WAIFS AND STRAYS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume IX, Issue 14, 2 April 1892, Page 324

WAIFS AND STRAYS.

Grief counts the seconds, happiness foigets the hours. Night conceals a world, but reveals a universe.—Ruskin. The man who declares that life is not worth living wants to kill someone else in preference to himself. Life is made of compensations. By the time a man is old enough to realize what a lot he does not know he is too old to worry over it. In 1016 an awful famine raged throughout all Europe and again from 1193 to 1195, when complete crop failures caused terrible suffering. In England and France the people ate the flesh of cats and dogs, and many cases of cannibalism were recorded. During the latter three years thousands upon thousands perished from starvation. LEAR YEAR LYRIC. I-eap, girls, leap with care. Leap, with a pop. at your part'nere. No more need for trap and snare : Pop, girls, pop, to the bachelaire. A Scotchman was riding a donkey one day across a sheep pasture, but when the animal came to a drain he would not go over, so the man rode back a short distance, turned, and applied the whip, thinking, of course, that the donkey, when at the top of his speed, would jump the drain. But when the donkey got to the drain he stopped shat ply, and the man went over his head and cleared the drain. VY hen he got up he looked the donkey in the face and said, ‘ \ erra well pitched ! But then, boo are you goin to get ower yersel ?’ Let us not deceive ourselves, but bear in mind that what we desire our children to become we must endeavour to be before them. If we wish them to grow up kind, gentle, affectionate, upright and true, we must habitually exhibit the same qualities as regulating principles in our conduct, because the qualities act as so many stimuli to the respective faculties of the child. If we cannot restrain our passions, but atone time overwhelm the young with kindness, and at another surprise and confound them by our caprice and deceit, we may with as much reason expect to gather grapes from thistles or figs from thorns, as to develop moral purity and simplicity of character in them. Repaid a Thousandfold.—Some years ago, a man of fine appearance frequented a celebrated cafe in Faris, and every morning called for a cup of coffee and a roll. One day he went out without paying, and this happened several times. The proprietor was notified, but he answered : ‘ Serve the gentleman as usual, and do not pay the least attention to the bill.’ For one year this went on, when, suddenly, the customer disappeared. The propiietor had almost forgotten him when, to his surprise, be received, freight paid, twelve chests of coffee and twelve bales of sugar. A letter accompanied these singular packages, stating that the writer was a rich planter of Martinique, who for some time had been in difficulties, and thus begged to acknowledge the polite kindness of his host, who for one whole year had allowed him to run into debt at his cafe. MY MARGUERITE. I look upon her brow and see A radiant, crystal purity. And find within her azure eyes fhe loveliness of summer skies; She is so sweet. My Marguerite, I fain would kneel and kiss her feet! My life to her dear life has grown. Till all my being is her own. And every thought and hope her due. Though lam forty, she but two; And O so sweet Is Marguerite. I kneel and kiss her dainty feet I The Honest Celestial. —Mr Moule, in his ‘ New China and Old,’ written after thirty years' residence in that country as a missionary, gives the native merchants an enviable reputation for integrity. Indeed, what he has to say upon this point may very well set a New Zealand reader to thinking, if not to blushing. One general statement may be made as to the character of Chinese business men. It used to be a common dictum that the word of a Cantonese Hong merchant was woith as much as another man's bond. Two years ago, the manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (an English house) publicly avowed that in the course of a long experience he had never known, so far as his bank was concerned, a Chinese defaulter in money transactions. Not long ago a foreigner travelled about China, leaving with native traders quantities of his goods for sale, informing them at the same time of the name of the firm in Shanghai to whom remittances should be sent. Many of these traders were in outof the way places ; but so far they have regularly remitted the proceeds of their sales, tine man at Tientsin had credit to the extent of a thousand dollars. He has since then retired from business ; but he regularly sends money to the Shanghai agents in liquidation of his debt.

Letters of Recommendation. —A letter of introduction is usually supposed to be a sure passport for the bearer to the favour of the person to whom it is addressed. But according to the experience of Anton Rubinstein, the pianist and composer, it is sometimes well to investigate the contents of such a letter. When Rubinstein went to Vienna, in 1846, full of talent and hope, he took a dozen letters of introduction to prominent people in that city, from the Russian ambassador and his wife, in Berlin. Vienna was the residence of Liszt and one of the great musical centres of Europe, and young Rubinstein anticipated making many warm friends. He made his calls and left his letters at the houses of the people to whom they were addressed, and then waited for replies and invitations, but none came. After five or six letters had met this response of absolute silence, he was utterly at a loss to understand the meaning of such treatment. * I will see,’ he said at last, ‘ what is said about me in these letters.’ Accordingly he opened one and this is what he read :—* My DeaT Countess :To the position which we (the ambassador and his wife), occupy, is attached the tedious duty of patronizing and recommending our various compatriots in order to satisfy their oftentimes clamorous requests. We, therefore, recommend to you the »earer of this, one Rubinstein.’ The riddle was solved. The enraged pianist flung the remaining letters in the fire, and resolved to rely or. his own unaided efforts to procure friends in the future.