the city +was greater than any city I had known or dreamed of before. Into the sky +the spires of its temples reached, so that no man might behold their +peaks; and far back beyond the horizon stretched the grim, grey walls, +over which one might spy only a few roofs, weird and ominous, yet +adorned with rich friezes and alluring sculptures. I yearned mightily to +enter this fascinating yet repellent city, and beseeched the bearded man +to land me at the stone pier by the huge carven gate Akariel; but he +gently denied my wish, saying, "Into Thalarion, the City of a Thousand +Wonders, many have passed but none returned. Therein walk only daemons +and mad things that are no longer men, and the streets are white with +the unburied bones of those who have looked upon the eidolon Lathi, that +reigns over the city." So the White Ship sailed on past the walls of +Thalarion, and followed for many days a southward-flying bird, whose +glossy plumage matched the sky out of which it had appeared. + +Then came we to a pleasant coast gay with blossoms of every hue, where +as far inland as we could see basked lovely groves and radiant arbours +beneath a meridian sun. From bowers beyond our view came bursts of song +and snatches of lyric harmony, interspersed with faint laughter so +delicious that I urged the rowers onward in my eagerness to reach the +scene. And the bearded man spoke no word, but watched me as we +approached the lily-lined shore. Suddenly a wind blowing from over the +flowery meadows and leafy woods brought a scent at which I trembled. The +wind grew stronger, and the air was filled with the lethal, charnel +odour of plague-stricken towns and uncovered cemeteries. And as we +sailed madly away from that damnable coast the bearded man spoke at +last, saying, "This is Xura, the Land of Pleasures Unattained." + +So once more the White Ship followed the bird of heaven, over warm +blessed seas fanned by caressing, aromatic breezes. Day after day and +night after night did we sail, and when the moon was full we would +listen to soft songs of the oarsmen, sweet as on that distant night when +we sailed away from my far native land. And it was by moonlight that we +anchored at last in the harbour of Sona-Nyl, which is guarded by twin +headlands of crystal that rise from the sea and meet in a resplendent +arch. This is the Land of Fancy, and we walked to the verdant shore upon +a golden bridge of moonbeams. + +In the Land of Sona-Nyl there is neither time nor space, neither +suffering nor death; and there I dwelt for many aeons. Green are the +groves and pastures, bright and fragrant the flowers, blue and musical +the streams, clear and cool the fountains, and stately and gorgeous the +temples, castles, and cities of Sona-Nyl. Of that land there is no +bound, for beyond each vista of beauty rises another more beautiful. +Over the countryside and amidst the splendour of cities can move at will +the happy folk, of whom all are gifted with unmarred grace and unalloyed +happiness. For the aeons that I dwelt there I wandered blissfully through +gardens where quaint pagodas peep from pleasing clumps of bushes, and +where the white walks are bordered with delicate blossoms. I climbed +gentle hills from whose summits I could see entrancing panoramas of +loveliness, with steepled towns nestling in verdant valleys, and with +the golden domes of gigantic cities glittering on the infinitely distant +horizon. And I viewed by moonlight the sparkling sea, the crystal +headlands, and the placid harbour wherein lay anchored the White Ship. + +It was against the full moon one night in the immemorial year of Tharp +that I saw outlined the beckoning form of the celestial bird, and felt +the first stirrings of unrest. Then I spoke with the bearded man, and +told him of my new yearning to depart for remote Cathuria, which no man +hath seen, but which all believe to lie beyond the basalt pillars of the +West. It is the Land of Hope, and in it shine the perfect ideals of all +that we know elsewhere; or at least so men relate. But the bearded man +said to me, "Beware of those perilous seas wherein men say Cathuria +lies. In Sona-Nyl there is no pain nor death, but who can tell what lies +beyond the basalt pillars of the West?" Natheless at the next full moon +I boarded the White Ship, and with the reluctant bearded man left the +happy harbour for untravelled seas. + +And the bird of heaven flew before, and led us toward the basalt pillars +of the West, but this time the oarsmen sang no soft songs under the full +moon. In my mind I would often picture the unknown Land of Cathuria with +its splendid groves and palaces, and would wonder what new delights +there awaited me. "Cathuria," I would say to myself, "is the abode of +gods and the land of unnumbered cities of gold. Its forests are of aloe +and sandalwood, even as the fragrant groves of Camorin, and among the +trees flutter gay birds sweet with song. On the green and flowery +mountains of Cathuria stand temples of pink marble, rich with carven and +painted glories, and having in their courtyards cool fountains of +silver, where purl with ravishing music the scented waters that come +from the grotto-born river Narg. And the cities of Cathuria are +cinctured with golden walls, and their pavements are also of gold. In +the gardens of these cities are strange orchids, and perfumed lakes +whose beds are of coral and amber. At night the streets and the gardens +are lit with gay lanthorns fashioned from three-coloured shell of the +tortoise, and here resound the soft notes of the singer and the +lutanist. And the houses of the cities of Cathuria are all palaces, each +built over a fragrant canal bearing the waters of the sacred Narg. Of +marble and porphyry are the houses, and roofed with glittering gold +that reflects the rays of the sun and enhances the splendour of the +cities as blissful gods view them from the distant peaks. Fairest of all +is the palace of the great monarch Dorieb, whom some say to be a demigod +and others a god. High is the palace of Dorieb, and many are the turrets +of marble upon its walls. In its wide halls may multitudes assemble, and +here hang the trophies of the ages. And the roof is of pure gold, set +upon tall pillars of ruby and azure, and having such carven figures of +gods and heroes that he who looks up to those heights seem to gaze upon +the living Olympus. And the floor of the palace is of glass, under which +flow the cunningly lighted waters of the Narg, gay with gaudy fish not +known beyond the bounds of lovely Cathuria." + +Thus would I speak to myself of Cathuria, but ever would the bearded man +warn me to turn back to the happy shores of Sona-Nyl; for Sona-Nyl is +known of men, while none hath ever beheld Cathuria. + +And on the thirty-first day that we followed the bird, we beheld the +basalt pillars of the West. Shrouded in mist they were, so that no man +might peer beyond them or see their summits--which indeed some say reach +even to the heavens. And the bearded man again implored me to turn back, +but I heeded him not; for from the mists beyond the basalt pillars I +fancied there came the notes of singer and lutanist; sweeter than the +sweetest songs of Sona-Nyl, and sounding mine own praises; the praises +of me, who had voyaged far under the full moon and dwelt in the Land of +Fancy. + +So to the sound of melody the White Ship sailed into the mist betwixt +the basalt pillars of the West. And when the music ceased and the mist +lifted, we beheld not the Land of Cathuria, but a swift-rushing +resistless sea, over which our helpless barque was borne toward some +unknown goal. Soon to our ears came the distant thunder of falling +waters, and to our eyes appeared on the far horizon ahead the titanic +spray of a monstrous cataract, wherein the oceans of the world drop down +to abysmal nothingness. Then did the bearded man say to me with tears on +his cheek, "We have rejected the beautiful Land of Sona-Nyl, which we +may never behold again. The gods are greater than men, and they have +conquered." And I closed my eyes before the crash that I knew would +come, shutting out the sight of the celestial bird which flapped its +mocking blue wings over the brink of the torrent. + +Out of that crash came darkness, and I heard the shrieking of men and of +things which were not men. From the East tempestuous winds arose, and +chilled me as I crouched on the slab of damp stone which had risen +beneath my feet. Then as I heard another crash I opened my eyes and +beheld myself upon the platform of that lighthouse from whence I had +sailed so many aeons ago. In the darkness below there loomed the vast +blurred outlines of a vessel breaking up on the cruel rocks, and as I +glanced out over the waste I saw that the light had failed for the first +time since my grandfather had assumed its care. + +And in the later watches of the night, when I went within the tower, I +saw on the wall a calendar which still remained as when I had left it at +the hour I sailed away. With the dawn I descended the tower and looked +for wreckage upon the rocks, but what I found was only this: a strange +dead bird whose hue was as of the azure sky, and a single shattered +spar, of a whiteness greater than that of the wave-tips or of the +mountain snow. + +And thereafter the ocean told me its secrets no more; and though many +times since has the moon shone full and high in the heavens, the White +Ship from the South came never again. + + +TO MISTRESS SOPHIA SIMPLE, QUEEN OF THE CINEMA + +(With humblest apologies to Randolph St. John, Gent.) + +L. Theobald, Jun. + + Before our sight your mobile face + Depicts your joys or woes distracting; + We marvel at your winsome grace-- + And wish you'd learn the art of acting! + + Your eyes, we vow, surpass the stars; + Your mouth is like the bow of Cupid; + Your rose-ting'd cheeks no wrinkle mars-- + Yet why are you so sweetly stupid? + + The hero views you with delight, + To win your hand forever working; + We pity him--the witless wight-- + To fall a victim to your smirking! + + And yet, why should we wail in rhyme + Because so crudely you dissemble? + We can't expect for one small dime, + To see a Woffington or Kemble! + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1920 + + +Literary Composition + +H. P. Lovecraft + +In a former article our readers have been shewn the fundamental sources +of literary inspiration, and the leading prerequisites to expression. It +remains to furnish hints concerning expression itself; its forms, +customs, and technicalities, in order that the young writer may lose +nothing of force or charm in presenting his ideas to the public. + + +Grammar + +A review of the elements of English grammar would be foreign to the +purpose of this department. The subject is one taught in all common +schools, and may be presumed to be understood by every aspirant to +authorship. It is necessary, however, to caution the beginner to keep a +reliable grammar and dictionary always beside him, that he may avoid in +his compositions the frequent errors which imperceptibly corrupt even +the purest ordinary speech. As a general rule, it is well to give close +critical scrutiny to all colloquial phrases and expressions of doubtful +parsing, as well as to all words and usages which have a strained or +unfamiliar sound. The human memory is not to be trusted too far, and +most minds harbour a considerable number of slight linguistic faults and +inelegancies picked up from random discourse or from the pages of +newspapers, magazines, and popular modern books. + + +Types of Mistakes + +Most of the mistakes of young authors, aside from those gross violations +of syntax which ordinary education corrects, may perhaps be enumerated +as follows. + + (1) Erroneous plurals of nouns, as =vallies= or =echos=. + + (2) Barbarous compound nouns, as =viewpoint= or =upkeep=. + + (3) Want of correspondence in number between noun and verb where the + two are widely separated or the construction involved. + + (4) Ambiguous use of pronouns. + + (5) Erroneous case of pronouns, as =whom= for =who=, and vice versa, + or phrases like "between you and =I=," or "Let =we= who are loyal, + act promptly." + + (6) Erroneous use of =shall= and =will=, and of other auxiliary + verbs. + + (7) Use of intransitive for transitive verbs, as "he =was graduated= + from college," or vice versa, as "he =ingratiated= with the tyrant." + + (8) Use of nouns for verbs, as "he =motored= to Boston," or "he + =voiced= a protest." + + (9) Errors in moods and tenses of verbs, as "If I =was= he, I should + do otherwise," or "He said the earth =was= round." + + (10) The split infinitive, as "=to= calmly =glide=." + + (11) The erroneous perfect infinitive, as "Last week I expected =to + have met= you." + + (12) False verb-forms, as "I =pled= with him." + + (13) Use of =like= for =as=, as "I strive to write =like= Pope + wrote." + + (14) Misuse of prepositions, as "The gift was bestowed =to= an + unworthy object," or "The gold was divided =between= the five men." + + (15) The superfluous conjunction, as "I wish =for= you to do this." + + (16) Use of words in wrong =senses=, as "The book greatly + =intrigued= me," "=Leave= me take this," "He was =obsessed= with the + idea," or "He is a =meticulous= writer." + + (17) Erroneous use of non-Anglicised foreign forms, as "a strange + =phenomena=," or "two =stratas= of clouds." + + (18) Use of false or unauthorized words, as =burglarize= or + =supremest=. + + (19) Errors of taste, including vulgarisms, pompousness, repetition, + vagueness, ambiguousness, colloquialism, bathos, bombast, pleonasm, + tautology, harshness, mixed metaphor, and every sort of rhetorical + awkwardness. + + (20) Errors of spelling and punctuation, and confusion of forms such + as that which leads many to place an apostrophe in the possessive + pronoun =its=. + +Of all blunders, there is hardly one which might not be avoided through +diligent study of simple textbooks on grammar and rhetoric, intelligent +perusal of the best authors, and care and forethought in composition. +Almost no excuse exists for their persistent occurrence, since the +sources of correction are so numerous and so available. Many of the +popular manuals of good English are extremely useful, especially to +persons whose reading is