ECHOES OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XII, Issue 746, 23 June 1904, Page 15

ECHOES OF THE WEEK.

(By

“Ithuriel.”)

At Singleton, New South Wales, the other night the audience at a theatrical performance enjoyed more entertainment than they paid for. “Punch” gathers that there was some unpleasantness between the hero and the ponderous villain, quite apart from the oecessities of the play, and at a trying mo rent the actors forgot their public duty in the presence of their private grievance, and they struck each other on the nose simultaneously and with great gusto, and then they got at it with all the enthusiasm of two passionate joung artists, and it was a case of latherum-whack for about live minutes, during which time one-half of the audience enjoyed itself immensely, while the other half made frantic efforts to climb up the walls, under the stupid delusion that the house was afire. There was a similar scene at the Charley Napier Theatre in Ballarat East when a Shakespearian performance was on. Old Polonius got at Hamlet, and the greybeard was giving the Prince of Denmark a daddy of a beating, when a secticn of the audience arose and rescued Hamlet. Said a bearded miner to Polonius : “Hold hard, old party ; you’ve had a fair share, and after all this is our quarrel.” And the diggers took Hamlet away and soused him in’ a dam at the nearest mine. They took the actors seriously in those days, and believed in the popular proverb : “An actor, a dog and a walnut tree, the nrore you whip them the better thev be.”

The agitation for the introduction of Scripture lessons into the schools is a very live business in this colony, but we have not yet got so far as the . people of Victoria, who have been given the opportunity for a referendum. The result is not very encouraging since, while a small majority on one issue favours the introduction of the Scripture, a much larger has voted for leaving- the secular system

as it is, which is just as well, for if the matter had been settled in favour of the Scripture reading element, some woful confusion must have followed. How could the Government please everybody in view of the fact that there are upwards of 134 separate religions, in a more or less flourishing state in the land. An individual with much time on his hands and considerable curiosity with regard to the subject, has compiled the following very interesting list (which, he admits, may

not be complete), of acknowledged sects : —Church of England, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalist, Lutheran (German Protestant) Church of Christ, Salvation Army, Protestants (so stated), Unitarian, Jews, Mahommedan, Buddhist Hindu, Brahmin, Confucian, Australian Church, Christians (so stated), Christian Brethren, Moravians. Calvanistic Methodist, Christadelphian, Seventh Day Adventist, Victorian Free Church, Free Christian, Evangelist, Church of the First Born, Apostolic, True Believer, Believer. Children in God, Christian Reformer. Church of God, Conditional Immortality, Danish Church, Dutch Reformed Church. French Protestant (Huguenot), German Christian, German Evangelical, German United, Glassite (Scandenavian), Nonconformist (Dissenter), Grace Walking Brethren, Primitive Christian, Reformed Church, Reformed Church of Switzerland (Zwinglian), Relative of Jesus, Reorganised Church of Jesus Christ, Sabbathkeeper, Second Adventist, St. Paul’s, Swedish Church, Saint’s Faith, ' Universalist, Welsh Church, Welsh Congregationalist, Welsh Zion, Protest Unsectarian, Greek Church, Catholic Apostolic, Chris-

tian Israelite, Later-day Saint (Mormon), New Church (Swedenborgian), Spiritist and Spiritualist, Christian Catholic Armenian, Aryan Catholic (but not Roman Catholic), Christian Agnostic, Christian Metaphysician, Christian Scientist, Christian Socialist, Christian Spiritist, Divine Healer, Follower of Ruskin, Golden Rule, Latitudinarian, Mennonite, Old Catholic Peace and Holy Love, Providence, Pure and Undefiled Religion, Rational Christian, Religious Free Thought, Roman Orthodox, Tolstoian Trinity, Universal Catholic, Zion, Druge tSyrian), Taoist Shinto, “ Sanhus,” Zoroastrian, Believer in God, Bi Deist, Theist, Rational, Eclectic, Esoteric, Buddhist, God Absolute, “ Historien,” Separatist, Student of Truth, Truth Seeker, Theosophist.—Perhaps Auckland could supply several names to the list. But what a polyglot kind of population heaven must contain !

A correspondent, who calls himself a Latter Day Saint, sends me the following, with an intimation that King Dick ought to take a leaf out of the policy of Brigham Young if he really wishes to increase the population of New Zealand:— I met a little Mormon girl ; She was just eighteen, she said, Her hair was dressed with one big curl That dangled from her head. She had a simple way, and bland ; Her speech was soft and cool. And in her honest, widespread hand She bore a milking stool. “ How many children, little maid, Are in your family ?” “ How many ? Sixty-seven,” she said, And shyly looked at me. Her hazel eyes to mine she raised, And then she cast them down. “I did not ask,” I said, amazed, “The census of your town.” “How many children ’round your door Disport in childish glee ?” “Just sixty-seven,” she said, once more, And smiled again at me. “Forty of us at Provo dwell ; At Ogden there are nine ; The good ship Jane they sail her well— Tw T elve brothers dear of mine.” “I see at last. Your meaning’s clear,” Said I, with laughter merry ; “It is an orphanage, my dear, Oi- a female seminary.”

“ My father kind is drawing near,” The little maid replied : “ He’s been to roam ; he’s bringing home Another brand new bride.

“With lather, dear, we dwell at peace Our mothers are eleven ; ’Round every door there’s room for more, And w r e are sixtv-seven.”

And then I left in dumb dismay The maid with eyes like heaven ; And as I left I heard her say, “ And I’m the oldest, by the way, Of all the sixty.seven.”

Mr W. Hendry, the well-known cycle engineer, continues to do good business at his establishment in Karangahape Road. He makes repairs a speciality, and cyclists who get a break down owing to the wretched state of the Auckland roads are realising that this is the place to have the trouble put right, for the work done is always to be relied upon.