Poems of Henry Kendall With Biographical Note by Bertram Stevens

Henry Kendall

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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. This edition of Kendall contains: (i) The poems included in the three volumes published during the author's lifetime; (ii) Those not reprinted by Kendall, but included in the collected editions of 1886, 1890 and 1903; (iii) Early pieces not hitherto reprinted; (iv) Poems, now first printed, from the Kendall MSS. in the Mitchell Library, the use of which has been kindly permitted by the Trustees. Certain topical skits and other pieces of no value have been omitted.

Informations

• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 27 septembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819929833
• Langue: English

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The Poems of Henry Kendall
by Henry Kendall
[Native-born AustralianPoet—1841-1882.]
This edition of Kendall contains: (i) The poemsincluded in the three volumes published during the author'slifetime; (ii) Those not reprinted by Kendall, but included in thecollected editions of 1886, 1890 and 1903; (iii) Early pieces nothitherto reprinted; (iv) Poems, now first printed, from the KendallMSS. in the Mitchell Library, the use of which has been kindlypermitted by the Trustees. Certain topical skits and other piecesof no value have been omitted.
With biographical note by Bertram Stevens
Biographical Note
Henry Kendall was the first Australian poet to drawhis inspiration from the life, scenery and traditions of thecountry. In the beginnings of Australian poetry the names of twoother men stand with his— Adam Lindsay Gordon, of English parentageand education, and Charles Harpur, born in Australia a generationearlier than Kendall. Harpur's work, though lacking vitality, showsfitful gleams of poetic fire suggestive of greater achievement hadthe circumstances of his life been more favourable. Kendall, whoselot was scarcely more fortunate, is a true singer; his songsremain, and are likely long to remain, attractive to poetrylovers.
The poet's grandfather, Thomas Kendall, aLincolnshire schoolmaster, met the Revd. Samuel Marsden when thelatter was in England seeking assistants for his projectedmissionary work in New Zealand. Kendall offered his services to theChurch Missionary Society of London and came out to Sydney in 1809.Five years later he was sent to the Bay of Islands as a laymissionary, holding also the first magistrate's commission issuedfor New Zealand. He soon made friends with the Maoris and learnttheir language well enough to compile a primer in pidgin-Maori, 'AKorao no New Zealand; or, the New Zealander's First Book', whichGeorge Howe printed for Marsden at Sydney in 1815. In 1820 ThomasKendall went to England with some Maori chiefs, and while therehelped Professor Lee, of Cambridge, to “fix” the Maori language—the outcome of their work being Lee and Kendall's 'Grammar andVocabulary of the Language of New Zealand', published in the sameyear.
Returning to New Zealand, Kendall, in 1823, left theMissionary Society and went with his son Basil to Chile. In 1826 hecame back to Australia, and for his good work as a missionaryreceived from the New South Wales Government a grant of 1280 acresat Ulladulla, on the South Coast. There he entered the timber tradeand became owner and master of a small vessel used in the business.About 1832 this vessel was wrecked near Sydney, and all on board,including the owner, were drowned.
Of Basil Kendall's early career little is known.While in South America he saw service under Lord Cochrane, thefamous tenth Earl of Dundonald, who, after five brilliant years inthe Chilean service, was, between 1823 and 1825, fighting on behalfof Brazil. Basil returned to Australia, but disappears from viewuntil 1840. One day in that year he met a Miss Melinda McNally, andnext day they were married. Soon afterwards they settled on theUlladulla grant, farming land at Kirmington, two miles from thelittle town of Milton. There, in a primitive cottage Basil hadbuilt, twin sons— Basil Edward and Henry— were born on the 18thApril, 1841. Five years later the family moved to the ClarenceRiver district and settled near the Orara. Basil Kendall hadpractically lost one lung before his marriage, and failing healthmade it exceedingly difficult for him to support his family, towhich by this time three daughters had been added. On the Orara hegrew steadily weaker, and died somewhere about 1851.
Basil Kendall was well educated, and had done whathe could to educate his children. After his death the family wasscattered, and the two boys were sent to a relative on the SouthCoast. The scenery of this district made a profound impression uponHenry, and is often referred to in his early poems. In 1855 hisuncle Joseph took him as cabin boy in his brig, the 'Plumstead',for a two years' cruise in the Pacific, during which they touchedat many of the Islands and voyaged as far north as Yokohama. Thebeauty of the scenes he visited lived in the boy's memory, but therigours of ship life were so severe that in after years he lookedback on the voyage with horror.
