Here and There.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXX, Issue XIX, 9 May 1903, Page 1276

Here and There.

Mr Marion Crawford, the novelist, tells the New York “Bookman” that he would not be happy if he did not go ou writing. .After 20 years of it. continuous writing has become a second nature to him.

It is shown by Mr J. M. Edmonds, in the “Spectator,” that the phrase "a glorious time,” which is supposed to be an Americanism, comes from Dryden, who, in “Absolom and Achitophel,” wrote: —

•■During his oltiee treason was no crime The sons of Belial had a glorious time.'

Among the navvies employed on a northern railway construction works in Victoria are a number of Italians. "How do you like Australia, Tony?” asked a visitor of one of them. “No lika at all,” cried the Italian vigorously. “Too inuelia work. Work, work, work, from half-pass;? laughing jackass lime to a quarter to pitch-dark at night.”

According to returns obtained by the Now York "Bookman” from American publishers some of the novels that sell largely are “Audrey” (170.000), “The House with Green Shutters” (21,858), "The Hound of the Baskervilles,” the. latest of Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” series (83,553). “The Two Vanrevels” (80,154). and “Mrs Wiggs, of the Cabbage Patch” (200,000).

A Queensland paper reports: Of 11 eases heard last week in the Cairns Police Court, one was a Kanaka being supplied with grog, one a wages squabble between Hindus, two Kanakas assaulting a cane farmer, one Malay housing an aboriginal gin, one walk-about Kanaka ditto, one Japanese ringleader in a street light, one Kanaka serious assault on a Hindu. The law-abiding coloured alien! . ,

The danger of carrying an argument to its logical conclusion is thus set forth: They were at a picnic. “Fingers were made before forks,” she laughed, as she helped herself in democratic fashion.

“Yes.” he admitted, “and people were made before clothes.” She hastily reached for i fork. . ,

Air C. W. Saleeby, who has been looking through experiments conducted by the Physical Society, writes in the •‘Academy” that he can find no satisfactory evidence of the existence of such a thing as telepathy. He suggests that the members, before, they theorise about brain waves, ought to undergo a course of instruction on the. physiology of the brain, about which they seem to know nothing. The society, he fears, is doing a good deal to foster credu’ity and superstition. ■ ,

A record for the’Sydney .Ground, was put up at the llbyal Agricultural Show held recently, when three. horses— Strathmore, Desmond, and Tattered—jumped lift. <>in. The most remarkable point is that all three are grey horses, and as-the. owners dtK-iiled to divide t? 18 prize money all three tied for first place. It is. probably unique in the history.of high jumping for three horses to tie for first place at the great height of 6ft tfixi. The previous record for the Sydney Ground was held by -Rattler? who. last year cleared 6ft. 41in. The Australian record is still held by Rattler, who jumped 6ft. lOjin. at the Singleton Show last v ea r.

Vice-Chancellor Hall, in the Chancery Court of Lancaster. England (as reported by a Catholic contemporary, Sydney) held in St. George's Hall. Liverpool, recently, “heard further arguments as to the validity in law of a bequest for masses or prayers for the dead-” The report, though abridged, states that after hearing the arguments. His Honor delivered judgment, and, after quoting

various authorities, said “he was bound to hold that this gift was bad, and that there must be an inquiry for the next-of-kin.” Our contemporary heads its report: “A Bequest for Masses,” “Declared Void by a Liverpool Court.”

Some editors are candid. Editor Saunders. of Sydney “Star,” recently informed an applicant for literary work that they didn’t take any contributions, that, in fact, it was much as they could do to struggle on with news only. He may have meant something else, but that’s what he said.

Trust, the Americans for getting something sensational in the way of a draw for their charity fetes. The latest is the kiss ticket. This was to be tried in connection with a fair at Watertown, N.Y. Girls were selling tickets at a dollar each entitling the holder to a kiss. It was expected that on the evening the kisses were to be delivered t ; he immense, building would not aeeorrimbdate the crowd. The identity of the girls who were to be kissed was a secret, but there was an enormous demand for tickets.

