THE "SAVAGES" AT HOME.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 254, 20 July 1908, Page 4

THE "SAVAGES" AT HOME.

: WITH THE MAORIS AT THE SAVAGE : CLUB. > 1 ' ■li'was only, natural for "the.. Savage.. Club' to invite their browri brethrou>fr6ii). the four: ..' points of the compass .Wellington to; honour. the local :liapii ;.wittevtheir<-pfesenee, j and great was tho ivelc6me;e!cJ«ndW;j;b thenv on. the marao'.of -,tho \ruriangn'in-.Boulcott Street (usually .feiUKfii «i';'tlid;;<4a?ppic\Hall). on Saturday ; matter of tracing back;"''; som«> : faitljjrV-tnafir: others, - ' to . find that from the commoir-' statofcalled^sdvagedom. • This'' was neatlyy referred.,"ito^by^prA-Buck, who occupied: the; : ;ch'iir,'iM r .Saturday. even- : ing. . His ancestors tattooed their faces .with. 1 quaint- and not; inartistic xdesigASand ; ,tlib f- forobears;.of>tho'.English;Yace■ also.'.tattoOed,;. r : /. ■.biifc ■ iilsteid' of ■ pricking it into the •.skin', of.. ' their face, they smeared .•themsclycs-'-iritln'a:' substance called woad. So the burly brown' men, from. the. Urewera,. the. King Country HekeVterrifcqry ifjrthe far north,.and Ngatajs kinamenfrorn the Bast' Coast,. Wero mado'' as. welcome' as the flowers offspring, and .the. guest-hcruso. rang with. laughter, at ; quaiiit; ex-. amplee of Maori humour, wasvthrilledi'-to silence by. the recountal of Some ancient Maori', legend/'or:was'stirred to the depths by'the; tales of bid-time littles. One of'the moat'/ . finteresting'veontributions was the story of Tarewai,'> noted taua or warrior, who played • a valiant • part' in-.'' establishing 'tho Ngaiti tribe . in:;otago. 'Tho. spmo Speaker also .ox-;. | plained tho meaning of the best-known. 'powhiri of -welcome, .'which commences: "Kamate! kamate!" ; - It-was-reallyytanta-. .mount to ".a: declaration-, of.i peace, explained'' 'the! Doctor, fori the opening " words wero: "la. it death? Is it'death? "and~tho "answer was: "It is life I It is life!" and tho rcstf meant that abiding peaco had coino and all was well. A Native ministor told a couplo of excellent yarns, which were humorously interpreted by Br. Buck; Mr. William Pitt ■ ■ sang "Sing me'to Sleep" in Maori, and Mr.. Alfred ..Hill sang Ins. .idelicjlitffil,. -'AVaiafca-l'oi;"-a nuinlier which'appealed'strongly to 7 theyNativo sense of musical rhythm. Dr. Pomare has a lively aenso of. humour- and a .rich voice, and. the verses ho -recited (and.wrote)? showed . amice poetic faiicy,:Tho -ap*! of ;31r;:.-Ngata's' war. party 'ofiNgati-' porous from -the - Town Hall was: foretold by.' ;an itching of Dr.; - Buck's .'left nlostril—iV .was 1 - . . an iiidis'putablo .'sign - that thd'-'enemy . was'.'on the• trail.' Two minutes 'liitbr~ v a' dozen, magnificent brown men, naked, save for, mats hanging ;fromthe'-.waist;' anjife&ed stage, and led by Mr. A. T. Ngata', M.P., electrified the local savages, with hakas and spear dances, executed with demoniacal vig- • our, but never diverging from-that; masterful rhythm that characterises everything done by Maoris en-inasse. - One-warrior""sang 'rurus" - or love ditties. They are pitched in a minor key, but without-regard to the diatonic scale, wander into weird'thirds as in Arabic ;music, - insiiead of adhering to nqtes arid "half-notes. They were .the most uninspiral love ballads imaginable/ doubtless they : served to touch tho emotions; in the 'days goiiw-Jtar; There wore also. waiataSj/poi songs, and, tho' Shade; of .'the Old,. Apple '.Tree'' (to" 'giVe : the programme variety) from. Mr.- Ngsta's people, who, dolighteid at the enthusiasm the? aroused, danced wonderfully until too exhausted to do,.anything' but laugh'. Mir; Hono Heke; M.P., who sang tho ballad "Bor '.causa'l Lovo You", in .Maori;. thanked, the Savage Club for tho kind welcome; pxtended • to their Maori friends, as did also Mr. Ngata,' and after the singing of "For. They aro Jolly Good Fellows," 'the nearest approach to a genuine Bftvago gathering; ended in perfect harmony aud mutual wishes for a sun-lit futurei , ' .

The toy stood on the school house step .' ' Waen the master opened the door. ; . "Helio!" «aid tli'e master, "You're-first, at . last! . / . You *ero always; behind before!" ' "I'm early becausa," replied-the lad, < - "I've' taken"the hcalth-rcnewer : To cure the cough that was so badIt's Woods' Great Peppermint Cure." li