HERE AND THERE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1683, 1 June 1904, Page 16

HERE AND THERE.

Beethoven worked at every bar of his music until it was charged with precisely the meaning he intended to put into it and nothing more. He took a story—out of his own life, the life of a friend, a play of Gceth-e ov Shakespeare —and he laboured, eternally altering and improving, until at last every phrase expressed just the emotions lie himself felt. The evolution of his themes, as revealed in the sketch-books, shows how passionately and patiently he worked at this. There is the art of Beethoven—he set truth of expression above everything, continuing the work begun by Mozart. On his death-bed he read the works of Handel. “There,” he said, “there is truth” -

Excepting Froude. I think Carlyle the most detestable of historians (said Lord Acton. He lived on the thought of Germany when it was not at its best, between Herder and Richter, before the .age of discipline and science. . . But he had historic grasp—which is a rare quality—some sympathy with things that are not evident, and a vague, fluctuating notion of the work of impersonal forces. There is a flash of genius in “Past and Present” apd in “The French Revolution,” though it is wretched history. And he invented Oliver Cromwell. That is the positive result of him, that and his personal influence over many considerable minds—a stimulating, not a guiding, influence ; as when Stanley asked what he ought to do, and Carlyle answered. “Do your best 1”

The German Empress, says an English journal, has been an invalid for .several months. During her stay at Berlin she has been accompanied by her married sisters, who have given lier their consolation and help. It was intended that she should remove to the Marble palace at Potsdam, but later arrangements would seem to indicate that in May she will go to Wiesbaden for a course of the waters.

When King Edward smokes a cigar the hands are religiously torn into four pieces every time. The reason is that once, at Marienbad. it came to the ear of the King that a hand from round one of the Royal cigars, 'which was stamped with the Royal arms, bad been sold by

an indiscreet waiter for five guineas. / The man who -bought it attached the band to a similarly-made cigar, and went round showing the cigar to his friends, —saving it had been given to him by the King. -

This anecdote, related of Disraeli by Millais, is told by Mr Sichel in his new book - about Disraeli: —“When Disraeli stood (though then suffering, he refused to sit) for his portrait, his ‘dear Apelles’ noticed his gaze riveted on an engraving of the artist's fine portrait of Mr Gladstone. *Would you care to have it?’ lie to you/ T should he delighted to have it,’ was the reply. ‘Don’t imagine that I have ever disliked Mr Gladstone; on the contrary, my only difficulty with him has been. that I could never understand him.’”

What is the market value of an Edgar Allan Poe autograph? a writer in the “St. James’s Budget” wonders. The signature had a highish price before the position of the unfortunate genius had become so well established in popular favour as has since happened. A correspondent wrote to Horace Greeley forty odd years ago:—“ln your extensive correspondence you have undoubtedly several autographs of the late distinguished American poet, Edgar Allan Poe. If so, will you please favour me with one?” It was pretty cooly but the recipient was not perturbed by the cheeky nature of the letter. He replied as follows: —“I happen to have in my possession but one autograph of tlie late .American poet, Edgar A. Poe. It consists of an lOU, with my name on the back of it. It cost me just 50dol. You can have it for half-price.” There is no record of a deal having followed. « * *

"When Sir Edwin Arnold said he had Y composed “The Light of Asia’ “in the > brief intervals of days without leisure, ’ he hardly did justice .to the curious feat he really in reeling off all that blank verse ex tempore. The poem was actually improvised when Sir Ed* win, after a hard day’s journalistic work, on the sofa evening by evening ‘‘""and dictated to his wife. This was his second wife, an American lady, granddaughter of Dr Channing. One of the most primitive cricket matches that ever took place was played on a village common, the umpire on the occasion being a jolly, good-natured old 0 man, blissfully ignorant of the laws of l ' cricket. In addition to his official post £ as umpire, he was the village caterer for : every public entertainment, and consequently supplied luncheon at all the matches. It was evident that his thoughts in the field were about equally - i divided between the responsibilities of Y: his two duties, for he frequently perY united the bowUv to bowl as many as Y ten balls in an ovsr, giving as his excuse—“HMi't—— uoan s - have a bit o’ exercise he woan’t relish my steak pie!”

The “Strand Magazine” for April con-

tains a feature of the most striking in-' terest to all classes of beiug the opening chapters of “The Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt.” The recollections of the greatest actress of our time give the full story of her stage career, in which her opinions of English actors and of the theatrical life of this country will be found especially entertaining. Moreover, Madame Bernhardt has, of course, met nearly all the celebrated people of the day, from royalty downwards, .and her "reminiscences will he full of amusing anecdotes of persons well known in the social world. The articles will he illustrated by many portraits and other pictures never before published.

