ELIJAH W. SMITH.
The subject of this sketch is a grandson of the late Rev. Thomas Paul, whose eloquence as a preacher is vividly remembered by Bostonians of forty years ago, as one of the most entertaining of divines. Born in Boston, Elijah W. Smith is well known as one of her most respected citizens. He is by trade a printer, which he learned in the office of “The Liberator,” with Wm. Lloyd Garrison, who always speaks of “Elijah” with the utmost respect. No one can read Mr. Smith’s poems without a regret that he has written so little, and yet he has given us more poetry than any other colored American. Few living poets understand, better than he, the elements of true poetry.
The evenness of his numbers, the polish of his diction, the rich melody of his musically-embodied thoughts, and the variety of his information, show that Nature has not been sparing in showering her gifts upon him.
In his poetry Mr. Smith seeks to make mankind, and things around him, in harmony with a better state of moral existence.
His contributions to literature will ever tend to delight and instruct the lovers of liberty and pure and refined society. Most of his articles have appeared in “The Boston Daily Traveller,” and “The Saturday Evening Express.” The longest poem contains thirty verses.
“Keep off the Grass,” and “Welcome to Spring,” shows the author’s leaning towards Nature. “Crushed At Sedan,” “Vive La France,” and “A Plea for the Recognition of Cuba,” are the promptings of a sympathetic heart. “Peter and Joseph’s Trip to Vermont” is full of humor, and shows that our author is at home in comic poetry. Mr. Smith’s finer feelings find vent in those beautiful poems the “Winter Song of the Poor,” and “Merry Christmas,” either of which is enough to give a writer everlasting fame.
The Republican Party owes our author a debt of gratitude for the lyrics he has contributed to its aid in this section. The following lines are from the beautiful and soul-stirring poem entitled “Freedom’s Jubilee,” read at a Ratification Meeting of the Fifteenth Amendment:
“Glory to God! for the struggle is ended,
Glory to God! for the victory won,
Honor to those who the Right have defended,
Through the long years since the conflict begun.
“O, may the prayers of those ready to perish
Guard them from harm like a girdle of fire!
Deep in our hearts their good deeds we will cherish,
And to deserve them we’ll ever aspire.
“God! at Thine altar, in thanksgiving bending,
Grant that our eyes Thy great goodness may see;
O, may Thy light, while the temple’s veil rending,
Show, through its portals, the path of the Free.”
“Our Lost Leader,” written on the death of Charles Sumner, is one of Mr. Smith’s best productions. “The Boston Daily Traveller” says: “This is a beautiful poem written by Elijah W. Smith, who is a true poet, and who has produced some of the best poetry called forth by the death of Mr. Sumner.”
We can only give the last verse:
“Give us the faith to kneel around
Our Country’s shrine, and swear
To keep alive the sacred flame
That Sumner kindled there!”
The “Song of The Liberators” has in it the snap and fire that shows the author’s sound appreciation of the workers for liberty. We give a few of those spirited verses, and regret that want of space prevents our placing the entire poem before the reader:
“The battle-cry is sounding
From every hill and vale,
From rock to rock resounding,
Now shall the tyrants quail.
No more with chain and fetter,
No more with prison cell,
Shall despots punish heroes
In the land they love so well.
“And thou, O Isle of Beauty,
Thy plaintive cry is heard;
Throughout our wide dominions,
The souls of men are stirred;
And rising in their manhood,
They shout from sea to sea,
‘Destruction to the tyrants!
Fair Cuba shall be free!’”
In person Mr. Smith is short, and inclined to be stout, with complexion of a light brown.
His head is large and well developed; the expression of his features are mild and good, his eyes are lively, and the turn of his face is graceful and full of sensibility, and delicately susceptible of every impression.
Still on the sunny side of fifty, and being of studious habits and an impassioned lover of Nature, we may yet look for valuable contributions from his versatile pen.
We hope, ere long, to see his poems given to the reading public in a collected form, for we are sure that they would be a prized accession to the current literature of the day, besides the valuable work they would do for the elevation of his own race.
Mr. Smith has written more than sixty poems, one of which will be found in the fore-part of this volume.