"THE LADIES."

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13433, 27 March 1907, Page 7

"THE LADIES."

It, is not everyone who has the gift of extempore speaking. Of all the complimentary addresses made at social functions, perhaps the task of proposing the health of the ladies is not the least difficult. At a recent social gathering (says the Sydney Daily graph) there was an unusually large muster of the .gentler sea:. When Mr So-and-So — a young man of, attractive appearance, upon whose cheeks -the down of manhood had not yet appeared — rose to propose the health of the ladies, the whole company, . and especially the ladies, were in <q, '^titter of interest and expectation. As a bit of post-supper oratory, the speech deser-' ved commendation. He dilated upon the loving care of his mother, the amiable qualities of his sisters, and.referred Avith anticipatory pleasure to the day when he hoped to tako unto himself a wife. At its conclusion the ladies waved their fans and handkerchiefs, the gentlemen applauded, and tlie display of eloquonce was regarded as a great success. The gentleman, however, who responded' to the. toast was evidently of an envious disposition. He had* come quite unprepared for a responsive speech. The' original arrangement, he said, was that the duty which lad just been so ably discharged should lave fallen to him,' and; m 1 order, thict tie might acquit hfipiself : worthily he had invested half-a-crown in a book of ready-made speeches, ,It was in that book that the speech just delivered was to be found, and after lie Jiad given : many nights to its study he thought it unfair that he should be 39 unceremoniously deprived of the liftnonr and delight which would have been his. The Wellington school inspector's, in their report on hand-writing in the schools, refer to the number of "children which" teachers ar6 responsible for. An old-fashioned grammarian would be shocked to boar children callol "which", "bul once the inspectors Vise the term it must be right. Perhaps it savours a littlfi of hypercriticism, balone looks for good grammar in a school inspector's report. ' Yot in i\w saute report "should" mny be found usod instead ol "shall", »nd "was" 101 "were".