ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STRAIT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1037, 28 January 1911, Page 11

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STRAIT.

WHERE BEAUTY DWELLS. In tho afternoon they camo unto a land hi which it seemed always afternoon. All round the coast thd languid air did swoon, Breathing like one that hath a weary dream. To watch tho emerald colour'd water falling Thro' many a wov'n acanthus-wreath divino ! Only to hear and see tho far-off sbarkling urine. Only to hear wero sweet, strcteh'd out beneath the pines. . "The Lotus-Eaters." Tennyson must surely have had visions ot Nelsm iii his mind when he wrote "The Lotus-Eaters," even if ho had not tho slightest ,'dea that such a place. existed or woulu ever exist. Substitute willows for pines in tho last Jine and one.seeins to havo secured its very essence. No other place in New Zealand seems to possess to such a degree tho spirit of leisureliness, of resti'ulness, and of complete exclusion from tho turmoil of every-day competitive life prevailing in so many other towns. Almost Father Time forgets his hourglass there, foi tno burden of'years seems to slip away from tho shoulders of the old people, and they ' put to shame tho youngor generation with their energy and youthfulncss of spirit. Strange to say, considering this stato of things, doctors aro by no means an extinct species ir. Nelson, for there certainly, aro three or four there, who do not appear to find fault with life. "Sleepy Hollow,'' people who have been there call it, but it is a term of affection, for few ,go away from it without having succumbed to its charm and beauty. All day long tho sun seems to brood over this willow-clustered city, nestling at the foot of the hills, and tentatively feeling its way through tho winding valleys that lead among a wilderness of ranges. Orchards with trees laden with • glowing apricots, richlycoloured peaches' and'plums that filled one with covetousness by their deceitful beauty, aro everywhere to be seen, while the gardens are enough to fill a city dweller with delight and longing. To sec Nelson completely with panoramic effect,' it is necessary to rouso oneself from tho feeling of blissful laziness that, after tho first day or two possesses every newcomer, bo ho man, woman, child, or beast (particularly cab-horses), and climb ono of tho numerous' hills that lio at tho back of tho town (tho Zig-zag preferably as it seems to havo been specially made for tho purposo of coaxing languorous people to its summit). The view from tho top is worth far more exertion than such a climb calls forth, particularly if it is at sunset. The distant mountains on the other side of.the harbour are veiled in the exquisite hazo that adds, such a senso of mystery to their blueifoss and between them and tho near foreground lies the harbour, with its. curious "Boulder Bank" that runs parallel to tho'shore for so great a distance; shutting in, save for. a narrow passage, through which tho steamers Sail,. a .calm wide expanso of water al-most",lagoon-like in its stillness. Tho story goes,-somewhat unkindly, that this Boulder Bank- was. brought existence by a Scotchman, who, having lost sixpence, piled •up this long bank, of boulders in his eager and persistent search for the precious pieco of, silver. History does not say whether his industry was rewarded. This Boulder Bank, by. the way, is a delightful placo for moonlight, picnics, 'when the tide is in. ■ Wheh'it' isout there is nothing to bo r'seciv for''a" great, distance out ; to'^sea, but. mud flats'which'usually are inexpressibly dreary to look. at ailtl . yet which in somo lights acquire, a soft weird beauty peculiarly their own. Nelson is undoubtedly a place for beautiful., colour/'effects-' and yet'most tantalising to' the' artist : one cannot" help thinking, for there is a kind of soft brilliancy that it would ba difficult to do justice to. '

•Almost at one's feet lies the town, many of , its homes being simply embowered in greon, while at tho back of it the Maitai,. surely one of tho prettiest rivers to be seen, flows-on its. tortuous way to the sea, crossed by an ondlessnumber of bridges. Away up the ■Maitai Valley, as far as the eyo can follow, the course is marked by willows and it seems as though all tho shades .of green that could ever be seen or thought of 'arc-to. bb found there. An outstanding feature is tho cathedral perched high on thoisumhiit of a hill in tho centre of the-town—a hill mado beautiful with • trees .and shrubs and winding walks that offer a 'grateful shade to the weary pedestrian, while at the top of it and immediately surrounding tho cathedral arc beautiful flower beds. A-glorious view over the surrounding country is to bo obtained and somehow one is'not surprised when told that long ago this hill was practically tho natural "grandstand" of a racecourse, which ran right round it. Truly timo does bring changes, and even hills have their unregeuerato. days, which, no doubt they secretly, cherish. Churches, by a-not widely-disconnect-ed chain of thought lead "ono to-the subject of cemeteries, and tho somewhat lost art of epitaphs. It is an ago when everything, is abbreviated, and wo no longer epitomiso tho virtues of our forefathers in this way! Still they did so in Nelson-long ago, and one very old one over tho resting-placo of a husband and wife runs as follows: —"In deatli they were re-united, for whom the Lord loveth He cliastcneth." It is ; rather delicious. Another- ono says: "What was she? She was a perfect wife and mother. She- was that!" There you havo everything in the superlativo degree.

There aro beautiful drives around Nelson, but tho horses, like everything else, believe in a minimum amount of exertion, and, ivnliko a motor-car, allow ono unlimited timo in which to admire tho scenery. ' They aro well aware it is beautiful. Probably tho drive out to Cable Bay is the most interesting, particularly if the sight-seer, is shown over tho station and sees tho wonderful workings of tho cablo mechanism.- On tho way out tho houso where Julia Martin, tbo Maori Grace Darling, lived, is pointed out in tbo distance, but not tho spot from which she started out on her heroic swim.

\yith their beautiful gardens, it is no wonder that tho Nelson people stay out of doors in tho' evenings hours after it is dark. Long after tho time is past at which many other towns are aglow with, lights, the houses remain with darkened window's. With the setting of the sun and the deepening of the° shadows tho scent from tho great magnolia trees which seem to bo everywhere about, and from the heavy waxen moonflowors, becomes almost overpowering. -Tho one thing that would add completeness to tho beauty of tho evenings, and the lack of which seems a grievous wrong, is to hear tho nightingales singing. However, sinco Paradise was not complete in tho days of long ago, still less so must ho this world of ours—even Nelson, lotus land though it bo.