NOTES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 3284, 7 April 1885, Page 2

NOTES.

The " Life of George Eliot," edited by jer husband, Mr J. W. Cross, seems to je the literary sensation of the seaaou at Some. There i 3 naturally a great desire o know something about the inner life >f one not untruthfully described as " the jreatest Englishwoman of our time." It ffas indeed a marvellous genius that could )resent such matchless portraits of English village life, could so stir our >carts with the sorrows and joys of the nimble heroes and heroines found m sountry cottages and farmhouses, and iat could take us into the loftiest regions >f metaphysical speculation and research. Che " Life "' now published consists mncipally of extracts from George Eliot's >wn journals and correspondence, and ,here is much left untold which the )üblie would like to know. Concerning jer " union " with Mr G. H. Lewes, tho )ook gives us little that is new. A letter >n the subject from George. Eliot is pubished, from which it would appear that heir disregard of the marriage laws iaused the gifted couple to be practically istracised by a number of their former riends. It also appears, incidentally, hat Mr Lewis' family life was a very m happy one, and his home had been tactically broken up for nearly two fears. In the course of a letter which the wrote to Mrs Bray, the gifted LUthoreas refers as follows to the eubect : — Light and oasily brokou ties avo what '. noitlier desire theoretically nor could ive for practically. Women who are satisfied with such ties do not aot is I have done. That any unworldly, unluperstttious person who is sufficiently ac[uaiuted with the realities of life can pronounce ny relation to Mr Lewes immoral I can only mderstand by remembering how subtle and iomplex are the influences that mould opinion. I indulge m no arrogant or nncharitablo ;houghts about those who condemn us, even ;hough wo might have expected a somewhat lifferent verdict. From the majority of per10ns, of course, we have looked for anything >nt condemnation. ... We are leading no life of self-indulgence, ixoept indeed that, being happy m each other, vo tiud everything easy. We are working hard » provide for others better than we provido 'or ourselves, and to fulfil every responsibility ;bat lies upon us. Levity and pride would not je a sufficient basis for that. The friendship, it appears, was brought ibout through the medium of Herbert Spencer. In numerous letters m reference .o their association George Eliot exmists almost every expression that 'onduess could suggest m speaking of the lappiness of their home. Portraits of Doth are given m an English newspaper. Fhat of George Eliot taken m 1858 confirms the general impression that her attractions were of the intellectual rather than of the physical order. She has a wide mouth, a large, ill-shaped nose, but there is a thoughtfulness and kindliness ibout the eyes which must have gone far bo redeem the defects of the other features. Her husband, Mr Cross, who always speaks as the ardent, almost idolatrous lover, thus describes her appearance when he tirst met her m 1869 :— Through the dimness of these fifteen years, and all that has happened m them, I still seem bo hear, as I first heard them, the low, earnest, deep, musical tones of her voice. I still seem bo see the fine brows, with the abundant auburn-brown hair framing them, the long head broadening at the back, the grey-bine eyes, constantly changing m expression, but always with a very loving, almost deprecating, look at my mother; the finely-formed, thin, transparent hands, and the whole " wosen," that seemed m complete ha' mony with everything one expected to find m the author of " Eomola." Mr G. H. Lewes appears m his portrait, as an extremely thoughtful-looking man, with a fine forehead, but long, neglected hair, with a shaven chin, but wearing a moustache and fringe of beard. His death occurred m 1878, and m 18S0 George Eliot married Mr Cross, to whom, also, oddly enough, she was introduced by Herbert Spencer. Their wedded life lasted a little more than, six months. On the afternoon of Friday) the 17th December, 1880, they went to see the Agamemnon performed m Greek by Oxford undergraduates, and enjoyed the representation so much that they arranged to read together during the winter months the great Greek dramas. Next day they went to a concert at St. James's Hall, and George Eliot — for so Mr Cross speaks of her throughout the book — seems to have caught cold m a draught. At first she