HIS LAST VOYAGE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11897, 20 June 1906, Page 5

HIS LAST VOYAGE.

A REVERIE ON THE PASSING OF THE PREMIER.

OUTWARD BOUND.

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar When I put cut to sea.

There had been ceaseless wnnderings to and fro, and ever-accumulating work piled high upon the desk and in the restless brain of the Prime Minister. The first session of a now Parliament, big with possibilities, was rapidly approaching, and the time for preparation was all too short. J3ut still there came the call for the personal presence, and good-natured habit had made it impossible for this chief of a great political clan to say "No" to his henchmen, wherever they might be or however humble their position. Flow to escape it all? The sea! There stretched the realm of solitude that would soothe the troubled spirit, shut out importune intruders, and conduce to that uninterrupted concentration of thought that was so essential to th© working out of the Great Idea of the Humanist. Many of the great men who have added, important pages to the history of nations, whose work has had enduring effects upon their own age and upon posterity, have, in the stressful periods of their lives, been unconscious of the full effect of their activities upon themselves. Each, in his masterfulness, has been to himself guide, philosopher, and friond — and each his own worst enemy. They work, not because the night is coming, but beoaiise work has become an uncontrolled habit. Too late they seek respite and the journey which should mean a renewal of health becomes a last voyage. And so this great Englishman with the Great Idea remembered a call from the Commonwealth. The remembrance was opportune; he would make a neighbourly call, woul-d have an interchang-e- of ideas, would bind more tightly the ties of kinship — and, above all, he would have, if only for a few days, the solace of the sea. There was keenest pleasure in the very thought ! There was peace and a great joy in the Voyage of the Outward Bound. HOMEWARD BOUND. But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Th© sea had not disappointed the voyageur. There had been undisturbed rest, peaceful communinga, undistracted thinkings, and only the work that was a. pleasure to attack. Then came the added tonic of a new nation's welcome. Here was absolute appreciation of the great endeavours to do things ! It came as the wine of life, without any le*>s. Hearti-

ness was expected, but this was right royal recognition — joy exuberant. Was it, to be expected that ho would not drink deeply ol this tree-flowing spirit of the times s Was there hint or danger signal as he passed along the lino? Perhaps; but t;till theie wa6 work, and work, and still more work. After the feast came the discussions of subjects that he would not willingly lot die. He had only forsaken work to <lo more work. And then there came tho great longing again for the son and the home. Was there never to be rest? Oh, to be home again — that was God's Own Country! Kia Ora,! And so he shaped hia course towards the Way of the Homeward Bound. CROSSING THE: BAR. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark ! And may thcae be no sadness of farewell When I embark! Once more the face is turned towards the sea ; but oven the sea failed to charm. Home ! that was now the most desired haven. By his aide were wife and son and daughter and servants and work — but Home was where heart and thought were. Work and yet more work. The rushfulnese and restlessness of life had kept the mighty force going; but now came the backwash of life's exciting, rushing, uplifting stream "I am going to God's Own Country !" he advises a kindred spirit, and his thought struck truer than ho knew. Or did he "know? Did his own throbbing brain and pulsating heart give premonition of the Last Voyage? No one knows. But a great weariness must have lain upon his soul and heart and mind. As the poet Tennyson had written, the voyageur had seen the "sunset and evening star," and had heard the "one clear call for me." If home, the much-desired, was far off or near at hand, the home-call found a response in the affectionate and heart-reach-ing cry, "Oh, Mother!" The weary head had found a last resting place which is tho greatest symbol of home; and the spirit had taken its final flight on tho t Last Voyage of the Homeward Bound. For though from out our bourne of time and place The flood may bear mo far, I hope to 9ee my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.

—Post.