Traveller.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 368, 28 May 1903, Page 2

Traveller.

.-• WOMEN OF VIENNAJIl 1 angHEBE has been much discussion of jPj late regarding the comparative §§g charms of Parisian and Viennese women. The latter are more distinctly noted, however, for their beautifully rounded figures, tall stature, and graceful carriage than any other marked beauty of feature or. of expression. The Parisian skips jauntily along, while, the Viennese walks with a slow and stately movement, but, like her Parisian sister, knows well how to lift her skirts in rainy weather, and Btep in dainty fashion over the muddypavemeat, glancing backwards continually in the same conscious manner to discover if she is observed, r The peculiarly graceful walk of the Viennese has been likened, it-is said, to Strauss' music, and that of the Parisian to the quadrille step. Both are certainly of distinct types, and have always received unbounded-admiration is their own large cities." But nowadays the admiration for the Viennese women seems to be greatly, strengthened and her fame has gone abroad. In Paris reigns the 'grace of the slight figure, but in Vienna the well-developed, exquisitely rounded .form-, holds sway. The Viennese beauty has never been considered of an intellectual type. She lacks application, loves ■merry-makisg, literally abhors anything liko a lecture, and as a rule spends far more time in pouring over her cook book, and in the dare of her household, than in the perusal of a Shakespeare play or any of her classic literature. Theatre-going is her delight. ,

■I A ,fiae specimen of earlier Viennese womanhood is the pastel picture—'The Chocolate Girl,' by Jean Etienne Liatard, in the Dresden gallery. The dress worn by this fascinating little serving maid is decidedly old Viennese; the cup she carries on her tray is also old Viennese in shape and decoration (the original being how in the' National Museum, in Vienna) and the face framed by the extremely quaint;,looking cap, is charming and demure, "The 'first purchaser of this renowned picture' was a merchant by the name of Algarotti, who paid for it only! the small sum of £lO. It is quite true this picture gives but an idea of the bourgeoise kind of beauty, but at the same time it is often said the upper class of Viennese women possess a decidedly- unintellectual and hcusemaidish kind of countenance. But neverthless, she has been known on occasion to show great heroism—for history tells how in the 'Mad year of '4B' in Vienna many fair and delicately nurtured women appeared, gun in hand, upon.the ramparts, and lent their aid, with , the sterner sex, in trying to suppress ; the riots.—Lucretia M. Davidson

THE WATER CLOGS OF .; Tiie famous clepsydra, or water clock, of Canton, is housed in a temple on the city walls. In 'China: The Long Lived Empire/ a visitor.to this famous temple writes : ' We went into a sort of rubbish heap and sat down to wait until expected bargaining should be concluded, and we'w'ere free" some farther hall, the supposed Splendid Temple of :Tims.T : fLady, Lady sitting ancient, water clock,' saidAhPoll, our -guide;._.fpr. three big earthen jars on 'succeßslve"shMve%"Besl3e u£;-te'-fourth and fewest 3 one* with • a wooden-cover constituted the whole clepsydra,,and we had unwittingly sat down upon a quarter section of all time. „,The water descends by "slow drdps from one jar"tbanotheiythe bf«ss*scale oafta float*; in ithe last crook telling the hours as it rises. Every afternoon at 5 o'clock since 1321 A.D., the lowest jar has been emptied, the upper one filled, and the block' thus woundup for another day.... Boards with the number of the hour iaie. displayed on theoutside waH, that the, city may know the tiino,*'

' LAKES; ALWAYS FROZEN; Two lakes covered with ice at all times of the year have just been discovered in Oregon.- -Mr,-0, M. S'Jge, of Baker City, crossed two gocd-sized lakes in the Granite Mountains, some miles northeast of Cornucopia;, on hard frozen ice in July. Mr. Sage, with a party of friends, went on a hunting and pleasure trip to the almost inaccessible mountain peaks back of the-town of Cornucopia, in the Fanhandle district. The mountains are Mgh and rugged, and before passing the timber line the explorer must find his way through a primeval forest. A packhorse is the only means of getting into this district;, except to trudge along on foot, which, to say the least, is uphill business. One part of the road is so encumbered with fallen trees that it is almost impossible to get through... In order to get supplies to their claims two piospectors were obliged to cut a trail through this tangle of fallen trees, and it was by means of this trail that Mr. Sage and his friends were enabled to ascend the mountains, until ..they finally discovered the two frozen lakes referred to. The lakes are near the summit on the north side of the mountain, and in order to reach them the party travelled over ice and snow for a distance of five miles. • .; The bodies of water are small. One is aoout 150 ft across, and the other is between 600 ft and 700 ft in diameter. They are well-defined.lakes or pools, however, covered with a thick coating of ice, clear as crystal and as smooth as glass, which is so thick and strong that the exploring' party-did not hesitate to ride •across on horseback, ~ ; - ;| Mr. Sage- says, so far as he is able to judge, the ice on the lakes Hever melts, because they are so situated behind two tall peaks that the sun's rays never, strike them with sufficient power to make any impression on the snow and ice,