Page:The Southern Literary Messenger - Minor.djvu/109

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Literary Messenger
95

earnest letter to him complaining of the lack of inspiration on the part of his poetasters and urging him to devise some means of working an amelioration in his poetical department. Accordingly Mr. White offers an honorarium of a silver medal, or cup, of the value of $10, for the best poem, of not less than 75 nor more than 150 lines, which should be sent in on or before the first day of February next. Five competent and impartial gentlemen were appointed to make the award.

But the liberal-minded, enterprising, indefatigable and originative founder of the Messenger was not to be permitted to witness the result of the above proposal. The paralytic was then lying on a couch which Death was already draping.