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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, DECEMBER 15,1883.
Honoring Hajrne.
When the South is tauntingly told that
„he has produced no writer of merit, no
poet of renown, a sufficient reply is given
|n Hayne. It was not an outburst of
Southern pride that classed Hayne as
the “ Lbngfellow of the South; ” but the
calm award to distinguished merit by
the most distinguished of American
poets, the immortal Longfellow himself.
The reputation of Mr. Hayne is not sec
tional or national, but world-wide. A
man of modest mien and unpretentious
appearance, he has won imperishable
laurels. He is a true poet, with a no
bility of spirit that rises far above the
passions that mar and disfigure the char
acter of so many writers.
The people of Atlanta feel a just pride
in such a man as Paul H. Hayne, and
delight to honor him. When he was in
our city some weeks ago, he was greeted
with a fine reception at the residence of
Charles W. Hubner. Upon his return
through Atlanta, on December 11th, the
Hubner Club, under the auspices of the
Young Men’s Christian Association, gave
a brilliant entertainment at the hall of
the Y. M. C. A., in honor of Mr. Hayne.
It was a perfect ovation, as one of the
largest audiences that was ever assem
bled in the rooms was present. Charles
W. Hubner, himself a poet and author
of exalted worth and extended fame, in
his silvery tones and well modulated
voice, greeted Mr. Hayne in the follow
ing original poetic greeting:
The blustering winds,
The frosty air,
The shivering woods,
The gardens bare,
The falling leaves,
The silent nest,
Sweet Summer’s doom
Make manifest—
Winter, Draco of the year,
Lord of cloud and storm, is here.
Alihough the world
Without is drear,
Within this room
Reigns Summer’s cheer;
Wrought by the charm
Of Fancy’s art,
Its music rfngs,
Its blossoms start;
Nature, in new glory drest,
Wakens from her tranced rest.
Why dream wo thus
Of song and bloom,
And take no heed
Of winter’s gloom?
What magic wand,
With Ariel’s might.
Makes of this room
A world of light ?
Marvel not, nor deem it strunge—
’Tis a Poet makes the change!
See where he sits!
His kindly eyes
Bright as the starred
Midsummer skis,
His smile benign,
His brow serene,
His kingly front,
His modest mien—
Need we marvel who it is
W’rought the metamorphosis?
To thee we owe,
Dear Pcet-guestl
This Summer bliss
That thrills the breast;
Thou givest light
Where else w. re gloom,
Thy voice is song,
Thy smile is bloom;
Poet! ’tis thy presence brings
Sunshine, and all happy things.
O, Master! crowned
In minstrel art,
What can we do
To pay, in p.irt,
The sacred debt
Affection owes
To thee, for all
Thy hand bestows?
Wherewith shall our hearts express
Half their brimful happiness?
We cannot give
Or gems or gold,
And Fame's loud trump
Long since hath told,
Wherever speaks
Our English tongue,
The glory of
Thy golden song.
What, then, Poet, tell us, pray!
At thy feet were meet to lay?
Ah, yes! I know—
Thou lovest best
A toving heart,
An honest breast,
For rarer these.
A thousand fold,
Thau fame, or crowns.
Or gems, or gold—
These we offer, full and free, •
Could we better honor thee?
Mr. Hayne, with a manner at once
charming with its grace and dignified
bearing, responded in the following ex
quisitely beautiful impromptu:
O, Brother Bard, you have not done me wrong,
I h> ar no ring of flattery base and bold,
But in the coinage of your generous song,
The die is matehless and the mine is gold.
Unwonted tears from vivid fountains rise;
I feel what pulse of tremulous passion starts;
In yours I mark the glow of answering eyes.
And with your own there throb what priceless
hearts.
Thanks for the warmth, the sweetness and the
grace
Which all about me breathe theirblissful spells,
And o’er this pure and nlmost sacred place
Bloom like unseen celestial asphodels.
Him whom ye praise, O, friends, would claim
but this,
He wreathed with song full many a childish
stem,
And caught therefrom the brightness and the
bliss
Which make on eartli a cloudless heaven for
them.
If Christ’s pure favorites love me, nil is well,
Let Fame’s proud trump its lordlier echoes
cease,
And graven only on my pastoral tomb,
Be these brief words traced in the sunrise
bloom:
His lays, tiio’ marked, yet bore one heav
enly SPELL,
Thechildren loved him, so hksleepsin peace.
The Supreme Court of Georgia
and Cotton Futures.
