Sketcher.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 356, 5 March 1903, Page 7

Sketcher.

——♦—-—. A FORM OF HYSTERIA. & FORM of hysteria is a atrenuH fjMi) ous life for a girl. It is a V mJ& functional disorder. It sacrifices strength for spasms. ' Suppose she is at college, studying. How shall she get the best intellectual results: accuracy of perception, breadth of vision, delicacy of taste, respect for truth ? By disregarding the balance of her physical and mental nature, and plunging. into an intense pursuit of special knowledge, a fierce competition for marks and honours and prizes ? The achievement, whatever it may be, will iardly compensate her (or as) for its probable coat. Poise is more previous than penetration. Learning may be a climb, but wisdom is a growth, The best

" that we know is the harvest of a quiet mind. The sanity of scolars'up depends upon a normal life. The finest womea'a college is a college for women. The beßfc girls in it are never imitation boys. * Suppose a girl goes ia for physical exercise, out-of-ioor sports and pastimes. Is the strenuous life the one that will give her the most real pleasure and the best development P Too much of oar .sport has already passed through the,, process of contest into the stage oC conflict. When a patae becomes a public Bhow the iplayer is changed into a performer. Tbe strain, the restless ambition, the championship fever, which have transformed much of our play into the hardest kind of work, are not influences favourable to the development of womanly qualities. Tiiey are not even good for the making of Bound, strong, graceful bodies. Poetic Expbbbsions on Woman •Theie ia an air; pure, serene, stimulating, in which it is pleasant to live and easy to work and sweet to rest. Some people are always surrounded by an influence which has the same effect upon the spirit that this fine air has upon the body. It comes from the heights of a clean, steady, cheerful, unselfish life. The woman whoso soul walks in these lofty places carries their emanations with her wherever "she goes, and has power to lead others upwa d. 'Fonr great English poets have expressed their ideal of womanhood in memorable verse. Milton ia the eighth book of 'Paradise atones for some of bis theoretical errors about woman; ia that splendid passage:

! Yet, when I approach :\ Her loveliness, so absolute she Beams And in herself complete, so well to know Her own, that what she will to do or say Seems wisest virtuouseßt, discreetest, best. All higher Knowledge in her presence falls Degraded: Wisdom in discourse with her Loses, discountenanced, and like Polly. shows; Authority and Reason on her wait, , As one intended first, not after made Occasionally; ancyto consumate all, Greatness of mind and nobleness their seat Build in her loveliest, and create an awe About her, as a guard angelic placed. •Browning pays his tribute in that -passionate outburst at the close of the first part of ' The Ring and the Book,' beginning, 0 lyric Lovo, half angel and half bird, And all a wonder and a wild desire. • Tennyson utters his ideal in the last book of' The Pxinceßs': For woman is no undevelopt man But diverse; could we make her as the .'man : Sweet Love were slain: his deadest bond is this, Not like to like, but like in difference. ' Wordsworth paints his picture of a perfect woman (the clearest, and in my judgment, the most beautiful of all) in three sfcanzas entitled ' She wan a Phantom of delight,' of which I may qaote but one: I saw her upon nearer view, A spirit, yet a woman too ! Her household motions light and free, And steps of virgin liberty; A countenance in which did meet Sweet records, promises as sweet; A creature not too bright or good Por human nature's daily food; For transient sorrows, simple wiles. Praise, blame, love kisses tears and smiles. A Shabp Comtbabt. It is a long way from sush ideals of womanhood as these to the strenuous life —the life that strives and cries and makes itu voice to be heard in the streets—the

life that grows sharp with rivalry and hard with conflict, and shallow with ostentation—the life that runs panting after the latest fad, and tarns languidly from-lowly tasks and plain pleasures—the life that cares more for notoriety than for gratitude, and is always ready to sacrifice peace to publicity—the life that makes a lot of noise but little music. 'Doubtless in such a life a strong, clever woman can m&kf her way. Bat certainly she can never hold her own. 'The strennoui life for girls is like martial music fos violins.' They can play it. Bat it dees not sound well.'

STAGE LIFE

A new crop of stage people is harvested every ten years. E*ch decade marks the beginning of a new epoch in theatrical history

„ This, fact does not apply so aptly to the ' stare and stage people who dominate in the profession, for the life of these, so far as the public is concerned, is usually spmewhat longer. But with the rank and file—those who never rise higher than the level of minor roles—ten years is about the limit jof endurance. After having •served before the public for that length of time without doing anything sufficiently meritorious or novel to attract unusual attention, the actor or actress, as a rule, passes away, .in so far as the profession is concernod, and a new crop is harvested among the many anxious recruits on the waiting list to-fill the depleted ranks. ; Men who deal in the talents of stage p i pie to the extent, of reaping financial return from their labours are better qualified to 'size up* the situation than otl ers, and th« ir experience teaches that few ordinary people of the theatrical profasEipn remain longer than ten years in the business . They either achieve; distinction—although this is the exception rafcber than the rule—or. else drop into other lines after having been. convinced by experience that the stage, so far as they are directly concerned, offers practically no opportunity for advancement. For this reason, the rank and file of the profession is constantly changing, and the popular idea '• once an actor always an actor'.is easily disproved. ... It is the cfilco of the theatrical agent—the man who mediates between stage people and managers—that presents the truest phase of stage life. In this little clearing house* where talent is the standard of consideration, the mask is removed and everything goes for what it is worth. By reason of this.fact those who manage the affairs of the stage people are bettor able to judge of the vagaries and allurements, of the professions: than persons on the outside, and in their opinion ton years is the average .life of the, person who chooses the stage as a profession. This condition is more evident among specialty people than. among those who adhere to the beaten paths of legitimate drama. This latter field is less exhaust* ing, because it is less original than the former, and changes from one line to another more easily brought about. - Tfce stock and trade of men apd women oa the. variety stage id originality, and when this, endowment has"been exhausted there.' sources of the poison cease unless he has succeeded in building up a reputation which he can live on after he ceases to be a drawing card with the public. The theatrical agent is brought into touch with bot't sides of the shifting life of the stage He meets an enthusiastic •raw recruit' one minute and the next turns to face an actor or actress who has outlived his or her stage usefulness and is searching diligently for an engagement.