Here and There.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXX, Issue XV, 11 April 1903, Page 988

Here and There.

There ire upwards of 150 raspberry plantations in the Motueka district, the largest being 25 acres.

There are now 19 motor-cars in Christchurch, uid that number will soon be considerably augmented

Life in Wellington is getting tolerably lively just now. What with burglars, sneak-thieves and pickpockets, residents and visitors have to be on their guard both day and night.

A lecturer was holding forth on the evils of tight-lacing, which he illustrated by grim diagrams. A lady fainted, and it was found that it was through extravagant tight-lacing. She was the lecturer’s wife.

Sir William Steward ppmplains that even the Government Gazette mutilates .Maori names. ..He ..remarks ’that in the Gazette of the. 12tlr insf... -.the name of I’ukehiwitahi, the bill on , which the John McKenzie cairn stands, is spelt Pukelvitai.

At the conclusion of one of the recent seasons at Durban the stagemanager stepped befdre tlx,e cr eurtain 10 make a few remarks appropriate to the occasion, and in the course of his speech intimated that the company “would be going* away for four weeks and would return in about live.’’ He secured by this “Irishism” the biggest laugh of the evening; and it so tickled the famous comedian, Mr. Harry Nicholls, that before leaving the company to return to England lie presented Mr. Howitt with the following effusion: Tn loving memory of a certain valedictory speech, delivered in Durban, South Africa, June 30, 1902. Wo nifty part from a-friend with a smile or. a sigh, . Or a nod - or a drink at the bar. A fervent “God bless you, old fellow! Good bye !” Or an offhand “So long!’’ or ‘‘Ta-ta.’* But what humour and pathos*that man can convey. ' ?"■ 'j In the few farexvell words that ho speaks. .When he says, “For .a niQ.ntli.L ani. going away, - • ■ : ' i " And shall be back again in five weeks.*'

A London cable published in the American papers of March 13 says: The Karl of Ellsmere, who last Sunday eould only be considered moderately wealthy, is to-day. one of the richest noblemen of Great. Britain., He has come into possession of property amounting to millions of pounds. His enrichment was tlie result of a stimulation in the will of the third and last Ihikeof Bridgewater, that all his canal properties should be held under the Bridgewater trust, and nursed until one hundred years from the day of his death, when they were to descend to the rightful heir. The Duke of Bridgewater was file fifther of canals in England. Little care was taken of his education, and he grew up to be an-about-town, gambler, and race-horse owner. Later lie settled down, developed his colleries, and his big system of canals. He died, unmarried, in 1803. His will is in the British Museum.

Mr William Alling, a millionaire, jeweller. is pondering sadly over the maxim that “no man is a hero to his valet”— or coachman, certainly if there be of British breed. Mr, Alling .tent to England for a coachman' who “must have driven one of the nobility.” He engaged one Alexander Gordon. The sequel has liecn furnished in the. Newark (C.S.A.) Police Court. ‘•Because he's served the nobility in England.” Mr. Alling informed the court, •'lie is imbued with contempt for the democratic institutions and homes of this country. He presumes to dictate to my wife as to when she shall have the privilege of driving out in liar own carriage. His haughty ways make our lives unbearable. 1 paid him his wages last Monday and duvhargcd him, but he rcl'm-es

to be discharged, or to give up the rooms lie occupies at my house.” ' “I’ve not been discharged,” Gordon told the Judge. “I have a contract until February 12, and I won’t go till then. I’m too high priced for Alling. He has not been used to a high-class coachman. That’s all that’s the matter with him.” Judge Lambert informed Mr. Alling that the case was one for the civil courts.

Bishopscourt at Parnell, the residence of the Bishop of Auckland, which some time ago was in some need of repair, lias recently undergone complete renovation. The place has been painted inside and out, it lias been reroofed, all the drains have been liitel and relaid, new iron fencing has been erected around the grounds, ami new gas fittings have, been supplied inside the building. The bell tower has been repaired and re-roofed. The repairs have been so' complete that Bishopscourt is now in first-class order, and, having been originally built of the very best material, it will last for many years to come. Several hundreds of pounds ftu.ro been spent in the renovation work.

