MR. HARPER TWELVETRERS AT HOME.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 224, 8 September 1862, Page 6

MR. HARPER TWELVETRERS AT HOME.

; (From the Saturday Review.) | A contributor to these columns lias enjoyed j the distinguished honor of being for an afternoon the guest of the celebrated Mr. Harper Twelvetrees, in the grounds adjacent" to his house and works at Brondey-by-Bow. That fortunate contributor has seen the great bug-destroyer, and has ; heard him speak; and lie has co"ue away impressed with. the. conviction that whenever Mr. j T.welvetrees allows himself an. hour's relaxation ; from the duty of exterminating insects, he employs it in benefiting mankind. It is a great satisfaction to have discovered at least one prophet who is honored in his own country. The virtues or the admirable soap powder are proclaimed upon every arch of brickwork that supports the , railway, and the happy preservation of a Stilton cheese from mice by t^e use of the unfailing poison is commemorated in versiclcs which adorn every available! wall in Bow. Thr company which* assembled in the grounds ot'.Kverslpy House was mixed, and a considerable portion of it belonged to that class of. society which is sometimes called unwashed. But although the day was close and .the insect tribe might be supposed to be generally lively, the contributor did not scruple to join* the crowd wherever the proceedings of the fete seemed most attractive, feeling*■ sure that the working men of Bow had used the soap-powder freely, and that no flea would have the audacity to exist in the very presence of the scourge and terror of his race. Under such auspicious circumstances, the contributor, yielded himself unreservedly to the seductive gaietirs of the place. The occasion of.-the fi-te was a Temperance Demonstration of Fare-veil to a body of Nonconformist colonists who were to. sail for New Zealand the nextulay. The interesting ceremony took place in a sinuli grass-Ik'ld adjoining Mr. Twelvetrees' house. This field is surrounded by brick Avails, or sheds, or manufactories with tall chimneys. On one side h a row of small ■tenements, so placed that the occupants were able to enjoy the spectacle without paying the sixpence which was exacted at the gate. The field contained n clump of about twelve-or".mare puny trees, from which it may fie conjectured that the proprietor of the estate derives his name. Two or three tents, and a few of the usual accessories of a fair, had bc'ti provided. There was abundance of tea and cofloe on sale at moderate prices, and a cask of wat.T for gratuitous supply. Beyond the field lie the pleasure and kitchen gardens of Eversley Hou«e, and beyond the gardens sleeps the water of a canal, and beyond that again the tide ebbs and flows* in Bow Creek. Visitors were allowed to walk on the garden-paths, ami to enjoy a close view of Mr. Twelvetrees' dungheaps, poultry, pigs and cows, and to contemplate rather more distantly his dwelling-house and the laboratories where "he prepares annihilation for the insect tribes. Viewed in the Abstract, we should say that Bromley-by-Bow is not a picturesque spot. A small flat enclosure of coarse grass, bordered by low-class houses, factories, and a canal, demanded an interesting occasion, or a distinguished host, to make such a scene attractive • and it must be owned that not one only, but both these conditions, were fulfilled. The occasion was compared by several speakers to the Pilgrim Fathers sailing, and the host was declared to be " a great and good miv." It was indeed necessary to admit that many changes have taken place in th'i interval which has elap'ed between the colonisation of *New England and that of New Zealand. At this day. Nonconformists are not persecuted, nor are they allowed to persecute. Although their zeal suilices, their power happily is inadequate to putting out the pipe, or cutting oil' the beer, of any dweller in the colony which they propose to found. Their departure from this country now needs no seeresy, and apprehends no obstruction On the contrary, the s tiling of their ships is made tin; occasion of v Temperance Demonstation, for which the note of preparation has been sounded wherever vermin tremble at ■ tha ■potent name of 'IVeivetrecs. The ships, too, in which they sail, are large, lofty, and commodious; and by virtue of one of the most beneficent inventions of modern times, neither rat, mouse, cockroach, nor other creeping pest Avill dare to consume the stores or moiest the persons destined to .this comfortable Nonconformist exodus. It is* commonly held, to be an ill omen when vermin are seen to quit a ship, but if such an occurrence happened in the East ludi i Dock last Thursday, it may be hoped that the the sailors engaged