REFLECTIONS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16769, 19 June 1920, Page 6

REFLECTIONS.

* WEALTH AND HAPPINESS

EDUCATION AND NATURE. HYMNOLOGY. (By “John Doe.”) I listened to an interesting discussion between some professional and business men a few days ago on the ways of rich men, especially on the fact that to many of them their money seems to bring little happiness, rather its possession seems a burden and the fear of losing it a carking care. It is common experience that only the really poor, because, they cannot, and the really wealthy, because they do not fear appearances, appear with a shabby exterior in clothes to their 1 ellow men. But how many wealthy men seem to suffer because of their wealth. I knew a -wealthy man who died not long ago in Taranaki; he so dreaded the almost impossible occurrence of poverty to himself that before entering the nursing home where he died he besought a friend, himself comfortably well off, to enter into a solemn written undertaking that he would pay if on his death the fees in the, nursing home could not be paid—and that man owned unencumbered freehold land in Taranaki worth thousands of pounds. Another man I know is in a mental hospital, caused by worry over threatened legal action, he having made false returns, to save a few pounds, of his very large income and possessions! What is, your idea of wealth? What would you do if you to-morrow by some turn of fortune’s wheel became rich ? A friend of mine, a man in a fairly good position in the Civil Service, told mo bo would never do a day’s work again if he had won £6OOO in a Tasmanian lottery, which fortunate occurrence had just happened to a friend of his. I wonder. No doubt it depends very largely on one’s early life and also on the way in which wealth is acquired, the pleasantest way in my opinion being to find that some unknown distant wealthy relative has left you all Ms or her worldly possessions. There would be no temptation to the boastfulness that so easily and often besets the self-made man or him who has worked hard no doubt but has done what so very few do and has acquired wealth. ' ■ ' It must be difficult to acquire great wealth impeccably and without causing harm to others: but also it surely must be difficult to have built up a large fortune in trade, commerce or a profession and not done some one a godd turn, helped some one else, left a kindly memory somewhere. Jay Gould, the American millionaire, is stated, as some of us heard recently, to “have died unlamented having a fortune of over 50 million dollars.” • But ... I wonder if he died entirely unlamented. Who knows ? * « • We are prone to criticise Americans for their love of the dollar, their haste to get wealth, their admiration 6r the successful rich man because ho is rich. But American millionaires do at least make great gifts: many universities and other seats of learning and art have received what are called “princely” donations by rich men during their lives and after, such as no prince has given. Such gifts are rare in Europe, even in England, which has grown so enormously in wealth since about 1830. How few such gifts or any gifts are in New Zealand! Seven thousand five hundred pounds was spent in a few minutes on the purchase of cows recently in Taranaki: a gift of one-tenth that amount to education would be a rare event.

Kipling I think it is writes somewiipre in a fine phrase of “the untameablo arrogance of wealth.” Often enough the man, who has in past years toiled early and late, With Blossom and old Cherry—or nowadays with Eayne Segis do-Kol or Molina’s Pride—leaves tho arrogance to wife and daughters. But there is perhaps a more unpleasant pride, than tho untaraeable arrogance of wealth, and that is the intolerable arrogance of intellect. Tho greatest intellects such as Darwin and Milton and Bacon are not arrogant in their minds: but one sees a glimpse of it in Oscar Wilde before the fall, and it peeps out in H. G. Wells. But in lesser clever men one meets it, men who despise all efforts at higher education for people generally—the worst typo of .English and perhaps New Zealand university men. Knowing a little they think no on© knows more and few as much. Hear such an one speak for instance of Labour and its aspirations, and insolence not arrogance is the term you would apply to their attitude.