was treated for an ordinary gore throat, but on the following Wednesday Dr Andrew Clarke, the famous physician so well known as the medical attendant and friend of Mr Gladstone, was called m, and found that the pericardium was affected. Mr Cross adds : — While tho doctors were at her bedside, Bho had just time to whisper to me, " Tell them I have great pain m the left side," before she became unconscious. Her long illness m the autumn had left her no power to rally. She passed away, about ten o'clock at night, on the 22nd December, 1880. So closed a career marked by a beneficent genius that never faltered m providing fresh literary delights to gratify and comfort English-speaking people m all parts of the world ; by a nobleness of disposition that instinctively wins all hearts ; yet at the same time containing many features which the more they are pondered over, the more perplexing they become. Another book that has created a great stir is the Rev. T. Mozley's " Reminiscences," containing some delightfully

picturesque descriptions of English country lifo before tho land was cut up m all directions by railroads, and much interesting gossip about various notable personages Mr Mozley is an ardenl admirer of all that was really good aboul the " good old times," but ho does noi disguise the fact that m many respectt we are better than our forefathers. Wt are accustomed to talk now of society &i if it were on the eve of revolution. Mi Mozley, however, can rememember when " nobody had a good word to say for the King, the Ministry, the two Houses oi Parliament, the Church, or any other institution, unlesg he happened to enjoj some exceptional position, plainly at tht cost of the whole nation and the public good." He gives us graphic descriptions of the condition of many country districts m those by-gone days. A hundred and fifty paupers m one parish, Snlgrave, sprang from a casual gipsy birth m a cottage. A wild blacksmith squatted with his fiery furnace by the side of the road. The parish had its poacher. It had its bed-ridden pensioner, " a valuable property upon whom the son had married." We have, too, an amusing description of the village doctor as he then existed, who, when Mr Mozley wanted a tooth drawn, prayed indulgence; as " 'This is the first time I have had to draw a tooth from a living subject, would you mind lyinj? down on your back on the floor ? ' This I did immediately, when the operation was performed with complete success." To lovers of picturesque Devonshire, the description of Plymtree and its village churchyard must come with a kind of shock. The churchyard was the very " abomination of desolation." The children ran wild over it. The young men played fives against the tower. " Very few of the cottages had any land, or any back to them, so precious wa3 tho land for apple trees ; and the churchyard was utilised for five distinct public latrines. The fences having fallen out of order, a publican had agreed to build a wall, on condition that he might encroach two yards into the churchyard, and take the space into a Bkittle alley." When Mr Mozley was elected rural dean, he supposed " it was because he had the most disgraceful churchyard m the diocese." Lastly to all Jaudatores temporis acti wo commend the following terribly vivid picture of a peculiar feature of English life half-a-centnry or so ago, which we do not remember to have seen described by any other author : — In my younger daya there was heard everywhere and at all hours the voice of lamentation and passion, not always from the young, not always evou from tho very poor. In towns and m villages, m streets and m houses, m nurseries and m schools, and oven on the road, there woro heard continually screams, prolonged wailinga, indignant remonstrances, and angry altercations, as if the earth were full of violence. Those wore not all children who brawled or lamented m the open air and m the midday, filling the air with their grievances, and resolved, as they could not be happy themselves, that nono else should be. Such a picture would ho pronounced at once utterly inapplicable to tho times we live m; but I leave it to almost any octogenarian to say whether it be not a true account of England us it was 69 or 70 years ago. Our ancestors eclipsed us m many points. They could, for example, drink more bottles of port after dinner, but taking everything into account the world has certainly gone forward, instead of degenerating, during the last halfcentury. There is a particular kind of chemical experiment which