'There were many unfinished phrases in the maiden speech with which Mr Dis raeli made his parliamentary debut., but one of them has become famous in the annals of oratory. “When the hurried Hudson rushed through the chambers of the. Vatican, with the keys of Peter in one hand, and in the other— ’’ the. speaker began, and at this point the noise drowned his voice and the rest of the. sentence was lost. Mr Disraeli, whose reference was to a King’s messenger named Hudson who was pursuing Sir Bobt. Peel with a letter from the King summoning Peel to form a Government, had no chance of informing the House what Hudson had in his other hand, and the point has often been speculated upon. Even the well-informed Sir M. E- Grant Duff has ventured a theory on the subject, forgetting or not knowing that the matter was really cleared up in the lobby after “Dizzy” had sat down. Though the speech was a failure, it was at least a brilliant failure, and congratulations poured in upon the young member from all sides.- One of those who encouraged him was the Attorney-General of the time, who, though he had never seen Disraeli before, spoke to him with great cordiality and asked him to fill iii the missing word. “Could you tell me just how you finished one sentence in your speech,’’ said the Minister—-“in one hand the keys of St. Peter, and in the other ?” “In the other tlie cap of liberty, Sir John,” replied Disraeli, and the Attorney - General confessed that it was “a good picture ” “But your friends will not allow me to finish in the pictures,” said Disraeli, whom Sir John promptly assured that “there was the liveliest desire to hear you from us. It was a party at the bar, over whom we had no control; but you have nothing to be afraid of.”

Last week the Premier received from the secretary of the Mallee. Farmers’ Relief Committee, Swan Hill, a letter which stated that owing to the drought, farmers in Shire Castle and Donnington have been unable to harvest a single grain of the crop. The fund organised in Melbourne had enabled the committee to support over 200 families, but although the Government was advancing .£ 100,000 for the purchase of seed wheat and fodder, it would not nearly suffice for the 3400 square miles that had to be sown. The committee accordingly solicited a contribution of seed wheat from New Zealand, and expressed its willingness to pay freight and Customs charges on any that might be sent. The Premier replied:—“l may say that there is some misapprehension. The New Zealand Government never offered to subscribe seed wheat to individual parties or committees. New Zealand did, however, make an offer to the respective State Governments of Australia to interest itself in obtaining contributions of seed wheat, and fodder. The replies generally were that the necessity for such help did not exist, the drought being broken up, etc., and there

the mat ten ended. I have giVen publicity to the application made, and should local authorities or private parties take the matter up I shall be glad to help in either carrying free of cost on our railways, or in any other way which seems meet.”

The Auckland Harbour Board on March 31 adopted the recommendations of the Board in committee as follows: ‘’That the secretary be instructed to inform . the Government that the Admiral has in wilting notified the Board of his inability to make use of Admiralty House: that therefore the Board• is of opinion that the house is not- required for the purposes ot the Admiralty House Act, 1898. The Board therefore, subject to the consent of the Governor, offers the house to the Government upon such terms as may he mutually agreed upon, a copy of the Admiral’s statement to the chairman of the Board to be enclosed.”

One of the. most remarkable contrasts between society at the beginning of the nineteenth century and at the dawn of the twentieth is to be found in the ball-room of the period. The arts and graces of daily life, which were cultivated to such perfection—an almost too elaborate perfection—by our Georgian ancestors, disappeared apparently with the swords and ruffles and satins and brocades which then made men and women picturesque. To-day we see them only on the stage, divorced alike from chamber and salon, and even then they arc so obviously a rtificial that they make us blush for shame at our own physical delinquencies. What would the young men and maidens, who danced the minuet. the gavotte, and those other quaint old measures of pre-Victorian days with such easy grace anil precision (remarks A. S. Cook-Suggit in “Public Opinion”) think of the wild horse scrambling to which the dancing of the present day has been degraded? What woutd they think of the clumsiness of the average man’s waltzing, of the riotous confusion evolved from hazy reminiscences of the lancers, of the contempt with which the quadrilles are thrust aside and ignored, or of the mad stampeding cultivated in the barn dance (so-called, perhaps, because. the rough floors of village inn club rooms, and the hob-nailed boots of shock-headed rustics supply the conditions under which it is most advantageously performed) 1 The. astonishment and bewilderment with which the spectacle would fill them may he too easily conjectured. i

