Here and There

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1, 5 January 1907, Page 32

Here and There

Speaking iu Tune. Lady -Henry Somerset, who is among the best known women orators in England. gives in the ’‘Young Woman"’ some useful hints iqiou the art of successful speaking. With some care and study a drawing-room conversation or a political speech may become a “concord of sweet sounds."’ “The head voice, the throat voice, the thin, harsh voice, which never appears to have any relation to the chest are all equally disagreeable. Everyone ought to tie able to place his hand upon his diaphragm and feel a uistinct reverberation there when he speaks. “It is a useful practice to take a long breath and to speak out a sentence, ascertaining all the while that the voice is coining from the depths of the lungs, from which you took your long draught of air. and that you are able to maintain sound without breathlessness. “When you are addressing an audience in a very large hall it is only necessary to speak a little slower, to lay a little more stress on the vowels, and to be certain that the end of every word is finished.” The pitch of the voice is of great account, for there is nothing more uninspiring than a monotonous speaker, and the cultivation of a natural conversational pitch or note is desirable: “You ought to have as many other notes at your command as inflection will demand; you should be able to ascend the scale in making inquiries; descend in denunciation: use minor keys to speak with pathos, but the normal note should always be sustained in order to speak in tune. This question of speaking in tune is a very interesting one. and if you study voice production you will find that half the disagreeable sounds which are produced, both in reading and in speaking, arise from the fact that the voice is out of tune. New Billiard Cue. A new billiard cue which is likely to popularise the masse shot—one of the prettiest strokes iu the game—among amateurs is shortly to be placed on the market. The masse shot is an American invention. made necessary by the pocketless tables of that country, and is in common use there. In England it is frequently’ used by professionals, but the amateur finds it too difficult, and very seldom resorts to it. Even professionals find that with the ordinary English cue they are unable to depend on the accuracy of the stroke. This was illustrated a few days ago when Mr Harverson, while playing in an important match, made the experiment of playing the shot with the short cue. an incident which has been widely discussed in the billiard world, says the “Express” of London. The new cue has been patented by Mr J. P. Mannock, and he gave some interesting facts on the subject to an “Express"’ respresentative. ‘•Fifty years ago the only accessory in billiards besides the table and balls was a clumsy and badly-balanced cue,"’ he said. “The ‘rest’ was introduced later, and then came the half and long butts. “The present cue when used in making a masse, is about as unweildy an article as anyone could care to handle. First it is too long; then, instead of the weight being adjacent to the part where the bridge' is formed, it is in the butt, so when attempting the shot the cue is continually being over balanced. “Another point which is of importance is the loss ami damage to tips when the cue is being held in a perpendicular position and brought down with a heavy jar on the ball.’’ The cue is of ingenious make. It Is 3ft t> in long, with a big flat tip. The balance is so arranged as to give weight where the bridge i- formed, the buttends being exti’emely light.

