All Round.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 388, 15 October 1903, Page 7

All Round.

MAN IS STILL A KIND Of CRUSTACEAN. Armour is going out of faamion, and yet there is still a good deal of it ■worn even in modern English. The fireman wears a helniot weighing six pounds of solid metal, and heavj shoulder straps. Quite apart from the beauty of the shining brass, thia defensive armour [saves many a lifa which would otherwise be sacrificed, and the firemen would be sorry to go into action without.the protection. Slates come hurtling down from the roofs of burning buildings, nlantsideways as the air catches under them, gathering momentum every moment. Striking a man edgeways they would cut a man down like ft well-directed blow from a sword, and many a helmet has been crushed in where otherwise the skull would have been penetrated with fatal [results., Again, the man at the ' branch ' will reverse his helmet, letting the fierce heat fall on the broad neck-piece, His eyes are sheltered, while spouting water carries a rush of cold air to his face. J t is the men who caVry th» hose who suffer from heat not tha men at the branch. But quite apart from its protection from direct heat and whizzing slates, the helmet [is a fine thing to break the force of falling bricks and timbers.

This is, perhaps, the only case of armour worn openly for defence, but there seems to be a good deal <f chain mail worn secretly, London firm sells about a hund «4 and sixty tunics of chain maileye/7 year. The material is sometime* phosphor bronze, more often steel, and modern well-wrought chain mail will turn a sword cut, knife blow, or even a revolver bullet. Who wear? the armour is a mystery, but whei one thinks how often kings and presl--dents fall at the hands of assassins it is not to be wondered at if they sometimes wear concealed mail {on specially risky occasions. Millionaires, too, are often endangered by attacks of lunatics and criminals, and in badly-governed countries the high officials' life is extra hazardous.

Ancient armour is never used ia the theatre, because it is always too small for the men of 6ur t time. 0» the other hand, our actors must pro* cure armour of light construction, ba« cause few of them have weightcarrying strength sufficient to bear a suit weighing seventy-five pounds, after the ancient fashion. The old knights (fought from the saddle, the modern actor fights on foot; and event with the lightest armour he must b« an athlete to carry weight in the headlong violence of tragic action. Our British cavalry wear what they call a tin hat, and the Lancer helmet, weighing four pounds, ■ie perhaps the awkwardest head-dress in modern use. The 'tin hat' is not an ideal hat except for its beauty, as the brim allows one to see littler above the horizon, and the heat from the steel, edge is trying to the eyes in etrcng sunshine. But the Life Guard* have also the tin shirt, a thing of shining splendour but an exacting garment. If you slouch in a cuirass it catches you in the neck and nearly cuts your throat, so tbat if a man wants to be comfortable he must keep his back straight. For active service the tin hat and the tin shirt are left at home, because they are not proof against modem rifle fire, and the trooper makes a poor citadel in armour. .His business is to bo an athlete first, an athlete on horseback, supple, strong and swift. One famou? American actor found the carriage of armour so exhausting that ho tried to get used to it by wearing his plate mail in private life* In his own sitting-room at the hotel he made a practice of dining in armour, a fine gymnastic feat vcbich must have delighted the waiter. Only a strong acd handy man can wear armour without being useless and ridiculous ; but for those who feel the need of defensive harness, whether . they be firemen, actors, "or troopers, there is a sense of satisfaction in the beauty of gleaming metal which will rouse a spark ot vanity in the soul of tha most prosaic personage.

SAILS THROUGH SOLID ICE. When quite recently, the navi reached St. Petersburg that a big steamer was speeding up the Gulf of Finland to the Russian capital, great was the excitement which prtvailed. And quite naturally go, for the waterway to St. Petersburg was then frozen over to a depth of Ave or ait feet and was ' closed to navigation.' Thousands of people went down on skates, sleighs and <3og eledgea to meet the vessel whoae approach, as it thundered up the gulf, tearing ita way through the ice at knota >au hour, was graeted with the wildeat enthusiasm. It was, in fact, tha steamer Ermakj built iu England to the plana of General Mackarbff, and deaiguod to penetrate the thick ice which eloaee the Russian ports in the-winter. Her power as an ice-braaker is du. to a most ingenious'.device. She does hot break the ice by force, but with the aid of * screw in the bow, by which the water in front ia forced upward, Thisiraises and eiacka tn« ice, and the vessel'"? powajfal eteel bows then cast it aafde, What ia the difference between a bad man and a tircid man?' Ncrt much. One is fowl-hearted and tha other chicken-beatled, "Why ia a ctrriage like a priest? -': t Bscauae it a e&ve* of aolea (aeule),