News, Views and Opinions.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 83, 7 April 1900, Page 9 (Supplement)

News, Views and Opinions.

An American paper the "St. Louis Globe Democrat," of January ]Sth. 3900, contained a "special despatch" from New York, as follows, regarding Max O'Eell's arrival in that city: "Paul Elouet, known as Max O'Kell, a French author and lecturer, arrived here this morning1 on the White Star Line steamship Oceanic. M. Elouet said that the feeling in France against England was very bitter. 'I was hissed and nearly mobbed in a French city not so long afro,' he said, 'simply because I said something favourable to England. I tlo not censure my countrymen, however. England in the past has lost no opportunity to humiliate France. She has been very high and mighty, and had an idea that she could whip the Avhole world. You can imagine the general satisfaction in France over England's poor showing against the Boers. Oh! what a humiliation she has undergone! We think it serves her right. Whip the world! See her first whip a paltry 40,000 Boers?' " Considering England. made Max O'Kell's reputation (not France), and that from the moment he began to lecture he received (as he himself declares) the utmost kindness and hospitality from all our Australasian and Canadian audiences, this is pretty tall. Yes, it is tall even for a creature admittedly one part French, one part Englishman, and one part professionally "Bore." Of course, however, Blouet is chiefly showman and must keep in with the winning side. Should the British flag ever wave over Pretoria we shall doubtless find him lecturing there and as much in love with us as formerly. .

May someone then* slap Paul Blou-et (Blewett) Lest we forget, lest we forget. (*Or any time.)

Lord Justice Collins, speaking on a paper read by Mr ,Jn. Thurn on "British Guiana and its Boundary," before the Royal Colonial intitute. London, made one of the few amusing speeches so rarely heard at the meetings of that serious body. Although, he said, England and America nearly came to wat over the boundary question two years ago, yet at the eiid of the arbitration the London papers were so full of a description of the international yacht race that they could only spare a brief paragraph for the award. There was another strange contrast. It was part of the role of the American counsel who acted as advocates for Yeneznela to glorify Hie great achievements of Spain and its benevolence as a colonizing Power. The American counsel who" were thus eulogizing Spanish methods as compared with Dutch, belonged to a nation which had just succeeded in wrestling from Spain the last remnants of that colonial empire of which Venezuela was one of thft earliest parts! On the other hand, the English Counsel were equally laudatory as to the Dutch, dwelling upon their respect for the liberty of the individual and other great merits. ■ Altogether one would have supposed that the Dutch were the most desirable people in the world. Scarcely was the iuk dry upon the award\yvheri the Eng.lishnation found itself in a death grip .-witte^ibe' -Dutch-:sv->-... >• ■•■.-- - - ■•■•■•■

A curious find is reported from a curiosity shop in Pittsburg. U.S.A. A rusty blunderbuss, supposed to be ot Jast century English make, had its butt accidentally smashed. The portion was found, to be quite hollow. Jnside was a bit of paper bearing the date 17G1 with writing' to the effect that John Winter desired to leave all Dris worldly goods ami his blessing to his eldest" daughter, Maria Winter. There is no allusion 'io locality, so it, is a matter for speculation as to Whether this long lost will referred to property in England or America, There appears to be a blessing-, and perhaps something more, for anyonewho can claim a Maria. Winter among ihis great-grandmothers.

They show no mercy to fortune tellers in the Old Country when they haul them up in the Magistrate -.5 Court for obtaining money under false pretences. Quite recently a young woman Of Peckham consulted a "practical palmist," who felt her hand and told her she ought to have died when she was six years old. What for, or why, he did' not tell her. However Hurt wasn't all, as by the time she was 25 she would marry a fair man with a fair long moustache, and have three children who would be a comfort to her. The practical palmist was event, ually fined £5 and 10s costs or to go tci prison for a. month, the-Bench remarking that the girls of Peckham probably cared more about the husband with the fair moustache than about the names of the lines of their hands. What is required in these seekers after their future is faith, for without that the fortune teller can do nothing- with his dupes. As Octave, in Mrs Linton's novel, explained th<> workings of the Planchette to that hitter miser, Paston Carew: "You see, ihe spirit cannot do all things pen feetly at once. We have to learn their ways as we have to learn a new language or a- new accomplishment.'1 And that's the gist of the matter.

It is said that the latest craze among- lunatics in England is in connection with the war. Many of them imagine themselves to be President Kruger. They are harmless in all ether respects and for the most part retain their mental faculties unimpaired, but they firmly believe in the Oovi Paul idea. Perhaps these unfortunate men tried to follow the negotiations which took place after the Bloemfom tern Conference. In that event it is not so difficult, to understand their present condition. The study of South African diplomacy woukl have been the last straw in the case of a man ■with a tendency to light-headedness. That. Com Paul's personality should commend itself to lunatics is also not so very surprising when one comes to think of it. The old President is a man of one idea, which has become an obscessionist. Lunatics are usually in the same way. Whatever the reason the fact remains that there are a good many Oom Pauls in England at till present time, so that the Boer invasion ot Great Britain may be said already to have begun. A story is told of a young lady at a recent dance given at a lunatic asylum. She was dancing with'one of the inmates of the asylum, and finally asked him—cut of sheer devilment—"Are you President Kruger?" Her partner looked at her somewhat sharply and. after a. paiise, replied with a knowing wink. "Yes, 1 am, but I don't talk shop here."

