NOTES FROM NELSON.

Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette, Volume VI, Issue 271, 1 May 1886, Page 2

NOTES FROM NELSON.

(from ouu own CORRESPONDENT.)

A NEW LAUREATE.

The sad, and so far, unaccountable wreck of the Taiarua is one of thoso calamities which, for the time being, shock everybody, even if they were not acquainted with any of the sufferers, more so. when any of the unfortunates were frieuds or relatives. These mournful accidents are invariably made use of .or the

purpose of 44 improving the occasion " as it is culled by the persons, and occasionally provide an opportunity for local poets or poetesses to give vent to their hiii'jjius inspirations. Even in Sleepy Hollow the <l.vine afflatus seems to have taken such a hold of a regular corres];ondent of the Slop Bucket that his feelings had to find veil", in poetry, or What he supposed to be poetry. This bard of the Maitai, who writes under the signature of 44 Voyagenr," was evidently considerably overcome by his impressions when lie undertook to pour out his poetical soul in verse. Of 44 Voyugeur " liimHell I know nothing; of his writings in prose I can only say that if they approach his poetry in the sublime contempt for syntax that his verses do, I Wish to know nothing. Ho himself evidently does not possess much confidence in the new atmosphere ho has elected to breath in, for he commences with the following:— At close of day the feesh'ning breeze blew harder yet, and shrill, Bhrieked through the rigging, bearing a

warning not of ill; The 44 watch" on dock aro working, making all snug for the night, llow little do they dream they'll soon be in such woeful plight. The rhythm here is dubious, and the metre resembles the halting progress of a spasmed horse over a bridge. The bard is evidently ignorant of the necessity for arranging his dactyls anl spondees in harmony; he prefers scattering them about anyhow like skirmishers. The linos, in cousequence, do not run with that smoothness necessary for the solemnity of the subject; and, by the Way, how does it come about that the wind was blowing in the past tense, and the 44 watch " working in the present. This is not in accordance with ordinary rules of poetry manufacturers. In the second verse he gets worse. T'was not in safety once alone the passage she had run, I3ut scores of times; each mile of coast familiar as the sun, Fair on her starboard had flown past, like finger-posts of fate, Each grass clad hill severely grand, stood in its rugged state. What is the 44 she " in the first line ? He gives u.i no clue. And by what proce. B of nature does each mile of coast fly pa. t whilst the severely grand hills stood still? Like Sambo's conundrum, 14 1 gib it up." Then for a few verses the poet Kets still more descriptive and ungrainattical, but I will spare my readers Until we reach the eleventh verso.

bound in bis oars. On high the g .to shrieks forth ft requiem dirge, Fur souls that bodies will yield up, boneath the cold sea's surge. Wave lifter wave sweeps o'er the wreck,

wreaking their wrathful work; Yet ollicors and men sir.ve hard, they'll not their duty shirk. The process of yielding up a soul beneath the cold sea surge, while the gale ia shrieking a requiem dirge above, may be poetical, but I question if it is in accordance with facts. Yet a couple of vorsos further on these said souls do not appear to have detached themselves from the bodies, for the poet tells us' In blank unutterable despair, each , soul with anguish torn Waited in agony's suspense. Would they see another morn'? And meanwhile o'er the wave swept wreck each angry sea that past, Threatened the lifeboats' occupants each moment was their last. This is positively excruciating, and to any man with a nervous system such trash is dangerous to read. One is almost compelled to look through the Slop Ducket of a morning to read the telegrains and shipping news, but if a rcpitition of " Voyagcur's" poetry occurs, I should not be surprised to hear of the newspaper office being burnt down some night, and I do not think any jury would find any other verdict than that of justifiable arson.

RAILWAY PROSPECTS. At last we have some definite news that the West Coast Kailway scheme has been taken up by a syndicate in London. Wo have nothing further yet than tho bare news tlmt a quarter of a million has been subscribed, so it is safe to assume that a fe'v months will see engineers looking over the various routes with a view of selecting the best to commence operations on. Of course everyone here considers his fortune assured, and the guarantors to the fund for sending his worship Home reckon their subscriptions are as good as repaid. At all events the prospects of the railway are not now likely to be left to the generosity of the Otago and Auckland M.H.K.'s, and it will only be retributive justice if they are compelled to construct their Great Northern and Otago C'eutral in like manner.

THE CHAMPION MINE. At last the American manager has got his pot to boil, and copper has been flowing in tons. Enthusiasts say it has overflowed the receptacles prepared for its stowage, and is now blocking the creek up, but there is no reliable information to confirm this yet. The furnace was stopped on Tuesday night; the reason why being kept a dead secret by the directors. I surmise because their stock of roasted ore has run out. And my predictions, as to the capability of their tramway and rolling stock to do the work required of them, will shortly be confirmed. Anyhow, everybody (Korari included) is gratified at the fact that the venture has, so far, proved a success, and I Hin sure that, what with this and the prospect ot the speedy commencement

of the West Coast Railway, ami the improved appearance of the mining industry in general, that Nelson has not had so cheery a look about it for years.

EASTKR HOLIDAYS.

The holidays were m*de thorough holidays by Nelson people. The local steamboats were full of volunteers and excursionists ; the train Was overcrowded ; and every vehicle from every stable was out somewhere. There was a prevalent idea among owners of breechloaders that the season of the year was suitable for burning powder, and West's Old Stand, in lower Bridge Street, was thronged with purchaser's of cartridges and cut tobacco on the Saturday night. As results have since shown there were considerably more cartridges sold than pigeons slaughtered. One party, determined to prove that the early bird would find the worm, and that the earlier sportsman would fetch the bird, left town at midnight, on Saturday; travelled to the ltai Valley with a trap with a capacity for stowing five thousand five hundred pigeons; slept out two nights, and returned without a feather, and strange to say they did'nt blame old West's powder as being the cause of their bad luck. I went with a friend to the old Wukamariua diggings. My chum was innocent of the manners and customs of the guileless fossicker on an old diggings. We had just got our breakfast at the pub, an 1 were having a yarn with our buxom hostess, when an old "perisher" came in with a prospect, and asked 44 Is this good enough for a quart ? missis." 44 Don't think so," replied she, and weighed it. 44 Only ten pennorth, Jack, but I'll let you off this time," and she ministered unto the wants of the thirsty soul. My city friend looked on in amazement, and innocently asked if that was the usual way of paying for drinks. He was informed that it was the style of things in that neighborhood, and, moreover, that the fossickers had o r ten to supplement the prospect before it was good enough for a liquor. He thought lie knew his way about, did this gentleman, but this business knocked him, and he gently murmured, 44 Well, I'm b—d," and subsided. Korari.

[Continuation of News, see 4th Page.]