THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 303, 24 December 1870, Page 4

THE WEEK.

Great was the excitement on the wharf on Monday last, as the good ship Airedale steamed up the harbor with the mail flag Hying at her mast head, and various were the speculations as to what the news, of which she was the bearer, would prove to he. So accustomed have we become to receiving intelligence of a highly sensauoaal •character, that events, which a few months siuce would have startled us beyond measure, are now listened to with an amount of unconcern of whicli we should then have •deemed ourselves incapable. But although ihe news from the seat of war was not finch as lo give rise to any violent excife•aietit, we cannot shut our eyes to the •serious turn that events are taking with ■•reference to the other European powers, and must, look forward with intense -anxiety to the news we shall probably re--ceive on Monday, aud which will assure •as whether or not England is to be drawn -ante war. The great local event of the week was •ihe meeting of last Monday evening, •which was couveDed at the instigation of -several persons professing to be interested' <5u the roads in the Upper Buller district, ■font hardly any of whom were present to 4ell us what they wanted. It is true tbat one gentleman gave some very valuable information with reference to the drainage <of some of the tracks, but that was not •exactly what the public went fo hear, and •consequently his remarks were not listened to with that amount of interest which he appeared to expect. There was one feature of tbe meeting that could not bave failed to strike all present with surprise, ■if not with gratification. As a rule, at all public assemblages of this kind in Nelson, "there is a considerable difference of opinion ; generally there is some very pretty sparring, and occasionally the gloves are taken off, and hard hits given .and received by the combatants, but on Monday the Provincial Hall was converted into a perfect Agapemone, and the -example set by the Superintendent and JMr. Luckie, who fraternised most lovingly, was followed by all present, and miners ■and merchants, packers and publishers, and all sorts and conditions of men vied -with each other in endeavoring to make t&e evening pass off in the pleasantest manner possible. Whether or not it was ••owing to this being Christmas season when osen's hearts are supposed to be peculiarly •sHisceptible to kindly feeliDgs, I know not, €ki6 a few such meetings, where every ■saan's highest ambition appeared to be to -assure his neighbor that he loved him a great deal better than himself, would be •safEcient to convince the most misanthropical that "the rarity of Christian cha--•ffity*" was a complete myth. But seriously *speaking, it is satisfactory to find that tbe dwellers iu the town are so fully alive lo <*£?_.« importance of opening up the country -districts, and it is to be hoped that this •summer will be taken advantage of to -increase the means at present available to the miner for travelling about in search of <-£Ji<j metal we all of us require so much, -and that thus larger bodies of men may btinduced to devote their attention to our aatioeral wealth, and a consequent increase 4»f -business become visible in the town. Politics are gradually assuming a larger •degree of interest as the general election •approaches, aud another caudidate for •-senatorial honors has been added to these -already in the field, in the person of Mr. -"-Collins, who has received a numerously -signed requisition from his old constituents inviting him to represeut them -snoe more. Mr. Eichardson has taken •ifee initiative in addressing the electors, .and his example will no doubt be speedily -ib-Uowed by those who, like him, ate .-•-desirous of obtaining a seat in our Par•Scacneut. The Harmonic Society have given '•jJlteir customary Christmas concert two .-days in anticipation of Christmas eve, -wfateb always proved an unfavorable night ■ifoc the purpose, and the wisdom of ihe •cfoaoge was apparent on Thursday, when tftiere was a larger attendance than is casual on such occasions. I see you have

I been criticising the performance pretty i freely, but there is one point to which I ohserve you have made no allusioD. I refer to the apparent waut of interest in their work displayed by some of .hose on the platform ; I noticed several who frequently neglected to lake up their parts, and could not but wonder at their apathy. I am no singer myself, hut ifl were I don't think I coul I remain 6ilent while the glorious music of the " Messiah " was ringing in my eirs. The Examiner's critique this morning is very severe, I hope unintentionally so. I read there that "All the choruses went well, and none better perhaps than ' Glory to God in the highest'." There surely is a degree of satire in stating tbat none of the choruses went better than one that was tip ver sung. But perhaps there is some mietake here. Even critics are not always infallible. The most popular topic of conversation at present is, without question, the regatta, and, if talking only were requisite to ensure success, our townspeople would certainly have commanded it, but we have among us some hard practical men who are not satisfied with this, but have set to work with a will to do all in their power to enable Neisou to hold her own against all comers, and the consequence is that we shall muster a finer little fleet, of sailing boats this year than has ever been the case since this description of amusement was first instituted in our beautiful bay. Notifications of public holidays, and an unusually fine display of beef and mutton iu the butchers' shops remind me of the great annual festival that is at band, but I confess 'my inability to get up any enthusiasm with regard to Christmas in the antipodes. I have been trying to rouse myself to a fitting sense of jollity by reading some of the old carols and feasting songs, but I fear they have rather given rise to a feeling of melancholy and regret that I cannot enjoy my Christmas in the midst of frost and snow. Here is one of the productions of an old English poet named George Wither. Does not its perusal make one wish to be in a country where the " Christmas blocks are burning" ? Lo ! now is come the joyfull'st feast, Let every man be jolly, Each room with ivy leaves is drest, And every post with holly. Now, all our neighbors' chimneys smoke And Christmas blocks are burning ; Their ovens, they with bak'd meats choke, And all their spits are turning. Without the door let sorrow lie And if. for cold, it hap to die We'll bury it in a Christmas Pie And ever more be merry. I own to having peculiar tastes. For instance, I would very much prefer to being one of a merry party gathered round the hearth, where the huge log is blazing and crackling, to lolling, coat-and-waist-coatless, in some shady spot gasping for air ; and, again, I would far rather see the boughs glistening with snow than sparkling with cherries, but, fortunately, we are not all constituted alike. I wonder what would be the feelings of one who, bred and born in New Zealand, was spending his first Christmas in the old country. Would he enter into the mirth and jollity around him with all the heartiness of a true Englishman, or would he, sbiveringly, longingly, aud regretfully, look back to the same season as he had been accustomed to spend it under the sunny skies of Nelson ? However, I can plainly see that I am assuming too morose and melancholy a strain for this joyful time of the year, and, therefore, as I cannot expect, nor would I wish, to find oil my readers of the same way of thinking as myself, I most heartily wish each one of them a right Merry Christmas. F.