REVIEW.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 176, 28 June 1859, Page 2

REVIEW.

\".A Volume entitled The TruthfulTkavet.liEr,

being some account of Noslen. by a Traveller.in those parts, giting a sketch of the Country, its Inhabitants, their Manners, Customs, Amusements, Literature, Politics, <&c. By Gitsuac (Conlinued from the Colonist ofthe 21.si instant.) • "On the subject of literature I shall now treat, and a treat it is too, for being a young nation they have had no Augustan period, and have little erudition now. In poetry they are not rich, and this they know themselves I apprehend, for they are ashamed to sign their real name to their verses, except one, who is a son of Burns, and doubtless proud of the patronymic. Their lyric poetry is the best, and the surprising and tender lows which they exhibit, are akin to nothing in Greek or Latin .'poetry, for their poetic love is neither -■ human,-superhuman, or divine, so I cannot measure it hy any standard extant. The writers of the greatest pretension are Namdoog and Yeliab ; Namdoog is a second Democritus,and the most original and concise, but there is a straining after effect visible in his productions which betrays itself in not only beingsatisfie'l with making a point, but he must clench, it after it is driven close home, where it is unnecessary, which shews a want of practise in the art. However, he has one gieat merit seldom found in little poets, which redeems him, and that is, he troubles the world very seldom. The style of Yeliab is peculiar, being composed of several, for it is plain, diffuse, feeble, simple, and affected. He is very copious and versatile, ranging from the simple ballad till he reaches the regions of bl *.nk verse. He has many admirers, but my admiration is confined to his prose works, first and foremost of which I rank several productions signed 'Ouvrier;' this may be because they made rrie a member of their Council while I sojourned there, so I took more interest in politics, lie.has been much hurt by various writers at times, and a bite from a 4 sandfly' had, at one time, an unexpected effect upon him ; but he has happily overcome all these hindrances, and lately has mended his pen and his health together. In humble imitation of an old review, the former, cultivates literature on grocery . and drapery; the latter with a plurality of offices, | for it is less difficult to say what he is, than what he is not. You may presume by this that poetry :is below zero when it is not rich enough to support its votaries .without extraneous aid. The}--can exist in a garret with us, but here they are obliged to drop down from. their intellectual

