WEEKLY WHISPERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 25 September 1909, Page 2

WEEKLY WHISPERS

J/ litre's a hob in a' your c*di, I rtdt yt tent it f ■»• Aehutiamangyetahn 1 tutts, And,faith,ht'Utrtittit. •— Bum*. Mr Clement Wragge has- not dona forecasting the weather; but the West Coast Press Association " correspondents, owing to "that tired f'eelingA'ha've&iied to send Nelson his lucubrations. It -is. a singular coincidence,, though, that since there has been a surcease of: Wragge-' forecasts, •Nelson "; weather has been of the improved 'kind,. Probably the coincidence is' merely due to the fact that there has been no particular "-weather?' to- forecast, as meteorologists: do not bother unless a disturbance, is «oming along. One is here vaguely reminded of the analogy of the clericir gentleman who saia that Providence -had almost invariably placed navigable; rivers and seas in the vicinity -.of large population centres, overlooking ."the ..feet that had there been no navigable waters, originally in the vicinity the localities would not' have been so chosen for-* large (population centres.. < '"".' t • c « •. '■ - Castles in Spain aie very nice .--. things to build, 'but how many of us would care to reaUy.;- liY& ; > in that country, where woman is counted of so little importance? The average woman's life in the land of hidalgos is very little freer now than it was-, in the days of Desdemoaa. The wealthy have their seasons of balls, receptions, and dinner parties, and . their regular trips to Paris and Lon- : don, but the- women of -the .middle - class lead a life which seems to ba . second to none • for dulness. . L* the smaller towns especially life is most monotonous, and could: scarcely be endured if the women were better educated. There is little social intercourse, for "afternoon caUs. «c seldom .made; visitors to tea or . lunch, are very, very rare; while ? a guest staying ,in the_ house is "unknown.- A feY <womeh receive their acquaintances on" stated' days, but even then, refreshments, are - neverserved. There is to; a foreign mind a, general air of discomfort in a Spanish house, for. there \is no fireplace and no domestic hearth. Spaniards do. not think their country ia ever cold, so they rarely^build fire- - places; even in the wealthiest houses, and if the icy winds do blow they sit shivering^ or huddle over a brasera. ' ' The men 'do „. not pate »c home-life— in fact, no such word as home exists in the language— and they .amuse, -themislves with their friends playing games of ehanee at the favourite cafes; or attending cockfights, while their wives -attena to their household duties, go to thsir church daily, and spend the rest of their time reading or sewing in their ■■ stuffy little roms. ' • - A halo of romance still.c lings to courtship in Spain, The lover still twangs tha guitar beneath the , lady^s "window while she. still lets '-. down note*., to him on a silken thread. But' the glamour is somewhat spoiled by the fact that the custom is sanctioned by. the •parents, _ and no irate father -ever rushes - ont "". to. Wreak' his wrath on the singer. The fact is: that girls are kept so secluded that if these- practices werestopped there would be -no chance of a father -getting his daughters off his hands, and how much thiß means to a Spaniard .may be judged from the proverb. "Three daughters and ' : a mother are four devils for a father'" Mosti'Spaflish girla marry at VI; if unmarried at 20 she begins to think herself an old maid. At 35, if. still a, spinster, she retires from -the -.world, an embittered woman, and either enters a .convent or goes to live ; with " a married memjbjer '. ot . Sjer. family, ■' " where she plays ifchepart of maiden ' aunt for the rest of her dteary: life. • -. • • •■'».•• ;...-,. The .average" schoolmaster, '••who 1 is ' nothing if not- dogmatic- i'haß Aibeen taking definite .sides in the .'J'eatyCook rivalry about discovering; the North Pole, and the generally accepted notion in this district has- been that Codlin (Peary) is the man,- and not Short (Cook). In some schools, so it is said, teachers have not hesitated to declare Dr. Cook's claims untenable, and he ha scqme 'in.; for some hard knocks,' which doubtless, will ' distress him greatly' 'whsnA "he hears of th^m. But, in; view of tho . attitude of New York, whose people are nearer the-r heart of things' than we are, it would be wise to suspend final judgment till there, is more evidence from both" men. In .any.-case, Commander Peary is not shaping up to the traditional big-man "form; and, . as "Moff": "pro visoed when the news of the rivalry "first came, Dr. Cook is not to De cast .aside lightly *s :a sort of de : Rougeinont. ' -Schoolmasters when ruling, their microcosm should, remember that it is. disastrous . to their prestige among 'th'efo . young subjects to make mistakes. ' Hence, till full proofs are to hand,., some reticence in judgment by 'pedagogues might be wise. The appearance of' a countryman - in a recent court. <!ase recalls the memtory of a boyi ah^prank;. that -was.played on him _me j*bu or' twelve years ago. He vand "'"his - wife- were driving by night through the. outskirts -of one of- the townships near. "' Nelson, when .suddenly: from- a .veiunxß of trees a challenge to stand W"* heard, and simultaneously there was a flash and a whizz across the horse's back, a figure on tne roadside using seen in the attitude Of firing a pistol or gun. The horse was much frightened, and so was the 'settler's, wife, and the man got out of tho trap .and crawled through the fenCß, . seeking to discover his asailant. 7 " mendaible caution • the. settler. v Jay' prone while ho made his' investigation's; but his assailants, were" lying doggo," ;and could not be found. The settler then went- excitedly .into the township and informed -. the local .policeman that he' hadt been stuck up' by atfarmßd^Tobber/who had shot at him, and, ' missing, had fled. Immediately, rthe .vicinity- Was scoured by policeman and residents* for several hours. But in the course of- a-'fenv-: days the hunt was suddenly 'dropped, . at the settler's own request. "..It then transpired that some rascal boys had a toy cannon which they had! . mounted on a wooden stock," and thejr used to fire it with a match, the lvea» pon being held gun (fashion: to the shoulder. On the- night in question the little imps we>* 'after .starlings,--bnt mischief prompted : the owner- of ■ the cannon to shoot at the passing.' trap and cry _' 'stand and deliver. '' '•■■■ Th© -narrator of the "reminiscence says that the way he and his, comrades scooted over paddocks and fences after the shot-had ibeett' fired ;ea- ■ taibliahed a record,' in '. spite of "{two or three precious minutes ; lost in 'exttrieating one _ tier's .unmentionables" from a .barbed . wire • fence, 'iy Tha 'real perpetrators , of • . ' the outrage .. ' .were never . caughtr-they.: are • now young mon' 'in various 1 walks "of life, • and occasionaUy r they 'smile over -the scare", they caused in a peace village." ■. " '-:.". A MOFUSSILITR. . •' .-__±_^.y^i..\r.s \\i- .-•.ji'o-,