MR. BOWEN'S READING.

Press, Volume XIX, Issue 2811, 6 May 1872, Page 2

MR. BOWEN'S READING.

The following interesting paper was read by Mr C. G. Bowen at the opening entertainment of the Popular Amusement and Entertainment Association :— There are different ways of enjoying lift, in a colony, and of alleviating to a certain extent that feeling of expatriation which must, now and then, weigh upon the most cheerful amongst us. A soothing and undoubtedly popular compensation for all misfortunes, is the right to grumble. Far be it from mc to suggest that any one should giy c up such a time-honoured British privilegeit is not only a satisfaction to the grumbler himself, but a cause of constant amusement to his friends ; and when, as in some casea, a touch of humour is apparent in the growl the monotony oJ: conversation is very much relieved by the eccentricities of a good grumbler. It is not every one that can grumble nicely—there .are grumblers and grumblers. The man who ostentatiously hates his neighbour in revenge for his own supposed misfortunes—the woman whose grumbling takes the form of envying her neighbour's good fortune: such people ag these are simply social nuisances that ought to be suppressed. But if the right to a little genial grumbling is admitted, it must also be admitted that the grumbler is a very tiresome person, if he does not improve his own position and that of the country. Ag one constant source of complaint ,is the want of those appliances of civilisation and art which render an older country so attractive, it is worth] while to coneider how each of us, without any great expenditure of time and money, can add to our own comfort and happiness, and at the same time do something towards the maintenance of a higher standard of taste and artistic feeling than generally prevails. It was for a long time the custom to talk as if we had been cast upon a hopeless, dreary plain, whoso only virtue was its agricultural capability. I remember one gentleman who, in the first days of the settlement, was apt to find fault with everything in the colony, and who declared that no labor of man would make auy sensible improvement on these plains, within the lifetime of this generation. He said it was a vile country, and that nothing would grow in it; but for all that, he was an indußtrious and careful gardener, and within two years he complained that in this beastly climate trees grew so fast you had to be always pulling half of them out. Jt is a pity this gentleman did not stay here ; for he was a very good grumbler, and a very good colonist. However, without his help we hava seen what can be done on these plains. Intruth, let people say what they will, we had a noble ground-work for our labors. If we do not live in the heart of mountain scenery we are also free from the hardships endured by mountaineers ; and as means of travelling improve we shall all be brought near enough to become familiar with some of the grandest mountain views in the world. And is not the sense of vast space sometimes necessary for a full enjoymenfc of the beauties of nature 1 Is it not doubly enjoyable when the horizon is bounded by a raugo of lofty mountains, glistening white on a bright winter morning, glowing in the mysterious purple light of summer evening, or reflecting from rose-colored peaks such sunset skies as can only be witnessed at sea, or over the eealike expanse of a great plain? Add to this, that we are close to the varied beauty of the Peninsula, with hills as high and beautiful as those of Wales : with its wooded bays and sparkling streams, and it will be admitted that onr lot might have been cast in lead pleasant places. What may be done by mail to improve our estate can be judged by wlias has been done already. Only a few years back, the mpst sanguine gave up Christchurch as a hoplessly ugly town. A very good parody of the " Groves of Blarney, ,, written by Mr Crosbie Ward, was a fair description of the then aspect of the place:— Oh ! the town of Christchurch Is an elegant mixture Of roads and pasture, And swamp and sand ; So widely stretching In each direction, From Brittan's section To Caulfield's land. Oh! fifty twenties, The whole extent is, Of English acres, All in a square, And plenty of space is In vacant places, With patches of praties Lying here and there.

Oh ! when you enter, You're in the centre Of houses in plenty On every hand, There's more than twenty, Both full and empty, And the Superintendent's Is very grand. And there's public houses, Where whoevcrr chooses", *■ Walks in and carouses' ■ On the best of fare ; But the distant Royal, Is, without denial, The biggest of all, Beyond compare. And there's many a mansiODt Of grand expansion. And some I could mentioßi That couldn't be beat, And there's tidy villas, With weeping willows, And one with pillars Ju Cashel street, Oh ! that's the location, That's the admiration, Of the population Both far and wide, For in two rows neatly All down the. street, the Honses stand in it On every side. And there's loud resounding From the iron foundry, And the Union Bank Has an office there; And there's Mr Packer, And there once was Thacker, But Dγ Barker Is in Cathedral square. Now them that governs This noble province Hai a gorgsous ofllcc 'Jftatyofl'il quite admire; But the way into the building Is most bewildering, So the officials and children Blip through the wires. And then there's verandahs Above two of the windows, But the other end is Entirely bare;

