PERSONAL ANECDOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11026, 14 March 1914, Page 6

PERSONAL ANECDOTES.

IMI'.vnENT FOR. THE STAHT.

Mr Robert J. Parr, tho director of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, told a charming story at a meeting of the Cardiff branch, of a little Yorkshire girl who got tired at a drawing-room meeting, and at length inquired, in a bored tone: "Mummie, when is tho cruelty going to begin?" # # • * » G.O.K. Mr Roger W. Babson, the American statistician, who has just compiled some startling figures concerning the percentage of correct diagnoses by doctors as compared with tho results of post-mortems, enlivens his report with I a little story of an American doctor's | nxperienco when visiting the London hospitals. iThis doctor noticed over the heads of tho beds history slips, the abbreviations signifying tho nature of tho illnesses, and his curiosity was aroused bv, the frequency of the letters G.O.K. "Tliero seems to be an epidemic of this G.0.K.," he said. "What is it?" "Oh, that means, ' God only knows,' " tile hospital physician explained. **««*, A BALFOUR. STORY. Possibly the neatest story about Mr Balfour is that told oil the occasion of his defeat at a general election. He was elected by another constituency, and later was walking with a friend in tho" lobby of the House of Commons, when a man came up to him and said: "How do you do, Mr Balfour? I ani glad to see you, sir. I trust you are m good health." "Excellent," replied Mr Balfour, warmly; " and I am charmed to see you looking so well._ It is a real pleasure to meet you again, as it always has been." The two walked 011. " Who was that man?" asked Balfour. " His face seems familiar, but 1 cannot remember • him.' 1 " That." replied his friend, "is the man who beat you." # c- ♦ » • BLACKIE'S SYMPATHY. A delightful story is told of the grand old profossor, ol whom Edinburgh is so proud. Professor Blackie was lecturing to a new class with whose personnel ho was very imperfectly acquainted. In answer to somo direction given by tho lecturer, a student rose to read a paragraph, his book in his left hand. .

"Sir!" thundered Blackio, "hold your book in your right' hand." And as the student would have spoken, "No words, sir! Your right hand, I say." The student held up his right arm, ending piteously at the stump of its wrist.

" Sir, I hae nae richt hand," he said, and his voice was unsteady. Before Blackie could open his lips, there arose from the class such a terrific storm of hisses as one perhaps must go to Edinburgh to hear, and by it his voice was overborne as by a wild sea.

Then tlio professor left his place, and went down to'the student he had unwittingly so hurt. He put his arm about the lad's shoulders and drew him close, and the lad leaned up against his breast and looked up at him, as though .Divinity itself had stooped in compassion. " My boy," said Blackie—he spoko very softly, yet not so softly but that every word was audible in tho hush that had fallen on tho classroom—" my boy, you'll forgive me that I was overrough? I did not know—l did not know."

Ho turned to his students, and with a look and tone that came straight from his heart, he said: " And let mo say to you all, I am rejoiced to be shown I am teaching a class of gentlemen." Scottish lads can cheer as well, as hiss, and that Blackie learned abundantly, then and many a time thereafter. . t » * * * THACKERAY IN ABERDEEN. A little book 011 " Sheriff Watson of Aberdeen," just published, reminds us of tho fact, possibly little known, that he was tho founder of industrial schools. Tho visitors to the first schools included Thackeray when lie was in Aberdeen in 1856 lecturing on "The Four Georges," and the Sheriff's diary has this rather extraordinary account of the great novelist's visit to the schools: I asked him (Thackeray) to go to Sugarhous© Lane to see the Juvenile Industrial. As a pieco of vanity, I took with me a volume of his works to show that the childrep could read at sight any ordinary book. A boy had' hardly read a sentence when the groat man said fiercely, "You should not put .satirical books 'into the hands of children." "People who think so," I replied, "should not write satirical books." _ . ' The examination continued, but when I attempted to speak to him he, as I thought at the time, somewhat rudely turned away. I therefore said, "There are several more industrial schools, but they are all conducted 011 a similar plan, and perhaps . you have seen enough." No," he answered peremptorily; "I shall see every one of.them." We got into the cab, and on our way to tho boys' school tho conversation turned on his being _ a candidate for some vacant borough in England, when he gave me a smart slap on the thigh, saying. "You are doing more good than all the members of Parliament in Groat Britain." We visited the Guestrow School, where he admired the activity of the boys in net-making, and the girls' school, where the girls sang vory nicely ; and when about to leavo it I said', "There is another school, but it is newly built, and there is nothing old or interesting about it." He insisted on going, and when we got to " Sheriff Watson's School" it was the children's dinner-hour, and they were all about to assemble in the dining-room. I asked Miss. Nicholson, one of tho ladies' committee, what the children wore to have. "Pea soup." "You should not give them that often," said Thackeray; "it is too heating." "Ah! you don't consider the price of potatoes," said I. "What!" said the novelist, '•'are potatoes so dear?" Then, taking a bunch of notes from his pocket, he handed "one to Miss Nicholson, saying, " That will help to -buy some. He put them back again, and again drew them out and presented another, with 'Take that also." During dinner at night at my house, lie laid down his knife and fork and said to my wife, "Is it allowable, 3lrs AVatson, to sing during dinner, for I cannot get the children's songs out of my head?" Later in the evening he came up to me. "Sheriff," he asked, "did you think I behaved rudely in that school we first visited?" 1 "Well, perhaps—a little." " If I bad attempted to speak, do you think I would have burst out crying like a great lubberly boy?"