A delightful feature of the programme
was the rendition of the “ Norma March”
by a juvenile orchestra, composed of
youths of both sexes, from eleven to
fourteen years of age. It was a crown
ing test of the teaching of Prof. Wurm.
It was wonderful to see them play so
correctly and in such perfect time and
with such expression.
These children performers, whose exe
cution is alike a test of musical talent
and good teaching were: Piano—Misses
Minnie Love, Nannie Norris, May Avery
and Katie Buice. Violins—May Avery
and Bennie Abbott. Flute—Henry De-
Give; cornet, Charlie Abbott; violen-
cello, Julius DeGive.
Miss Blanche Bivings, of Dalton, yet
in her teens, played on the piano with
remarkable beauty of touch and shared
the honors of the evening with Mrs.
Henry Hart, a fine performer.
Miss Mat Crim and Mrs. Hubner sang
Hayne’s “Song of the Naiads,” with
beauty and force, voicing its fine points
with striking effect.
Miss May and Master Albert Avery
recited Mr. Hayne’s “The New Sister,”
in a spirited and truthful manner. The
rendition was a perfect success.
Miss Ida Hubner recited Hayne’s “Ar
tie’s Amen,” with beauty and grace, ev
idencing a true conception of the piece
and elocutional power.
Miss May Avery recited Hayne’s “The
Reason Why,” in a peculiarly taking
style, while Miss Mamie Young recited
Hayne’s “Valerie’s Confession” in a
manner that was captivating.
Minnie Quinn, who is a poet of more
than common ability, recited sweetly
and engagingly Hayne’s “ InMemoriam
on the death of A. H. Stephens.”
J. H. Moser, the popular artist, ren
dered Hayne’s “ Hanging of Black Cud-
jo ” in an artistic manner, so lifelike and
realistic that if his face had been ebon-
ized he might have been readily mis
taken for a coast darkey. His rendition
of the dialect was perfect, demonstrating
the versatility of his genius.
The recitation of Hayne’s “ Carnbyses
and the Macrobian Bow ” by Miss Mary
Withers was a gem.
The recitation of “ Our Martyrs,” by
G. M. Downs, and “ On the Persecution
of the Jews in Russia,” by B. L. Brooks,
were very fine, as was also Mr. L. P.
Hill’s poetic tribute to Mr. Ilayne.
Altogether the entertainment was one
of the most enjoyable of the season^, and
this out-spoken demonstration
love of the people for Iaul H
not only verifies ‘
Virtutis Umbra,’ --
Age will unite to honor the man whose
modesty is only surpassed by his merit.
of the
Hayne
the saying “ Gloria
but that Youth and
The late pronounced and unequivocal
decision of the highest tribunal of the
State denying the validity of all money
contracts based upon the future delivery
of cotton where the parties are not con
sumers, or filling bona Jirie manufactur
ing orders, has challenged the attention
of the whole country and evoked much
comment.
That the dealing in futures is consid
ered legitimate and unobjectionable in a
moral point of view by many of our lead
ing merchants cannot be denied. And
on the admitted principle that debts of
honor should take precedence of all
others, we do not believe that the ruling
of the court will tend in practice to bring
into such disrepute these financial trans
actions as to impose any material check
upon them.
But the court is right in claEsing ope
rations devoid of any substantial founda
tion in the same category with gambling.
Instances are on record where heavy
sales of cotton for subsequent delivery
have been made, when the seed of the
staple had not even been planted, and
the parties buying and selling did not
own, and never expected to own, a soli
tary bale. The transaction was merely
a speculative figment based upon noth
ing, and designed to make money with
out the showing of a scintilla of prop
erty either in cotton or any other repre
sentative of value.
To the eye of the uninitiated, this is
even worse than playing at faro or rou
lette, for in the latter the money in ques
tion is absolutely staked and placed in
full view upon the table. Barring the
notorious swindling and tricks of the
“tiger,” which delude the unwary,
there ia no actual difference between the
two, save that one is considered respect
able and the other lies under the ban of
society.
One, and only one, plausible argument
is used in defense of these reprehensible
transactions. It is claimed that buying
and selling for future delivery, causes
the mercantile world to Btudy the situa
tion attentively, and thus become posted
as to the supply of sotton in sight, the
area of land under cultivation, the na
ture of the seasons, the drawbacks from
drought, floods and the ravages of in
sects, and all the other casualties to
which the great textile is liable. A full
knowledge of their surroundings enables
the astute cotton dealer to make an ap
proximate estimate of the growing crop,
and thus measurably to fix its value in
advance of the harvest, thereby prevent
ing sudden and panicky variations in
prices.
