A CANTERBURY AUTHORESS.

Timaru Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 6066, 27 September 1894, Page 4

A CANTERBURY AUTHORESS.

O i j (OONTBIBUTBD ) j New Zealand literature has lately received a worthy addition m the shape of a neatly j got up little volume of verte, entitled " Ihe FaT.-Bt of the Angels," by Mary Colborne- j Ve?l, of Chriitchurob. This i? a name already familiar to the readers of tbe Cbriato'iurch I Weekly Press, and should now beoms io to all oolonnl lovers of pootry. It is a matter for reflection thit whereas many British woman novelists of the century have branohed forth into unfamiliar and anciently forbidden paths, and have flung themselves into divers phases of heterodoxy, pessimism, and rdaliem, the woman poets have uniformly olnng to the traditions of the pait and maintained tbeee traditions with the loftiest idealism and the purest religious faith. Mis* Oolborne-Veel is no exception to this rule ; her work is permeated throughout with Bible quotations and imagery ; while undoubtedly the finest poem m the book— ••Jael"— is on a scriptural subjeot. Abealthy optimism and obeerful philosophy is blended with the sympathetic insight of t poet and the ready tenderness of a woman m this little volume. " Her Secret, 1 ' " Magnificat," "In tbe Hospital," " For Young Love's tiake," and the spirited dial' gue " Honour and Love," appeal with special forco to her own sex, although from the latter wo may form a surmise that Miss Oolborne Veal's sy.mpalhi".s a>e not <vith the severely lcgiealatd 'advanced "type now oomirg into vogue, A light note is not w*n!iug m her ton?, as evidenced by the " Maiden's Ohoioa " and " Farewell to the Year." She has sttered tactfully clear of the main pitfalls that have trapper) fbrne other New Zealand poots One of these is too oblrusive personality of tbe writer. Ihe true poet, as m this case, stands behind bis work, and is content to let bis acirit diffuee itself impersonally through it ; the inf rior poet is the oentre piaoe around which his work is displayed with ostentation. Another pitfall is a jooular colonial freedom of diction amounting to vulgarity, from wbioh tbe book m question is entirely free; being stamped throughout with soholarly oulture and refinement. The most oommon pitfall is a laudable but premature attempt to nationalise a youth* ful country by laboured local themes and Allusions. Miss Oolbourne-Ve«l accordingly gives the over-worked rats, tui and wattle a considerate rest ; but allows a graoeful patriotism .to appear m " Harvest Thanksgiving," and " Antipodean." She is sparing of the ballad form, bat uses it with happy effect m "Kimberley Goldfields." "Man and tbe People " is & stately and thoughtful poem ; of wbioh the opening stanza is t fair sample of the authoress's heavier work:— One led a nation forth of old. From shame Of bondaged lives, through marvelß great they came, Skilled bat that leadership of power to spurn. " Who made thee judge and prince ?" At every turn Thwarted, despised, he battled, taught. endured. And last, the great inheritance secured, Gained for himself— at men or angels' band?One pale death-vision of the Promised Land. One fain would quote all the " Fifth Star of the Southern Cross " as a aptoimen of lighter and more fanoiful work, but tbe firsb verse must suffice : — Through many a night and day, With sorrow-stainß upon its vesture fair, A star that trembled and had lost its way Went wandering m the wilderness o£ air. Despite the faofc that a mechanical oriticism might here and there seize upon a heavy or halting line, Mi«a Oolborne-Veel ie distinctly to be reckoned a singer by virtue of imaginotion and wordbarmony. Space does not permit tbe naming of many other piecss whose merit will strike loverß of verse. It may be safely stated that Miss Oolborne Veel will take a plsoe m the front rank of New Zealand writer?, and that still better work may be expected from her pen m time to come.