The Wooden Horse

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 642, 19 April 1929, Page 14

The Wooden Horse

An Occasional Column And with areal lies about his wooden horse Het the crew laughing, and forgot hts course. — J. E. Flecker. WHILE everybody’s attention is drowsed by the heat or distracted by storms or simply and for any reason and no reason indifferent. I propose to slip in another handful of references in that growing Index of Curious and Irrelevant Information. Derived from Miscellaneous Reading. Hats, top, porcelain, conduciveness of to pacificism. “World’s within .Worlds.’* Stella Benson, p. 221. The ancient purpose of the Korean top-hat—which was originally made of porcelain—was, I am told, to keep the peace. A man could not well engage in riotous conduct with a small porcelain top-hat balanced delicately upon his top-knot. The penalty for a broken hat was often, in the old days, death, and always involved the loss of honour. The result of this wise scheme has been to induce an almost excessive mildness in the Korean character. \nd even after porcelain hats gbve v/ay ♦o shiny black horsehair imitations, rt is not surprising that a race which was bound in honour to keep—at least —its spiritual hat unbroken has been the unresisting prey of its two predatory' neighbours—China and Japan. Nose, Sarah Siddons’*?. endlessness of. “The British School.’* E. V. Lucas, p. 65.

Gainsborough painted the present picture (the “Portrait of Mrs Siddons,*' No. 683 in the National Gallery) in 1874, when Mrs Siddons was twentyeight. It is told that he had difficulties with the superb creature's nose, exclaiming at last in petulant impatience, “Damn the nose, there’s no end to it.” One commentator has taken pains to point out that the remark meant no end to the painting of it; but this is a free country. Tyres, bicycle, pneumatic independence of. unsuspected by philosopher. “The Life of Hastings Rashdall, D.D.” P. E. Matheson. Page unnoted. As Tutor he used to ride n bicycle recklessly and enthusiastically. On one occasion his companion records. ‘•We were to bicycle together and l pointed out that his hack tyre was deflated. When I next looked he was blowing up the front one. I pointed out the mistake and he replied, ‘Don’t they communicate?’” Dogs, for employment by naval caretakers, mobile and latrative suitability of. Admiralty correspondence upon. “A Book of Broadsheets.” .With an introduction by Geoffrey Dawson. Quoted on pp. 112-3. T am directed by my Lords Commisioners of the Admiralty to inform you that they have had under consideration your submission of February 13 last with reference to that portion of their Lordship’s directions contained in Admiralty letter N.S. 2168/349 of January 2, 05, whereby caretakers of ineffective vessels are required to provide a dog for that purpose that would meet with their Lordships' approval. I am to inform you that their Lordships—having in view’ the purpose for which these dogs are to be employed—arc of opinion that the samples cited by you—that is to say, a half-bred dachshund and a toy pug—are not suitable; and my Lords, while desirous of not limiting choice of animals unduly, are of opinion that the dogs employed should be of active habits and able to bark effectively, that is with reference to the size of ship on which they are employed. My Lords are of opinion that one of the sample dogs quoted by you in your corespondence—a Pekin spaniel of 31b weight—would not he effective on a battleship, but might be suitable for a gun vessel. You are. therefore, to make such arrangements in this respect as will, in your opinion, carry out tlie intentions of their Lordships most effectively. Wallop and Bryskett. singular and happy conjunction of, illuminating in bearing upon Edmund Spenser’s poetry. “The Year’s Work in English Studies, Vol. VII. 1926.” Edited by F. S. Boas and C. H. Herford. P. 162.

In MS. Rawlinson A 317 (“the Receiptes and charges” of Sir Henry Wallop, Treasurer at War in Ireland from September 30, 1588, to September 30, 1591) Mr F. P. Wilson has found the names of Raleigh, Ludowick Bryskett, Barnabe Riche, and Spenser. He shows in “Spenser and Ir.?' nd” (R. E. S., Oct.) that though Spenser acted as Bryskett’s deputy in the Clerkship to the Council of Munster from 1588 or earlier, Bryskett received the emoluments in September, 1591, and, though consenting to Spenser’s resigning his deputvship in favour of Nicholas Curteys, tried to recover the office after his ruin by the 1599 rebellion. Mr Wilson also goes far to prove from the entry of a payment by Spenser to Bryskett that Spenser was in Ireland in May 30, 139 b, pci haps on a flying visit to attend to the duties of his office and his own private affairs, much disturbed by his troublesome neighbour Lord Roche. Another paper of some biographical interest is “Dating a Spenser-Harvey Letter” (P. M. L. A, Sept. - ) by Mr J. R. Caldwell. Sir Henry Wallop has no right to exist outside the pages of Charles Dickens: but in fact he was the son—the eldest son—of Sir Oliver Wallop, of Farleigh Wailop. and. inheriting the estates of his father and of his uncle, Sir John Wallop, he became member of Parliament and then Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. This was a difficult and thankless office: it let him in for quarrels and setbacks of the most exasperating kind: and when at last, after long and oft entreating his release, he secured it. the poor fellow died, actually before he could get away from Ireland. This, in a life more remarkable for kicks than ha'pence, was the most unkindest wallop of all. J.H.E.S.