FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 509, 12 November 1928, Page 8

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK~OUT MAN." TRAVEL PARADOX Trains can go as fast as they like; but many don’t. Motorists can‘t go as fast as they like; but many do. i t It 2VO BEG PARDOA‘S A woman interjector at a political meeting in Wellington smacked a man’s face. The hand that rocks the cradle “rocks it in." ' c 21- t THE DROOPING LILY Mr. F. J. Lysnar, who at one of his recent meetings in Auckland Central was presented with an arum lily, confesses that he knOWs from experience what it is to broach a demijohn of whisky in a no-licence area. We understand the donor of “the White flower of a blameless life” is going to ask for his lily back. 3 . t 3 OYSTER SHELLS It has been calculated by an alarmed contemporary that if only one oyster were left alone until it had great-great-grandchildren. there would be so many oysters that their shells would make a pile eight times the size of the earth. This rather shakes our belief in the old adage of live and let live. ' I| * C HANDY JIISSILES The largest eggs that exist to—day are those of an extinct Madagascan bird, the ZEpyornis, a huge creature whose eggs are occasionally found buried in the sand. The eggs are nearly a yard in diameter and a. foot long. They have a capacity of two gallons, equal to about 12 dozen hen’s eggs. The terrors of an election campaign in Madagascar can be readily imagined. 6 a t LIVING IN HOPE Although Invercargill has been dry for 23 years, one canny hotel owner, behind a locked door, has preserved one of his old bars in which the beer “pull downs,” with their accompanying apparatus, and pipes leading into the cellars. have been stored. Despite the fact that the prospects of local restoration have been ridiculously remote, the pipes, and tubes, and pumps have been cleaned and repaired at regular intervals, just as though they were in daily use. Like the aged mother with the lamp in the window. he has prepared constantly for the re« turn of his exiled child. at t a 1 ELIGIBLE EAGLE ‘ Next to the Prince.of Wales, Linda bergh is reckoned by many to be the most eligible bachelor in the world. Gossip in the United States is making strenuous efforts to arrange a match for “The Lone Eagle,” but these efforts have not so far succeeded. Recently his name was coupled with that of Blanche Satchel, a beautiful New York revue star, but his reply when questioned was: “Aw, shucks, there’s nothing in that.” Another week, and the, fond American tattle-sheets were building up a romance between him: and Miss Eppes Hawes, the comely daughter of a senator. Two days later he was riding in an airplane, with a. financier’s daughter, Eleanor Hoyt. All of which seems to indicate that, whether or not he is contemplating matrimony, the Lone Eagle is no longer lonely.

IN BELLAMY’S While plenty of limelight is at present being turned on proposals to extend the life of each Parliament, and also on the debatable question of the salary of members, no one has the temerity to broach the question of completing Parliament Buildings. The ambitious scheme launched many years ago is unlikely to mature In the political lives of many who occupy the House to-day. Something will have to happen to the decrepit old Bellamy's wing before any Government will have courage enough to face the task. Lord Plunltet, who left his name permanently associated with babieß and cricket, was the last to occupy the place in accordance with its true function as a vice-Regal residence. The gubernatorial families in those and preceding days had less privacy than they have now, and were usually seen daily in the course of their constitutionals along Wellington Terrace. Lady Onslow, for instance, created a sensation by wearing bright brown walking boots, instead of the sober black to which the capital was accustomed. She even carried a stick. Lady Jervois used to drive about in a smart turn-out. drawn by black ponies with red harness. Further back still is the time when Lady Grey, having hurt her foot, was carried about by Maori bearers in a sort of sedan chair. The site of Bellamy’s was originally the residence of Colonel William Wakefield, of the New Zealand Company. What with one thing and another, members of Parliament quench their thirsts in -an historic atmosphere.