THE STRONGEST PASSION.

Waipawa Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 782, 28 May 1885, Page 4

THE STRONGEST PASSION.

“ I was present,” Dickens said, “at a social discussion, which originated by chance. Thesubject was ‘ What wasthe most absorbing and longest-lived passion in the human breast ? "Wbat was the passion so powerful that it would almost induce the generous to he mean, the careless to be cautions, the guileless to be deeply designing, and the dove to emulate the serpent?’ A daily editor of vast experience and great acuteness who was one of the company considerably surprised us by saying, with greatest confidence, that the passion in question was the passion of getting orders for the play. There had recently been a terrible shipwreck, and very few of the surviving sailors had escaped in an open boat. One of these, on making land, came straight to London, and straight to the newspaper ofiice with the story of how he had seen the ship go down before his eves. That young man had witnessed tiie most terrible contention between the powers of fire and water for the destruct ion of that ship and of everyone on board. He bad rowed away among the floating, dying, sinking ami dead. He had floated by day, be had frozen by night, with no shelter and no food* as he told the dismal tale he relied his haggard eyes about the room, when he had finished, and the tale had been noted down from his lips, he was cheered and refreshed and soothed, and asked if anything could be done for him. Even within him that master passion was so strong that ho immediately replied lie should like an order for the play.