The most extraordinary plant ever discovered was found by Mr Suverkrop, of Philadelphia, in South America. It takes a drink whenever it feels thirsty by letting down a tube into the water, the tube when not in use being coiled up on top of the plant. “Among the orchids,” says the discoverer, “I noted one, the lower end of which was in the water to a depth of about four inches/’ He at once went over to examine his discovery. His surprise may be imagined when he touched the plant to see this centre stem gradually contract itself, and roll itself up in a spiral-like roll of tape. By subsequent observation he found that when the plant was in want of' water, this tube would gradually unwind till it dipped into the water. Mr Suverkrop found many of these plants., all directly over the water, or over where the water had been. In the.latter case he says it was almost pitiful to ' see how this tube would work its way over the ground in search of the water that was not.

Among the Russian Students expelled from Prussia was a young man named Mandelstamm, of whom the “Vonvarts” publishes the following startling story: On cue occasion recently Mandelstamm in company with several oilier prisoners in Siberia, was being transported to his. destination, when the prisoners complained that their rations were being pilfered by middlemen. One of the prisoners who made the complaint to the officer incharge was ordered to be shot. The officer, turning to the prisoners, asked, “Has anyone any further complaint to make?” A second prisoner began to make a complaint, and was met by a bullet. “Any more complaints?” asked the officer, believing he had now cowed his gang. Mandelstamm stepped forward: “Yes,” he said. “I have a complaint.” Mandelstamm’,s singular courage had such an effect on the officer that he refused to have him shot.

Colonel Otter, who commanded the Canadian infantry contingent in South Africa, has been thrown from his horse, and is suffering from concussion of the brain. It is doubtful whether he will recover. The horse was the same that he rode at Paardoberg. Colonel Otter was expected to be the.first Canadian commander of the militia.

The Eiuperor Francis Joseph of Austria has become a great grandfather by the birth of a son to The Princess Elizabeth of Windiscli-Graetz. The Princess Elizabeth is the only child of the late Crown Prince Rudolph by his marriage with the Princess Stephanie, now Countess Lonyay. She married Prince Otto of Windiscli-Graetz in 1802, and so renounced all lier rights to the Austrian succession.

Lord Villiers, wlio l#is been gambling successfully at Monte Carlo, is twentynine and still unmarried, and,. as he is very good looking and very good tempered, and moreover has Royal blood in his veins : —one of his ancestresses having been a sister of Henry VIII. and Queen Dowager of France—he may he regard : ed, whatever his luck at Monte Carlo, as one of the desirables of the Edwardian era.

Tiie last of Garibaldi’s “Thousand,” Major Rovighi, has just died. He was one of the little hand of 1085 men who, under the command of Garibaldi, captured Marsala in 1860, and attempted to occupy Sicily. Every year the survivors of the “Thousand” used to celebrate their exploit's, after the English fashion, by a dinner, until now the last of them lias passed away.

4ft • A correspondent is surprised that the word “had” can be made to' occur three times successively in an ordinary English sentence. He has caught the chairman of an insurance company announcing—of course, through the oblique narration of the reporter—that “the troubles which they had had had ceased. ’ his is nothing to “that” and its possibilities of .recurrence. You may affirm that that “that” that that speaker indicated was not that “that” that that gentleman intended.

Quetta society has been pleasantly titillated of late by the visit of a Russian officer, who appears to have been suspected by the authorities of coming out of the pages of “Kim.” This is Colonel Komiloff, of the Russian General Staff, who was allowed to witness reviews of the British and native troops, hut when he expressed a desire to be shown over the defences of Quetta his request was gently, but firmly, refused.

Sir Michael Hicks Beach has two Parliamentary peculiarities—a perpetual twitching of his eyelids when addressing the House, and a habit of soliloquising aloud when others were speaking, in the Liberal Parliament of 1893, when the Conservatives and the Irish Nationalists were sitting together, on the Opposition benches, the Irishmen frequently overheard Sir Michael’s candid opinions of his political contemporaries. One member, at least, has had the privilege of hearing Sir Michael thoughtfully consigning Mr Chamberlain to political perdition.

