"CHASING CLUES."

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 219, 15 September 1924, Page 13

"CHASING CLUES."

TREASURE HUNTS IN LONDON. SOCIETY OP BRIGHT YOUNG PEOPLE. " Tnere is no denying the fascination of "chasing clues," the latest game that is the vogue among young people who live in the pleasanter end of London. It owes its origin to the fertile brain of a young lady who, • after having reread I '"'Treasure Island," decided that organ- ■' iaed "treasure hunts" in London might provide quite thrilling sport. She summoned her friends to a conference, the "Society of Bright Young People" was formed, and a programme of "meets" was arranged. The value of the "treasure" varies, but usually it consists of about ten pounds in notes, and it is the duty of the "trail layer" to hide it in some remote corner- of London. All engaged in the hunt are. owner-drivers of small, but powerful cars, and at the starting point they are given the first clue, says the London correspondent of the "Melbourne Age." It is obscurely phrased and maybe directs the hunter to a dark alley in East London. There be will pick up the next clue, which, perhaps is hidden in a clever acrostic. Having unravelled, it he (or she) finds that he must search out a particular coffee stall, and eat some buns set aside for him, until he discovers embedded in one of them his next clue, which in cryptic terms directs him to the other end of London. And so the good work goes on until at length the "treasure" is duly tracked down. The "meets" take place as a rule about a couple of hours after midnight, and with the roads to themselves the hunters do not hesitate to let their engines out. Uu- • happily for one of them she ran into a police trap the other night, and was hailed before the magistrates, who fined her £6, and £ 3 3/- costs, for exceeding the speed limit. It was stated that she was careering through Regent's Park at 51 miles an hour. The victim of the police vigilance was the Hon. Lois Sturt r the versatile daughter of Lord Alington, who, in addition to being an artist of some- accomplishment, has acted for the "movies," and has appeared on the stage at the Empire. For the next three . - months her talents will have i.o be de-. voted to the laying of trails or acting as 'passenger, for her license to drive a car has been suspended. ' Acrostics are said to figure very' prominently in all the Young Peoplefs" clues, and this is not surprising, for the craze for acostics hae had' a Temarkable revival during the-past few months. Several of the weekly papers ; ••" 'arid jnagazines set exceedingly difficult ' r.-ones for solution, and young society - . people take great pride in wrestling t" with. them. At Oxford th/ acrostic craze has had a tremendous vogue, and '- large and comprehensive dictionaries ' and classical works of reference are j ■ • consulted -with" praiseworthy -diligence , hy undergraduates : in their efforts to; . eolve them. It is amusing to note that I other Victorian parlour tricks are flqur- . feting in Chelsea and Kensington, now that Mah Jongg hai'had"lts day, and that even consequences (with, modern. | variations) has been revived. Another j amusing game that has had some popu- i larity is thart in which each" member of, the company gives the other marks i. (with a set maximum) in accordance! with his estimate of that other's virtues I or vices., In this way one learis what his- companions thuik-ef him in regard-to hia'moralityy religion, -wit, humour,, iind BO "on. It would almost. appear that gome of our "Bright Young People . ' "have too much, spare time on. their hands. ' *