And there's a big suu dial — .•-r--gfuck up for atrial, How longtime sky 11 / Continue fair. yow tlic rooms arc spacious Xud multifarious, _ The Chief Secretary is Under the tiles: Bnt the elegant Chamber Of the Legislature Is the grandest feature Of this noble pile. Aud a new and grand set stands over against it (Though they're not commenced yet) On the other side Of the River Avon, That through flax leaves waving, Is the water crosses laving With her silver tide. But long is the narration Of tie situation Which my poor genius Can not entwine ; Bnt were I the writer ' Of the Cbristchurch paper •-lis in every feature I would make it sliiue. jjow no one would recognize the justice of * nat E g not seen the lace some years back. Nothing could be rettier than the vistas bounded on either ?de by plantations, and ending with the Port Hills at one end or the Snowy Moun- ' teine at the other. While there are bits of jLwonnd by the river such as would de■lielit any painter's eye. That little view taking in the river front of the Government Bnildings with the Gloucester street bridge V like a bit out of one of the old English edie«riate towns. It is really something for a young settlement to be proud of. I hare never grudged one penny that was EP ent on tnose buildings. Unless c the next generation to grow up with a belief that there is nothing in life so attractive as money making, we ought to be clad that so far from the centres of art and civilisation, there is here and there something to educate the eyes of the young; to teach them, for instance, that there is something more beautiful in the world than certain great buildings in Christchurch, four sqnare and flat roofed, on which money enough has been spent to have given us ornaments instead of eye-sores. The Conncil Chamber is well worth a visit; for, eren'in a town boasting many noble specimens of architecture, it would hold its own as a really beautiful room. Now the question for each of us is, how far we can individually help in the progress of art, and evolve beanty from our every day surroundings. Every one has some latent artistic sense, which only requires to be aroused and stimulated, to tsroduce great results. Why should we.be content with less than others? When a nan or woman says in excuse for unnecessary slovenliness or bad taste—'• Oh ! it's good enough for a colony," is this not admitting the worst that our detractors have tosav? Why should we not get into the habit. of saying—"This is not good enough, for the colony." There may be some excuse for old-established offences against taste; but where we have to begin afresh we are bound to take advantage of onr position to start aright. We are not all greatartists, but a people imbued with a love of what is beautiful in art and nature, could soon effect what a few great artists could never achieve. And the secret of beauty iv the common surroundings of life is so simple that it is attainable by everyone, whatever his circumstances may be. One of the greatest living writers on Art, Mr Euskin. has done more practically for the advancement of Art among the people generally, by IS forcible demonstration of the necessity fcftrath, than by all his eloquent criticisms and wonderful word painting. Those who are most inclined to rebel against his arrogant dogmatism, must feel grateful for the force and value of his sermons on Truth. : Why did our forefathers of five centuries ; ago succeed in making even a barn picturesque? Because their buildings were put together truly and well to meet the purposes I they were intended for : because their houses did not pretend to be more than they were —because the construction was never concealed by tawdry ornament, and because as a rule every man built for himself and did not care to He to himself about his work. Here we are so far advantageously placed that most men build for themselves ; and I think that if the dignity and nobleness of true work were once clearly pointed out to iim, do man would care to encumber Ms property with an obvious sham. Why is almost every monument of the eighteenth century hideously ugly ? Because the ; eighteenth century was an age of shanis. The virtuoso of that age wore sham hair and a sham figure; he lived in a sham Gothic iioase, surrounded by sham gardens, in which trees and shrubs were tortured into the fiiapes of sham birds and beasts; he built sham ruins and wrote sham sentimentality ibcrat them ; he admired churches in which the true work of past times had been hidden by sham ceilings ; and he wrote verses to a fham love whom he probably called Phillis or Chloe. If such was the supposed patron of art, no wonder if the multitude wallowed in bad taste. This generation'has shaken off • good deal of this, but it is far from having 1 Ttt accepted. the law of truth as the only j§ Uw of beauty. Without referring to old f Torid sins, do we not see, not further off than J Sristchurch. true gables hidden by hideous 3| famts, intended to deceive people into a 5 kSief in larger rooms within 1 Do we not 'jj sand wooden walls to make them I fck. like stone? Are we not fond of '4, Panting honest wooden chimney pieces, so 1 8 b look like marble ? of veining a fed to make it look like oak ? Nay, I have M sham buttresses absolutely built of Slather boards and sham pediments stuck iato shingle roofs. It is not our material Bat is to blame, but the use we make of it. Consider the question of a cottage roof alone. How often it is thought economical to build s low pitched hipped roof without eaves; PT firfi yet this is the most useless kind of roof Kf % can be imagined. It is constructively ?| ; it is not long weather proof without r .v' ; it is cold in winter, aud hot in sum- **{ *» i the-accommodation beneath it is very -J jj~tedj it leaves the walls and windows of - •■* >«bonse without shelter from either rain or I . &B. Add to all this, that it is hideously * 1 *&, and has the same effect as a man ia a * * £^* W hat witnout a to it. Now let l i be high pitched, with honest gable sy j**s,''the rafters cut long enough to give Jtj projecting eaves; such a roof is proof jg| *S*a«t sun and rain ; it affords a good room ■m t P&airs, lighted either from the gable ends •m p*bya dormer window, and not least, it is ■ iltS acomfort and pleasure to look at. i Atteation to such points as these would make J difference in general comfort I ?* beauty. When little more than a j WBille cottage is wanted, there is no doubt I *NBedifficulty in getting architectural effect H ?!, °* XFeatner boards. It is hard to make up 1 ?, ewaQ t of recessed doors aud windows. ,'t| ** in many cases the effects of light and <M r*&i-which are the poetry of building, have M i?? Rtia ined fey the judicious use of deep M ***** gables, porches, verandahs, balconies. m Si^ 1 " na tural and useful additions to a 3& rjp6& house. However, if we can once ffei k^ OUr tast e so far as to reject all shams, I"-* r*** r er fashioaable they may have become, t? 2i5,* c haye got rid of sham hair and sham £1* cr y aii d sham house fronts, we may -** th<» te< * to ornament 0U1 " work, but not till V, ft?* It will be much if we can attain to 4*_ tj^L** of honest work aud fair propor- •'_; %*!?** are few men who have not paid *Sl^ entioQ t0 gardening and planting: tW,? their experience must have told I ia^L" 1 * 1 tb e same rule holds good there as ' I &cT 1U buildin S- The curve no doubt is 4 *ithfnf o£ beaut y; but a curve laid out ; 1 tSenri a reason for ifc—a sham curve—is as V isnr c as all other shams mast be. It is 3§ to fa Co ? wrta We l nor beautiful, to' wriggle _ flsad u a i Ou,e along a path laid out on a i S«**+ w a corkscrew. Such a path is I "dvv r M are the streets «* Lt- y--1 *«Sp1 v bave at 2 reat expense and incon--1 laid out iQ straight lines 1 asfcZd O ? lD g gullies, so as to destroy the 1 e-sks^ I^ol^®sll6 -'* of the site. The 1 **S¥ Walk 0Q th e dead level, the I *"" twes across the \vindicg gullies, are