The law, turning harsh looks upon all forms of gambling, particularly enacts that any person using a place for the purpose of betting with persons resorting thereto shall be liable to a deterrent penalty. Now what does this mean? Will the mere fact that bets are made at an hotel with people coming there constitute the offence, or must it be shown that the defendant has some sort of interest in the “place” before he can be said to be using it in the sense meant by the Legislature? These were the facts: One Scriven was the licensee of an inn in a picturesque part of England. Tromans was a professed bookmaker and Instill was his clerk. Tromans was in the habit of frequenting’ the bar, where he carried on the business of ready-money betting with anybody who chanced to be there. The circumstance of Tromans visiting the bar was known to' the licensee; and there was some sort of understanding on the subject between Seriven and Tromans and his clerk. It was not shown that Tromans, or the elerk, had any refreshment at the inn. or was a customer, or, indeed, had any kind of interest in the hotel as such, or in the business carried on there, in any shape or form, nor did lie occupy any specific part of the bar. Neither was there any proof that any of the persons who betted with Tromans took refreshment at the inn- The court, however, held that, the lack of proof on these points was not material, and that ihc offence aimed at by the statute was complete upon evidence that Tromans frequented the bar for the purpose of betting. It may be assumed that the conviction of the defendant (which the magistrate had entered) might not have stood if it had been shown that the licensee had not tacitly or otherwise allowed the “use” of the premises by Tromans nml his clerk. (Trvuittns v- Hodgkinson.) "~

“Do vou want your likeness for family use?” asks a Sydney photographer, as he seats his victim, “or for reproduction in the newspapers?” The price is the same, but the likeness is not.

A New Judgment of Solomon.—Frederick Duck and John Barberi both claimed the ownership of the same goat at Long Island City (U.S.A.) last week. To decide the dispute the animal was brought into court. It butted Barberi over, but fawned on Duck. The magistrate decided in Duck’s favour.

Notice of motion was recently given by Mr Joseph Hoult, the Conservative member for the Wirral Division, declaring the constitution of the Board of Trade to be obsolete, and urging the substitution for it of a Minister of Commerce and Industry.

In his parish magazine, the vicar of Islington invites young men to join the ‘'Bell-ringers' Guild,” on the ground that bell-ringing is a preferable pastime to the “brutal game of football,” which has stolen some devotees from his belfry.

Edliem Pasha, the victorious general of the Turco-Greek war, is in supreme command of the Turkish troops in Macedonia, and his appointment to this position is in itself a sufficient proof that the Turkish Government takes a serious view of the situation.

An ideal condemned murderer from a reporter’s point of view has turned up in America. Charles Gretlrer, a condemned murderer in prison at Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, has asked for a telephone to be fitted in his cell. He is anxious to converse over it with his friends, and also to communicate with the newspapers.

At the Marlborough Gun Club's £ 100 Pigeon Match, shot off on Tuesday, the 21th lilt., Mr Broderick, who tied and divided £9O with Messrs J. Redwood. 11. Cheeseman, Annandale, Eeeles, Price, G. Cheeseman, and Richardson. _ was using the Colonial Ammunition Company’s “Favourite” cartridges, with the company’s, patent bi-concave wadding.

A coincidence of a peculiarly grim character has occurred ill the experience the Rev. T. E. Phillips, of Pittsburg. Twenty years ago while he was in Sterling, Illinois, he was called upon to preach a funeral service over a wellknown resident there. 'During the service the man came to life. Mr Phillips has just visited Sterling again for the first time since that incident. He received another call to officiate at a funeral. It was the same man. This time the obsequies were not interrupted.

