PASSING NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18802, 3 March 1923, Page 4

PASSING NOTES.

There are various bad ways of writing history; the way of the almanack-maker is .worst. The historian who looks to be read will tell you not merely the things done, the res gestae of the r»eop!e or the time, but the how and the why. At least ho will make a shot at it. Even Herodotus, tho “Father of History,’* understood this. Ancient though he be and garrulous, ho may still bo read abreast of Gibbon and Macaulay, if you chance on a decent translation. In Mr Winston Churchill’s War Memoirs, of which the Daily Times is giving ns instalments, the British public strikes oil. Of war-conos-pondent horrors tlie British public lias supped full; appetite fails; it is nausea now. Sir Philip Gibbs and his like—many thanks ! —no more at present, nlease. It is quite another tiling to be bidden behind tho curtain at that frenzied crisis when tho long-incubated war was about to burst in ruin and .combustion cine ; —wo “listen in” at Cabinet Councils, we are made free of the Admiralty board room ; we look in tho face the responsible statesmen who presently, driven by inexorable fate, will order <a million of their countrymen to die ;-—we are made to understand how they- feol, think, hesitate, dnbitate, what thev purpose, how they decide, and why. This privilege, painful but compelling, never came within reach of the British people until now.

Being public men. Ministers of the Crown aro much in the limelight. In their relations with each other when not in tho limelight they are but misty figures. AH tho time very, human, nevertheless. Lord Dunxaven in his twovolume book of reminiscences tells how Lord Granville thrust office upon him, and would not allow him to be modest about his capacity. “I began in the same way,” he said, “and very soon popped into the Foreign Office, and there I have been ever since.” Lord Beaconsfield, too, equally kind and reassuring, pressed Lord Dunraven to drop in on him in Downingstreen whenever ho liked; and poohpoohed his protestation that “three years spent at Oxford in having a good time, and six in tho Ist Life Guards in much the same 1 pursuit, was not the best preparation for active public life.” “Scholastic education,” Lord Beaconsfield replied, “is not so important as ycra think. You have seen men and cities, and that is tho best of all education.” Ic was a very pleasant form of recentiou. very different from that of his great rival on tho only occasion on which I saw him on a matter of public business. Gladstone rushed into the room, brandishing a bundle of proofs. “I am very busy correcting proofs; what can I do for yon?” “If you are so busy,” I said, “shall I come another time?” “I am always busy, just as busy; what is it you want?” Yet the multifarious Gladstone had his hours of relaxation, when out would come the dice box and the backgammon board ; or he would joion in a Christy Minstrel chorus: G'winc to run all night, g’wino to mu all day. Bet my money on a bob’tail nag, somebody’s got for to pay. It will take a good man to fill the place of Sir William Ilerries as member for Tanranga. And in the fi luces of things that good man ought to he politically of Sir William Herries’s way of thinking. This consideration ■will not prevent an unseemly rush of candidates, soma of them giving proof of their unfitness by the very fact of their offering themselves. How many hundreds a year does a member of Parliament get with his railway pass and other privileges? I don’t care to remember. But certain it is that a dangling M.P.