GIRLS AND GYMNASTICS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 4079, 28 February 1894, Page 5

GIRLS AND GYMNASTICS.

According to the Vienna 'Tageblatt,' a great amount of feeling has been aroused over the establishment of the Vienna gymnasium for girls and the proposal to establish a similar institution in Berlin. Many of the old German ladies are opposed to these departures ; and one of their number, representing a solid body of opinion on the subject, asks : " What can possibly be the use of Latin, Greek, philosophy, and algebra to a hausf rau ? She can* carve a goose equally well without such knowledge. If her husband refuses to buy her a new dress or hat, can she not be soon equal with him without going in for a course of philology." The ladies scoff at the idea of women lawyers, declaring that as a wbman would never admit that her case was lost, lawsuits would drag on for ever. At present the education of a middle-class German girl includes a thorough and systematic instruction in general history, the special history and literature of her own country, and one accomplishment — as a rule, music. She can also write a good hand, knows sufficient arithmetic for practical purposes, and in the arts of cutting garments, embroidering, darning, acd cooking, she is a highly competent housewife. Add to this fact that one of the moat striking features of German domestic life is the quiet happiness of the women, and it is little wonder that the elderly hausfraus of the old school object to her innovations.

LEOPARD-HUNTING IN INDIA

" Quick, sir, quick, a leopard is trying to take the sheep." I suddenly awoke to find my old bearer, Gunga Singh, by my bedside with my rifle in his hand. The said sheep — one I had bought for food — was tethered overnight within a few paces of my servants' tents. I was out of bed m a second, slipped on a pair of chupplies (sandals), put on my belt and knife over my pyjamas, and walked quietly towards the sheep, which was in a great state of excitement, though nowhere could I see the cause. Gunga meanwhile hastily whispered what had happened. About ten o'clock he and the khitmagar (cook) were lying on their beds half asleep, when suddenly a gooral (chamois) rushed helterskelter across the grass, right through the camp, and away, evidently in a great fright. This rather astonished them, but half an hour later the sheep began bounding about and straining at its rope, and they saw a leopard come out from the shadow of the t*es and crawl flat along the ground towards it. Both men uttered exclamations of surprise, and the leopard, seeing them, slowly drew back into the darkness behind a tree trunk, but in a few seconds again began to creep up, so Gunga ran off to wake me. Such was the story. I at once saw that I could not fire without risk of hitting one of my coolies, who were lying about in all directions asleep under the trees, so decided to quietly move the sheep, feeling sure the leopard would follow. Alongside my tent stood a big mango tree, the ground round it open as a lawn, so here I fastened the sheep to a well-secured iron peg, then clambered into the fork of the tree — an uncomfortable climb in pyjamas. The open ground was in moonlight, though the moon was just about to disappear behind the Sirmoor hills, but my perch, overhung by boughs, was in the shade, and I found it scarcely possible to see the muzzle of my rifle, even though I was using a white paper foresight, and on trying aiming at surrounding objects realised it was any odds against decent shooting.

I had not long to wait. In about five minutes the sheep became wild with fright, and I saw a shadowy form stealing up ; but when quite close something startled it, for it bolted back, but stopped, and sat down about forty yards off — no use firing, I could so indistinctly see it. A few minutes, and it again crept up, the sheep at first tugging frantically at its rope, then, when its enemy came close, apparently resigning itself to its fate, for it fell on its knees, with its head stretched out along the ground. Sneaking up, the leopard, a small one, came right up to the bait, but instead of at once seizing it stood alongside and sniffed it, the wretched sheep cowering motionless on the ground. Now was my chance, the brute not fifteen yards off, and just clear ; so, though feeling a hit would be rather a fluke, slowly up with the rifle and fired. Bang ! a cloud of dust, and the sheep standing alone — a clean miss, no mistake about it. Most aggravating ; still, one cannot expect to shoot straight in the middle of the night. I loathe night shooting ; it is always most unsatisfactory work. All the same, if, instead of a rifle, I had to-night been using a gun with a charge of large slugs I would have nailed that leopard to a certainty, and I am much inclined to think that it is the best thing to shoot with unless the night is exceptionally light. A man I know has shot several that way with the gun, though, on one occasion, on going next morning to find his dead leopard, was very disgusted to see instead a mangy old hyena which he had overnight made sure was he of the spotted skin.

For several nights after this I had goats tied up in different parts of the surrounding jungles, but nothing touched them, and the only khubber I got was that some miles from where I was camped. About seven o'clock in the evening a leopard had seized a buffalo calf, but the herd had set upon it and killed it, trampling and goring it to death. My experience is that they rarely meddle with the buffaloes ; the old ones are much too huge and formidable brutes to tackle, and the young calves they either do not fancy, or else know what they have to expect from the herd, and so leave them alone. A small cow is much more to their taste, and far the best thing to tie up for a kill ; but unfortunately caste prejudices prevent the sacred beast being put to such a use, and the mild Hindoo will see you somewhere before he will sell one, or have anything to do with such a crime, so one's only hope is that while the cattle are out in the jungle feeding one may fall a victim. Besides, I always think what I call a natural " kill " is far more likely to result in one getting a shot than a cow or other animal killed when tied up for that purpose, for the leopard is a most wily brute, and either the rope his prey is tied with, or something, causes his suspicions, and he either never returns at all, or else waits till the dead of night when it is absolutely impossible for him to be seen. I have~ known this happen over and over again, and very disheartening it is, after sitting waiting, cramped and motionless, for perhaps three hours or more. "When talking of sitting over goats I often think of the story — I do not vouch for its truth — of the two sportsmen who, having discovered the whereabouts of a leopard, decided to sit up together and to stay all night over a goat tied close below them. At sunset they clambered up into their tree and commenced their watch. Gradually it got darker and darker, still nothing came, and the watchers began to get very weary. Go home ? No a bit of it ; they had made up their minds to stay all night, and they were going to. After a time they arranged one should sleep while the other did sentry, but soon the watcher began to nod, and before long both were slumbering. A machan, even at its best, is not too comfortable or secure, and one of the sleepers, disturbed by his dreams, lurched heavily, overbalanced himself, and fell ten feet or more, crash on top of the goat. Result — a frightful commotion, man and goat both struggling on the ground together, both pretty well frightened out of their wits, while the other sportsman, waking suddenly, hearing the noise, and seeing something struggling with the goat, thought the leopard had seized it, and hastily " loosed off." Fortunately a clean miss, or this comedy might have had a most tragical ending. — 'Field.'

Mother : " Now, Violet, can you give me any reason why I shouldn't punish, you ?** Violet : " 'Es, I tan ; ye doctor said, 'oo mustn't take any vi'lent excise." "So you wrote her a poem?" "Yes," replied the young man, sadly. "What did she say ? " " She said she admired my letter, but she didn't quite understand why every line began with a capital letter."