AROUND THE TEA TABLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 182, 3 August 1929, Page 15

AROUND THE TEA TABLE.

MATTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST. ' By' SHIRLEY.) '\\*n midniglrt shade,; no."clouded sun,. But sacred, liigh,; eternal, noon,, — This hymn Avas : suiigr last' summer in Victoria during a particularly broiling day. Report said it .was. not' finished — the congregation could .not bring itself to ask for such a. Heaven. "We have plenty of • sunshine'." said, an Auckland preacher receutlyV, lir bufc how would we feel if in those:,..couutrips- where to' months and months\ the sun never shines and then' tlie rain dashed, against, the church windows, and? we felt that. Ave- were getting; our share of trouble also. Our New Zealand school children, however, are free of one ancient wrong known in their elders' days, the horrible, feel of the cold slate. The slate, however, is still used in Australia. One little girl was asked how she felt the infliction. "Oh* I keep it warm by rubbing out a lot of mistakes." i , ' *• , a * Not a bad way to spend a drizzly Saturday afternoon, is it, to take, the little one to' one of the rather frequent 'jumble sales'?' At "least, some house- ' wives seem to think so. There is a: clear space for the little: one, when not being tried oil, to disport himself,: this space being due to- the' packed groups moving, only round the various stalls. •The jumble sale, is 'the humbler cousin of the fancy bazaar, but it is. more of a movie and -less 'of., a talkie. Also, it is less jumble than formerly. Good bargains there stock.- - :• ings and coats are for a shilling or two. Boots are always desired at these . affairs, but. hats, however cheap, are less in, .request. Two pratms for actually only fonr sliillings, if you take both, was a remarkable bargain, and very likely.one housepiother did take both„ one for the baby and one for the groceries, which marks one. off from those people who bundle..baby: and parcel into one receptacle. Altogether there is : good work being done at these quiet efforts to help the less prosperous—it was of either this or some sale that, one heard that the net takings were £16 odd, ■•'.a be devoted to ,iome goo*' cause. * •* * The sad news is going round that Mrs. Sydney Webb,, .whether- she;:likes- it -or not,: must be Lady Passiield. She could : have 'refused,, but mysteriously ' didn't, to; be called ~Mrs. Sydney Webb, because there.is up law in England compelling a ' woman to take her husband's name. Most people think there is, but there isn't —it- is enough, that she would find .it awkward if she didn't. Titles,., however, are somehow on another.plane. Anyway, if your husfrand gets one, you have to get 'it too. - So- now, girls,, you know I what, you are-'in for if an eai;l comes jlaloiig, .as to the- humble -heroine inTennyson's poem. • ,-lii a word' you can't ;sajr "I pass,"., jou nnist. take It up, .the--trfcl&,,-L mean..';ln fact, the -only way to accept- the mau>without his title is to 'marry , & Bishop J He. is "My. Lord,"' but-' she is not "My Lady," so Queen Eliza- j betlv declared some centuries ago, and . so. it Has remained because nobody i worries.;, In our younger days the non- I !ecclesiastical among' ,us, have .perhaps.) been:. surprised -to read in some newscolunin that "tT^^Bi'sßo^ 1 . of|.So;rfj}d-SQJ ii'arrivea with Mrs., Brown,'" or some per-: haps equally homely name. Then it , was; explained that tli4 Bishop was really, so to speak, Mr. Brown,, and. that j. everything was quite all right.. j , '. * , * * - - - * . : ; i Mrs. Webb,, to give her'her old name, !' is a member of the London. Fabian. j Society,, concerning, which an Auckland , •feefcure was given recently.; The, society, , •was' I&rted in 1884,; with' a few members, including a fair number of women The first collection taken up to defray expenses was, I think, something like 1 13/0. A list of these members.was given, and I notice one Peace among them. He seems to have disappeared, however, by the time H. G. Wells ana ijernard Shaw had some argument regarding the .kind of Fabia.iiisnv that was correct. There' is nobody- called Peace in; the .'New Zear .;

land . Fabian Society, but perhaps _>they. are all called Peace.- At least, accocding tp the-members, this, so■ far,; is; so. »" " " » -» ♦

A child welfare story comes from Australia. Mr. A,"left ti widower) allowed his..wife's parents to bring itp the infant, until, some years later,, lie married :again, and asked for his child. Custody was refused, the grandparents taking the matter to Court. The magistrate decided -that the ;two..old;;people should retain custody, and evidently .didn't, realise that: if this sort of thing goes on, we shall have Dad, before he lets anyone have- his child',' miiking the r other party sign a- bond not to. make the claim permanent, or agree to forfeit something or other,' if hd does so. I told this story to a middle-aged lady, "The same situation was: In our- family once," she said. ;"My '"brother-in-law married again in the Old Country, and asked for our niece to be sent Home. We didn't know anything about itagistrat'cs, and gave in reluctantly." "And what happened?" "Oh, .niece and 'st&ppie'' are like two girls together, and niece has made a much better match than she .would have dome here. It's- all-a toss; up." .0, Henry, in his time, had a different view of the custody question. In one of his stories, the hero, having; battled in the Divorce .Courts with his-' wife, comes with glee to his rough-rider pal" with the usual heart of gold—"And I have got the custody of the child," he ended. Sympathy looked from the eyes of the rough, diamond. "Arid did they spring that on you, Bill? My word, it was a dirty trick to fix you that way."