DUNEDIN D.L.F. LITERARY AND UNKNOWN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2842, 2 September 1908, Page 84

DUNEDIN D.L.F. LITERARY AND UNKNOWN.

M ' T ,on is Strength." The v- i ' - y meeting of th* above club v. » ' -' > Tuesday evening, when Hooliha.i ( it-. L - .sidentj presided oveo: a ,

meeting of 12 members in such, a taotfai manaier as to set everyone *t their eaae, abet all entered into the meeting with more zeat than has been shown for sonne time past. A written apology was received from Indian Chief explaining his unavoidable absence, and Hoolihan offered apologies for A Mother's Lass,, who has not yet recovered! from the effects of her cold. Larkspur also offered' an apology O n "behalf of Shepherdess's Fairy, and Redwing on behalf of Scots Grey for non-attendance. The meeting should 1 by lights have been an Open Meeting, but as no papers were forthcoming, *nd there had been no meeting the previous week, fcha papers that were contributed for the debate, "Town Life v. Country LifV wwre read, and with impromptu speeches in addition the evening passed very pleasantly. The -visitors were — Butterfly Princess, Tommie, and D.Y.IL To these a hearty welcome was extended. Larkspur, in defending country life., put! forth the facts that in country life you have mocre space in which to move, and are nofl hemmed in with motor-cars, cabs, etc. She spoke of -the purity of country air compared with that of the town, and of the healthy appearance of the country girl as contrasted with that of the town girl. She also oompaTed the life of the former to thai of the latter, and also the education Tendered in the country to that of the town in the primary schools. She argued that when the teacher in the country school has JbovC four or Jive pupils in each separate class, he can spend a certain amount of tame explaining -the subject to a dull scholar privately,, whereas the teacher of &he town, school ija-wiiLg 72 pupils in. his class cannot giv« iis time to the backward ones in such & manner. For this, speech "Larkspur received a round? of . applause. Redwing, speaking in favour of town life, compared the two different styles of living. He stated that in the country things were done in the same 1 asihion, the routine of daily work never altered, and in -the town the same style was scarcely ever adopted 1 twice. The speech was much more lengthy than this, but I regret to state that I have mislaid the jottings- Seeing that this is the first assistance redexed by Redwing, he is to be complimented, and it is sincerely hoped that ire shall bear him often in future dedates. D.Y.K. also apoke in favour* of town life. This ended the speeches. The following axe a few brief extracts from the papers that were read on the subject: — " I think that I oan safely say tfcxtt country life is far ahead 'of that of titta town, as I have lived in both p!a<ies, and 1 I know from experience that one tires mud? more quickly of the latter t&an the former. In the country you get the air pure and 1 fresh, not polluted , with, smoke, gases, and dust as in town ; so it must from this point of view be far healthier- Now why is ill that so many people are ordered out to the country for their, health ? And nine out of every 10 persons, whes they do come back (and they, generally make their stay as long as possible), look like different persons- Their worn-out and puny looks have' disappeared, and a look of good health and! content has taken their place. It is armply because the country -air is pure. Then, think of ihe nice long ridee and drives on© can enjoy in the summer, and if the climate is coldf enough, the curling and skating in the winter! You can also laugh and make as much noise in your mexrimen.l? as you choose without any tear ' of disturbing your neighbours. Then,, again, the inhabitants of the country are far more friendly and' sociable than Shose of the town. On entering tihe homes of the former you are made quite at home. You oan go for miles along a country road and nofl I be afraid! of meeting a man. sodden witta d-rink. That is »ne tiling that it seems impossible to do in town— in this town, at anyi rate. I think that town, life offers far too many temptations for the young. Besides, think of the proverb, ' God made the country and man made the town.l What weight of argument has inclined man in the part to make that one of tne proverbs? Therefore, the country life must come first." (Mattie.) "Having lived all my life in the town, until these last eight months' experience in the country, ought to make me quite competent to form a. definite opinion on -whidll style of living I prefer. During my two weeks' holiday I had ample time to lOTm an opinion, and I think that country life is to bo preferred to town life. Country life is freer and more healthy. The peopde are more contented and 1 happy. Their wants are fewer, and they aTe not constantly rtriving after the unattainable- Their social amusements are few., and when anything- does happen to come along they enjoy it aM the better. They are not ' blase ' ,' they do noi? expect anything better than they get. They do net grumble, and do not say how poor the show. They are prepared to take what comes along and enjoy it. Living in tihe country, the women folk are not such ardent adherents to fashion. Their dTess is ever so much moTe simple and tasteful. They do not n^ed * new dress every few mon/fchs, to be in the latest style; therefore, they are more economical 'in that line. The life in the country is purer. Persons in the country know one another's family histories for miles round, and if a- person's character is doubtful one soon learns it., and thus one oan choose one's company discreetly- Not' so in -town. You never know whom- you are associating with, and people wiho you think are friends to you are acting tihe part ot the spy and sneak behind 1 your back. During my stay in Dunedin it was brought home to me very forcibly — the shallow-ness and artificiality of town life. . One night a>t about 6 p.m. I watched the girls coming out of at factory. Every girl wore hiffh-heeled shoes, th« latest fashion in hats, with the latest style of wearing them, and their dress was very smart and stylish. I think that their dress was far above their position in life. The people in the country are more xeai, and. are not ashamed of honest toil; they do noi> try to imake strangers believe that they da> not need to work, like people of a similar class in town." (Areta.) An excellent paper was read from Wes-t Coaster, but it is to be sent in to Dot for publication in the page when space permits, so it is needless to extract from it. The question-box was next introduced, and proved cheerful entertainment. A letter was read from Black Watch, part of which wou>lA have served- as support for country life, for he gave a vivid description of his cazup and where it is situated in the bush, dding finally that he would not exchange it for a city palace. He expressed deep regret at Jie present state of the club, and gave encouragement for amendment on the part of Dunedin D.L.F. Tbe following is a letter that -was read from Areta. The idea of putting it in the report is to rouse th© dreamers, if it happen to catch their eye: — " This will be my last contribution to the club for some time, perh*pa. I shall no* have time probably to write. My time is my own at present, »o that is why I have been a contributor to tbe club since I came home-. I only wish I could have stayed longed and! reused up all th« old club members to • seos-e of their duty and have got them td come back to the club. However, I hope that the members wjll see the folly of theit ways end Tally Tound the club again, an<sl make it tit same prosperous and interesting

club it was in tne past. With best wishes fox its advancement and prosperity, — Yours truly,, Areta."In next week's debate, "Were the New Zealand Government justified in spending the money they did in welcoming tie American Fleet?" Harry leads for one eicte and Cyolo the other. This announcement from Hoolihan closed the meeting. KIPPIEHOB (Acting Secretary).