By JOHN
плкшл
I
Scholars finally tracked down the
identity of “an Old Field Teacher.”
Our North Carolina mysteries in¬
clude at least one in the realm of litera¬
ture — and it was solved after a century
of searching for the answer.
During that period of more than a
hundred years the puzzle that persisted
in our North Carolina literature was a
this: "Who wrote Attempts at Rhym- 'T'
ing, by an Old Field Teacher"?
Published late in 1839, Attempt* at
Rhyming carefully cloaked its author
in anonymity. The little volume came
from the press of the Raleigh Star.
owned by Thomas J. Lemay in the
THE UNKNOWN RHYMSTER
early 1800’s. In announcing publica¬
tion of the book the Star said (in its
issue for December 4, 1839) that the
author was a "gentleman of high liter¬
ary and classical attainments, of great
moral worth; and as a flattering evi¬
dence of public regard, we observe on
the list of subscribers of his work, the
names of the most distinguished liter¬
ary characters of the state.”
Obviously, the pioneer days and
times of the early 1830’s did not pro¬
vide loo many gentlemen "of high
literary and classical attainments."
Such a gentleman might have been
easily identified. But this was not the
ease. The mystery was complete.
When the book appeared, its literary
value was immediately recognized. The
Raleigh Standard, another state capi¬
tal newspaper of that day, said of
the volume of verse and its mysterious
author that "it certainly exhibits no
inconsiderable degree of poetical tal¬
ent. He has, we think been very suc¬
cessful."
For its day the little volume appar¬
ently received a nice promotion and
was helped with considerable adver¬
tising. The Raleigh Microcosm pro¬
claimed in May of 1840 the volume
of poetry "for sale at Mr. Tucker's
store, the Star office, and at Mr. Dc
Carteret’s."
Down over the years that have
followed, judgment was repeatedly
passed on the collection of poems, and
it was always favorable. But still the
identity of the poet himself or herself
was not revealed. No one came for¬
ward to receive in person the plaudits
that the rhyming brought. The writing
was good; the poetry had its popu¬
larity; the effort was favorably received.
Even in later years the volume has had
its readers.
Those who have read the little book
have with one accord agreed that the
Note: Reprinted from “The Devil's
Stamping Ground “ (U.N.C. Press) by
special permission.
unidentified poet was a genuine schol¬
ar. Reference to scholarly things,
quotations from Latin, French, and
Italian, insight into the problems of
the day all indicate the scholarly mind
of the poet.
His lines reveal many things — if not
the name or the identity of the rhym-
stcr. From the pages of Attempts at
Rhyming we see that the writer was
either a Catholic or had a preference
for the Catholic church. The lines re¬
flect extensive travel through the wide
geographical range that is covered in
the poems themselves. Some of them
carry dates and places of their com¬
position — such as "London, 1820,"
"Rome, 1822,” "New York, 1822,"
and again "London, 1830."
He knew and loved home, too. He
wrote of North Carolina as well as of
foreign parts. One poem, called "On
Chapel Hill," reveals his love and his
knowledge of the place:
Wood-crcastcd hills and verdant vales
among,
the state, December 19. 1953
12