not as yet extensive; but such works sometimes +err in being too pedantically precise and formal. For correct writing, +the cultivation of patience and mental accuracy is essential. Throughout +the young author's period of apprenticeship, he must keep reliable +dictionaries and textbooks at his elbow; eschewing as far as possible +that hasty extemporaneous manner of writing which is the privilege of +more advanced students. He must take no popular usage for granted, nor +must he ever hesitate, in case of doubt, to fall back on the authority +of his books. + + +Reading + +No aspiring author should content himself with a mere acquisition of +technical rules. As Mrs. Renshaw remarked in the preceding article, +"Impression should ever precede and be stronger than expression." All +attempts at gaining literary polish must begin with judicious =reading=, +and the learner must never cease to hold this phase uppermost. In many +cases, the usage of good authors will be found a more effective guide +than any amount of precept. A page of Addison or of Irving will teach +more of style than a whole manual of rules, whilst a story of Poe's will +impress upon the mind a more vivid notion of powerful and correct +description and narration than will ten dry chapters of a bulky +textbook. Let every student read unceasingly the best writers, guided by +the admirable Reading Table which has adorned the UNITED AMATEUR during +the past two years. + +It is also important that cheaper types of reading, if hitherto +followed, be dropped. Popular magazines inculcate a careless and +deplorable style which is hard to unlearn, and which impedes the +acquisition of a purer style. If such things must be read, let them be +skimmed over as lightly as possible. An excellent habit to cultivate is +the analytical study of the King James Bible. For simple yet rich and +forceful English, this masterly production is hard to equal; and even +though its Saxon vocabulary and poetic rhythm be unsuited to general +composition, it is an invaluable model for writers on quaint or +imaginative themes. Lord Dunsany, perhaps the greatest living prose +artist, derived nearly all of his stylistic tendencies from the +Scriptures; and the contemporary critic Boyd points out very acutely the +loss sustained by most Catholic Irish writers through their +unfamiliarity with the historic volume and its traditions. + + +Vocabulary + +One superlatively important effect of wide reading is the enlargement of +vocabulary which always accompanies it. The average student is gravely +impeded by the narrow range of words from which he must choose, and he +soon discovers that in long compositions he cannot avoid monotony. In +reading, the novice should note the varied mode of expression practiced +by good authors, and should keep in his mind for future use the many +appropriate synonymes he encounters. Never should an unfamiliar word be +passed over without elucidation; for with a little conscientious +research we may each day add to our conquests in the realm of philology, +and become more and more ready for graceful independent expression. + +But in enlarging the vocabulary, we must beware lest we misuse our new +possessions. We must remember that there are fine distinctions betwixt +apparently similar words, and that language must ever be selected with +intelligent care. As the learned Dr. Blair points out in his Lectures, +"Hardly in any language are there two words that convey precisely the +same idea; a person thoroughly conversant in the propriety of language +will always be able to observe something that distinguishes them." + + +Elemental Phases + +Before considering the various formal classes of composition, it is well +to note certain elements common to them all. Upon analysis, every piece +of writing will be found to contain one or more of the following basic +principles: =Description=, or an account of the appearance of things; +=Narration=, or an account of the actions of things; =Exposition=, which +defines and explains with precision and lucidity; =Argument=, which +discovers truth and rejects error; and =Persuasion=, which urges to +certain thoughts or acts. The first two are the bases of fiction; the +third didactic, scientific, historical and editorial writings. The +fourth and fifth are mostly employed in conjunction with the third, in +scientific, philosophical, and partisan literature. All these +principles, however, are usually mingled with one another. The work of +fiction may have its scientific, historical, or argumentative side; +whilst the textbook or treatise may be embellished with descriptions and +anecdotes. + + +Description + +Description, in order to be effective, calls upon two mental qualities; +observation and discrimination. Many descriptions depend for their +vividness upon the accurate reproduction of details; others upon the +judicious selection of salient, typical, or significant points. + +One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for +descriptions. Words or compounds which describe precisely, and which +convey exactly the right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are +essential. As an example, let us consider the following list of epithets +applicable to a =fountain=, taken from Richard Green Parker's admirable +work on composition. + + Crystal, gushing, rustling, silver, gently-gliding, parting, pearly, + weeping, bubbling, gurgling, chiding, clear, grass-fringed, + moss-fringed, pebble-paved, verdant, sacred, grass-margined, + moss-margined, trickling, soft, dew-sprinkled, fast-flowing, + delicate, delicious, clean, straggling, dancing, vaulting, + deep-embosomed, leaping, murmuring, muttering, whispering, + prattling, twaddling, swelling, sweet-rolling, gently-flowing, + rising, sparkling, flowing, frothy, dew-distilling, dew-born, + exhaustless, inexhaustible, never-decreasing, never-failing, + heaven-born, earth-born, deep-divulging, drought-dispelling, + thirst-allaying, refreshing, soul-refreshing, earth-refreshing, + laving, lavish, plant-nourishing. + +For the purpose of securing epithets at once accurate and felicitous, +the young author should familiarize himself thoroughly with the general +aspect and phenomena of Nature, as well as with the ideas and +associations which these things produce in the human mind. + +Descriptions may be of objects, of places, of animals, and of persons. +The complete description of an object may be said to consist of the +following elements: + + 1. When, where, and how seen; when made or found; how affected by + time. + + 2. History and traditional associations. + + 3. Substance and manner of origin. + + 4. Size, shape, and appearance. + + 5. Analogies with similar objects. + + 6. Sensations produced by contemplating it. + + 7. Its purpose or function. + + 8. Its effects--the results of its existence. + +Descriptions of places must of course vary with the type of the place. +Of natural scenery, the following elements are notable: + + 1. How beheld--at dawn, noon, evening, or night; by starlight or + moonlight. + + 2. Natural features--flat or hilly; barren or thickly grown; kind of + vegetation; trees, mountains, and rivers. + + 3. Works of man--cultivation, edifices, bridges; modifications of + scenery produced by man. + + 4. Inhabitants and other forms of animal life. + + 5. Local customs and traditions. + + 6. Sounds--of water; forest; leaves; birds; barnyards; human beings; + machinery. + + 7. View--prospect on every side, and the place itself as seen from + afar. + + 8. Analogies to other scenes, especially famous scenes. + + 9. History and associations. + + 10. Sensations produced by contemplating it. + +Descriptions of animals may be analyzed thus: + + 1. Species and size. + + 2. Covering. + + 3. Parts. + + 4. Abode. + + 5. Characteristics and habits. + + 6. Food. + + 7. Utility or harmfulness. + + 8. History and associations. + +Descriptions of persons can be infinitely varied. Sometimes a single +felicitous touch brings out the whole type and character, as when the +modern author Leonard Merrick hints at shabby gentility by mentioning +the combination of a frock coat with the trousers of a tweed suit. +Suggestion is very powerful in this field, especially when mental +qualities are to be delineated. Treatment should vary with the author's +object; whether to portray a mere personified idea, or to give a quasi +photographic view, mental and physical, of some vividly living +character. In a general description, the following elements may be +found: + + 1. Appearance, stature, complexion, proportions, features. + + 2. Most conspicuous feature. + + 3. Expression. + + 4. Grace or ugliness. + + 5. Attire--nature, taste, quality. + + 6. Habits, attainments, graces, or awkwardnesses. + + 7. Character--moral and intellectual--place in the community. + + 8. Notable special qualities. + +In considering the preceding synopses, the reader must remember that +they are only suggestions, and not for =literal= use. The extent of any +description is to be determined by its place in the composition; by +taste and fitness. It should be added, that in fiction description must +not be carried to excess. A plethora of it leads to dulness, so that it +must ever be balanced by a brisk flow of =Narration=, which we are about +to consider. + + +Narration + +Narration is an account of action, or of successive events, either real +or imagined; and is therefore the basis both of history and of fiction. +To be felicitous and successful, it demands an intelligent exercise of +taste and discrimination; salient points must be selected, and the order +of time and of circumstances must be well maintained. It is deemed +wisest in most cases to give narratives a climactic form; leading from +lesser to greater events, and culminating in that chief incident upon +which the story is primarily founded, or which makes the other parts +important through its own importance. This principle, of course, cannot +be literally followed in all historical and biographical narratives. + + +Fictional Narration + +The essential point of fictional narration is =plot=, which may be +defined as a =sequence of incidents designed to awaken the reader's +interest and curiosity as to the result=. Plots may be simple or +complex; but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to +another, are essential. Every incident in a fictional work should have +some bearing on the climax or denouement, and any denouement which is +not the inevitable result of the preceding incidents is awkward and +unliterary. No formal course in fiction-writing can equal a close and +observant perusal of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe or Ambrose Bierce. +In these masterpieces one may find that unbroken sequence and linkage of +incident and result which mark the ideal tale. Observe how, in "The Fall +of the House of Usher," each separate event foreshadows and leads up to +the tremendous catastrophe and its hideous suggestion. Poe was an +absolute master of the mechanics of his craft. Observe also how Bierce +can attain the most stirring denouements from a few simple happenings; +denouements which develop purely from these preceding circumstances. + +In fictional narration, verisimilitude is absolutely essential. A story +must be consistent and must contain no event glaringly removed from the +usual order of things, unless that event is the main incident, and is +approached with the most careful preparation. In real life, odd and +erratic things do occasionally happen; but they are out of place in an +ordinary story, since fiction is a sort of idealization of the average. +Development should be as lifelike as possible, and a weak, trickling +conclusion should be assiduously avoided. The end of a story must be +stronger rather than weaker than the beginning; since it is the end +which contains the denouement or culmination, and which will leave the +strongest impression upon the reader. It would not be amiss for the +novice to write the last paragraph of his story first, once a synopsis +of the plot has been carefully prepared--as it always should be. In this +way he will be able to concentrate his freshest mental vigour upon the +most important part of his narrative; and if any changes be later found +needful, they can easily be made. In no part of a narrative should a +grand or emphatic thought or passage be followed by one of tame or +prosaic quality. This is =anticlimax=, and exposes a writer to much +ridicule. Notice the absurd effect of the following couplet--which was, +however, written by no less a person than Waller: + + "Under the tropic is our language spoke, + =And part of Flanders hath receiv'd our yoke=." + + +Unity, Mass, Coherence + +In developing a theme, whether descriptive or narrative, it is necessary +that three structural qualities be present: Unity, Mass, and Coherence. +Unity is that principle whereby every part of a composition must have +some bearing on the central theme. It is the principle which excludes +all extraneous matter, and demands that all threads converge toward the +climax. Classical violations of Unity may be found in the =episodes= of +Homer and other epic poets of antiquity, as well as in the digressions +of Fielding and other celebrated novelists; but no beginner should +venture to emulate such liberties. Unity is the quality we have lately +noted and praised in Poe and Bierce. + +Mass is that principle which requires the more important parts of a +composition to occupy correspondingly important places in the whole +composition, the paragraph, and the sentence. It is that law of taste +which insists that emphasis be placed where emphasis is due, and is most +strikingly embodied in the previously mentioned necessity for an +emphatic ending. According to this law, the end of a composition is its +most important part, with the beginning next in importance. + +Coherence is that principle which groups related parts together and +keeps unrelated parts removed from one another. It applies, like Mass, +to the whole composition, the paragraph, or the sentence. It demands +that kindred events be narrated without interruption, effect following +cause in a steady flow. + + +Forms of Composition + +Few writers succeed equally in all the various branches of literature. +Each type of thought has its own particular form of expression, based on +natural appropriateness; and the average author tends to settle into +that form which best fits his particular personality. Many, however, +follow more than one form; and some writers change from one form to +another as advancing years produce alterations in their mental processes +or points of view. + +It is well, in the interests of breadth and discipline, for the beginner +to exercise himself to some degree in every form of literary art. He may +thus discover that which best fits his mind, and develop hitherto +unsuspected potentialities. + +We have so far surveyed only those simpler phases of writing which +centre in prose fiction and descriptive essays. Hereafter we hope to +touch upon didactic, argumentative, and persuasive writing; to +investigate to some extent the sources of rhetorical strength and +elegance; and to consider a few major aspects of versification. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1920 + + +For What Does the United Stand? + +It is easy to comply in 500 words with a request for an article on what +the United represents. An amateur journalistic association is generally +too democratic to have any one object for long; it is rather a +battle-ground between the proponents of opposed ideas. + +I think, however, that since the dawn of the Hoffman administration, +when the best elements were automatically sifted out through the +secession of most of the confirmed politicians, we have been gradually +acquiring a policy and a tradition which will endure. The +printing-press, political and frivolous phases have been passed through; +and our aspirations seem to be crystallising into a form more worthy +than any of our past aspirations. + +Judging from the majority of our truly active members, the United now +aims at the development of its adherents in the direction of purely +artistic literary perception and expression; to be effected by the +encouragement of writing, the giving of constructive criticism, and the +cultivation of correspondence friendships among scholars and aspirants +capable of stimulating and aiding one another's efforts. It aims at the +revival of the uncommercial spirit; the real creative thought which +modern conditions have done their worst to suppress and eradicate. It +seeks to banish mediocrity as a goal and standard; to place before its +members the classical and the universal and to draw their minds from the +commonplace to the beautiful. + +The United aims to assist those whom other forms of literary influence +cannot reach. The non-university man, the dwellers in distant places, +the recluse, the invalid, the very young, the elderly; all these are +included within our scope. And beside our novices stand persons of +mature cultivation and experience, ready to assist for the sheer joy of +assisting. In no other society does wealth or previous learning count +for so little. Merit and aspiration form the only criterion we apply to +our members, nor has poverty or primitive crudity ever retarded the +steady progress of any determined aspirant among us. We ask only that +the goal be high; that the souls of our band be seeking the antique +legacy of verdant Helicon. + +Practically, we are aware of many obstacles; yet we think we are in the +main fulfilling our functions. Naturally, we do not expect to make a +Shelley or Swinburne of every rhymer who joins us, or a Poe or Dunsany +of every teller of tales; but if we enable these persons to appreciate +Shelley and Swinburne and Poe and Dunsany, and teach them how to shed +their dominant faults and use words correctly and expressively, we +cannot call ourselves unsuccessful and only genius can lead to the +heights; it is our province merely to point the way and assist on the +gentler, lower slopes. + +The United, then, stands for education in the eternal truths of literary +art, and for personal aid in the realisation of its members' literary +potentialities. It is a university, stripped of every artificiality and +conventionality, and thrown open to all without distinction. Here may +every man shine according to his genius, and here may the small as well +as the great writer know the bliss of appreciation and the glory of +recognised achievement. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ of the United Amateur Press Association + + VOLUME XX ELROY, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1920 NUMBER 1 + + +Poetry and the Gods + +ANNA HELEN CROFTS AND HENRY PAGET-LOWE + +A damp, gloomy evening in April it was, just after the close of the +Great War, when Marcia found herself alone with strange thoughts and +wishes; unheard-of yearnings which floated out of the spacious +twentieth-century drawing-room, up the misty deeps of the air, and +Eastward to far olive-groves in Arcady which she had seen only in her +dreams. She had entered the room in abstraction, turned off the glaring +chandeliers, and now reclined on a soft divan by a solitary lamp which +shed over the reading table a green glow as soothing and delicious as +moonlight through the foliage about an antique shrine. Attired simply, +in a low-cut evening dress of black, she appeared outwardly a typical +product of modern civilisation; but tonight she felt the immeasurable +gulf that separated her soul from all her prosaic surroundings. Was it +because of the strange home in which she lived; that abode of coldness +where relations were always strained and the inmates scarcely more than +strangers? Was it that, or was it some greater and less explicable +misplacement in Time and Space, whereby she had been born too late, too +early, or too far away from the haunts of her spirit ever to harmonise +with the unbeautiful things of contemporary reality? To dispel the mood +which was engulfing her more deeply each moment, she took a magazine +from the table and searched for some healing bit of poetry. Poetry had +always relieved her troubled mind better than anything else, though many +things in the poetry she had seen detracted from the influence. Over +parts of even the sublimest verses hung a chill vapour of sterile +ugliness and restraint, like dust on a window-pane through which one +views a magnificent sunset. + +Listlessly turning the magazine's pages, as if searching for an elusive +treasure, she suddenly came upon something which dispelled her languor. +An observer could have read her thoughts and told that she had +discovered some image or dream which brought her nearer to her +unattained goal than any image or dream she had seen before. It was only +a bit of _vers libre_, that pitiful compromise of the poet who overleaps +prose yet falls short of the divine melody of numbers; but it had in it +all the unstudied music of a bard who lives and feels, and who gropes +ecstatically for unveiled beauty. Devoid of regularity, it yet had the +wild harmony of winged, spontaneous words; a harmony missing from the +formal, convention-bound verse she had known. As she read on, her +surroundings gradually faded, and soon there lay about her only the +mists of dream; the purple, star-strown mists beyond Time, where only +gods and dreamers walk. + + "Moon over Japan, + White butterfly moon! + Where the heavy-lidded Buddhas dream + To the sound of the cuckoo's call.... + The white wings of moon-butterflies + Flicker down the streets of the city, + Blushing into darkness the useless wicks of round lanterns in the + hands of girls. + + "Moon over the tropics, + A white-curved bud + Opening its petals slowly in the warmth of heaven.... + The air is full of odours + And languorous warm sounds.... + A flute drones its insect music to the night + Below the curving moon-petal of the heavens. + + "Moon over China, + Weary moon on the river of the sky, + The stir of light in the willows is like the flashing of a thousand + silver minnows + Through dark shoals; + The tiles on graves and rotting temples flash like ripples, + The sky is flecked with clouds like the scales of a dragon." + +Amid the mists of dream the reader cried to the rhythmical stars of her +delight at the coming of a new age of song, a rebirth of Pan. Half +closing her eyes, she repeated words whose melody lay hid like crystals +at the bottom of a stream before the dawn; hidden but to gleam +effulgently at the birth of day. + + "Moon over Japan, + White butterfly moon! + + "Moon over the tropics, + A white-curved bud + Opening its petals slowly in the warmth of heaven. + The air is full of odours + And languorous warm sounds ... languorous warm sounds. + + "Moon over China, + Weary moon on the river of the sky ... weary moon!" + + * * * + +Out of the mists gleamed godlike the figure of a youth in winged helmet +and sandals, caduceus-bearing, and of a beauty like to nothing on earth. +Before the face of the sleeper he thrice waved the rod which Apollo had +given him in trade for the nine-corded shell of melody, and upon her +brow he placed a wreath of myrtle and roses. Then, adoring, Hermes +spoke: + +"O Nymph more fair than the golden-haired sisters of Cyane or the +sky-inhabiting Atlantides, beloved of Aphrodite and blessed of Pallas, +thou hast indeed discovered the secret of the Gods, which lieth in +beauty and song. O Prophetess more lovely than the Sybil of Cumae when +Apollo first knew her, thou hast truly spoken of the new age, for even +now on Maenalus, Pan sighs and stretches in his sleep, wishful to awake +and behold about him the little rose-crowned Fauns and the antique +Satyrs. In thy yearning hast thou divined what no mortal else, saving +only a few whom the world reject, remembereth; _that the Gods were never +dead_, but only sleeping the sleep and dreaming the dreams of Gods in +lotos-filled Hesperian gardens beyond the golden sunset. And now draweth +nigh the time of their awaking, when coldness and ugliness shall perish, +and Zeus sit once more on Olympus. Already the sea about Paphos +trembleth into a foam which only ancient skies have looked on before, +and at night on Helicon the shepherds hear strange murmurings and +half-remembered notes. Woods and fields are tremulous at twilight with +the shimmering of white saltant forms, and immemorial Ocean yields up +curious sights beneath thin moons. The Gods are patient, and have slept +long, but neither man nor giant shall defy the Gods forever. In Tartarus +the Titans writhe, and beneath the fiery Aetna groan the children of +Uranus and Gaea. The day now dawns when man must answer for his +centuries of denial, but in sleeping the Gods have grown kind, and will +not hurl him to the gulf made for deniers of Gods. Instead will their +vengeance smite the darkness, fallacy and ugliness which have turned the +mind of man; and under the sway of bearded Saturnus shall mortals, once +more sacrificing unto him, dwell in beauty and delight. This night shalt +thou know the favour of the Gods, and behold on Parnassus those dreams +which the Gods have through ages sent to Earth to show that they are not +dead. For poets are the dreams of the Gods, and in each age someone hath +sung unknowing the message and the promise from the lotos-gardens beyond +the sunset." + +Then in his arms Hermes bore the dreaming maiden through the skies. +Gentle breezes from the tower of Aiolos wafted them high above warm, +scented seas, till suddenly they came upon Zeus holding court on the +double-headed Parnassus; his golden throne flanked by Apollo and the +Muses on the right hand, and by ivy-wreathed Dionysus and +pleasure-flushed Bacchae on the left hand. So much of splendour Marcia +had never seen before, either awake or in dreams, but its radiance did +her no injury, as would have the radiance of lofty Olympus; for in this +lesser court the Father of Gods had tempered his glories for the sight +of mortals. Before the laurel-draped mouth of the Corycian cave sat in a +row six noble forms with the aspect of mortals, but the countenances of +Gods. These the dreamer recognised from images of them which she had +beheld, and she knew that they were none else than the divine Maeonides, +the Avernian Dante, the more than mortal Shakespeare, the +chaos-exploring Milton, the cosmic Goethe, and the Musaean Keats. These +were those messengers whom the Gods had sent to tell men that Pan had +passed not away, but only slept; for it is in poetry that Gods speak to +men. Then spake the Thunderer: + +"O daughter, for, being one of my endless line, thou art indeed my +daughter, behold upon ivory thrones of honour the august messengers that +Gods have sent down, that in the words and the writings of men there may +still be some trace of divine beauty. Other bards have men justly +crowned with enduring laurels, but these hath Apollo crowned, and these +have I set in places apart, as mortals who have spoken the language of +the Gods. Long have we dreamed in lotos-gardens beyond the West, and +spoken only through our dreams; but the time approaches when our voices +shall not be silent. It is a time of awaking and of change. Once more +hath Phaeton ridden low, searing the fields and drying the streams. In +Gaul lone nymphs with disordered hair weep beside fountains that are no +more, and pine over rivers turned red with the blood of mortals. Ares +and his train have gone forth with the madness of Gods, and have +returned, Deimos and Phobos glutted with unnatural delight. Tellus moans +with grief, and the faces of men are as the faces of the Erinyes, even +as when Astraea fled to the skies, and the waves of our bidding +encompassed all the land saving this high peak alone. Amidst this chaos, +prepared to herald his coming yet to conceal his arrival, even now +toileth our latest-born messenger, in whose dreams are all the images +which other messengers have dreamed before him. He it is that we have +chosen to blend into one glorious whole all the beauty that the world +hath known before, and to write words wherein shall echo all the wisdom +and the loveliness of the past. He it is who shall proclaim our return, +and sing of the days to come when Fauns and Dryads shall haunt their +accustomed groves in beauty. Guided was our choice by those who now sit +before the Corycian grotto on thrones of ivory, and in whose songs thou +shalt hear notes of sublimity by which years hence thou shall know the +greater messenger when he cometh. Attend their voices as one by