Modern enterprise! M. Giron, says the Geneva correspondent of the “New York Herald,” has had many offers from people who were willing to make his fortune —and, incidentally, theirs. One energetic manager of a London musie hall offered him an engagement at an enormous salary, while a gentleman from New York suggested a series of lectures in the States. The princess in this case was to accompany him on the stage, but would not be expected to speak. Another astute business man wanted him to write an advertisement eulogising a certain well-known patent medicine. The strangest offer of all camo from a circus proprietor, who offered to organise a gigantic outdoor fete, at which M. Giron would make an ascent in a balloon.

Over l,ooo,ooocwts. of apples were imported into England in 1902 in excess of the imports of 1901. In the trade this great increase is attributed almost entirely io the shortage of the home crop, but the “Gardeners’ Magazine” believes that the fact that England is every year becoming more and more a fruit-eating nation is not without an important bearing on these figures. It points out as a proof the great advance which the banana has made, the number of bunches imported during 1902 being 2,1*05.700 (valued at £1,000,263), or more than double the number of the 1900 consignments. "**•-. .

A strong protest against the criminal alien was made by the Recorder at the Old Bailey recently. “These foreigners,” said Sir Forrest Fulton, referring- to a ease in which three aliens were charged with assaulting a constable, “invade the shores of this country, compete with our own citizens in their efforts to obtain a livelihood, and not only are they undesirables, but some of them are undesirables of the most vicdent class. This court is occupied for days each session in trying these disreputable foreigners, whom, nevertheless, we receive with ojien arms in a manner which would be possible in no other country in the world.” Equally emphatic! protests have been made by the head of every other judicial tribunal of London.

Our great-grandfathers had a way of announcing marriage ceremonies whieh would hardly find favour nowadays. The following cases in point have been unca rthed: "On August 22, 1782, at Bath, Captain Hamilton, aged 28, married Mrs. Monson, an aged lady of 86, but possessing rank and much wealth.” “Robert Judge, of Cooksborough, Ireland, aged 95, to Miss Annie Nugent, aged 15. Robert Judge was an offices in King William’s army, and was wounded in the nose.”

At the New Zealand Defence Force Rifle Association meeting at Trentlram, on March sth last, the Colonial Ammunition Company's .303 ammunition, of which fully 600,000 rounds were used, gave, the greatest satisfaction. We hear from a good authority that Colonel Somerville telegraphed both to the Right Honourable the Premier and General Babington saying that the ammunition used was very satisfactory, and equal to the best the Colonel had come across while in England a short time ago, when, it will be remembered, he attended a Bisley meeting, where* he had the best c-hanee of judging the merits of the English .303 manufacture. This speaks well for the New Zealand manufacture, and we congratulate the company on the qualify- of their ammunition.

The German Emperor ami Empress have evidently- found their subjects—at any rate, some of them —a little too obtrusive and gushing in their demonstrations of homage and curiosity, for tins official telegraph bureau has issued, tin article, evidently inspired by- the Court Marshal’s Office, begging the toady public to restrain themselves at the sight of their Majesties riding or driving through the streets. The Emperor and his august spouse are, of course, grateful and pleased that a desire should be abroad to show them respect, but they would be greatly obliged if such persons as are animated with this laudable desire would tone down their demonstrativeness and refrain from frightening the Royal horses by hurling bouquets and waving handkerchiefs. People with petitions for the Emperor are also informed that documents of this character are more likely to be noticed if sent through the usual channels than if pitched into a passing carriage.

It is announced, on the authority of a fashionable London corset-maker, that England's male curled darlings are at present suffering from an attack of “corset fever”; and that, in the swell London army clubs, “stays” arc as seriously ami as deeply discussed as if they were a weighty problem of State. The hump-backed man, who might use corsets with advantage, caught the idea froin the comical De Wet chasers of the army; then the dude, who daily parades Rotten Row, thought his “figure” would look much more fetching, encuicd in whale-bom; after which the waxed, belltoppered sparks of the Stock Exchange “caught on.” As a result, in London to-day, the male corset is worn openly and without a blush,'and men of fashion and social weight bail each other up to consult anxiously about their respective whalebones ami to consider whether they would look better if they tightened in a little.

