Ways of Living.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 415, 28 April 1904, Page 2

Ways of Living.

FBOG-CATCHING CHAMPION.

NOTABLE addition has been ajSnJl made to the list c! remarkable aEBg championships in the varied order of sport. Oyster opening, whelk swallowing and barrow pushing competitions have a hoary tradition of their own, and the excitements of haddock splitting and pork pie eating are by no means unknown. But the 'New York World' has given to the world particulars of another stirring contest, a frog catching championship. The struggle, which oucurred in South Chicago, resulted in a victory for James Ahern, who recently won the fishing championship. The account proceeds : John Leger issued the frog catching challenge, . Last summer he caught 30 contralto, 15 soprano, 10 tenor and 27 baßs frogs in three hours. No frogs whose legs were under 2 inches counted. Accompanied by seconds and a hundred friends, the men went to the Washington Pond at 2 p.m. The.time of the contest was two hours. Both had red flannel for bait, small shot guns and drabs. Ahern was first to score. He captured with a club a big frog of the bass voice variety. When 'Time was called he had 19 frogs to Leger's 12. The latter resorted to the expedient of spearing them in their holes, but not with much guccess. The prize was a medal and a dinner.

HOW LADIES MAKE MONEY. The break up of the London season and the departure to other resorts have led to a great recrudescence of bridge, playing. The stakes are very high in country houses', and it is not surprising to learn that a large number of ladies of position have given up playing the game because they find it more profitable to teach it to others. Until recently devotees of the game were quite content to learn its ins and outs by slow degrees, picking up experience and losing money by the way j but since high play has become a matter of course, these old time methods have proved unsatisfactory. To play at all one must play well, for the winners are those who are experts, and the lady who plays to make money finds that she must get some one to teaeh her.

The lessons are by no means inexpensive,, the fees varying with the degree of proficiency the lady teacher is supposed to have attained. This. is judged by her reputation for winning and her daring play. Five pounds for an afternoon's lesson is quite an average fee, while after dinner twice that amount is I demanded for expert tuition, for the teacher, being a good player herself, could make money instead of teaching others.

These lessons are given as a rule in the drawing-room of a lady who has invited a few friends to share the .instruction. 'Bridge Lessons' often appear on smart luncheon invitations, and are eagerly accepted, especially if the teacher is known to be a lucky player. The lessen lasts all the afternoon, and is given while playing for stakes,in.the usual manner, which are, however, returned at the end of the afternoon's lesson. ■'■.••

So keen are women, especially young girls, many of whom look upon bridge as a sure means of adding to their dress allowance, that very often three or four will club together, invite a good teacher for a week's:visit into the .country, and play bridge all day long, sometimes far into the night. At the end of the week the teacher probably receives a cheque for MOO, and departs for another country house, where the same lessons are given again on the same terms. That the payment of high fees by pupils 1 is a good investment is instanced by the case of two young girls who had I been losing heavily. They took lessons for a week, playing on an average six hours a day with a good teacher, and when next they were drawn as partners at a weekend house party, where high stakes were the rule, they made between them £l2O.

LADIES" ABM DOGS.' The fashion ia dogs changes so quickly nowadays that it is difficult to know what partienlar breed is ' in.' Ladies are the chief movers in the matter of canine modes, and the proverbial feminine ficklenesß causes much trouble to the dog dealers, who are suddenly called upon to supply an unexpected demand for some hitherto neglected breed. A short time ago, for instance, Japanese pugs were all the rage; before then the ugly little Belgian griffons, chows and sehipperkes. Now it has been rumoured that the fashion of Charles ll'a time of carrying 'aim dogs,' which has been revived by one of the leading London actresses, will create a new demand for miniature species. Mr. Willson, the well known dog fancier and dealer, however, says that he has heard nothing about it.

'There is always a good demand for small dogs, such as Yorkshire terrier?, especially as pets for elderly ladies/ he added, 'and the smaller they are the better. But, of course, the fashionable dog of the moment is without question the French toy bulldog, lam constantly asked to supply these, and sometimes I am offered practically any sum if I can get a really good dog. An average price for a well bred specimen is from £BO to .£IOO j but the best have fetched from £2OO to £300.' '

One aovelty is the Cuban poodle, a tiny dog about the uize of a small toy terrier, but with the characteristics of a poodle, and shaved as such.