Page:History of Oregon Literature.djvu/282

250 Minnie Myrtle Miller's poetry during that year, which she spent in Portland and in Salem—at the latter place probably in close companionship with Mrs. Belle W. Cooke, author of Tears and Victory, who was keeping her little daughter, Maud.

Before giving Minnie Myrtle Miller's own writings, it will be interesting to get the background afforded by an article entitled "A Few Facts About Joaquin Miller". It was published in the New Northwest for July 28, 1871, Mrs. Abigail Scott Duniway's woman's suffrage magazine of Portland. Minnie Myrtle Miller was one of the principal contributors to this paper. Whether or not Mrs. Duniway changed her opinion of Miller as a man, she quoted his poem "Mothers of Men" as the peroration of a speech several years later and referred to him as Oregon's greatest poet. Following is the editorial article in her paper, in which she spoke rather plainly about him and mentioned one romantic fact not generally known. She first quoted two paragraphs from the Bedrock Democrat of Baker and made these the basis for her comments:

"Mr. Joaquin Miller, the Oregon poet, formerly of Grant county, has struck a lead in London with his "Songs of the Sierras." He is reported to be the latest pet of the best critical and poetical author ship in the town; the associate of the Rossettis, of Morris, of Jean Ingelow, and others. The principal papers have given him laudatory criticism; and Froude, the historian, Swinburne and Rossetti are to do that office for him in some other leading reviews.

Judge Miller's wife, we understand, recently obtained a divorce from him, because, as Mrs. Duniway alleges, he spent too much time in writing something he termed poetry. Isn't it possible that the late Mrs. Miller was a little nasty? How will she relish swimming adown the gutter of Time with Mrs. John Milton, Mrs. Lord Byron and the obstreperous wife of the author of Boz?"