Henry Kendall returned to Sydney in March, 1857, andat once obtained employment in the city and set about making a homefor his mother and sisters. Mrs. Kendall, granddaughter of LeonardMcNally, a Dublin notable of his day, was a clever, handsome womanwith a strong constitution and a volatile temperament. Henry wasalways devoted to her, and considered that from her he inheritedwhatever talent he possessed. She helped in his education, andencouraged him to write verse.
The first verses of his known to have been printedwere “O tell me, ye breezes”— signed “H. Kendall”— which appearedin 'The Australian Home Companion and Band of Hope Journal' in1859. A number of other poems by Kendall appeared in the samemagazine during 1860 and 1861. But in a letter written yearsafterwards to Mr. Sheridan Moore, Kendall says “My first essay inwriting was sent to 'The Southern Cross' at the time you weresub-editor. You, of course, lit your pipe with it. It was on thesubject of the 'Dunbar'. After a few more attempts in prose andverse— attempts only remarkable for their being clever imitations—I hit upon the right vein and wrote the Curlew Song. Then followedthe crude, but sometimes happy verses which made up my firstvolume. ”
The verses on the wreck of the 'Dunbar', written atthe age of sixteen, were eventually printed in 'The Empire' in 1860as “The Merchant Ship”. Henry Parkes, the editor of that newspaper,had already welcomed some of the boy's poems, and in 'The Empire'of the 8th December, 1859, had noticed as just published a song—“Silent Tears”— the words of which were written by “a young nativepoet, Mr. H. Kendall, N. A. P. ” These initials, which puzzledParkes, as well they might, meant no more than Native AustralianPoet.
Kendall also sent some poems to 'The Sydney MorningHerald'; there they attracted the attention of Henry Halloran, acivil servant and a voluminous amateur writer, who sought out thepoet and tried to help him.
Kendall's mother brought him to Mr. Sheridan Moore,who had some reputation as a literary critic. He was greatlyinterested in the poems, and promised to try to raise money fortheir publication. Subscriptions were invited by advertisement inJanuary, 1861, but came in so slowly that, after a year's delay,Kendall almost despaired of publication.
Meanwhile Moore had introduced Kendall to JamesLionel Michael, through whom he came to know Nicol D. Stenhouse,Dr. Woolley, and others of the small group of literary men inSydney. Michael, a London solicitor, had been a friend of some ofthe Pre-Raphaelite group of artists, and was much more interestedin literature than in the law when the lure of gold brought him toAustralia in 1853. Himself a well-read man and a writer of veryfair verse, he recognized the decided promise of Kendall's work andgave him a place in his office. In spite of their disparity inyears they became friends, and Kendall undoubtedly derived greatbenefit from Michael's influence and from the use of his library.When in 1861 Michael left Sydney for Grafton, Kendall eitheraccompanied him or joined him soon afterwards. He did not, however,stay long at Grafton. He found employment at Dungog on the WilliamsRiver; afterwards went to Scone, where he worked for a month ortwo, and then made his way back to Sydney.
In October, 1862, before this powerful encouragementreached the young writer, 'Poems and Songs' was published in Sydneyby Mr. J. R. Clarke. 'The Empire' published a favourable review.Further notice of his work appeared in the 'Athenaeum' during thenext four years, and in 1866 it was generously praised by Mr. G. B.Barton in his 'Poets and Prose Writers of New South Wales'.
Meanwhile in August, 1863, Kendall was, throughParkes' influence, appointed to a clerkship in theSurveyor-General's Department at one hundred and fifty pounds ayear, and three years later was transferred to the ColonialSecretary's Office at two hundred pounds a year. During this periodhe read extensively, and wrote much verse. By 1867 he had so farovercome his natural shyness that he undertook to deliver a seriesof lectures at the Sydney School of Arts. One of these, on “Love,Courtship and Marriage”, precipitated him into experience of allthree; for he walked home after the lecture with Miss CharlotteRutter, daughter of a Government medical officer, straightway fellin love, and, after a brief courtship, they were married in thefollowing year.
The year 1868 was a memorable one for Kendall inother ways. In April, James Lionel Michael was found dead in theClarence River, and in June Charles Harpur died at Euroma. Kendallhad a great admiration for Harpur's poems and wrote to him in thespirit of a disciple. They corresponded for some years, but did notmeet until a few months before the elder poet's death. Kendalldescribes Harpur as then “a noble ruin— scorched and wasted by thefire of sorrow. ”
In 1868, also, a prize was offered in Melbourne forthe best Australian poem, the judge being Richard Hengist Horne,author of 'Orion'. Kendall sent in three poems and Horne awardedthe prize to “A Death in the Bush”. In an article printed inMelbourne and Sydney newspapers he declared that the author was atrue poet, and that had there been three prizes, the second andthird would have gone to Kendall's other poems— “The Glen ofArrawatta” and “Dungog”.
The result of winning this prize was that Kendalldecided to abandon routine work and try to earn his living as awriter. He resigned his position in the Colonial Secretary's Officeon the 31st March, 1869, and shortly afterwards left for Melbourne,where his wife and daughter soon joined him. Melbourne was then acentre of greater l