In one of his speeches as GovernorGeneral of the Commonwealth, the Marquis of Linlithgow, then Earl of Hopetoun, humorously referred to the time when the embarassing duty was thrust upon him of seeing that the dresses of the ballet girls at the Alhambra did not erf in brevity. Evidently lie does not anticipate holding the office of Lord Chamberlain again. In a letter to one of his old Melbourne friends, he remarks :—“I have given up all political and social positions, and intend to take the' rest of my life easily at my house with my wife and family. lam thank ful to say that I am in better health than I have been for many years. Perhaps some fine day I may take a run out to Australia. I cannot, and never shall, forget the Commonwealth and its people.”

The Japanese can win distinction at the desk of the counting house as readily as in a sea fight. One who obtained a situation with an English firm on trial was asked a few days alter his appointment by the cashier to write to a customer who had owed some money to the house for a long time, and who seemed -to have no intention of paying. “Write briefly and politely,” said the cashier, “but let him understand distinctly that we expect him to pay the money without further delay.” The letter ivas written, and on the following day came a cheque for the amount due. The surprised cashier asked the new clerk to show him a copy of the letter which had been so effectual. It ran thus: —“Dear Sir, —If you do not send us at once the money you owe us, we shall be obliged to. take steps which will cause you the utmost astonishment. — Respectfully yours, ——” The form seems to combine Oriental subtlety and Western point.

The combination of a small Kansas town ship with a übiquitous press and democratic inquisitiveness sounds appalling. So it is, unless, like Ah. Harvey, of Shannon (Kan.), you know just how to take it. Ah., it appears, is an old widower, and recently had the audacity to' take a young girl to the local theatre on Saturday night. He knew what the results must he, hut lie was prepared for them, and the next issue of the Shannon “Times” contained the following proclamation from him: —“Because I took a young girl to the theatre last night, for heaven’s sake don’t imagine I am in love with her, or going to marry her. I took her because X had two tickets, because she was crazy to go, and because none of .the young men invited her. I let one of the young men sit with her, and another took her homo. Another one might have taken her to the theatre door for all I eared. I don’t care so much for young girls. Needn't worry about my wanting to marry one. I wouldn’t if I could. They make mo pretty weary—particularly the real pretty ones.”

A rather humorous incident occurred at Osaka the other day after the receipt cf the news of a Japanese coup. A torchlight procession was immediately organised, one of the leading actors of Japan being the life and soul of the public rejoicings. When the fun was all over this gentleman discovered that a pickpocket had robbed him of a gold watch which lie had received as a present from the Czar when lie performed before the Russian court. The fact that this souvenir should have been taken while lie was celebrating a Russian defeat was in itself rather comical, for in the existing circumstances the recipient had been almost nervous to let anyone know he had got this mark of the goodwill towards him of the enemy his nation was fighting. He took no steps to recover his property, hut three days later a carefully packed parcel was left by a messenger at bis hotel. It contained the lost watch and a note to say that the thief found he could do nothing with such “lootj” so he returned it to the owner.

Herr Otto Suermondi, an officer of the German army, has arrived at New York bearing an autograph letter from the Kaiser to President Roosevelt. The Kaiser wrote asking the New York Customs officials to extend their courtesy to his courier, but some underling of the department stole the request, probably as a souvenir, and the Customs officials subjected the officer to the customary rigorous search.

The heart of La Tour-4’Auvergne, “the first grenadier of France.” is to be transferred from its burial place in the Pantheon to the Domes des Invalides. The ceremony will be executed with a great military display, and instead of the funeral music usual on such occasions the bands will ©lay military

marches. Theophile de la Tour'd’Auvergne, who is- one of the most popular French heroes, was a prisoner of war in Cornwall from 1794 till 1797. He was a great Celtic scholar.

Little Filipino boys are having a great time m American schools. One of them describes how his companion at a school in California invited him to join in their games. “But the same were greatly nought, so I preferred to look on.” He is more interested in the American girls, who are “very fine and beautiful.” Tueir frankness is quite startling to a little Filipino. ‘They made friends so easily that it nearly took away my breath. In our country girls always wait for the men to speak, and smile and make friends. Here the giria do it all most freshly.”

The municipality of Dieppe lias just eompletea the purchase of the ancient fortress of that town, which figured largely in the history o£. both France and England, it was constructed in 1435, during the British occupation, on the little hdi which dominates ‘the city and the coast, and was intended as a check to the invaders, in possession of the fortress of Arques. The Duchess de Longueviiie made a remarkable descent from one of the windows during the stormy period of IGSO, when she fled to Holland. M. Coche, the Mayor, lias been ihe prune mover in securing the svrongiitnu for"the town, the sum paid being izo IAMf. (£5000).

