AUCKLAND WEEKLY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13296, 1 October 1906, Page 5

AUCKLAND WEEKLY NEWS.

CHRISTMAS NUMBER. ON SALE TO-DAY. MAGNIFICENT PRODUCTION TWO COLOURED SUPPLEMENTS. A GALLERY OF BEAUTIFUL PICTURES. THE BEST ANNUAL EVER ISSUED. Another Christmas Number of the Auckland Weekly News makes its welcome appearance to-day. This popular and favourite annual has acquired a unique and enviablo position in public estimation. And it has done so by reason of its intrinsic merit. Regarded from a purely artistic and literary point of view, it is unapproached by anything issued from the press in the British colonies, if not in Great Britain itself, To paraphrase a famous passage in one of Lord Macaulay'a essays, it lias no second. It has distanced all its competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them. Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere. This year's Number not only maintains, but enhances, the reputation of this beautiful and interesting publication. It is impossible to conceive of any future Number surpassing it in the happy choice of subjects selected for illustration, in the artistic taste displayed in their arrangement, or in the clearness and finish •with which they are printed. Every picture is a gem— there are more pictures than ever, large and email. There is hardly a single phase of outdoor life which is not here beautifully portrayed. The fairest and loveliest spots of New Zealand's marvellous scenic glories are depicted in all their exquisite allurement, grace, and charm. In turning over the handsome pages of this magnificent production, we seem to be wandering by mount and stream and sea in a laud endowed with untold and indescribable beauties. Picturesque New Zealand is displayed before our eyes with a fidelity to nature, a wealth of detail, and a subtle grace which no pen, however gifted or inspired, could hope to rival, eleven approach. We see as in a clear mirror the life, the characteristics, the physical features, the busy cities, and the rural conditions of the colony forest primeval giving way to the axe of the bushman, the first beginnings of a new settlement in the sombre shadows of standing timber, the shepherd driving his flock, and the harvester at work in fields of waving corn, the Maori at play, and the sportsman in quest of game, the vast Alpine ranges rising snowcapped to the eternal solitudes of the unconquerable heights, the rugged headlands battered and beetled, whose base is for ever washed by the surging sea, the placid lake and the babbling stream, the icy summit of Mount Egmont and the boiling pools of the famous Wonderland, the bustling ports of commerce and the smiling land- ' scape " full of sweet dreams, and health and quiet breathing.". We can imagine nothing better calculated to give to its possessor a pleasing, vivid, and realistic picture of the New Zealand of to-day than this delightful ) Christmas .'' , Number of " the '• Auckland Weekly News. It is impossible to convey by any mere enumeration of its contents an adequate impression either of its unique attractiveness or its artistic excellence. Its pictures, numbering altogether over 2CO, constitute in themselves an art gallery of endless, interest and charm. They cover a very wide range of subjects, but it. is only necessary here to indicate some of the more important . and prominent. Selecting these at random, we must first notice the full-page picture entitled " Life in a New Zealand Maori Kainga; a Quiet Game of Euchre.'' This represents a group of nativesmen, women, and children—engaged in playing cards, or standing around watching the game. It is toe most life-like reproduction of a Maori scene that has ever been printed. Each face is a study, and every detail is brought out with wonderful distinctness. " Stranded in Waipiro Bay " is another excellent full-page illustration, the stormy sky and curling breakers, with the stranded vessel in the centre, being finely treated. "Washing Day: A Study of New Zealand Country Life," is the picture of a comely and pleasant-featured young woman at the wash tub, and is strikingly realistic. There is a beautiful view of Waikaremoana, in the Urewera Country, one of the loveliest, but least known, lakes in the colony. A camp scene in the bush on the route of the North Island Main Trunk railway is exceedingly interesting, not only as showing the nature of the virgin forest through which the line is passing, but the conditions of life which the workmen have to submit to. Another striking and typical forest scene i? a noble kauri tree in the act of falling, while agroup of buhmen watch its overthrow. The Wonderland of New Zealand is an inexhaustible source of interest to all— colonists and tourists alike. Its marvels are well represented in this Number. There is a splendid picture of the beautiful white terrace at Orakei-Korako, a district abounding in thermal wonders, and an admirable series of views of the Whakarewarewa geysers, and the native village at Ohinemutii. We have also a novel picture of Maggie Papakura, the- well-known native guide, and illustrations of canoe-racing on Lake Rotoraa—a favourite summer pastime in Maoriland. The majestic and imposing glories of the Southern Alps are represented in views of the Franz Josef glacier, Mount Cook, and from a point near the Bealey River. Nor are the mountain heights of the North Island neglected. There are pictures of Mount Egmont and the great volcanic cones of >gauruhoc and Runpehu. Among the other illustrations mention may be made of the magnificent Wairua Falls, scenes on the Wanganui River, Nugget Point, on the coast of Otago, " Packhorses Crossing the l'aturau River," " Some Young New Zealanders," " Motoring in Maoriland," " The End of a Day's Fishing on the Whirinaki River," "Scenes in Auckland Harbour," "New Zealand Farm Scenes," " The Cold Lakes - Region, Maori Children in Geys;erland,' " Sporting Scenes in New Zealand," " Agriculture in New Zealand," "Port Lyttelton," "Rafting Logs on a Tidal Creek," "Views of Auckland and Dunedan," " Santa Claus in His Maori Depot," etc. The Number is enclosed in a rich and handsome cover, and with each copy is given away " a magnificent presentation plate, entitled "By the Shores of Old Romance," together with a large coloured picture representing a beautiful view on the Wanganui River. The former is a charming figure study from the brush of . a leading English artist. The literary contents open with an admirably-written descriptive sketch of New Zealand, followed by " The Rose and the Mignonette," a prose poem, | by L.F.S.; "The Light Illuming," by H.C.R.; "Mrs. Dove's Dinner," by Mrs. Leo Myers;" " Toi-Toi's Travel." a. story for children, by Hilda Keane; "Why the Moon Was Made," by R. Draykell, etc. All j the contributions reach a high standard of excellence, and are exceedingly interesting. The Number, which will be on sale to-day, is beautifully printed on superfine paper, and ,ve do not hesitate to predict that the unanimous verdict regarding it will be that it is a fascinating masterpiece, delightful, refreshing, and original, a credit not only to Auckland* but to the colony* . <