Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Three Hundred Sounds. By Martin F. Tupper, D.C.L., F.R.S., &C. Hall And Virtue.
The calm clear heaven wherein my spirit soars , Then lures its inmate upward , blythe and free , Like the glad lark that to the Sun outpours , Higher and higher , floods of minstrelsy . * In this there is a good deal to be admired and quite as much to be deplored . We hai * e enough matter-of-faci rhyme and an equally large share of mystic word-spinning ,
in this tmpoetic age , without Dr . Tapper ' s adding to oui store a semi-scientific process of turning his brain intc crystals hy aid of a seething crucible situated in the regions of the cranium . Nor can Ave admire the other portion of his smile , where he compares himself to a lark , and tells us that he is an habitual inmate of the higher hea , vens . ' Taking another specimen of our author ' s muse , we will first present it to our readers , and then offer a few comments ugon it . We select one which he
calls—MX NAMESAKE , Luther Eleutheros ! thou lion-heart , Called by a name predestined to be Free , Nobly thou didst the Christian warrior ' s part , — Paul and Ignatius fought again in thee : My glorious namesake ; what a praise to me , By nation , name , ancl nature too , thou art ,
Martin Eleutheros . my Saxon chief ! T , too , would scorn to bend a slavish knee , Or bate one tittle of my firm belief , Or seem some other than I boast to be-No human master ' s servant ; in thy strength , The Rock of Ages , is my spirit strong ; And resolutely will I lead along , Like thee , for truth , and good , and God at length .
We have no fault to find with Dr . Tapper ' s good intents , as set forth in the foregoing ; they are worthy of him and of every well-meaning man , but we must object to the very thin covering of a sonnet ivhich should , instead of being named "My Namesake , " have been " My Name . " The halfformed pun upon Luther ' s name , too , strikes us as anything but witty , and the ivhole idea is built upon such a very
slight foundation , the resemblance of the name of Martin , as if there ivere no other Martins in the world than Martin Luther and Martin Tapper . Every one has heard , or read , of the miseries , heartburnings , and bickerings of authors , and it is usually considered to be a very harassing , even ivhen occasionally well paid , kind of life . Now Dr . Tapper revels in it , and apostrophises himself in a sonnet
entitled—AUTHOKSnir . Ay : blest indeed above the mass of men , And rich in joys that reach the true sublime ! JFor that the frequent droppings of my pen Have comforted the Good in every clime . And helped the Right —( 0 solace beyond time !) Therefore my soul is glad : judge memy friends
, , Is there not happier treasure in such joys Than all the world can win from all its toys ? And as the poet's dynasty extends To children's children , reigning in the mind , Is he not crown'd a king among his kind ?
Ah me ! not so : this thought of pride destroys : Give God the praise : His blessing sends this store Of unseen friends by thousands evermore ! There is no doubt Dr . Tupper has " comforted the good in every chine , " and it is a source of gratification to every right-thinking man ivhen he can look back upon such events . But ive cannot help questioning the taste that
proclaims it . Admitting that Dr . Tupper did produce a very excellent work , " Proverbial Philosophy , " for which ho was vastly over-rated at the time , and now as unjustl y under-rated , yet wc clo not think self-glorification becoming in any man , much less an author . No doubt Dr . Tupper , having taken the world by storm , and been for a time thc literary idol , and having a ready and fluent pen , he is apt to
consider all he writes as sure to bo popular . The above specimens arc fair average selections , and ive should hail with pleasure something more sterling from the same author , but wo fear that Tupperism is a mannerism , essentially thc writer ' s own , and one he is unwilling to discontinue , however much it spoils many good thoughts and Avorthy aspirations of a really good man . j
Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.
NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART .
Dr . Arthur S . Thompson , m Ins newly published " Story of New Zealand , Past and Present , Savage and Civilised , " relates the following anecdote of the greed of a drunken skipper .- — " Commercial iatercourse could not continue between Europeans and New Zealanders , two races so opposite in their manners and customs , without occasional evil , and two events occurred in 1830 which exhibit the low morality of some of the Europeans engaged in [ this
trade . Preserved native heads were then in high estimation in European museums , and flax traders purchased these articles for this market . According to the laws of commerce , the supply increased with the demand . Formerly the head of a chief was preserved as a matter of honour ; but when it was found a gun could be got for one , a custom arose of preserving those of enemies for sale , and of
killing slaves for the sake of their heads . It is impossible to conjecture to what extent this trade might have been carried , had not the following circumstance rendered it illegal aud disgraceful . The people of the Bay of Islands , were defeated with considerable loss at Touranga , in the year 1830 , and the conquerors dried the heads of the slain , and sold them to the master of a schooner called the Prince of Denmark , bound for Sydney , but intending to touch at the Bay of Islands . . On the arrival of the vessel at the latter place , a number of natives came on board to trade . The master of
the ship ) , in a state of tipsy jollity , brought up a sack , containing twelve heads , and rolled them out on the deck . Some of the New Zealanders on board recognised their father's heads , others those of their brothers and friends . Appalling weeping and lamentations rent the air , and the natives fled precipitately from the ship . The master , seeing his dangerous position , put to sea before the news of his cargo spread on shore . Fortunately , the scene now described
was reported to Governor Darling , of New South Wales , who issued a proclamation against this degrading trade , and called upon all who had bought heads from the JPrince of DenmarJe to deliver them up , for the purpose of having them restored to the relatives of the deceased parties , to whom those heads belonged . " Who can say what mischief is done by one unprincipled European like the
brutal captain of the Prince of Denmark in retarding the eivilziation of savage tribes ? " AVore we to draw even upon our own reminiscences of geological excursions extending over the last twenty years / ' says the editor of the Atlienauni , " we believe we might record sundry moving incidents by flood and field , as well as recollections of men and manners
not ahvays in the highest circles of society . Xo form a thorough aecpiaintance with the loivest order of open-air labourers , there is nothing like a week or two in the quarries , and a working-day or two in railway cuttings . The warning—Ah ! me , what perils do environ
'The man who meddles with cold iron , might sometimes be transferred to the man who meddles with cold clay and stones . Menaced and murderously attacked by ' navvies ' were we , on one occasion , when we attempted to remove a crocodile ' s head , which we had discovered in the London clay . Our own head , indeed , was not broken , though threatened , but , unhappily , the crocodile ' s ivas ; and great were our difficulties—not to say dangers
—before the said sundered head reposed grimly upon our table . There is hardly a strange or mysterious object or calling which has not been attributed to us in our earlier journeys , when geologising was far less known than at present . AVe have been suspected of being a lunatic , a treasure hunter , a resurrection man , when we inquired for bones—a miner , a jeweller , a juggler , a
strolling-player , and a disappointed lover . We have sometimes endeavoured to explain the true state of the case , but iu remoter districts never with success . On one occasion when a foreign friend accompanied us and called at a cottage door for a glass of water , before lie could utter a word , the inmate exclaimed : ' No no ! nothing to-day—we don't want nothing to-day ! ' It should be added that our friend carried the bag of fossils . Our only comfort was that things were somewhat worse abroad . ' Here , '
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Three Hundred Sounds. By Martin F. Tupper, D.C.L., F.R.S., &C. Hall And Virtue.
The calm clear heaven wherein my spirit soars , Then lures its inmate upward , blythe and free , Like the glad lark that to the Sun outpours , Higher and higher , floods of minstrelsy . * In this there is a good deal to be admired and quite as much to be deplored . We hai * e enough matter-of-faci rhyme and an equally large share of mystic word-spinning ,
in this tmpoetic age , without Dr . Tapper ' s adding to oui store a semi-scientific process of turning his brain intc crystals hy aid of a seething crucible situated in the regions of the cranium . Nor can Ave admire the other portion of his smile , where he compares himself to a lark , and tells us that he is an habitual inmate of the higher hea , vens . ' Taking another specimen of our author ' s muse , we will first present it to our readers , and then offer a few comments ugon it . We select one which he
calls—MX NAMESAKE , Luther Eleutheros ! thou lion-heart , Called by a name predestined to be Free , Nobly thou didst the Christian warrior ' s part , — Paul and Ignatius fought again in thee : My glorious namesake ; what a praise to me , By nation , name , ancl nature too , thou art ,
Martin Eleutheros . my Saxon chief ! T , too , would scorn to bend a slavish knee , Or bate one tittle of my firm belief , Or seem some other than I boast to be-No human master ' s servant ; in thy strength , The Rock of Ages , is my spirit strong ; And resolutely will I lead along , Like thee , for truth , and good , and God at length .
We have no fault to find with Dr . Tapper ' s good intents , as set forth in the foregoing ; they are worthy of him and of every well-meaning man , but we must object to the very thin covering of a sonnet ivhich should , instead of being named "My Namesake , " have been " My Name . " The halfformed pun upon Luther ' s name , too , strikes us as anything but witty , and the ivhole idea is built upon such a very
slight foundation , the resemblance of the name of Martin , as if there ivere no other Martins in the world than Martin Luther and Martin Tapper . Every one has heard , or read , of the miseries , heartburnings , and bickerings of authors , and it is usually considered to be a very harassing , even ivhen occasionally well paid , kind of life . Now Dr . Tapper revels in it , and apostrophises himself in a sonnet
entitled—AUTHOKSnir . Ay : blest indeed above the mass of men , And rich in joys that reach the true sublime ! JFor that the frequent droppings of my pen Have comforted the Good in every clime . And helped the Right —( 0 solace beyond time !) Therefore my soul is glad : judge memy friends
, , Is there not happier treasure in such joys Than all the world can win from all its toys ? And as the poet's dynasty extends To children's children , reigning in the mind , Is he not crown'd a king among his kind ?