There is now a floating menagerie voyaging f. om Melbourne to London. It contains some thousands of Australian birds ana animals. A rare species of “wallaby,” or dwarf kangaroo, is going vo mo Hon. Walter Rothschild, the most enthusiastic of amateur animal * collectors. A" family of emus is bound tor one zoological Gardens, Leipsic. Mr jamsj Cooper, tne owner of the menagerie, makes an annual excursion of this sort from vustralia bo England, but his present cargo is the-biggest he has ever taken. lx embraces kangaroos, emus, waiinbies, black swans, white cockatoos, all sorts of parrots and pigeons, ducks, (inches, cassowaries, opossums and magpies.

Her; Rednitzer and his wife were travelling on the Jvaschau Qedenberg railway, m Hungary when a young man enfe o;i the carriage at* a small .station and took up his seat opposite Frau Rednitzer, He stared at the lady so hard that her husband clianged places with his wife. I'hereupon the stranger threw uimseif upon the lady, crying, “I musi la. e vengeance on you; you have played me false.” and began to throttle her. Herr Rednitzer tried (,o recue his w fe, but the other threw him off, drew a knife, and stabbed wildly around him. It was not till three officials arrived that the man was secured.

The minister of the Anglo-American Church in Vienna, the Rev. Thomas Dlavidson has been requested by an English lady living there to exorcise her departed husband’s spirit. lady, who has been some years a widow, was recently asked by an Austrian gentleman to marry him. At the moment, howeve:- that she murmured “Yes,” the angry and threatening face of her late husband appeared before her. The same apparition has come to dash the cup of happiness from her lips since then every time that any signs of tenderness are exchanged between the pair. Mr Davidson who is a well-known member of the Folklore Society, hopes to relieve the unfortunate woman of her delusion by the force of suggestion. o*o

Did John Bums invent the phrase, ‘•Hell with the lid off?” If not, who did? America is violently agitating the question, and the answers ih has provoked are taking a wide sweep. Some say that Mr Burns, far away from the speakers authority, was me first to use it in reference to Labour conditions in America. Others declare that Mark Twain originated it to convey his impressions of Cincinatti. Others again, with a singular lack of gallantry, go bail for it that the words fell from the bps of Sarah Bernhardt when she first saw Pittsburg at night. Still others are confident that it was first by Dr Parkliurst to describe New York under Tammany rule.

Mr F. A. La Roche, the American automobilist, is having a racer of 180 horse-power constructed in the Darracq factory at Puteaux from designs prepared by himself. Mr La Roche expects that the racer will be capable of a mile straightway in less than 40 seconds. and a mile on a circular course in 47 seconds. The racer is to be known as the La Roche Comet.

The following good resolutions made out L the San Francisco club-woman might with advantage be practiced generally:-!- I will try to be cheerful. 9 T will discountenance mannishness. a f W ill not talk about myself my seror my household unduly. 4. I wdl try to cultivate tact. 5> I will try to concentrate my thoughts and to speak concisely when addressing my club-mates. 6. I will try to be loyal to my club president when she Is doing her k es t for angels can do no more. 7. I will attend my committees on time, and with a full reDorb—-God helping me.

Amongst .tlie varied industries that are carried on In Leeds is that of pulling the hair out of rabbit skins, and making it into the felt that is used in the manufacture of ordinary bowler-hats. The better the hat the more rabbit fur it contains. The bluer the hair the more suitable is it for this purpose. One local firm has no fewer than 180,000 rabbit skins now in stock. These will first be dried, and'the hair pulled out by a staff of girls. This fluffy stuff- will -then be treated by a patent process which makes it into the sort of .felt with which the wearer of a bowler bat. is familiar. Dogs and ferrets are' kept by the'firm to keep down the rats, who seem rather partial to rabbit skins.

Sir Herman Weber, himself an octogenarian, lecturing before the Royal College of Physicians, stated tiiat brain work never kills anybody, rather the reserve.

