Children’s Corner

Gisborne Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6320, 24 February 1922, Page 3

Children’s Corner

ANS WEE’S TO CORRESPONDENTS. “J.E.D.” —The view from the top of Haiti Hill is a glorious one, and the ascent is now quite easy since the track has been formed. Nicholas Young was the hoy with Captain Cook, who called the cliff “Young; Nick's Head” after him. “S.C.” —The “Hole in the Wall is about three miles from town, and is a splendid place for bathing—provided one can swim. It is dangerous for those who- cannot. It is very cool and shady, a great many large willows growing there. t WAEHENGA-A-EIKA FETE. There were many attractions for chi 1lden at the Waerenga-a-hika fete last week, the most popular perhaps, being the small pony with its gaily decorated mane and tail, who would trot gently for tiny riders, or canter gaily for bigger ones. Paces and a tug-of-war were much enjoyed, also Alls Jarley's Wax works were a never-failing joy, especially for children, who never tire of the old familiar characters. THE PEINCE IN INDIA.

Savs the “Children's Newspaper”:— The Prince goes to India- as the personal embodiment of the wise and statesman-like view of India’s future that would raise her by sure steps into a free partnership in the great British Commonwealth of nations. He will he the exponent of British goodintentions, of British devotion to India's best interests, of the British aim of raising her to the full status of a great, self-governing community. But in doing that ho will have to deal wisely with the hot-headed haste that does not realise the magnitude of the task. It is a great responsibility for so young a man. not free from danger, and in undertaking it lie ought to have as sympathetic an appreciation from the people to whom he is sent as he has from file nation which sends him.

Most interesting accounts are coming to hand of the Prince's triumphant entry into Gwalior with a procession of twelve huge elephants all fantastically painted, and with wonderful jewelled trappings. What a sight that great Durbar must have been ! The Indian Princes and Alaharajahs, in their gorgeous Oriental robes and jewels worth a king's ransom; and in the midst of them the central figure in whose honor it all was, the slight, fair, youthful Englishman! who, if he lives, will some day be the Emperor of them all. Over the age-old splendour and magnificence of it all the blazing- sun shone and the mysterious, inscrutable spirit of India brooded. On reading of it. one’s thoughts turn to Kipling’s lines in his “Recessional”-—

“The tumult and the shouting dies. The captains and the kings depart; Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, An humble and a contrite heart.”

It reminds us vividly lio\v Heeling- a thing- is all earthly power. The Prince, however, is not the one to forget this. Tie, like his father. King George V.. lias ever remembered that dominion and power belong to God alone, and all of us, from king to beggar, are sent, into the world to do His will till it shall please Him to take us again to Himself. The native princes of India are intensely loyal to the throne and have a dpep personal regard for the King-Emperor which has manifested itself in the way in which they have received his son. A magnificent reception was accorded the Prince by the aged Begum of Zagul. She is a remarkable old lady who speaks English perfectly. It is the law of her country that she must go veiled always, and rio man has ever seen her face. She is a picturesque figure and a wise and strict ruler EDWARD V. Edward V. was one of the boy kings of England. lie was never crowned. But that does not matter, for when one king dies his successor by birth becomes king at once. “The king is dead; long live the king!” expresses the law of kingly inheritance. little, Edward succeeded In's father, Edward IV., in April. 1453, when he was thir-. teen. As he-was taken to London for his coronation a quarrel arose between his uncles on his father's side and his mother's side as to who should be his guardian. His father’s brother. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, obtained possession of him and caused him to be lodged in the Tower of London, with his younger brother to hear him company. Then the treacherous uncle persuaded Parliament to make him king, and both the boys were foully murdered. 'When is not certainly known, but probably .in August. Their bodies w!eV- found many years afterwards buried at the foot of the staircase cf the White Tower.

GATE OF PEACE. WHERE REPUBLIC! AND EMPIRE MEET. For ever century there has been peace along the 3000-mile unguarded iine where the American! Republic and the British Empire join together; and in the far west, between Washington State- and British Columbia, this is now to be eomm.-morated by the erection of a Peace portal, under which a railway line will pass. Ike arch will be fi.’i feet high. Inside will bo inscribed, on one wall,- July 4,19 la. Open for one hundred years,” and on the other wall “May those doors never he closed.” Over the portal on the American side Hit inscription runs. “Children of a, common mother.” and on the Canadian side. “Brethren dwelling- together- in unity.” MANY TOYS IN ONE. An ingenious wood toy lately invented consists of several jointed sections, easily taken apart and joined up quickly in various ways. In one way a cow is made, in another an elephant, in another a fowl, and so oil; while the woodwork can also bo turned into an aeroplane!

HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN FLIES

(A story from Australia.) Everyone locally is deeply interested 1:1 aviation, at the present time. is an interesting story of the unexpected result of a> joy-rule in Ausfci William Dick, aged 103 years,_ went ,cut from Scotland to Australia 70 years ago, .and has lived in the Coinmon weal til over since. .Mis grcnc age . has made him conspicuous, and when i one day lie expressed a wish to sec an aeroplane, it was felt that lie ought to he givcni that pleasure, nay, more; when some public-spirited airmen flew j their machine over to where he lived, j thev took the old man up for a flight., j to his great delight, and showed him I his home from a height of 3001) feet, i The newspapers, of course, told tnc j story, and proud fellow Scots ear,v that j it was sent home, as well they might, j for even Scotland has not many sons j using aeroplanes at the age of 103. And so the news.of William Dicks existence and whereabouts reached a lve-me. in Dundee where - lived a lady t who'.thought he might be her lory-lost brother who bad left Scotland before v ■she was. born. Letters followed and the- two proved to be in truth brother

