The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 25 June 1914, Page 61

The Family Circle

THE GROWN-UP ME.

I do so wish that I could see

The grown-up girl that will be me—Such heaps of things 1 want to know, And she could tell me if they’re so.

If they let her stay up till late, And not go off to bed at eight, And how it feels, way oil’ in then, To stay downstairs awake till ten?

And if she ever wants to cry— The grown-up me in by-and-by—-(But I don’t think she could, do you, If all the things I want come true?)

But, when she's here, grown-up and tall There’ll be no ‘ little me ’ at all— So I shall never, never see

The grown-up girl who will be me !

A BOY’S CURIOSITY, AND WHAT CAME OF IT.

Boys and girls and little people are often responsible for great results, and maybe you do not know that the discovery of that important instrument the (telescope may bo traced to the curiosity of a little boy, ■and this is how it came about:

The little boy 1 am telling you about was the son of an optician who lived in Holland. He and his sisters loved to play about their father’s work-bench, and often they amused themselves by looking at the sea through the little concave glasses which their father used in his work. Now, one day it happened that the boy, while playing with two of those glasses, chanced to hold them before his eyes in such a way that the face of the cathedral clock seemed very near. This surprised him, for the clock was so far away that he could scarcely see the hands with his naked eyes. He stared at the clock, and then at the glasses, each of which he tried in turn ; but the clock was as far away as ever, and so it remained, turn them as he would, until by chance he held both up together, when, 10, as if by magic, the dock stood beside him. ‘ Oh, I know, I know!’ he cried aloud; it’s the two together.’ Then in great joy he ran to his father, and told him of his remarkable discovery. The father tried the glasses in his turn, and found that the boy had spoken the truth when he said he could bring the great church clock nearer.

So this was the way people learned that putting a, concave and a convex glass together in just the right position would make distinct objects seem near. Without this knowledge we should have never had the telescope, and without the telescope we should have known little of the sun, moon, or stars. So, if you ever have a chance to look through a telescope and see the wonders it has to reveal, just remember the little boy who once lived in far-off Holland.

ORIGIN OF MARINE PHRASES.

Practically every recognised language has been called upon at some time to help in building up the vocabulary of the sea. f Davy Jones,’ for instance, might be taken to refer to some dead and gone Welshman, but the name is derived from quite another source. One should speak of ‘Duffy Jonah’s locker,’ for that was the original, ‘ Duffy ’ being the West Indian name for a spirit or ghost, and ‘ Jonah ’ referring to the prophet. Another expression gradually corrupted out of its original form is. the ‘ dog watch.’ It was the ‘ dodge watch/ because it lasts only two hours, and was intended to ensure that the same men shall not be on duty every day during the same hours.

The ‘ jury mast ’ has nothing in common with the ‘ twelve good men and true,’ except its derivation from the same French word 'jour,’ meaning * one day.’ The jury mast is erected temporarily ‘ for a day,’ just as the jury, in its legal sense, meant a tribunal summoned for a short time. Ihe sheet anchor,’ the largest anchor carried by a ship, should really be the ‘ shote anchor,’ and is so called because of its great weight, which allows it to shoot out in cases of emergency. ‘Port’ is a comparatively new expression. In the old days they’ used to refer to larboard and ‘starboard. .Starboard has nothing in common with the twinkling stars of the heavens, it is derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘steer-board’ or ‘steer-side.’ In Viking times the galleys were steered by an oar, which the helmsman held with his right hand. 1 Uarboard ’ was probably a corruption of ‘lower-board,’ the larboard side being inferior to the other. ( Ihe word ‘admiral’ is Arabic, springing from 'nml cl 1n,,/,; or ‘ lord of the sea.’ ‘Captain comes om the Latin caput,’ but mate’ is Icelandic, and means ‘companion’or‘equal.’ ‘Coxswain’ had a curious origin. The ‘coxswain’ was a man who pulled the last oar in the captain’s boat, which was described as the ‘ cockboat. ibis, in turn, was a corruption of a small, round boat found on the rivers Usk and Wve, and known as a ‘ coracle. Coxswain is therefore a Welsh name.

SMART BUSINESS

A waggon loaded with lamp globes had just collided with a truck, and many of the globes were smashed. Considerable sympathy was felt for the driver as he gazed at the shattered glass. A benevolent-looking old man eyed him compassionately’. ‘ My poor man,’ he said, I suppose you will have to pay for them out of your own pocket?’ producing his purse.

