THE PASSING SHOW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 45, 22 February 1934, Page 6

(By THE MAN ABOUT TOWN.) Stated recently on the authority of a X./..Mman who was on the spot that at i " The Butts," Polygon Wood, the New Zealand j Divisional Staff (BrigaI PASS THE dier-<iencral Hart) and ; MUSTARD, others were gassed in "The j Butts" on lifting blankets »ou bunks that had been used by troops previously occupying tlieni. A soldier man who was on the spot says that it was understood |by his lot that "Jerry" had previously put over the mustard; that the said gas always ,lies close to the ground 'like cotton wool," that it sunk into shell craters, that water filled the craters, that the water froze over the mustard, imprisoning the same, that when the ice thawed the imprisoned pas was released and immediately drifted into "The Butts.'' making casualties of those who were inside. The man who declares that the blankets imprisoned the pas was engaged with his unit in "pulling out" the gassed men, so ( i.t is clear that two distinct impressions were obtained as te the long imprisonment of the gas, presumably dictated by the varied experiences of the casualties and their rescuers. It is inevitable that passengers on a luxury liner should be fed, and envious references to Franconia menus indicate that the good old earth is ranMILLIONAIRE sacked to make a roainMEALS. ing holiday. It is equally inevitable that among so large a company there are those who are forbidden 'by their doctors to revel in these delights—and so if a man cares to subsist on three glasses of milk and soda a day, he can do so. The food -of the opulent has always been a subject for the comic writer and the racy artist, and very likely no artist has ever tickled the fancy of the beef and beer man more than Bateman, who drew the American multi-millionaire at a meal. The pale and attenuated* millionaire is shown sitting at table guarded on each side by a stupendous footman, gorgeously attired and standing rigidly to attention, each with a pilule on a salver. Before the millionaire is a single pepsin tablet on a plate—and a glass of water. A smaller picture shows the released footman joyously gorging a Franconian meal —a meal cooked by a battalion of the earth's greatest chefs for the delectation of a millionaire who dare not eat it.

Monsieur Jean of France has undoubtedly been motet vivacious during the hist month or two, and footballers may toy with the idea that Gallic expressions of LA VIE. opinion in the Ru-e de la Concorde have been fomented on the Rug-by fields of La Belle. The last Rugby season in France has been a record one for "fun." In the district championships the sporting spirit ran so high that the old-fashioned game of "La Boite" might be seen on every play paddock. Before Marquis of Queensberry boxing went to France, a part of the game was to use the feet, and a good "boxer" could kick his opponent on the back of the neck twice in a second with the one foot. By the way, you get the word (so beloved of the unwashed) "sabotage" to express the kick with the wooden shoe. At Montlucon recently a player grounded the ball in a corner. The referee gave a try. An Avignon player stepped out and bashed the referee. The crowd took to the bashed man. The player was sent off the field. Another referee was sent on. He allowed the player to return to the field. The crowd whose relatives were so soon to gather in the Rue de la Concorde longed to kill the new referee. Armed gendarmes marched on "and surrounded the referee. There were several hundred free fights among the spectators, and the game was drawn—swords. Dear M.A.T., —For my own part I love to see the lights of cities, and after dark would rather look upon the blazing front of Auckland or Wellington, or any TOWN IS BEST, other front that blazes, than from the Jelap-la into the dark Chumbi Valley in the high Himalayas. In the day it is different. Those fir forests that flank the mighty hills are full of enchantment when the sun is. up. What' mysteries do they not hide? Some Mahatma hidden in a cave, the great stag the Tibetans

call the sliao, and troops of blood pheasants? I remember a great frontier soldier telling me once that he hated the few hours that followed after sunset on the North-West borderland of India. The Pathan sniper is then abroad. These people see in the dark, for they climb up and down cliffs, which look inaccessible even during the day. Of course, it is no sign of good marksmanship that they should be able to kill and wound from a distance of eight hundred yards and more. They are firing not at individuals, but into a<Sres of men and animals. I'll admit that troops in the heart of the Pathan hills do not relish the approach of dark. However, we are not all troops, and not all troops are in the heart of tlie Pathan hills. Most of us do look out at dusk at the silhouettes of houses and at storeyed windows. (You thought I was going to add "richly diglit." I wasn't.) We look out upon storeyed windows through the curtains of which gleams a mellow glow. Inside, I have 110 doubt, all is rich and rare. And so we come to the conclusion that, east and. west, town is best.—Safdar Jang. The lamented death of Mrs. Laura Madocks, wife of Brigadier-General W. R. X. Madocks, and daughter of New Zealand's famous citizen, Sir Walter NEW ZEALAND Bullcr, recalls an incident HILL. in the South African War. Captain Madocks. who in 1599 was an artillery officer on the New Zealand military staff, applied for employment with the First New Zealand Contingent — two companies—and was given command of one. The late Major-General R. H. Davies (then a captain) commanded the other, and Major-Gcncral Sir Alfred Robin (then major) the whole. At what was ultimately known as "Ne.w Zealand Hill" Captain Madocks, with some of his company, was about to relieve a large post of the Yorkshire Regiment at the top of the hill. The enemy, with extraordinary skill and courage, stole up over some miles of hillside through scrub without being seen, and attacked the men 011 the crest. Captain Madocks, seizing a carbine, rallied both Yorks and New Zealanders, and charged the interlopers with fixed bayonets, the casualties being heavy. Among the New Zealanders killed was John Connell, of Auckland, who was shot through the heart, the bullet penetrating letters and a soldier's , Testament. Sam Gourlay (son of a Southern M.L.C.) was also mortally wounded. It was here that Captain Madocks, meeting the Boer commandant practically face to face, engaged ' in a snap duel with that intrepid leader, both'firing simultaneously, the good fortunes of war being with Madocks. The loss of her two sons Cone by motor car and the other by aeroplane accident) deeply affected the late Mrs. Madocks. who did not recover from the successive shocks.

THOUGHTS FOR TO-DAY. Who does the. best his circumstances allows, Does well, acts nobly; angels could no more. —Young. Art thou poor, yet has thou golden slumbers? O sweet content! Art thou rich, yet is thy ind pcrplex'd? | O punishment! —Dekker.