HAMPDEN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXII, Issue 21, 20 September 1895, Page 15

HAMPDEN.

(From an occasional Oorrespordpnt.) Hampdsn, the great Bnglisn Puritan, is not hUf so ranch esteemed by Lord Macaulay as ought to be by all pleasure seekers this beautiful little hamlet here called after that able statesman whose name is so lauded by the critic of " Lord Nagent'a Memorials." The ebbing tide of tbe placid Pacific leaves behind as it recedes a long, long line of smooth strand studded here and there by some rare and beautiful boulders. Moeraki and Hillgrove break the monotony towards the south and enchant the eye with some beautiful bash scenery, curling smoke ascending from gay and comfortable cottages, and a flotilla of canoes plying in search of the " treasures of the deep 'in tha lovely bay. To the back of tbe township is a good tract of bush which affords a splendid field to all who take a delight in shooting. The sky and climate are Elysian, and hence any of your readers who are disposed to drown doll care for a while could not find a surer harbour than tfampden. They will fiud good accommodation at the Hampden Hotel at moderate terms. We would be very glad if the editorof the TABLET would favour us with a visit. He would be assured of a hearty welcome. He would find that what is here said of Hampden falls far short of the reality. As a further inducement it may be itated that we have Mass here now twice a month— the first and third Sundays. By the bye, this reminds me that yesterday (" Chapel Sunday ") Mrs Culling, of Hillgrove, gave a very pleasant surprise to both the priest and congregation when she presented tbe Catholic Church, " Oar Lady Btar of the Sea," with a most beautiful and valuable set of vestments. The rev pastor, in acknowledging the gift, expressed a fervent hope, which was shared by everyone present, that it would be the happy lot of tha Culling family and their descendants to be ever found in Hampden always ready to assist in building up and ornamenting God's Holy House. Such acs of generosity carry the mind back to those grand old Catholic times, when zjal for the bjauty and gLny o f God's House devoured the Dnncj a? w.ll as the peasant. I will bring this to a close by inserting a few lines from that well-known poem of Thomas Davis— "My Home." I tbink the lines fairly applicable to our beautiful Hampden, " I have dreamt of a horne — a happy home ; The ficklest from it would not care to roam. 'Twas a cottage home, on native ground, Where all things glorious clustered round, For highland glen and lowland plain Met within that small demesne."