PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2762, 20 February 1907, Page 77

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

WARSHIPS AT STEAM TACTICS

This week's Witness contains a -cable saying that two of our battleships collided and were damaged. Ido not know that we should be very much alarmed at such 'an incident. It may turn out that the ships were performing a series of evolutions as near as possible on a war scale, and if so we must expect casualties to happen. It is better than manoeuvring only in war time, and becoming a prey to the more efficient opponent. Captain Semenoff, who was on boaid the Suvaroff in the fearful battle of Tsushima, gives us a horrible picture of the realities of war, and he tells us that b.6 was forcibly reminded of the fact "that a fleet is created by long years of practice at sea in time of peace (cruising, not remaining, in port), and that a collection of ships of various types, hastily collected, which b.<i\s« only learned to sail together on the way to the 6cene of operations, is no fleet, but a chance concourse of vessels.'' And what an appalling disaster such a fleet is fated to meet with in battle is told by Captain Semenoff.

A DREAMLIKE STUPOH.

How many of you are Navy Leaguer*-? The last issue of the Navy League Journal should be read, I think, by every true Briton. Any five boys or girls can subscribe Is each, and by sending the s<s to Mr J. A. Johnstone, the secretary of the Otago Navy League, can be enrolled and booked for "a monthly copy of the journal. This is by-t he-way, and just to introduce my next "note. In the last issue to hand Captain Semenoffs book is reviewed, and extracts given. One extract tells us that the tiemendous cannonading, tbe concussive effect of guns fired and shell* bursting, produces a kind of dieamlike stupor, which may turn at any moment into an uncontrollable panic or into unusually high spirits. And no wonder. Read this . "It seemed as if theee were mines, not shells, which were striking the ship's side and falling on the deck. They burst as soon as they touched anything — the moment they touched the least impediment jji their flight. Handrails, funnel guys, topping lifts of the boat's dei ricks were quite sufficient to cause a thoroughly efficient burst. The steel plates and superstructure were torn to pieces. . . • The liquid flame of the explosion . . . seemed to spread over everything. - I actually watched a steel plate catch fire from a buist. Of course the steel did not burn, but the paint on it did. Such almost non-combustible materials as hammocks and rows of boxes, drenched with water, flaivd up in a moment." In a short! time the fore funnel had come down, 14 of the 16 12in and 6in guns were out of action, and the 4>hip uncontrollable and turning in circles. In the thick of the fight pain appears absent, when the injured man must, by all analogy and law, be -suffering intense agony. The Captain says : "At this moment there was another explosion quite close to me, and something from behind hit me in the right leg. It was not hard, and I felt no pain. ... I saw that my right leg was standing in a pool of blood, but the leg itself felt sound enough." He was carried down to the hospital, and* then he realised what happens in war : "I understood why it is that during a fight one hears neither groans nor 'shouts. All that comes afterwards. Aypaiently our feelings have strict limits for receiving external impressions. ... A thing can be so painful that you feA nothing; to terrible, that you fear nothing."

A LEGE-ND OF THE SILVER MAPLE.

Through the secretary »f the Otago Education Board, one of our teachers has received for distribution some letters from a small school in the State of New York. In one were some maple leaves, and these reminded me that I had put away a pretty : little 6tory on the maple. Here it is: —

Once upon a time, a long, long time as?o, a man was lost in a great forest. He Wandered many days without food, and was

