Ways of Living.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 404, 4 February 1904, Page 7

Ways of Living.

AUCTIONS TO BE-AVOIDED. fcgRALES of second-hand furniture are •vjjto certain to attract a large number SKJC - of intending purchasers, because VJ, i-. a . * BaU y good piece of secondhand furniture is often better than anew one-ithewood is seasoned, and the solidity of construction has been demonstrated by wear. An auction of this kind was recently held in the extreme Westjof London, and it will serve as a model fornumerous others. . • The furniture was stated to have come from an old country mansion, and the reason .for selling it was that the owner was compelled to live abroad for the benefit of his health. As a matter of f aot, it was cheap stock especially made for the occasion, and treated to resemble old furniture I The bidding was started by the auctioneer for every individual lot, and his price was not a low one. Someone among the crowd of persons made a better offer, and this usually induced further bidding on the part of the unwary, who, fancying that a good thing was going, were anxious not to lose it for the sake of a few shillings. Then the auctioneer had recourse to an old trick, denominated 'trotting,' by those who are in the inner ring; he turned .about in the rostrum, utteriag the usua question: ' Any advance on £5 ?' And, when he was facing the extreme end of the half circle of would-be buyers, he nodded to an imaginary bidder, and said, Thank you! That makes £s loa. Any advance on £5 10s ?' By means of this trick he succeeded in forcing the price up to a figure far above the value of the piece of furniture in question. Tt is was done in almost every instance throughout the auction, if any expert dealer in furniture chanced to attend the sale, he would be careful not to bid.

'Trotting' is bad enough, bat something worse is practised at times oh the unsuspecting persons who attend such auctions. This is what occurred at a sale of carpets, curtains, and similar articles held in the neighbourhood of Finchley, A lady had made a bid for some curtains, but, having been outdone by another bidder, gave up the idea of purchasing. The auctioneer had noticed her, .and waited for an opportunity. Bidding'had practically ceased. He turned suddenly towards the lady, and said: ' Ten guineas, madam P Thank you!' and knocked down the lot to her for that sum, which was an advance of half a guinea on the last bid and three guineas more than she "had previously offered.

The lady denied making the bid, and was very indignant, but the auctioneer had confederates who swore that they heard her speak. The lady appealed to others, but they couldTnot be sure, and they hesitated to contradict such positive evidence as that already given. Finally she had to pay. It is at these auctions that one has to risk buying stolen goods. An enticing 'lot/ not down on the catalogue, is run in at the close of the sale proper. Some curious incidents in this direction are on record.

One is that of a lady who attended one of,these auctions at Clapham, and was amazed to see some silver spoons and forks offered as the special lot, the said articles having been stolen from her house at Barnet a week previously. She made a scene and the auction was.huiriedly closed, her property being ultimately returned to her on condition that she went no farther into the matter.

ONION-PEELING AGAINST TIME. There was no doubt it would pay, for it had yielded more mosey than anything else at one of the biggest and smartest bazaars on record, and this particular bazaar had been got up to make money. The churchwarden thought it would be undignified, but he was sat upon-by the majority. 'The price of admission wi'l be two-and-siz,' said the chairman of the committee, a stout, elderly gentleman with a powerful Irish twinkle in his eyes, ' and five daughters of the local rank, fashion, and beauty will peel each pound of onions is full view of the spectators. To the one who finishes her pound first, neatly peeled, I will present a gold brooch.' When the day of the bazaar arrived the big rooms were crowded, and attention centred on a placard hung outside as inner room, describing the nature of the competition. Inside, behind a barrier, was a long bench on trestles, and seated at it were the five competitors. There was Felioia, daughter of the M.F.H., in pink tulle; the irritable retired Indian judge's daughter, Miriam; Marian, from the vicarage, in a sky-blue blouse; the major's niece, Jessamine, in a flame-coloured teajacket, and demure little Constance, the doctor's daughter, in blue serge. Before each were two plates, one empty, one holding a pile of onions and a short knife. 'Go!' said the chairman, who sat at the head of the bench holding a stopwatch. Each girl seized an onion. With a dry rustle the outer coats of the vegetables were whipped off and the inner layers. A second later the four heads bobbed up ?ike released piano-keys, and four pairs of eyes blinked rapidly, and four small noses sniffed. The spectators tittered. Constance only, her eyes held away from the pungent roots, went rapidly ahead. The ripples of laughter among the audience penetrated outside, and brought half-crowns rattling into the receiver's plate till the room was packed. The peeling was is full swisg sow. Felicia had a handkerchief by the side of her plate, and between every stroke of the knife dabbed it to her streaming eyas. Marias did sot waste time over her handkerchief, but passed her sleeve across her smarting eyes, coughing distressingly. Jessamine had screwed her face into the likeness of a Buddhist idol, and was gasping for breath; and Miriam, flinging down her knife, fled from the board, her hand over her face, fairly beaten- Then came a small dulcet voice from little Constance. ' I've finished,' she said. A roar of applause broke the stillness, and the vanquished four, disappointed but relieved, rushed away to bathe their eyes. Before Constance lay a neat heap of perfectly-peeled onions, and the chairman, with his best twinkle, handed her the gold brooch.

COREAN COOLNESS. The Coreana have a holy horror of any of their nationality adopting foreign customs. Thus, when a native who had been to Japan returned home, wearing his hair cut short and a foreign hat, he was soundly thrashed and told to return whence he came until he was fit to appear in polite Corean society. The natives have any amount of 'cheek.' One went up to an officer on board an American vessel in the Corean harbour, pulled his moustache to see what it was like, and took a toothpick out of his hand. If, instead of a gem or even a flower, we could cast the gift of a rich thought into tbe heart of a friend, that would bo giving ss the angels give.