one they +sing to thee here. Each note shalt thou hear again in the poetry which +is to come; the poetry which shall bring peace and pleasure to thy soul, +though search for it through bleak years thou must. Attend with +diligence, for each chord that vibrates away into hiding shall appear +again to thee after thou hast returned to earth, as Alpheus, sinking his +waters into the soil of Hellas, appears as the crystal Arethusa in +remote Sicilia." + +Then arose Homeros, the ancient among bards, who took his lyre and +chaunted his hymn to Aphrodite. No word of Greek did Marcia know, yet +did the message fall not vainly upon her ears; for in the cryptic rhythm +was that which spake to all mortals and Gods, and needed no interpreter. + +So too the songs of Dante and Goethe, whose unknown words clave the +ether with melodies easy to read and to adore. But at last remembered +accents rebounded before the listener. It was the Swan of Avon, once a +God among men, and still a God among Gods: + + "Write, write, that from the bloody course of war, + My dearest master, your dear son, may hie; + Bless him at home in peace, whilst I from far, + His name with zealous fervour sanctify." + +Accents still more familiar arose as Milton, blind no more, declaimed +immortal harmony: + + "Or let my lamp at midnight hour + Be seen in some high lonely tower, + Where I might oft outwatch the Bear + With thrice-great Hermes, or unsphere + The spirit of Plato, to unfold + What worlds or what vast regions hold + Th' immortal mind, that hath forsook + Her mansion in this fleshy nook. + . . . + Sometime let gorgeous Tragedy + In sceptred pall come sweeping by, + Presenting Thebes, or Pelops' line, + Or the tale of Troy divine." + +Last of all came the young voice of Keats, closest of all the messengers +to the beauteous faun-folk. + + "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard + Are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on.... + . . . + When old age shall this generation waste, + Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe + Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, + 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty'--that is all + Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." + +As the singer ceased, there came a sound in the wind blowing from far +Egypt, where at night Aurora mourns by the Nile for her slain son +Memnon. To the feet of the Thunderer flew the rosy-fingered Goddess, and +kneeling, cried, "Master, it is time I unlocked the gates of the East." +And Phoebus, handing his lyre to Calliope, his bride among the Muses, +prepared to depart for the jewelled and column-raised Palace of the Sun, +where fretted the steeds already harnessed to the golden car of day. So +Zeus descended from his carven throne and placed his hand upon the head +of Marcia, saying: + +"Daughter, the dawn is nigh, and it is well that thou shouldst return +before the awaking of mortals to thy home. Weep not at the bleakness of +thy life, for the shadow of false faiths will soon be gone, and the Gods +shall once more walk among men. Search thou unceasingly for our +messenger, for in him wilt thou find peace and comfort. By his word +shall thy steps be guided to happiness, and in his dreams of beauty +shall thy spirit find all that it craveth." As Zeus ceased, the young +Hermes gently seized the maiden and bore her up toward the fading stars; +up, and westward over unseen seas. + + * * * + +Many years have passed since Marcia dreamt of the Gods and of their +Parnassian conclave. Tonight she sits in the same spacious drawing-room, +but she is not alone. Gone is the old spirit of unrest, for beside her +is one whose name is luminous with celebrity; the young poet of poets at +whose feet sits all the world. He is reading from a manuscript words +which none has ever heard before, but which when heard will bring to men +the dreams and fancies they lost so many centuries ago, when Pan lay +down to doze in Arcady, and the greater Gods withdrew to sleep in +lotos-gardens beyond the lands of the Hesperides. In the subtle cadences +and hidden melodies of the bard the spirit of the maiden has found rest +at last, for there echo the divinest notes of Thracian Orpheus; notes +that moved the very rocks and trees by Hebrus' banks. The singer ceases, +and with eagerness asks a verdict, yet what can Marcia say but that the +strain is "fit for the Gods"? + +And as she speaks there comes again a vision of Parnassus and the +far-off sound of a mighty voice saying, "By his word shall thy steps be +guided to happiness, and in his dreams of beauty shall thy spirit find +all that it craveth." + + * * * * * + +Mr. Paul J. Campbell deserves the most unstinted thanks of the United +this year, for besides serving as First Vice-President he has furnished +free of charge a supply of recruiting booklets and application blanks, +thus relieving us of one of our most onerous burdens. Mr. Campbell's +eighteen years of undiminished devotion to amateurdom form a thing +worthy of emulation. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR NOVEMBER 1920 + + +Nyarlathotep + +H. P. LOVECRAFT + +Nyarlathotep ... the crawling chaos ... I am the last ... I will tell +the audient void.... + +I do not recall distinctly when it began, but it was months ago. The +general tension was horrible. To a season of political and social +upheaval was added a strange and brooding apprehension of hideous +physical danger; a danger widespread and all-embracing, such a danger as +may be imagined only in the most terrible phantasms of the night. I +recall that the people went about with pale and worried faces, and +whispered warnings and prophecies which no one dared consciously repeat +or acknowledge to himself that he had heard. A sense of monstrous guilt +was upon the land, and out of the abysses between the stars swept chill +currents that made men shiver in dark and lonely places. There was a +demoniac alteration in the sequence of the seasons--the autumn heat +lingered fearsomely, and everyone felt that the world and perhaps the +universe had passed from the control of known gods or forces to that of +gods or forces which were unknown. + +And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none +could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a +Pharaoh. The fellahin knelt when they saw him, yet could not say why. He +said he had risen up out of the blackness of twenty-seven centuries, and +that he had heard messages from places not on this planet. Into the +lands of civilisation came Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister, +always buying strange instruments of glass and metal and combining them +into instruments yet stranger. He spoke much of the sciences--of +electricity and psychology--and gave exhibitions of power which sent his +spectators away speechless, yet which swelled his fame to exceeding +magnitude. Men advised one another to see Nyarlathotep, and shuddered. +And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished; for the small hours were +rent with the screams of nightmare. Never before had the screams of +nightmare been such a public problem; now the wise men almost wished +they could forbid sleep in the small hours, that the shrieks of cities +might less horribly disturb the pale, pitying moon as it glimmered on +green waters gliding under bridges, and old steeples crumbling against a +sickly sky. + +I remember when Nyarlathotep came to my city--the great, the old, the +terrible city of unnumbered crimes. My friend had told me of him, and of +the impelling fascination and allurement of his revelations, and I +burned with eagerness to explore his uttermost mysteries. My friend said +they were horrible and impressive beyond my most fevered imaginings; +that what was thrown on a screen in the darkened room prophesied things +none but Nyarlathotep dare prophesy, and that in the sputter of his +sparks there was taken from men that which had never been taken before +yet which shewed only in the eyes. And I heard it hinted abroad that +those who knew Nyarlathotep looked on sights which others saw not. + +It was in the hot autumn that I went through the night with the restless +crowds to see Nyarlathotep; through the stifling night and up the +endless stairs into the choking room. And shadowed on a screen, I saw +hooded forms amidst ruins, and yellow evil faces peering from behind +fallen monuments. And I saw the world battling against blackness; +against the waves of destruction from ultimate space; whirling, +churning; struggling around the dimming, cooling sun. Then the sparks +played amazingly around the heads of the spectators, and hair stood up +on end whilst shadows more grotesque than I can tell came out and +squatted on the heads. And when I, who was colder and more scientific +than the rest, mumbled a trembling protest about "imposture" and "static +electricity," Nyarlathotep drave us all out, down the dizzy stairs into +the damp, hot, deserted midnight streets. I screamed aloud that I was +_not_ afraid; that I never could be afraid; and others screamed with me +for solace. We sware to one another that the city _was_ exactly the +same, and still alive; and when the electric lights began to fade we +cursed the company over and over again, and laughed at the queer faces +we made. + +I believe we felt something coming down from the greenish moon, for when +we began to depend on its light we drifted into curious involuntary +marching formations and seemed to know our destinations though we dared +not think of them. Once we looked at the pavement and found the blocks +loose and displaced by grass, with scarce a line of rusted metal to show +where the tramways had run. And again we saw a tram-car, lone, +windowless, dilapidated, and almost on its side. When we gazed around +the horizon, we could not find the third tower by the river, and noticed +that the silhouette of the second tower was ragged at the top. Then we +split up into narrow columns, each of which seemed drawn in a different +direction. One disappeared in a narrow alley to the left, leaving only +the echo of a shocking moan. Another filed down a weed-choked subway +entrance, howling with a laughter that was mad. My own column was sucked +toward the open country, and presently felt a chill which was not of the +hot autumn: for as we stalked out on the dark moor, we beheld around us +the hellish moon-glitter of evil snows. Trackless, inexplicable snows, +swept asunder in one direction only, where lay a gulf all the blacker +for its glittering walls. The column seemed very thin indeed as it +plodded dreamily into the gulf. I lingered behind, for the black rift in +the green-litten snow was frightful, and I thought I had heard the +reverberations of a disquieting wail as my companions vanished; but my +power to linger was slight. As if beckoned by those who had gone before, +I half-floated between the titanic snowdrifts, quivering and afraid, +into the sightless vortex of the unimaginable. + +Screamingly sentient, dumbly delirious, only the gods that were can +tell. A sickened, sensitive shadow writhing in hands that are not hands, +and whirled blindly past ghastly midnights of rotting creation, corpses +of dead worlds with sores that were cities, charnel winds that brush the +pallid stars and make them flicker low. Beyond the worlds vague ghosts +of monstrous things; half-seen columns of unsanctified temples that rest +on nameless rocks beneath space and reach up to dizzy vacua above the +spheres of light and darkness. And through this revolving graveyard of +the universe the muffled, maddening beating of drums, and thin, +monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted +chambers beyond Time; the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance +slowly, awkwardly and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous ultimate +gods--the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is +Nyarlathotep. + + +Editorial + +Editorial comment upon amateur journalism generally falls within one of +two classes; complacent self-congratulation upon a mythical perfection, +or hectic urging toward impossible achievements. It is our purpose this +month to indulge in neither of these rhetorical recreations, but to make +one very prosaic and practical appeal which springs solely from +realistic observation. + +This appeal concerns the official situation in the United. For several +years our foes have reproached us for excessive centralisation of +authority: asserting that the control of our society is anything from +oligarchical to monarchial, and pointing to the large amount of +influence wielded by a very few leaders. Denials on our part, prompted +by the conspicuous absence of any dictatorial ambitions in the minds of +our executives, have been largely nullified by the fact that while power +has not been autocratically usurped and arbitrarily exercised, the +burden of administrative work has certainly been thrust by common +consent on a small number of reluctant though loyal shoulders. A few +persons have been forced to retain authority because no others have +arisen to relieve them of their burdens, until official nominations have +come to mean no more than a campaign by one or two active spirits to +persuade certain patient drudges to "carry on" another year. Nor does +the formal official situation reflect all of the prevailing condition. +Much of the Association's most important activity, such as recruiting, +welcoming and criticism, verges into the field of unorganised effort; +and here the tendency to leave everything to a narrow group is +overwhelming. + +Obviously, this condition demands a remedy; and that remedy lies in one +direction only--an acceptance of potential official responsibility by +all of those members who possess the time and experience to act as +leaders. As the fiscal year progresses, the season for candidacies draws +near; and amateurs who feel competent to sustain their share of the +administrative burden should come forward as nominees, or at least +should respond when approached by their friends. That office-holding +involves tedious work, all admit, but this tedium is a small enough +price to pay for the varied boons of amateurdom. In unofficial labour an +equal willingness should be shown. Why is it that all the private +revision in the United is performed by about three men at most, despite +the presence in our ranks of a full score of scholars abundantly capable +of rendering such service? If the _literati_ as a whole will not awaken +to the needs of the day, one of two things will occur. The United will +stagnate quietly under the perpetual dictatorship of a limited group of +unwilling but benevolent autocrats, or it will succumb to the onslaught +of some political clique of vigorous barbarians who will destroy in a +month what it has taken the United over ten years to build up. Memories +of 1919 should prove to us the reality of such a danger of sudden +relapse. + +Our appeal, then, is for responsible candidates for high office, and for +volunteers in the work of maintaining interest and lending literary aid. +We know that executive energy and enthusiasm tend to be more abundant in +the Goth than in the Greek; that those best qualified to serve are +generally least moved by political ambition. But we are sure that the +needs of our society should arouse enough sense of duty among its +cultivated membership to draw to the front a new generation of leaders. +We ask for new presidential and editorial candidates who are prepared to +serve faithfully and independently if elected; for new critics and +recruiters who understand our traditions and are willing to expend +energy in upholding and diffusing them. Shall 1921 bring them to light? + + --H. P. LOVECRAFT + + +Official Organ Fund + +RECEIPTS + + Woodbee Press Club $25.00 + From Treasurer, up to October 15 23.00 + Susan Nelson Furgerson 6.00 + Jonathan E. Hoag 5.00 + Verna McGeoch (for each issue) 5.00 + Howard R. Conover 3.00 + Victor O. Schwab 3.