ECHOES OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1180, 12 October 1894, Page 21

ECHOES OF THE WEEK.

Satire's my weapon, but I’m too discreot To ran amuck and tilt at all I meet. Porn,

BY SCRUTATOR.

The “grand old man" of American literature, Dr Oliver Wendell Holmes, is dead, at the ripe old ago of 85. Holmes has divided popularity with Russell Lowell those many years, not only with thousands of Americans,but with hosts of English speaking readers all the wide world over, and regret at his death will bo in many a heart just as full as, if not indeed deeper, than that oxpressed when Tennyson “ crossed tho bar.” Holmes was a many sided man, a physician, a scientist, and a writer alike of most charming prose and equally charming verse. Personally I prefer his prose and I would not, class him as a poet as being equal to oither Longfellow or Whittier. That ho wrote some very beautiful vorso Ido not deny. His “ Beforo the Curfew ” is an exquisite little gem, whilst in tho “ Ono Hoss Shay ” he is equal to Russell Lowell at his best, which is saying not a little. But for me Holmes is first of all tho essayist, the gossipper, tho dealer in the small wares of sociable gonial everyday philosophy the American Charles Lamb without that touch of pedantry which occasionally crops up in tho “ gentle Elia,” and without too Lamb’s frequent lapses into the purely egotistical and, to tell tho truth, the merely trivial. In the “Autocrat of the Breakfast Table ” rr- a and what a kindly gonial tolerant, charitable “Autocrat” he was ; Oliver Wendell Holmes gave the world a work which should never die so long as there are English speaking people left on this earth. The humour of the book has the true ring; it is never forced, never mechanical, like that of so many of Holmes’ compatriots ; and the philosophy is so kindly, the tolerance and breadth of view so fine, the hatred of shams and shoddy so intense—albeit nevor hysterically expressed. A grand book indeed the “ Autocrat.”

Holmes possessed, in my poor opinion, the truest sense of the proper relation of humour to literature. In one. place he says:—“lf the sense of tho ridiculous is one side of an impressible nature, it is voi’y well; but if that is all there is in a man, he had better have been an ape at once, and stood at the head of his profession. Laughter and tears are meant to turn tho wheels of the same machinery of sensibility; one is wind power, and the other water power, that is all. . . . Do 3' , ©u know,” he continues, “that you feel a little superior to every man who merely makes you laugh, whether by making faces or verses ? Are you aware that you have a pleasant sense of patronising him, when you condescend so far as to let him turn somorsaults, litoral or literary, for your royal delight ?” Just so. And acting up to this bolief, Oliver Wendell Holmes, .although a true humourist, was never a mere “ funny man.” His humour permeates his books, but it is kept under control, it does not dominate everything, as is so often the case with Lowell. As an essayist I think he is at his best. His novel—there is only one that I can remember just now, “ Elsie Venner” it is—was poor stuff beside Hawthorne’s- or even Poe’s fiction, but as a graceful essayist, a literary and philosophical flaneur, he tops the tree so far as American literature is concerned.

And, let ns English people remember that Holmes always had the kindliest feelings towards the “ Mother Land," as he called it. He was always sturdily American when international questions were on the board, but his pen was used ever for.peace and friendship, and never to stir up ill-will and bitterness. Only a few weeks a.-o I read a charming littlo book by Holmes, “ Our Hundred Days in Europe," the record of a trip to England and France made by the veteran in company with.his daughter, in 3 886. He had a great reception in London and at Cambridge and Oxford, and was made much of by everyone. All through the book there is never one sneer, one captious remark about England and Englishmen, nothing but a feeling of true fraternity and genial and genuine goodwill. Would that other American writers would follow so excellent an example ! His industry, like that of Gladstone, did not abate with age, for during the past three or four years he has done some admirable work for the Atlantic Monthly —the same magazine, by the way, as that in which his famous "Autocrat" first appeared. Buoyant and cheery to the last, there was none of that wailing pessimism about his later work which is so common in literary giants when they pass the seventies; and this cheerful, hopeful, bright and wholesome philosophy of all his life is nowhere better displayed than in one of his latest poems, “ Before the Curfew," two versos of which I cannot refrain from quoting: — Not bedtime yet! The full-blown flower Of all the year—this evening hour With friendship’s flamo is bright! Life still is sweot, the heavens are fair, Though fields aro bright and woods are fair And many a joy is loft to share Before we say Good-niglit!

And when, our cheerful evening past, The nurse, long-waiting, comes at last— Ere on her lap wo lio In Avearied nature’s sweet repose, At peace with all her waking foes, Our lips shall murmur ore they close: Good night! and not Good-bye ! And now, alas, the good, ldndly, Christian gentleman who penned the above beautiful lines has passed away. Rest in peace, cheery philosopher, genial wit, courteous and cultured gentleman, good, truo Christian—rest thou in peace !

