Page:Facts and Fancies about Our "Son of the Woods", Henry Clarence Kendall and his Poetry (IA factsfanciesabou00hami).pdf/26

20 He was almost as childishly shy off the platform as he was when in the presence of the audience; but his shyness wore off to a great extent after some acquaintance. He could take any amount of praise. As I like praise myself, I could quite understand that; so I won his heart completely the second time I saw him by quoting a line from his first published volumes of Poems and Songs, edited when he was little more than nineteen years of age, and which has always been treasured by me as one of my pet volumes of poetry, not only because of the sweetness and melody of many of its verses, but also because my familiarity with the Australian bush and river and coastal scenery enabled me to appreciate the wonderful truthfulness of his poetic descriptions of the main features of the land that gave me day. 'Mountains' was the name of the piece from which I quoted, when I much pleased the author by doing so. It was on the occasion of his trip to Tinoonee his first visit there, I think). Some of us were taking him for a walk to show him one of our pretty river views of which we were very proud. The conversation happened to turn on scenery generally, and New England scenery in particular; whereupon I, with as much enthusiasm as my quiet nature is capable of, exclaimed: 'Ah! That is what you'll see "Long hillocks looking like to waves of ocean turned to stone. This excited our sensitive friend so much that he almost jumped in his child-like glee as he clutched me by the arm, exclaiming, 'Do you remember that, old man?' I forgot what I said in reply, but I made an effort to say something appropriate and pleasing; for, as I caught this faint glimpse of the inner chamber of the poet's soul, in his rapture that one of his spiritual off-spring had met with some just appreciation, I painfully realised the intense sorrow he must have suffered under the fire of unmerited harsh criticism, or the equally disheartening effect and hope-benumbing influence of faint praise. 'Vex not the poet's soul.'

"The following is a specimen of Kendall's prose, from which he occasionally lapses into poetry; and as he did not give it a place in his published works it may be interesting to those who want to know something of the