ROMANCE AND REASON.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1402, 28 June 1881, Page 4

ROMANCE AND REASON.

Win \ wo K.ul the romanco 1 * of Mime vl' \>i 1 1 od \\ viti - i> wu ii!c ofh n unpiev-i (1 \iith Hie skill displaced m, first, the iii igin ltiiin, .ui(l, secondly, the dot- uls oi Hit pint W" .uc so earned aw ly bj r llu mteiesl which we take )ii the tale tli it wo lail to notice th» impossibilities the wiitcH now and then piescut to u<* When we lead the " At.iln.ui Nijrhtb" ami I mil how wicked women me turner! into lines or bn d-, we accept the statements, find do not d.ne to dispute the assei turns, for dH not those things happen in the h) ist and m *he days Gf the genii ? When however we re id about events supposed to occur lie ir our own time, and outside of the range of fairies and genii, w e naturally have some difficulty in believing the singular miracles that arc then slated by the wiiteis. We have lately read a memoir of the gieat detail wiiter, Kdgar Vllan Poe, md have agieed with the author of this momoii 1 iv tluuking that wrao of the wiitmirs of tins ciratic geniu- do exhibit in.nvellous powets of sicouuey fis ug.uds (let ills V>ni we sometimes hnd tlie mo'-t amusing impossibilifies s( ited .ippuenlly w ithout it flection, not onl> by this wntoi , bui by ofh i i ii' .iilv >ii t elibiiitcd. We aie all well icqu.nnted with Kd"<ir I'nr's beuihhil poetn '" The H iven '' "We (ii lnrht in the miirof the wouls '• Li'iioio" pnl' neveimoie," and when we load the aiitluu' i own dc>< i int ion ot the in.innei in whuh hi' w nki'd nut fins nooin, we c vi icadilv believe how it w.is (he -woik of l'Uii,' md de'ibi'i.ite rlnught, and not an uisp.i it ion dashed off in a kind ot exalted in n/ v We teel a euiious soil of * vn 'i, >thy with the foiloiu s(,,ident, though lie «.i< iiPiiily noddim' and nappiiiur, as he ic. id by th n li»ht, app.uently, lit the fne, because u c ich vpaidto dyinir cmboi wiou-rht iti ijhost upon the Hour." Su tin liuht must hi\e been dim to enable the fhc light to produce this effect. Then we find tliat the i.iven peiehes ot a bust ot L'.illas, ]iisfc above tho chambci-dooi, and, hti in go to say, the lamplight o'er tins l.uen stieammg, by some .singular a.itl mn u'ulons i owei man igcs to ( ast the sh.idow ot the l.iven on tin //on). The ,ufi-t does not help out the poet, for the aitist usually lepie^ento the melancholy Met.m of the lavcu hitting beside a table, oi which 1-. :i modciator lamp, whilst tho rivi'ii is close to tlie wall above the door, sitting on i busf of P ill is Now the shadow of the lavrn could be east upon ih." flooi, excepting by a tioi t of " Aiabi.m Xu,'lit>" miiaole, lL is diihoult to expl.im A^un 11di,Mi Toe stile of the " (iold IJodJe 'hajottui In mi quoted as one of (lv nio^t pet fi illy woi ii< (1-out stones do put. to'jetliei The mfoimation he LTIM^ lll.lt V to 111 l Olill] 111 wllU.ll \uiou. l"t'ci- vpjieai m tiie iMi^lnh l.'ima.iL'e, .mil ill' it sdl\ i• . wli ifc appeals atm ,1 ,i'.ht an uninlelli^ble ineioyl^phie, ,■- i woik of atl Mill v, come to a won lii fill mi nt as m pioued m I'll ( \ iinm.iuioii of this t.ile We aie I'd 1 Iliad the diiectieii m which an ul, ci \ i i w is to lo ik w ith ,'i '• gi oil i^'la-.s " iini'i tin •' liiihop -i bo-itil ' w.is fo 1 tvoii' diL'iets thnL' 1 "!! nnnut s noith-east ,m 1 liv noith. The JJishop s liostei, Iv1l;u Ioe '.foes oh to tell us, was at the Mini'iiit of (he ii>,i!ist peak m the island, and h" at oik i kiiev, tli.it the noi th east .mil lv urn th could only n-eaii the latei il diiOi tton, whilst tin; toit^ on" (Icfjiees I thntevii ni'imte^ could me in nothing but ,'iiiiimii ibo\e the \ i»-iblo hoi i/on. So Mi 'Wilh mi Tie»i. md .'siciitK to the | li!