CHAPTER 14
JoAQUIN MILLER
And he, through books and bays, Delveth for pretty words To weave in his languid lays Of women and streamsand birds. What was my troth to him? A stepping-stoneat best: My face was proud and my smiles were sweet, And his gold could do the rest. MINNIE MYRTLE Miller: Sacrifice Impetro. DID THE darts and barbs aimed at Joaquin Miller from every quarter strike harmlessly against a thick hide such as protects men of grosser occupations? O... d they easily pierce a thin, poetic armor and pene trat... the quick? Many people called him a liar. Some claime... stol... s best poetry from his wife, the indignant wo me... Oregon sai... deserted her and his children... e described his bad spellin... a public lecture, on... ... neglected sons was later sen... prison. The politicians twitted him for his poetry, fellow poets— like the smug Bret Harte—patronized hi... his early days, Oregon editors attacked him savagely, his own paper was suppressed becaus... was a secessionist. An eastern critic hesitate... review Song... the Sierras becaus... ... personal life. He was a squaw man... live... separation from three wives, bu... bowed and kissed women’s hands, wrote verse... them and scattered flower... their paths. He drank without re finemen... mean... a tin cup, and a jug over his shoulder. He displayed huge vanit... his behavior an... the eccentricit... his clothes. Wha... som... the poets who are sai... have die... broken hearts had faced a medle... charges like that? Of course he was sensitive. How could
