Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1892. DE MORTUIS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4135, 10 June 1892, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878]

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1892. DE MORTUIS.

Being tub bxtbnded title of the Wamarapa Daily, with which it is IDENTICAL.

A new horror is being added to life, in the shape of poetry dealing with the dead. It is not many years since we used to look upon obituary poetry as indigenous to the United States—and to States pretty far West, at that. We used to laugh at the clever parodies of the original rubbish, to be found in tbe writings of humourists like Max Adder ; and while we laughed we felt thaiikful that we were not as the 'Molican man. Our own obituary poetry was in thoßO days confined for the most part to tombstones. .There it was bad enough, in all conscience; but it was not a very arge percentage of the living that suffered much from the knowledge that these rhymes existed in leaded letters in many a cemetery. The poetasters of the grave-yard had a circle of admirers which might pos* sibly have keen select, but waß indisputably small. Indeed, we were under the impression that the British taste for obituary poetry, even in its briefest form as an ornament to headstones, was fast becoming a thing of the past, Alas, we were altogether mistaken. The taste for rhymes commemorative of the domestic virtues of an obscure citizen deceased, the fanoy for verses designed to assume the cold world that the departed is still remembered by his heirs and assigns, is growing by leaps and bounds in our very midst, Here, in the boasted home of nine--teenth century enlightenment; here, where.(we,are told) old world follies have lost their power, p are begins ning to borrow from the unpultured Yankee of a past generation the odious habit of advertising our private griefs'in rhyme, through the columns of the daily papers.

We have no hesitation in holding this incipient habit up' to public reprobation, For, on the one hand, it is impossible to eonceive that the practice gives any real comfort to the surviving kith and kin of the dead; and, on behalf of the vast majority of the uninterested living, we ape prepared to titake an affidavit that, the resUlt'is soul-sickening. In point "of fact, we have the lesß sympathy with those persons who send to the newspapers obituary , verses of the kind we liave in .inind, because wo! cannot: resist' the persuasion that there is a considerably element of vanity and RjlMjb'isf&otiJon underlying each such " dropping into poetry;" The famjly rhymster elaborates a yersa amu} the plaudits of the othersit j« pronounced to be at once edifying in its piety and obarming in its poetio quality;" How delighted dear Uncle Ebenezer would have been, if he could have seen our opinion of him ex« pressed in such beautiful poetry I Bend it to the papers, Charles; they jap ejrra- charge, and' it woulcl he a pity not fo lj)t people see that you can write poetryW,e could wish that the daily papers charged treble the usual rates for these manifestoes of mourning. The first journal to start a prohibitive I tariff will win the gratitude of thou- ' sands,

: We are willing to believe that there are still'some few simple ,'eoula' here and thereto whom a verse convey b some comfort,, They, are of the class which used to recount on the tombstone in old days how Affliction sore Ion? time she bore, • Physicians were in vain, etc. But more often, in tee modem times, the perpetrators of newspaper rhymes are desirous of seouring a cheap advertisement of the decorous grief which might otherwise fail to gain credence among those who know them, Perhaps we may be allowed to suggest Mrs Montagu as an extreme instance of this kind of mourning. It will be remembered that this amiable young mother managed recently to compass, the death of her little girl by hanging. When strangulation had done its work, she tried to pour brandy down the child's - throat, We can imagine that the notice of the little things, happy release from her earthly parent might lmve been forwarded to the London Times in Borne such form as this:

We have lost our little Hannah In a very painful mannor, etc. Or a poor boy admitted to the boss pital for treatment after a course of brutality at the hands of a drunken father, might be suitably mourned in due course by the peccant progenitor in touching strains like these; -

Four doctors- tackled Johnny Smith, And tried W touch his liver; But all in vain 1 His little soul Was waftpd o'er the river.

We may seem prolix in our musings; but we have a good defence : we plead justification. There is still time to nip in the bud the detestable growth of a sham sentiment which is eager to appeal to the public for sympathy, Let the writers of all vulgar verses about death realise that they are ridiculed, if thoy realise nothing else. One word more, "Original poetry"

is objectionable; but the distortion of really classio lines to suit a local loss is, if anything, worse. The other day wo saw a lovely and well-known verse of Lord Byron inserted, with

improvmiMts, in the obituary column of a contemporary, We protest against this display of bad taste, this borrowed boo-hooing, even more strenuously than against the halting metre, illegitimate rhyming, and sickly sentimentality of" indifferent honest," but essentially misguided " poets."

Mr M, O'Sullivan has been appointed an Inspector of wheel tires under the Wairarapa North County Council. Walter Tricker, late of Masterton, has been sentenced to two mondis' Iwrd labor at Wellington for the larceny of a saddle.

Mr T. H, Thompson, who lost his valuable horse,. Karatea, at the recent hunt at Masterton, has been presented wifchafivo'year-old chestnut by a native of Papawai as a slight compensation for his loss,

Tho result of the objections to the as' sessment values in the Masterton Bor ough heard before the Board of Review was us follows: —J. 0. Alpass, aasesaed value, L 550, reduced by LSO ; Jncol Matthews, assessed value, LSDO, reducet by £25 | <5, W. Woodronfe, assesaec value, 12175, reduced by £lO.

