AUCKLAND NOTES.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2122, 22 October 1875, Page 2

AUCKLAND NOTES.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

Auckland, Thursday. Churches-

A writer of " Northern Notes " in the Timaru Herald is very severe on the Auckland churches. St. Paul's he describes as the "fashionable" poor old place, built of brick in no style at all, and plastered in a patchy kind of way all but the turret or pagoda which remains a smoky red. Inside it is ugly, roomy and convenient; has an organ loft, with a feeble organ, and raised dais towards the chancel where the Governor and the military and naval officers used formerly to sit. The part of the church, (the writer states), which the local aristocracy still affect, is popularly known as the " seat of the scornful." Tho church authorities arc now about completing various improvements and alterations which, will prevent critics of the same class as the writer from writing in such a strain. St Mathew's is classed as one of the largest wooden structures in New Zealand, but of the early barn door style of architecture ; low, ill-lit, and ill ventilated, equally as suited for a market as a church. St Patrick's Cathedral is a solid stone parallelogram with slits of windows which a handful of troops might defend for weeks—far more like a fort than a church. The Wesleyan Church in Pitt street is described' as unfinished, but having more pretensions to architecture than any other in Auckland. It is built of brick, which is a mistake, and at present its height is out of all proportion to its breadth, but it is bold and graceful as far as it goes. His remarks about the Scotch Church are any thing but complimentary, in fact they are undeserved ; here are his own words: —"The Scotch Church at the foot of Symonds street is built of black scoria with grim rectangular windows, andshould be purchased for a gaol for long sentence prisoners." Of course it would be an imperfect picture without a slap at Parnell, which is described as the " shabby genteel" suburb of Auckland, a ragged little town running up a steep hill from the sea. The letter, which extends over two columns, is generally speaking faultfinding with the exception of the following, which brings the communication to a close: —We shall conclude this too lengthy note with a reference to "Lady Martin's Chapel," a picturesque little building, seen peeping from the trees on the cliffs in Judge's Bay. It was built, we believe, by the wife of Sir William Martin, a former Chief Justice of New Zealand, for the use of the inmates of a native school, and other institutions which that most amiable lady took the deepest interest in ; and will long remain to bear witness to her good taste as well as her goodness of heart. The spot on which it stands is in a most romantic situation, on a slope overlooking the harbor of Waitemata, par excellence, the prettiest view in New Zealand, and is over-grown by trees of all kinds, tangled with flowering shrubs and creeping plants, such as thrive luxuriantly in the mild, humid, northern climate. Half-hidden by this wild wealth of verdure are numerous graves and monuments, not only of natives; but of many of the older European settlers and their families, friends, perhaps, of Lady Martin, or ' merely having chosen that spot for their last home on account of its quiet beauty. ■■'. It is usually deserted now; and, on calm summer evenings, with only the plash of the sea, or a song of a bird to break the stillness, it has often brought to mind . those exquisitely mournful lines at the ( end of the Bride of Abydos. which so touchingly describe Zuleika's resting place:— • . .; " Within the place of thousand tombs' * ' That shine beneath, while dark above < The sad but living cypress glooms And whithurs not, though branch and leaf Are stamped with an eternal griof, I Like early unrequited Love, ] One spot exists, which ever blooms, ] Kv'n in that deadly grove— A single rose is shedding there 1 Its lmiely lustre, meek and pale : 1 It looks as planted by DespairSo white—so faint—the slightest galo Might whirl the leaves on high ; i And yet, though storm and blight assail, ] Aud hands more rude than wintry sky May wring it from the stem—in vain— 8 To-morrow sees it bloom again : j The stalk some spirit gently rears, r And waters with celestial teaiV .

New Catholic Bishop.

Intelligence has, it is stated, been, received in Auckland that the lleverend Father Hickey is likely to be the new Catholic Bishop for the Auckland Diocese. Father Hickey visited New Zealand about seven years ago, on a collecting tour, for the purpose of getting funds to supplement a general building fund for the erection of churches in some parts of Ireland. The reverend gentlenaan is a good preacher, and will, if appointed, be very acceptable as the presiding head for this branch of the Christian Church in the Auckland portion of the Colony. The Very Eeverend Father Fynes, of Parnell, is at present the administrating officer, and lie is uot only a favorite amongst his own brethren, but also with other bodies.