an academic reputation. A little book of humorous verses
issued in Melbourne in 1873 almost immediately became popular,
and a later volume of "Miscellaneous Poems" (1880), containing some
fine patriotic utterances as well as many in lighter vein,
established him as one of our chief singers.

The first important poem from New Zealand -- Domett's "Ranolf and Amohia" --
was published in London in 1872. Domett spent thirty years in New Zealand.
He wrote a good deal of verse before leaving England and after his return,
but "Ranolf and Amohia" is the only poem showing traces
of Australian influence. It is a miscellany in verse rather than an epic,
and contains some fine descriptions of New Zealand scenery.

The death of Kendall in Sydney in 1882 closed what may be regarded
as the second literary period. He had published his finest work
in "Songs from the Mountains" (1880), and had the satisfaction of knowing
that it was a success, financially and otherwise. Kendall's audience
is not so large as Gordon's, but it is a steadily growing one;
and many readers who have been affected by his musical verse
hold the ill-fated singer in more tender regard than any other.
He lived at a time when Australians had not learned to think it possible
that any good thing in art could come out of Australia,
and were too fully occupied with things of the market-place
to concern themselves much about literature.

Several attempts have been made to maintain magazines and reviews
in Sydney and Melbourne, but none of them could compete successfully
with the imported English periodicals. `The Colonial Monthly',
`The Melbourne Review', `The Sydney Quarterly', and `The Centennial Magazine'
were the most important of these. They cost more to produce