APPENDIX
_The first volume_ of HOME LYRICS _was published during the life of the auth.o.r.ess, in 1876, receiving, amongst others, comments from the press as follows:_
From the _Morning Post_, Jan. 4th, 1877.
The mantle of Mrs. Hemans may be said to have descended on Mrs. H. S.
Battersby. She infuses into her poems the ardour of home affection; her faith is pure, and her hope unswerving. Many of her verses have inspiration from the clear, bracing air of Canadian skies. She loves the grandeur of nature; lofty rocks and waterfalls; forests whitened with snows, and vast frozen lakes, smooth as polished marble, and solid as granite. He who delights in the fauna and flora of nature has in every clime
"Which the eye of Heaven visits."
a library fruitful of study and a pursuit which is innocent and healthful. Mrs. Battersby deduces a moral lesson in her spirited lines "To the Chaudiere Falls, Canada"--
"Oh, wild rolling waters; oh, white-crested foam, I, too, would press onward, right on to my home; Like thee, with stern purpose, let nothing impede, Or cause me to falter in courage or speed.
"My mission, like thine, is right onward to go, Though tempests be raging and dark waters flow, Oh, might I, like these, with firm, resolute voice, Through dangers, and even through tempests, rejoice!"
But the author reserves her warmest welcome and her loudest notes of praise for the charming scenery of her native land. "Beautiful Malvern"
is dearer to her heart than the most romantic regions in Europe. More beloved than the snow-capped grandeur of the Alps, than the castle crowned Rhine, enshrined in the stanzas of a hundred poets, Helvetia"s dark gorges, and the silvery cascade of Giessbach, calm Chamounix, and the gloomy dungeons and stake of the Castle of Chilon.
"All these wonders of nature and wonders of mind, With their thousand attractions of beauty combined, Have served but to strengthen my fond love for thee, And make thee, dear Malvern, still dearer to me."
This supports the quaint remark of a tourist that one of the great delights of travelling is the thought and antic.i.p.ated pleasure of coming home again. From the subjects chosen for many of her poems the author has evidently made appeal rather to the narrow circle of her own near relations and friends than to that ever-increasing one which is expressed by the phrase of the "reading public." She writes thus in her preface, the brevity of which is much to be commended:--"They are published chiefly for the author"s dear children, relations, and valued friends, to whose hearths and hearts it is hoped that they will, as HOME LYRICS, readily find their way."
In "A Painful History," Mrs. Battersby speaks boldly out against one of our social inequalities, which she sensibly and very justly denounces.
All men of true honour must accept and endorse her verdict. Hood treats the same theme with all the tenderness of his fine sensitive nature, and with all that exquisite harmony which his refined muse had at ready command. HOME LYRICS is a charming little volume of poems, full of sincerity, grace, and devotional feeling.
From the _Tunbridge Wells Gazette_.
"One of the prettiest collections of poems we know of. It is very nicely printed, and the poems will be found to have a large amount of poetry in them. A more suitable present to a young friend we do not think could be found than this volume."
From the _Western Times_, Jan. 2nd, 1877.
Poetry will never die while there are Hearts and Homes. The poetical spirit of this accomplished lady has hovered over that sacred spot, Home, sweet Home, and there sung, like the Bethlehem angels, those sweet melodies of love. They are published, she tells us "chiefly for the author"s dear children, relatives and valued friends, to whose hearths and hearts it is hoped that they will, as Home Lyrics, readily find their way." It is a fortune all its readers will wish it, where the gems under the gold-lettered, crimson covers will be often inspected, and the neat volume often made a Christmas or a New Year"s gift.
From the _Tunbridge Wells Gazette_, July, 7th, 1876.
Under this t.i.tle will shortly be published a volume of poems.
We have seen the author"s proofs and can testify to the depth of feeling and mature thought, together with the telling language brought to bear in working out many of those homely scenes upon which the heart delights to dwell, as well as others of a miscellaneous character.
From the _Tunbridge Wells Gazette_, Sept. 1st, 1876.
