THE SUNDOWNER'S SWAG.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 147, 14 December 1877, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE SUNDOWNER'S SWAG.

"No Case ! Abuse the Opposite Side 1" of Trade." " Loafers! " Beautiful appellation ! Euphonious term! Well applied epithet! You had them there, Brother Morey; that one vituperative expression should have "brought down the house," only it didn't. " Loafers 1" Did you spot my name—it is thereto be seen if you can find it—and magnify me into the plural number? If so, I Wonder at your want of judgment and lax discriminating powers.. A good cause has " many a time and oft" been irretrievably lost through a bad advocate, and any" cause that requires bolstering up, by means offensive expressions against those opposed to it, deserves to bo lost. What a humiliating contrast there is between the expressions used by the Maori Clergyman and those used by "Brother Morey. The one advocated by means of temperate, well chosen language; the other called in the powers of |slang, and could find nothing better than _ the disgraceful and.debasingly meaning coined word "loafers" to apply to nearly one hundred of his fellow men. As near as my nature will allow, I pity, whilst condemning, a man who can so far forget himself and the respect due to others, as to let his tongue utter "so foul a slight." Don't you; know, Brother Morey, that " those who live in glass houses should not throw atones?" Did it*never strike you that you, of all men, should be one of the last to stand up and disparage other people, eh ? 1 have been told of a scene occurring very recently which culminated in a grave "by the sad sea waves ;" a second edition of that sort of thing is not desirable. Ah, Brother — " Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine ; Or leave a kiss but in the cup, And I'll not look for wine." Public meetings are a necessity among all well regulated communities ; they act as safety valves, and allow of the escape of that Surplus gas which some natures are so quick in manufacturing. Wordy gas had been accumulating lately in a locality, the whereabouts of which is not J' pertinent to the subject matter in hand," "and the inevitable meeting had to be called to relieve the human gasometers of their superabundance, or, as Councillor Wagstaff puts it, "to ventilate the question." As gossips of my stamp usually say—" Well, to make a long story a short one," the meeting was duly convened ; the evening arrived, and with it the local wind-bags ; ,„ a chairman was duly appointed who was famous for purse pride and -being thoroughly illiterate ; the first resolution was duly proposed after a long-winded burst Of rhetoric gas, seconded by a gentleman, also suffering from wind on the chest and muddle on the brain, put to the'meeting hy the. chairman, .and.declared.by~ hin> to be "carried without any extension." "Extension ! " " What does he mean," was the cry. Explanations were demanded from the chairman, and after a considerable amount of " fret, fume, and worry," it was elicited that what he meant to say, but what he didn't say, was that the resolution was carried without any dissension. ■*! After that, who will say that the "•right man "is always "in the right ':.'■ place." ' .." Bright-eyed fancy, hovering o'er, ' Scatters from her pictured urn, Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.''

WL Among all mankind for thoroughly unH§' derstunding that twice one are two, and W for astutely looking after that numeral W called "number one," commend me to H your thorough paced rope finding Yorkshireman. He is in it if ever a man was. A friend of mine tells me that he recently came across a specimen of this description of the genus homo on board—suppose we say—the " Akaroa," He. was a very jovial fellow, seemed in excellent spirits with himself, and with another Yorkshireman— as my friend supposed—whom he lovingly kept on addressing as Uncle. He also appeared to be on the best of terms with the steward, and with the bibulous part of that functionary's duties, varying the monotony occasionally of the. steward's attentions by what he called *' putting through " another passenger—a publican— which, according to his own account, he did properly. After one of these little " putting through " arrangements had been cleverly manipulated, our " Yorkshire Hero " comes on deck to, as he said, " see some tings," and. espying a lady looking somewhat unwell, he handed her an orange, with a polite request that she would accept of the same. , The publican, Sarting under the last "putting through," m appeared on the scene, and, not atisfied with defeat," challenged the ■redoubtable put-tbroughist to another s of skill, with the usual ending of once more reduced to the " put through" stat,e of- "paying 1 ,tlie . eh<u," Jhis.last" 'feat-vsQ elated --the man from --Jjjjfcrk ", that lie came on deck and — eat; ornngfi which he had previously given '' the lady, remarking that if any one wanted '• " putting through," he-could do it, as it was no more trouble than sucking that *'" oiange. The lady quietly observed that she thought his "putting through" was somewhat strange in its results. Ah me— " Man wants but little here below. Nor wants that little long." Ah, yes, just so, of course; that Fire Brigade movement, what has become of it ? That just happens to be one of the things **out of the ken of my comprehension." Who does know the lost bantling's wbereabout's; do you, Stuporintendent Nsnan ? Do you, Mr Secretary, " vich Yulflifim is his name?" It musses me eorjPetely, and makes me a greater ] "_i_f fir m Ina - ce believes when I find men making a platform, and spouting their intemions of doing a meritorious act by inaugurating a hook and ladder company for your borough, -yet, directly the echo of their voices cease, they depart to liquor upland — nothing else. Oh, indolence, sweet, seductive charmer, what a pity it is, and " 'tis true, 'tis pity, pity 'tis 'tis true " that in the fairest portions of " the great'globe itself" you have the greatest ninnber of devotees, and most assiduous A worshippers. Nowhere is this more apparent thau in lotus eating, dreamily somnolent Akaroa. In no other place of its I "size and weight" has more abortive I schemes been talked of without maturing, ■ and ypiust confess that I am beginning to I feel Usif the Fire Brigade movement was I doomed to meet the untimely fate of so I many/bther talked of matters which have I beenfllgun with loud protestations, only 1 to be abandoned immediately afterwards Ifby their haranguing introducers. J will put ■ it in this way :—Are v y<au, going tyj take the

