REFLECTIONS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 20 April 1918, Page 5

REFLECTIONS.

NOVEL NOMENCLATURE

ATHLETIC REMINISCENCES.

A NEW KIPLING POEM

(By "John Doe."; In a recent review of Gilbert Carman's latestnovel, "The Stucco Hou^^ a reviewer comments on "the rule 'ihe lcli; 0 rdes"]! 1 nor, els * SS s°e word "house" annears— "Th„ House with the Green Shutters " "Tht House of Mirth," etc.-under'the elt goiy of "unpleasant," an d says tha rule has not been broken by M?Can! Z 't l S ohl£ 1 "r"Ie" supported !"Tbe aw S? Ce*Ttoi?Jy "Bleak fiSuse!'' | me House in Demetrius Road"—a fine study of a drinker by Mr J D Beresford-perhaps "The House of _ Ihousand Candles," and SKorthy't wW n Uil try House" suPPort it but What are there on the other side? sW of f eat.. imP°rtance. One incotSw ai q,Ul^e fortuitous coincidence helpmg the sale of a book novel* °-T °f R'r?- Bl^kmore's%Sat novel "Lorna Doone," which bar, pened to.be published'at thetime 5 the marriage of the MarquisV Lornl to the Princess Louise. Of course ther^ was absolutely no connection Uw2 the book and the Marquis, but the lfiV\ firSt . th°U *ht there wa,t I jo^. Blackmore's great novel sold in- ! large numbers because of its own in ' I tTI\ WOHh-- Xt * a fine novel del spite the curious style in many places? I Sir Gilbert Parker is—a s "John . Doe's" mother once pointed out to him .many years ago, in that early introauction by- her to good and interesting ' Sssfnl 7? fillbm 1S sin^arly sue- ; "Tnl P^f the ? nZ soiind of ks titlespf Z f m r D °f the Lavelettes," "The « ?r^t-of-Way,'» "The Seats of the : St? 6 Ladder of Swords" ITe I til fin, e, titles worthy of their books £3*- h» mostdelightful stories, also "Wb^n 11 VtUi led' S S tluat ««»*-tic tale of When Valmond came to Pontiac" which you should read whether you poleon. n°fc admil *c the ■*"»* S£ R^afned "he^ at titles is "P-"diae ' Kbsained, which was suggested to the poet Milton by his Quake? friend Ell! Ct ha Vl h°m Sal t0 + him« "**'****> tho*a lostr' Wlfrf *?u sa-v of <pa^dise dfsfpould?' haSt th°U t0 SSy °f Pa- ' +,-^lllto^ 'las\I as \ we kno "'- married three |*J me\>* the schoolboy erred who I thought the titles to his^ greatUb ence o ]f rm' C?nnectio« "-itlfhis ex^eS ence of marriage, and of his later seni MraryPoS hlS ** **«' the "*£,

