A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2690, 4 October 1905, Page 90

A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

By Gamma.

BEKLHsT.

Here in the heart of the German Empire the spirit of that empire finds its > expression. Form and ceremony, order, j precision, and discipline — these are the predominating features of its inhabitants and its streets. The latter are marvellously well-kept and clean— they are washed thoroughly every morning. Trams and 'buses are all most carefully marked ; the names of streets are put up just where they are expected to be. In all publin ' buildings and railway stations you have ' but to look round you the moment you ; feel at a loss — there is sure to be a notice ' at hand M'ith full and explicit directions for your instruction. And if you need more, there is sure to be a uniformed • official — Hie Germans are very fond of j uniforms— just at hand, a veritable mine of information, there for the purpose of being digged into. Ail these arrange- , ments for the ordering of a large population are excessively interesting to one ; who is comparatively new to big towns; ; and Berlin is certainly the best capital of Europe to see them in.- Paris is much more happy-go-lucky, though she has perforce her rules and regulations too ; our dear, bewildering, foggy London hides the names of her streets in out-of-the-way corners, and the destination of her 'buses under a medley of advertisements. She has no taxameters to her cabs, like the happy Berlinese, who may sit and watch the two clock faces in front of him marking off the distance and the fare to correspond. No, in Berlin everything, like the taxameters, works by clockwork and machinery, and no margin is left for guesswork or chance. It is all so Governmentinspected and so fearsomely well-arranged —the very milk boy on the street may be commanded by any policeman he passes to submit the contents of his can fo inspection. If there is a trace of adulteration in the milk his employer Js at once summoned to answer for it. I suppose i,bere is adulteration and fraud, but it j must be of a particularly clever kind to ,• elude the vigilance of. all these protective laws. It is like being at school again to live in such a well-disciplined place; one begins to wonder whether one may put up one's umbrella without Imperial" permission. It would be quite in keeping with my impression of the German spirit, to hear the stentorian tones of a policeman commanding "Umbrellas up !" and to see the crowd open theirs and raise them in prompt obedience. 1 Naturally all this precision and dis- ; cipliue finds its strongest expression in j the army. There surety can be no nation more punctilious over its etiquette and salutes than this. Punishments for not ■ saluting superior officers are severe; an [ instance of one of these is given in the j novel, "History of a Small Garrison J Town," published recently, and purporting to be founded entirely on fact. Like the larger and more famous volume, "Jena or | Sedan?" it reveals a state of incredible tyranny and conniption in the German army. Both novels were prohibited in Germany. Public opinion there, how- , ever, seems to be in accord with the statements of the books. One of their indictments at least is quite openly admitted — , that every German lieutenant has debts, , and marries purely with the object of j liquidating them. They say that the j prospective father-in-law's first question, j on a demand of marriage, is, "What j amount of debts am I to settle for you?" j He does not trouble to put the prelimi- : nary, "Have you any debts?" — that goes I ! without saying. This is common talk, and of course in our own army an officer's pay is quite insufficient for the style of living that is expected of him; but the evil seems to be more crying in Germany. j The strict regulations with regasd to saluting I once saw curiously exemplified. ] Sitting opposite me in one of tlie street trams was an officer -reading a newspaper. His back was turned towards the War j Office as he passed, and his attention was ; entirely engrossed in his'paper. But the ! sentry on duty in front of the Minister's office had to salute, according to rule. He held his musket rigidly .until the car passed out of sight, and the officer never raised his eyes from his reading. I wondered how many salutes he received daily, like this one, that he was absolutely unconscious of.

On another occasion I saw a private soldier with a friend in plain clothes walking on the street close to the pavement. An officer came along the footpath. The soldier turned at once towards the pavement, heels together and hand at the salute, and waited so till the officer passed them. Then he walked on and rejoined his friend.

The uniforms of German officers are often extremely handsome. Instead of being confined to the usual dark blues and reds, v a much more exuberant fancy has been allowed to pr-escribe their colours. In consequence, one sees, for instance, a coat of a soft greyish blue with pipings of rose pink, or dark green with soft yellow facings. It sounds like millinery, or footmen's livery, but the effect is really strikingly good.

That is perhaps more than enough of things military. Another very striking characteristic of the modern German is his love of the theatre. I remember hearing that the German Government so fully realises the educational aspect of the theatre that it ordains for officers of the army a certain number of monthly attendances at the better class of theatre. Whether that be true or no, the peces put on the stage in Germany are in "striking contrast to the runs of musical comedy that are almost the only demand in London. In Berlin there are two theatres that play nothing but Schiller, and these 'night after nijsht are crowded to the

doors. The acting is not of the very highest order there. I mean by that that it would hardly bear comparison with Sir Henry Irving's acting of Shakespeare, for instance. Still, it is quite good enough to put the works of their great dramatist admirably before the public, and these two theatres have been the training-school of most of the best actors and actresses of the day. But we hardly treat our own Shakespeare so well as this — to flock to hear him, even somewhat indifferently played, night after night. Indeed, some Germans claim that their nation really discovered Shakespeare to the English, and taught them his supreme value. Afc anjrate, hardly a week passes in Berlin without an opportunity of seeing some one of his plays. I think we cannot claim to perform Schiller in London to that extent. English people of to-day are just beginning °to wake up to an appreciation of George Bernard Shaw, but he has already been played for some time in Germany. So with Ibsen and the other Scandinavian dramatists. The Germans are awake, to seize whatever is excellent, no matter from what land it comes. All that has a meaning or some thoughtful lesson to convey is welcome to them ; while we — for the most part we English hail with delight, as tho best thing of the season, the doggerel verse and organ-barrel jingle of some worthless musical comedy effusion.