Writing on musical matters in •'•'The Court Circular and Court News," Mr Henry R. Bird, the popular accompanist, tells an interesting experience. One of my Royal summonses (he says) was a very swift affair indeed. Queen Alexandra is a very thorough musician, and often summons artists at unexpected moments. Once Miss Ada Crossley was summoned to sing before their Majesties, and was only notified at halfpen ten in the morning that she would be required at half-past four in the afternoon. Directly she received the 'command" she wired to my house for my services. As luck would have it. I was at the time absent at a friend’s house. In the middle of my visit a cab drove up to the door, and my wife appeared with the news that I must instantly prepare myself for an appearance at the Palace. My experience is that the greater the artist to he accompanied the less the anxiety of the accompanist. Such an artist lias a settled treatment of every song, and to fall in with it is but an easy' task for the artistic pianist."

Mr W. H. Grenfell, M.P., who presided on the occasion of the 1904 annual dinner held at the Hotel Cecil a few days ago, was very entertaining. “I was reminded the other day," he said, “of a friend of mine who frequents the British Museum, who was daily annoyed by long angling stories told him by a gentleman who resorted to the same temple of learning. At last he was so exasperated that, quietly and unobserved, lie placed upon his friend’s desk the following lines, which have some little point as containing what some may consider to he a double meaning:— r Upon a river bank serene A fisher stood where all was green, And looked it. He saw, just as the light grew dim, A fish, or else the fish saw him, And hooked it. At night, with high erected comb, He brought that fish (or story) home, And cooked it. “Of course this is applicable nob to •any of the gentlemen I see around me, but only to those who are more capable of cooking stories than fish.” » #• * The famous melodrama, “The Silver King," has reached its majority, and is able to boast, on entering into- its twenty first birthday, of having realised no less a sum than six millions sterling. It has been played thirty thousand times. During the whole period of its stage existence it has been under the control of Mr Wilson Barrett. The play was the joint work of Henry Hermann and Henry Arthur Jones, and it is recorded that it- took them fourteen months to is to say, ib lay upon the literary anvil during that period. Very , few of the original cast have attained to fame on the stage. Mr Willard, who distinguished himself in the first cast, lias since risen to great celebrity as an actor; Mr Herman, one of the joint authors, is deadq-and the first leading lady and the chief comedian (James Barrett) of the original company have also- passed over to the majority.

'A unique achievement by M. Touchefc, the French astronomer, is mentioned in one of the scientific papers. He has succceeded in obtaining the photograph of a terrestrial object by the light of the Hog Star, that is to say, by light which comes neither directly nor by reflection from the sun. The rays which he succeeded in concentrating so that they photographed a small brooch, nnist have started from Sirius some time about February 1894. The imagination alto* sether fails to grasp what the brilliance of the star must he when its rays have still sufficient power to take an ordinary nhotoirraph after traversing the incredible distance represented by nine years knd nine months reduced to seconds, aid then multiplied .by 187,500, m order to express it in miles.

: Ho V° u know why we dip a razor in warm w'ater before : we begin shaving, and do you know why some ignorant men say a razor is “tired?” asked the who? Well, this is all due. to. the fact that the razor is a saw, not a knife, "d it works like a saw, not like a knife. Examined .under a miscroscope its edge, that looks, so smooth to the naked eyes, is seen- to have innumerable and fine

saw teeth. When these teeth get clogged until dirt all the honing and stropping in the "world will do no good —the razor is dull and nothing will sharpen it. Then is the time the ignorant say, ic i 3 “'tired," and stop using it, but the wise know it is only clogged. The wise, though, don t suffer' their razors to get clogged. They dip them in warm water bet ore they use them, and thus the teeth are kept clean. It is because a razor is a -saw that lather is used on the beard. Tiie lather doesn’t soften'.the beard, as so many people think; it stiffens it, so that it will present a firm and resisting surface to the razor.

Having .conducted a baby market in Philadelphia for years, a Mrs Dilsill states that prices of infants run from £1 to £IOO, the latter amount being obtained for a plump, rosy-cheeked boy without blemish. There was no demand, she said, for red-haired boys, but the Titian blonde little girls find a ready market. A cross-eyed baby, being regarded as unlucky, will not sell at all. In general, boys are easier to sell than gads. Moles are sometimes an advantage when it is desired to match a baby that has died. Mrs Ditsill lias made a fortune, and defends her trade on the ground that she finds good homes for children who might be done away with if left to their mothers.

The old English game of bowls is coming into fashion again. The King is very fond of the pastime, which he has frequently played at Tan low Court, Mr W. H. Grenfell’s seat, and at Trenthamhall, the Staffordshire seat of the Duke of Sutherland. His Majesty lias proved himself an excellent player, and is an enthusiast. At present there is no howling green at Windsor Castle or at Buckingham Palace, but it is to be remembered that golf links and a cricket ground are quite recent additions to the Berkshire domain of the King.

