ON THINGS IN GENERAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11232, 29 November 1899, Page 3

ON THINGS IN GENERAL.

SPORT. | To a spectator of the amateur athletic sports | on Saturday, which were witnessed by between 3000 and 4000 people, two questions might woll have suggested themselves, lirst, what was it that attracted so many ladies; and, second, aro tbeso desperate efforts to reach a piece of tapo before tho other fellow as healthful as it is fashionable to pretend to believe? Regular exercise, such as the drill which is now part of the daily round of every up-to-date school, is certainly good, and no doubt a steady half-mile or mile run is an excellent thing for keeping young fellows physically up to the mark; but this is very different from the terrible strain and utter exhaustion of what is called a splendid, finish. For instance, on Saturday one young fellow, after falling over tho tape, lay on his hack for some minutes, unable to speak or inovo, and had to bo lifted up and supported off tho ground by his friend;. Can such violent exertion bo beneficial to health? Olio would think not; but, as a matter of fact, our young fellows do not seem much the worse for it. As long as we don't prolong the agony too much, no harm is likely to ho done. We have not yet learned to delight in those awful cycling races lasting for days, which havo driven some of the competitors mad, ami disgusted tho rightthinking portion of the American public. LADY SPECTATORS. As to tho laxly spectators. Tho most casual observer of Saturday's races in the Domain could seo that, not ono in 10 of tho women folk took tho slightest interest in tho various events on the programme. Tho great majority did not know, neither did they want to know, who won or who lost. They were simply there to seebut not the sports—and to bo seen. When the amateur athletic gatherings were a new thing in our midst, the ladies did at least make a pretence of being interested in the contests, but now most of thorn will admit quite candidly th.it tlioy come to see tho people. It is an excuse for them to wear their new summer clothes—the November meeting is just about the right time for that— and to see what others are wearing. Homo people may be inclined to deplore this lovo of finery as an indication of a frivolous disposition; Imt, after all, the fondness of women for what is new and striking in dress adds not a little to the brightness of what some of lis at times feel to Ix l a rather dull and matter-of-fact world. Besides, the wearers of the daintiest costumes on holiday occasions aro often the hardest of workers in the homo. It does a mail's hoart good to see the ladies decked out in all their glory, even though the poor beings in coats and trousers dwindle into insignificance in such splendid eompanv. Wo owo tho ladies our best thanks for lending lifo and brillianeo to our public gatherings, so let them oomo, 110 matter what their object in coming may he. OUR EDUCATION 1 SYSTEM. A few years ago 110 0110 bill a verv hold man would have ventured to say in public that our public school system was not perfect. All that has, however, changed. Everyone now admits that it is all wrong, but no one seen*! to agree as to how it should he righted. We havo had suggestions innumerable from innumerable quarters, and the election spec,.lies have contributed their fair share. One candidate has just proposed that the children should be taught something about public speaking, it is not quite clear what is m"ant by his, but it certainly would be a good tiling to teach the Iwvs and girls at school how much, or how little, attention the speeches of political orators aro worth. It would be well to teach them to study public questions for themselves, and to nay little heed to the babel of voices during election campaigns. This would bo teaching them something about public speaking. Rut if the candidate who made the suggestion means that they should be taught the art of speaking in public, ill order that when they come to years of discretion—or rather to years when they ought to have discretion— may swell the din, then I for one say " Heaven forbid." If every lxi.v and girl in our schools is to he made a public speaker, the sooner peaceful, inoffensive people get out of the world the heller. It would not matter where tliev went to. bemuse the change could not well be for the worse. ST. ANDREW. To-morrow is St. Andrew's Day. People don't seem to know much about him, except hat the inhabitants of Scotland have somehow managed to monopolise him. The elTect of this is that some people seem to have a hazy idea that St. Andrew was a Scotchman. The Russians, however, claim him as the • founder of their Church, and pay croat rover- I onco to him. His body. or. at any rale, his bones, seem to have travelled more after his death than during hi - life. Tradition tells us tint lie suffered martyrdom, and war. buried in Aehaia, but early in the fourth contury his remains were removed to Constantinople by the Kmnoror Constantino. The repose of his honec was, however, again disturbed about 30 years after the death of Constantino. when a reek monk took them to Scotland and deposited thorn somewhere near i where the famous city and cathedral of St. Andrew afterwards arose. Of course modern know-alls will tell us that this is mere tradition, hut as they can't prove it is not true, whv should they look down upon those who believe it. There is no reason why St. Andrew should not have suffered martyrdom in | Achaia, and having suffered there it is probable ho was buried there. And if hr was buried there, why should not Ihe hones removed to Constantinople have been his, and was it impossible for ,1 fireek monk to dig them up again and take them to Scotland. So if tho story is not impossible, and if it cannot bo disproved, why should not thoso people who like to believe it do so, without being ridoulod by those annoying, superior person? whoso self-imposed mission is to go about- the world nutting everybody right. It lias been said there is only one thing in tho world worse than a. man with a mission, and that is a woman with a mission. TnE General,