botli-off?nt?wagainst good taste." anHTnVolvo asptich offences always do. discomfort aud n: :. r,,st. A little trouble and forei.:_>.;ii;h: -> gmuping tr^cswhen first planted, I v,-;ll be ftinply repaid by the harmonious eii~>ct in a tew years'time : and this holds good whether a duzeu .'trees arc put in or a thousand. While on the subject of planting. I would put iv a plea for the dciduous forest trees of the old country. We are naturally anxious for immediate effect : and in the m.ue for evergreen trees are apt to overlook the value of'our old f rieuds. lam j far from wishing to under rate the importance of thenumerous pi;;.' tribe, and of the many varieties of which have recently been collected from all parts of the world. Bat we must, in a level country especially, prize everything that relieves monotony. Nature loves coutiasts. As a general rule tho! pine, with its regular and somewhat formal foliage, is found naturally in mountainous districts, where the ground is broken into a thousand rugged shapes; while the fan-tastically-twisted boughs of the oak, the elm, and other hardwood trees, overshadow the bottom lauds, rich with a quieter beauty. We ought to think of the future as well as of the present, and find a place amid the evergreen favorites for the summer shade, the autumnal coloring, and the winter tracery of deciduous trees. It would be worse than useless for one so unskilled as myself to attempt to give a lecture upon building and planting ; but it is worth reminding ourselves and each other how (one or two fixed principles once recognised), we may all of us take part in introducing true art amoug us ; —how we may thus help to refine and elevate our lives by a growing love of beauty ; and how, without stepping out of our usual course of life, we may leave to posterity a better legacy than mere tangible riches.