‘ Yes,” was the melancholy reply. ‘ Well, well,’ said the old man, ‘hold out your hat. Here s a shilling for you, and I dare say some of these other people will give you a helping hand, too.’ he driver held out his hat, and several persons dropped some coins into it. At last, when the contributions had ceased, he emptied the contents of his hat into his pockets. Then, pointing to the retreating figure who had started the collection, he observed:

‘ Say, ain’t he a smart man ? That’s my boss !’

WHY EDNA WAS UNHAPPY.

Edna was cross. Nothing seemed to please her. She tore her doll’s dress trying to put it on. She fell over her poor pussy, and because she mewed, she threw her out of doors. She scolded Baby Roy when he reached out for her picture book. What was the matter with Edna? Everybody wondered. ‘ I wish 1 knew where our little girl is this morning,’ said mamma. ‘I miss her sadly.’ Why, I’m here,’ said Edna. ‘My little girl has sunshine in her face,’ said mamma, ‘ and your face is so cross and scowly. Oh, I would not like to change my little girl for you !’ ‘ Everybody is cross to me,’ said Edna, ‘ and nobody loves me.’ And she began to cry. ‘ You may go into your room, Edna, and see if you can’t think it out,’ said mamma.

Edna went into the room and sat for a long time on the floor with her face in two small hands. Then she jumped up and ran to her mother.

‘Mamma,’ she said, ‘ I broke off the lily on the porch, when I was playing with Skip, and I let you think the wind did it. I’m sorry as I can be that I was so careless.

‘ I am very glad my little Edna is ready to own her fault,’ said mamma, kissing her fondly. ‘ I forgive you freely.’ Then the sunshine came back to Edna’s face and she was happy again.

A fault, confessed is generally a fault, forgiven. A tit. of ill-temper may hurt- others, but it hurts ns far worse, and unless we learn to control our tempers, we will be unhappy all our lives.

Fll E TR UTII I T A LER.

Nave you ever hear Shubins relate about (lie time he got half-way up Mount. Cook with one of his little nephews and no guide ?’ asked one man of another.

Mow long ago did he tell you about it V was the evasive renlv : '

‘Last September, when he'd just got home,' said the first man.

■ W ell, said the other, “ in eight months since then he has climbed the rest of the way, succored a fainting guide, and sustained a snowstorm on the summit, resuscitated two benumbed strangers on the way down, and guided the entire party to the foot where a group of frantic relatives were waiting.’

CAME DOWN 'LIKE A LADY.

Gladys’ mother was entertaining visitors in the drawing-room, when suddenly the door was flung open, and in burst. Gladys in the manner of the proverbial whirlwind .

My dear child,’ said the mother, rebukingly, ‘you really must learn t>> move about, more quietly! I’ve never heard such a noise as you made when coming downstairs! Now go back and then come downstairs again-—this time properly!’

Gladys retired, and a few minutes later re-entered the drawing-room.

’ Did’you hear me come down that time, mamma?’ she asked.

No, dear,’ replied the mother. ‘ Now, why can’t you always behave like that? You came downstairs like a. lady then!’

‘ Yes, mamma,’ murmured the child. ‘I slid down the banisters.’

AN UN EXI*E CT E D MONO H

' No man is as well known as he thinks he is,' says Caruso. ' I was motoring on Long Island recently. My car broke down, and while the chauffeur was repairing it I entered a farmhouse to get warm. ' The farmer and 1 chatted in the kitchen before the wood stove, and when he asked my name I told him modestly that it was Caruso. ' At that name he threw up his hands. ' "Caruso!" he exclaimed. " Robinson Caruso, the great traveller! Little did 1 expect ever to see a man like von in this here humble kitchen, sir!" '

THE PAH L 1 AMENTARY C A DATE

It is to Mr. Winston Churchill that we owe the wittiest summing-up of a Parliamentary candidate : ‘ He is asked to stand, he wants to sit, and lie is expected to lie.’

THE DIFFERENCE.

'lt is (ho easiest tiling in the world,' said the facetious man, 'to tell whether a man is starting on a journey or returning. You can tell by tho way he carries his portr.iante'iu.' ' I never thought of that,' said the simple youth. ' What is the difference?' ' When a. man is going away he carries his portmanteau towards the railway station, and when he is coming home he carries it, in the other direction.'