Poets and Prose Writers of New South Wales (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1866. Excerpt: ... Daniel Henry Deniehy was born in Sydney, in 1828. When a child, he went with his parents to England, but his stay there was not a long one. On leaving school he was articled to Mr. Stenhouse, and subsequently enrolled as an attorney. He practised a short time in Sydney, and afterwards in Goulburn; but his devotion to literature was too intense to admit of the necessary attention to business, and unfortunately he soon became equally devoted to politics. His first appearance in public life took place in T853, at a time when the new Constitution Act--framed by Mr. Wentworth, and adopted by the Council--was a subject of absorbing interest. His speeches on this occasion gained him a great reputation for eloquence, and naturally led to his election as a member of the first Representative Assembly. He achieved no success as a politician; and as a man of letters, he has left little behind him to convey a just idea of his extraordinary powers. He contributed to several newspapers; with one, the Southern Cross, he was especially identified, and in its columns and in those of the Freeman's Journal of eight years ago, we must look for whatever may be worth preserving. It was in the former journal that the most elaborate production of his pen appeared, --a political satire, entitled, How J became AttorneyGeneral of New Barataria. As a piece of literary workmanship, no other production of the kind can be said to surpass it. There has never been any man in this country whose knowledge of books was more extensive than Mr. Deniehy's: and it may be added that there has never been any one who possessed a finer critical capacity. The range of his attainments was not less surprising than the depth and penetration of his criticism. All that was best worth knowing in modern lite..