«_,!ie>i peak m the island, tin ns his tel. -..ope a ■;>>< a) if at ,\n el<-\ alion of toityoii' 1 diyieii and t!uit"cn minutes, .uul s'\' .' skull on lli'j In, inch of a tiee m the | \ .illi v hnnrttit Jinn -a tmly woudeiful i>ptK il ef'reet. flow the thnt"en mmiite-i veie oblained i-i not stated, a-? tlie telescope i t 'le < ope only, without any graduated .lie, and unh'-s tlie telescope could be po'iit'.il m one (Ineetion, jet see in anoth'i, foity-ono dugiccs elevation v ouhl ( n iblo tlie obseivei to see piobibl\ tiie i.ul of the (iieat Beai by night, nut rrithiii'4 in a \ alley i,( nt, p tli him. It does not loquiio tli.it a man should be vet y ''liot'Cy ' to compielieud that the Tieii'li author was loniancmg who stated th it a eeitain Kiiqhsh racer was so m l^nilicent that he hid won tho ])ciby llnee \eais m succ'ssiOii. Even the fiom the "Aiabian Nights" would -uiioel> have been able to accomplish tins mn ade. Men accustomed to be on tlie look-out foi a "ood thiiu; m tlie linirnt ]']psom or i \en at leirnni'iitcil .steeplecha&cs never could ha\u had iiah an ojipoitunity as 1> id the Ouaulsiuen at the steeplcch.ibe (lesiiibed by i uida in " Undei T\,o I'lags " What would a booki'ip.kcr ha\e trncn to bf piesent, when buck cii"s ns {.lie following "ios n above the hoause tumultuousi ioar of the ring?" — "Take the Held bar one,' "Two to one on Jo, i i h'ui!/, tw r o to one on /]/■// JU'tmt, loiutecn to seven on Wild Goniintm, tlnee to five on 7Vs <h (Jlmx/i, ninetoen to si\ on Jhn/ h/tn ." We shall be veiy happy to t.nke all these odds, and then let us si c how our book stands. We will take 2100 to 10.10 about Juucst Knit/, the ,',ut>e about Hiii/ Jicr/aif ; foiutccn to seven is two to one, bo we take 2100 to 1030 about Wild Coalman. We must not miss tho chance on J)in/ St/o , and will take nineteen to six iv hundieds. Now only one hoi *c can vin. If Fi»(\t King wins no loso 10-30 On him, but wo win 2100 on JU>) Krnntt, 2100 on Wild Go a itii'in, and 1900 on Day Stoi — rather a good book. But we hhould have even a better book if Dm) Star won. In fact such a party of geneious boo!<miikeis a.s, ancoiding to Ouida, assembled at the ling at that steeplechase have never been heaicl of elsewheic iv the memory of man. It would be well if authors sometimes had Iheir proofs lead by men who are piacticplly acquainted with tho details of the subject on which tho author is romancing without reason.

A Cv\ yuian paper states that a young woman who left Dubuque, lowa, for New Zcilnud a yo.ir ago, on the summons of her betrothed, h.is returned home nnin.iriied, finding her former lover disappointed bccMuse u ho was not as handsome as when he had last &een hor, she released him. Thj, "M'ldias J\[«tl saj-s 3G6 bulloelcß, 413 co\v«, l')l cilvea, 87 buffaloes, 113 sheep, 114 goats, 20 horses or ponies, 15 asses, 17 dojr.i, and two pigf were destroyed by hgeiti and cheetahs in the Madras Presidency duaing 1 the quarter ending September 30, 1880. TnrißE seems every reason to believe that; the 300,000 guineas which the Wesleyan Methodist community has attempted to raiso as a thanksgiving fund will be reached. Already £187,600 has been received, and the further amounts promised will bring the total ' to upwards of £205,000. • ■ ' ' "' '\