MR. PHIL ROBINSON’S LECTURE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 878, 28 December 1888, Page 1

MR. PHIL ROBINSON’S LECTURE.

Mr Phil Robinson is the second war correspondent who has lectured in New Zealand, his predecessor having been Mr .Archibald Forbes, of immortal but egotistic memory—hero of many startling adventures and associate of crowned heads. Mr Sala we have had also, to be sure, but his career has been in Courts rather than in camps, and, although ho might rank as high in the journalistis world as Mr Robinson and Mr Forbes, ho had not the romantic title, “ war correspondent,” to conjure with, nor are his “ Twice Round the Clock ” or his “ Travels in Search of Beef” equal to the “Noah’s Ark” and “In My Indian Garden” pf Mr Phil Robinson, professor of literature, logic, and metaphysics. As a lecturer, however, Mr Sala is the boat of the three, having more of the flavour of the showman about him. Mr Forbes was, gruff and short; and Mr Robinson, although he has a pleasant way of telling his stories, tells them in a disjointed manner and in rather too muoh of a conversational style. Nathless, his lecture last Friday was both instructing and entertaining, and the excellence of the matter made up for shortcomings in the delivery. The title of the lecture—“On the Warpath ’’—was pregnant with startling details of deeds of derring do, of hairbreadth escapes and of intimate association with the monarchs and military geniuses of the earth. Fortunately Mr Robinson was engaged in the “little wars" in Afghanistan, Zululand, Egypt and the Soudan, where there were no crowned heads. We call this fortunate because it obviates harassing doubts in honest minds as to.whether the lecturer has really been hail fellow welljmefc with the salt of the earth. The lecture, however, was not so pretentious as its title would indicate ; it was simply the reminiscences of a man who had seen exciting times, pleasantly related, but hardly delivered in the formal lecture style. Mr Robinson has a good deal of humour, quite of the American order, which he showed at the outset in describing how war ,correspondents wore selected partly for their good looks—before lie joined ; and giving a fancy sketoh of the rulers of the Daily Telegraph'unanimously agreeing that “Robinson could be spared.” Immediately from this Mr Robinson jumped to Afghanistan, where he was first under- fire (and “in a mortal funk”); where also he was nearly.destroyed by a shell ; was shot at by an Afghan and by Englishmen, and in short had many remarkable esoapos, which would lead one to infer that his life was preserved, to him by special dispensation of providence. Subsequently Mr Robinson was in Zululand, and lightly touched tho principal events of the campaign. It was after this that he was in San Francisco when the Egyptian war broke out; and being commissioned by the St James’ Gazette and Daily Chronicle, he made the quickest journey on record tp Egypt, flis description of the battle of Tel-01-Kebir was oae of the best things from a diamatio point of view in the lecture, and the brief account of the adventures of the Grenadier Guards in the-Sweet.water Canal was given in a light, humorous style which was very enjoyable. Upon the subject of Tel-el-Kebir Mr Robinson said that the black Soudanese, by whose aid Osman Digna wa? defeated a day or two ago, were described by Gordon as the bravest men under the sun ; and the lecturer expressed an opinion that Osman Digna deserved to be defeated for putting Arabs into the trenbbes, where, good Eden ds they were in the bush, they were quite outof tlieir element. Of the Soudan also, Mr Robinson hadmany interesting stories to tell, and his remarks on the Australian Contingent are worth reproducing. When they arrived, he said, it was amusing 'to see their innocence of discipline ; and the offioers, before whom they were reviewed, had to turn their heads away so that they might not be seen laughing. In a fortnight, howelver, they had pulled themselves together, and the army confessed that there was not a regiment to beat them in marching and in ordinary camp discipline.' Re had seen them march as he never saw soldiers march before ; they had the real grit of soldiers in them. Before they arrived the Coldstreams were said to be the hardest swearers in the camp, but after the Australians came “the Coldstreams shut up and used to ‘ mouch ’ around the camp and listen.” But both of them, if tbey could swear, could fight, too. Reference was also made to the sensation caused by the practice of the Australians of singing “God save the Queen,” after their Sunday morning services. Dealing with Lord Wolseley’s plan of attack on Tel-el-Kebir, Mr Robinson remarked that Lord Wolseley was unpopular because he could not tolerate stupidity, and consequently one half of‘the Army disliked him. The lecture was concluded with a graphie_ account of the death of the Prinoe Imperial, with the circumstances of which Mr Robinson was well acquainted, because of his having presided at the examination of the survivors. It should be mentioned that the audience was a very large one, and included his Excellency the Gbvernor and a party from Government House. Had Mr Robinson been able to deliver a second lec-

ture in Wellington we feel sure it would have been well patronised.