POSTSCRIPTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 18, 22 January 1944, Page 6

POSTSCRIPTS

Chronicle and Comment-

BY PERCY FLAGE

Juno:—Precious butter: Ambergris" (amber grease). * ■ * *. The world's most northerly garden is at Tromso, Norway, in latitude 70deg. N. * * * In Europe, in the Middle Ages, all bookbinders were monks, bookbinding being considered a sacred profession. * * * A moral victory is when you don't know you're licked, and the other mandoesn't know it either. MILK-TALLOW. Invented by a former director of the Tokio Research Institute, a synthetic milk made from tallow is claimed by a Japanese to be CO per cent, more nutritious than cow's milk, and pro- . duced at a third of the cost. Will our New Zealand farmers be-" listening? ■'. * * * PROVERBIAL TALES. The newest sort of silly story is the Proverbial Tale. Here are two: "And so she said: His head's swollen, too big for his boots." "And so she said: Like water off a. duck's back, in one ear and out 01----the other." O.K. Dear P.F., —Two recent events makir^ one feel the Browning way: The drought's truly o'er; The rain's on the pour; Churchill's in England— All's right with the war! —BY THE WAY. * * * BIG NOSES. "Give me," said Napoleon, "a man* with a big nose." The man of Austerlitz knew that, all things being equal,, a large nose indicated driving forceAll his marshals were gifted with a prominent nasal organ. Then fate sent him the Duke of Wellington, who had a bigger nose than any of them; and that was the French dictator'sdownfall. v * *. * LISTEN. Jwosp.—On second thoughts, don't you think the colt by Solicitor General out of Lytup might be called Verbosity? An S.G. who was lytup might be intoxicated by his own verbosity. And the Man's Pal—Sailor's Quest colt might be Any Port. There is a Robin Goodfellow—Lady Box colt. He might be Mr. Tebrick, the husband in Garnett's "puckish" "Lady Into Fox." * \ * *. "DON KWEKS?" Recent successes by a successor re-.-minded one of the original Don Quex, a well-known performer in the Auckland district about 1915. When the question of pronunciation was mooted it was explained that "Don Quex" was an abbreviation of "Donald Quexton," the horse having been named after a friend of the owner's. Don Quex of today has no relationship in pedigree or nomenclature to the original, the former's name being derived from the play "The Gay Lord Quex," by A. W. Pinero. —MAORI MAC. «- * « INFORMATION. "How came the names Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean?" asks "Wager." The Pacific Ocean was so named by .Magellan in 1520, because there he enjoyed calm weather and a placid sea after the stormy and, tempestuous passage of the adjoining straits. The Atlantic Ocean is so called either from the Atlas Mountains, the great range in North-west Africa, which, to the ancients, seemed to overlook the whole ocean, or from Atlantis, a mythic island of great extent which was anciently supposed to have existed in the Atlantic Ocean. POLICE DOGS. Guarding goods in transit, railwaypolice dogs are on duty in England day and night at docks and other centres of transport, and they have made many arrests. Most of the dogs are Alsatians, and it has been found that this breed is not affected as some others are by ailments of the pads due to the salt airl and water at the docks. To watch them search for a hiding pilferer suggests something almost uncanny in their detective instinct, writes an "Empire News" reporter. "Bruno" will smell out a marauder hiding under a tarpaulin, fetch him out, tackle him ' around the ankles with his forelegs, and bring him to the sheds. * * * ALL AT SEA. Asked to address a mission to seamen, a young preacher thought to add point to. his remarks by drawing illustrations from the sea. He spoke of the captain at his wits' ends while navigating his ship through a shallow, twisting channel abounding in swift currents and rocks. Ultimately, to the captain's despair, his ship was driven on a bank, and the preacher, now thoroughly worked up, exclaimed dramatically: "What shall we do now?" "Goodness knows," said an old sailor who had been listening open-mouthed in the front row. "For the last fifteen minutes ye've been drivin' stern foremost!" * * #. CLOTH OF GOLD. One golden branch has dipped into the dawn Its eager tip, to catch the fringe of light That trembles for a moment on the . height, Then falls, a gleaming garment, downward drawn. The morning wind, soft-motioned as a fawn, Entranced with its own lightness, ' moves in" flight Among the folds, and stirs with sheer delight The trailing edges laid upon the lawn. The tree is clothed! It stands beneath the sun With arms uplifted, reverently to bear The weight of glory fallen from above; Into its deepest heart such joy has run, The little winds have died upon the air Before the silent miracle of love. —ANNA LANDON. * # ♦ NOMENCLATURE. Eurythmic's idea: Dear P.F., —About that colt of Mr. Cheesman's: the "bridge" part of the pedigree brings to mind Pylon, Viaduct, and Chart Room.. "Fox" causes me to suggest The Fugitive. The fox is like Kindergarten—often chased but seldom caught. It would be a name to live up to! T.L.S. suggests Riversdale as a name for Foxbridge—Ann Acre. H.W.A. stands for Bridgehead. E.C.R. writes: Bridgehead would be topical and sounds important, but as a Mr. Cheesman owns him and the price was a "mitey" one, why not Cheddar or- Gorgonzola—nothing stiltonising about that. •» «• * INTIMATION. . "Fun in the Ads.": Missed by a frao • tion. McLean: That interesting yarn would take up too much room. A May Chance: Try your verse withi. one of the weeklies. K. O'Shea: Your "Don't Talk"—"Lest We Regret" is not exactly what we pre- • fer. J.G.H.: Just bad luck. Will send your appeal to So-and-so. Blase: We, too, occasionally are awfully tired of what is called pleasure. "Rose-bud": If that is your first attempt to make the poetic grade—well, there's hope for you. Johnnie: Will make inquiries. Your full name and address, please. i D.W.T.: For the time being we have ! gone off politics like anything. O.K.:' Rather feeble verse, though your girl friend would not believe it.