HIS LAST VOYAGE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 142, 16 June 1906, Page 5

HIS LAST VOYAGE.

A REVERIE ON THE PASSING OF THE PREMIER. OUTWARD BOUND. Sunset and evening etar, And one clear call for me I And may there be no moaning of the bar When "I put out to ecu. There had been ceaseless wandering* to and fro, and ever-accumulating work piled high upon, the desk and in the restloss brain of the Prime Minister. ,Tho first session of a new Parliament, big with possibilities, was rapidly approaching, and the time for preparation was all too short. But still there came tho call for the personal presence, and goodnatured habit had made it impossible for this chief of a great political clan to cay 'W to his henchmen, wherever they might bo or however humble their position. How to escape it all? The sea! There stretched the realm of solitude that would Eoothe the troubled spirit, shut out importunate intruders, and conduce to that uninterrupted concentration of thought that was _so essential to the working out of the Great Idea of the Humanist. Many of the- great men who have added important pages to the history of nations, whose work has had enduring; effects upon their own age and upon posterity, have,, in the stressful periods of their lives, been unconscious of the full effect of their activities upon themselves. Each, in his masterfulness, has been t» himself guide, philosopher, and friend— and each his own woist enemy. They work, not because the night is coming, but because work has become an uncontrolled habit. Too late they seek respite -md the journey which should mean a renewal of health becomes a last voyage. And so this great Englishman with the Great Idea remembered a call from the Commonwealth. The remembrance was opportune; he would make a neighbourly call, ivould have an interchange of ideas, would bind more tightly \he ties of kiuship — and, above all, fie would have, if only for a few days, the solace of the sea. There was keenest pleasure in the very thought! There was peace and a great joy in the Voyago of the Outward Bound. , HOMEWARD BOUND. But such a. tide as moving 6eems asleep. Too full for count! ami foitm, When that which tUew from out tho boundless deep Turns again home. * The sea had not disappointed th« voyageur. There had been undisturbed restk peaceful communings, undistracted thinkings, and only the work that was a pleasure to attack. ■ Then came the added tonic of a new nation's welcome. Hero was absolute appreciation of the great endeavours to do things ! It came as tho wine of life, without .any lees. Heartiness was expected, but this was right royal recognition — joy exuberant. Was it to be expected that ho would not drink deeply of this free-flowing spirit of the times? Was there hint or danger signal as ho passed along the line? Perhaps; but still there was work, and work, and still more, work. After the feasb came the discussions of subjects that he would not willingly let die. Ho had only forsaken work to do more work. And then there came the great longing again for the sea and for home. Was there never to bo rest? Oh, to be home again — thafwas God's Own Country! Kia Ora ! And so he shaped hiß course towards the Way of the Homewardßound. CROSSING THE BAR. Twilight end evening bell, Ahd after that tbo dark! Ana niny there be no sadness of fiu-ewcll When I embark I Once more the face is turned towards the sea ; but even the sea failed to charm. Home! that -was now the most desired haven. By his side were -wife and eon 'and daughter and servants and work— . but Home was where heart and thought were. Work and yet more work. The rushfulness and restlessness of life had kept the mighty force going ; but now came the backwash of life's extiiting, rushing, uplifting stream. "I am going to God's Own Country!" he advises a kindred spirit, and his thought struck truer than he know. Or did hs know? Did his own throbbing brain and pulsating heart give premonition of th© Last Voyage? No one knows. But a great weariness must have lain upon his soul and heart and mind. As the poet Tennyson had written, the voyageur had seen the "sunset and evening star," and had heard the "one v clear call for me." If home, the much-desired, was far off or near at hand, "* the home-call found a response in the affectionate and heart-reaching cry, "Oh, Mother!" The weary head had found a last restingp]aco which is the greatest symbol of home ; and the spirit had taken its final flight on the Last Voyage of 4;he Homeward Bound. For though from out our bourne of time and place Tho flood may beur mo far, I hope to ccc- my Pilot face to faos When I havo crossed tlio bar. •

Judges are very candid in their expressions sometimes. Mr Justice Grantham, in a recent case at the Old Bailey, said to a prosecutor: "If ever you do anything of tho kind again, and you get a thundering good horse-whipping, it will serve you right." The probabilities are that that was the most popular sentence his Lordship made use 6i on that day. An English paper, commenting on the uso of such vigorous but hardly forensic language, suggests the following model for future use when sentencing a prisoner, say, to pay a £5 fine: — "Prisoner, you have had the confounded check to plead not guilty to the charge, which was a sitter from the start, and it's iolly lucky for you that I am disposed to take a lenient view of tho case. Of course, what your counsel said was mostly Thomas Rot, and the evidence is quite compatible with your being a bit of real hot stuff. But, on the whole I am disposed to think that you aro just a prize rotter who has made a bally ass of himself, and that you will bo sufficiently punished by a fine of five of tho best." The Commonwealth Minister for Defence has decided to ask Parliament) this year to vote £1738 for the expenses of an exchange of officers with England, India, and Canada, and also for officers sent to England for special instruction. Senator Playford points out that at presenb there are no facilities in Australia for giving special instruction to these officera, and they are being sent abroad, so that on th«V return they can imparfc the knowledge obtained to otftier Australians. For some reason (says a Melbourne paper) Federal Ministers «are very reluctant to make any announcement about their decision to abandon their proposal to introduce the toll telephone system on Ist July. There appears to be no doubt, however, that they will not persist with this scheme at present. At any rate, nothing more may be heard of it until Mr. Austin Chapman, tho Postmaster-General, returns from Europe at the end of the month, with all tho latost information ■ respecting telephone matters generally. Visitors tto Kiama, near Sydney, recently were afforded an opportunity of witnessing 'a fight close to the chore between a whale, a thrasher, and a "swordfish The whale, which appeared lo be about 40ft long, leaped repeatedly out Of tiho water. The combat ended' in n vie* tory for the" thrasher and. swordfigh, fo,r after a time the whale was seen rolling helplessly in the sea.