insurance companies' money, and make no effort to supplement it ? "That's what's the matter. 1" Lavater, that great authority on "The human face divine," says this:— "If you ask me which is the real hereditary sin of human nature, do you imagine I shall answer—pride, or luxury, or ambition, or egotism? No, I shall say— indolence. He who conquers indolence will conquer almost everything." Adieu.

RESUME OF LECTURES ON EDUCATION, BY C. C. HOWARD, ESQ, F.R.G.S. — ♦ -• „ , Lecture XIX.— Physical Training. Subject—lntimate connection between Mind and Body. Importance of Knowledge of.Laws of Health. Their application to School Life. How best to teach them. .Books. Physical training, though last, is by no means of the least importance, and may be considered of more utility than some other branches of education. Past periods have witnessed contests for — firstly, Mental Education; then, secondly, for Physical Education ; and it is sincerely to be hoped that sron Moral Education will receive its due recognition. At one time, physical education, loithout the mental, only was cared for ; then mental education alone absorbed the whole attention, until about 40 years ago, when, through the efforts of Kingsley, Punch, Thackeray, Dickens, and others, physical education again became recognised as of the highest importance. The advantages of physical training have always been observed with relation to the lower animals, and too often care for the physique of dogs and horses has been attended to, while that of the children has been neglected. The physical necessities of children have been sorely neglected in past days, and even now are not sufficienty studied as they deserve. Before long the physical training of the rising generation will become a public question, and force itself upon public attention. The absence of physique in children will soon be felt in the weakness of the young people of the present generation. Success in education depends more upon the energy and physical condition of the brain than upon the amount of information supplied. Every teacher of youth should study the physical condition of the brain with reference to the future welfare of the child, and should aim to cultivate the physical healthy condition of all the organs of the body. The intimate connection and relation between the mind and the body are not sufficiently recognised. The mind is affected variously by the different states of the body, and the intellectual faculties are strengthened or otherwise by the same influence. The brain is not the only organ upon which the mental work depends, though its nourishment greatly affects Jig....mental- pawotv "Mental activity depends upon the state of the body, and its healthy condition and nourishment, and only indirectly upon the amount of brain possessed. The average weight of brain in a male is 3£lbs, and in a female 3£lbs. The greatest care should be taken that children are well nourished, and their health preserved by ventilation in school, and recreation out of school. During the forenoon, a short interval should be allowed for play, during which time the windows should be opened to ventilate the schoolroom. One hour interval for dinner is fir too short, and is very injurious to the health of the children by compelling them to commence their afternoon work before their dinner is sufficiently digested. Teachers should not be too anxious to press on mental growth, and should remember that there is a limit to the amount of work which can possibly be done by any one. He should study the laws of health, viz., air, food, warmth, light, cleanliness, and exercise, and act upon them in school life ; and also remember it is more important to do right than to speak right, and hence that the subject of physical training is of more importance than grammar or many other school subjects. Lecture XX.—Subject—Drill. Systems for boys, girls, infants, and mixed Schools. The Gymnasium. Its permanent value. Hints on Gymnastic Exercises. The lecturer commenced by stating that drill is essential, not only to physical training, but to the advancement of moral and intellectual education. Drill should be so applied as to develop by systematic and methodical exercise the various parts of the body. The subject may be divided into two parts—Drill for the playground, and drill for the schoolroom. Children should "fall in" outside the school at the sound of the bell, and "salute" respectfully the head teacher as "Commandant." Teachers should pay attention to little uiai'srs, and always aim to procure reverence -v authority. A little drill, especially the " extension motions," is very advisable before commencing school work, and in school, in changing lessons or "classes, plenty, of drill should be given by the head teacher. The simpler the driil used on such occasions the better—as by numbers and signs, and on wet days such drill should not be omitted. The instructor should give and enforce distinct commands, and should not implore attention. Gymnastics should include swimming, fencing, and boating, and football and cricket clubs should be encouraged. Mr Howard, in the course of his most interesting lecture, recommended the formation of teachers' walking, visiting, football, and cricket clubs, and the establishment of any social scheme which would be the means of bringing the members of the profession into more unity and intimate acquaintance. This being the last lecture of the first course, Mr Howard, in conclusion, briefly reviewed the chief points of instruction contained in the previous lectures, so as to show the line of teaching as a whole, and considered that they should teach those to whom the instruction of the young is committed three things— Ist. A deep sense of our responsibility in the work in which we are engaged. 2nd. The true nature of our mission. And, 3rd. Nature's work and actions as our pattern for teaching. End of First Course of Lectures.