Gra’s Elege in the Nn Stile. The knrfu tols the nd of parting da. The loiug bitrei winds slowly o'er the le. The idcwmau liomward plods tils wery wa, Aucl ieves the world to darkness and tu me.. Fill meuy a .gem of purest ra screen. The dark, uufatiiomed haves of oshen bare; Ful meuy a flowr is liorn to blush uneeen And wast its sweetness on the desert © © © On Being Obviong. In a recent magazine article, a certain clever writer pokes some innocent fun at the commonplace people of this commonplace world who are prone to make what one would call “obvious remarks.” The man is laughed at, who, when he takes a glass of water at a gulp, says to you: “After all. old man, there’s nothing like a good eold glass of water to quench one’s thirst. Hnt is it just to laugh at him? Think how simple lie makes your share in the conversation. All you have to reply is “Yess,” and he is wholly satisfied, and you are saved the exertion of trying to make a clever reply to what might have been from him a brilliant epigram. There lies the whole trouble. If you mingle constantly with inordinately clever people you will soon find yourself endeavouring to be as witty and bright as they: and unless you have been endowed by Nature with a gift for the light quip and jest, you are apt to become an awful bore—and from all bores, good Lord deliver us! Personally. I am fond of the steady, easy-going people who tell me that they prefer comedy to tragedy because there is so much tragedy in real fife; or those who invariably tell you that “anyhow, education is something that no one can take away from you;” or. “How time flies!” or. “You wouldn’t enjoy your meals at hotels so much if you could have a peep at some of the kitchens.” They save me my breath, and they are very restful —if I do not stay with them too* long. They certainly keep me from attempting to be too clever; and with all my heart and soul I loathe people wb.o are too cdever. Not Complimentary. Mrs, Campbell Datmcey falls foul of the “Gibson Girl” iu her entertaining book. “An Englishwoman in the Philippines.’’ hi describing an evening at the Governor's House in Manila. Mrs. Dauncev says:—"One of the most remarkable spectacles of the evening was the Gibson Girl. All Americans, men and women, have something of this type about them, and I often wonder whether Dana Gibson has discovered the essentials of the American type, or whether he has invented a model which they admire and try to copy. When it is natural it is pretty enough in moderation, but some of them have, as they would express it. ‘got right there,’ and they may be picked out of any crowd of ordinary human shapes at a glance.’’ Mrs. Dauncey can't think how anyone wants to be a Gibson Girl, unless for 20 guineas a week at a theatre, and the ]>ose and the untidy hair is, she says, inexpressibly common. Moreover, she can’t see how anyone can expect to ape anything and avoid being vulgar. The Hustler's Almanac. The witty authors of “Wisdom While You Wait” have compiled the “Hustlers' Almanac” for 1907, which Messrs. Alston Rivers have just published under the title of “Signs of the Times.” The main idea is good-natured chaff of the “Times” Book Club. According to the authors, on January 1, 1907, the “Times” starts a meat club, in February a clothing club, in March a theatre, in April an egg club, and so on, and each enterprise at onee receives the blessing of Mr. Hall Caine. For example: —May B.—Picture war enters on critical stage. Mr. Hall Caine generously offers to furnish the “Times” Royal Academy

with 5000 life-size oleomargarine portraits of himself at 2s lid apigee on coß* ditiou that each purchaser undertakes to name his next son. if he ever has one, Mieliael tSunlocks, and his next daughter Glory Greeba. Among other items in the diary ar* ’the following;— ’“ . February 11.—Miss Edna May throws up her part an "The Ibcrtcr Girl” owing to the action of the “Times” critic ia describing Mme. .Sarah Bernhardt as the.greatest living actress. February 13.—Geib-ral consternation in London society. The "Times” appeals to Miss May’s generosity not to imperil the entente cordiale. The Arehbisliop of Canterbury sends his private chaplain to intercede- with Miss May. March 19.—Self denial w eek. General Booth gives up motoring. March 24.—Self-denial week. Lieut.Colonel Newnham Davis dines at home. May 2ti.—Father Bernard Yaughau delivers his last address: “Motors and Morals; or. Combustion. Internal and Eternal.” June 1. —Great match at Lord's: George Hirst v. Rest of England. Result, Hirst wins by an innings and 38 runs. June 19.—Sensation in high life. English peer marries one of his own class. September 20. —Suffragette Autumn Manoeuvres. Miss Pankhurst electrifies Northampton by denouncing Mr. James Bryce as a beetle browed bloodhound. September 29.—Sensational announeenient iu "Bell's Sunday Chimes” that Lord Rosebery has entered a Trappist monastery. December 31.—Return of the “Times” to legitimate newspaper enterprise. Day of national rejoicing. © © © Do you Know That— Mice live about three tears? Hares can swim quite well? Fish move to deep water in winter? Giraffes’ tongues are nearly two feet Hong? Mangold wurzels will poison guinea pigs? Your heart beats nearly seventy times in a minute? An elephant isn't "grown up" till it i» twenty-four years old? A caterpillar eats twice its own weight in food every day? Bees can fly for a snort distance faster than pigeons? The King of Spain's full name is Alfonso Leon Fernando Maria Santiago Isidore Paschal Marcian? German canaries sing best? When a robin catehes a big worm he cuts it in pieces before he eats it? School children in the East Indies are taught to remember the multiplication table up to 40 times 40? YVhales live about 100 years, camels 75. lions 40. horses 25, dogs 14, and rabbits only 7? Nutmegs are the kernels of the fruit of a kind of tree that grows wild in Asia, Africa, and some parts of America? Some birds can see mice and lizards on the ground when they themselves are so high in the sky that we cannot see them ?