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Fritter (for each issue) 2.00 + Rev. Eugene B. Kuntz 1.50 + Anne Tillery Renshaw 1.50 + Anonymous .25 + _One dollar each_: Margaret Abraham, + Agnes R. Arnold, Elizabeth Barnhart, + Grace M. Bromley, Mary Faye Durr, + Alice M. Hamlet, Hester Harper. + Total on hand, November 6, 1920 $82.25 + +REMARKS + +The doubling of printing rates makes large contributions imperative if +the Organ is to approach its customary standard. Acknowledgments are due +the Woodbee Press Club for its exceedingly generous contribution, and +ex-Editor Renshaw for the mailing of an appeal which has proved most +effective in the campaign for funds. Emulation of the Woodbees' +generosity by other clubs would save a situation which is very +threatening. + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1921 + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., April 1, 1921. + +RECEIPTS SINCE NOVEMBER 6, 1920 + + From Treasurer, up to April 1, 1921 $21.50 + Verna McGeoch (3 instalments) 15.00 + E. Edward Ericson 10.00 + Edward F. Daas 6.00 + Howard R. Conover 2.00 + Anna H. Crofts 1.00 + Ernest L. McKeag 1.00 + John Milton Samples 1.00 + Anonymous .75 + ------- + Balance on Hand, November 6, 1920 $82.25 + Received, November 6, 1920, to April + 1, 1921 58.25 + ------- + Total Receipts $140.50 + +EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for September U. A. $48.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for November U. A. 48.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for January U. A. 36.00 + ------- + Total Expenditures $132.00 + + Balance on Hand, April 1, 1921 $8.50 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1921 + + +Winifred Virginia Jackson: A "Different" Poetess + +H. P. LOVECRAFT + +In these days of unrestrained license in poetry, it would at first sight +seem difficult to single out any one bard as the possessor of ideas and +modes of expression so unique and original that the overworked adjective +"different" is merited. Every poetaster of the modern school claims to +be "different," and bases his claim to celebrity upon this "difference"; +an effect usually achieved by the adoption of a harsh, amorphous style, +and a tone of analytical, introspective subjectivity so individual that +all the common and universal elements of beauty and poetry are excluded. +Indeed, eccentricity has come so completely into fashion, that he who +follows up the wildest vagaries is actually the least different from the +hectic scribbling throng about him. + +But notwithstanding this malady of the times, there does remain among us +an ample field for genius and artistic distinctiveness. The laws of +human thought are unchangeable, and whenever there is born a soul +attuned to real harmony, and inspired by that rare sensitiveness which +enables it to feel and express the latent beauty and hidden +relationships of Nature, the world receives a new poet. Such an one will +of necessity break through the decadent customs of the period; and +falling back to the forms of true melody, sing a spontaneous song which +can not help being original, because it represents the unforced reaction +of a keen and delicate mind to the panorama of life. And when this +reaction is enabled to bring out in the simplest and most beautiful +style fancies and images which the world has not received or noted +before, we are justified in claiming that the bard is "different." + +Such a bard is Winifred Virginia Jackson, whose poetry has for six years +been the pride of the United Amateur Press Association. Born in Maine, +and through childhood accustomed to the mystical spell of the ancient +New-England countryside, Miss Jackson for a long period quietly and +unconsciously absorbed a prodigious store of beauty and phantasy from +life. Having no design to become a poet, she accepted these ethereal +gifts as a matter of course; until about a decade ago they manifested +themselves in a burst of spontaneous melody which can best be described +as a sheer overflowing of delightful dreams and pictures from a mind +filled to the brim with poetic loveliness. Since that time Miss Jackson +has written vast quantities of verse; always rich and musical, and if +one may speak in paradox, always artless with supreme art. None of these +poems is in any sense premeditated or consciously composed; they are +more like visions of the fancy, instantaneously photographed for the +perception of others, and unerringly framed in the most appropriate +metrical medium. + +When we peruse the poetry of Miss Jackson we are impressed first by its +amazing variety, and almost as quickly by a certain distinctive quality +which gives all the varied specimens a kind of homogeneity. As we +analyse our impressions, we find that both of these qualities have a +common source--the complete objectivity and almost magical imagination +of supreme genius. Objectivity and imagination, the gifts of the epic +bards of classical antiquity, are today the rarest of blessings. We live +in an age of morbid emotion and introspectiveness; wherein the poets, +such as they are, have sunk to the level of mere pathologists engaged in +the dissection of their own ultra-sophisticated spirits. The fresh touch +of Nature is lost to the majority, and rhymesters rant endlessly and +realistically about the relation of man to his fellows and to himself; +overlooking the real foundations of art and beauty--wonder, and man's +relation to the unknown cosmos. But Miss Jackson is not of the majority, +and has not overlooked these things. In her the ancient and unspoiled +bard is refulgently reincarnated; and with an amazing universality and +freedom from self-consciousness she suppresses the ego completely, +delineating Nature's diverse moods and aspects with an impersonal +fidelity and delicacy which form the delight of the discriminating +reader, and the despair of the stupid critic who works by rule and +formula rather than by brain. There is no medium which the spirit of +Miss Jackson can not inhabit. The same mind which reflects the daintiest +and most gorgeous phantasies of the faery world, or furnishes the most +finely wrought pictures or refined pathos and sentiment, can abruptly +take up its abode in some remote Maine timber region and pour out such a +wild, virile chantey of the woods and the river that we seem to glimpse +the singer as the huskiest of a tangle-bearded, fight-scarred, +loud-shouting logging crew sprawling about a pine campfire. + +A critic has grouped the poetical work of Miss Jackson into six classes: +Lyrics of ideal beauty, including delightful Nature-poems replete with +local colour; delicate amatory lyrics; rural dialect lyrics and vigorous +colloquial pieces; poems of sparkling optimism; child verse; and poems +of potent terror and dark suggestion. "With her," he adds, "sordid +realism has no place; and her poems glow with a subtle touch of the +fanciful and the supernatural which is well sustained by tasteful and +unusual word-combinations, images, and onomatopoetic effects." This +estimate is confirmed by the latest productions of the poetess, as we +shall endeavour to show by certain specimens lately published or about +to be published, selected almost at random: + +"The Bonnet" is a characteristic bit of Jacksonian delicacy and +originality. We here behold a sustained metaphor of that striking type +which the author so frequently creates; a metaphor which draws on all +Nature and the unseen world for its basis, and whose analogies are just +the ones which please us most, yet which our own minds are never finely +attuned enough to conceive unaided. The swain in the poem tells of his +intention to make a bonnet for his chosen nymph to wear. He will fashion +it with "golden thimble, scissors, needle, thread"; taking velvet from +the April sky as a groundwork, stars for trimming, moonlight for +banding, and a web of dreams for lining. He will scent it with the +perfume of "the reddest rose that the singing wind finds sweetest where +it farthest blows," and "will take it at the twilight for his love to +wear." Here we have nothing of the bizarre or the conspicuous, yet in +the six little stanzas of quaintly regular metre there is suggested all +of that world of faery beauty which the eye can glimpse beyond the +leaden clouds of reality; a world which exists because it can be dreamed +of. The poem is "different" in the truest way; it is original because it +conveys beauty originally in an inconspicuous and harmonious vehicle. + +But turn now to "Ellsworth to Great Pond" and marvel! True, we still +find the vivid delineation of human feelings, but what a distance we +have travelled! Gone is the young dreamer with his world of moonshine, +for here roars the Maine lumberjack with all the uncouth vigour and rude +natural expressiveness of the living satyr. It is life; primal, +uncovered, and unpolished--the ebullient, shouting vitality of healthy +animalism. + + "Drink hard cider, swig hard cider, + Swill hard cider, Boys! + Throw yer spikers, throw yer peavies, + Beller out yer noise!" + +We have drifted from the aether of Keats to the earth of Fielding, yet +under the guidance of the same author. Greater proof of Miss Jackson's +absolute objectivity and marvellous imagination could not be produced or +asked. + +Yet who shall say that the Jackson pendulum is powerful only at the +extremes of its sweeping arc? In "Workin' Out" we discover a pastoral +love-lyric which for quaintness and graphic humanness could not well be +surpassed. Here the distinctive and spontaneous inventiveness of Miss +Jackson's fancy is displayed with especial vividness. The rural youth, +"workin' out" far from his loved Molly, enumerates the prosaic chores he +can perform with easy heart; but mentions in each case some more poetic +thing which stirs his emotions and gives him loneliness for the absent +fair. He can cut and husk corn, but the golden-rod reminds him of his +Molly's golden hair. He can milk cows, but the gentian reminds him of +his Molly's blue eyes. Aside from their intrinsic ingeniousness, these +images possess an unconscious lesson for the poet who can read it. They +expose with concrete illustrations the fallacy of the so-called "new +poetry," which disregards the natural division between beautiful and +unbeautiful things and rhapsodises as effusively over a sewer-pipe as +over the crescent moon. + +"The Token" exhibits Miss Jackson in her airiest lyrical mood; a mood +original because it possesses the rare lyrism of pure music and fancy +rather than the common lyrism of unsubtilised emotion. There is bounding +music in thought and medium alike, whilst the naive plunge into the +theme without introduction or explanation is a stroke savouring of the +simplicity of genius. Equally effective is the simple metrical +transition whereby the chorus assumes the trochaic measure of a +childhood chant or carol: + + "Lightly O, brightly O, + Down the long lane she will go! + Dancing she, glancing she, + Down the lane with eyes aglow!" + +In "Assurance" and "It's Lovetime," the author displays a lyrical +fervour of more conventional type; adding the touch of originality by +means of melodious simplicity and reiteration in the one case, and pure +lyric ecstasy in the other. + +The metrical originality of Miss Jackson, displayed in all classes of +her work, should not be slighted amidst the enthusiasm one entertains +for her magical mastery of thoughts and images. No other conservative +poet of the period is more versatile and individual in choice of +numbers, or in adaptation of measure to mood. "Driftwood," a wonderfully +original poem of imagination describing the fancies which arise from the +smoke of logs wafted from far mysterious lands where once the trees grew +under strange suns, moons, and rainbows, is as remarkable in form as in +idea. One may judge by a sample pair of stanzas: + + "You warm your hands + And smile + Before the fire of driftwood. + + "I feel old lands' + Wan guile + That writhes in fire of driftwood." + +We have so far viewed poetry which would lead us to classify Miss +Jackson as a delineator of moods rather than of character; yet knowing +her versatility, we naturally expect to find among her works some potent +character studies. Nor are we disappointed. "Joe," a song of the Maine +woods, describes in admirably appropriate verbiage--as simple and as +nearly monosyllabic as possible--the typical Anglo-Saxon stoic of far +places, who faces comfort and disaster, life and death, with the same +unemotional attitude which Miss Jackson sums up so skilfully