LITERATURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1847, 15 April 1887, Page 34

LITERATURE.

By Aristakchus.

CRITICAL SKETCHES.

STENHOUSE'S POEMS. William M. Stenhouse, M.D., during his recent visit to England published an elegant volume of poems, songs, and sonnets. I suppose thi9 is an earnest of " the great English poets of the future that will be born aud nurtured in the unexhausted soil and spiritual capabilities of New Zealand."- The book is dedicated to his loving and pleasing spouse. The verses partake more of the didactic than aesthetic element. They are written to instruct rather than, to fill the ear with pleasing but empty sounds, as is the case generally with poets of the present age. The author claims " to have assailed the most conspicuous vices of the age." The career of Lucy Brown is typical of the fate of barmaids' temptations—seduction and premature death. Invariably there steps " upon the scene the man who holds the key," and the fact is soon recognised. " 'Tis passing sad that woman's love, sweet gem of purest ray, Should prove her bane, and lead her oft unwittingly astray." The poem on " The Mermaid " is a purely fanciful dream, not without some merit: " She wound her arms around me like a vice, And filled ray mouth with kiseoß by the score ; Such blandishments wore new and felt ao nice. That while she fed me still I hungered more. We were alone, so there was no great harm If she did dally with her lover boy: The sweets of love, however great their cbirm, When sipped in secret give a double juy." Dr Stenhouse's book should be acceptable to temperance associations: " The drunkavd treads all human tie* Like dirfc beneath his foot; ' And what is sacred in men's eyes Uegards he like a brute." The doctor's poetry is more forcible than elegant. There are some vulgarisms, but the moral tone is really good. He has hit upon the spirit of epicureanism in his ode: " While youth is in season let ua seize her ripe fruit, Aud fill up the swift hours with love, wine, and song." This is the essence of the Horatian maxim, " Curjfe diem." 41 Love's Countersign " is a charming engagement lay: " Ah, live with me, sweet maid, and see The joys that I shall bring to thee ! A kiss shall wake thy soul from sleep, When flushed Aurora 'gins to peep." " The glory of a woman's life Lives in that little vocal—wiie." Dr Stenhouse is a deeply religious man : " Oh, leave me alone with my God ! For His wisdom with me'cannot err ; Though heavy the strokes of His rod, Yet the same very gladly I bear." He is quite conscious of the momentous results of human conduct: " Each deed, each word, each look, each thought, Are links of an eternal chain, With mighty consequences fraught, Creating either bliss or bane." His ode on " Burns' Birthday " is really good: " As genfle as a maid, He was as woman weak." Some of Ins sonnets contain excellent wisdom ; '•If it is life to labour, strlvfl. and groau, To fill the pockets full of sovereign gold, And intellect and heart aljke dethrone, I should not care how sqon its days were told. One noble thought or valiant deed to own, Were more to me than riches mauifold !" " Be gentle and kind, for little we know The import of every soft word we bestow." " Innocence, thou j«wel of the soirt, Be thou of all my aims the goal ; Take thou thy lodgment in my breast. And keep out every a-nful guest. Clothe me with every winning gtae-s, And stamp thy seal upon my "face."' But the gem of the book is the fatal love tale of " The Lily of Greenvale," in three books. A patrician in his rambles falls in love, at first sight v with a simple peasant girl. They both loved not wisely, but too well; and through the pride of his mother and the treachery of hers the end is tragical. Well does the poet describe the charms of Nellie Drtle and the passion of the noble wooer : " Not over tall she was, of medium height, And well proportioned, neither full nor slight; Her graceful carriage easy as a fawn That steps across the sward at break of dawn. Her Hmbs were lithe, and sinewy, and straight. And all their motions as co-ordina'e As if they felt one impulse from her mind Inform them, though variously combined ; Her ample hair, light brown, was golden tinged, And gleamed in sunlight beautifully fringed. Like margiu of a cloud touched by the sun." The whole picture is long, laboured, and beautiful—worthy of a goorl and great bard. The first parting is tenderly told : " And when we parted in a long embrace, A tender yearning overspread her face, Which gave me courage to attempt a kiss. Aad seal our compact with ecstatic bliss.'" By day, by night, in weal or woe — " His admiration grew so as lie gazed. That Nellie blushed and felt a little dazed ; And then with maiden modesty withdrew, As by an instinct to her nature* true." Alas! the course of true lovn never yet ran smooth : . •* For h .w without a decent explanation Could ivo KCfjunt for Nellie's alteration ? Which from that day so obvious became Hint none could be unconscious of tho same." The result—she sickens and dies. " As for our hero he became quite ill," and gradually becomes a worthless gambler, drunkard, and sot. Such is the fatal effect