A remarkable incident occurred at the London Pavilion on a recent evening, when, at the instance of his owner, Esau, the wonderful chintpanze. whose almost human actions and mannerisms have been astonishing Londoners for sometime, underwent a medical overhaul at the hands of Dr. Gayford, who examined him with a view to life insurance. Esau having been pronounced sound and well in every way, a policy for several thousand pounds was effected upon his life, with the National Live Stock insurance Co. A large portion of the smn required was underwritten at Lloyd’s, the medical examination being attended by several gentlemen interested in the underwriting.

The feeling of distrust between seamen and longshore gunners is mutual. In towing targets for gun practice at Port Phillip Heads the signal that the launch is about to turn, and that firing must cease for the moment, is the pulling down of a red flag at the masthead. In one instance the other day the launch’s flag had disappeared, and she was swinging round towards the .target, when a shell pitched almost oil to it. The coxswain looked at the range-officer, who said, “Oh. - keep on ; if you get between the gun and the target they won’t fife.” Just then two' Palliser shot screamed past the bows. . The coxswain waited for no further, orders, but-yelled, “Full speed astern. .“Loss of life is nothing.” he explained, “but I am not taking risks with Government property.”

“It is not yet certain if the first-class cruiser. Spartiate, now en voyage with relief crews for H.M.s. Torch and Mildura on this station, will eventually become the flagship in place of the Royal Arthur. We'object to her speed and armament as being insufficient for the Australian station. We want a flagship equal iu these two qualities, to any of the - most powerful battle ships of Russia now just arriving in Pacific waters. The choice of ships may not be taken until the result of the colonial Naval contribution is .known in London. The composition of the whole fleet Wants changing to an enormous extent. The Commonwealth Parliament should present £500.000 per annum to the Admiralty as its just quota towards the proper naval defence of the. Austral-Pacific. The importance of the trade, commerce, and wealth of the colonies are advancing at geometrically progressive speed. A swift and heavily armed battleship is wanted instead of a first-class, or, rather, second-class, cruiser. Let us do our duty,, to the Motherland.” Thus writes “Commonwealth Defence,” a new monthly journal published in Sydney as the Australian organ of the Navy I.eague.

The following was rwentljr written by ■ professional tramp ou the walls of tha casual wards of Devizes Workhouse:— I roam the country wild and free, I gets no table, diet, or tea: I eats my meats most anywhere, I knows no thought or care. My face I seldom see or wash, I am no blooming mash. I smoke my pipe of seasoned clay. Although my bacca’s mostly hay; My bed has got no feathers. IPs most times barns or meadows. I never goes a day unwell. And now my secret I will tell. I I've on air. fresh country, I am a Tramp, a Millionaire.

As the very perfection of ingenious eunibroitsness the' phraseology of the indictment of “Colonel” Lynch well deserved preservation in the Parliamentary Paper in which it was issued. There are sixteen pages of the indictment, exclusive of an “abstract” for readers with only half an hour or so to spare, and the whole would more than fill three pages of the “Graphic.” The document might perhaps be made to serve a useful purpose in schools. It would be fearful joy to the grammarian to trace how, “in the prosecution, performance, and execution of his treason and traitorous adhering aforesaid, he, the said Arthur Alfred Lynch” (page 5) “did compose and write and cause and procure to be composed and written a certain document,” ete. (page 19).

The strategic value of the Scilly Islands is becoming more and more recognised both by the Admiralty and the -War Office, and in the event of a naval war they would probably form an important base for the home fleet. The work of fortifying the islands has been proceeded with in a very leisurely manner of late years, but things are now to be pushed forward w‘ith great activity. The London “Express” learns on high authority that the War Office has approved plans for constructing new fortifications on the north-east of St. Alary’s. Some very heavy guns are to be mounted here, and probably a battery of gar- . risou artillery will be stationed here when the work is finished.

Dealing in the course of a lengthy. Lenten letter with the religious training of children, Cardinal Vaughan said that the task ofk.attaehing children to their religion is far more difficult to-day than it was 300 years ago. The increase of difficulty arises out of the great educational changes which are taking place. “The State has become the schoolmaster and wields supreme authority. Old methods of teaching are vanished. Secular education means worldly prosperity, and everything is done to make its steep path agreeable and easy.” Cardinal Vaughan declared that the shallow knowledge of science and philosophy which is now popularised has awakened the spirit of .doubt and unbelief which is abroad. Religious teaching, the Cardinal added, is too much identified with ordinary school work, and lie suggested that children should be taken to a chapel, or, if such a place is not available, that the schoolroom should be turned for the time into a chapel, with altar, candlesticks. a great crucifix, and pictures.

Mias Howe, the inventor of the sew-ing-machine, almost beggared himself before he discovered where the eye of the needle . should be placed. It never occurred to him that it should be placed near the point, and he might have failed altogether had it not been for a remarkable dream-

One night lie dreamt that he was making a sewing-machine for a savage king in a strange country. As in his actual waking experience, he was rather perplexed about the needle’s eye. He thought .the king, gave him twenty-live hours in whieli to complete a machine, and if not finished in that time, death was to be the punishment. Howe worked and worked, and puzzled and puzzled, and finally gave it up. Then he thought that he was taken out to be beheaded. On his way to execution he noticed that the warriors carried spears that, were pierced near the head. Instantly came the solution of the difficulty, and while the inventor was begging for time he awoke.

It was then four o’clock in the morning. Howe jumped out of bed, and hurried to his workshop, and by point had been rudely modelled. After that the rest was easy. •»

In the “Strand Magazine” for March, Mr George J. Beesley reproduces autographs “of commercial value,” which he collected for a birthday book in aid of the fund to repair Shakespeare’s church. Included among them is the signature of Madame Melba, under a motto inscribed bv herself as follows: —

“Ab. make the most of what we yet may spend, Before wo too into the dust descend.’’ ( —“Omar Khayyam.") "NELLIE MELBA.”

Alligators’ nests resemble haycocks more than anything else to which they can be compared. They average about four feet in height and five feet, in diameter, and are constructed of grasses and herbage. First the mother gator deposits one layer of eggs on a mortar-like floor, and having covered this with a stratum of mud and herbage about eight inches thick, lays another set of eggs upon that, and so on to the top, there being commonly from 100 to 200 eggs in a nest. With their tails the parents then beat down the tall grass and weeds to prevent the apj>roach of un-een enemies.

An epidemic is raging among the Ithenish - Westphalian miners which is rapidly assuming such a terrible aspect that the authorities are in a state of consternation. Only a very short time ago it was discovered that some of the men were suffering from a disease caused by the presence of worms in the intestines, and to-day thousands are afflicted. The disease is easily communicated by contagion, and threatens to infect the whole district. Medical experts have already been despatched to the Hungarian mining centres, whence it is believed the disease was introduced into this country, and reported to a special commission that has been appointed to deal with the matter.. How serious the situation is may be judged from the fact that the large sum of .£lO 000 has already been voted by the benefit societies towards combating the plague.

Shark-catching is becoming a useful business at Manly (writes “C.U.” to a Sydney paper). Two have been caught within the last six weeks. The lucky finder, generally a big boy. erects an enclosure over his prize or drags it to some sheltered spot, and then charges a penny or more, according to the size of the. shark, for admission. The son of a Manly resident was seen c oming home early one morning when his parents supposed him safe in bed. Asked where t.e had been, he said that he and Johnny Jones had been allowed to sleep with the shark. “The shark was dead," he added reassuringly. Any Manly boy is proud to be allowed to “mind the shark," bo a new catch is at present being anxiously looked for.

While Lord Brassey was Governor of Victoria he was entertained on the warship Cerberus with an exhibition of feats of memory by a leading musician. Long sentences read from au unknown book were spelled backwards without an error, and, in order to convince Lord Brassey that there was no trickery,-tha musician persuaded. His Excellency to take a personal part in the performance. “Wonderful! wonderful!” said Lord Brassey when the feats were finished. “Well," said the. musician. “I can show you something else. Have you a directory?” The volume was brought, “Now,” he continued, “if you give me ten seconds to look through six pages of this, I will repeat every surname in its proper order.” “Incredible!” said Lord Brassey. One of the officers gave the word to start. The. musician turned over the pages rapidly, and, when time was up, he called out, “Smith, Smith, Smith, Smith ”

The following “Seddon story” ia supplied a Southern contemporary by a correspondent, who vouches that it has the merit of being true:—“A lady was giving a lesson to three young pupils on prophets and the miracles performed by them, and one of the children asked if there were any prophets in these days. “No,” was the reply. “But, Auntie, surely there are some.” The reply still being in the negative the child continued, “Are you quite sure, Auntie? Isn’t Mr Seddon (in an awe-struck voice) a prophet? Cannot he perform miracles?”

Some time ago the city of Bordeaux decided to erect a statue iu honour, and in similitude, of the eminent son of Southern France. Leon Gambetta. The work <d art having been completed, and the site selected, an architect was sent from Paris to superintend the construction of the foundations necessary; to support the weight of the great Republican’s effigy. On examining the proposed site he was surprised to find the necessary foundations already in existence. Inquiries elicited the fact that an equestrian statue of Napoleon 111. had stood on the spot until it disappeared with other emblems of the S eond Empire after the disasters of IS7O. The irony <>f fate now gives Gambetta a posthumous revenge upon the regime he abhorred, and his place is all ready for him.

While English photographers have been searching for y ears after the means by which colours may b- registered on the sensitive plate, a St. Louis artist de luxe has gone one better, as the subjoined advertisement will show:—■ •'Photographs! Marvellous results in photos! Hair put on bald heads; cute dimples inserted iu cheeks; teeth removed if necessary; thin people made stout: scowls removed from sombre faces, and winning smiles substituted: homeliness banished: intelligence inserted iu vacuous countenances; goo-goo eyes, longing looks, and baby- stares furnished if .desired! Glassie profiles, Grecian noses, and Hashing eyes a specialty." This advertisement has caused much amusement in the locality, as it was designed to do; and the photographer has- awakened to find himself famous and a man of increasing fortune. The Americans have always a soft, coiner in their hearts for a cute advertiser.

Tims the “Australasian” or. the I’orirua judgment: —"The main thing is that the Solicitor-General tried to make out that the land had become forfeited to the Crown, because the trust- had lapsed, and that nobody but the Government, with Parliament, should now say how the school funds should be-applied. The Solicitor-General (as the mouthpiece of the Cabinet) claimed the right to oust the trustees. This was what astonished tb.e Privy Council, which held that the Government had uo right, whatever to the land. It can easily be perceived that, if the Crown might, in cases of doubt, jicssess itself of trust lands .on the plea that it knew better than the trustees how to interpret the views of the original donors, few trusts would be safe. But in New Zealand the supporters of the Ministry only see in the judgment a reflection on the infallibility of the Seddon Ministry, and the Privy Council is made out by one Ministerial journal to have unconsciously struck :i great blow at. itself. A good deal of feeling must underlie the issues apparent on the surface to account for the decision exciting so much anger. It may be stated that the judgment was delivered by Lord Maenaghten, one of the ablest lawyers in the kingdom.”

In the town of Mahe, the canital of the Seychelles Islands, there is living a remarkable old lady, Mme. Galon, 112 years old. She was married in IStMi, and her husband lived to be 11G, dying a few years ago. He was one of (he original National Guard of the island at the time when the Seychelles were captured by- us from France. The old gentleman used to relate that when Captain Newcome, of H.M.s. Orpheus, lauded at Mahe in 1794 the National Guard scampered off to the hills, deeming them the best place for safety, and the island was thus easily captured. The inhabitants were conciliated, and M. de Quincy, who was Governor of the island under the French, was allowed to retain his position as Governor in Britain’s name, and was given a commission in the army. The amusing part of the story is that a Union Jack was left with the Governor, to be flown from the fort. Proudly it flew until the sails of the departing British cruiser had departed btlow the horizon, and then down it came and up went the tri-colour of France. For years after this, Britain being at war with Bonaparte. Mahe was visited by British and French warships in turn, ami to each the flags of their respective nations were flown. One day- the crisis came, however, for two cruisers came in at the same time, and one was a Frenchman and the other a Britisher. They were in a great quandary up at the fort

as to which flag to fly, when h:q pily the problem was solved by the vessels open ing fire upon each other. A stiff fight ensued, with the result that the Union Jack was triumphant, and so up at the fort-head it was hoisted. and M. do Qiiiucy, who had been carefully watching the proceedings through his telescope, put on his be-,t uniform and welcomed ashore the victorious British commander, congratulating him upon “noire i ictojre”!

King Edward’s three daughters seem to be devnH of personal ambition, and to be quiti- willing that their sister-in-law amidiieir smits- llelemi, Louise, and Beatrice should represent Royalty in their stead. So far from profiting by the rise in rank which their father’s accession gained them, the Duchess of Fife and her sisters prefer to stay away from functions where they would precede Queen Victoria’s daughters: so it is not often that these illustrious ladies meet in full State array. One Parliament. opening . and- the. Coronation have seemed about enough for them. Respecting rumours which now and then circulate as to the title of Princess Royal being assumed by the Duchess of Fife, and t lie young Ladies Duff becoming Highnesses, the fact remains that King Edward has reigned more than two years without bestowing extra dignities on his oldest daughter and Fife grandchildren. It is well-known that. the Royal Duchess prefers a simple, quiet life, and is indifferent to the advantages of her high birth.

Mr ti. G. Hittehi.-.'.m, son of Mr Geo. llutehispn, ex-M.H.R, for Palea, who arrived by the. Gothic from Capetown l ist week, will, during his stay in Xiw Zealand, make ..investig.itions on behalf of the Transvaal Government. Mr Hutchison strongly advi-e- New Z ah.-ml-ers : wno are thinking of trying their back .in South Africa to slay’ at home, as if is no place to go.to at the present time. The towns are full to' overcrowding, ami the country : s nol yet ready for settlement, and the Government is not in a position to open up the land sufficiently fast to meet, applications. Johannesburg, like the seaports, is full of unemployed, and there are hundreds of them. There are ISO New Zealanders in Johannesburg, and about GO in Preterm, but not ten per cent, of t sen are doing well. Of course some have done exceptionally we’d, but th y are very much in the minority.

Writing on “Mont Blanc and its Tragedies,” at correspondent, sent the following account to an English contemporary: A fatal accident occurred in IS2O. which, many years Liter culminated in a most curious sequel. The store is told at -onio length in Stephen d’Arve’s "Histoire du Mont Blanc,” and also in Mark Twain's “Tramp --.broad.” It appears that a party consisting of two Englishmen, a Russian, and seven guides were approaching the summit of this

giant of the Alps, when an avalanche nwept several of them down a slope of two hundred feet, ami hurled live of the guides into one uf the civvassos of the glacier. Tua of them were saved, almost miraculously. A long barometer which was strapped to the back of one bridged the crevasse and held him suspended until he was rescued, the other in a similar manner was saved by his alpenstock. The three men lost were hurled down into the unfathomable depths of the crevasse. Their names were Pierro Bahunt, Pierre Carnir, and Auguste Tairrnz. Dr. !•’ -rbes, the eminent English geologist. who had made a particular Mudy of the movement of glaciers, estimated that the remains of the lost guides would be found nt the foot of tho mountain i i thirty-five. or possibly forty, years from the time of the accident. His prediction came curiously near to the truth. The author of the "llistcire <lu Mont Rhine” describes how. forty-one years after the catastrophe. on August 12, 18UI. at the hour of the close of Ma--. a guide arrived out of breath at the inairie of Uhamounix bearing on his hack a sack containing human remains, which he had gathered from the orifice in a crevasse on the glacier des l|os-»on.s. He conjectured that they were ihe remains of the victims of the accident of 1820. and an inquest proved that his supposition . was the correct <»nc. People, w/tv called to identify these relics, and among thpm Were the two guides who were so mirii uhni.-dy saved from a similar fate — Mani (’outlet and Julien Da vona.<«oux. A touching scene enAwil. Davouassoux was over' Ml years of nge. anil liis intelligence and memory wctq feeble. and he could only ' cont unipint •• these sad remains with a vacant, yet mournful, eye. But < ‘out tel. who was but 72, had all his faculties about hhu and exhibited great emotion. “This is Bahnat's hand,’’ he “.aid: *1 remember it. so well.” And the old inan l»(-nt down and kissed it reverently, tb.on closed his lingers upon it in an airvctionalo grasp, saying: * 1 could never have dared to believe that before quitting this world it would be • granted me to press once more the hand of one of those brave comrades, the hand of my good friend Bihnnt.”

An inquisitive ob-mrv t. being struck by the remarkable number af vvclists on the Sumner-road the other day. kept laily o! those ndurning Between 4.30 and 5.25 in the aftcriiuon. In the tirst lifted! minutes 150 bicycles passed a set point on the l-’urn road. This average was more than maintaimd in the next (piartcr, over 200 hundred passing in 1 hat interval. I In* procession continued without ceasing, the travellers journeving oltimes singly, at times in groups of t went y and thirty. AI-out live o'clock, when the stream was strongest. Ihe observer (ounted fifty in two minutes and a halt, another fitly in three minutes and a half, and indeed for an hour tho avc-rage was oxer ]OO tor each five-min-ute interval. IToni 430 to 5.25 p.m. the, lota! tally was O-10. There wore also several motor ears and motor cvcles and the record at the M't point, includes

two machines earned on the shoulders of their “riders” and one spill

Several families in British Columbia are considering the advisability of settling in this colony, and inquiries are being made on their behalf from the Tourist Department, as to the conditions of settlement, climatic conditions, etc. A recent American visitor to these shores forwards a congratulatory letter from New York to Mr Donne, Superintendent of the the Tourist Department, on the improved facilities for tourists existing all over both islands. Another American tourist, speaking as one with a knowledge of Yellowstone Park and Iceland, unhesitatingly declares that is the best and biggest geyser in the world.

Miss Amelia Miller, of Louisville, U.S.A., has been reviving some interesting memories of the lovely Mary Anderson. She writes to a fiiend in England: —“We used to play together, about ten of us. in the neighbourhood of Jetfersonstreet. One of our number was Mary Anderson, and she was one of my playmates for a long time before her mother married Dr. Griffin. The Andersons lived in East Jeflferson-street. Louisville. Mary used to collect her friends around her after school and on Saturdays and mount the steep front steps that led to the door and recite. As a school girl she was always remarkably good in her reading lessons and recitations; the truth is, she often kept me in a tremor of excitement, as she would get so warmed up over some piece. She was exceedingly tall and unpromising in appearance for all the queenly and classic beauty she developed later. She would often recite in such a tragic, earnest way that she frightened us, and frequently the rest of us would fly away in terror. Not content with recitations on the portico, Mary organised a company of her own, composed of her companions. The performances were given in the cellar of the house occupied for many years by the family of the late Samuel Sulzer. The price of admission was, I think, twentyfive pins, and everybody in that vicinity bought tickets. The Sulzer boys were numerous and naturally artistic. They improvised a stage, painted the scenery and a curtain that seemed in our eyes th * acme of art. Charles Heimers, then about fourteen years of age. had charge of the stage decorating. He generally brought in vines, cellars, and flowers that really made a gorgeous effect. Doubtless the first audiences Alary eA.nderson ever played to were those in the Sulzer cellar- A sister of the Sulzer boys, who is now Mrs Ida Beecher, shared the honours in the cast with Mary Andersen.”

A Home journal has unearthed a rather romantie story about a j< lly tar who rose from A.B. to H.M.—His Majesty. King O’Keefe—plain Davi i O’Keefe to speak by the ship's register —was a sailor on board th? American ship Belvedere, which was shipwrecked twenty years ago near the cannibal island of Yap in the Carolines. So much is hard fact. The Foreign Office at Washington is investigating the truth of the rest of a delightful story, which we give without comment. David O’Keefe alone was saved from the wreck, and contrived to be taken for an immortal by the natives. The immense awe with which they regarded him was kept up by his contriving to collect some firearms and a medicine chest from the wreck. With these he was able to pi ty the magician to some purpose, and then the fun began. War Woke out with a neighbouring tribe: who but David O'Keefe to be generalissimo of the forces of his friends? lie went; he saw; he conquered. Hibernian pugnacity and strategy—with a few American rilles—were bound to win the day. and the future subjects of King O’Keefe carried all before them. Then David made love to the daughter of the reigning monarch —for. even thu- far. he had not actually succeeded in disestablishing him. The

nuptials were celebrated with a pomp that was magnificent—so magnificent in fact, that the poor king died soon after. T.o roi est mort; vice le roi! David O’Keefe ascended the throne. There, surrounded by barbaric splendour, he did not forget that he was as American as ho was Irish, for ho straightway established a trust monopolising all the foreign trade of the island! Twice a year he visited Manila and Hong Kong, and seems generally to have flourished so

happily that he occasionally sent home money to the wife of his youth. A little while ago. this lady — the morganatic Queen O’Keefe, so to speak—heard that the King of Yap had been effectually drowned, this time, in a stonn off Hong Kong, and she forthwith became more anxious to recover the fortune he left than, apparently, she ever was to get back the husband who made it. At the present moment the second widow is in possession. The Americans may nt out an expedition to subjugate the kingdom of Yap, but it is probably too near the Philippines for them to dream of anything of the kind. Besides, the Carolines are, in principle—partly, at any rate—German possession. Yet Yap, assuredly, is Irish!

Admiral Dewey has been hitting out at the gunnery of the U.S.A. Navy. As was lately reported, he summed up his comments on the prize-fliring as follows: “The results of the practices prove that we have much to accomplish in straight rapid firing.” It is with a feeling of uneasiness that British naval experts compare the shooting of which he complains with the recent performance of the Formidable, one of our finest and most modern battleships in the Mediterranean. According to information received in private letters, this ship recently fired twenty-seven rounds with her 12-inch guns at a target measuring GOO square feet.

The distance was 1500 yards, a range so short that no battleship could safely engage at it on account of the torpedoes that might be aimed at her by the enemy. She only hit the target once! The Empress of India, we also learn, in recent firing only hit the target ten times out of sixty-seven shots from her 6-ineh guns. We find, therefore, that by comparing the 12-inch gun shooting which drew forth the comments of Admiral Dewey with the 12-inch gun shooting of the Formidable, which has passed without reproof from the Admiralty, we arrive a. the following remarkable table: —

It is fortunate, however, that we have some captains who are anxious to see straight shooting, and from the Formidable and the Empress of India, whose practice was deplorable, we can turn to the performances of the Ocean. Tn 12inch gun shooting we find:—-

On June 18 last Lord Selhorne said: “The country has a right to demand that the Navy does not get behind in gunnery.” The case of the ships mentioned is worthv of his attention.

It mi<rht be expected that a pamphlet entitled "Travels of H M.S. Good Hope", t’art 1. From Portsmouth to S’inons Bay. By Robert Moore, H.M.S. Good Hope,” would be good reading owing to -Mr Chamberlain’s presence on that cruiser; but the fact that it has been confiscated on board ami that the author is under arrest awaiting court-martial arouses an added interest. Robert Moore, who is a sailor with literary aspirations. stands charged with the following high crimes and misdemeanours: —I. Publishing a book contrary to the service regulations. 2. Trafficking with the ship’s company by selling the same. 3. “Gross insubordinates” by reason of criticism of superior officers contained in the same. 4. Publishing service secrets. It cannot be denied that Robert Moore had his grumble—as what sailor has not? Perhaps his chief offence lay in a question of sardines. It happened in this wise. A sailor, one “Taku” Neil, of a pessimistic turn, as the pamphlet sets out. not without humour, bet a friend, “Lofty Harding,” that by the time the Good Hope reached South Africa the ship’s company would not be satisfied at the routine of the voyage. At Capetown “Lofty Harding” was observed to wend his way sadly to the canteen, purchase one imperial tin of safdines and deliver the same to “Taku” Neil. The suggestion of dissatisfaction

is obvious, but the telling of it is surely no serious breach of discipline. The other offences on which the above-mentioned charge is founded appear to be the grumbles of a hard-worked tar who keeps a diary—and publishes it. One night they do fire drill for an unprecedented time in a gale of wind, with drenching rain added thereto. “The tears of the ship’s company would have sufficed to nave extinguished a volcano,” says this nautical humorist. Again, at Suez, owing to the slackness of the coolies, they had an eighteen hours’ stretch of coaling, which seems to have brought forcibly home the refrain of the song, “Jack’s the boy for work.” The faet that no extra liquor or favour marked Christmas Day was a terrible grievance. “ Tis better to touch briefly on this day. One would prefer to forget it as muoh as possible,” writes Robert Moore. With court-martials as reviewers, it is well for literary sailors to beware of what they publish. The authorities, however, cannot object to Robert Moore’s enthusiasm over the distinguished gentleman that the Good Hope had on board. He is inspired to compare Mr Chamberlain with the cruiser, “stern, silent unruffled as her distinguished passenger could be when he desired.” He is “endeared to their memory;” and on leaving them “England’s foremost man carried with him the love of all. the good hopes of the Good Hope.”

Mrs Humphry Ward’s latest story, “Lady Rose’s Daughter,” which has been running serially in one of the American magazines, has appeared in book form. It is a pity that Mrs Ward has not treated her subject more seriously, for in all technical points she has made great progress since the Robert Elsmere day. Her story is a story this time, and not a tract, but it contains a social question or two which deserve a consideration not obscured by improbable special conditions. Given a woman born out of wedlock, without recognized kindred, or personal fortune, is not the problem of her position in the world, her inherited temperament, and her rights and wrongs sufficient theme without complicating it and removing it from real life by attendant circumstances of obvious artificiality? Julie, the woman in question, is born some time after her mother’s elopement with a man whom she cannot marry, because her husband

unkindly refuses to procure a divorce. Left an orphan at an early age, Julie ia brought up in Belgium at the expense of her mother’s father. Until the age of twenty-six she is a pupil or teacher in a convent school. Then she becomes the paid coinpauion of a blind old lady, to whom, contrary to the agreement by virtue of which she receives an allowance from her grandfather, she reveals the secret of her identity. Three years later, at the opening of the story, we find her, still the old lady’s companion, the queen of London society, the most sought after woman, the power behind the throne, to whose influence young men owe promotions, and peers, generals and statesmen the happiest hours of their lives. A certain youthful duchess, a kinswoman of her mother’s, to whom, again breaking her agreement not only with her grandfather, but also with her employer, she has confided her history, receives her with rapture and aids her in a long course of petty deceit practised upon her blind mistress. When at last an explosion occurs, due to her holding a reception on an evening when her employer is ill, not only does the duchess procure her a delightful home of her own. but her late employer’s friends of a lifetime, the most prominent people in London, desert that unfortunate lady for the charming ex-menial. Her incredibly open and foolish flirtation with a young officer, the hero of the day, who is engaged to her mother’s niece, a childlike, innocent heiress, causes society to look upon her eoldly, but when she undertakes to spend two days and two nights in France with the young officer, as a kind of farewell before he marries her cousin, the heiress, she is rescued at the railway station in Paris by a devoted young man, who marries her presently. Her aristocratic grandfather, a sprightly beau of seventy-five, who has long been one of her admirers, learns who she is, recognizes her and dies, leaving her a fortune. Her husband’s cousin dies, leaving him the title of duke and an enormous estate. Society, including her former mistress, receives the new duchess with open arms. The duke has claimed none of the rights of a husband, owing to his respect for his wife’s love for the young officer, but his wife proceeds to fall in love with him, and, as the officer dies tragically but opportunely, the young couple are left in full possession of rank, fortune and wedded bliss. i ■■ I

Shots. Hits. Per eent. Alabama, U.S.A.. . 55 15 27.5 Kearsarao. U.S.A. 40 1.3 26.5 H.M.s. Formidable 27 1 3.7

H. M.s. Ocean Shots. Hits. ILM.s. Formidable . . .... 27 1

In 6-ineli gun shooting we find: — Shots. Hits. HALs. Oc ean 117 103 HAI.s. Ei npress of India 67 10