Miss Alice Roosevelt, whose deeds and words occupy far more space in American papers than the English press devotes to the actions of Royalty! has been to Bennings race meeting, and has backed her choice there and relieved the ring of some ci ; its wealth. Unfortunately (says the Washington correspondent of the “Daily Express’ ) an enterprising photographer followed her about and secured a series of snapshots. One showed Miss Alice handing over her money to a bookmaker, and another showed her displaying her winnings to her companion, who happened to be a member of Congress. Mr Roosevelt has succeeded through some friends in suppressing the pictures, and has sent Iris daughter to stay with friends in New York until the race meeting is over. The officials of the Bennings race meeting have decided to keep out photographers in future to prevent tlio recurrence of such a scandal. •

The Opposition leaders know quite well that nine out of ten members in either House of Parliament, no matter on which side they sit, regard the case against Chinese labour as absolutely insincere, or, to put it. in more colloquial phrase, as mere “bunkum."

Ere long the London County Council will be the largest property-owner in the great metropolis, not even excepting the noble ground landlords of London. In a few weeks’ time it will hare 4839 tenants on its rent hooks, while schemes have been approved which will soon add to this number 5705 more. Works now in hand provide for the accommodation of 11,469 persons, and others are to be shortly commenced providing for 6842 persons. The total spent or to he spent on the above is £1,C0G,731, hut preliminary plans are now being prepared on a scale which put all previous housing undertakings m the shade, for, should these he approved, no less than 53,032 people will be housed in the Council’s properties to he erected, and a little bill of £2,315,706 incurred,

The complete edition of Ben Jonson’s works, now definitely announced by the Oxford University Press, lias long been in contemplation. It will be 'issued with the assistance of Professor Herford and of Mr Percy Simpson, who for ten years lias been making a critical examination of Jonson’s text. The present idea is that the edition shall occupy nine volumes. « * *

A history of “impressionist Painting” is shortly to he published by Messrs George Newnes. It dealt with the movement, from its origin, in the art of Turner and Constable, down to the present day. Its latest phases are reflected in the painting of Monet, Whistler, Pissarro, Liebermann, Besnard and Claus. The book lias a hundred full-page illustrations of masterpieces, most of which have nob before been published. The writer of it is Mr Wynford Hewhurst.

The Automobile Association of America has just made arrangements for the greatest motor run ever held. /Two thousand five hundred cars from all the principal cities of the United States will take part,: and 10,000 motorists will compete. Some of those will ride more than 2000 miles. The objective point will be the St. Louis Exposition, where a great field will be reserved , for the tents to be provided for the accommoda-

tion of the tourists. All the leading motorists in America will take part, and it.is estimated that fully £200,000 worth of cars will be in line.

Professor. Carl Pearson recently delivered in London the Huxley memorial lecture (says a London correspondent). Ho took for Ins subject the inheritance of mental and physical characters in man. Professor Pearson is well known as one of the most indefatigable of workers in that department which seeks to apply statistical aids to the investigation of the features of living beings. Tiro lecture was of a highly interesting character, although it involved a large number "of teeftnical points depending on* the calculations to which I have alluded. The conclusion at which Professor Pearson iias arrived is stated m .the words that “we are forced to conclude that the physical and mental characters in man are inherited within broad lines in the same manner and with the same intensity." He adds that this sameness involves something conditional. In ether words it is a heritage from parents. He concludes that we inherit our parents’ tempers and our parents’ consciousness. Apply the result of investigations as a lesson to- the community and the nation at large, Professor Pearson says that genius is bred and not created. In other words, education is cf small value unless it be applied to an intelligent mass. This, I think, is a materially just conclusion, seeing that education can only act upon the material which is presented in the shape of brain cells, and, I may add, body cells as well.

Mr William Huggins was angry, and he certainly appeared to have some justification for wrath. “Liza," he expostulated, “don’t I always tell you I won’t have the kids bringing in the coals from the shod in my best hat?. It ain’t, nice, Liza.” “Just listen to reason, if you please, Bill,” said the wife coldly. “You have spoilt the shape of that hat with your funny head already, and as you’re working coal all day at- the wharf what can a little extra coal-dust in your hat matter?” “You don’t see the point, Liza." explained William with dignity. “I only wear that in the evenings, and if while I’m out I take it off my head it leaves a black hand round my forehead. Wots the consequence? Why, I gets accused of washing my face.with my hat on. And it ain’t nice, Liza."’