The quarterly sitting of tho Carterton Borough and the Carterton District Licensing Committees is to be held on Wednesday noxt. 1

TheDobson-Kennedy Company pro« duces that favonto drama " Little Lord Fauntleroy" in the Masterton Theatre Royal this (Friday) evening. When this piece'was last played in' Masterton it was enthusiastically received by a crowded audience, and we fplly expect to see a bumper house to-night.

There are at present five patients in the Masterton hospital.

■■JVilliam Kichardson, the man who recently had both loss broken inabugsy accident on tho Tarafcahi Plains, is making satisfactory progress in the Masterton hospital.

. Mr A. W. Hogg, M.H.R. for Masterton, is at present in the Forty-mile

Mr Hanlon, Govornmont fruit expert, is at present at Whangaroi. Ho is expected to visit the Wairarapa in a fow weeks' time.

Tho shop of Mr Jacob Frankel in Wellington was surreptitiously entered early on Thursday morning, and two revolvers, ten watches and a number of: silver chains abstracted. The Hon, Mr McKenzio has been invited to speak at Feildiog in the interest of Mr Stevens, tho Ministerial candidate for the Kangitikeiseat. : A woman recently died of siarvation at Ch'istchurch. The husband went to the North Island looking tor work, and the woman's condition was not known till just before she was taken to the hospital, where she died. Mr Henry Rhodes has been appointed Ranger in the Eketahuna district for the Wairarapa North County (Journal. Owing to the magnitude of the purchasos mado by the D.1.0., the Company is enabled to supply its customers with good articles at low rates. Somo very special lines in flannels and blankets are attracting large numbers of buyers, and visitors to Wellington would do well to pay a visit of inspection to the D.1,0. Corporative Stores. Mr Carncross, M.H.E. for the Taieri, ondeavoured recently to show his om» stituents why it was that he spoko against increasing the honorarium; and yet voted for it. " I admit," he said, " I wanted the honorarium increased, but 1 lobbied against it because I thought it came up rather soon, but when it came to the vote I voted for it." Comment is needless.;

_ A funeral at Pahiatua was kept standing half an-hour around an open grave the other day whilst the sexton finished digging. An indignation meeting has since been held, and the sexton lias resigned.

The Masterton Agricultural and Pastoral Association might with advantage copy an idea from the Aberdeen Agricultural Snoiety, which recently offered prizes for the uearest gueeaca to the live and dead weight of fat stock. Tho idea is certainty novel, but, as a contemporary well says, iB productive of much interest, _ A conference,of local bodies interested is to bo held next month to consider the advisability of establishing a home.in the Wairatdpa fortlio aged ahd'iieedy!; The initiative ie being taken-' by,, the Wairi» | ' ..,

It is reported that twoneiyßjwmilli will-shortly commence operations ueai Masterton, ' "■■ ■

It has been found necessary, during the put month to employ laborr slip-clear-ing on the newly-fotmed road near the Mataikuna station. East Coast, and a temporal#.arrangement, has been.made by the Wairarapa North County Couno!! with the nianager.of the 6tation:to supply whatjabor gjay be required from time to tiipe to ke.ep t)ie roaa pleijr of obstructing, . .. . • . -'

In his report to the Wairaiapa North County Council yesterday," the Engineer stated that at the instance of the Council data had been collected relative to the proportions the willow nuisance is assuming in parts of- the district, the Council apparently contemplatirg the introduction of measures to effectually cope with it, • In the presspre of business at its last silting time did not permit of the Council touclfyiig on'the subject, and their attention w&i again directed to jf; as the matter was one of material;important to road communication in'certain' locali--1 ties, and should have stringent measures adopted for ouvtailing it within roa sonable bounds,

The Lake County Press is of opinion that Mr; James Allen, the new M H.R. for Bruce, will be Minister of Eduoation before many yeais are over. At Auckland the Hon Mr Seddon saitl the Government were considering a proposal to erect a plnnt in the north part of the South Island for the manufacture of salt from the ocean.

The death is announced at Farnell, Auckland, of Mr William Wallace, who was for many years postmaster and telegraphist at Featherston, where he was held in high esteem by all with whom he cams in contact,

Orders for-the following wondortul Bargain Paresis Tvill receive prompt attention and .the goods be duly. forwarded to any address, carriago paid, by' parcel post' on receipt of the amount in cheques, postal notes, bank notes, or money orders,, addressed to James Smith, To Aro'House, Wellington Parcel No I—Consists of dresslength o superior Melton Cloth, in navy blue, rear* one, brown, grey, fawn, green or black, 2 yds body 'lining, 4yds skirt lining, 2doz buttons to match, 1 yard Velveteen for trim ining, priut or gingham apron. The whole lot carnage paid for one-guinea. Tc Aro House, Wellington.

Pakcel No 2—Contains (iy<Js. twilled flannelette, Gyds colouial flannel in white, Shetland or Orkney, 12yds stoat Dacoa calico,4 honeycomb towels, syds stout white sheeting,, Thobt carriago paid tor 255. Te Aro House, Wellington.- Advt