PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2201, 7 May 1896, Page 38

PASSING NOTES.

Our friends tbe Freeinaßons have been having a high time in Dcmedin this week, and seem to have got a thoroughly good man' for their new Grand Master in Mr William Barron. I waa hitherto under the impression that all the meetings of the cratt were secret, and closed even to 'the press, and consequently I was surprised to read in the daily papers a full account of the caremony at ths •installation, and loDg reports of the speeches delivered. Mr Barron appears to have carefully prepared himself for his addresses by "getting up " the Book of Constitution, bat his poetic nature seems to have disdained to stick too olose to that prosaic (though useful) work, and he consequently launched ont into a brilliant and almost fabulous peroration, in which a nymph, a ewain, and an aai "were the most prominent personages. The R W.G.M intimated to the atsembled Maeooß that this fable in some remote way represented the relations between himself and the brethren, but he has left tbe matter in some obscurity. No one soems yet to understand who is the nymph, or which party is the swain, or (thirdly and lastly) which is the donkey. I think Bio. Barron owes it to the more obtuse members of ihe craft to explain more clearly what is the precise application of the legend. I am, unfortunately, not a Freemason myself, or I should certainly demand a» explanation of the matter from the Grand Maiter. Of course <I should, "approach" him "Jihrough the Grand Secretary," as provided for in that mysterious Yolume — the Book of Constitution. There is a little rift in the lute of tbe Women's Franchise League, and the dovecote is threatened with a split into rival factioas headed by Mrs Hatton and Miss Hancock respectively. Tbe latter chose au infelicitous moment for tbe delivery of her first broadside. The league was assembled in solemn oonclave at the house of Mrs Hatton, where no doubt the members were fighting their battles o'er again. Mis* Hancock waa not present — that is, in propria persona, — but in her eyrie at Roslyn uhe had planned a masterstroke which was to strike oonf nsion into tbe " godless " camp and rout its denizens hip and thigh. It was so designed moreover as to cause the greatest possible amount of humiliation, for it was delivered "before folk": in the classic language of the prize ring, it waa a " beauty," and Mrs Hatton evidently experi«nced same difficulty in coming to time. It seems, how.ever, that she soon quieted tbe apprehensions of her supporters, and doubtless assured tbe embarrassed males who ware present that " she would be all tight presently," for she neatly " countered " Miss Hancock by making personal inquiries into the means tbat v had been employed to seduce the 40 malcontents from their allegiance to tbe league. Mrs Hatton found that tbe signatures had baen obtained by "disingenuous misrepresentations," which is a periphrasis usually rendered as ■ a monosyllable. Nothing daunted, however, Mies Hancock shouldered her crutch,- and showed how fieldß were won, and returned to the charge, this time averring that the lssgne had violated their obligation by striking God ont of their motto, and omitting the prayer at the commencement of their proceedings. Buch tt blow would have been a <rowp detract to any but the most .experienced combatant, bat Mrs Hattou protests that she rather likes it, and proceeds as a preliminKry to Miss Hancock's dißoomflture to utterly rout end demolish the inoffensive Mr Wathen, who meekly and unobtrusively strayed across tho field 9t »fttf«. The bullet found Its