©©© JEST, STORY AND VERSE ©

By lioyce

and sister. Thus the brave old man’ l ride in the clouds found him a sister j across the earth. THE FISHES OF NEW ZEALAND, The waters of New Zealand abounc with fishes, of many different habits characteristics, shapes, and sizes, front the shark to the whitebait. About .'i; kinds are used f-or food. There is ; considerable difference between the foot fishes of our northern and those of oui southern waters. The sehwapper, tin mullet, and the travelly are essentially northern; while the trumpeter, the rcc cod, and the ling are just as essentially southern. The warehou. tarahihi, and gurnet are common in the north, and the moki. butterfish. and frost fish in the south; while the kahawai, hapuko (the groper of Dunedin), blue cod, barracoota, the little sea, mullet, sometimes called the herring, and the Hat fish are found all round the coast. THE LAND OF STORY BOOKS. At evening when the lamp it lit, Around the fire my parents sit; They sit at home, and talk and sing. And do not play r at anything. Now, with my little gun, I crawl All in the dark along the wall. And follow round the sofa track Away behind the sofa back. There, in the night, where none can spy. All in my hunter's camp I lie, And play at books that I. have read. Till it is time to go to bed. There are the hills, there are the woods. There are my starry solitudes; And there the river hv whose In-ink The- roaring lions coma to drink. I see the others far away As if in tirelit camp they lay, And 1, like to an Indian scout, Around their party prowled about. So, when my nurse comes in fv.r me, Home I return, across the sea, And go to bed with backward looks At my dear land of story-books. —Ji. L. Stevenson. THE GREEN DOOR. When the farmer caught sight of Tom peeping in at the stable door lie called out to him, “Here, young Tom! Will you run a little errand for met” “Why, yes,” answered Tom.

“Then g-o across to the Eg ! louse by the side of the pond and ask if they would like a. couple of ducks. I’ve got some plump little chaps just ready for cooking.” Tom nodded and went elf. Me knew the house, and he knew the big green: door with the long bell-chain that hung down by the side of it. Tom wouldn’t have been surprised to find the chain gone. The old gentleman had threatened to have it taken away many times, for the boys couldn’t resist giving it a pull as they passed to j and fro. Clang! Clang! it went all J day. It made him sc angry. Tom had heard all about it, and just as he turned the, corner and came within sight: of the house he passed a group of laughing schoolboys who seemed to be having a good joke. Tom went up to •! the green door, caught hold of the chain, and pulled it. To his astonish- ■ ment it fell down in his hand ! While { he was staring at it the door opened and an old man darted out, caught hold of him, and pulled him in. i “Now I’ve got you!” he exclaimed. “You young villain! What have you to say for yourself?” "If y-ou please,” stammered Torn, “would you like -to buy a couple of ducks?” "Eh! 'What?” cried I’no old gentleman, letting- go of his arm and stepping back to have a better look at him. “Aren’t you one of the youngrascals that pulled my bell and broke it?” i “I did pull it,” said Tom. “hut I didn't break it. I've come with a message from Brown.' The old gentleman burst out: laughing. “I believe you,” ho said at last. “I was going to give you a good thrashing'; but if you come into the orchard you shall have an apple instead.” “OUR NEW 7 TEACHERS" Tom Atkinson, aged 9, makes a bighit with his article on "Our New Teachers” in Webs, the magazine of Windermere Endowed Boys’ School, Bowncss-on-Whuleremere (England) One of our Teachers is a girl, her name is Miss Nora. Bell. She came this Term. She is a pupil Teacher. She tells us off when we talk. A good job she cannot give us stripes. She has a pair of black stockings and a pair of black high boots. She has a blue skirt. She has a blue jumper, and some red bobs near her neck. She has a dimple when she laughs. She has a slide at the back of her head. Miss Nora has light brown hair. She has a ring on her finger, it is a blue color. Another of our new Teachers is Mr Harold Bland, he is a pupil teacher. lie is a boy. He wears a pair of black boots. They are low ones. He has a pair of green stockings; they have fancy things on the tons of them. Mr Harold Bland wears a. pair of knee-breeches, and the color of them is light grey. • He has a white collar and a brown tie. Boys make much better teachers than girls do. I think so. He has 1 a light grey waistcoat and a brown jacket. ali Harold Bland is in the first team. Ho has black hair. On a Tuesday Miss Nora Bell and Mr Harold Bland go to the Y.M.C.A. room, for lessons.

A party of big game hunters is on the point of setting out in Central Africa with the hope of finding out what becomes of wild elephants when they die (observes Everyday Science). A dead donkey is popularly reckoned a l-are sight in England ; a dead elephant (except those killed by hunters) is a much greater rarity, for it is a strange fact that the bodies cf elephants that have died of natural causes arc scarcely ev-er found either in Africa or India. The natives of both countries stoutly believe that they have some secret place to which they retreat when instinct tells them that death, either from disease or from old age, is approaching. No such graveyard has been discovered; this expedition intones specially to search for them. If they succeed they will be well repaid for their trouble, for if the legend is true and the elephants share a- common “dying place,” there must be there an enormous accumulation of tusks, woith a fortune. Ivory is extremely vfit liable, and is always increasing in price, because it is,, now becoming &o scarce.

Why are sentries like day and night? —Because when one comes on the ether goes. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. An officer once in Feld n Was very exceedingly thin; When swimming one day A shark came his way. But passed him by with a grim .