[ Sir Cecil Moon, Bart., and Lady Moon, have just arrived in England, '.where the baronet will take charge of la large estate. Xo longer than six j week back the distinguished Briton 'was plain Cecil Moon, with no greater 'title than that of "cowboy." Several years ago he. left England and went to Colorado, where he hired out as a i "rustler" or "cattle puncher." lie saved his money, married an English girl who lived in Denver, and finally got a small ranch of his own and a small number -of cattle, so that he had I the right to be known as a cowboy, i The ti£le to the family estates in Sur- ! rev, England, was in the name of ! his grandfather. Sir Richard Moon, and as Cecil's father was still alive and iyet a young man the cattle business | gave the only promise for a future to j the grandson. About two years ago i Cecil Moon's father died, and last I month Sir Richard, the grandfather, j passed away. The Colorado cowboy, (being the next in line, the title and es- ; tates descended to him, and he has now taken possession of them. The baronet wears his new honours simply. |Me does not look to be above thirty years of age, and is browned and tanjned with the winds of the range. He I left his ranch in charge of one of his | men, and said he had not decided yet I whether he should sell it or hold it. iThe Surrey estate which has fallen to !the Colorado cowboy is said to be valued at more than £200,000.

Of course, the motor-car pure and simple for transporting freight or passengers has been supplemented by a large number of "combination" vehicles. The tire brigades of Paris and New -York have begun to employ motor fire engines, which are speedier than horse engines, and experiments are in progress with electric "searchlights" mounted on motor cars for illuminating the dark places and interiors of burning' premises to assist the firemen in saving life, and property. In the French army, motor cars are likely to supersede horses for drawing1 the guns of the artillery and in transporting' baggage or stores. The wireless telegraph is coining into use in warfare, and the Americans have recently installed the apparatus on motor cars as perambulating telegraph stations in the field. The interior of the car is the telegraph office, containing the apparatus and operators, and the vertical conductor required for long-distance messages is raised above the vehicle by a small captive balloon. The army of the future will doubtless be provided with a proper equipment of these movable telegraph offices, and it is not too much to say that "armoured motor unrs." like "armoured trains," will prove an effective device in reconnoitring or attacking the enemy. In short we are within a measurable distance of ironclads on shore, and the pirate of the coming century may command a "motor fort" on wheels. Obviously, with such travelling fortresses there would be less need of trenches or breastworks, and a sad feature of war, the death or mutilation of horses.

"Xothing queerer or quainter ever happened in Dawson City than the reception of the school ma'ams," said ]\lr L. 1). Karl, the Klonclyke miner.

''You see, in the spring- of '97 a lot of young women, mostly from West Oregon, banded together to go to DawKo'n, attracted by the .stories of high wages. Thej' were nice girls, all or' ■tlie-in, • w-lro had been earning'- theVi*own living- as clerks, stenographers, bookkeepers, seamstresses, school teachers, and so on. As bad luck ■would have ii, however, they got snow bound at. Lake Bennett and were, tied up there for over two months. That exhausted their money and enthusiasm, and when they finally set out again for the Yukon they w^ere as homesick and hopeless and generally dejected a crowd as ever you saw. Meanwhile the report reached Dawson that a party of twenty-five beautiful school ma'ams would arrive by the next boat and great excitement prevailed. There was no school there at the time, but it was instantly agreed that several would be put up if necessary to g-ive the strangers occupation. The boat arrived about dusk, and the poor, despondent girls were amazed at the appearance of a reception committee, who greeted them with profound bows and escorted .them to a gorgeously decorated supper room with a brass band tooting in the background. They Avere informed by the spokesman that Dawson was honoured by their presence, and while the town was temporarily short of schools, that defect would be promptly remedied. In the interim they were to consider themselves guests of the municipality and quarters had been engaged for them at the best hotel. The situation gradually dawned on the dumbfounded young women and their spirits soared skyward. Next day they all secured good positions. Most of them did exceedingy well, and the majority eventually got married.

Ladies Turkish bath parties are the latest feminine fad in the States. Turkish bath parties are as common as matinee parties. Indeed, the two go hand in hand, for every Saturday morning the bathrooms are filled with women who come in groups of two or three or four, take their baths and massage, have their hair dressed and their nails manicured, and then appropriate the divans in one of the private rooms., rest and gossip, have luncheon served to them, and finally make leisurely toilets in time for the matinee. Sometimes the party is a mutual affair and each member pays her own expenses, but the same people meet at a certain hour each week. More often some woman entertains the others and the entertainment is elaborate, according to the hostess' inclination and income. The matinee girl may merely give her friends Turkish baths and chicken salad, or there may be huge bunches of violets on the pillows of each divan, and an epicurean luncheon served on the little tables. Flowers have become quite a feature of the bath. When she has . been steamed and scoured and plunged and massaged and perfumed she snuggles dOwn upon a couch, with her violets or roses, and dozes-and dreams in an Arabian Nights sort of comfort; and the relaxation does more for her nerves than all the tonics that could be prescribed for her. According1 to the bath attendants, however, the women think more about their complexions than their nerves. A good complexion is the acme of every woman's desire, and there's a theory afloat to the effect that steam and water massage applied to the whole of the body will do more for the complexion than all the cold cream and cosmetics on the market. Hence these bathers.