world to serve customers in this. However, for the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties, all .praise . be theirs, for they have enriched the ; world;with ; twoepic, or heroic poems, one of which (by Nana- -. ■ doog) is entitled Mot Nworb, the other (by. Ycliab), Yllib Wolrab. There is great truth and',,., humor in these, for one man lins** been heard to say of the first, that he knew the hero of the story., i perfectly well; but I think he must be wrong,for few people ever lived who prospered so fast as Mot Nworb." .One poetical retailer is famous, for., his praises of Bohea and Mocha. His idiomatic wanderings and teasing' expletives give all the usual pace 3of an unbroken Prgasus, and a fine Rarey show he makes of it. He fakes great pains too, for he 'wishes his friends all to know, that . goodness is always his aim.' • Such rare endeavor ' I cannot extol to highly, so Those ladies and gentleman all • ■ •' Who want the best verses to see, , - — Had better afc Canton to call, And they always will satisfied be. , - There are numberless churping poets, who exult in purling streams and shady dells, whose atmosphere is peace, and .their guerdon self-satisfaction. ' These are the most tuneful of the tribe, and,: like " certain birds, which sing all the year round,-seem'' never tired, and always happy. One of these lives •■ near the congenial .spot of Sdot.bush, and such is tlie sweetness of her song, that she can please a , sawney and satisfy a critic. I;am told that none ■ of these ever get paid for their intellectual labors. In prose they are remarkably active : they abound. in the epistolary style of composition, and whether .' the subject be about a yacht race, a road, a-metal- ; lurgicat myth, broken windows in an educational dormitory, tlie declension of a coal-mine, or mis- * crovernment, .out came ponderous letters,, highly.' flavoured, indignant, abusive, unpardonable, apologe'ic, humourous, sarcastic, sometimes truthful, and mostly anonymous, which are thrown.into ■ the capacious bosoms of their bi-weekly editors. Their comic productions in prose are serious things indeed, replete with dulness and verbosity, arid the dialogue tedious, where smartness should be the . aim. An instance of this occurred .before I left; CA Dialogue for the Times' was published, and of course its high-sounding name made me expect something racy and pertinent to the title; but as I found it utterly meaningless, pointless, and vul- . gar, and wanting iv Cockney wit, Caledonian humour, and Somersetshire simplicity and truth* to nature, I did not brin* away a copy with me, more particularly as I detected the rinsings of many brains in it. I am charitable enough to think that the writer is better than the writing, otherwise both are execrable. However, it is; found to make very good wrapping paper, so the. ill-performance moves off rapidly. " Another serious production by Bui tuck—the gravest thing above the grave, and yet the nearest to it, for it has scarcely any life in it, and no Attic salt to preserve it, —appeared about the same timp, under the inspiration of the Goddess of Dulness. * A want of wit was so apparent, that the dismal jokes, distant inuendoes, and ingenious falsehoods * had to be distinctly italicized, lest the gentle reader should travel over the barren waste with nothing to arrest his attention. It wa'3 received, favorably, because the writer was admitted to be no comprehensive judge of the subject, but,a mere , district or distracted judge, and his views ; were contracted and distorted accordingly. -Of course this sheltered, the writer from further criticism, and humanely so,, for the poor fellow was said to be infected with the yellow fever, and had I apEroached the complaint too closely, I might have' een put into quarantine. These came forth'in one of their newspapers (the name of which I forget, though 1 can sound it pretty closely), called the Hexameter, from the poetic idea that it represents six feet—the quadruped and the biped, interest— i. c., the sheep and shipowners; and it had become so arrogant as to presume to supplant all other opinions, were it possible. To oppose its arbitrary, power, another newspaper' was started, named the Colon, so called because it put half a stop to the other's absurdity, which ifc will continue to do until time puts a period to botli their existence. The point of attack and .defence* of the Hexameter is centered in a green-wood, and when the Colon is antagonistic, it attacks in- columns, and always in line. Tlie corresponding column against the enemy is generally irresistible, as they are always volunteers'; with this and the leading column the victory is secured. "Professor Hol-: loway -has one column, to whom is entrusted the care of the sick and wounded. The * rear-most - columns generally carry the squibs and crackers,which have a very cachinnatory effect upon whoever they face. The terms of peace are definitively arranged every quarter. The malcontents aro generally seized, while the runaways escape. " It is evident, by the number of those alluded to under this head, that they excel in prose. Their oratory also leans much that way, for in manycases it is decidedly prosy. The prosy orators I shall not particularise, for, as I cannot rob them of anything good, I shall certainly not enrich them with a notice in this veracious history, as I maintain that there are no niches in the temple of fame for the unworthy. Suffice ifc to say, that the delivery of such is physically uncomfortable, as though they had not the power of thinking on their legs, but were writhing about in tbe expectation of the birth of intellect, before they could accomplish a speech. Such observations may bo perfectly well believed by the annexed oratorical quotation of' Sitruc,' viz.;' inaccuracy upon matters of fact,' which is so contemptible after Demostlienes and Cicero, that I wonder it has ever been quoted at all; and yet it is considered the, best thing he ever said, and he has, among a society self-styled the Sbon, an undying reputation for it. I am inclined to think th-it, with the over-refine-ments of this nation, they are getting'far away from the well-beaten track of common sense, and have chosen this weak phrase to convey a mendacious meaning, as we sometimes see a good-looking but cowardly man distort his face to express his hatred and scorn. Although this cannot be considered a superior illustration of high merit, yet I can conscientiously aver they are learned men,and fhat they all know Latin, for some of them know it by heart, and.the rest by sight. I question if they have all gone through the humanities, judging by tlieir inhuman' treatment of each other, for I heard the' man of platitude cruellythreaten to tell another, 'that his conduct was sneaking, cowardly, and disingenuous.' On minor points of temper they must not be arraigned, for they have great powers, and hold partof the vegetable and animal kingdom in subjection.. Ist. They have decreed that all thistles shall be beheaded in the flower of their days, though I think that an act of supererogation, for they have plenty of donkeys to destroy them,-and an auxiliary contingent lately landed, who have harder months, hut are guiltless of braying more than their share. 2nd. That all the dogs;shall'be collared and the reot of their days numbered, x and ''that at the Court House they shall be treated with respect for half a sovereign. 3rd. That- all men shall be eligible for the pound when they'become quarterly householders, and shall only escape, for "a year ou paying the Eduction rate... They also make laws, and as tliese are' not' always well finished they keep them well employed,-like sailmakers, in cobbling and mending, and when the repairs are not well made they excuse themselves by saying ifc was a-mend-meant.. Nothing -can bemore gratifying to a philanthropistthan to see the1 manner in which a delicate enquiry is neutralised, so that no pain is inflicted. Ihe guilty man, to disarm suspicion, often boldly seeks an investigation. He then furnishes a.cbmmittee, who are his known friends, with a number of 'inaccuracies upon matters of fact,' whichare deemed by them :so highly satisfactory, that a.favorable report ia drawn up; this is then delivered ,to the House assembled with due solemnity .by the appointed [ body, who previously take care to hide their cloven feet in Wellingtons and watertights. By means of ■ this artifice a majority ia secured and imposed upon with the most perfect decorum and success* When the majority retire to rest the same night* they generally are racked with frightful dreams of a gigantic elderly female stooping over, them and saving in great anguish and broken accents, Mycliild 1 my child.. your sold ! your sold! The dreams of theacquittedonearegenerallyofamoresocial and amusing nature. An imp of corruption affectionately attends his slumbers, tickling him with pleasure, and accompanying his mauling kind-Mas-