in this voyage will not have been troubled by superstitious fears, but Avill have ascribed the phenomenon to its true cause—the appearance of Mr. Harper Twelvetrees on the quay.'to " take part in the proceedings" of bidding solemn public farewell to his emigrating co-religionists. The contributor had too much sense of propriety to carry within the grounds of Eversley House either cigar or pipe lie was not, indeed, unaware of the'disinfecting and vermin-qnellhv qualities of tobacco, but he felt that he should be secure alike from dirt and vexatious insects under the shadow of the awful name of Twelvetrees. besides he anticipated what turned out to be the case, that smoking was strictly prohibited— at least by placards—in the grounds devoted to the fete, and he did not feel quite equal to braving in his single person the wrath of the "entire totalabstaining and Nonconformist body, which might have been provoked into putting out his pipe and putting him out also. More than one speaker uttered from ••he platform language which amounted to "Wouldn't I persecute, if I had the chance?" and, therefore, the contributor contented himself during the 'valedictory proceedings with looking forward to the undisturbed enjoyment ' of tobacco when he should have left the fete. But j having before his mind this notion of the awful consequences which might follow if he lit a pipe, readers may conceive his horror when he turned ronnd and saw a stout jovial-looking bandsman of volunteers smoking under the chairman's eye and within long range of his nose. Another bandsman soon followed the example of his portly comrade; but still it appeared probable that special indulgence might have been conceded to these persons on'the score of eminent service either to their country or to the fete, and therefore doubt remained whether one who could nut teach either brass or catgut to discourse either patriotism or gaiety would be held entitled to the same privilege. However, in the course of the afternoon, several visitors in plain clothes ventured to imitate the smoking volunteers. The only persecution which' these voluptuaries sustained was, that a stout energetic gentleman, who had figured on the platform, came and preached to them, or drew them into discussion upon the duty of total abstinence from tobacco. The arguments Avhich he used have been heard before, aud there was not one of them so effective as that derivable from his own appearance ; for he looked as if he enjoyed a healthy and unfailing appetite for iood, which indeed is said to be a; usual characteristic of those who abstain from smoking arid strong drink. There were among the speakers on this occasion several of whom it might safely be asserted that what they ate agreed with them wonderfully, aud indeed one of them complacently made mention of the three or four good meals a day to which he was in the habit of doing complete justice. Phis observation supplies an answer to some of the usual arguments of the total abstainers ; for if a non-

smoker eats more than if he smoked, he does not save the money which his smoke would cost; and if he eats oftener, and with greater relish, he gets one sort of carnal indulgence to compensate him for giving up another. It is not meant h>re to imply th.it eating with appetite is a sin, but only that a speaker who denounces the poor workman's pipe as sensual and beastly ought to be sparing of allusions to the pleasure which he feels in ministering daily to the desires of his own capacious belly. As the afternoon advanced, the young of both sexes had arrived in considerable numbers on the ground, and the chairman of the mec-ting had sense enough to see that the leave-taking business and total abstinence polemics were becoming tedious. Indeed, the flow of eloquence, or at least the due effect of it, had- already been more than once iinncded by the uncontrollable energy of a volunteer band. Besides this occasional interruption, it happened that the platform had been erected, against the boundary wall on the other side of which stood a factory owning neither allegiance to Mr. ■ Twelvetrees, nor sympathy with the fortunes of total-abstaining Nonconformity in New Zealand: The manager of this factory had, as it appeared, chosen that particular afternoon to get his boilers mended or renewed, and, accordingly, the speeches and readings of addresses in prose and verse were accompanied with a ceaseless clang of hammers falling on imtal bolts. However, the leading orators of the occasion contended, not unsuccessfully, ug.iinst these obstreperous competitors. It was only when attention liad been severely tasked, and ay conceivable forms of valediction had been exhausted, that the younger portion of the audience ventured to betake itself