John Shaw Neilson The Collected Verse A Variorum Edition Edited by Margaret Roberts Australian Scholarly Editions Centre UNSW at ADFA Canberra 2003 JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Acknowledgements 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my appreciation for the help given me by Ruth Harrison, who lent me material which she collected in the course of her research and who made available a copy of an index that she compiled in the course of her research. I would also like to thank the late Jack McKimm and Mary McKimm and the late Betty Doyle (née Neilson), latterly Noblett, for their assistance in supplying information about the Neilson family, and Maureen Stewart for information about the Devaney family. I wish to acknowledge the contributions of the following libraries, and the assistance of staff over a period of many years: the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; the La Trobe Library, State Library of Victoria; the National Library of Australia; the University of Queensland, Fryer Library; the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland and the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand. Thanks too are due the Nhill and District Historical Society. Occasional Publications Series, no. 3. Series editor Paul Eggert. ISBN 0 7317 0381 2 C-i-p information is available from the National Library of Australia Published in 2003 in electronic format by the Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, School of Language, Literature and Communication University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra ACT 2600 www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/ASEC ©Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, UNSW at ADFA, Margaret Roberts Layout by Andrea Tomkinson and Mary Walsh Typesetting by Andrea Tomkinson JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Contents 3 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 20 Section 1: The man and the verse 20 Section 2: The poet and the editors 35 Section 3: The edition 51 Section 4: The manuscripts – ‘notebooks’ 56 ‘Green Days and Cherries’: a note 61 Editorial symbols and abbreviations 63 CHRONOLOGY 66 TEXT PERIOD 1: 1890-1906 70 A brilliant idea 71 A buttercup in June 72 A difficult matter 73 A face in the crowd 74 ‘A friendless youth he was but full of hope’ 76 A protest and a protest 77 A remarkable lamb 78 A safe treatment 81 A vexatious delay 82 After the campaign 83 As the years go by 84 At the end of spring 85 Baby’s asleep 86 Baby’s prayer 87 Bears a drug 88 Before the looking glass 89 Bob and Dearie 91 Darby’s dream 94 Died on service 96 Emily Wynn 97 Etiquette at Lah 101 Father O’Connor 102 Father O’Hooligan’s walking stick 103 Fitchett the finder 104 From E to C 106 From the cradle to the grave 109 Good times ahead 110 ‘Had I but known the darkness, the guile and the art of thee’ 111 Harry and me 112 He was the Christ 115 ‘I sat for hours a’thinking on the great and grievous wrongs’ 116 JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Contents 4 In other years 117 In the city of rest 120 In the street 121 Is civilisation a failure? 122 It is the last 123 Jack McLeod 125 Life 126 Love and life 127 Love comes in summer 128 Marian’s child 129 Marjorie, Mother and I 131 Minnie’s story 133 Miss McKellar of Bradley’s Plains 136 Misunderstood 140 Misunderstood [1] 140 Moderation in all things 141 Mr Johnny Shepherd 142 No fear of death 144 Not forgotten 145 Old Granny Sullivan 149 On Saturday night 152 Only a parting 153 Opposites attract each other 154 Our contemporary in trouble again 155 Our free library 156 Our mechanical staff 158 Ourselves 159 Polly and Dad and the spring cart 160 ‘Shall I have grim black night or stars or dew’ 164 Sheedy was dying 165 Something new in millinery 169 Taking no risks 170 The angel of the dew 171 The anxiety of Michael 172 The Australian poets 173 The bloom and fall [1] 174 The bloom and fall [2] 176 The bride 177 The case of Adam 178 The child of tears 179 The child we lost 180 The coming of father 182 The cry of the woman 183 The dear little cottage 184 The dear little cottage [1] 184 The dream is deep 186 The drunkard’s song 187 The earth-born 188 The effects of the charge 189 JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Contents 5 The fortune teller 190 The funeral 191 The girl of the period 192 The good and the true 193 The gray digger 194 The horny fellow 195 The hour is lost 198 The hummer 199 The king impetuous 201 The land where I was born 202 The love of light 204 The lover sings 206 The man who prayed 211 The millionaire 213 The mirth-makers 214 The mother intervenes 215 The old man’s worrying 216 The old man’s worrying [1] 216 The one request 217 The pain of retrenchment 218 The painting of a picture 220 The pearl of prudence 223 The poet speaks 224 The prehistoric player 225 The