Notable South Australians/John Howell, J.P.
John Howell, J.P.
HAZLITT describes poetry as "The high-wrought enthusiasm of fancy and feeling." He says, "Whenever there is a sense of beauty, or power, or harmony, as in the motion of a wave of the sea, in the growth of the flower that spreads its sweet leaves to the air and dedicates its beauty to the sun, there is poetry in its birth," The subject of this memoir is one who evidently feels this; whose thoughts and sympathies are in unison with nature, and who is fully alive to all that is beautiful and wonderful in its domain. John Howell is a true poet, in the fullest acceptation of the term. He does not merely jingle rhymes together without due consideration as to their meaning; and we recall many pleasant moments afforded in perusing his latest contribution to South Australian literature: "Rose Leaves from an Australian Garden," a work which commends itself to all lovers of poetry. Want of space alone prevents making copious extracts, but we can at least give the following without wearying our readers. In "The Pilgrim of Venus" the poet has risen above the earth, into the fathomless expanse of stars, and in one of those mysterious worlds meets with quite a galaxy of bards, among whom are Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Goldsmith, and others long since departed:—
"In those bright halls no harp was strung
To sweeter notes than those which rung
To Shelley's wierd majestic tongue;
The joyous sound
Was like the strains Prometheus sung
When first unbound."
The poem is altogether above the common run of metaphor, and well worthy perusal. "The Poet's Ambrosia," is an elegant piece of word-painting, as will be seen by this:—
"His ideal joy of all created things
Is lovely woman, beautiful, serene;
Her eyes the fount of intellectual springs;
Her face the impress of the great Unseen;
Her voice the echo of an angel's hymn;
Her smile a gleam of sunshine's rippling light;
Her footfall like a seraph journeying;
All seem a dream of heaven to his enraptured sight."
John Howell is a native of Bath, Somerset, where he was born July 4, 1832. He was educated at a Grammar School in Bristol, in the immediate vicinity of a large shipping industry. At the age of 14 he entered the Navy as naval apprentice, and served on board H.M.S. "Ganges," 84 guns, in the Mediterranean, and afterwards in H.M.S. "Rodney," 92 guns, attached to the Channel Squadron. Quitted the Navy at the expiration of his indentures, and joined the Merchant Service as second officer, trading between Bristol and the African gold coast, and Liverpool and Savannah, U.S. Was cast away in the barque "Ellen," of Liverpool, in the Bay of Biscay, and rescued and taken to Liverpool. Afterwards sailed thence to Sydney, N. S. "Wales, arriving there in 1854. Traded between that port and Newcastle, and was cast away on The Nobbys. Rescued and returned to Sydney, and traded to the Clarence River and to Melbourne. Came to Adelaide in the brig "Flash," and entered the Government service, as convict guard at Yatala, in 1856; promoted to Chief Warder in 1857, and to the keepership of Port Augusta gaol in 1868. Appointed Governor of the Adelaide Gaol in 1873, and Justice of the Peace in 1882. In his public capacity Mr. Howell is regarded as one of the best and most affable men in the Government service; and, as he tempers justice with mercy, is invariably spoken well of by those unfortunates consigned to his care. The composition of poetry will probably be deemed out of place in the Governor of a gaol, but the Divine afflatus is no respecter of persons, and from sources unthought of and least expected does it exhibit itself with no uncertain sound. Mr. Howell will, if we mistake not, yet be heard of in the far future, when his ideas are strengthened by time and experience, as a poet of the highest order, and one of Whom South Australia need not be ashamed.