by singing this foolish strain,' Oh do it again! oh do it again ! You've done them so nicely, oh do it again !' There aro two classes of orators, those who",talk their minds, and those who mind thentalk.' The last are those who rarely talk at all, being remarkable for their confirmed and inveterate silence. Two of these come from a country across the Yah, the other from Ekots. Of those who speak' their minds, the one whose mind is the most fit to be spoken is Ttemod. He lias a comprehensive mind, consummate tact, vast stores of information, great experience, and a manner that seems to say, 'a moral, sensible, and well-bred man will not affront me, and no other can.' lie is appreciated by his coadjutors, and feared by the Opposition; He is the largest state paper manufacturer in. the place. He has a green-field allowed him foi- facility of arrangement, and usually ties np large parcels with red tape, for the benefit of posterity. A paradoxical and practical joke wasrecently played upon him by two mischievousfellows, known respectively as Mr. Positive Prahs and Ttoille Standing order No. 30 was suspended. As a foreigner, I thought this was to allow the honorable member to sit down; but guess my suprise when these two immediately tried to take his chair away/; The indignity was such that Ttemod hardly knew how to stand it, and it was obviously impossible for him to sit quietly and submit to it. I don't think one of his temperament will stand it, though, on the other hand, I fear he will lose it notwithstanding. In this quandary I. left him. Srednnas looks less for the flowers of rhetoric than for the gems of truth, and in sound, clear, nnd forcible vernacular, he pours out his convictions, which often'intimidate, and sometimes convict others. His characteristic is being thoroughly outspoken and fearless, and his greatest aptitude in exhibited-in detecting and exposing an abuse or an absurdity. In his hands a delinquent looks like a cur held aloof by the nape of the neck with no power to bark or "to run away till he drops him. As I shall have to allude to the dogs of this place, the utility of such a man will be proved unquestionable. Ssyniew is co-partner with Ttemod in the state-paper business, and a promising man too; he has fewer mistakes to correct than any one in the house, so I expect a successful career will open to him, if he uses the same zeal,and probity that I give him credit for." ( To be continued.)