LITERARY PORTRAITS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 47, 21 April 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

LITERARY PORTRAITS.

Thk Empress Eugenie. The impression produced by the Empress on all who approach is one of the most curious things about her. She is certainly not regularly beautifui, for her nose is much too long, hev forehead, despite the grace of its outline, much too narrow at the temples, where it seems to have been pinched in ihe making, ifi may so express it; her eyebrows are absui-dly arched, looking as though they were bent on running array from her nose, and so thin that she habitually darkens their liny line with a soupc&n of burnt cork. Her teeth, which are small and regular, but are beginning to decay at the side edges, are by no means as white ov as lustrous as thej' may possibly have been at "sweet sixteen." Her complexion is almost entirely white, a dangerous peculiarity, as in case of the wearing of an ill-chot,en shade of color in a gown, or of the slightest physical indisposi tion, such a skin at once becomes sallow. And yet, with all these defects staring you ful! in the face, you cannot look at her with- ; out admitting that of all the charming, i lovely, winning, loveable, graceful creatures you ever set your eyes on, she is incomparably the most charming, lovelv, winning, loveable, and graceful ! Men and women, who approach her near enough to obtain the full impression of her personal appearance, have but one voice on this subject. You cannot analyse the charm of this singular personality. Take her face altogether, and the defects disappear in a beauty and charm of ensemble that you can neither deny nor explain. Her hair, of a rare, pale, golden hue, unlike any other hair, has also a backward wave of its own, such as no other hair can imitate. Her eyes, of a soft bright blue, have a grace and refinement in their way of looking that cannot be described ; while the outline ofher bust, her head, neck, shoulders, arms, and hands are dec by artists to be per/GC-

Urn. Her feet, seldom seen, owinj* to the length and amplitude of her dress, are declared by her ladies and her shoemakers to be the ne plus ultra of beauty in lhe pedal line. Every attitude, every movement, is grace itself : and her Way of speaking is equally full of a charm, a sort of fi;race, refinement, and an air of innotenceand goodness absolutely peculiar to herself. Of her veal character, • such opposite statements are made, by persons equally qualified to judge, that it is difficult to arrive at any conclusion. Those who like her declare her to possess an excellent and kindly heart, great goodness and simplicity, and at least one-half of the list of -human virtues. Those who dislike her (and they are legion) declare her pretty and innocentlooking appearance to be " put on," consider her to be wilful, proud, heartless, and stupid, and bestow on her a full half of human vices. As she is exposed to the malevolence of a crowd of vain and - f falsq women, who bate her for outshining their more sbowy charnis.of a cTowd of men and women who hate her for being a parvenue, and by an intelligent public which delights in nothing so much as in evil-speaking, whether just or unjust, it is probable that the unfavorable picture is, at least, greatly exaggerated, and thai, even if she be not altogether the simple-hearted angel of the other portrait, that other portrait is the more faithful likeness of the two.

Flanagan's History of New South Wales. — These volumes show that a new era has dawned for the literature connected with Australia. The books before us are a silent testimony, not only to our increasing importance, but also to a greater amount of good taste and discrimination than we have hitherto obtained credit for. Here is

" History of New South Wales,'' writ- [ ten in a good, manly, impressive Engi lish, and published in a most creditable manner, both in respect to the subject, type, and paper, and strong, handsome binding. But the merit of the production is not confined to externals. The subject matter has been handled in a masterly manner. Mr Flanagan has shown the fidelity of a historian with the impartiality of a judge ; and has bestowed on the whole a patience and unceasing labor which surely entitle him to every tribute of praise It is with very sincere sorrow we reflect, however that the author was not destined to see* the success of his own work. After giving himself no rest, and sparing no pains to make the booh as perfect as possible, he was withdrawn from the scene of his labors. A short illness, about six weeks before the publication of his book, snatched Mi Flanagan away from his approaching triumph, and the able hand which sketched these columns will never write again. In looking at the work he imposed upon himself, we, may truly say that Australia has lost in him a most promising and talented writer. In looking over this history, one canuot help being struck with the enormous progress of these colonies* This is a hackneyed subject, but the idea is viewed in a very new light on rising from the perusal of Mr Flanagan's history. Forty-seven years ago, the whole colony of Australia was confined to the narrow strip of country which liea between the Blue Mountains and the seaboard. It is customary to date our progress from an earlier date, but 1815 is the true period- In that year were the Blue Mountains crossed, and then, and not till then, did the tide of civilization roll and surge onward to the Westward. We all know the names of those who first cautiously felt their way, and groped a few steps into the mysteries of the interior. Who has not heard of Oxley, who, scared and bewildered from a few months' wandering, returned with the awful news that the interior of this vast continent was an impenetrable marsh, and what was not marsh, was unfit for any purpose of eiviiizod man ? Who has not heard of Sturt, who reversed the picture, but made it if any thing more dismal when he told the world that the interior of Australia was a sandy desert, as barren and as desolate as any on the face of the earth ? And yet, here we are, in 1 863, basking in the lap of as fine a mother country as ever nourished her sons with her fertility, or adorned them with her gems. '^| Does it not seem like magic ?— gold spread forth in profusion—the earth yielding fruits to support our population, now numbering over a million— fleets conveying exports of immense value. There is a din of the mechanical stiff tread of our material civilisation, aud our explorers,whose names are now legion, bring us cheerful news— all colonies' increase ;

and North Australia, Central Australia, and North-west Australia proclaim news that they are worthy of a better fate than to be the mereVome of the savage.

.Does it not look Kke magic ? It eoes, sndeed5 ndeed ; and if you would know the story of how it has all been brought about, we know not where it is better told than in Mr Flanagan's volumes. — The Victorian.

Attempt at Murder. — Mrs M'Evoy, or M'Coy, better known as Mrs Herbert, of the Lone Star Hotel, at the junction of the Middle Creek and Yackandandah and Albury roads, was discovered almost in a dying state one day last week, by a travelling pedlar* The unfortunate creature, who- Bad been savagely assaulted by her husband with a tomahawk, her head being laid open, had 'been lying in this state for two days and a night, uncared for when she was discovered. Information was brought to Albury, and Captain Brownrig, accompanied by Dr. Barnett y soon reached the spot, and took .her depositions. Dr Barnett says, we understand, in spite of the frightful nature of her injuries, that, being a woman of very robust constitution, she is not •unlikely to recover. Her ruffianly assailant had not, up to last accounts, been* arrested. He was in the habit of say--ing, in reference to her having feeeft -" tried for burning her .last husbands * while in a state of insensibility, that -, "he would take care she did not mafo v a log of him." — Ovens and Murray Ad- *"> tfertiser, '"*.-. ;. „,. :-J|