-ship attracts the hungry adventurer as butcher-meat attracts flies. Then there is Sir Joseph Ward ;—I am quite of opinion _ that Sir Joseph Ward should again sit in Parliament, and that his seat should be won with as little of a contest as may be. Bait it should be a seat that of custom belongs to his own side. He would be wrong in letting his thoughts run on Tauranga. Our latest glimpse of him is somewhere in the North Island sitting dubious—opening telegrams, staving off invitations— Ask me no more, for at a touch I yield, Ask mo no more! A dangerous frame of mind! PCEECBMAX X IX THE NSW POETB.T. (In the Now Poetry rhyme counts for little and rhythm for nothing at all.) Come all who sound the lute and harp In this romantic .city; About the Wellington Watorsiders I sing you. a woeful ditty. It’s about the Watersiders’ Band In Wellington residing, Whore they inn a very expensive Labour Union, And do their watersiding. Now the expenses of this very expensive Labour Union They come uncommon heavy; When to make things wires, what do they do But clap on a hextra levy. Then up rose four bold waterside)* And said they wouldn’t pay. “Ho ho!” says the Union—"“off these sacred wharves You go this very dayl Go if you like to the Su-preme Court And file your affydavy; Nobody works on these ’ere wharves But men as pays the levy!” There was evidence and argument: Says the Court, "Upon these grounds You four bold, men get damages— Eleven hundred pounds!” “Whew!” says tho Union, “here’s a go! What’s to be done in this crisis?” Says the gallant lands men: “We’ll go down South To Dunedin and win some prizes. Well take our portable property Which it cannot well be hid— Out unparall'd set of milingtary instruments, And they’re worth six hundred quid!” Then the law it called on tho sheriff, And the sheriff he come to me; “Pleeceman X, the law erpex, That what the Court says shall bo.” Me and tho sheriff '■'consulted, And wo fixed on a resolution, That all their portable property We would take in execution, — Their trombones and their cornets, Their trumpets and their drums, And their very special E-flat tenor bom. And the big euphoniums. AH these valleyable milingtary instruments The sheriff and I walked away with; So when the Wellington Watermdera’ turn came to play, Lo and behold they had nothing to play with! Moral: '' Labour politics With the Muses will not mix. Nor leave your possessions secure. IE troubles should begin And you get the bailiffs in, ’Twill be worse than tho French on the Buhr. Pnom a North Island manse:— Dear “Crvis,” —A learned and worthy divine in the North Island recently wrote to me in the following terms “A friend of mine owns a pietim; entitled ‘The Glee Maiden’ which is said to be an illustration from one of the Waverloy Novels. Bememberirur that you are an ardent student of Sir Walter’s works I thought you could tell in which volume tho character appears. If you can enlighten me I will be grateful to you.” Now, it is perfectly clear that this gentleman has mistaken n»e for “Givis” ; consequently I now pass the matter on to you and crave enlightenment for myself and for my friend. In “Tho Lady of tho Lake’’ turn up canto vi, 6. Fugitives from a stricken field, an old soldier “grey and scarred,” A harper with him, and in plaid All muffled close, a mountain maid, arrive at the gate of “Stirling’s towers,” and receive rough greeting from the ribald soldiery within, who, for their part, have no guess that “the mountain maid” is the daughter of the Dougins. The old soldier’ escorting they banter in this style : Thou now hast glee-maiden and harp,— Get thee an ape and trudge the land, The leader of ft juggler hand.