The grim King of Terrors hovers over the head of another "Autocrat,” the greatest,

most powerful autocrat tins civilized world knows, the mighty “ Czar of all the Russian,” Alexander, ILL, the “ Father of his People,” “ Head of the Church,” the man at whose uplifted finger hundreds of thousands of aimed men would march to glory —or to death. Of what does the great Czar think, I wonder, as ho lies on that sick bed from which rumour says he may never ariss. What are his dreams like ? Are they ail of great pageants in which he is the central ligure, of countless battalions saluting their ruler, of a whole nation bowing beforo his august will, or —or docs ho see visions of hundreds of wretched creatures, whose only crime is to have questioned the infallibility of his rule, and striven to l ring about grievously noeded reforms, of miserable wretches chained to each other, tramping across vast snowy wastes, their lagging steps dogged by brutal soldiers armed with the awful knout — trampiug on in abject agony to the worso horrors of tho .Siberian mines ? I do not envy tho great Czar his dreams in these his days of sickness and sorrow. Better far for him were he some stupid, braudy-besodden peasant, to whom Nihilists wore no terror, whose uncouth and superstitious faith in an archaic faith makes passing hence for him no dread and awful thing. No, I do not envy the groat Russian Autocrat his dreams.

And should the Czar die? What then? Is it to bo a new era of tyranny and injustice, another few years of bureaucratic oppression and brutality, with here and there a lioi v riblo assassination and bloodthirsty murder, may bo another Russian Autocrat sent to tho All Just King of Kings to plead for mercy and pity, as was tho Czar Alexander I ? One cannot hope for much from the Czarewitch. He is young, it is true and should by this time have learnt that Russian Government as it is to-day is an anachronism in this latter end of the nineteenth century, that reforms ought to be granted, and liberty of political conscience and speech rule whore so long they have been unknown. But the nobility and tho bureaucracy may be too much for him as they have been, according to Mr Stead for his father. Nons verrons \

Should the Czar die and the Czarewitch come to the throne it may be just as well to remember the relationship of the Russian and other European royalties. The present Czarina -is a daughter of King Christian of Denmark and sister to the Princess of Wales. Her son is therefore a cousin to the Duke of York ancSta, nephew of the King of Greece. It lias been reported that the Czarewitch is to marry Princess Alix of Hesse, daughter of our good Queen’s good daughter, poor Princess Alice. If so the now Czar would be doubly allied to the English Royal Family. If there be any virtue in royal relationships, the relations betwoen Russia and Great Britain ought to bo more amiable in future, but when ambition sways the rule, family ties, I fear, count for little.

The Clerk of the Weather, a much-abused /individual he is in Wellington very often, sent us a splendid day for the Eight Hours Demonstration, which I am pleased to say was a great success in every way. The Basin Reserve was as pretty a sight during the afternoon as one could wish to see in a new country like this, and it did “ Scrutator’s ” heart good to see the thousands of remarkably well-dressed people enjoying themselves so soberly and agreeably. Curiously enough, it seemed to me there was an undue majority of the male sex, but if the “ missus ” were in some cases absent, there was no lack of the "kiddies." "Bless mo,” I heard one good old gentleman say, “ how on earth are we going to find work and a living for them all when they grow up?' A good many others besides that particular old gentleman expressed, I have no doubt, the same thought, but surely there is no roason for any undue anxiety. It is absurd to talk of over-popu-lation in a glorious country like ours, with agricultural aud mineral wealth in plenty still left undeveloped, with a climate as bright and healthy as the heart of man might wish for. Only let it bo instilled into the minds of the young men that a city life is not the beau ideal of 1 existence, that true comfort and hapniness can be found in a country life, and above all, let there bo facilities for the younger generation getting on to the land, and there should bo no fear of future trouble through over population.

An excellent feature of the whole proceedings was the absence of anything even approaching drunkenness. Time was in New Zealand when a gathering such as that of Wednesday would have been impossible had not liquor been dispensed on the ground. The spectacle of men reeling about and making beasts of themselves, and being a nuisance to all others, was one that was inseparable from popular assemblages not many years back. What a change do we witness to-day ! No liquor on the ground, no drunkenness, no roughness—everything decent, sober and well managed. Verily, there is much credit duo to thoso who have worked so hard to bring about such a marvellous improvement. It is a pity there were so few entries in some of the events, but this is sometimes both unaccountable and unavoidable, and I suppose the committee regretted the fact just as much as did the onlookers.

As to the procession, it seemed to mo to be much hotter arranged than that of last year, but—it is an Englishman’s privilege to gr umble—why do not more men walk with their trades organisations ? Surely there is nothing to bo ashamed of in Unionism ? —at least not in Unionism as we know it in this Colony. Unionism on sound and prudent lines is now fully recognised by the State, by the employers and by tlio general public, te be conducive to the welfare of the worker whilst not detrimental to the best interests of the employer—why, therefore, should there bo so few to follow the trades banners ? It is not that the Unions are numerically weak, for when

making enquiry on Wednesday I found that in ono instance where only a score or so of men followed their trades banner, there were over 120 members in that particular Union. Are the members afraid to walk with tlioir mates, or too lazy—or what ?

