PARS ABOUT PEOPLE

Observer, Volume XXXII, Issue 21, 3 February 1912, Page 4

PARS ABOUT PEOPLE

GENERAL SYMPATHY has been expressed with Mr T. W. Leys, editor of the " Star," in connection with the death of his wife, which occurred last Saturday after a serious operation for a malady from which she had suffered for some years past. The late Mrs Leys was a daughter of the late Mr J. P. Oxley, and arrived here with her father from Prince Edward Island in 1859. She was a lady of a sympathetic and kindly nature, and was responsible for many unostentatious deejfls of phißanthrojpy. In Jaddition to her husband, she leaves behind her two daughters (Mrs Selwyn Upton anjd Miss Ethel Leys) and one son (Mr W. Cecil Leys). The Observer tenders its sincere condolences to the family over their sad loss. * • • W. H. Herries, as most people know, is endowed with a ready and pretty wit, and he gave a fair sample of it at the Reform Party's meeting in the Town Hall last week. The camera, man who had come along to take a flashlight photo, of the ;n«;bj didn't seem to be a very expert hand with the flash apparatus. He made two unsuccessful attempts to light it, and then shook it fiercely, with the result that there was an explosion. Mr Herries at once roee to his feet. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, with that well-known smile on his placid countenance, "that explosion was nothing to the explosion there was in the country at. the time of the general election." It was a neat point, prettily put, and the crowd enjoyed it hugely. m • • Sir Joseph Ward, fresh from a fishing expedition at Taupo, went up to Rotorua last Thursday. This eeems rather a rash act on Sir Joe's part, as judging by all political appearances, he will get rather more hot water than he has exactly any use for next month ; and there is no sense in anticipating events. m. »■ m Australian and New Zealand girls have great success in netting imported hubbies. The latest casual wayfarer to fall a victim to their fascinations is Dr Karl Kuinm, the German explorer-missionary who was round these parts lately. The eapourer of Karl was Gertrude Frances *.ato, of Hawthorn, and a Melbourne paper publishes a photo, of the wedding group* with Karl in a heroic attitude in the. centre. Well, it takes a bit of heroism to get married theee times, considering the cost of living Perhaps, however, in Africa, they live on mangos, or monkey-nuts, or something, in which case living would be cheap. Mr and Mrs Karl are honeymooning in Honolulu. .• • s Again another attempt has been made to define the .poetic word "Wowser." The valiant individual who tackled tbd job in this case was Premier Scaddan, of Western Australia. According to Scaddan. a Wowser is one who is more shocked at seeing two inches of underskirt than he would be at the sight of a mountain of misery ; but we don't know if our local Wowser —of whom there are many—will be inclined to agree with this definition. Another description of a Wowser is " a man who would rather prosecute another for having holes in his trousers than give Him the patches to mend them with." On the whole, however, neither of these definitions seems satisfactory. Wβ give the problem up.

William Jarvis Harker is a gentlemaji who has embraced the creed of Socialism, and who has gone to the trouble of issuing a circular letter on the subject, in which letter he appeals to "the able men who wield the editorial pens to use the little liberty that is granted to them by their capitalistic employers, to grant me a fair hearing, and justice." William Jarvis seems to be an apostle of permanent and universal, peace. His theory may be right enough, but we fancy that the best thing which could happen to William Jarvis juet now would be a couple of years strict training in the Territorials.

In the old churchyard which surrounds the historical cathedral of Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland, the following epitaph on a toombstone provides a cynical trend of thought, viz.:— Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, Lies Arabella Young; Who, on the twenty-ninth of May, Began to hold her tongue ! Arabella, presumably, talked sixteen to the dozen, and it is interesting to learn that a certain Dr G. E. Black, of Chicago, has invented a new ioetrument for testing the condition of the teeth and jaws. It consists of two steel levers kept apart by a strong spring. Wtien the levers are placed between the molars, a pointer indicates on a dial the exact amount of strength exerted by the jaws. It's a good thing Bella is dead. ■ m 9 Speaking of epitaphs recalls a few other unique-samples—i.e.:

Here's to the mem'ry of Anthony Drake— Who died for peace and quietness , sake ; Hh wife was constantly scolding and ecoffin', So be sought repose in a twelve-dollar coffin. (Poor Anthony!) Again :— My mother-in-law she died last year, For her we daily yearn ; We know she's with the angels, She was far too tough to burn.

The latter pathetic rhyme should appeal to the average Benedict, and theundernoted verse to the Prohibitionists :— Here lies the landlord of the " Lion," Who had great hopes of Zion ; Resigned unto the " Hancock " will, His son keeps on the bnsiness still.