TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLVIL, Issue 7740, 20 December 1890, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

but that, on the conSh e l T* b4 *> irascible a.tpeaUnen *£<£??* - the trrUMle genu,.. Be^T. o**0 ** as an amusing *_* eraDl ™ J 1 *% norffir Hew*,; by » ft* who was evidently *£*£*» I ThfcTf was sitfing alone with Mr* CaL •* formate German gentte^^ momentwhen, as it appeals *» therein was especially un-ble fet dure interruption. Mrs C-riyfev !*, which afterwards proved' to h* . S saya Madame Venturi,.•<„* £*%, predpitats steps of the ,» German stumbling down the st-i^TS repeat; we heard the with a loud bang, and we window, the Ulstarred intruder ing down Cheyne-row M if : as from a scene of disaster and &*£«

Wha*had happened? werp notion*Jeftin auapep**; j^ ;fI JJ could compose themselves, the room " like a living £ iv no way acknowledged the vm > m of ha lady acquaintance, h 9 himself neither to her te his wife, "but apparently to ty adverse fates, aa, raising bis syes aa4ka clenched hands to the ceili% ately asked what had he done that <M Almighty should send a d a Qmm all theway from Weimar for ao or human purpose but to wrench of aj handles of his cupboard doors.*' This w B&id with • ."tragedy of gesture' worthy of CBdiproa w | ix& $$ tragedy waß bo ludicrously ovtt of fci|fo« with the comedy of the tmbj«es 'Wfa, that Madame Venturi coald gQtnfab from bursting into a fib o£ laughter, which she found it impost & restrain, oven ? with the look of a Hon abonfc k ipioc upon andrend his prey." Th? v&tos eifr tinned to laugh, Mrs Carlyle, poo? ts]as was ready to cry, and Carlyle e_ij«faj with much Boom. "Aud pwisi wkt to this little lady find tolaughafeP" Makings desperate effort to ba serious, the "little lady ."■ gasped out that it really did appear to her to be an exceedingly interference with human affairs on \ys part of God Almighty, to despatch cms the most insignificant citizen of Weirov all the way to London on so very paltry & mission as that of wrenching oS the handki ofanybody'ecupboarddoorg. Taeftkmr_iiy of the incident then forced ifcsill em npon Carlyle, aad he had to join is Us laugh against himself, To s forfher enquiry .aa to whether tha ushapp| German was a lunatic, he atiswersd tMI he " believed the poor soul wm at hmtm sane as himself "—which m caa v«r* credit.

All this time, however, we have »sfe&?& what actually oeourrod inside the __&&_% why the poor German fled so down the stairs, and why C_dyl» Aovli accuse him of wrenchingfthe $ his cupboard doors. All this is 69 well told by Inadamo Venturi, tb*£ w pi** to reprint her own words.—• "Itappeared (shosays) that thatetk less visitor had arrived at a meuwat tfitf* Hr Carlyle was undergoing muoa mM sturm wul drang over the intricacies of is subject, and it was clew to, m, »& listening to bis cahuer account <£ **■* matter, that ho had received the peos Wt with icy coldness; had taken from hte t*i introductory letter in fiiUfßee, afid, ks* reading it, had uttered no word of bw come, or even of comment $ bsd,in jk» simply looked at him aad said,' Weil, s*. proceed!' The unfortunate o»B-»a_T? fc'-J Weimar rose in great awbarsMSwa* saving that he feared he totfoattw a.c* unforlatiate moment, and oftraag to w.j* Mr Carlyle, who seemed, in relttia* w scene, to be perfectly __*»«»« * te. cruelty of hie own part m »*»,"« his -approval of the proposal ty »*3 jnm \% seat. Tho 'silent -*«&»*; was octagon in form, the dowe « U» i*r boards Vlre similar in sue .™&* the entrance door, ««. *heatart «*J was chut, nndktingmsbabls *£»»•'£ German, eager to escape, ftt«**§X-j StheT handle of one of «» jjft; doors. It was locked, and In _* »siw he had, in very truth, wreno_9at*tfsj*» off The same thing happ»M* « t Sit attempted then Mr Cah*l*£ out hia only exit, air, is the door/ By that ** *>JJ flea, heaven only knows is what *JW»* mind, and Mr Carlyle inwardly. till ho heardL shut, and then descended to wf ', feet good faith, to ns."!

A-ot__- iUosioa gonel Tbffi * * "Circassian beauties/ »■»**££ rate in that portion' rftlj «-J known as CircassJa. . Mr ■». « 'Watson,.who knows the well, has -written • ** the Standard, m wto ua "it ia aU a ing of the .best 'looking ****}* locality referred to, he ; not beauties at all, and I c*s *** J, through those districts *i^ aa lag them.'* They c**> w mostly poor . peasant "&^ km have, he adds, lovely,.«*•* *- bat without any u^ a age of fonrteen **,*m bnt alter that age |ihf **" j* .coarse-looking indeed.' »«» hair/some of it. It waa from the W s f* -. Xoogdidi fc-afctheSaltaaof airily procured girls for ** course, one sometimes taart * - extraordinary beauties m tha* £ % Decider, of TiiW l*****?**?.* asanres us that such «^ r ** *** ,-beautiful to the native <*«. £ find nothing about tbe» "" They' marry at thirteen ot t and awful to relate "at *»«* *? .like women of forty in isasadblow. Thapoet.W*»J a will feel it most 'them of an adjective **** vwyfo-d of applying *» They will* however, -tall *>»*^ |# *# latter. This ought te be » l 8 *T7 tion to them. fast passages, Mt &?< to the New Zealand - has kindly sent ns * £# shipOJ-ki; « sol* tow* ■■ ■;

sLte&-*» run hbm * m m t_ck of the picture are some of th# sta vessel, wears told, "has just made the fastest passage «n record from New Ltaad to namely 63 4w-Jf« SSTte Wd, or 69 days from- «o_t Chalmers into London Docks. She sailed ilth March, and docked in London 29th May 1877, 69 days. She left New Zea-, knd coast 15th March, and jheSagJah Channel 17th May, 63 days-? There is Bo doubt this is a record which it trUl be hard to beat. .