His Writings 



85 



entered in his Journal. Although I have tried in 

 the preceding chapters to give an account of the 

 contents of his folios, the few quotations I have 

 given fail to do justice to his literary style. For 

 that one must go to his publications, but as these 

 are not very accessible I propose to give a few 

 examples from his writings to complete my 

 picture. Never was there a better example of the 

 truth of the bon mot, * le style cest Vhomme, 9 

 than in this particular instance. 



The following paragraphs have been extracted, 

 with an occasional slight modification, from the 

 manuscript of his series of articles entitled 

 * Thoughts of the Hour,' published in the Aliwal 

 Pioneer in the year 1860. These extracts show 

 his earlier imposing style and give a taste of his 

 rich ideation, too rich, in fact, for ordinary 

 punctuation. They were also prophetic, for they 

 were written before he had made his own 

 magnificent contribution to the sublime story 

 that he tells. 



" The world of nature is a book wherein the 

 most mighty and wise, as well as the most humble 

 and unlearned, may find rich food for mental 

 enjoyment. The clouded heavens — the falling 

 rain — the limpid stream — the roaring torrent — 

 the sun which shines by day — the moon which 

 shines by night — the lion roaring for his prey — 



