THE CHRISTMAS CARD POET.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 418, 29 January 1909, Page 3

THE CHRISTMAS CARD POET.

The name of Helen M. Burnside is familiar to the reader of Christmas cards, and the London lady correspondent of the "Australasian" gives a pleasant little account of one whom we probably pictured as alwavs joung and as "beautiful as her name. The poetlaureate of the Christmas card is a faced, gentle voiced elderly lady, who lives in Pntne.v with Miss Rosa Nouchetto Carey, the'novelist, and has lived with her for between 30 and 40 yeara. From Christmastide to Christmastide tho old lady is continually turning off these pretty trifles. In all, Miss Burnside has written some 6000 Christmas poems. Unfortunately, the remuneration is not very considerable. Five shillings seems to be the, common price for a poem of one verse—longer compositions being paid for at a proportionate rate. Strangely enough, Miss Bnrnside is totally deaf. The affliction came as the rosult of scarlet fever ivhcri she was only 12 years of age. , At the timo Miss Burnside was training to become a professional musician. The poetry of the Christmas ( card_ was, happily, found to be an alternative medium for the expression, of 1 her imdly sentiment. But that is by no means the only literary work of the lichter sort she has undertaken. She has written many graceful little stories, also ballads. One of the latter —a sad, rather sentimental one, "He thinks I do not Love Him"—was popular many years ago. Miss Bnrnside is also the author of. the pathetic song, "Tired."