reference in Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912 By Donald Keene and also in The Russo-Japanese War in Cultural Perspective, 1904-05 By David N. Wells, Sandra Wilson as an example of extreme british support for the Japanese in the war

From the archives of the NY times

WHEN A WOMAN WILL.


September 30, 1898, Wednesday

Page 6, 703 words

JANE H. OAKLEY Of Wilbury Lawn, rest Brighton, England, is not an ordinary builder of lofty rhyme. It is safe to assume that she had traversed both of the paths just mapped out, and that each of them had ended in a blank wall, high and strong, and decorated with the word "No" in large, ungraceful letters. rhy is the assumption safe? Because there appears in the "Personal" column of The London Times a poem of fortyfour lines, entitled "The Most Picturesque Battle of the Century," and signed with JANE H. OAKLEY S full name and address. There it stands, with advertisements all around it and the schedule of advertising rates not far away -- an impressive monument to feminine ingenuity and perseverance. 0f course JNE I-I. 0AKLEY would have preferred to see her battle song in another part of the paper; of course she vould have been more pleased to receive, than she was to give, money for its publication; but she was determined not to be a mute Oakley, even if circumstances did force her to be inglorious. In quality the verses are -- well, they are _. They relate to Gen. KITCHENER S latest victory, and begin: Through far-farn d Egypt's burning sand, To reach the "Kalif's" strongest stand, _ British force, the tyrant fears, Comes -- to wipe out a ntion s ,tears. Then the Nile is called "Father of Vaters" and complimented on its length, while the Slrdar's advance is commended as calculated To show the world our deadly h.te Of cruel deeds, by savage man, (Regaining, to(>, he lost "Soudan.' The description of the battle is hub- bly, but. powerful, especially where JANE H. OAKLEY remarks that-' Our troops, in horses hoe styl d formation, Each flank, 'has 1Viaxim guns, in station, Guns a tornado, fik d of-shell; The foe shrank back; in batches fell; 'Clos'd',up, and then, they came on, , Flaunting their flags, they aid their laster. Strong as is the temptation to quote at length from this masterpiece, it must 'be restrained, and we will only add the concluding lines: "Khartoum" is gained: -- " City of the Palm "-Our forces enter, -- every arm,-Our standard floats, where "Gordon" fell, His death s avenged, we now, know well, The glorious news, all hearts d, Britannla's honor stands d It may be that JANE H. OAKLEY is not a really great poet, but we can see no reason why she should not he Laureate of England, and certainly her utilization of the "Personal" column when all others were closed against her proves that she is a woman with a will.