Motor-cycling racing i s exciting for 'the spectators, and doubtless for the competitors and is a severe tost of • ; coolness and nerve, but it is no7a„ athletic sport. It i s a pity that not" when no objection could b e raised on j any grounds to a real athletic sports meeting, no attempt is made to Phold infStwS A^-^^dn^et I/ 1* g°°4 entnes, i s always interesting, and would o-irr o i • "o-iiv " t>, • *'oulcl Slve a good i™ t™ R"umn S events can be exciting, too 1 was present in 1908 it some of those splendid international .sports when the Olympic Games wSe t_l "WH! n r> a" th° P»* Stadium^t FvV.iK^ te °lty ' #* *** Franco-British Exhibition was called, There was inand the British representatives rivalry which unfortunately went far' beyond sportsmanlike feeling an d running m certain cases by the Americans, 'and ctilm lnate{ i ]n the quarter-mile'rSe Tne Americans, whde doubtful of the long distances were sure of the sprints. .But to everybody's surprise, an unknown South Afnoan boy of 19, B. E Walker won the 100 metres, a__ &£' of Canada won the 220. True T?Kn American W won the half-rile and fl^n^F 11^11^' •&> time being Ute inv mh T °°™cC _y' about one mil: ute fifty seconds. But, to quote the Daily News, of July 24th, 1908 "the KT SBS ex? tem / ent ™s 'reserved for the 400 metres (practically 440 yards) Z^ t + hl' ee Ame »^swere oTt heat Lieutenant HaJswelle, Britain's only survn*i„g representative [shS I ■Kr^i^i 121 battle the wa'rj times m the qualifying heats, and in this country, at least was a hot favorite American enthusiasts, however, who W monopolised the stand at the of onemnf UT/* c- unaccoun^bly confident wel?e* T °f,. their, men _defeating Hals«i?_f"u V em?mber t^t stand! It was filled by Americans, shouting their weird rattle, TT' swmging ear-splitting lattles and generally raising pande momum, reaching a climax 8 £th e t three men and Halswelle got into thei marks for the race. -When th° S had proceeded little more than half *»y, says the News, «th c umpires rouVTr Stati,° nfid a t «~-°iS inteVvals round the oval, were seen excitedly rushing on to the track waving the* hands in signal to the judges at the finishing post. Forty or fifty yards be! tore the winning post the judges broke the tape and yelled 'No racl' fw penter, of the States, actually 'finished first, but the judges hoisted a "No race" announcement to the astonished thousRn^n° f °"I°okers '•' The Stadium held 1!? 1° m? lh seemed to b« practically full that day. I have never seen ofitt SCene- aS ffi!^ Wcd! The Americans at first seeing their man finish ahead I fMt <\ e™bl O nP''se~abruptly silenced ;at the No race" sign. Th c judges is- | sued a statement that "the race is void and order the same to be run between strings on Saturday at noon Carpenter is disqualified." The facts were that Hallswoile, who was a very strong •finisher." was glaringly "bored" by Carpenter, who had inside place and ran right across Halswelle at the last ! bend, and Robbie, the second W ' The' W 'at° > insido P«»a-wn. ihe Americans in tho event refused to run m the final. Lieutenant HalWelX , ran alone, and yet without anyon e to push him, and under most unpleaW circumstances, he showed both KSen- : did running ability and his fine heart and, g— ship by doi ng the lisfa^

Another sensation was provided of he same Olympic Games, P ° as most I tape was a game little Italian Kando :r3Srt bdL h° h!KI- fallpn ' n!'-«t done! a snoit distance irom the tape and ! some men l osiri g their heads' an .; a sweltering July da^ tn crSwd" iv e°re terrific. I had left the ofnt-e in London comparative y oarly, bu* it was im]Z £\-?-£ 0t I. nsido Stadium; in i i itself then- were Amaf least more m tho SteduiTn itself In that Marathon Race thoro were runI ncrs from Australasia, C.vp.-ida South Africa, Britain, the Si, to, iSlv '.Irance Finland (the Finn beat ajf jEngland-s cracks!), Sweden, Bohemia Russia, Holland, Germany (her rep^l