haa an overpowering fascination for the average human being. It consists m applying a lighted match to ascertain the whereabouts of a leakage of gas. The experiment, aa an experiment, ia startling and impressive m its uffects, but the practical results achieved are usually small. After tho experimenter has been blown out of the window, has been picked up m a more or less shattered condition, and carefully nursed for several weeks, he lias no clearer idea of the oXRct spot where the leakage occurred than he had before applying tho match. Take the following case, for example, reported m the Lylteltun Times of yeßterday ; — A serious gas explosion occurred m tho New Zealand Shipping Company's Lyttelton offices on Saturday morning. One of tho clerks, noticing a strong smell of gas iv a small room nsed as a dwelling, told the storeman, Thomas Loster, to try with a match for a leakage iv tho pipe. Uu applying the match a serious oxplosiou occurred, blowing out the door of the room, and seriously burning Loster aud Mrd Barch, a charwoman employed m cleaning the offices. Dr Macdonald was sent for to attend to the injured persons. Wo put it seriously to persons who will peraist m trying these experiments, is the game worth the candle, or rather the lucifer uisitch ? If they are animated by a desire for spectacular effect, rather than a thirst for knowledge, let them light up a keg of gunpowder m order to make sure that it is not onion seed. The gas experiment is becoming wearisome m its monotony, and the newspaper reader is huugering for a chunge. That well-known mid Popular Front Bar of the Ship Hotel is now Selliug Marshall and Copeland's Ales at 3d per Glass and 9d per Quart.— [Advt.] San Francisco Mail.— The inward mails via San Francisco are expected to arrive at Lyttelton about noon to-day, and the Timaru portion should therefore reach its destination by the evening train or by special shortly afterwards. " The Silver King." — The Theatre Boyal last evening was filled m all parts by a highly appreciative audience, and it v with pleasure the public will learn that this popular play will be repeated to-night. It is one which, once witnessed fascinates, and people, when the curtain drops on the last scene, resolve to return again and to impress on their friends the need to go and do likewiso. It is really one of the beat dramas placed on a Timaru stage, and we can heartily recommend it to all our readers. Visit of Majoe Oautlby. — Major Cautley, 8.E., was a passenger by the express from Christchurch yesterday, en route to Dunedin. He was met at lunch by His Worship the Mayor, Mr J. W. White, and Mr J. Bruce, who, m the course of a brief conversation, pointed out to him the aim of the district m requesting that the pott should be properly dofended. Major Cautley stated he would return to Timaru on Friday next, and requested that plans of the harbor, breakwater, etc., with all possible information available, might be ready for him then. New Zealand Fisheries.— Regulations under " The Fisheries Conservation Act 1884" are published m the Gazette. One or two points of general interest may be mentioned. The months of October, November, December, and January m eaoh year are prescribed a close season for shore and mud oysters, and the months of December, January, February, and March m each year a close season for rock oysters. During such close seasons, the luscious, bivalves will bo a forbidden luxury. The re-. gulations also prescribe the size of net to be used m regard to the various kinds o£ fishing. For instance, to prevent tho taking of under-sized flounders from Lake Ellcemere it is provided that the mesh of every net used for taking fish m such lake shall measure, diagonally, when prepared for use, wetted and stretched, not less than 4fc inches. No person is to buy, sen, or expose for sale any fish of a less size or weight than is prescribed m the schedule, which is as follows : — Hapaka, five pounds ; kahawai, one pound ; schnapper, one pound ; tarakihi, four ounces ; trumpeter, one pound ; moki, eight ounces ; barracouta, eight ounces; horse-mackerel, four ounces; trevally, four ounces ; kingfish, three pounds j warehou, four ouncos j mackerel, eight ounces ; rock-cod, four ounces j gurnard, four ounces ; mullet, four ounces j butterflsh, four ounces ; red-cod, eight ounces ; flounder, nine inchoß ; soles, nino inches j garfish, nino inches ; herring, five inches. Any person committing a breach of the regulations is liable to a penalty of not hn than £1 and not exceeding £60.

