SEARCH LIGHTS.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8929, 20 October 1894, Page 7

SEARCH LIGHTS.

Why did Mrs Besant become a Theoaophiat? Because, I suppose, she is a woman—and a woman, too, of the " Forward movement." It is the special prerogative of woman to cultivate religiosity as a Gne art—and the more versatile her intellect the greater variety does ehe like in her religioaitiea. Mrs Besant has co much charm of manner ; she has such a singular gift of tongues \ above all, ehe has such a sweet, winaom* presence—in defiance of the rule of the "Forward movement" that its devotees must be gaunt and ugly—that I, for my part, hope she may live long enough to become a Seventh Day Adventist, a Mormon, a Wortbingtoniaa, and' a Bush" Pro*, teatant, each and all in turn, before sht dies. Give her time and I have no doubt she will. And no one would wish to interfere with her prerogative of changing her religion as often as she chauges her jtrooks. What one wants to know, therefore, ia not why ahe became a Theosophist—-which ii her business—but why she should travel those thousands of miles to tell us why. No one in Neve Zealand cares two straws about that, and her lecture on the subject was most deadly dulL

Heb, agent advertises as a great attraction, the fact that her* life has beau compared to "thejourneyingßofanirifcenselyreligiousßoul from Evangelicalism to Pueeyism, tneuce through Broad Church Theiem to Materialism, out of which she has emerged by way of Spiritualism into the realms o£ Theoaophieui." Well, as theatre - goers, wo is Chrietohuroh are fond Of lightning changes. But we like them a la Macoabe. There i> nothing amusing or picturesque about an ism. Wβ care no more for the flounder" ings of an " intensely religious soul" in a sea of isms than we should for the floppings of * sentimental kangaroo in a pool of mud. We don't really. Ask Smythe.

By the way Mr Smjthe is simply the prince of advertisers. The Bishop of Auckland in* vited Mrs Besant to lunch at hit court. This was at once a pleasant way of showing courtesy to a stranger, and or proving his own superiority to bigotry and intolerance. It muse have been a, severe shook, to the Bishop—douce worthy man—to find his simple: invitation to lunch, • •locaUed" in half the newspapers of the colony as an " advance par' for Mrs Beeant. " Philosophy's aweet milk" muefe have tasted a trifle eour to his Lordship after that The fruits of philosophy are at times a bit nasty to the taste.

Ma Meredith shares with Mr W.- P. Reeves the honour ot being the " educated member " of the House. He was once a village dominie—whioh accounts four hie prodigious culture. Yep even Homer nodi, Mr Meredith's " Arohy Medea" aaa already been rendered historical by my caustic friend "Phiz." It was Mr Meredith, too, I beliove, who referred to Agamemnon's hapless daughter as EgUs Jeantay and on another occasion he turned Hector's sadeyed wife Andromache into a Scotohman, and called her Andrew Maokey. But we mustn't press Mr Meredith too hard for these little lapses. Even a Homeric scholar like the Editor of the Star makes mistakes. The other day he dabbed the Press the "Cashel street Cassandra" and tfaea proceeded to speak of her as he. However, what I was going to speak'about at the. outset was not his Greek, but hi* French. For Mr Meredith is manytoogued. Only the other day he was ad* dressing the House with his nsual weighty wisdom— "Sir," aaid he, "this country is trembling on a culdesac." Ignorant Member— , * What's that V Meredith (bristling with . learning and dignity)—" Sir, the honourable member should learn French. Out de sac is French iot of a precipice." The ignorant member collapsed, and a> covert Btnile passed round among the outer barbarians. Poor Mr Meredith ! Hβ, has not merely been to a feast of learning and stolen the scraps, bnt no hat sw&Uowed them dowa the wrong throat. That perpetual nuisance on New Zealand Railways—the passenger who takes one seat for himself and two for his luggageis a form of the social evil I have pilloried before. He i> likely, however, to- become worse rather than better in the future, as the following fabte will chow. A short time ago ml M. EL R. for a Canterbury constituency, somewhere south of the Boogitata—l will spare hie name for the present-—wae travelling with his wife on the Canterbury line. The member, of course, was *• on t&te hod, ,, and evidently thought his Parliamentary free pus entitled his portmanteau and fait wife's bandboxes to flrsfc-claaa accommodation also, for these occupied two of the best seats in the carriage. The other passengers —■ the carriage was crowded—found this highly annoying, and spoke to the guard. He very politely, reminded the M.H.R. it; was agautsD roles aad rega., and proceeded to remove- the impedimenta. Here, however, the good dame came in, -atid in a strident voice that eclipsed the clatter of wheels, she cried :— " Leave those things be, do yon hear 2 " " Very sorry, man, but it's against— '* « Do yba know who we, are %" " No, mum, I haven't the pleasure." " Well, then, this is my husband, and he is the member for ——, aad we are just off up to Parlymenfc, now. go there 1 Too jusfc leave them things be." And he left them be, did that guard. And email blame to him. For there are M.XLR.'s in the present Hoase small* minded and pe'tby-sbuied enough to use their, position in the House even to •« take it out" of f> railway guard who disturbed their wife's bandbox. And whoa the railways "jpverfi," wha£ sort of e> service shall we fcave?,. Obviously, travelling with luggage in, the carnage, or even with a buU pap or s> prize ram, will become the prevailing fashion. If you are btdUed, Jus* tell the guard to go aad be banged or yen will tell your abide " the inembex far——>" What a difference frob the old cokmfei days of sturdy t independence. The*e were bullies amoeg Ministers and ILELE'a. thea as new, 1 duejay, bus eomtaw the bally

Ing didn't come off. The story of this railway guard reminds mc by contrast; of one of the many yarns about Ned Devine. He was driving his coach Bomewhere in the centre of Otago. At a stopping place a pavenger who had been travelling inside to keep the rain out, finding the weather changed, stepped out and demanded a box seat. He was a florid, pompous, much be-jewelled man—not altogether unknown in New Zealand history. " Driver, I want a box seat," "Beg pardon, sir, but the box is fully, engaged." " But I tell you I want a box seat, and I must have it." Ned looked amused. " Very sorry —box engaged —hurry up and get inside, we're ju3t off." The florid mau looked florider; he positively bellowed at ed — *' Do you know icho lam, sir?" "Can't say as I do," said Ned, quietly fiickJDg a fly "off the nsar leader's ear. •I am the Minister for Public Works, sir." " Are you, now ? Well, it's a very good billet. Stick to it. Gee up, chestnuts—," and with a crack of the whip the coach rattled off, leaving the infuriated Minister in the middle of the road. What's that? Chestnut, you say? Chestnut be hanged. You wouldn't expect a ttory like that to remain untold for twenty years just in order that readers of " Search Lights" might have it bran new for a penny? And, it it is a chestnut—you wouldn't refuse a good cigar because you had smelt the same brand before—would you ? If it be an old friend, give it an old friend's greeting; if it be a stranger, then v a stranger welcome it. There is one particular type of man I >bhbr. If I had to fill a page in a young iady'a " Confession Album '' — which. Heaven forbid !—I should put that type of . man down as "my pet aversion." You strike him in every meeting, in every itudience where you tell a story. When the laughter at your point is just subsiding— that's his time —he comes up to you with a patronising grin: " Ah, capital, old chap—ha ! ha ! ha !— eplendid story, by gad. Ha !he! he ! I really can't stop laughing. Quite your best etory. Bat, I s&y, old chap, you know, I— ha ! ha ! ha ! — I heard' that story before you icare born!" Ugh ! the brute. The Bohemian.