The well-known Assyriologist, Dr. Hugo Winckler, has published an account of the legislation promulgated by King Amraphcl of Babylon, which, so far »h is known at present, was the first hook of laws ever given to the world. King Amrnphel lived 2250 years 8.C.,

Mid is mentioned in the Bible as a contemporary- of Abraham, so that his statutes were drawn up fully five centuries before the laws of Moses. They numlier 282, and contain the following:— If a woman-who sells beverages gives laid value for the money paid to her, she shall be thrown into water. If a wife be a spendthrift, or if she otherwise neglect her duties, -her husband may put her away without compensation: but if a man put away his wife for no other reason than that she has no children, lie shall return her whole dowrv.

If a betrothal be rescinded, the man shall pay the woman compensation. A widow with grown-up children may not marry again without permission from a judge.

One of the Paris newspapers has been giving an interesting list of the works of the late M. Zola, apropos of the forthcoming sale of the author’s country housa at Medan, which is valued at £ 8000. The list includes the numbers sold of each .work —a fair criterion of the popularity of the different subjects treated. "La Debacle.” which reached by far the largest number of sales of any one book, ran to 207,000 copies, and brought the author in several thousand pounds: of “Nana,” the second favourite according to the publishers’ figures. 193,000 copies were sold; "Lourdes” and “L’Assommoir” were bought to the extent of 154.000 and 151.000 copies respectively. It is calculated that M. Zola’s profits on his household books during the past thirty years reached £60,000, and in addition ho received as much as £lOOO for each newspaper story- contributed during the past decade, and nearly £4O weekly from the “Figaro” for special articles. Large sums were also derived from the dramatic works and popular edition's.

An interesting action for damages is just now before the Genoa courts, by which a photographer named Ricci is being sued by Signorina Ida de Frate for £3OOO damages. Some time ago the lady-, who is exceedingly beautiful, had her photograph taken by Ricci in the ordinarv way. ami the portrait was such an artistic one that Ricci decided to avail himself of the craze for picture postcards bv publishing the photograph in this form. Thousands of the cards were sold in all parts of the country, and Ricci is said to have reaped a handsome profit. On account of the publieitv- given to the lady- in this way. Signorina. Frate’s affianced husband broke off his engage-

ment and refused to marry her. the action for damages against the photographer, who, however, maintains that it was with the lady’s consent that the cards were circulated.

Quite recently the world was startled to learn that a syndicate bad been formed—in America, it is needless to add—to utilise the full moon as an advertising medium. There is, however, another scheme, also of Yankee origin, which is infinitely more full of terrifying possibilities. Parrots are being trained in America to shriek in the ears of customers such phrases as ‘-Have vou tried Cyrus B. Flint’s chewing gum? If not, why not?” The idea has “caught on,’ in this country, and bird fanciers and amateurs will soon be spending hours every day impressing innocent young birds with the fact that ‘-Blank’s baking powder is the best.” Bovril, Limited, are enchanted with the idea, ami are now considering the advisability of offering handsome prizes for sagacious birds who will rattle off the Bovril catch-phrases, as seen on the hoardings, without ome descending to the usual parrot flippancies. The birds will be scattered among the retailers, and elderly ladies waiting to be served at the grocer’s will be suddenly startled by n weird travesty of a voice, coming from nowhere in particular, exclaiming: “I hear they want more Bovril.’’

The Melbourne honorary brak really seems to be a good deal of a pl .‘in lunatic. The latest outbreaking of this person arose over the. case of a jam factory girl of 16. who, seeing a strange girl in the street, knocked her down, and kicked her o'er the heart till she was insensible. She whs removed to (he hospital, and it isn’t certain that her injuries aren’t permanent. Ami when the murderous female was fined !/ wiih Cl costs, and allowed eight weeks to pay, the following dialogue took place: Mr. Phipps. J.P.. who said he thought it was scandalous for a girl sixteen years of age to be sent out to earn her living at a jam factory, dissented from the decision. Mr. Witt (chairman): Look at. that poor girl, probably injured for life. Mr. Phipps: Look at (hat other poor girl. $•« nt to earn her living at a jam factory! The humanity of the J.P.. when he has any, seems a quaintly '.liotic and onesided sentiment. Because he thinks a girl shouldn’t, work nt a jam factory he holds that she should be allowed to nearly murder another git 1 with impunity.

