RANDOM NOTES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 246, 5 February 1877, Page 2

RANDOM NOTES.

" A duel's amang- ye takin' notes, An' faith lie'il prent 'em." —Burns. Br MAGGUFFIIT. ® "• I am somewhat puzzled to know whether the same mastermind which, guides the destinies of the Great Timaru Herald has also charge of the columns of its we(ci)k].y reprint—the Tomahaivk. Judging from inference, however, I should imagine such, to be the case, for I notice the latter journal alludes to statements made in the daily print as to what "we" said, and what " we" have done, and " our expression of good-will as to the success of the success of the Oamaru Breakwater," &c. True to its instincts the Timaru Herald swallowed the leek, and ate very humble pie, when castigated by the little Mail, as the Tomahawk is pleased to call it; but the serpent of petty spite and jealousy was only scotched, not killed, and its editor has broken out in a fresh place. By the sidewind of the Tomahaivk he reiterates most of the statements for which he whined peccavi in the Herald. He still accuses the Is or tlx Otago Times of personality and a breach of journalistic etiquette in alluding to the editor of the Herald by name, notwithstanding our local contemporary positively denied the charge. Perhaps the aggrieved gentleman will pardon me for going out of the way to find him a salve for his wounded feelings, by giving him my reading of the meaning of the editor of the North Otago Times. If I remember aright, the obnoxious and insulting remark was that the Herald's article had "a Wakefieldian air about it." Now, it is well known that some men and places become notorious or famous (if the word reads better) for their language, principles, or characteristics, and wo speak of Mioatvbsrian prospects, Maomavelia:-r principles, and Billingsgate slang. It is equally well known that a person named Wakefield has initiated a style of language which is synonymous with scurrility in its purest form, bullying and braggadocio of the most obnoxious kind, and whining of the most degrading and debasing nature. That the tenor of the Herald's article bore a resemblance to the style of the person alluded to was not the fault of the editor of the Times, but it does not by any means follow that in alluding to a stjde of composition which partakes of the nature of a class, the Times even by implication intended to allude to the Herald's editor personally. I ca~not believe that the editor of the Herald is the Wakefieldian alluded to by our contemporary r for his articles are so brimful of egotism, that nothing said or done by that grnth-uuan would possibly be accepted otherwise than complimentary, and were he tuereal Simon Pure, the reference would most certainly have been so- construed. In concluding the article, the Tomahaivk says :—" The little Mail settles the whole matter in the most comical way, by declaring that our article was written by somebody at Oamaru. "Well, well, what next 1 Our own opinion is that if anybody at Oamaru had had sufficient knowledge of the facts, and sufficient indifference for the hot breath of the mob, some such article would long since have been not only written, but also published there.". Like his brother in distress, the Tomahaivk i 3 of an exceedingly imaginative turn of mind, and exhibits a disregard for truth and facts, which must be contagious. •• With all respect to it, The Matt, never said the article had been written in Timaru. Such a statement scarcely requires refutation, and bears a contradiction on the face of it, for the peculiar composition of the tirade stamps its. Tiinarnan origin, and umnistakeably declares the Herald office as its birthplace. What was said by The Mail was, that its padding was furnished from Oamaru, but that the ornate language in which the charges were couched was a style peculiarly the Herald's own. As any allusion to the '' Wakefieldian " seevns to grate upon the sensitive ear of the Tomahawk's editor also, might I be allowed, by implication, to make reference to the converse, and advise him to study Chesterfield, and in future discard fiction for jfact. This is from the little Matt, to the Three B.s of Timaru—Big, Blustering, Braggadocio. We are essentially a go-ahead people, and matters which, in the Old Country, take months and years to mature, are here disposed of in many days, In nothing, however, is this so apparent as in a fairs concerning the a'i'ections, and the gushing of the sweet children of nature generally simplifies matters, and those tiresome delays by which two Ijving hearts are kept asuncler. A short time since a young male friend of mine— who has been noted for his gallantry to the fair sex, and his susceptibility to their charms—paid a visit to the North Island. On his return there happened to be on board the steamer two fair daughters of Auckland, to whom the swain paid some delicate little attentions, and a mutual friendship was the result. The Colonial practice of exchanging photos, was, of course, indulged in, but no vows were uttered, nor a promise made other than that of corresponding. The ladies got out at Christchurch, while their admirer went on to Dunedin, where he shortly afterwards received a missive from the older of the two, which was written with a gusli and

loving f tone scarcely warranted by the short acquaintance, or the footing upon which they parted. A reply was sei:t, 'but hot of nearly so ardent a nature, only to be followed by one from the lady, asking when the gentleman would be alia to marry her, as she wished to have it over before April. This was a part of the piogramxne. which had not be.n ca'culated upon, and the second letter and request was studiously ignored; and my friend was just congratulating himself upon having got rid of his matrimoniallyinclined acquaintance, when a third epistle came to hand, still breathing of love and reproaches, but winding up as follows : " But, darling, as it is just possible I may not be the object of your affectionate regard, I am willing to sacrifice my own feelings for your happiness ; and wish to tell you that if you do not care for me, you can have sistt-r Jeannie in my stead." 1 blush to say such sublime devotion and self-sacrifice was doomed to go unrewarded, and two days after the letter was received, the object of this double attraction was heading for another Colony. Never since Arfcemus Ward offered to shed the last drop of his mother-in-law's blood in defence of his country, has such a magnanimous offor been made and rejected.