TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11151, 18 December 1901, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

■ An interesting article in National "Chambers'e Journal" Physiognomy deals with the changes in ..,'-, . Changing, national phvsiognomy.dur- vy ing the passing centuries. jjf. The new Englishman of, the twentieth cen- ff tury, for instance,* is not quite the same Jr. type as was the Englishman of the.Xudoi* $ , period. "The loyal subject of Edwardl VI,, •(? flaxen-haired if he were a end. * j black-haired in , towns, would hardly re- £ cognise as his posterity ami compatriots „ ,'•'. the equally loyal subject of Edward VII. 1 ' The' wide-spread: prevalence of the bathing ■ ■'■ habit is regarded as one of the main factors in the change which has taken place : in the physique, hair, and) complexion of ; the typical Englishman. Even as late as! ".-•-■' the eighteenth century the morning "tub" was rare, the cold plunge practically un-' known. Constant bathing develops a heightened colour, sharper features, and a • thinning of the hair, co that iis influence < cannot i» disregarded in comparing tha ■ <■. modern Englishman with, his curly-haired; ancestor of the fifteenth; century. The Frenchman is said to be. gradually growing , *. . \ lighter of hair and complexion, "owing to' \. the greater fecundity" of the Norman and ? i •the constant infusion of Swiss and l Alsatian b100d. ,. His carriage is more erect, thanks to the severe military training now enforced upon him by the State—a factor which, we are told, has also transformed the whoJe race of Germans from "round-shouldered, shambling men, with a profusion of adiposa' , tissue, into grim, sinewy automatons." Among the Germans, however, a deereasa is noticeable in the height of the men since 1851, although, on the other hand, the German chin is becoming a prominent characteristic of the national type. The awakening of Russia as a< commercial Fowei i£> having its effect upon the physiognomy; of the nation, and the American, who owna a more mixed' blood than any other race known, has developed a type of face as completely marked as that of any race that has baen "bred in and in for oentu- • ries." Japan, with the adoption of European customs, is becoming Europeanised in physiognomy, and even the Jews, according to Max Nortibu, are slowly losing identity. ;

The little Seyehelle Islands, to Kings in the north of Mauritius, have Exile. at the present time an ,ex- . ©optionally aristocratic popula<jon, including two Queen-Mothers and four ex-kings, cteef of whom are Prempeh of Aflbantee, Mwanga of Uganda, and l Kabaxega of TJnyoro. East and West African monarchs meet ttoere, and from all accounts it appears that East Africa has the upper hand. Prempeh, sleek, oily, clad in European clothes/ is a very different being from the truculent king of the Aehanti war. He is quartered near Victoria, capital of Mahte, together with the Queen Mother and numerous wives and children. From the African point of view Jus residence is very comfortably fitted out, the furniture consisting of a few etools— for the AMoan ideal o£ comfort is to squat on the floor, or on low stools. These are carved and studded with nails, and one of them is used oa a throne. Prempeh is somewhat lacking in an testhefcic taste for art, the only picture being a tradesman's almanac —a highly-coloured portrait of Queen Victoria. The royalties give very little trouble. Becently, however, Prempeh and the Queen Mother thought they would like to increase their income, and took counsel iogejthter. Next day they lield a court, and tried; the other chiefs on trivial or imaginary charges, inflicting fines of varying amounts. Bottles of rum be given in lieu of money payments. 'After they had a few fines they adjourned the court, and gat gloriously drunk. Unfortunately for the further success oi tlteix little scheme, the iiard-heaited [Administrator got wind of their proceedings, and promptly broke up the court. The Asbantis are regular church-goers, and iPrempeh appears in all the glory of frockcoat, tall ihat, mad patent leather boots. The Queen Mother, libwever, clangs to native costume, and wears a cloak draped somewhat in the fashion of the Roman toga. Asibi, of Koko-pu, another royalty, Sβ a striking figure in mustards-coloured {Norfolk jacket, crimson knee-breeches, and tarttwn stockings. Pxempeh's son is a very wnarb and intelligent youth, a pupil at the Victoria School.

The national memorial to The Victoria Queen Victoria is to con-, Memorial, cist of a statue of her Majesty, set in a group of emblematical figures, the whole monument to stand in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, with the statue facing down the MalL Surrounding this monument will be a great architectural scheme, involving the building of colonnades, pillars, and temples, with statues and groups of statuary, gardens, and lawns. This will immensely improve the appearance of Buckingham Palace, which has often been deecribed as mean and dull, and though it will mean taking small slices out of both the Green Park and St. James's Park, the ground will not be lost to the public, as the whole space round the statue will be thrown open. .The designing and execution of the statue were eventually entrusted by the General Committee to Mr Thomas Brock, and of the setting to the statue— the treatment of the space in front of the Pakuje—fto Mr Aston Webb. The accepted designs were recently exhibited to the public free of charge, in St. James's Palace by order of the King, and created a great deal of interest. Mr Brock's share in the work was seen from a small clay model to consist of a pedestal and a plinth, the-latter surrounded by statues, and sur-

mounted by a winged Victory, whose head win be 65ft from the ground. The Queen i> represented as she was in her later 'days, seated and holding the globe and sceptre.

At her back is a figure of Maternity, on one side oi her is Truth, and on the other ;■- Justice, Courage and-Constancy are at her {.; feet, and above her, ac we have said, is ,7* Victory, , This group wall rest on a great •'■ic' column, of stone standing in a circular '%■., level space Bft above €he, ground.; .On this I ..platform will be figures representing the ;| v r Army and Navy, and fountains will play in .*; poole of water. It is not yet decided £;- whether the statues will be in marbLe or -;: broose. The designers eeemto have given V great satisfaction, and if the sculptor and *be arohitect between them carry out their |;\J Work sucoeesfedly» they wiU have helped to }, lift from London the taunt-of having the ■(■ woM and most) inartistio statues and f, JDftemoriab of" any city in Europe. The *£ '-cost wOl be great, poseably a quarter of a g aullioa or more, and all the money i* not £ '. But it is etiH coming in, %J Heog Kong fleet £12,fi<X£ the otW day, I ;yend no doubt «U tibat : is wanted will be |-ry lorthcoroing. • ' ■ ■