in the one +ejaculatory bit of colloquial indifference--"Dunno!" + +"The Song of Jonny Laughlin" is a highly unusual ballad relating the +history of a peculiarly good and self-sacrificing river character. The +story is simple, but the piece gains distinctiveness from its absolutely +faithful reproduction of the spirit of frontier balladry. In words, +swing, and weird refrain, there exists every internal evidence of +traditional authenticity; and that such a bit of Nature could be +composed by a cultivated feminine author is an overwhelming testimonial +to Miss Jackson's unique gifts. + +That Miss Jackson can reflect the spirit of the most dissimilar +characters is further proved by the two immensely powerful studies of +the vagabond type entitled "The Call" and "John Worthington Speaks." +These things are masterpieces of their kind; the self-revealing +narratives of restless wanderers by land and sea, crammed to repletion +with details and local colour which no one but their author could +command without actual experience as a derelict of five continents and +as many oceans. They leave the reader veritably breathless with wonder +at the objectivity and imagination which can enable a New-England +poetess to mirror with such compelling vividness in thought and language +the sentiments of so utterly opposite a type. Not even the narrowly +specialised genius of such rough-and-ready writers as Service and +Knibbs, working in their own peculiar field, can surpass this one slight +phase of Miss Jackson's universal genius. + +It remains to speak of the singular power of Miss Jackson in the realm +of the gruesome and the terrible. With that same sensitiveness to the +unseen and the unreal which lends witchery to her gayer productions, she +has achieved in darker fields of verse results inviting comparison with +the best prose work of Ambrose Bierce or Maurice Level. Among her older +poems the ghastly and colourful phantasy "Insomnia" and the grimly +realistic rustic tragedy "Chores" excited especial praise, a critic +referring as follows to the latter piece: + + "It has all the compelling power which marks Miss Jackson's darker + productions, and is conveyed in an arresting staccato measure which + emphasises the homely horror of the theme. The phraseology, with its + large proportion of rural and archaic words and constructions, adds + vastly to the general effect and atmosphere." + +This reference to Miss Jackson's unusual vocabulary deserves +elaboration, for one of the secrets of her effective poetry is the wide +and diverse array of words and word-combinations which she commands. +Recondite archaisms and ruralisms, together with marvellously apt and +original descriptive compounds, are things which perpetually astonish +and delight her readers. Of recent specimens of Miss Jackson's darker +verse, "Finality," "The Song" and "Fallen Fences" deserve especial +praise. The horrible picture conjured up in the closing lines of the +first named piece is one well calculated to haunt the dreams of the +imaginative. + +As we conclude this survey of rich and varied poetry, our dominant +impression aside from admiration is that of wonder at the tardiness with +which the author has been recognised by the non-amateur public. As yet +the name of Jackson is a comparative novelty to the literary world, a +thing explainable only by the reluctance of its possessor to adopt that +species of trumpeting which helps less modest and less genuine poets +into the glare of celebrity. But genius such as Miss Jackson's can not +remain forever hidden, however slight be her striving for fame; so that +we may reasonably expect the next few years to witness her establishment +among the leading literary figures, as one of the ablest, broadest and +most original of contemporary bards. + + +Ex Oblivione + +WARD PHILLIPS + +When the last days were upon me, and the ugly trifles of existence began +to drive me to madness like the small drops of water that torturers let +fall ceaselessly upon one spot of their victim's body, I loved the +irradiate refuge of sleep. In my dreams I found a little of the beauty I +had vainly sought in life, and wandered through old gardens and +enchanted woods. + +Once when the wind was soft and scented I heard the south calling, and +sailed endlessly and languorously under strange stars. + +Once when the gentle rain fell I glided in a barge down a sunless stream +under the earth till I reached another world of purple twilight, +iridescent arbours and undying roses. + +And once I walked through a golden valley that led to shadowy groves and +ruins, and ended in a mighty wall green with antique vines, and pierced +by a little gate of bronze. + +Many times I walked through that valley, and longer and longer would I +pause in the spectral half-light where the giant trees squirmed and +twisted grotesquely, and the grey ground stretched damply from trunk to +trunk, sometimes disclosing the mould-stained stones of buried temples. +And always the goal of my fancies was the mighty vine-grown wall with +the little gate of bronze therein. + +After a while, as the days of waking became less and less bearable from +their greyness and sameness, I would often drift in opiate peace through +the valley and the shadowy groves, and wonder how I might seize them for +my eternal dwelling-place, so that I need no more crawl back to a dull +world stript of interest and new colours. And as I looked upon the +little gate in the mighty wall, I felt that beyond it lay a +dream-country from which, once it was entered, there would be no return. + +So each night in sleep I strove to find the hidden latch of the gate in +the ivied antique wall, though it was exceedingly well-hidden. And I +would tell myself that the realm beyond the wall was not more lasting +merely, but more lovely and radiant as well. + +Then one night in the dream-city of Zakarion I found a yellowed papyrus +filled with the thoughts of dream-sages who dwelt of old in that city, +and who were too wise ever to be born in the waking world. Therein were +written many things concerning the world of dream, and among them was +lore of a golden valley and a sacred grove with temples, and a high wall +pierced by a little bronze gate. When I saw this lore, I knew that it +touched on the scenes I had haunted, and I therefore read long in the +yellowed papyrus. + +Some of the dream-sages wrote gorgeously of the wonders beyond the +irrepassable gate, but others told of horror and disappointment. I knew +not which to believe, yet longed more and more to cross forever into the +unknown land; for doubt and secrecy are the lure of lures, and no new +horror can be more terrible than the daily torture of the commonplace. +So when I learned of the drug which would unlock the gate and drive me +through, I resolved to take it when next I awaked. + +Last night I swallowed the drug and floated dreamily into the golden +valley and the shadowy groves; and when I came this time to the antique +wall, I saw that the small gate of bronze was ajar. From beyond came a +glow that weirdly lit the giant twisted trees and tops of the buried +temples, and I drifted on songfully, expectant of the glories of the +land from whence I should never return. + +But as the gate swung wider and the sorcery of drug and dream pushed me +through, I knew that all sights and glories were at an end; for in that +new realm was neither land nor sea, but only the white void of unpeopled +and illimitable space. So, happier than I had ever dared hope to be, I +dissolved again into that native infinity of crystal oblivion from which +the daemon Life had called me for one brief and desolate hour. + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., July 1, 1921. + +RECEIPTS SINCE APRIL 1, 1921 + + From Treasurer, up to July 1, 1921 $18.50 + Verna McGeoch (2 instalments) 10.00 + E. Edward Ericson 10.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 2.00 + John Milton Samples 1.00 + Balance on Hand, April 1, 1921 8.50 + ------ + Total Receipts $50.00 + +EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for March U. A. $46.00 + + Balance on Hand, July 1, 1921 $4.00 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR SEPTEMBER 1921 + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ + of the + UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + H. P. LOVECRAFT _Official Editor_ + E. EDWARD ERICSON _Official Publisher_ + +Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + +Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + +Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + +Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + +_SEPTEMBER 1921_ + + * * * * * + +OFFICIAL BOARD + +_President_--Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, 1372 E. Long St., Columbus, Ohio. + +_First Vice-President_--Frank Belknap Long, Jr., 823 West End Ave., New +York City. + +_Second Vice-President_--Eleanor Beryl North, 316 Beaver Ave., State +College, Pa. + +_Secretary-Treasurer_--Alma B. Sanger, 667 Lilley Ave., Columbus, Ohio. + +_Official Editor_--H. P. Lovecraft, 598 Angell St., Providence, R. I. + +_Official Publisher_--E. Edward Ericson, Elroy, Wis. + +_Laureate Recorder_--Howard R. Conover, Route 1, Cozaddale, Ohio. + +_Manuscript Manager_--Grace M. Bromley, 1432 R St., N. W., Washington, +D. C. + +_Historian_--Myrta Alice Little, Westville, N. H. + +_Supervisor of Amendments_--(To be appointed.) + +_Directors_--Paul J. Campbell, Route 2, Ridgefarm, Ill.; Anne T. +Renshaw, 2109 F St., N. W., Washington, D. C.; Jay Fuller Spoerri, 304 +House Office Bldg., Washington, D. C. + +_Department of Public Criticism_--Alfred Galpin, Jr., Chairman, 830 W. +Johnson St., Madison, Wis. + +_Department of Private Criticism_--Maurice W. Moe, Chairman, 2812 +Chestnut St., Milwaukee, Wis. + +_Recruiting Committee_--Frank Belknap Long, Jr., Chairman, Paul J. +Campbell, Leo Fritter, Alfred L. Hutchinson, Gavin T. McColl, Maurice W. +Moe. + +_Ladies' Auxiliary Committee_--Eleanor Beryl North, Chairman, Mary Faye +Durr, Jennie Eva Harris, Winifred Virginia Jackson, Margaret Mahon, Anne +T. Renshaw. + + * * * * * + +LAUREATE TITLES + +_Poetry_--S. Lilian McMullen; Honourable Mention, Mary Carver Williams. + +_Story_--H. P. Lovecraft; Honourable Mention, Alfred Galpin, Jr. + +_Essay_--Anna Helen Crofts and H. P. Lovecraft; Honourable Mention, +Alfred Galpin, Jr. + +_Editorial_--(To be awarded.) + + * * * * * + +LITERATI + +_Poetry_--Arthur Goodenough, Olive G. Owen (deceased). + +_Story_--Eleanor Barnhart Campbell. + +_Editorial_--H. P. Lovecraft. + + * * * * * + +INFORMATION + +"Amateur Journalism is for those who cultivate literature from taste or +attachment, for those who write for the love of writing, for those who +pursue the art of letters for its own sake. They may or may not be +engaged (or aspire to be engaged) in authorship as a business, but those +who are members of that profession will undoubtedly find in Amateur +Journalism the air of freedom which develops personality in writing. +They will find every encouragement to self-development, amid an +environment of art. Amateur Journalism is for all those who do literary +work for the love of it." + +"The privileges of the United Amateur Press Association are: The use of +the Manuscript Bureau and the columns of the papers connected with the +Association; the Official Organ; attendance at Conventions; proxy +representation at elections; laureate competitions, etc." + +"Any person who edits or contributes prose or poetry to any amateur +paper is eligible to membership." + +"Application for membership must be accompanied by one dollar dues and a +printed or written credential.... If rejected, dues will be returned." + +"Renewal or reinstatement fee is two dollars." + +"Applicants for membership should address their applications, with +credential and dues, to the Secretary, Miss Alma B. Sanger, 667 Lilley +Ave., Columbus, Ohio." + +"Any person wishing to become connected with the Association without +furnishing a credential or becoming active, may upon payment of two +dollars be enrolled as a sustaining member for one year. A sustaining +member shall be entitled to all the privileges of active membership +except the right to vote or hold office." + +"Laureate entries shall be poem, story, essay and editorial." + +"Entries must be printed in an amateur paper, and a marked copy sent to +the Laureate Recorder by June 1." + +Anyone desiring application blanks for recruiting may receive them by +applying to the Secretary. + + * * * * * + +IMPORTANT + +Members are urged to remember the recent doubling of dues, whereby all +renewals became _Two Dollars_ each. + + * * * * * + +The fullest of apologies is due the membership for the lateness of this +issue of THE UNITED AMATEUR. A prostrating and overwhelming flood of +professional duties, coupled with a state of health permitting only the +shortest of working hours, has forced the editor to delay transmission +of this copy to the publisher until November 4: a date which should be +remembered in justice to the latter official, who is equally handicapped +in the matter of conflicting duties. + + THE EDITOR + + +Editorial + +In the excellent October _Woodbee_, Mr. Leo Fritter criticises with much +force the attempt of the present editor to conduct THE UNITED AMATEUR on +a tolerably civilised plane. He points out that the appearance of a +journal representing a fairly uniform maturity of thought and artistic +development may perhaps tend to discourage those newer aspirants who +have not yet attained their full literary stature, and thus defeat the +educational ends of the Association. + +Mr. Fritter gathers his material for complaint from the opinions of +certain amateurs with whom he has held communication, and on this basis +alleges a "wide-spreading dissatisfaction" with the present editorial +policy. We have ourselves received numerous and enthusiastic assurances +of an opposite nature, especially since the Fritter attack, so that we +must rebut at least his charge that we are ignoring the membership's +wishes and "trying to conform them to a mould we have arbitrarily cast +according to ideas of our own." To adopt a lower standard would, indeed, +be affronting a more influential element than that which may at present +be dissatisfied; an element which has