This book, by H. S. Battersby, the issue of which we announced a short time ago, has been published, and forms a very handsome volume. We have before referred to the diversified character of the poems thus collated, in fact several of them have appeared in our columns; suffice it now to say that the general topics selected are of a pleasing character, simple rather than striking, yet effectively thought out in excellent composition. As its name denotes, it is chiefly the mirror of home attributes, and thoughts, and feelings, and what is more calculated to engross the attention of a thoughtful mind than such irresistible appeals, all the more attractive from their natural bearing and ingenious meaning! To the lover of poetical thought the volume will be welcome, while the general reader will find much that cannot fail to interest.
From the _Worcestershire Chronicle_, Sept. 9th, 1876.
The above is an appropriate t.i.tle for a volume of poems in which events occurring within the domestic circle are largely, but by no means exclusively, dealt with by the auth.o.r.ess, who explains, in a modest and brief preface, that the poems are published chiefly for "dear children, relatives, and valued friends." To many of these, no doubt, most of the effusions contained in this volume will have a personal interest, especially as the verses are written with much feeling and natural truth, which will be sure to elicit sympathy. But there are other poems which will interest the general reader, especially if he or she has travelled much, as the auth.o.r.ess has jotted down in verse her thoughts upon many of the numerous places she has visited. Amongst these is Malvern, with which town and the hills Mrs. Battersby seems particularly pleased, if not quite enthusiastic. There is "A Welcome to Malvern,"
after years of absence, which clearly demonstrates this; then the delightful prospect from the "Beacon" is discoursed upon; and, later on appear a few verses on "St. Ann"s Well," followed by "Farewell to Malvern," in which, after references to the pleasant locality, the Abbey Church, and the Promenade Gardens, there occurs the following verse:
And then, "tis the home of a man of rare fame, Rare talents, rare worth, Dr. G----y, by name, Whose wonderful skill and refinement combined Administers (_sic_) balm to the body and mind.
This, we apprehend, was written and published prior to the disclosures in the Bravo case, in which Dr. G----y cut such a very sorry figure.
From the _Western Daily Mercury_, August 24th, 1876.
We are pleased to find that a second edition of Mrs. Battersby"s poems has been called for; they really contain some very excellent verse, the offspring of a mind far superior to that of the ordinary rhymester. We have always had a good deal of sympathy for the Moon and the Sea, because they are generally the first victims of every "poet"s" misguided pen; it was, therefore, an intense relief to find that Mrs. Battersby"s lyrics on these subjects are quite readable; indeed, the lines to the Sea are exceedingly pretty and full of original ideas. The volume contains a few weak pieces, which might have been omitted with advantage. Of these is a "Farewell to Malvern," from which we extract the following verse, as being somewhat interesting at the present time:--
And then, "tis the home of a man of rare fame, Rare talents, rare worth, Dr. G----y by name, Whose wonderful skill and refinement combined Administers balm to the body and mind.
Mrs. Battersby says she prints this book for her relatives and friends, and of the latter we are sure it will make a great number.
From the _East Suss.e.x News_, September 1st, 1876.
HOME LYRICS, by H. S. Battersby, is a small but neat volume of miscellaneous poems, published by Messrs. Ward, Lock and Tyler, Warwick House, Paternoster Row. The auth.o.r.ess states that the poems have been written at various times and under various circ.u.mstances, and several of them have already appeared separately in the columns of journals as occasional contributions. The versification is good and the true spirit of poetry runs through the volume. Mrs. Battersby"s descriptions of scenery in Canada as well as in this country are very pleasing, and the language employed is evidently that of a devout Christian. These HOME LYRICS should find their way to many hearths and hearts.
From the _Hampshire Advertiser_, August 26th, 1876.
This is a pretty volume of poems, written, as the preface informs us, at various times and under different circ.u.mstances. They also vary in merit, but the same kindly sentiment runs through the whole, and they will be welcome at many a fireside on account of the sympathy they manifest with home life. In the descriptions of scenery a warm admiration is manifested for the beauties of nature, but the chief attraction of these LYRICS lies in the interest they impart to the ordinary incidents of life.
From the _Broad Arrow_, August 26th, 1876.
There is a homely look about friend Hannah"s photographic frontispiece which bids us look beyond the t.i.tle page. Anything that appeals to _home_ sympathies must ever find a welcome from the soldier and sailor, too often thought to be the light and airy citizen of the world, but ever in his inmost heart yearning, amidst duty and glory, for _home_. Our poetess shadows out a great and grand home sentiment in the lines--