WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 46, 18 November 1925, Page 8

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

NOTES AT RANDOM

(By

T.D.H.)

Irish Republicans are reported to be bent on burning the Boundary Commission’s offices. —It is hard work drawing the line anywhere in Ireland.

China is reported to be in such a state that the Europeans are unable to get orders out of chaos.

In the days when the late Mrs. Amelia Bloomer startled the United .States bv conducting her temperance campaign arrayed in breeches, it was freely predicted that in view of the way things were going mere man would end up by staying at home to mind the baby while' mother ran tlie earth. This prediction has been falsified by the .fact that in the truly modern home there is no baby to mind, mother being fully occupied with her Pekingese and father with the motor-car. It is even said that although the girls are all busy shearing their locks and turning themselves into boys, the real manwoman is annoyed about it. “In the old days,” bitterly complained one of them, “I got a haircut for a shilling, but now they call it a bingle, and charge me seven and sixpence.”

While the” gills* are bingling and shingling it seems that the up-to-date, modern vouth is investing in pocketvanity cases, and may, in a year or two, no doubt, be expected to appear with prettv little lace frills round his sleeves. In Paris recently was printed an announcement that tlie use of cosmetics is growing amongst men in the United States. Inquiries elicited the fact that America was not alone in this respect. We have recently had comment in the news on rouged and powdered male undergraduates at the universities in Britain, .and the Parisian barbers state that many men are not onlv making use of lip sticks and rouge, but also carry powder puffs and other hitherto feminine aids to beauty. One beauty industry manufacturing plant is even specialising in a “dark grey” powder for men, which is said to have a ready sale. The men’s vanity boxes on sale in Paris are stated, to contain a sqpply of paste for keeping down the hair, d special cosmetic for the eyebrows, a lipstick, and a powder puff and its accompanying powder. There arc also boxes for the use of elderly men who wish to assume a youthful appearance. Artificially bronzed masculine faces are reported to have been common in Paris during the past three or four years.

The matter-of-fact way in which the French are adapting themselves to. the new mode of buying their complexions is best exemplified, perhaps, by the story told in the London “Post” of a beautifully mannered vouth who followed a charming girl to the reception desk of the hotel where she was staying and very politely asked her, in a low tone and in the presence of the hotel clerk, if she would kindly lend him her lipstick, as he had unfortunately mislaid his own

A correspondent wrote a little while ago inquiring what had become of Mr. De Valera lately. We understood he had taken to school teaching again, though ' whether he hammers his students as hard as he hammers the English does not appear. However, the Irish are coming to . light once more' over the Boundary Commission, and no doubt Mr. De Valera is on hand at headquarters unless Mrs. De Valera has laid it down that it is time he let Ireland go hang for a while and devoted his. attention to advancing the worldly interests of his numerous brood of young De Valeras.

It is said that there have been ructions in the camp in Erin over the compulsory teaching of Irish in the Free State schools. When we were in the south of Ireland six years back the streets in most of the towns had the names up in Irish, but underneath were the English names, so that this patriotic effort might not inconvenience the inhabitants. We understood from a gentleman who . spent a whole evening in the inn at Tarbert, on the Shanou, explaining the Irish question to us, that one of the darkest crimes of the English had been the suppression of the Irish language. ‘A magnificent lang/age, sorr,” said this patriot, a magnificent language, with a noble litthera.toor! I’m sorry to Say I don t spake it myself.” *

It seems that the experts in Irish disagree, and not without bitterness, as to the the words they have resurrected, or-as the unkind allegeinvented. A London journal recalls that a few years back the Gaelic experts gave an edifving exhibition o their rivalry over an inscription of a cup presented for the National University Sports at Dublin. Part of the inscription, “Cuirm na mban,” was declared bv some to mean-, “Ladies Cup,” while others asserted that it reallv meant ’(Ladies’ beer!” “Cluithche Oilscoil na Eireann,” which appeared on the trophy, as a rendering of "National University Spprts,” was asserted bv experts who had not been consulted 'in the matter to bear the translation, “The University of Ireland is a game.”

M. Clemenceau has turned 84, but a London “Morning Post” correspondent records that lie has not lost his old keenness for finding out things for himself. During a recent visit to Pans he went round tlie street markets and made some purchases. “These are too dear,” he declared to a woman who asked sixtv centimes for some carrots; "I will give only fifty.” She looked at him for a moment, then said, “ AIT right, my little old man, you shall have them at' vour own price, because you resemble the good M. Clemenceau, who I wish would come back and rule us properly again.”

Most common sayings are very old, and an American investigator thinks “you can’t keep a good man down” was coined by the whale.

In his autobiography Lord Grey records that on one occasion during the .war lie was crossing from France with Lord Balfour and Mr. Lloyd George. A hospital ship had just been mined, and during the voyage back, which was a very rough one, the following colloquy took place: — E.G.': I couldn’t help thinking about mines on the way over. LI. G. (wearily) : Oh 1 I was feeling much too bad to be thinking about mines. . A.J.B. (with convincing emphasis): I longed for a mine. /

PIER WATCHMAN, He sits all night at the office door And chatters with sailorrnen come home From Bombay, Li’erpool, Singapore, And all the ports that sailors roam. From seas that shrank from the Roman oar. , From Grecian islands, from old Cathay, From Marathon, where the mountains soar In all the pomp of prouder day. With roamers over the world’s wide lanes, . . , r He sits and chatters the night away Of food and drinking, of aches and pains, . And what poor wage is a watchman s P <lVi . ■ —Tames Kevin McGuinness, in the "New Yorker.”