possibly gained higher claims to +consideration through the _continuous_ nature of its services to the +Association during trying times when others were silent and inactive. + +But in determining the question of editorial policy, the abstract merits +of the case are more important than the act of pleasing this or that +person or group. Were we convinced that the existing order hampered the +sincere novice, we would abandon it without pride or ceremony. That we +do not, is because we are certain that retrogression and decadence would +constitute a fatal mistake. The public we serve is assumed to be a +genuinely progressive one, a group bent upon attaining some measure of +proficiency in that sincere self-expression which is art. If it were +not, it would have joined some other association of different +purposes--the defiantly crude Erford pseudo-United or the complacently +social and stationary National. What justifies the separate existence +and support of the United is its higher aesthetic and intellectual cast; +its demand for the unqualified best as a goal--which demand, by the way, +must not be construed as discriminating against even the crudest +beginner who honestly cherishes that goal. With these objects in mind, +it will be seen that the self-satisfied exultation of the superficial, +the obvious, the commonplace, and the conventional, would form the +greatest possible tactical error. The goal would be unjustifiably +obscured, and the aspiration of the membership stunted, through the +enshrining of a false and inferior goal--a literary Golden Calf. We must +envisage a genuine scale of values, and possess a model of genuine +excellence toward which to strive. It would pay better to work toward a +high standard oneself, than to seek to drag the standard down to fit +whatever particular grade of ignorance one may happen to have at a given +moment. With proper effort any member may eventually produce work of the +UNITED AMATEUR grade, and such work will be certain of a cordial welcome +in this office. The official organ is not so narrow as it seems; if more +of our capable members would favour it with their literary +contributions, the range of authors represented would not be so +restricted. It is not the editor but the body of our _literati_ who must +bear responsibility for the constant reappearance of certain names. This +issue is headed by the same poet who headed the last two--but only +because another eminent amateur, so far unrepresented during the present +regime, utterly ignored our repeated requests for a contribution. + +Mr. Fritter--who, I fear, wrongs etymology in his acceptance of the word +_amateur_ as meaning a tyro rather than a genuine and disinterested +artist--forgets that a relapse to cruder standards would totally unfit +the United for serving that staunch element which has contributed most +to its present welfare. Many would find a society of the lower grade +intolerable; certainly it could not hope to hold the very ones who have +given this organization its existing distinctiveness and pre-eminence. + +Yet in the arguments of Mr. Fritter there is an underlying soundness +which misapplication should not obscure to the analytical reader. He is +right in lamenting, as we believe he does, the absence of a suitable +publishing medium for the work of our younger writers. It is not in a +spirit of affront to him that we give preference to the plan of +President Haughton, as outlined in her opening message, for the +re-establishment of a special magazine for credentials. We should be +glad to curtail the official organ in the interest of such a magazine, +as indeed we offered to do at the beginning of the term. + +_Frustra laborat_, says the old proverb, _qui omnibus placere studet_. +We regret that any one policy must of necessity displease a few members, +yet do not see how any improvement could be effected by making a change +which would merely shift the displeasure to another and even more +continuously industrious group. It is significant that the Gothic party +have no editorial candidate of their own to offer, so that the thankless +and toilsome office has been forced upon one whose indifferent health +makes it an almost unbearable burden to him. The question is one which +should ultimately be decided at the polls, each party putting forward a +nominee who can be depended upon to fulfil its mandates. Meanwhile the +present editor, whose sincere beliefs and policies were fully known long +before his unopposed election, stands ready to resign most cheerfully +whenever a suitable successor can be found. Bitterness, division and +personalities must be avoided at any cost, and we may be reckoned as a +supporter of THE UNITED AMATEUR under any editor and policy. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR NOVEMBER 1921 + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ + of the + UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + H. P. LOVECRAFT _Official Editor_ + E. EDWARD ERICSON _Official Publisher_ + +Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + +Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + +Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + +Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + + * * * * * + +Members who criticised the present editor for severity during the +chairmanship of the critical department are invited to take a vicarious +revenge this month, observing the uncensored remarks of the present +juvenile chairman concerning our pathetic ignorance. Of us Master Galpin +says: "when the author approaches involved or technical subjects, he +shows clearly the unfortunate circumstance that he has never profited by +an advanced education." This certainly should purge us of all suspicion +of conducting THE UNITED AMATEUR on too Olympian a level, although the +critic qualifies his dictum by conceding that we realise our own crudity +and are striving in our old age to acquire at least the rudiments of an +elementary education. In the course of a few years we hope to guarantee +our readers an official organ practically free from the grosser errors +of spelling and grammar: meanwhile, _vivat Galpinius parvulus_! + + * * * * * + +Myrta Alice Little, Eugene B. Kuntz, Leo G. Schussman, Margaret Richard, +Daisy Crump Whitehead, Clara L. Bell, John O. Baldwin, and the Editor. + +The Tryout. October 1921. Uniform size. Contributions by H. P. +Lovecraft, Margaret Richard, Beth Cheney Nichols, Arthur Goodenough, K. +Leyson Brown, Horace L. Lawson, John Milton Samples, Washington Van +Dusen, Leo G. Schussman, Lilian Middleton, Anita Roberta Kirksey, and +the Editor. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR. March 1921. Official Organ of the United Amateur +Press Association. 14 Pages and cover. 7x10. Contributions by Winifred +Virginia Jackson, Lilian Middleton, Frank Belknap Long, Jr., J. E. Hoag, +Anna H. Crofts, Eleanor Beryl North, Ward Phillips, and the Editor, +H. P. Lovecraft. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR. May 1921. 8 pages. 7x10. Contributions by Lilian +Middleton, Alfred Galpin, Jr., Eugene B. Kuntz, Margaret Mahon, Winifred +Virginia Jackson, and Adam Harold Brown. + +THE UNITED AMATEUR. July 1921. 6 pages. 7x10. Contributions by Lilian +Middleton and Myrta Alice Little. + +The United Co-Operative. April 1921. 16 pages. 6x9. Contributions by +Lilian Middleton, Elizabeth Berkeley and Lewis Theobald, Jr., W. Edwin +Gibson, John C. Pryor, H. P. Lovecraft, Samuel Loveman, Eugene B. Kuntz. +Published under the auspices of the U. A. P. A. by the following +members: Anne Tillery Renshaw, Rev. John Clinton Pryor, W. Edwin Gibson, +H. P. Lovecraft. + +The Woodbee. October 1921. 16 pages and cover. 5x7. Contributions by +Bess Ballou, Alma B. Sanger, Norma Helena Marie Sanger, Leo Fritter, +Edna M. Haughton, Peggy Hepner Fritter, Henriette Ziegfeld, and the +President, Ida C. Haughton. Official Organ of the Woodbee Press Club, +Columbus, Ohio. + +Ziegfeld's Follies. September 1921. 1 page. 51/2x81/2. Contributions by the +Editor, Arthur F. Ziegfeld. + +Ziegfeld's Follies. October 1921. 4 pages. Uniform size. Contributions +by Ida C. Haughton, Leo Fritter, and the Editor, Arthur F. Ziegfeld. + + MYRTA ALICE LITTLE, + Historian. + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., December 29, 1921. + + On Hand, July 1, 1921 $4.00 + + RECEIPTS SINCE JULY 1 + + Sonia H. Greene $50.00 + From Treasury, up to Dec. 29, 1921 41.60 + H. P. Lovecraft 15.40 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 6.00 + Howard R. Conover 5.00 + Woodbee Press Club 5.00 + Theodore D. Gottlieb 1.00 + Ida C. Haughton 1.00 + ------- + Total Receipts $129.00 + + EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for May U. A. $24.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for July U. A. 18.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for Sept. U. A. 36.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for Nov. U. A. 36.00 + ------- + Total Expenditures $114.00 + + Balance on Hand, December 29, 1921 $15.00 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR JANUARY 1922 + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR + + Official Organ + of the + UNITED AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION + + H. P. LOVECRAFT _Official Editor_ + E. EDWARD ERICSON _Official Publisher_ + +Issued bi-monthly by the United Amateur Press Association. + +Subscription Price, 50 cents per year. + +Published at Elroy, Wisconsin. + +Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Elroy, Wis. + + +Editorial + +Amidst the prevailing efforts of a small but pugnacious group to "liven" +up the United through attacks on the Official Organ, a few basic +principles should be remembered by those who stand in bewilderment. + +Our constitution does not define the functions of THE UNITED AMATEUR +beyond making imperative the publication of certain official documents. +The rest is left to an unwritten combination of tradition and editorial +judgment. Any editor, once elected, is absolutely in control of the +magazine aside from the essential official matter; his only external +obligation being a tacit recognition of the prevailing objects of the +Association. In the present case a narrow circle of agitators seems to +be seeking political capital by accusing the editor of placing too high +an estimate on the membership and purposes of the United. + +Since the whole development of the Association is involved in this +matter, it is important that a prompt and perfect understanding be +reached. The opinions of all members should be known, and if the editor +finds that he has been in error, he will be glad to arrange for the +accommodation of the Organ to the wishes of the majority. Up to the +present time, despite the florid overstatements of the few who are +trying to work up a new and wholly artificial dissatisfaction, this +office has received _not so much as one complaint_ as to policy save +from the two politicians who are seeking to lower the United's +standards. Endorsements as to the existing policy have been many, and as +long as these remain so tremendously in the Majority, it would be a +betrayal of trust to make a change to please a tiny group. If there are +those who differ, why do they not speak? + +Since truth is the only perfect clarifier when politics seeks to +becloud, it is necessary that the editor state his policy here and now +with the utmost candour. Shorn of all irrelevant things, that policy is +simply the maintenance of those standards established in the United by +the departure of the chronically political element in 1912. Prior to +that time the Official Organ was mainly a bulletin of reports: not, as +the present agitators would imply, a repository for indiscriminate +amateur writings. The standard developed since then is the creation of +no one person, but a logical outgrowth of the rising calibre of a vital +and progressive society. It is neither one of favouritism nor one of +autocracy; but merely one of _stimulation_. It is an embodiment of the +United's desire to let the Official Organ exemplify the members' +progress by using the best available material. No genuine aspirant has +ever been frowned upon, or so far as we know given any ground for +discouragement. The Organ is a beckoner and encourager, designed to +inspire the members to renewed efforts to produce work worthy of +symbolising the United. Would anyone so far insult the Association as to +wish its official exponent to cater to that type of mediocrity which +neither improves nor wishes to improve? Our columns are open to all who +toil for the fruits of art, and statements to the contrary cannot be +interpreted as other than irresponsibly ignorant or craftily +misrepresentative. While insistence on a certain degree of merit is of +course necessary, it is not true that THE UNITED AMATEUR makes any +arbitrary restrictions. The Organ was not designed for the publication +of various members' work, nor is access to its columns one of the +special objects of membership, as certain agitators are artfully +intimating. But notwithstanding those technical points, all proficient +writers are welcome. It is illuminating, in view of the prevalent loose +statements, to reflect that throughout the present editor's service _not +more than three manuscripts have been rejected_; and that even these +three were or will be elsewhere placed. Those seeking an Associational +disturbance will not scruple to take advantage of every outward +appearance which seems to favour them--unavoidable delays, spatial +limitations, and other things interfering with prompt publication of all +matter offered to this office. The present editor will be denounced as a +"tyrant" by elements attempting to degrade standards which he did not +establish! + +The life and well-being of the United are at stake, and it is imperative +that the membership exercise the most careful and independent reflection +before accepting the views of radicals bent on retrogressive +experiments. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MARCH 1922 + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., April 25, 1922. + + On Hand, December 29, 1921 $15.00 + +RECEIPTS SINCE DECEMBER 29 + + From Treasury, up to April 25 $31.00 + Woodbee Press Club 10.00 + H. P. Lovecraft 7.00 + Anonymous 5.