On this, the text, Scott has a note— The jongleurs, or jugglers, used to call in the aid of various assistants to render their performances as captivating ns possible. The glee-maiden was a necessary attendant. Her duty was tumbling and dancing; and therefore the Anglo-Saxon version of Saint Mark’s Gospel slates Heredias to have vaulted or tumbled before King Herod. In Scotland these poor women seem, even at a late period, to have been bonds-women to iboir masters. Other references there may be in Scott, but this from “Hie Lady of the Lake” will serve. It. is interesting to learn that Herodias, when dancing John the baptist’s head off, was for the nonce a “gleemaiden.”

From Canterbury Sooth : Hear “Civis,”— I Cable in our local paper:— Capetown, Fob. 21. King Khama Aotat is dead, 95. Can you supply any details of interest respecting the Royal House of Aotat-?

lam afraid not. The Press Association’s message may have run—“ Obituary _ King Khama aotat 95.” Why put Latin on the cables—a Latin word of five letters for an English word of four ? The result is droll? But it would be sin and shame to meddle with the South Canterbury rendering. lam reminded of the music amateur who on perusing a music score remarked, “That follow ‘Tutti’ seems to have a lot to do.”

On the banning of Miss Ettio Rout’s book:—■

Dear “Civis,”—Sir ArchdaJl Reid, K.8.E., a writer of technical books, asks rather superciliously: “Can any one tell mo what New' Zealanders do read?” Let an Oxonian answer him. Some years ago I was boating on the Avon, Christchurch, with a young Oxford mam, and we discussed this very matter. He was amazed at the appetite of tire New' Zealander for literature. “Of course,” he said, “there are reading circles at Home, but. here everybody reads.” He paused, smiled whimsically, and added, “And they read everythin gl”

Sir Archdall Reid’s tone is that we do not read books at all. He may be left to wallow in his ignorance. On the question of banning dangerous books wise men are not agreed. In my own domestic jurisdiction I have sometimes banned a book—by putting it on the kitchen lire. Library' committees have been known to withdraw a questionable book from circulation. Signor Mussolini, who tyrannises the Italians for their good, is banishing from Italy all “pornographic books,”—-a large order. Sir Hall Caine, writing in the Daily Telegraph, says that as a veteran novelist he is altogether for a free press, but admits that as a novel reader he has had some painful experiences. There was a book which “in certain journals of high standing was commended by writers in good repute as a work of highest inspiration.”

I read it, as far as I could force myself to road it—that is to say, as far as my brain could bear its pompous brainlessness or my stomach its gross obscenity. After handling the uncleaji thing I felt as if I wanted a hath, and when taking it hack through the streets to its owner that- I risked the fate which the Irish Free State reserves for persons who carry deadly weapons.

The worst that can be alleged against Miss Rout’s book is, I imagine, that its subject is repulsive, and that some people like repulsive subjects. To accuse her, as the Athenians accused Socrates, of “corrupting the youth,” is absurd. The Athenians presented to Socrates a bowl of cold poison. With them the censorship took that form.

Dear “Civis,” —About riddles, if you can find a corner. There is no doubt that the riddle as a form of intellectual amusement is very ancient, probably goes back to the Cave Man, Shem, Ham, and Japhet may have asked each other riddles in the Ark. Samson's riddle, “Out of the eater came forth meat,” is early;—a poor riddle that, by the way, since it fumed on an incident known only to himself, the finding of honey in the carcass of a lion; — ugh! I hope he liked it. The Sphinx riddle muss be as early or earlier— What goes on four foot, on two feet, on three, And the more feet it goes on the weaker it be?

Oedipus guessed it. Said he, “The answer is Man, who crawls as an infant, walks upright as an adult, leans on a staff in old age.” Whereupon the Sphinx, defeated and disgusted, took a header into the sea and so made end. Always if you guess a riddle the propounder is disgusted, prefers that you “give it up.” Riddles are still a good parlour game and a great resource on shipboard. There _ are half-a-dozen names riddle, enigma, conundrum, charade, rebus; passing the last two, the other three are not exactly synonyms, it seems to me, spite of what the dictionaries say. How would you discriminate?

I wouldn’t discriminate at all; they all mean the same thing. Except perhaps that “conundrum” suggests something of humour in the answer, something of the ausnrd, something that will bring a laugu. For example, Josh Billings puts a conundrum: “What two things are there in life for which no man is ever prepared?” But we had better get the proper setting. Carnegie had Josh Billings and Matthew Arnold to dinner—two polar opposites. The American humourist explained to the English critic how he had made his great success as a lecturer.

“Well,” Ire said, “you musn’t keep them laughing too long, or they will think you are laughing at them.. After giving the audience amusement you must become earnest and play the serious role. For instance, There are two things in this life for which no roam is ever prepared. Who will tell mo what these- are?’ Finally someone cries out ‘Death.’ ‘Well, who gives me the other? 5 Many respond—wealth, happiness, strength, marriage, taxes. At hist Josh begins solemnly: ‘None of you has given the second. There are two things on earth for which no man is ever prepared, and them’s twins,’ and the house shakes.” Mr Arnold did also. Cms.