Bentative was quite unplaced), Greece, fuid Belgium. If you want to read a splendid description of the first, the original, "Marathon," run from Sparta to lAthens to summon aid against the Persian invaders of Greece, read Browni3g's stifling poem "Pheidippides." It is clear and understandable, which cannot be said of all Browning's poems, for instance, "Sordello," of which a critic once said: "I have read 'Sordello,' and there are only two lines in ifche volume which are intelligible, the first and the last — 'Who wills may hear Sordello's story told,' 'Who wills has heard Sordello's story told'— and these are not true!" j The Christmas number of Land and [Water, which is a most interesting issue with a number of articles from good writers, contains a new poem by Hndyard Kpiling in quite the Kipling manner. It is entitled "The Holy tWar," as was Bunyan's famous book. 'As I have seen no reference to or reprint of the poem in the New Zealand papers, I will quote a verse or two. Tlie poem is headed by the words "For hero lay the excellent wisdom of him that built Mansoul that the walls could never be broken down nor burst by the most mighty adverse potentate unless the townsmen gave consent therto." — Bunyan's "Holy "War.'' \A. tinker out of Bedford, a vagrant oft in quod, 'A private under Fairfax, a minister of God, Two hundred years and thirty ere Armageddon came His single hand portrayed it, and Bunyan was his name. He mapped for those who follow the world in which we are, •"This famous town of Mansoul" that takes the Holy War. fior true and traitor people, the gates along her wall, From Eye-gate unto Feel Gate John Bunyan shewed them all. All enemy divisions, recruits of every - class, And highly screened position for flame or poison gas— The craft that we call modern, the crimes that we call new, John Bunyan had 'em typed and filed in sixteen eighty-two. Emmanuel's vanguard dying for right, and not for rights, My Lord Apollyon lying to the stallfed Stockholmites, Tlie Pope, the swithering neutrals, the Kaiser and his Gott— Their roles, their goals, their naked souls, he knew and drew the lot. A pedlar from a hovel, the lowest of the low, The father of the novel, Salvation's first Defoe, Eight blinded generations ere Armageddon came, Ho showed us how to meet it, and Bunyan was his name. Mr Kipling seems to imply that Daniel Defoe, the author.ot '•Jtiobinsoxi Crusoe" and of many political writings, ■was, after Bunyan, "vie father of the novel." This is a distinction awarded usually, to Samuel Richardson, who .wrote in 1740 "Pamela, or Virtue ite•warded." Speaking in the House during the recent brief session, the Prime Minister remarked that women do not need to be brought under the National Service Act, as they are ready and willing to wors. But are they? It is true that even, in New Zealand a large number of women are doing good work, and our nurses are beyond praise. But there is a large number of women and girls, who have spare time and mean's, who are helping St Patriotic Tea Shops or Red Cross Dqpots; who help when the Thorndon ladies or the Remuera Reserve —or may be the Ramanui Bed Cross ladies—have their day. All these and similar efforts are good and useful, and entail a good deal of work. But does it compare with the months and years of daily unremitting work done in Europe by women in factories and munition works, or with t>he services rendered by our troops? Our women, you say,'would willingly work in munition factories if they could. Yes, but there » one sphere of work where otherwise unoccupied girls and i young women could be of inestimable j patriotic assistance. Women have held various raffle;- for fur coats ?i*d j trousseaux and what not. If any cm j wishes to raise a large sum for a i patriotic fund, to do a truly patri^-v ' and useful work, and to be praised : ■>. talked of from the North Cape to ■>;-. Bluff and beyond, let her do this— ■.' her offer herself in a raffle, the p: •« to be her own ungrudging domes ;i help and service, for the duration • the war, to some mother and fani who sorely need it —there are hundiv.,. of such homes, and any number fr<rj which a man has gone to the front Could any work be more essontml more patriotic, more useful ? ; If aii,v girl will do this, or if two or three hundred girls will take up domestic work, as the best way to give their services to their country and Empire, then we shall know that Mr Massey'a words are justified. It docs not do, I find, to make a mistako in a quotation or reference in •bhis column, as some lynx-eyed person is sure to bowl me out. Last week, by a "lapsus calami," I attributed the authorship of tho verses "To the Lord of Potsdam" to Mr Mostyn T. Pigott, and a reader promptly corrects me, ■pointing out that the real author is •Sir Owen Seaman. The verses, as he says, are printed in Seaman's very olever frolume "The Battle of the Bays," and my correspondent gently rubs in the correction by kindly forwarding bis copy of "The Battle of the Bays." My slip must he due to confusing The Lord of Potsdam" with M. T. Piscott's nr.rody of Soutbey's "Father William," which in one verse also reFers to the Kaiser's telegrams: "You are young," said the Seer, "but the Post you ignore, And have got an extravagant trick Of. using up telegraph-forms by the score— Why are you so painfully quick?" "As a child," replied William, "they taught me to write An entirely illegible scrawl; But a wire which the Post Office people indite Can be read without trouble by all." Another previous correspondent, after o. Parthian shot r.boiit "not my pid-i gin," refers to Jules Verne,, and asks v. by I omitted mention of his greatest .story, "Forty Thousand Leagues i;ndcr the Sea," and suggests that it was Jules Verne's mind "that first gave the idea of the submarine." But surely the idea, if not execution of the idea of a submarine vessel, is earlier than Jules Verne. I have no reference hooks handy, but was not Holland, the American inventor, working on the submarine prior to Jules Verne's book ?