billet in Mr Wathen 1 , woo vrto oontenterHy browsing among polemical thistles. At this interesting stag* the fint act of the drama terminates with a tableau— Mr Wathen hon ■ de combat, and withhardly flnffkient animation left to wag an ear, Mrs Hatton at St. Olair sharpening her little hatchet, and Miss Hancock at Roslyn keeping a watchful eyo on j the plain below. Yes, the Bible in eohools is a potent factor for psaoe. : The following letter reopens a question j more than once discussed in this column : — i Dear Civil, — I suppose the final authority ■ rt the pronunciation of a man's name is tbe mkn himself — hence this letter. My friends and I are much exercised as to how we should call you — whether " Ctvis " or " Sivris," or should it not be " K>'-*nß," according to the Swblish Continental Latinifcy nowadays in voflue ? When I went to school we were taught to uj " Gi vis,"* and my ancient friend Smi'h's "Dictionary" confirms this view; but when I cull you " Oivfc" I find myself in a hopeless minority— in Duoedin, at *X\ events. Hoping you will settle th- matter oace and for all, — Your friend and admirer, R. 8. j I am asked to " settle " this question about once a year, but I bars no objection in life to oblige a correspondent so polite. The " correct " pronunciation of the word depend* largely .upon the aooident of birth. An alumnus of the Otago University, relying upon the good faith of his teaohers, will call me " E>tf*ris." A m*n who has learned his Latin in England will speak of me as " Sivis." StiU another, hailing from Scotland, will call me " Seevia." Those who don't know any L^rin at nil — and they are the gr«at majority -call me "Sivvis." Among so man j each on< confidently appealing to antiquity, I should not venture to dogmatise. " Civis " I vraa christened, and " Civia " I am content to remain. I may say, however, that tbe local pronunciation_cauße>B me an involunUry.sbudder. A hopeful, tetat 11, of 'my acquaintance spoke to me the other day of n mf thing he was learning in the *' PrhikipM," and I am in hourly dread lest some. use so infl«er,B my name as to call me "K\ wi " some of these days. And the Scottish Continental Latinlty, rb my correspondent terms it, sometimes leads to more serious ernhnrrassment, as it did where a Latin class composed of yoarg la'Hftn had to translate to a youcg and nut unai tractive professor the adverb " rieissim, 9 which according to their mchod became wt-hits-Mm —in tarn. I am fortified io my opinion that pronunciation depends upon nativity by the authority of tbe Immortal B»rd. An appeal to him waa nf-ver mtide in vain. Arcwdingly in tbe " Merry Wives of Wiu'Uor " we find tho bocesfc Welshman, Sir fLitfh - 1 Evans, thus catechising Master Willium Pagp s — Eva. : " What is • lapis,' William P" Wdl. : " A Htone." By» : "And what is a 'ston-,' William?" Will. : " A pebble." Eva : "No, it, i« ' lapis' ; I pray you remember iv your prsiu " Wil. : : 'Z*tns." Eva : "That ia a good Willi»m. What i« he, William, that does lend articles ?" WiU. : " Articles are "borrowed from the pronoun, and be thus declined : Singulariter, nominativo, hie, hate hoc " Ev» : " Nomi native, ktff, hag, hog ; — pray you mark ; genitivo. hujus ; ireil, wb>t is your accusative cas ?" Will : " Accusative, hinc hinc " Eva : " 1 ur*y yw, h«ive your remembrance, child • Accusative, hung, hang, hog. No doubt bad worthy Bir Hugh beeu called upon to do so he would have niaiuUlned that Cicero said hung, Jiang^ hog, and would, if necessary, have been as reify with his Bword to prove bis pronunciation as he was to prove his valour upoo Dr Oalus. I had occasion the other day to look through tbe file of one of our Danedin dailies of 14 years ago. It was a moat depressing task. The newspaper itself —the Morning Herald — baa lo'jeg since ceased to exist, after maty vicib*itudes and changes of fortune. Many of the business people whose names appeared there in large type in the advertising columns have passed away — some to " the other side " and others adown the Pacific Slopo. Sjme are dead, and others have disappeared. In fact; the perusal of the paper in question put me strongly in mind of a walk through the cemetery, surrounded by gravestones and obituary notices. Tfae news was naturally flat, stale, and unprofitable, but the advertisements were, even more suggestively depressing. It was really appalling to remark the changes that had taken place in the personnel of the business people of -Diiuedin' in a short 14 years or so. The professions bad suffered change as well as the trades. I glanced at tbe church notices, and found that most of the leading divines of that date had passed away from amongst us. I looked at' the law report*, and discovered qnife a different eel; of barristers practicing iv our local com Is. Tbe athletes were naturally composed of a different set of men from those whose names are now familar. There was a full report of a football match against New South Wales. The names of the Otago players were all but unknown to me, although I remember cheering myself hoarse at that very game. Tern pora mutantur, was my trite reflection ; and I arose from the perusal of the Morning Herald a Badder, if not a wiser, man. How is it that the population of our colonial cities is so transient and fluctuating 7 Let any one of my reader* think of his circle of friends and acquaintances ten or a dozen years ago, and contrast it with those around him now. The changes (in my own case at least) are enormons. Hardly one of my old associates is left in Dunedin. Of.oourse there are a good many men here who have had their businesses and their homes in this city ninoe the golden age of Otago, and who bid fair to remain here for the term of their - natural lives. They have taken root here, and here tbey must and shall remain. Bat of the floating population of 10 years back there is scarcely a traoe left. The men have simply disappeared. Not many of them have died : they vanish in jome mysterious way,, and jDuoedio knows them no more. Of . explanations there are many. We are -a restless, wandering, unsatisfied race, and the younger ones amongst us are ever longing for "fresh woods and pastures new " ; and yet a good macyof these wandering stare drift back 'to Ihrnedin TThen other ptaew tail thorn, '{

met two men In Prinoea street yesterday whose faces I knew well, la other jesrs ana who knew me too. They had* iioth been " trying their lack " In Australia for the last 10 years, and .the -fickle goddess does not appear to hare smiled on therrXT They ,were both glad to get back to "old Dunedln" again, they naid, and hud corns to the conolnsion that there were many worra cities io the world. On that point Olvis quite agrees with them. As I anticipated in a recent "Passing I Note," our representatives and woold-bu repmtnrativeß are beginning to orato in varions part* of the oolony. The Jrrepr«aEible Premier is in the North Island holding forth to the Maorlr, and dancing bakas is the interrals oJ " speeebifytog." Nearer home, we havehas^ Major S-owatd at Qleaxrj addresisiag bis constituents! and a Mr Rtmlej addreawing Major Steward —or Derhaps "dre«*iDg down" M»jor Steward" wonld be the more appropriate t«rm. I have not seen a report of Major Steward's ■pMoh, bnt Mr HaDley'a remark* were strong if net edifying, and seem to have quite -thrown th« hon. major'a okquence into tha ehede, if we m»y judge from the account of the meeting given in the newspapers. Mr Hacley has evidently the courage of fata 1 opinions, and when he prefaced hia remark* by the statement that "the Qovernmunb of New Zealand waa the low«Bt riffraff in ti»e colony " it was quite evident that some choioe langnage might .be expected later on. I have heard « good roany strong epithets applied to the Stddonian Miniatry before now, bnt "therif! raff Qovarnmpnt" baa a flavour of novelty about it that quito malres up for any lack of approprittteneHa. Why cannot we hate one of these stirring " political " meeting* in Dncedin as of yore 1 Where be our erstwhile of tho political peace? lUr* they disappeared alvgeeher from mortal view? I trow not i but Mra« alone -will show. Civia.