"Liber's" Liberty

NZ Truth, Issue 550, 1 January 1916, Page 4

"Liber's" Liberty

"Ltbor," who act* aa a literary taster for the readers of the "Dominion" and ono or two other New Zealand Tory papers, the other day said that: Among the Civil List pensions recently granted, was one to E. Nlab«.t, widow of the late Hubert Bland. The lore-loving "Liber" then' goes on to tell his readers of the Literary labors of the genial "Hubert" of the "Sunday Chronicle." The Infer enco Is that Mrs. Bland has received her Civil List pension In recognition of her late husbands service* to literature. Nothing could be further from fact. Hubert Bland, whom writer knew and esteemed highly as a man, as well as a writer, was an able journalist aud a clover book- builder, but apart I from certain rather lino work done at j the Instance of the Kublan Society, and ! which for long will hayt^ a propaganda, If. not a historical, value with yoclallsts uud Labor mefi, hla writings, remarkably good as mo»t of his output was, were mostly of an evanescent and epho"inenil nature. His wife. "E. Nesblt " (not "Nlsbet." milord "Liber"!) stands on v much higher unil morn lasting p«dostal. "K. Nt'sblt's" Christian nutiu- lit I ICdttti. but nhi: onc<! wurnt<d thb- «crlbo ( n<:vtM' to call her so, as she considered i It "unlucky" — the u«e of it, and not tho name m Itself! To-day, for ev«-ry unu I who bus heard the luiniu. uf her lav*. htiKh.ind. liuu<li\mlm know uml onjoy tho writfiiKH. 1» both prom? and vltm*, (»f "K. Xi.'.sblt." UvHldo hi-r many w»>Hknown poiiui!*. and lu>r inoro vorlotis offi»rtj». «Jie lvi.m wiitlfit many vory lino books for children, more than ouo of which tins far abov«r the nvrnigti> of such work. Her woll-known poem. "The DalInd of Splendid .S!h-nce," In oqual to anything ami- superior to much In Kiplinjj. No, "K. Nei<bH" needs no r«*H»»i:rC«l glory from her Ini* huwbaud. and onu need not look t<)r» far ahead to »«o tho duy when Hubert Itlatid. clever as bo wan, If lie In remembered at ull, by any but bookwornjn, will bo recalled bocauao he wti« the husband ut "K. N<*ublt.*'