HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 20073, 9 October 1920, Page 8

HERE AND THERE.

’A SOCIAL AMBASSADOR., , The announcement that Lord Ha* dingo has been appointed ambassador at I’am—-the blue ribbon of the British Diplomatic Service—is another indicatiou of thffl impossibility of stopping a man who is popular socially in London (says the “Bulletin”). As Vicef ay , of S dla ¥ as tho antral figure m the Mesopotamian horror. A Royal Commission divided the blame for the unreadiness which led to the death oil thousands of men before and after Kut ¥{q’ ee lUm „ and Sir w ilham Meyer. The Times remarked of tho latter that he possessed “neither tho intX tmn nor the spirit of a loyal British subject j and the Commission actunt.3o , far ns to recommend a legal inquiry into the conduct of the S ? ia , **• scout the Commission's recommendaWk’rt'B lt b r U | llt Lord Hardingo hack to the_ post of permanent Under-Secretaj-y of State for Foreign Affairs which he had occupied before ho went ¥,¥¥ 91 °- is not a man o marked ability, though his charm, vajdeedand ft°° d ° OCs ar ® Ver -Y marked indeed. Ho was as popular in India (where, nevertheless, ho was Wounded m the course of an attempt on his life) as Lord Chelmsford is disliked; and in his younger days he was one of the finest cross-country riders in England. \ "J?” . gentleman—those are hi,, claims to distinction, and they have served him well. y w V ONE ON THE YANKEE belitttefeve^tltelrife 1011 ’ thl 9, Ynak ® 0 ffighlaPdße^wSeli U ?l nio^ nthe pared with the mountains of the 8 Wo-i" and the rushing Soev buf „ u l ’ brooklet. But the guide i W ° llcU venge._ Taking tho visitofrt + HS / P ‘ of £t hill overlooking Kpey, he pointed teffou? seftf ° f r ho neys, all belching forth sunll ° steam, and remarked •• IV k ;? ud (Ustllleriesjaad V LARGE and costly monuments. rises newlf 800 S feet a an6 nUn j ent ' wkjc h n a F Barnes. The “ Battln /f J railJ{ monument ataiidsm°rt! t ¥,^ atlon s” pWa rtmaX 1 ,h ,° army. One millmw ¥,?• Napoleon’s few n Sy hVa'S ft 0 “"r a cost of in rnnnSlF’ and presents Ne?t to lL d , £300,000. to tto TOld ffS’ I ‘ 1,1 th » Wl.6St oostliLfc TU SV ¥ no “eans the oobwiGSD. inis distinction belong + n the national memorial to Victor B’mma! er f ted on the OapitolineS in Rome at a cost of £4.000 000 r+ took thirty-one yearß to compff this huge pile of marble steps, covered with • baS T¥ efs and moaSr S' com, the architect who designed it, died ,° n ? '’ efoT ® work was finished, but he loft models complete in every detail pmd b with gma pbUIS WOr ® never tam “ V

BAN ON WHISTLING.

Whistling is prohibited In the city of Agana under penalty of a live-dollar Bno, by order of Captain Gilmer, gov, ernor of Guam and commandant of the Lmted States naval station there. His order reads: —The practice of whistling Is an entirely unnecessary and irritating noise, which must be discontinued, it is therefore ordered and decreed that no person shall whistle within the limits of the city of Agana. The penalty for a violation of this order shall be an executive fine not to exceed five dollars.

king OF BARDS. The coveted distinction of being crowned King of Bards for tho year has been bestowed at tho Welsh National Eisteddfod on a working coal miner. The crowned bard is Mr James bvans, whose prize poem received almost Unqualified praise. Mr Evans intended to join tlm ministry and began a course of theological training, but owing to an impediment in his speech he was compelled to forgo his pulpit aspirations. Ho then entered tho coal pit but pursued his studies until ho graduated, and then resumed coal hewing, his present occupation.,'

ASBESTOS WOOD. Asbestos wood is remarkable in manf ways. It is comparatively light in weight; structurally strong and practically everlasting. It can be “ worked,” fastened and painted like ordinary, woods, hut unlike them it does not , warp or crack in service. It is all the more remarkable because of the positive ! fire-protection It afford? with a mini-! mum thickness—as against prick, tile, 1 and other materials —thereby saving valuable floor space, It is widely used as a fire barrier in walla, partitions, doors and ceilings in hospitals, libraries, ! public buildings, residences, foundries, warehouses, machine shops, garages and almost every other type of building. In this application it takes the form of roofing, sheathing, window casing, mouldings, cabinets, tank lin- 1 mgs, flooring and battens. For electrical purposes asbestos wood plain or impregnated is less absorptive, has greater dielectric strength, is lighter in weight, has greater insulation resistance, and is structurally stronger than 1 competing materials; jt wiU hob oraclp under the jhighesl voltage, v

MUSICIANS LAMENT.

Tro long haired Germans and tho often unshaven Russians, without whom, before tho war no British musical entertainment Could hate hoped for success, have settled on London again like a swarm of bees, ousting thousands; of British musicians from their jobs. The British public, where the arts are concerned, asserts the peculiar national trait of self-effacement and wills itself to believe that no musician of its owu flesh and blood can be an. artist; that musical genius is always to be found outside these islands. Hence it has taken the return of tho foreign musicians as part of the usual scheme of things, with the result that pinny English girls who seized tho opportunity offered by the men being at tho war to adopt music as a profession have been thrown out of employment. “We would not mind if the men were Britishers, but they ore not,"' said one girl violin player. “As matters stand girls'are being 'sacked * everywhere to make room for men who are maiiilr foreigners. We want our chance i‘o make good. No girl now gets an opportunity, not of a good engagement, but of any engagement at all,”

WOLYES AS PETS. A certain number of persona in Rome keep wolves, which, when taken and trained from cubs, make apparently amusing and at the same tinio very distinguished pets. A correspondent was offered Ida choice of a litter of four baby wolves that had been taken in the Abruzzi. The price was not excessive : 200 francs a cub (about £3 at tho current rate of exchange); Tho owner of tho little creatures who took them out for a walk in tho evening one by one on tho lead,” disposed of them all within a few days. A naturalise says that it is possible to tame wolves up to a certain point, but when thoget old they generally show a tendency to t n ,. .ttd 7 v. v s7-j' &