HERE AND THERE.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1240, 14 January 1915, Page 40

HERE AND THERE.

The guests at the Central Hotel last week included: Miss Coffey, Wellington; Capt. Main, Gisborne; Mr. and Mrs. Belgrave, Frankton; Mr. McGarvey, Helensville; Mr. and Mrs. T. Jolly, Hamilton; Miss B. Richards, Wellington; Lieut. J. P. J'erris, Avondale; Mr. N. P. Wright, Fiji; Mrs. C. MacCulloch, Hamilton; Miss Hutchens, Wellington; Mr. D. M. Wright, Wellington; Mr. R. Sutton, Sydney: Mr. F. Lang, Melbourne; Mr. and Mrs. Barclay, Hobart; and Mr. and Mrs. T. Osborne, Sydney.

Amongst the guests who were staying at the Royal Hotel last week were: Dr. and rs. Campbell, Whangarei; Mr.

and Mrs. Pfeffer, Fiji; Mr. A. C. Harr’son, Wellington; Dr. Mac Diarmid, - J untly; Mr. McLean, Huntly; Mr. Whitmore, Matawai; Mr. T. Mitchell, Wanganui; r. D. Sullivan, Wellington; Mr. J. Ormond, Hastings; Mr. E. Chrisp, Gisborne; Mr. W. Carr, Rotorua; Mr. and Mrs. Raven, Auckland; Mr. and Mrs. J. O’Sullivan, Te Awamutu; Mr. Percy Andrews, Gisborne; Mr. and Mrs. H. Hunter, Tapu; Mr. and Mrs. Elias Martin, Te Kuiti; Mr, A. Paape, Wellington; Dr. and Mrs. Lane-Fox, Great Barrier; Mr. R. G. Butcher, Wellington; Mr. T. Matthews, Wellington; and Mr. Dave Sullivan. Wellington.

Mr. and Mrs. W. Fallon, of Auckland, are at present spending a short holiday in the House Boat on the Wanganui River.

Mrs. Laurie and Miss Hillyer, of Pokeno, Waikato, are at present on a tour of the South Island, and intend to spend some time at Queenstown.

Mr. and Mrs. E. Alison, jun., of Takapuna, left this week for a trip to Mount Cook, where they intend to spend some time. Afterwards the tourists intend to motor through to Queenstown and posibly continue their journey to Sydney before returning to the North.

Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Gouldsmith, who have postponed their projected visit to England, have gone to Russell, Bay of Islands, and afterwards intend making a tour down the New Zealand coast.

Mr. McCosh C’ark and party, of Auckland, are making a motor tour through the North Island, and intend to include Mount Egmont district.

Mr. A. Webber, of Hamilton Road, Ponsonby, accompanied by Mrs. Webber, are at present on a visit to Wairakei.

Dr. Albert. Clark, of Remuera, accompanied by a young daughter, is at present enjoying a holiday on the slopes of Mount Egmont.

The world is small. It is not a new observation, but in Ostend three exresiden's of Hawker Street, Wellington. met once again. Dr. Wilson, son of Mr. George Wilson, Nurse Fairchild, daugter of Captain Fairchild, of the H'nemoa, and Mr. B. C. Freyberg.

Miss M. Carrie, of Stratfield, Sydney, left Auckland last week for a trip to Rotorua, whence the traveller returns to Auckland and proceeds to Wellington and Napier.

Mrs. J. Kissling, accompanied by two children, left Auckland last week by the Monowai for Lyttelton.

Dr. Campbell, of Whangare', is about to sail with the medical section of the Expeditionary Force, which leaves New Zealand on the 12th of February. Mrs. Campbell left for London by the Remuera, where she intends to meet Dr. Campbell.

Mr. J. M. and Mrs. Gouldsmith and Mr. L. C. Gouldsmith, an English touring party, are at present enjoying a few days fishing at Russell, Bay of Islands, before making a tour of Rotorua and the usual beauty spots. They will return to Wellington in time to leave by the Remuera on February 11th.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Sharpe, from British Colombia, left Auckland last week for Wellington to connect with the Syd ney boat.

Mrs. Kesper, wife of Captain Kesper, Auckland, accompanied by her daughter and Mrs. Hildred, of Kingsland, left by the Marama on Thursday last for San Francisco, where they intend to make a lengthy stay.

Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Davis, of Auckland, left this week for a North Island tour, which will include the Wanganui River.

A good many people have decided upon making the pedestrian tour from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound, and a large party are going to proceed from Te Anau to Wakatipu. Those who have come to spend the summer in New Zealand include a considerable number of Americans.

A Waitaki rod, recently caught 18 fish, the heaviest being 111 b, and the average 61b for the catch. One fish caught was a 16% pounder. All the fish with the exception of one seven pounder, were in splendid condition. The 111 b fish caught contained 226 “silveries',” which must be something of a record.

Colonel E. B. Blennerhasset and Mr. Charles Stoddart, who come from England every year for the New Zealand trout fishing season, have arrived in Auckland.

Fishing is reported to be remarkably good in the vicinity of Taumarunui this year. The trout are very plentiful, it is reported and in excellent condition.

Russian railway cars have been constructed for many years in such a way that they can, at need, be used on the German railway lines which are of a narrower gauge (the German narrower gauge cars could not be enlarged, and, moreover, there are not sufficient railways in Russia.)

Transvalvania, which the Russians are invading, presents the most curious 1 intermixture of races of any province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There are, all living in close proximity, Wallachs, Szekehs, Magyars, Saxons', Armenians, and Jews, six distinct nationalities, speaking five different languages', and professing five different forms of religion, compelled to mingle every day in the course of commercial and civil life, and yet each maintaining, even in the the smallest fragments, its' own distinct individuality.

When the Gurkhas were told that they were wanted to fight in the great war they asked, “Shall we all be killed?” And the officer said, “Not all.” They inquired, “Shall a great many be killed.?” He replied, “Possibly.” Then they asked, “Will & hundred come back?” “Perhaps' so.” “That will be enough,” they said. “Our people will know that we have fought well.”

Holland suffers from the war in many ways. In Zeeland, which has only 300,000 inhabitants, there are 400,000 refugees, Flushing with ordinarily 20,000 people has 30, 000 refugees Aardeburg and Vreslyke have 5000 added to their own 15000, while Hansweert with usually only 1200 has 2000 in its village and no fewer than 15,000 accommodated in great distress and discomfort in boats on the canal!

“India has surprised me,” says an English naval officer writing from that country. “God help the poor Germans when some of them get among them. While in Calcutta I saw one of the most terrible yet solemn affairs' one could wish to witness. It was the departure of the Ghurka regiments from here to the front. The men paraded before the C.O. of the province, their arms' were all piled in a heap. Their priests then led in about a dozen cattle. These were slaughtered and the blood ran into troughs'. As each man’s number was called he advanced and dipped his side arm (a queer looking knife) into the blood. This went on until all the men had done the same. Well to put it in a nutshell, they all took oaths never to return till the British army was victorious, and to a man to stand by their holy traditions and regimental standards. After them came squadrons of Bengal Lancers supposed to be equal to our own cavalry regiments'. One read business in every man’s face. Britain could have raised an army itself out of India. The flow in of cars and thousands of horses given by the native princes to the Government made one feel proud to be a Briton.”

You come upon a patch of dazzling scarlet —half an acre of begonias planted by a flower-seller who sells his wares in Ghent, states a correspondent at the front—and you find a mutilated corpse in grey tunic lying face downwards among the flowers.