Panic m Acckijlnd. — Something ap- [ preaching a panic was caused m Auckland . recently by the publication of the statement 5 that there were several Russian cruisers at t Singapore and the Capo of Good Hope. There I were many anxious enquiries mode as to the t truth of the report ; several intending investorg (says the Star) were so alarmed that they forbore from advancing money on mortgage ; and some people were seeking to know J whether the banks would be liable to der positors m the event of the Russians making • a clean sweep of the coffers. ' Reutbb's Coebbbpondknt m tiie Soudan. E — The London Morning Advertiser of 31st • January, referring to Reuter's special eorre- ' spondent m the Soudan, writes as follows:— > " The special correspondents who hare, during ; the last fortnight, as it were photographed the . various phases of the desert march for the , English public have received their due meed of praise. But it would be unfair to pass over , one who has rendered as signal service as any i of them — the correspondent of Messrs Router. We cannot identify him. Lord Wolseley \ speaks of him simply as 'an English gentleman. 1 But when it is remembered that he 1 brought the first tidings of the e:ife arrival of General Stewart at the GaVdul Wells to the 1 Commander-in-chief, and that, hard upon his i adventurous ride with despatches from 1 Stewart, he set out again from Korti, was m time to witness the fight ; at Abuklea, and followed the column m i its splendid struggles to win » footing on the Nile— his services to the public can hardly be overrated. From first to last there has been no break m his correspondence. His narrative been continuous, graphic and comprehensive. He has never missed a point, and hod there been no other contributor to the Press present, Englishmen would still have learnt from his ready pen all that was essential to know of the advance. We do not wißh m the ("lightest degree to detract from the stirring narratives of the march from Korti to Gubat which have been sent Home by the ' specials j' but it would be ungenerous not to notice by their side the efforts of a writer who, on e\>ery occasion of interest, has furnished the public with full and succinct details of the deeds of General Stewart's army." How to Get Well. — Which is answered m three words — Take American Co.'s Hop Bitters ! Read— [Advt.] How to get Sice. — Expose yourself day and night, sit too much without exercise, work too hard without rest, doctor all the time, take all the vile nostrums and imitations advertised, and then you will want to know We bblibve that if every ene would uae American Co.'s Hop Bitters freely there would be much less eickne3s and misery m the world, and people are fast finding this out, whole families keeping well at a trifling cost by its use. We advise you to try it. cad [Advt.] A Wise Dbacon.— •" Deacon Wilder, I want you to tell me how you kept yourself and family so well the past season, when all the rest of us have been sick ao much, and have had the doctors running to us so often." " Brother Taylor, the answer is very easy. I used Hop Bitters m time, and kept my family well, and saved large doctor's bills. Four shillings' worth of it kept us all well and able to work all the time, and I will warrant it has coot you and most of the . neighbors £10 to £100 apiece to keep sick the. same time. I fancy you'll take ray medicine hereafter." See [Advt.] POTBBTY AND SUFFERING. — "I was dragged down with debt, poverty, and suffering for years, caused bj a iick family and large bills for doctoring, which did them no good. I was completely discouraged, until one year ago, by the advice of my pastor, I procured Hop Bitters and commenced their use, and m one month we were all well, and none of us have seen a sick day since ; and I want to cay to all poor men, you can keep your families well a year with American Co.'s Hop Bitters for less than one doctor's visit will cost, I know it." — A Working Maf. Read. — [Advt.] The Bad and Worthless are never imitated or counterfeited. This is especially true of a family medicine, and it is positive proof that the remedy imitated is of tho highest value. As soon as it had been tested and proved by the whole world that Hop Bitters was the purest, best and most valuable family medicine on earth, many imitations sprung up and began to steal the notices m which the press and the peoplo of tho country had expressed the merits of H. 8., and m every way trying to induce suffering invalids to use their stuff instead, expecting to make money on tho credit and good name of H. B. Many others started nostrums put up m similar style to H. 8., with variously devised names m which the word " Hop" or " Hops " were used m a way to induce people to believe they were the same as Hop Bitters: All such pretended remedies or cures, on matter what their style or name is, and especially those with the word " Hop " or " Hops " m their name or m any way connected with them or their name, aro imitations or counterfeits. Beware of them. Touch none of them. TTae nothing but genuine American Hop Bitters, with a cluster of green Hops on the white label, and Dr Soule's name blown m the glass. Trust nothing else. 83T Druggists and Chemists are warned against dealing m imitations or counterfeits. — [Advt.] BVHOPBIB OF NEW AD\EBTI3KHENTa. R. Turnbull and Bon— Have prime teed oats (or sale. D. Stuart — Has the brigantine Marshall S.on the berth (or Auckland. R. S. Burbush— Has manuka for sale. Globo Consultation Company— Publish result of drawing on the Grmt Autumn and Easter Handicaps. "The Silver King"— Will be repeated at the Theatre Royal to-night. C. Palliser— Notice re alteration m date of receiving tenders. Wanted— Two notices.