It was a beautiful sunny morning when a few days ago I had occasion to go on what I may term educational business to tho racecourse. Oh yes, in New Plymouth the racecourse when not used for its primary purpose serves a most admirable secondary purpose in housing —tea-housing and totalisator-housing—-our young High School boys.' With Egmont gleaming white, beyond, and the beautiful ferns of the gully below, the place seemed admirable for school when I reached the tea-house. Here instead of harassed waitresses serving impatient racegoers,, I was pleasantly greeted bv a young lady who was presiding over the early education and moulding the minds of orderly rows of jolly youngsters. The totalisatorhouse usually holds perspiring clerks grappling with the demands of moneygrabbing multitudes outside, but when I saw it all wms quiet and peaceful, with further rows of small boys intent on their work, though not so intent as to miss tho entry of an intruder. On leaving the grounds I picked up a piece of paper on which was written the word “Essay”—and a name. I will not give the name, but I think and hope the writer wouldn’t object to my reading it and letting you read some ,of it; though I doubt if High School boys, especially juniors, read these vagrora Reflections. The essay begins: “The habitation of the lark is very interesting and it has a very rude nest made of horse-hair and straw which is excavated into tho ground.” The use of the poetic word “rude” is pleasing, nor need you cavil at tho idea of an excavation into anything. Tho writer proceeds: “The nest is very had [sic] to see. Sometime you are lible to tread in the hole.” That is true:' not long ago playing summer golf, I was just going to play my fourth, a short mashie shot, at the sixth green when almost at my feet a lark suddenly sprang up, and I saw a nest with two eggs in it. Yet -golf was being frequently played and the nest was right on the fairway. To return to our essayist, he remarks “the fledglings are very peculiar and are very greedy birds.” This statement evidently pleases him for he at once

repeats it, and sets it down again, in pencil, at the end of his essay. Fledglings are greedy: they generally seem to be one enormous mouth, as in those ' wonderful photos taken by Ernest Thompson Seton and other naturalists. The essav is then started again, da capo and de novo: but this time some hypercritical purist or censor has crossed out - the “to” in the phrase “excavated into the ground.” But I did not feel critical or school-masterisb, so I left the racecourse with a pleasing picture in my mind’s eye, of the lark excavating for his habitation—but does he not rather inhabit the air, as Shelley tell us?—and making his rude nest for his greedy fledglings. I wonder ■ what their peculiarity is, though. Has not the outdoor sunny atmosphere of the racecourse already begun good work ? Whatever we may think of Germany’s fate at the present time, distracted and torn by civil faction, with apparently never the slightest expressed regret for past misdeeds, we need not forget what in' one sphere of thought we owe to Germany, the older Germany of a hundred and less years ago. Germany has given the world a large contribution ot value and worth in tile realm of philosophic and applied Christianity and in hymnology. In their different lines men like Rudolph Eucken and Adolf Harnack did good work, despite what evil influence the war had on the German professional and scientific mind. A large number of the hymns in common use in our, evangelical churches, with their tunes, are translations from the German, and written and composed by Germans. Luther’s famous ■ hymn, “Ein ’feste Burg ist unser Gott”—rendered “A safe stronghold our God is still,” Carlyle’s verse rendering of the fine prose “The name of the Lord is a strong tower”—is often sung; “Jesus, still lead on,” the famous old hymn “Nowthank we all our God,” “Lord of our Life and God of our Salvation,” with several of the famous von Zinzendorf, are well known hymns written by Germans originally. Probably-some of my readers are familiar with the “Lyra Germanica” of Catherine Winkworth, a book 1 well remember in the evangelical home I was brought up in: many of the translations were by Mrs. Winkworth. it was an old custom in Germany to carve a verso on the front of .a, house: I more than once saw Luther’s line “Ein ’feste Burg” so carved. In Lutheran churohes.the congregation sat to sing—singing dolefully slowly—and stood to pray, where- in English evangelical .churches a crouching attitude is adopted for prayer, ! partly owing to the architecture or laclwof it in the pews, partly for other abltruse reasons# Hymnology is rather a neglected art to-day, if it be an art. e Poets we have innumerable, but when is a good hymn written? Perhaps Newman’s magnificent “Praise to the Holiest in the Height,” Gladstone’s favourite hymn, introduced with fine effect into “The Dream of Gerohtius,” is the finest modern hymn. Gladstone was" once observed by his next colleague during a stirring debate in the House to hs writing on his inevitable postcard. The Cabinet colleague idly looking saw it was a Latin verse translation of the hymn “Rock 'of Acres”: Gladstone had got as far as Jesu, pro ilie perforatus, Celar intro Tuum latus. “Lord Forster, the new GovernorGeneral of Australia, is a keen golfer: his handicap is plus 2.”—(Press cable.) This is the opening' remark, and what more is needed? What greater qualification could a man have for the Governor-Generalship of a great Dominion? Waterloo we know was won on the playing fields of Eton: the world after- the great war of 1914-1918 was, led from chaos to peace on the golf links of the British Empire.