doin ‘Me THER ATISTRALTAN GARDENER, — 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
35 
Minne 
S suet 
1 he Young I Holks. 
The’ Moon Elf. 
When the moon isn’t bright 
There’s a quaint little sprite, 
A remarkably odd littl» fairy— , 
Who mounts to the sky, 
Though it’s ever so high 
(Now, no doubt you are thinking, * How 
dare he?) 
His umbrella balloon 
Takes him up to the moon ; 
“Phen he pulls out his small ¢ pocket- 
henky, 
And he rubs every trace 
Of a cloud from the face 
Of the with 
moon, who rewards him 
‘Thanky ! 
Military Strategy. 
[Explained with Matches by Mr. X, in 
‘The Royal Magazine.] 
Not long ago Mr. X dined with a 
gallant officer at his regimental mess, and 
the conversation veered round to army 
experiences. 
‘On the Indian frontier’ said the 
-colonel, ‘I once ran up against nine 
pukka hillmen, and things looked very 
black, for we were only nine all told, and 
they held a strong position, However, I 
and my fellows lay down in this formation 
—the colonel illustrated with matches— 
+r & WN 
and the enemy, seeing themselves out 
numbered. fled at once.’ 
There was loud applause, and when it 
had subsided, the adjutant took up the 
-tale. 
‘In South Africa,’ he said reminiscently 
cell was out to 
with eight Working 
kopje we came upon twenty Boers. I 
sent reconnoitre 
men. round a 
_made up my mind to collar them, but, 
only nine against twenty, how was it to 
be done?? He reached for the match- 
vbox. 
and my eight 
‘I thought the matter over, and we lay 
down thus: : 
so SK SK YY I 
‘It was rather squashy for the first 
six men, but the effect was great. The 
Boers saw that we were almost two to 
one, and threw up their hands. We 
bayged the lot.’ 
The adjatant’s health was drunk with 
enthusiasm, and the colonel looked crest- 
fallen. Mr. xX. pitied him, thus 
and said 
outdone before his own mess, 
deferentially: ; 
‘Many years ago, when a young man, I 
held a commission in the volanteers. I 
was only a subaltern,’ continued Mr: X, 
‘One day I was ordered to hold 
It was during 
humbly. 
a position with eight men. 
a sham fight; and a very distinguished 
general commanded the opposing forces. 
‘It chanced that he and his staff, escorted 
by a troop of lancers, rode up to where I 
They 
about thirty-six men, and I 
But how? 
Thank 
you!’ said Mr, X, as some one passed 
lay in ambush. 
totalled 
determined to catch them. 
Then a bright idea came to me. 
the matches, 
‘I did not trouble even to make use of 
marched out 
cover. I and my men 
thus: 
to | A) 0 Fog 
‘The general saw that we were three 
and a half-dozen. ‘He and his were but 
thirty-six all told. He capitulated.’ 
No sound greeted Mr. X’s little 
reminiscence, but the colonel, with tears 
in his eyes, and wrung him 
affectionately by the hand. 
PRINTING 
EVERY 
DESCRIPTION 
AT SHORTEST NOTICE. 
“Australian 
Gardener” Office, 
20 Waymouth Street. 
rose, 
Why a Red Sky at Night 
Fortells Fine Weather. 
Because when the red rays of evening 
light are very freely transmitted through 
the atmosphere the amount of inoisture 
floating thereii does not approach the 
rain point. The beams of the setting sun 
are refracted by the vapour in the air, 
which displays and passes the red rays of 
light with greater freedom and intensity 
than the rays of other hue. Hence the 
old weather saw : * Lf the sun in red shall 
‘set, next day shall be free from wet,’ with 
its many variants; indeed, this bit of 
folk-lore dates back to Biblical days, for 
in St. Matthew’s Gospel may be found 
the following expression thereof :,* When. 
itis evening, ye, say, ‘It will be fair 
weather, for the sky is red.’ 
What the Saying, “Robbing 
Peter to Pay Paul,” 
Arose From. 
The common expression, ‘ Robbing 
Peter to pay Paul, found its origin in 
London in 1550, when an appropriation 
was made from St. Petex’s Cathedral (now 
generally known as Westminster Abbey) 
to make up a deficiency in the accounts 
of St. Paul's, the other famous metro- 
politan cathedral. The action roused a 
good deal of adverse criticism on the part 
of the people, who coined the phrase for 
the occasion. 
Conundrums. 
A certain farmer owned a box 
containing fifty ears of corn. In one 
corner of the box there was a small hole. 
A mouse finding this went in, and, coming 
out, brought out three ears ; this he did 
every day until the box was emptied. 
How long did it take the mouse to empty 
the box ? 
Fifty days, for adhe time of coming out 
he brought one ear of corn and two ears 
of his own. 
oe id * * * 
RK we 
Why does a piece always appear to be 
hungry ? 
Because it is always a goblin. 
ax 
Fe ah ® 
Why is a studious monarch like a lean 
man ? 
Because he is always a-thin-kings 
