223 



Random Readings from the Reviews. 



" Ici On Parle " 



Charles Wilson, writing in the Sunday at Home on 

 his experiences as clergyman in the Bush of Australia, 

 tells the following story : — 



The following announcement that I once saw mounted in a 

 frame at one of the cottages greatly surprised me : lei on Parle 

 fran(ais. I was not ignorant of the language myself, so 

 instead of wishing the settler's wife good morning, I naturally 

 made use of the expression Bon jour, but she didn't appear 

 to understand me. ^^ Comment I'ous porUz-vous, ma.iame I " I 

 continued. The result, however, was still the same ; she 

 merely stared in astonishment at me, and told the children to 

 leave the room. " You seem surprised," I remarked, pointing 

 to the notice that was hanging on the wall just over the chimney- 

 piece. " It says on ihat card ' French spoken here ' ; it's your 

 husband, I suppose, who can talk it?'' "French spoken 

 here ! " she exclaimed in astonishment. " I think, sir, you 

 must be mistaken. I bought that card from a hawker last 

 week, and he told me it was the L-itin for 'God Bless Our 

 Home,' so I took it and hung it over the fireplace." Just then 

 shL- caught sight of the schoolmaster, who happened to be pass- 

 ing, so she called him over and asked him to translate it. H is 

 version, of course, was the same as mine, and the woman was 

 dreadfully angry about it. " Wait till that hawker comes round 

 again!" she exclaimed. "My husband '11 soon talk French 

 «o him! He'll make him give back the shilling, anyhow." 

 Then, turning to mc, she added, " Vou'll excuse me for 

 sending the children away, but when you came in and spoke 

 as you did, 1 really thivjght you were using bad language." 



.An lNDt.\N's Tribute to British Sw.w. 

 In the Rajput Herald Sundara Raja pronounces 

 British rule in India to be " without a parallel in the 

 world's histors ," "a noble task," " the grandest per- 

 formance of humanity." He says : — 



To have been able to uplift millions of human beings is a 

 record of which any country can be proud, but to have 

 endeavoured, to have worked, to have struggled, and, above all, 

 to have sacrificed for the sake of a country entirely dirt'erent, 

 neither buund to it geographically nor racially, and to have 

 worked uul its evolution in a true and evangelical .spirit, is a 

 HerculiMii task which is at once the pride, the glory, and the 

 martyrdom of Great Britain, whose sanctity equals only those 

 records of real heroism largely associated with the world's 

 j;rcatcst heroes. 



Scotland's Earliest Inhabit.vnts. 

 In the current number of History Professor \V. 15. 

 Stevenson treats of the people of Scotland three thou- 

 >and years ago. The Celts came to Britain only 6oo B.C. 

 Before then the country was occupied by a people 

 in the bronze age of civilisation, who partly belonfjcd 

 to the .Mediterranean race, black-haired, olive-faced, 

 partly to the Alpine race, with broader, rounder heads, 

 and possibly brown hair. They used animal ff)od ; were 

 in the main a pastoral people, though they used agri- 

 (ulture to some extent. Warfare was an important 

 part of their occupation. 'Ihcy manufactured wea|)ons. 

 tools, clothing, ornaments, and pottery. Spinnmg was 



common ; sewing was practised. Gold was abundant. 

 They lived in pit houses sunk two to six feet in the 

 earth, about 15ft. to 20ft. in diameter. Their funeral 

 mounds rose from 20ft. to 150ft. 



A Master of Make-Believe. 

 Under the above title, Christian Brinton, in the 

 Century for July, writes a strongly eulogistic arlicli 

 on the work of Maxfield Parrish, a craftsman in many 

 mediums, a whimsical artist without an equal. One 

 of his specialities is the paper cut-out, a method by 

 which he gains relief and force in what would otherwise 

 be a flat sketch. His work is remarkable for its joyous 

 note, and for fancy and imagination, which simply run 

 riot. " He finds himself, and he has the gift of making 

 you feel, equally at home anywhere — that is, anywhere 

 in the land of Make-Believe ; for the restless, stressful 

 existence about him offers little interest or stimulus. 

 .\hove all, he preserves in each transition the precious 

 spontaneity of youth. This art is a manifestly ■ 

 adolescent expression. The element of amusing or 

 alluring distortion is seldom absent. The dragons are 

 more avowedly voracious, the genii more malevolent, 

 and the qtiesting little adventurers more valiant than 

 any met with elsewhere. In colour as well as in 

 character the same strain obtains. The dawn is more 

 radiant than Aurora dare tint her, and the sunsets 

 have a prismatic splendour visible only to painter and 

 to poet." 



Developing the Donkev. 



The humour and pathos of a South London donke\ 

 show arc described in Pall Mall Magazine by the Re\ . 

 J. Hudson. He says :^ 



We in South London, having provided cheap and co-\ 

 stabling for the costers, determined that they should have a 

 gala day on which to exhibit their animals, at which prizes in 

 plenty were readily promised. 



All the donkeys were in perfect condition, and such fine 

 specimens of their genus that the judges hardly knew how to 

 eliminate the good from the excellent. They were of all ages, 

 from the patriarch " Tommie," who bore his thirty years well 

 (though age had lent him a touch of rheumatism as well as 

 dignity) to frisky little colts of some two or three summers. 

 The I'early King was present with his wife and son, bedecked 

 with 122,000 pearlies, and, .as pearl buttons arc by no means 

 cheap, it will be readily understood these suits are very costly. 

 Most of the costers, however, appeared in everyday costume — 

 more useful than ornamental. 



The animals were divided into various classes : fancy donkeys, 

 hard-working donkeys, veterans, whilst one class was restricted 

 to tenants of the stables. 



One old moke, past work, was still kept by his 

 owner, " becaujie he's the best friend I ever had," 

 though it cost is. 6d. a week to keep him. Hearing of 

 this self-sacrifiling fidelity to the humble be;\st, the 

 Duke of I'ortjind gave it a comfortable home at 

 Welbcck Abl''j|-. and a few friends presented the 

 faithful owner,. ivith a new donkev and harness. 



