HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 



13 



acterises these, was especially irresistable, and 

 even mere men left, truck-basket laden, the will- 

 ing victims of her wiles. 



Where the flower-table came to end, a great 

 evergreen was converted to an orange-tree for the 

 time. Onlv the golden "oranges" were really 

 tissue paper here, each, then, with some toy 

 lor youngsters inside. 



Purse depleted well-nigh by the buying, you 

 were come now to an Algerine bazaar. Under 

 the trees there was stretched a rich Oriental car- 

 pet; flanking this, the dancing platform, there was 

 print-shop, booth ol wooden ware, shop with 

 coffee, embroidery and rug-vendor, and the like. 

 Dancers danced and symbals played, and all the 

 merry life of French Levant was on; but every so 

 often the society girls in charge would pass 

 through the crowds, soliciting contributions in 

 their tambours. 



And these things, too, are but the high points 

 of the story. 



They do not tell of milady of the East, with 

 the peacock feather diadem, who led the willing 

 suitors to a country store as in the French towns 

 near. 



They do not tell of the real Armenian weaver, 

 Madam Derdina, who set up her loom and sold 

 her wares and served also to draw the crowds to 

 another coffee bazaar beneath the trees. 



Nor do they tell of how the soldier-boys from 

 Ft. Thomas near — soon to fight in France these — 

 were besieged by the pretty American girls and 

 made the heroes of; while, nilly-nilly, they, too, 

 spent for the fatherless children of France ! 



It's a story for the camera, a picture-story, 

 absolutely, this fairing. It should lead away to 

 where the seals disport and a French Punch and 

 Judy show held the youngsters. It should lead 

 on to where the band in the open played "The 

 Marseillaise," while the bears in the pits below, 

 growled approvals. 



Then on to a toyland for wee-er folk v to 

 where a French cow stood for raffle, and on far- 

 ther still to wher a famous French chef made the 

 puffs the French are so fond of. 



But, all in all, it's a story to be known only 

 when really seen; or, next best, though lacking 

 the colour, the life, the real charm, to be revealed 

 best by pictures. 



The accompanying photographs must serve, 

 thus, as mere vignettes of the whole, a simple 

 suggestion of the lure that a fete fay attain and 

 the crowds it will bring, where helped with con- 

 nivance of wild things of field and stream for the 

 fatherless children of France ! 



FELIX J. KOCH. 



THE VOICE OF THE CROCODILE. 



From "The North Queensland Register.' 



The very amusing discussion as to whether 

 a crocodile has a voice is taken up by a Queens- 

 land author who writes charmingly of natural 

 history affairs in the Garden State of Australia — 

 Queensland. He says : — 



More than once since there was started an in- 

 quiry into the vocal capacities of the crocodile 

 which inhabits the estuaries of North Queensland 

 rivers, return to the subject has been inevitable as 

 fresh facts came to light. Two such are worthy 

 to be placed on record. 



A party of surveyors shifted camp and in 

 selecting the new site took counsel of a selector 

 who by 'reason of years of residence was able 

 to offer the best of advice. Some of the party 

 had had open ears for all the flowing stories of 

 the number and ferocity of the crocodiles of the 

 locality, and they insisted that the camp should 

 be se up in an innocent place. The guide favoured 

 a spot not far from the bank of a lagoon, which 

 looked lo'vely in daylight. When night came 

 several of the party were terrified by loud and 

 angry noises, described as roarings and bellowings 

 and when next morning the guide appeared on 

 the scene he was roundly abused for putting' them 

 right amongst the crocodiles,, where sleep was 

 impossible and a fan might be snapped up at any 

 moment. He frankly asserted that there were 

 crocodiles in the lagoon, as with most of the 

 lagoons and all the rivers; but that they were all 

 dumb and very nervous and therefore need not be 

 feared. He suggested that the coming night 

 would reveal the fact that the crocodiles they hear 

 and feared would be found to perch on trees. 

 The surveyors listened and watched and satisfied 

 themselves that they \had been frightened by 

 birds — the great-billed heron — as many others had 

 been. It is understood that during their stay 

 near the lagoon the crocodiles were silent and 

 quite well behaved. 



Recently I put the question, "Did you ever 

 hear a crocodile make' a noise?" to a selector 

 w'ho has lived for the past 30 years close to a 

 river in which they are extraordinarily plentiful. 

 He replied, "Once I shot a big brute at close 

 range, the bullet entering below the front paw. 

 The crocodile said 'Humph' and splashed into the 

 Hver. Again I was going up* the river in a small 

 boat, which the blacks were shoving along, stand- 

 ing to the oars, a crocodile came alongside and 

 bit one of the oars so that part of the blade was 

 splintered. The boy using the oar as a spear 

 hurled it at the crocodile with all his force. The 

 Crocodile said, 'Yak-ai' (Oh my !) and dsap- 