pretty gleaner 226 The prince of pain 228 The promise 231 The sacrifice 233 The sacrifice [1] 233 The seeker 234 The seeker [2] 234 The sexton reconciled 235 The sight of means 236 The silver lining 237 The spirit of contradiction 238 The sympathiser 239 The tales we never hear 240 The thing that hath been [1] 242 The thing that hath been [2] 243 The unsolved 244 The victory of John 246 The wayfarer 248 The wedding ring 249 The white flowers came 250 The woolly sheep 252 To a little friend 254 To a little singer 255 To Mary Jane 256 To Queen Alexandra 260 JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Contents 6 To Queen Victoria on her 74th birthday 263 To Sarah Ann 264 To the departed 265 Tom McCann 266 ’Twas in the early summertime 270 Two little dreamers 272 When are the angels nearest 275 When the good man died 276 ‘When your bullocks were bogged on the Berrigan Road’ 277 Where the pelican builds its nest 278 Which colour 279 White Australia 282 Why did you kiss me 283 With tears [1] 284 With tears [2] 285 PERIOD 2: 1907-1916 287 A celt in a kilt 288 ‘A certain good lady at Warrack’ 289 A cheap and effective method of dispersing rabbits 290 ‘A dashing young fellow at Francis’ 291 A psalm of law 292 A psalm of life 293 A savings bank 294 A song without a tune 295 A sound churchman 296 A stray cow 297 A tired poet’s voice 298 A welcome to Tommy Burns 299 A woman and the spring 300 ‘A young lady sang at Penola’ 301 Advice to a rhymer 302 After the festival 303 All for the best 304 All is not well 305 All the world’s a lolly-shop 306 Along a river 308 An editor indignant 309 An interesting experience 310 An open letter to Ada 311 An undesirable alien 313 As far as my heart can go 314 At a girl’s grave 316 At the boarding house 317 At the bush hotel 318 At the foot of Mt Aripalus 319 At the social in aid of the home mission 320 At the suburban hotel 321 Bardie and Birdie 322 JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Contents 7 Barmaid at Binney’s 324 Buried in May 326 Consolation 327 Content 328 Cupid with a shanghai 329 Dame Hubbard’s pilgrimage [1] 330 Dame Hubbard’s pilgrimage [2] 331 Early gone 332 Early kisses 333 Eternities 334 Excitement at Boigbeat 335 Facts indisputable 336 For a child 337 For a country editor 340 For a tired poet 341 From a coffin 342 Goodbye to bitterness 343 He never touched the earth 344 He takes off his hat 345 Her eyes 346 Her foot 347 Her laddie 348 His father’s coat 349 His heart will know 350 Honeythirst 351 How shall I live for my love? 352 Human weakness 353 Humbug 354 Humbug [1] 354 I am athirst 356 In Chicago 357 In Nimitybelle 358 In the cool country 360 In the dim counties 362 In the wind 363 Is it you Sadie? 365 Is this a record? 366 Jemima’s hat 367 Jonah 368 Jonah takes leave of the whale [1] 369 Jonah takes leave of the whale [2] 370 Judkins in paradise 371 Julie Callaway [1] 372 Julie Callaway [2] 376 Just for a day 378 Kings ancient and modern 379 Leg pulling 380 Let us be making merry 382 Let us consider love 384 JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Contents 8 Let your song be delicate 385 Lines for an album 387 Listen oh pansy 388 Little girl of the sky 389 Little girl with black hair 390 Little girl with black hair [1] 390 Little girl with black hair [2] 391 Little white girl 392 ‘Lives of millionaires remind us’ 393 Longfellow at the races 394 Love a microbe 395 Love the player 397 Love’s coming 398 Maggie Tulliver 400 May 402 Me 403 Medical notes 404 Melbourne in the gloom 405 Misunderstood 407 Misunderstood [2] 407 More mystery 408 My cow in Switzerland 410 My lady chides 411 My love is like a violin 412 My prisoner 415 Night 416 No time to jest 417 Not tumbled to 418 O lady of the dazzling flowers 419 Oh heart of spring 420 Oh player of the flute 422 Oh summer sale 425 Old Nell Dickerson 427 On reading a recent copy of ‘London Punch’ 433 On the cheek or the chin 434 Our contemporary again vomits slime 435 Paint me a petticoat green 436 Pessimistic punter 439 Pick and shovel men 440 Play hour 441 Poor sweet pretty joey 442 Presence of mind 443 Resignation 444 Roses three 445 Sainted Jane 446 Saucy Susette 447 Signs of the season 448 Solomon and us 449 JOHN SHAW NEILSON – COLLECTED VERSE – Contents 9 Solomon criticised 450 Solomon in a bilious mood 451 Song for a sinner 452 Sonnet (Written during a temporary fit of insanity) 453 ‘Still laughing wearily with love’s old shame’ 454 Surely God was a lover 455 Sylvia and a salad 457 Tell me and tell me all 458 That lamb again 459 That night 460 The angel in the cherries 461 The angel with the curling pins 462 The appeal failed 463 The approach of spring 464 The bench criticised 465 The bishop 466 The black friend 467 The book agent 468 The borrower 469 The break of day 470 The bull-frog to the mountain duck 471 The bushranger 472 The call of the wild 473 The cat and the fiddler 474