REVIEWS.

Evening Star, Issue 3819, 21 May 1875, Page 3

REVIEWS.

Poems by Dugnld Ferguson. Dunedin Mackay, Fenwick, and Co., Princes street.

The of these poems tn a great extent disarms cri icism by stating in his preface that “ he is well aware of their defects, but dares to hop* that they will not be condemned as being unworthy of publication.” He also tells ns that when most of the poems were written he had no intention of publishing them, and says, very truly, that “a life of tenting, farming, and shearing is not specially conducive to intellectual development.” To criticise the performance of a writer who takes such a modest view of his claims to public appreciation is certainly not a -very grateful task ; we shall, therefore, do little more than quote one of two characteristic stanzas from these poems, and express our opinion that if the volume before ns had been very mnch smaller than it is, it would have been very mnch better. If the time and labor that have been spent in composing all these poems had been bestowed on about one third of them, it is quite possible that a book worthy of wa v m conimem lation might have been produced. For Mr Ferguson is by no means without the true poetic fire, many of bis descriptions are picturesque and forcible, and not a few passages may be found^scattered here and there through the book which show that our author could write good poetry, if he would only take the necessary pains. Had the little volume before us been written by a mere rhymster, we should have deemed it unnecessary to do more than call attention to the publication of it; but feeling as we do that Mr Ferguson could do very much much better if he tried, we think it our duty to tell him so. We believe that the following stanzas will fully convince our readers of the truth of what we have stated. As a specimen of Mr Ferguson’s best style we give the following from the poem “ Winter The Winder*s blast s begin to blow; The mountain tops are white with snow; Bound Maungatna’s rugged brow The west wind whistles eerily.

Wild raves the piercing wintry blast; The gloomy clouds are gath’ring fast; Chill blinding showers come swiping past, And nature sighs most drearily.

Had all the poems been as good as this one and a few others, we should have feß bound to speak highly of the book, though even in these there are some inaccuracies of expression which might quite easily have been avoided. As a specimen of what we must call polemical verse, we give the concluding stanza of a poem called 11 The Bible Appeal,” a by no means bad specimen of its class, though its spirit is, perhaps, sufficiently narrow. Around the good cause lot ns rally, nor fear That the foe shall prevail while the Leader is near. The daring opponents shall pale at his sight, Ami heartless and broken abandon the fight. Evil times are upon ns—’tis sad to behold How the wolves in sheep's clothing have entered the fold, Who would yield t!ie strong towT of the Protestant's home To the infidel’s sneer and the priest-craft of Home.

In conclusion, we shall give a couple of specimens whicn will show that if Mr Ferguson can write poetry, he can also, on occasion, write something veiy like doggrtl. In the poem. Sandie and Jean,” we find it thus written— Sandie has been proposing to Jean; Jean is coy and says—

I would be wrong if not to tell you plain That thpse fond fancies of yoiir heart are vain. Thpngh; for yourself, from othpr thoughts apart, With strong respect I hold you in my beari.; But here the line more near approaches ends That still must mark our intercourse as friends. Again, in “The World Moves On,” we ead

What a din and what a clatter On the earth and on the water (f watter), What happiness men scatter In this race of life they run!

On taking leave of Mr Ferguson, we would strongly advise him, if he should continue to write poetry, and still more strongly if he shouM think of publishing it, to take for his motto “ Non multa sed multum,” and to bear in mind the wise saying of old Hesiod—“ The half is sometimes greater than the whole.”

** Five Tears in the West Indies,” by H. A. Cowper. Dunedin : Joseph Braithwaite, High and Fleet streets.

»his book, as its title imports, contains an account of the author’s residence in the West Indies : very little needs to be said with regard to it; from beginning to end it is deeply interesting. The author writes in a free and easy, unconstrained style, and appears to be equally &'t home when giving an account of the whimsicalities of the negroes, or of the horrors of the cholera and the yellow fever; in describing the ‘bobbies” of Porto Rico, or the great earthnnake wave at St. 1 homas. He is a thorough Englishman, and evidently believes in himself and his nation to the utmost, but there is nothing offensive in his manner of showing that ho does so._ We have not space for more than one quotation:—

.Thomas boasted of its eccentric characters and local celebrities, like most other places; Ben P-deinented creatures, corresponding with the political mountebanks and blowers of our own communities. The most original one of the kmd was a poor, harmless black fellow, who gained his inspiration from rum, as is usually the case. Pure-gold was his nick-name, and politics his forte. Ho generally posted himself outside the British Postal Agency, declaiming fiercely for hours against the lachM of the Danish authorities, the incapacity of the Governor, or against the Police CommisWoner, who provoked his virtuous wrath, os he was very often brought under the notice of that officer He often posted letters for Her Britannic Majesty, Shbly of his own abilities, and gloried in beintr a British subject . fa

The book is creditably got up as regards the printing and binding, and contains several interesting lithographic illustrations. In concluding our necessarily brief notice of this excellent book, we would give our readers one piece of advice with regard to it - Buy it.