This is to some extent true. But the
trouble is that thousands of credulous
and infatuated persons in other walks of
life, destitute alike of knowledge and
experience, seize the opportunity, and
rush madly in, periling their last dollar
with the most reckless disregard of con
sequences. No wonder that they and
their money are scooped up by the know
ing ones, and they learn when too late
what a “ comer ” in mercantile parlance
means.
It is a notorious fact that the price of
the hard working farmer’s cotton is con
trolled by the combinations of opulent
buyers, and he is completely at the mer
cy of Wall street and British capitalists.
It is equally true that the average losses
incident to the trade in futures is large
ly against the too credulous and uncal
culating South. Occasionally the tide
seems to turn in their favor, but these
instances are like angels’ visits, “ few
and far between.” Very few of our peo
ple have made any money by this spe
cies of gambling.
The writer is tempted to relate the
experience, several years since, of his
young friends in Macon. Allured by
the enticing outlook of futures in the
market, there was a general rush to in
vest in them. The thrifty clerks, drum
mers, and shall we say it, farmer#, who
by industry and close economy had suc
ceeded in accumulating “summat” for
a “ rainy day,” did not hesitate to make
huge purchases, nomitially, in bacon and
cotton. Like honest men they “plank-*
ed ” the margin demanded by the banks,
and then when prices declined made
good the additional sums required of
them. The process was repeated until,
their last available dollar expended,
they were “ sold out ” and in some cases
forced to borrow money to make up out-i
standing deficiencies. A sadder specta-;
cle was never beheld. All tin* hard earn
ings of long years gobbled up in the
twinkling by this gentlemanly and pop
ular system of gambling. Wo have rea
son to believe, however, that the lesson
was not lost upon them.
Who then will not rejoice that by the
recent decision of our highest legal tri
bunal, all similar transactions are now
placed without the pale of the law, and
henceforth, those who gamble in “ fu
tures” have no means of enforcing their
contracts?
One of the most intelligent merchants
of Atlanta nlfirms that even in the ordi
nary pursuits of commerce,
ninety i*kk cent.
of those who embark in mercantile life,
fail at least once at some stage in their
career. If this be true when engaged in
legitimate trade, how much worse must
the record be of the ignorant outsiders
who dabble in futures.
All hail to the noble trio of Justices
on the Supreme Bench, who have not
failed to discharge their whole duty in
unmasking and exposing the plausible
frauds of the prevalent custom of buy
ing and selling for future delivery, when
no delivery of the goods is intended or
expected in the premises. H. H. J.
A 'Treat In Htore for the Reader*
of the tiouthern World.
It is with no little degiee of pleasure
that we would announce that arrange
ments have been perfected with J. Eaten
Cooke, of Virginia, for the early produc
tion of a stirring serial, which will hold
spell bound the attention of the reader
from first to last.
The author of “ Surry of Eagle’s Nest”
knows full well how to capture the
hearts and imaginations of those who
read after him. There is a beauty of
word painting and indescribable power
about his delineations which place
him among the first authors of the pe
riod. TIub story alone should add a host
of new names to the over increasing list
of the Southkiin Would.—11. H. J.
Messrs. Rodgers tk Adam*.
We call attention to the enterprising
Macon firm of Rodgers A Adams, whose
advertisement appears elsewhere.
The senior, Mr. Rodgers, is a nephew
of the late James Seymour, Esq., one of
the most successful merchants of Middle
Georgia, and was trained by him from
early boyhood. lie has inherited much
of the sagacity and energy of his respected
relative, and is justly classed among the
most deserving uml prosperous young
business men of Macon. The firm have
a large wholesale trade in tobacco, sta
ple and fancy groceries.
— ««-•■**
Hettllwg Matter* Afterward*.
A “Clergyman” writes as follows:
“ I am glad to see you sympathize with
the omission of the word ‘ ob%y ’ in the
marriage service. I make a point of
never using that wicked expression in
the marriage vow to those about to be
united for life. In a neighboring church,
the bride proving dumb at this objec
tionable word, the bridegiocm lade
the clergyman continue, ‘ for,’ said he,
shaking his fist, ‘ we’ll settle that ’ere
among ourselves arterwards.’ This an
ecdote illustrates the nature and the
matrimonial views of those who still ad
vocate the alternative of slavery or pei-
jury still being offered a bride.”
Our next issue
things.
will be full of good