Ah me ! not so : this thought of pride destroys : Give God the praise : His blessing sends this store Of unseen friends by thousands evermore ! There is no doubt Dr . Tupper has " comforted the good in every chine , " and it is a source of gratification to every right-thinking man ivhen he can look back upon such events . But ive cannot help questioning the taste that
proclaims it . Admitting that Dr . Tupper did produce a very excellent work , " Proverbial Philosophy , " for which ho was vastly over-rated at the time , and now as unjustl y under-rated , yet wc clo not think self-glorification becoming in any man , much less an author . No doubt Dr . Tupper , having taken the world by storm , and been for a time thc literary idol , and having a ready and fluent pen , he is apt to
consider all he writes as sure to bo popular . The above specimens arc fair average selections , and ive should hail with pleasure something more sterling from the same author , but wo fear that Tupperism is a mannerism , essentially thc writer ' s own , and one he is unwilling to discontinue , however much it spoils many good thoughts and Avorthy aspirations of a really good man . j
Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.
NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART .
Dr . Arthur S . Thompson , m Ins newly published " Story of New Zealand , Past and Present , Savage and Civilised , " relates the following anecdote of the greed of a drunken skipper .- — " Commercial iatercourse could not continue between Europeans and New Zealanders , two races so opposite in their manners and customs , without occasional evil , and two events occurred in 1830 which exhibit the low morality of some of the Europeans engaged in [ this
trade . Preserved native heads were then in high estimation in European museums , and flax traders purchased these articles for this market . According to the laws of commerce , the supply increased with the demand . Formerly the head of a chief was preserved as a matter of honour ; but when it was found a gun could be got for one , a custom arose of preserving those of enemies for sale , and of
killing slaves for the sake of their heads . It is impossible to conjecture to what extent this trade might have been carried , had not the following circumstance rendered it illegal aud disgraceful . The people of the Bay of Islands , were defeated with considerable loss at Touranga , in the year 1830 , and the conquerors dried the heads of the slain , and sold them to the master of a schooner called the Prince of Denmark , bound for Sydney , but intending to touch at the Bay of Islands . . On the arrival of the vessel at the latter place , a number of natives came on board to trade . The master of
the ship ) , in a state of tipsy jollity , brought up a sack , containing twelve heads , and rolled them out on the deck . Some of the New Zealanders on board recognised their father's heads , others those of their brothers and friends . Appalling weeping and lamentations rent the air , and the natives fled precipitately from the ship . The master , seeing his dangerous position , put to sea before the news of his cargo spread on shore . Fortunately , the scene now described
was reported to Governor Darling , of New South Wales , who issued a proclamation against this degrading trade , and called upon all who had bought heads from the JPrince of DenmarJe to deliver them up , for the purpose of having them restored to the relatives of the deceased parties , to whom those heads belonged . " Who can say what mischief is done by one unprincipled European like the
brutal captain of the Prince of Denmark in retarding the eivilziation of savage tribes ? " AVore we to draw even upon our own reminiscences of geological excursions extending over the last twenty years / ' says the editor of the Atlienauni , " we believe we might record sundry moving incidents by flood and field , as well as recollections of men and manners
not ahvays in the highest circles of society . Xo form a thorough aecpiaintance with the loivest order of open-air labourers , there is nothing like a week or two in the quarries , and a working-day or two in railway cuttings . The warning—Ah ! me , what perils do environ
'The man who meddles with cold iron , might sometimes be transferred to the man who meddles with cold clay and stones . Menaced and murderously attacked by ' navvies ' were we , on one occasion , when we attempted to remove a crocodile ' s head , which we had discovered in the London clay . Our own head , indeed , was not broken , though threatened , but , unhappily , the crocodile ' s ivas ; and great were our difficulties—not to say dangers
—before the said sundered head reposed grimly upon our table . There is hardly a strange or mysterious object or calling which has not been attributed to us in our earlier journeys , when geologising was far less known than at present . AVe have been suspected of being a lunatic , a treasure hunter , a resurrection man , when we inquired for bones—a miner , a jeweller , a juggler , a
strolling-player , and a disappointed lover . We have sometimes endeavoured to explain the true state of the case , but iu remoter districts never with success . On one occasion when a foreign friend accompanied us and called at a cottage door for a glass of water , before lie could utter a word , the inmate exclaimed : ' No no ! nothing to-day—we don't want nothing to-day ! ' It should be added that our friend carried the bag of fossils . Our only comfort was that things were somewhat worse abroad . ' Here , '