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 2.00 + Ida C. Haughton 2.00 + ------ + Total Receipts $72.00 + +EXPENDITURES + + To E. E. Ericson, for January U. A. $36.00 + To E. E. Ericson, for March U. A. 36.00 + ------ + Total Expenditures $72.00 + + Balance on Hand, April 25, 1922 None + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, + Custodian. + + + + + THE UNITED AMATEUR MAY 1922 + + +OFFICIAL ORGAN FUND + +Providence, R. I., June 23, 1922. + + On Hand, April 25, 1922 None + +_Receipts Since April 25_ + + From Treasury, up to June 23 $28.00 + Alfred Galpin, Jr. 6.00 + Woodbee Press Club 5.00 + Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritter 2.00 + ------ + Total Receipts $41.00 + +_Expenditures_ + + To E. E. Ericson, for May U. A. $24.00 + + Balance on Hand, June 23, 1922 $17.00 + + H. P. LOVECRAFT, Custodian. + + +At the Home of Poe + +_A Poem in Prose_ + +To H. P. Lovecraft + +FRANK BELKNAP LONG, JR. + +The home of Poe! It is like a fairy dwelling, a gnomic palace built of +the aether of dreams. It is tiny and delicate and lovely, and replete +with memories of sere leaves in November and of lilies in April. It is a +castle of vanished hopes, of dimly-remembered dreams, of sad memories +older than the deluge. The dead years circle slowly and solemnly around +its low white walls, and clothe it in a mystic veil of unseen tears. And +many marvellous stories could this quaint little old house tell, many +weird and cryptic stories of him of the Raven hair, and high, pallid +brow, and sad, sweet face, and melancholy mien; and of the beloved +Virginia, that sweet child of a thousand magic visions, child of the +lonesome, pale-gray latter years, child of the soft and happy South. And +how the dreamer of the spheres must have loved this strange little +house. Every night the hollow boards of its porch must have echoed to +his footfall, and every morn the great rising sun must have sent its +rays through the little window, and bathed the lovely tresses of the +dream-child in mystical yellow. And perhaps there was laughter within +the walls of that house--laughter and merriment and singing. But we know +that the Evil One came at last, the grim humourless spectre who loves +not beauty, and is not of this world. And we know that the house of +youth and of love became a house of death, and that memories bitter as +the tears of a beautiful woman assailed the dreamer within. And at last +he himself left that house of mourning and sought solace among the +stars. But the house remains a vision out of a magical book; a thing +seen darkly as in a looking-glass; but lovely beyond the dreams of +mortals, and ineffably sad. + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Significant +amendments, author's corrections and further notes have been recorded +below. American and British forms of typography, in addition to variant, +dialect and archaic spellings, have been retained except where obvious +errors exist. + + +Author's Corrections: + + p. 14, see p. 30 for details: + 'long' corrected to _longer_. + + p. 49, see p. 60 for details: + 'sublime' corrected to _sublimer_; + 'star's' corrected to _stars_; + 'father's' corrected to _fathers_; + 'hollow'd' corrected to _hallow'd_. + + +Transcriber's Amendments: + + p. 7, 'insanity' amended to _inanity_: 'triteness and inanity'; + 'permissable' amended to _permissible_: 'permissible clause'; + 'breath' amended to _breadth_: 'present moderate breadth'. + + p. 8, 'woud' amended to _would_: 'would do much'; + 'editorials' amended to _editorial_: 'Mr Stokes' editorial'; + 'istincts' amended to _instincts_: 'in our instincts'; + 'amateurs' amended to _amateur_: 'in amateur circles'. + + p. 9, 'from' amended to _form_: 'Credentials form the'. + + p. 11, 'scacely' amended to _scarcely_: 'but scarcely equal'; + 'colums' amended to _columns_: 'Coyote's editorial columns'. + + p. 12, 'Sappo' amended to _Sappho_: '"To Sappho", by Olive G. Owen'. + + p. 13, 'Morrish' amended to _Moorish_: 'old Moorish Spain'. + + p. 14, 'Houghton' amended to _Haughton_: 'Edna Mitchell Haughton's'. + + p. 15, 'DERARTMENT' amended to _DEPARTMENT_: 'DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC'; + 'witheld' amended to _withheld_: 'merely withheld from'. + + p. 16, added _is_: 'no praise is needed'; + 'Niagra' amended to _Niagara_: 'Visit to Niagara'; + 'wormth' amended to _warmth_: 'and genuine warmth'; + 'Weeks' amended to _Week_: 'History of an Eight-Week-Old'. + + p. 17, 'advantage' amended to _advantages_: 'advantages ... are many'. + + p. 18, 'pronounciation' amended to _pronunciation_: 'New York + pronunciation'; + 'Mrs.' amended to _Mr._, referring to Ricardo Santiago. + + p. 19, 'phenomerally' amended to _phenomenally_: 'phenomenally pure'; + 'Hennesey' amended to _Hennessey_: 'James J. Hennessey'. + + p. 20, 'bestrown' amended to _bestrewn_: 'is bestrewn with slang'. + + p. 25, 'away' amended to _way_: 'giving way to'. + + p. 29, 'techique' amended to _technique_: 'plot and technique'. + + p. 33, 'Heindall's' amended to _Heimdall's_. + + p. 34, 'Heindall' amended to _Heimdall_; + 'Sehrimner' amended to _Sehrimnir_: 'the boar Sehrimnir'. + + p. 35, 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_ (3 instances); + 'inconsistancy ... is' amended to _inconsistency ... it_: + 'inconsistency, but it seems'; + 'a' amended to _of_: 'rank as a poet is of very high tone'. + + p. 36, 'beautful' amended to _beautiful_: 'delicately beautiful'; + 'posessive' amended to _possessive_: 'possessive case'; + 'ungramatical' amended to _ungrammatical_: 'by the ungrammatical'; + 'Harington' amended to _Harrington_: 'William T. Harrington'; + 'abnorman pschology' amended to _abnormal psychology_; + 'letre' amended to _metre_: 'tuneful metre'; + 'Chrismas' amended to _Christmas_: 'Christmas number'; + 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_: 'Winifred V. Jordan's'. + + p. 37, 'propertly' amended to _properly_: 'be properly welcomed'; + 'throught' amended to _through_: 'recording thought through'. + + p. 38, 'Buterfly' amended to _Butterfly_: 'To a Butterfly'; + 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_: 'Winifred V. Jordan'; + 'con-conception' amended to _conception_: 'his conception of'. + + p. 39, 'classoical' amended to _classical_: 'more classical myths'; + added _by_: 'also by Mr. Cole'; + 'beautful' amended to _beautiful_: 'many beautiful passages'; + 'physhological' amended to _psychological_: 'a psychological as'; + 'dignnity' amended to _dignity_: 'humility and dignity'; + 'gramatical' amended to _grammatical_: 'of grammatical or'. + + p. 40, 'Emile' amended to _Emilie_: 'Emilie C. Holladay'; + 'ocasional' amended to _occasional_: 'the occasional metrical'; + 'Jordon' amended to _Jordan_: 'Winifred V. Jordan'; + 'Willam' amended to _William_: 'William de Ryee'; + 'technicly' amended to _technically_: 'are technically no'; + 'Canvass' amended to _Canvas_: 'the Canvas Wall'; + 'but is' amended to _is but_: 'novel is but a'. + + p. 41, 'mosiac' amended to _mosaic_: 'skillful mosaic of'; + 'unaquainted' amended to _unacquainted_: 'totally unacquainted'; + 'embarassed' amended to _embarrassed_: 'a little embarrassed'. + + p. 42, 'staza' amended to _stanza_: 'first stanza might'. + + p. 43, 'pharse' amended to _phrase_: 'the awkward phrase'; + 'ryhthm' amended to _rhythm_: 'swinging dactylic rhythm'; + 'uder' amended to _under_: 'coat under the wayside'. + + p. 44, 'develope' amended to _develop_: 'all develop naturally'; + 'Macauly' amended to _Macauley_: 'George W. Macauley'. + + p. 45, 'pratically' amended to _practically_: 'for practically all'; + 'amatuer' amended to _amateur_: 'professionalized amateur'; + 'happly' amended to _happily_: 'happily extinct tribe'. + + p. 47, 'apearance' amended to _appearance_: 'the appearance of'; + 'incongrous' amended to _incongruous_: 'a rather incongruous'. + + p. 48, 'reminiscense' amended to _reminiscence_: 'pensive reminiscence'; + 'Haaughton' amended to _Haughton_: 'Ida C. Haughton'. + + p. 50, 'unamimous' amended to _unanimous_: 'absolutely unanimous vote'; + 'sustined' amended to _sustained_: 'and sustained his'. + + p. 52, 'Kliner' amended to _Kleiner_: 'the Kleiner type'; + 'Henrietta' amended to _Henriette_: 'Henriette and Florenz'; + 'thoughfulness' amended to _thoughtfulness_: 'for thoughtfulness'. + + p. 53, 'essays-writers' amended to _essay-writers_. + + p. 54, 'prosed' amended to _proposed_: 'the proposed alteration'. + + p. 57, 'Statess' amended to _States_: 'the United States'. + + p. 59, 'Mathew' amended to _Matthew_: 'by Matthew Hilson'. + + p. 61, 'ancesters' amended to _ancestors_: 'of my ancestors'. + + p. 63, 'ancesters' amended to _ancestors_: 'ancestors had met'; + 'told' amended to _tolled_: 'clock ... tolled off'. + + p. 64, 'Godfry' amended to _Godfrey_: 'son of Godfrey'; + 'particularily' amended to _particularly_: 'most particularly'; + 'gastly' amended to _ghastly_: 'ghastly radiance'. + + p. 66, 'rhym' amended to _rhyme_: 'nobility of the rhyme'; + 'bouyant' amended to _buoyant_: 'joy and buoyant'; + 'tireomely' amended to _tiresomely_: 'tiresomely commonplace'; + 'savour' amended to _savours_: 'savours too much'. + + p. 67, 'solesisms' amended to _solecisms_: 'such solecisms as'; + 'avoid' amended to _avoided_: 'should be avoided'. + + p. 68, 'awkard' amended to _awkward_: 'not wholly awkward'; + 'copmlete' amended to _complete_: 'more complete'; + repeated line removed: 'sentiment, deriving much force from the'; + 'poplarly' amended to _popularly_: 'are popularly supposed'; + added _a_: 'it is a comfort'. + + p. 69, repeated line removed: 'ology. In the third line of the third + stanza'; + 'hypocricy' amended to _hypocrisy_: 'The hypocrisy of'. + + p. 70, 'occuring' amended to _occurring_: 'A rhyme occurring'; + 'colum' amended to _column_: 'editorial column of'; + 'techinque' amended to _technique_: 'old-school technique'. + + p. 71, 'unsual' amended to _unusual_: 'rather unusual'; + repeated text 'of' removed: 'pen of of Mrs. W. V. Jordan'. + + p. 72, 'accentuaton' amended to _accentuation_: 'accentuation of the'; + 'hsould' amended to _should_: 'word should be'; + 'citic' amended to _critic_: 'the present critic'. + + p. 73, 'denizon' amended to _denizen_: 'or =denizen= is'; + 'year' amended to _years_: 'eighty-six years ago'; + 'contents ... is' amended to _contents ... are_; + 'McGavach' amended to _McGavack_ (2 instances). + + p. 74, added _is_: '"Education in Trinidad" is another'. + + p. 77, 'revails' amended to _reveals_: 'but scansion reveals'; + 'Gallenne' amended to _Gallienne_: 'Richard Le Gallienne'. + + p. 78, 'vesy' amended to _very_: 'a very pleasing'; + 'gartifyingly' amended to _gratifyingly_: 'metre is gratifyingly'; + 'hypocracy' amended to _hypocrisy_: 'anti-prohibition hypocrisy'; + 'earsest' amended to _earnest_: 'are more earnest'. + + p. 79, 'propertly' amended to _properly_: 'cannot properly be rhymed'. + + p. 81, 'posses ... conspicious' amended to _possess ... conspicuous_: + 'possess both deep fervour and conspicuous merit'; + 'McGavach' amended to _McGavack_ (3 instances). + + p. 82, 'Parke's' amended to _Mr. Parks'_: 'Mr. Parks' brief sketches'; + 'McGavach' amended to _McGavack_ (2 instances); + 'irresistly' amended to _irresistibly_: 'irresistibly delight'; + 'metriacl' amended to _metrical_: 'metrical effort'. + + p. 84, 'ocurrences' amended to _occurrences_: 'obscure occurrences of'. + + p. 85, 'Authour' amended to _Author_: 'Author of the'. + + p. 88, 'Ecstacy' amended to _Ecstasy_: '"Ecstasy," a poem'; + 'imporant' amended to _important_: 'number of important'. + + p. 90, 'rtaes' amended to _rates_: 'at reasonable rates'. + + p. 91, 'cooperateion' amended to _co-operation_: 'closer co-operation'; + 'Asociation' amended to _Association_: 'out of the Association'. + + p. 92, 'productons' amended to _productions_: 'literary productions'. + + p. 93, 'twilght ... unpanted' amended to _twilight ... unpainted_: + 'through the twilight, some grey, unpainted'; + 'pronounciation' amended to _pronunciation_: 'pronunciation of'. + + p. 94, 'dsplaying' amended to _displaying_: 'displaying an enviable'; + 'Medum' amended to _Medium_: 'Medium of Education'; + 'it' amended to _in_: 'picturesque in atmosphere'. + + p. 95, 'wth' amended to _with_: 'compared with many'; + 'Reiseberg' amended to _Rieseberg_: 'Harry E. Rieseberg'. + + p. 98, 'adminstrative' amended to _administrative_. + + p. 99, 'Lindquqist' amended to _Lindquist_. + + p. 100, 'insuffcient' amended to _insufficient_: 'is insufficient to'. + + p. 103, 'it' amended to _is_: 'and it is a source'. + + p. 104, 'rhetorican' amended to _rhetorician_: 'as a rhetorician'. + + p. 105, 'Namantius' amended to _Namatianus_. + + p. 106, 'corect' amended to _correct_: 'most correct age'. + + p. 109, 'similiarly' amended to _similarly_: 'the similarly spelled'. + + p. 110, 'psuedo-anecdotes' amended to _pseudo-anecdotes_; + 'gratfying' amended to _gratifying_: 'great and gratifying'. + + p. 112, 'persual' amended to _perusal_: 'perusal of standard'. + + p. 113, 'demonstrate' amended to _demonstrates_: 'A glance ... + demonstrates'; + 'econium' amended to _encomium_: 'evoke encomium with'. + + p. 119, 'gorss' amended to _gross_: 'gross violations of'; + repeated text 'and verb' removed: 'noun and verb and verb'; + 'ues' amended to _use_: 'Ambiguous use of pronouns'. + + p. 122, 'versimilitude' amended to _verisimilitude_; + 'qualiy' amended to _quality_: 'prosaic quality'. + + p. 126, 'Deinos' amended to _Deimos_: 'Deimos and Phobos'. + + +Further Notes: + + p. 16, 'Dempsey' and p. 43, 'Dempesy', conflicted spelling: 'Caryl + Wilson Demp[se/es]y'. + + p. 41, 'Frazer' and p. 51, 'Frazier', conflicted spelling: 'John W. + Fraz[i]er'. + + p. 73, 'Acyion', possible misprint of _Alcyon_ or _Alcyone_: 'Edwin + Gibson's "Sonnet to Acyion"'. + + p. 93, 'Dionondawa', possible misprint of _Dionondehowa_: 'To the + Falls of Dionondawa'. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Writings in the United Amateur, +1915-1922, by Howard Phillips Lovecraft + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE UNITED AMATEUR *** + +***** This file should be named 30637.txt or 30637.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/6/3/30637/ + +Produced by David Starner, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |
