Here and There

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8, 25 August 1906, Page 36

Here and There

One Was a Commoner. Lady Mosenthal: “ Just fancy, Aaron, we sat down thirteen to dinner tonight!” Lord M. (from Johannesburg, newly created a peer): "Oh, that don’t matter, ni’dear, one of ’em was a commoner.” John Chinaman's Proverbs. Some idea of the Chinese character can be inferred from the nature of their proverbs. A few of them are as follows:—■ “If the blind lead the blind they will both go tv the pit.” “An old man marrying a young wife is like a withered willow sprouting.” “Would you look at the character of a prince, look at his minister, or the disposition of a man, observe his companion or that of a father mark his son.” “Tim higher a rat creeps up a cow’s horn the narrower he finds it.” Violating the Pole. Walter Wellmann has resolved to find the North Pole, and he lias left Paris to do it. The Pole has a real grievance. From time immemorial it has remained in its icy solitude, absolutely unspotted from the world. The only company it keeps, as far as one can judge, is a select eirele of Polar bears, and. of course, the Scotsman whom tradition declares to be seated upon its topmost inch. Very well. WAV. takes no notice of the Pole’s long-established privacy. It makes no difference to him, being an American, that- the venerable institution has long told humanity, to keep off the grass. What makes his impertinence all the more pronounced is that he is attempting to court the Pole in a very unfair way. First, he will thrust at it with a dirigible balloon, and, if that fails, he will go straight for it with a nasty modern motor mounted on runners. It amounts to a violation of the ice maiden. Let us hope, in the name of historical decency, that she will not be at home when the ravisher calls. The Fetish of Good Farm. It is not so very surprising that the old proverb. “Manners makytli man,” has fallen into derision lately (remarks a writer in “M.A.P.”). The modern man laughs at it, and declares it to be obsolete. “I am a law unto myself, and my manners do not matter,” would be more like his dictum. But is not the old saw true, intrinsically? Do not courtesy and tact spring from innate kindness, and is not kindness the very pith of Christianity, and have we a better ideal of the gentleman than the Christ'' Mere politeness is another thing, and means, 1 think, much less than good manners. 1 pass it over as a superficial pretence at what does not really exist, for I have known the most officiously polite man fail contemptibly in his attitude towards woman. There is a fetich of to-day amopg certain men which they call “good form,” but their worship of it dues- not make them gentle or courteous to their wives, mothers, ami sisters—indeed, very often permits them to be grossly neglectful of right behaviour to the ladies they meet in society. 1 have often seen one of these alleged gentlemen yawn almost in a woman's face, coolly turif his back upon those of her guests he did not like, looked bored when a woman has tried to talk to him, and talked himself upon topics which he has known to be either uninteresting or unpalatable. I have observed others accept invitations and fail to put in an appearance without the least apology or word of regret. And it is a common enough thing for men in society, men of aristocratic breeding, who pride themselves on “good form.” to accept hospitality without the least acknowledgment, and sometimes without decent civility to their hostess.

Strange. But Tr»e. ■ That a taut rope is none the wiser. That, though night falls, day breaks. That a pen has to be driven, but a pencil is lead. That sailors never box the compass chi the spar deck. That a fellow with a literary bent is usually broke. That a tree is cut down before it is easily cut up. That improper fractions should figure in pure mathematics. That the man with lantern jaws is seldom a brilliant talker. An Eel Story. ; In a Belgian paper a wonderful story is told by M. Piston of certain observations which he has made upon the habits of eels. Ife had planted at a distance of about one hundred and fifty yards from the bank of a river where eels were plentiful several plots of peas. As the peas reached maturity he noticed that some of the pods were gnawed through with an even, clean cut, and he at once attributed the damage to field mice. But his gardener one day informed him that he had visited the ground very early in the morning, and saw several “serpents” come from among the peas at his approach, and go to the river. The next morning M. Piston himself went to the field, and threw a stone into the middle of the peas, when at onee out came a dozen eels, which fled towards the stream. The First Lighthouse. The first lighthouse ever erected for the benefit of mariners is believed to be that built by the famous architect Sost rains.. by command of Ptolemy Philadelphus. King of Egypt. It was built near Alexandria,' on an island called ■Pharos, and there was expended upon it eight hundred, talents, or over £200,000. Ptolemy has been much commended by some ancient writers for his liberality in allowing the architect to inscribe his name instead of his .own. The inscription reads: “Sostratus, son of Dexiphanes, to the protecting deities, for the use of seafaring people.” This tower was deemed erne of the seven wonders of the world, and was thought of sufficient grandeur to immortalise the builder, ill 111 It. appears from Lucian, however, that Ptolemy does not deserve any praise for disinterestedness on this score, or Sostratus any great praise for his honesty, as it is stated that the latter, to engross in after times the glory of the structure, caused the inscription with his own name to be carved in the marble, which he afterward covered with lime and thereon put the King’s name. In process of time the lime decayed, and the inscription on the marble alone remained. Auckland's 'Welcome to the Admiral. The following paragraph from the English paper, “NLA.I’.." does much credit to the writer's patriotism, but very little to his ability as a gauger of the “fervour of enthusiasm.” We were, of course, very glad to see His Excellency the Admiral, and showed it, too. but justice compels one io admit that the “All Blacks’” arrival and the entrance of the Powerful into the waters of the NVaitemata hardly weighed out as the enthusiastic correspondent apparently . would have liked. The-paragraph runs:

“file entrance into Auckland Harbour of His Excellency Vice-Admiral Sir Wilmot Hawksworth Fawkes, K.C.V.0., < ommander-in-( liief of the Australasian station., and his flagship H.M.s. Powerful, created enthusiasm second only lit its fervour to the return of New Zealand's “All Blacks” (writes ah Auckland correspondent). For them the population was animated by universal pride, paternal in its feelings of reflected glory. For His Excellency, Sir Wilmot Fawkes,

the peofite wwe inspired by the of Imperialism. An Imperialism maria evident awl eloquent in the gigantic pre* portions of the tagship I<MhtW so she loomd great and grey, surroentled by h group of lesser vessels. The Admiral inirf Lady Tawkes were warmly wefeouied and lavishly entertained, and st lirilliant ball was given in Auckland, in honour of the officers of the squadron. After a fortnight’s stay the H.M.s« Powerful took her departure for Sydney. As she steamed out of the harbour a. venerable Union Jack, that nearly half a eentury ago fluttered in the breeze cut the banks of the Nile, was dipped from the flagstaff topping the residence of Sir John Logan Campbell, the beloved Father of Auckland, eighty-niue years of age, and full of honours. This flag of Sir John’s, which the departing cruiser saluted, has greeted the arrival and signalled the departure of all Governors since New Zealand became a colony of the Crown.” The "Dottiness" of Paris. “Paris is the dottiest city in thfii world.’ It was a London bred plnloso|>her who made the remark to me th« other evening (says a correspondent ot the “Pall Mall Gazette”). lie meant, i» his cockney slang, that Paris wa* fuller than any other city of strange tinman oddities. The remark was born of his own observation as v.e sat upon the “terrasse" of the cafe and watched the world go by. A largo proportion of that crowd seemed to have some eccentricity of dress or demeanour—something that told that the mind was either not very well balanced or that there was some inordinate desire to attract attention. More often it seemed that the effect was quite unsought and involuntary. My friend’s remark came home to ma with especial force. An hour or two before Paris had been startled with the news of a new bomb outrage at Vincennes; directly afterwards came the information that the infernal machine was the invention of a practical joker. The thing is of constant occurrence in Paris. The imitative faculty is strong in some persons of weak intellect. Whenever a real bomb incident occurs, a dozen foolish creatures are inspired to fill a tin vessel with sand or cinders and deposit it on -the doorstep of a public personage, merely to create an excitement. To hear the bomb discussed and to witness the fright of the neighbourhood fills these absurd individuals with a childish joy. A case of rhe kind occurred some short time ago. Public nerves had been strained by a real bomb, and so the occasion was ripe for the “fumiste.” A suspiciouslooking packet was placed on the windowsill of a house at tire Rond Point, Champs Blysees, where lived a rich banker who was supposed to have propped up autocracy by lending money to Russia. The discovery of the object was made early in the morning by the milk-woman, Without delivering her precious commodity, she hurried away and informed the police. The local “agent” on duty brought his commissaire. a very impor-tant-looking official, wealing his tricolour scarf of office. The magistrate rang the bell of the house and informed the concierge. The good woman, on hearing the word “bomb,” closed the door with a bang and refused to admit anyone. It was only after great difficulty that the magistrate succeeded in entering. He commenced forthwith a serious inquiry. The “appartements” of each tenant in the house, including those of the rich banker, who was presumed to be the object of the attack, were gone through. Meanwhile, the bomb-proof vehicle that is part of the equipment of the Prefecture of Police arrived. With immense precautions the engine was raised and placed in the iron-plated cart. It was driven off to the municipal laboratory. Here a cursory examination showed that it was a mere harmless packet, tied up to look like a bomb.