RHINE FLUTTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 200, 23 August 1919, Page 23

RHINE FLUTTERS.

° j TOM-MYS LITTLE GAMBLE. I •;: suppose." u-riies a Glasgow eorres- !• .::.!-u: of t!ie ".Scotsßuui." "Tommy iiiiust r some me:in= of dririns away the enutii ;hat assails lnm. now tha: tli3 lijjati« over. Iv ii:w* "I leisnre, ovru wlieu the war was ia full !>ia<t. the soldier was i..i!.l of bis same of cards: Imt now that in- i< on the Uuine, and with <-i.-ui;iaratiYely j linle ;o <10. I aiu afraid he is devf-lopins ih>? iramblin? i-raze rath?- in-.irt- ijuk-kly than hi- lif.-t rriea.j-; would like." j ■'. was Lα Fram-& for thrc years and lar •>• moaiLs." sai.l a soldier t-> iw> tb« otber Jay. "ami *eldun). iC ever, '!:d I J Lave evi-u a same of cards; c-crtailily i j i.v.d nt-ver be atcaseii of gambliiis- Of cuarse. mnsL oT the tiuu I was in France ■vv. liud a ~ar oil !.. help pa<s lvi- tiiut. !■■;: in Gfnnany ir is different. We bare J ii--I:e a !o: of tiun- to ourselves —every j ■•;L'r day after i'- 0..0.1:. in fact, in tUe . 11.0.5.— and siL-'-e February, wbcu 1 wtut j v.'.< ;<i the Rhine. 1 -iave become a rr,-ular ' paa!'>Uns Si-uJ." Aud :h>- vu-jd; s.-ldi-r i ! ivDii i≤ perhaps luo strong "■■ word, for, will! the majority uf the soldiers, their iSiinblin; codd hardly be under the<:i:>~orv of vie?- Tommy Atkins, in Kbineland. hasn't yot realises the value or money. To hiiu a mark is somet'aing which -n-.-i- created fur tho purpose of spending, ami so !ie spends his marks. ciih?r in the v:I!:!Se restaurant, or iv tho city c-afc. or gambling v.-itli h:s comrades in "noth. Wben tin- money is s.me i; is gone, and Tommy is -lirokc -- till the nexr pay day. And us ni'is; of tho men out there at present are youns men. they worry I>ut little at the iO-.i »Z soing for a few days without a for they have food and shelter snd are w clothed. There arc perhaps ea?es hfrc and there where food may m.t I>e to) plentiful, but iv the main our Army of Oi->-upation i=; well fe-1. ■■i can speak for tiio district in an.! aU.ut B-.mn anyway." said my young soldier friesd. who is h.>me on leare. "We have plenty <>f good fooil to eat. but what we vaiue most is Oiir goo.l bed. Mo?t of 1-- am ltillPtwl in (Jerman hocses--. What f. ;rea: a >-lean bed is after th? molelike Iln s iro led when the fightlag was on. rosroos. Aγ:.! -o. «•:: f •'!. well housed, and plenty or :::u? En himself. Tommy has luaar an enjoyable Sutler. The great game of thrnveragr: soldier is "Ponlooa/ , It is a card game, ::ud purvly a ses of chance, fur there is absoliiu-ly no skill in it. Th;- cut of the cards in set figures determines who iir:i the stakes of each hand. The stakes tr.- of:?u 1i;l:Ij, as a soldier's worldly wealth iocs, and it is quite a common tbing '•it a Tommy to lose his all on a psy-d:iy £■ one sitting at Pontoon. Bat Tommy smiles oa till pay-day. 2cd as of:ea Es not !iN Ini-k turns the othor way. Then iiis jinr-kets wni:hl jingle ori'-e more were it D-: f.-r iho r.iet that iiost of h;s io«oy U r-aid L::n in paper. "Sap" ':.- also a popular e.-ird w!t'i t: <> boys of r.;- Army ~f Occupation, while "Sjjoof,"' which is also a card gam", hut something akin to domiiio'.-s, is a milder of gambling.

CBOWS ASK AXCIIOR. Kin the blgges: gamble of all is what .is termed ■•crown and anchur." This has iproved a veritable jrold mine for those wh-.» are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to own a "crown ami anchor" board. Ail depends on the throw of the dice, oC which there are generally three. A buard is divided in:.» six squares—a i-.-owu, an anchor, an ace of chilis, diamonds, spades, and hearts. The sides of the dice arc. similarly marked, and the backer of the squares on the board wins or loses accordiing to t;-.c throw of the dice. Taken all ■«.ver the uiau with Hie board is geuerally the winner in the end. This is really a pernicious same, for the excitement oE the Uauible has tempted many a man to .stake high beyond his means, and huge sums of money an- known to have changed hands. I One Glasgow newsboy (in pre-war days) Us credited with having returned home on demobilised with a sum of £750 iv his possession, that tidy sum having been accumulated !y running a "crown and anchor" borrri.. The Aiustraiiaus and New iZoalauders a • very fond of this sort or I flutter, and strives of £10, £'M, and even !£3O or £40 I'iM .• been known to change I hands by the simple turn of :; dice at I he Same of "crown aud anchor." At such a ■ rate a board oTvner would not lie long in accumulating the sum accredited to the [Glasgow newsboy. j Thus, iv many cases, then does Tommy !"f th.: Army of Occupation away the time when ho is not keeping an eye on |the behaviour of the Herman populace who. by the way. are very respectful to the boys (in khaki. Almost every German will raise his cap to an officer, and rather than risk making any mistake, it is not au uncommon uncover u> Private Thomas Atkins, of the British Army.

The emerald lia- been known since parly times, both in Europe, ami in cerjtain parts of the Orient, where its attrseI five colour and rarity have endowed it i with the highest rank antl a varied lore. I Its name may bo tracked back to an old i v.-ord ivbieh appeared in Greek as sniarasrdu-, mentioned by Thcophrostus over :iOO years before the Christian era. and ; apain. in Latin as smaragdus. seen in the writings of Pliny who particularised somewhat on its properties and supposed medical virtues, and was even slirew;! to its identity with the muc-h more coznmou lipryl. alcliousrh I eighteen centuries elapsed before this I suspicion was derived by seiontitit: proof. Africa i.< a sk-k country —one of the sickest in the world. Malaria, tubercuj losis, and pneumonia fill the swamps and forests with death. The fear of death is so constant a companion of the black people that they have toree to consider their native witch doctor as more important than the ruling foreign GovernI ment or the chief of their own tribe. ! P.ut once the white man sets foot on J the fever trail, tile witch doctor might just as well throw away his crazy medicine. In his hear: he knows lie is a humbug (says the "Christian Herald"). One of them accused of this by a missionary, while he accepted accusation, replied: "It is my 'business. There is money in it. I cannot give it up.*'