Page:Facts and Fancies about Our "Son of the Woods", Henry Clarence Kendall and his Poetry (IA factsfanciesabou00hami).pdf/51

Rh mingling with their thoughts and memories of Australian sights and sounds.

It cannot always be comparatively shelved; and the sooner it is more in evidence and presented to the public in an attractive form, the better for Australia. How beautifully his poems might be illustrated with our wild flowers, our trees, our birds, our forest leaves, mountains, rocks, and sylvan scenes, and all the lovely coastal views side by side with his exquisite verses. How dull we are, and how slow, to make the most of the riches that have been showered upon us by a bountiful Providence, to grace "our fair young land."

Is it not humiliating to the Australian, that when we want some ornamental book of poetry for a gift, we must seek some American author, or English, or Scotch poet, while our own remains unread, unknown except to the favoured few who have chanced to come into touch with Australian poetry? It is now commonly admitted that our scenery is beautiful, our wild flowers exquisite, our birds as varied as they are lovely in plumage, our sunshine a glory in itself, our sands golden, our very air glittering—the sky so bright and clear above us, the sea so "beautifully blue" around us; and all this wealth of Nature has been sung, as only the poet can sing, in lyrics of surpassing sweetness and melody. Yet we have Shakespearian memorials and Burns' centenaries, etc., etc.; but Henry Clarence Kendall's bust in the University and monument in the Waverley Cemetery is about all that the general public knows the poet of our own land.

There were three mountains, "The Three Brothers" they were called, at least by Kendall, being all the same size, at Camden Haven, in sight of the house. The sun used to rise over these mountains, and Kendall used to talk about them and call them North, South, and West; but it was not explained to me why he so named them.

His wife said he was like a pussy cat for sun. He loved the cheering comfort of sunshine, and used to stand against the post in the verandah at Camden haven, in view of the mountains, resting (a halfpenny clay pipe and