Another growl! What did the Premier and Mr Collins mean by coupling piece work with overtime as things which should be abolished? Undue overtime I can quite understand being a serious evil. It means too often the benefit of a greedy and selfish few to the detriment of tho many. Ten men working overtime with any regularity means tho exclusion of two or three men from the ordinary work. But where is the evil of piece work ? Piece work I always understood to mean the advantage of the skilled and industrious workman, to whom it gives opportunities for showing the stuff lie is made of, exhibiting the special talent he has for his work, giving him a chance to excel, to rise, to better his position. Payment by time all round to the exclusion of piece work would mean the levelling down of the skilled artisan, the abasement of tho more industrious and conscientious and the advantage of the lazy and tho unskilled. It is a gi’eat pity that Mr Seddon and Mi Collins did not explain where the evils of piece work come in ? No doubt their remarks were well meant, but they certainly require explanation. A bald statement that piece work is an evil is no argument, and when public men address a public assemblage they should avoid bold statements and deal with a question thoroughly and logically.

But my two gro.wls are after all very unimportant, in view of the general success of the day’s proceedings. Happier, better dressed, more distinctly “ comfortable looking folk I have never seen than the gathering at the Basin Reserve, and when one hears talk of the depression and of poverty and so forth, of the “ country going to the dogs,” and such like drivel, the feeling uppermost in my mind is one of mingled wonder and contempt. Certainly there were no signs of depression visible in that great assemblage of our workers on Wednesday. My hearty congratulations to all who had a share in so successful an affair.

Ono would hardly expect to find anything in the shape of humour in such a portentously entitled document as “ A Report to the Convocation of York on tho History and Present Position of Divorce in England,"” and I must say that that portion of the report which deals with English divorce is as “ flat, stale and unprofitable ” as the average New Zealand Blue Book. But as an appendix to the report there is a brief resume of the American divorce laws, and an account of their working, and here is where the humour—unconscious most of it—comes in. A list of the grounds upon which divorces hare been granted in America is given, and from this I gather some very surprising information. Divorces were, I find, granted to the wife against her husband on, amongst others, the following grounds : Ho does hot wash himself, inflicting groat mental anguish on her. When sho was sick, lie to harass her said ho meant to commit suicide, and did then and there drink a bottle of paregoric : which sorely grieved her in body and mind. She is subject to sick headaches that grow worso when sho smells tobacco : he uses tobacco and thus aggravates her headaches. Ho had enlisted in the navy.

He was guilty of cruelty in not providing a supply of water at his houso and in not repairing said houso so as to make it comfortable.

In the docreo appears this:-—"I find that when she was siolc and unablo to work ho told her the Lord oommanded her to work; that ho was also in tho habit of frequently quoting Scriptural passages in order to show she was to be obedient to her husband.”

“ My husband would never cut his toe-nails, and I was soratched vox*y severely every night, especially as ho was very restless.” “ During our wliolo married life my husband has nover offered to talco me out riding. This lias been a souroo of great montal suffering and injury.” “ He refused to let her or her children go to church.”

A rich girl, disliking her guardian, went to the hospital with tho intention of marrying a dying man, thinking that as a widow she would be freer and have more control over her estate. She married a man seemingly at tho point of death; but tho man recovered, and tho wife brought suit for cruelty and fraud.

Divorces have been granted to tho husband against his wife because :

She upbraidod him and said to him, “You are no man at all,” thus causing him mental suffering - and anguish.

“My wife rofusos to koop my clothing in repair : she evon refuses to cook, and never sowed on my buttons.” A witness testified that lie had seen him with only one button on his vest: ho further alleged that his wife would not allow him to go to fires at night ; that if ho went she would keep him awake till 3 o’clock quarrelling. Sho pulled him out of bed by his whiskers. Sho said to him: “ I care more for ’s littlo fingor than for your whole body,” thereby causing him montal anguish and suffering. Sho struck him a violent blow with her bustle.

She says there is no offspring of their marriage, thus rendering homo dreary and life burdensome.

“ My wife would not get up in tho morning; sho wouldn’t call me in tho morning; she would not do anything I requested of her ; sho had two brothers who would come to my house and say tlioy would thrash mo and make mo do anything my wil’o wanted mo to do.” “ How soon after marriage did sho begin this treatment?” “Tho socond day. I asked that wo have our meals at homo. Sho said sho would oat at the restaurant like her brothers ; if I didn’t her brothers would thrash mo.” Tho judge finds that “ she has acted in an unwifelike manner,” and grants a divorce on tho ground of cruelty.

I hardly think we New Zealanders should be over anxious to copy American divorce legislation if the above instances may bo accounted average results of tho same.