Claimed by W. O. Voliva, Dowie’a general agent in Australia, that nearly 40 people have already gone from Melbourne or Sydney to Zion City (the city whose construction is said to have stopped short for want of funds), the third and largest batch having left last week; also that 10 more are going from Adelaide. Voliva told a “Register” interviewer that “those who have gone are all people of means, who will be able to purchase their land and build residences of their own” (presumably they will buy the land from Dowie). Questioned as to a poor man’s chances, the apostle replied, guardedly, that “if he were in America everything within the power of Zion would be done consistent with good business sense to help him.” Shylock himself would have done so much as that. Voliva has taken a three years’ lease of the Adelaide Federal Hall, so that he may there expound the cult of the Bogus Elijah with the flapping wings. Bowie’s success, such as It is, sets one thinking. He runs a bank, a great building enterprise, and a religion, and they prop up each other. If the Premier Permanent Building Society had also started a new religion, with a commandment in it that all good believers must put their money in the Society, and that he who took his money out when the Society happened to be short was a. backslider of the backtab description, the P.P. might be alive to-day.”

We have grown sentimental regarding capital punishment, says an English paper. Seventy-five years ago these sentences on men, women and children were passed at a single sessions of the Old Bailey.

The Recorder, states the “Globe” of 1827, passed the awful sentence of death on the following prisoners: James Whitehead, a boy, for highway robbery. Daniel Davis, for stealing a letter from the Post Office.

John Adams and Joseph Finch, for burglary. Honor Baldwin, wife of James Baldwin, for stealing in a dwelling-house.

Teresa Davis, Thomas Williams, Charles Lewis, John Cranley, and Edward Webster, for burglary. Samuel Wilson, for stealing in a dwelling house.

Mary Ann Sullivan and Martha Bellamy, for stealing from the person. William Davis, Daniel Burn (a young boy), William Jones (a mere child, apparently r.ot more than eight years of age), for stealing in a dwelling-house.

James Wilson, William Howard, Frederick Langley, and Robert Young, for burglary. Richard Hill and Thomas Vandera, for stealing in a dwelling-house. Richard Hayes, for cattle-stealing.

William Keates (convicted last ses sions), for sheep-stealing.

There was an unrehearsed scene just before, the Corrick Family of entertainers opened at St Arnaud (Victoria) that would have crowded the house had it been advertised beforehand. Corrick pere having hired the Town Hall, shifted the Council’s piano from the floor to the stage. This the Mayor objected to, lest it. might fall through the platform,

or something, and ordered Corrick to remove it. Corrick said be had hired the instrument with the hall, and proposed to put it where it would suit him best. The Mayor, the Town Clerk and the road inspector started to carry the piano by storm, but were met and defeated by the Corrick family. Then Corrick armed himself with a bucketful of water and dared them to renew hostilities. Just then the Council’s gardener, who had been cleaning out the bed of the lake, happened along. He was covered in mud from head to foot, and didn’t care tuppence for anybody; moreover, a shower bath would do him more good than harm; so he went for the challenger “re?ardless.” Corrick also was willing, so here was a pleasing but muddy “go in” for the space of five minutes. The gardener lost much of his mud in the “unpleasantness,” most of it cleaving to Corrick, though the Mayor got a few ounces, and a bucket fell on the Town Clerk. Finally the matter was settled by His 'Worship refunding the money paid for the use of the piano, and Corriek hiring another machine—which was a lame and impotent ending after the waste of so much mud and energy.

The specifications for the two new Cunarders which are intended to take the record of the Atlantic away from the German liners are now prepared.

The vessels will have three propellers—one in the centre, as in the single-screw steamers, and one on each side a little deeper in the water than the centre one. Their length will be 730 ft, which is 10ft longer than the Oceanic and 30ft longer than the Cedric, which has just sailed for New York on her maiden trip. Their breadth will be 70ft, with a depth of 29ft, and the displacement 26,800 tons. Their three sets of engines have a total indicated horse-power of 59,760. These enormous engines will be driven by st earn generated from twenty-four double-end-ed boilers of 15ft 16in diameter’ by 20ft in length, each boiler having eight furnaces, giving a total fire-grate surface, of 3571 square feet, which will produce 60,700 actual horse-power. This high power, it is expected, will drive the vessels at a speed of 25 knots (28 miles) per hour, giving an average of 600 knots per day, or 675 English miles. The coal consumption will be 1000 tons per day, which will necessitate the employment of 200 firemen with 154 coaltrimmers to carry the coals from the bunkers to the various stokeholds, and a staff of twenty-two engineers.

In addition there will be an electric plant which will supply a current to 3000 16-candle power lamps.

The steamers will be fitted with all the latest improvements for the comfort and convenience of the travelling public, including the improved Marconi appliances, hydraulic lifts, telephones and baggage rooms, which will be arranged so that passengers can have access to their belongings at any time of the day.

There will be accommodation for 500 first class, 300 second class, and 1200 to 1500 third class passengers, to cater for whom 150 stewards and thirty cooks will be required. The whole crew will number 615, including the captain, eight officers, and a deck complement of fifty petty officers and seamen, and it is estimated that the new liners will cost £ 2,500,000.

The editor of the “Cornhill” is to be congratulated upon having achieved well nigh the impossible in inducing Sarah Bernhardt to write him an article. 'Whatever may be the opinions as to the merit of the article itself, which is upon the moral influence of the stage, all will be agreed upon the cleverness of the editor in securing ft. But to quote the divine Sarah: “I have often heard people deny the moral influence of the theatre, but I find it undeniable. This influence has existed from all time, and never in my opinion has it been anything but beneficial. Beneficial it must always be to see the evolution of the human soul, and the more intelligently this evolution of the human soul is shown, the more effectual is the lesson drawn by those privileged to witness it. The theatre is the temple of all the arts which beautify life, and it is in this that its power lies. For whereas a library, a picture gallery, or a concert hall, each enthroning its respective art, has each its particular- admirers, the theatre by the service of literature, the fine arts, and music, has a stronger claim upon human sympathy, and thus obtains a under hearing. To me the theatre seems like a kaleidoscope whose moving facets show an attentive public the baseness, the crimes, the vices, the weaknesses of humanity, the faults of civilisation, and the absurdities of society. And it is this same movement, which, whilst showing the evil shows the cause of the evil, that is such a fascinating feature of the theatre. Thus the spectator, being brought face to face with his conscience, profits by the lesson given, and such spectators can be numbered by thousands.” Should we have religious plays? Decidedly, yes! At least that is the opinion of the writer. She says on this subject: “There are people, moreover, who maintain that religious things should not be put upon the stage. Oh! what a mistake! And how fortunate it is that great minds have not been arrested by the false ideas of the nar-row-minded! Nothing is more propagative than the theatre. It is the reflec-

tion of the ideas of a nation. It marches incessantly to the conquest of the true and the beautiful. Sometimes it goes too quickly. It has hoped too much from the minds and hearts of ths public. The time has not arrived, and then retrogression is necessary, and it was thus with the religious question in the theatre scarcely twenty years ago.” Speaking of the effect of the production of Rostand’s “La Samaritaine,” she writes: “The day of its first representation was a day of emotion never to bo forgotten. Christian love filled the hall with infinitely pure joy, beneficent tears flowed. I felt myself transported into another world, for I uttered beautiful words, and my heart beat with those of others. I wept tears, real tears, tears that wash away and efface for ever the stains on our souls and our lives—• too long, alas! for the evil we have done, and too short for the good we wish to do. Of course, such a piece could not be represented on the stage without being met with objections. But I remained true to the idea of the moral influence of the stage, and what could be more moral than the lesson seen in the story of the Samaritan and our Lord?”