of disappointnaent in true love. The blush of love and modesty, " Laid on her cheeks by Nature' 9 truthful brush," disappears, and Death marks her for his own. In his case pure love degenerates into libertinism and immorality. Still her memory haunted'him, for the " First kiss of love -oh, who can e'er forget ? " But, as the bard says, well and truly, " Unmiu^led bliss has not been dealt to man, But various ills bridge o'er his mortal span," True love is ennobling and divine : " Thus love, like the all-bounteous sun to earth, T-oth fertilise the soul, and bring to birth The noblest virtues an<l the richest traits, Whereon mankind can speculate and gaze. Tis thus beneathaffection's holy flame That minds grow tempered to a nobler fame, And all that s great and God-like in mankind Best flourishes when by pure love refined." She was to Lord Archibald " Dearer thau ljfe, than rank, than nil I haveRob me of her, you send me to the grave ; For I will love her with my latest breath, And lisp her name in the last throes of death." But the stern old earl and countess were relentless, and hino hae lachrymal. The mother dearly paid for her deceit in the death of her daughter. To intercept the letters of the lover to her child was mean and contemptible: '• " O craven soul V that skulks beneath a lie, And for a selfish end would truth deny. After a while poor Nell wns seen to droop, Her Bt>-p grow, languid, and her Hgure stoop, And in. her eye there was a mournful look, While healthy colour all her face foreook ; No smile was seen about her lip to play, No cheerful singing and no laughter gay, But still her tongue was silent in her grief, And her own bosom only held the brief ; With her own s % lf she held communion long, And pondered much wherein they had gone wrong, - i And bitterly she found herself repeat That she no message to dear Arch had sent, Explaining she would 'ove him to the end, And wait with hope what Providence should send. Her spirit .thus distracted knew no peace, Nor from those painful musings got release, And even the night refused to bring her sleep, And weary vigils 's-'e was forced to keep. Then she was troubled with a tiresome cough, Which, though infrequent, never quite left off, But, short and dry, awakened no surprise, Nor roused suspicion to the dread surmise That hc-ein lay the sproutings of a seed That in her aystem would grave mischief breed." Finally Nellie Dale was " Killed by the grief that she could nofc endure." In the case of her noble lover — whom vice, gambling, and despair drove to tho verge of madness — " A pistol shot scatters his maddened brains '. " " Wicked arts severed him from his mate, Whom he loved dearly, with a heart sincere, And wailsd her loss with many a fruitless tear. Deeming her false he was too proud to moan, And bo his heart grew hardened into stone ; And woman's love, that might have been his joy, Became the devil's weapon to destroy." Thus ends the sad tale of " winsome Nellie Dale " arid her noble sweetheart. The patrician and plebeian mothers found ample time to mingle their repentant tears. They had blighted the happiness of " Two happy souls, possessing but one heart, Whom their own, schemes had driven far apart." "The Lily of Green vale" is indeed a piteous tale, and is well told by the author. " Such is fche story that with many a tear Is told in Clydesdale homes from year to year. For all true lovers let the story plead, And parents never more such mischiefs breed ! " So much for Dr Stenhouse's poems, songs, sonnets. The book has rare and exceptionable merits. We hope that he will "once more enjoy freedom from pain and anxiety," and appear again before the public "with something more nearly approaching his ideal of poetical composition than anything contained in this volume." His present work reflects credit alike upon the author and the city of Dunedin. The book deserves to be bought, read, marked, learned, and digested.