to a more congenial amusement, which deserves particular observation, inasmuch as it appears to be the substitute, in toiaiabstaining Nonconformist circles, ibr that promiscuous dancing in wliich young people of worldly parentage and trivial education are apt to Indulge when they find them selves in the enjoyment of a bund of niusi>, an expanse of turf, and a summer sky. This amusement, which attracted ever-increasing, numbers for upwards of two. hours, and perhaps lor a much longer time, consisted in joining hands in a large, circle, and moving gently, either" forwards and backwards or round and round, and often changing places cither at random or according 'to sonic'rule not easy for ;i bystander to di»" cover. Either invariably or frequently, when a youth iind maiden happened to join hands, the pair advanct/d into the centre of the cirlc and performed a kiss. The ladies did nut appear to exercise much choice of partners, and certainly they did not resist the ac-eoinplishinenL of their partners' wishes; but on the contrary, many of them raised their veils, and slightly■ turned ' tht-ir mouths or checks towards advancing lips! so as to oiler every facility for the osculatorv process. _ During the greater part of the time thus occupied, a band was playing lively dance-music, Jmt nobody seemud able or disposed to dance. Tiu-re were, indeed, four young ladies performing : a quadrilic in an out-of-the-way spot under t!awall without the aid of goiitiemm .and now and then a couple who hud quitted the ring would frisk for one or two moments, and their subside into a decorous walk. Nay more, a careful observer could detect in ihe limbs of insiiiy young females a tremulous 'movement, which plauik told that the owners of thoiu limbs wvrv not in"sansiblc to 'the* voice-of music and of nature, .although restrained from yielding to it by defective education or Nonconformist,'prejudicc. And further, several youths in volunteer costume were heard to mention that they wero able to dunce the polka, whicli accomplishment, however, they lacked the courage to display. This was the prosaic, total-ultet'nining,. Nonconformist notion of a summer fete. The poetical and common humannature notion of thet>amc thing lias been expressed thus:—. Now pursuing, now retreating. Now in cireliiiK traps'they uicr-i : To brisk notf.s in c;tdi*nc« legating, (ilauctf their many-twinkling feet. In what some persons c ill polite, an 1 others worldly, company, young gentlemen do not kiss young ladies with whom they dance,'although they arc at liberty to thluk that it would be very nice to do so. Even in what are called voluptuous dances on the wicked .stage, the utmost latitude that is permitted i* to intimate by expressive pautomino that a little oscuiatton would be: agrecMbL\ Hut how strange it seems that those who may be fairly tunned the modern representatives of the Puritans should allow what is at least capable of beimr viewed as an erotic develojiiiie.it of dancing, while i\n-y prohibit only life, gaiety, and elegance! K.ir be it from the present writer to call the pastime which he witnessed viciou.--; but, if young women may be pulled about and kissed iv public, why, in the name of common sense, may they not he taught to ditiec, so as to get rid of that lumpy, awkward look which marks the daughters of total-abstain-ing Nonconformist families? It may not, however, be inappropriate to remark—as a good deal wav s;ii i at the meeting about the Puritan emigrants to New- England—that perhaps it would nut haw: heeu altogether sate to try public osculation within reach, of thy old Massachusetts laws. The liberality of Mr. Harper Twelvetrees induced him to lend to tliis Demonstration not only his tasteful grounds and his valuable time, but also the poet whom he keeps to compose his metrical advertisements. At least it may be inferred that sonic of the numerous poems which were said or suii^ must have emanated from that ■hard whose daily privilege- it is to sound tiie praises of the great bug-destroyer, the mighty cause of panic among creeping things. Among many (lowers of poesy which were gathered ia field'of Kversloy, readers must by content with one picked from the chorus of a " Parting Hymn" :— And let the strain be echoed far from every mountain height— Fare'.vcl, in Christian love, to all departing frien Is to-night. Considering that Uromley-by Bow lies iv a marsh extending mnny miles along the Thames, and probably below'its level, it will be seen that Echo had her work* well cut out for her in tlie programme of tho fete at Eversley. The arc'ies of ■ railways and the walls of factories have the faculty of reverberating sound ; but such vulgar objects, although actually present, were of course invisible to the poetic eye.