nearly famished. At last he began begging of the trees for something to eat. First he asked the Oak. " Dear Oak," said he, " will you not erive nic something to keep me from starving until I can lind my way out of this forest?" "My acorns are not ripe," replied the stately Oak, "I can gi%-c you nothing." JSext he appealed to Sweet Gum. "Kind tree," he said. " will you please give me a little, just a litth*} of your sweet sap?" ""I pity you," said the Gum, *" but I have nothing to spare. My sweet sap must be saved to make my pretty leaves and my new wcod. I mean to grow much this summer!" The poor man then went to one of the Beech family. But Beech, too. refused, saying: "I am indeed sorry for you, but Mr Squirrel and l the Jay family have already bargained for all the nuts I can spare this year." The Hickory lifted her branches out of reach and cried. "No, no, I shall plant a whole forest with my fruit." Thus one tree after another refused to feed the hungry man, till at last, too weak to walk farther, he lay down underneath a tall, beautiful maple, and thought he must die. Maple heard his moans and said, "Do not despair, my friend. I will give you food : I will give you of my very heart's blood." Then Maple tree called to her leaves and told them what she wished. The little leaves fluttered and shivered and sighed, but after a moment they bravely said : ' Dear Mother Maple, do with us as you think best." " That is right, my brave darlings," cried i the Mother Maple. " Each of you, my darlings, may send out all the sap that is in your Ijttle veins. In a moment it will' gather and dry into sweet tender flakes .upon your bosoms." The kind little leaves did as they wero told, and, sure enough, sooii each leaf : bore a sweet tender flake. Then Mother Maple rii6tled and shook her branches gently, and the flakes fell all about the hungry man who eagerly gathered and ate them. This gave him strength, and after thanking the kind tree he resumed his search and soon found his wav out of the forest. But the generous tree, having given up her blood, or sap, soon began to die. Her pretty leaves became dry and brown, her branches drooped, and she knew thai her life was nearly done. 1 But Mother Nature, who always looks closely after her children, saw the saa condition of her daughter Maple. "Whaf has happened to you, my child, my beautiful child," sh© cried sadly. "Your leaves are all withered and your branches drooping." Maple modestly hun>g her head, but Violet, who lived just in her shadow, told all the tale to Mother Nature. Then Mother Nature smiled, oh. so sweetly, as she said: "So my daughter willingly gave up her beauty, nay, life itself, to help another? Look up, daughter, look up !" Then sho breathed upon the withered leaves, and every leaf grew fresh and green. She waved her magic wand, aud the under ! side of each leaf was covered with a soft, grey fur that shone like silver. " My daughter, my dear daughter." said she. "in reward for your goodness you shall hereafter wear a silver gown that your sisters may bo reminded of the beauties of self-sacrifice. Lift up your hands, dear child, and thank the All Fa-ther." This is why Silver Maple wears her beautiful dress of green and silver, and why we love her so.

SCHOOL HUMOUB.

1 And here are some specimens of school humour as related in the New Zealand Schoolmaster . — On Liberty. By a boy. — " People say England is a free country ; it is in some things. I will try to explain liberty. Ihere was once a gentleman who admired a handsome young lady. They got married, and after a few years had passed by he found he had sold his liberty. " Before he got married he could go out at night, but now he has to help ni6 wife to shako the carpets.'' Essay on the King.— On November 9, 1905. after a lesson on King Edward VII, children were asked to write an es'-ay on the lesson. One child wrote in reference to his .sport'ng propensities and his tact and diplomacy in dealing with foreign countries, as follows: — "The King is \ery fond of sport, and enjoys a {rood run after a fox or anything 01-so. When war starts with England and a country .n Europe, the King gops at once to that country in his yacht, and makes- friends with tho King thcrp, and brings him back with him to j London and givce him a good dinner anil I shows him tho grand sights, and thon ilie 1 foreign King goes homo, and pcaco is> de- | dared." I The Reason Why.— " Why did Modes' 1 mother hide him in the biilrmh<'sV" a^,ked tho teacher. " Because she did not want him to bo vaccinated!" was the answer received. Divers Complaints — Boy reading: "And they brought unto Him all sick people that Were taken with divers diseases." Vicar: " Now, children, can you tell me what is meant by divers diseases?" Nearly e\ery hand went up, and asking a boy who appeared \ory anxioub to answer, he recehed the following reply : "Please, sir, seasick nev«." A Tale from Egypt --"In Egypt it was very different from England. They did not l>ury their dead as we do. Instead of putting them in coffins and burying them in tho proper way, thov put some bluff on them to prevent them from decaying, and saved them to look at when they had any spare time." There is a Third. — " Tt was in the Catechism lesson. The teacher was endeavouring to drill into the bov 3' minds that good citizens have the honour to possess two , classes of names — Christian name, and surname — when, to his great surprise, a sharp little fellow volunteered tho information that teaoher must bo wrong 1 . On being asked his reason, he replied, 'We have three kinds of name — Christian name, surname, and nickname.' " (Collapse of teacher.)

— The British Houses of Parliament co«t £3,500,000, which is the same amount as St. Peter's at Rome cost in Building.

— A chair which belonged to I'.obert Burns was sold recently in Doweil's auction rooms for £28. It is an old wooden kitchen chair, with a high back, oor» r which is a plate with the following fnscrlpttefl : "This chair was one of six in the sitting room of Robert Burn?, the national poet of Scotland. It was presented by hiß widow to her friend Mra Nicolson, on the occasion of her marriage in 1823, from whose son, Mr James Burns Nicolson, it was acquired by the present owner.'*-