THE "GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUED FOR YOUNG READERS ONLY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 149, 1 September 1941, Page 6

THE "GOOD ENDEAVOUR" LEAGUED FOR YOUNG READERS ONLY

"What ho. what • ho. ma hearties. Most of you Lave never seen White Jslnnd before, have you ? Well, as we approach the little harbour or hay, where stand the old WQrk.fi, von can see from the steaming background that it 'Would not be a verj- iiice place to stay in for long. Yes Ave can land at the old concrete jetty, and then we will set off and explore the works and the great steam vents. The high cliffs are all colours of the rainbow. Everywhere they tower and frown about frve hundred feet above the floor of the crater. Inside the. shed there are piles osf sacks, many, of them filled with crude sulphur which the men dug out of the sides of the volcano before the great eruption killed twelve of them. Everywhere there arc rusting sheets of iron and rotting beams of tinv* bor. The steamy air soon rots all materials. Now for a climb along the old tramway to the workings. The rumbling of the steam escapes are just about deafening.. On we go, 'through rolling clouds of hot vapour. This great hole is known as 'Big Donald' and jf you stand close enough you can feci the earth vibrating with the force of the steam. There is the pure green lake, and the field of lemon-coloured fumeroles, just like a lot of beehives, then on the higher level there is half a dozen other vents. Yes even high up on the walls of the cratev you can see and hear the hissing of escaping steam. Truly a wonderful and awesome sight. Watch where you tread for the crust is not strong and may give way with you any time. You'll be alright if you follow me. Now we will circle round and go back to. the wharf by another way. You can see lots of other sights now. Before we go, let us visit the gannet nesting grounds on the western side of the island. There arc thousands of these wonderful birds with their fluffy babies in their nests. No you won't peck you as you walk amongst them, but just mind where you walk. I think you have seen enough for c.ne day, so we will retrace our steps and hoard the good old S.S. Good Endeavour, before it gets too late. All aboard lads and lassies, and away we go on our forty mile trip home to Whakatane.

ASTONISHING PEOPLE : THE FAMOUS PHIL LI DOR \ Perhaps j 7 ou remember reading about Phillidor ? He is famous in his own line, and though he has been eclipsed in the last half century, he remains a most interesting figure to all lovers of the ancient and royal game of chess. He was something more than a chess player, however. His real name was Francois Andre Danican, and he was born at Dreux in France in 1726. In youth lie was one of the pages at the Court of Louis the Fourteenth, and even in his early years he was we'll known as a distinguished musician. He wrote music for several operettas, though all are now forgotten. But his name—the assumed name of Phillidor—lingers still, and he is knoAvn, not as a musician, and not fls a brilliant courtier, but as a chess player. They say lie used to play imaginary games in bed when ,'ie was only eight, and there is no denying he Avas the marvel of the chessplaying Avorld. No one could beat him. Tn France, Holland, Germany and England he was supreme. The French Revolution drove him to England, as a refugee, and it aatis in England that be died in 1795. Long after he had j gone people talked on his book on chess, of his skill in the game, and of tAvo things Avhich amazed the world at that time, his ability to play chess blindfold, and his ability to keep up a lively conversation. The first has been eclipsed, but the second has never been beaten for Phillidor played two or three games of chess at once, and talked not merely empty talk, but brilliant con versa tio nal ph i losop hy. When is water not water?— When t is dripping.

if Aboard for the Goodwill Cruised *&/ jj WHALER 8 p— Of WHALE ISLAND |j

by car to the sun The figures that have to do with the sizes and distances, of "'heavenly bodies" are so great that I, for one, have much trouble in grasping just what they mean. There are clever and learned men who understand that some of us arc like that and they try hard to give easy pictures and examples as a help. One man of this sort was anxious to explain a few days ago how far away the sun is from the earth. "Imagine," he said, "that a motorcar had started out on January the First, 1935, to make a journey of that length, travelling steadily and without a stop at the rate of thirty miles an hour. '"It would not arrive at the other end until A.D. 2282, since it. would need three hundred and forty-seven years for its task."

ORIGINAL VERSE AUTUMN PAINTERS The little orchard fairies Are very busy now A-painting all the apples That hang upon the bough. V They treat them very gently, As fairies always do. But pixies do the plum-trees. And pinch them black and blue. The brownies tint the liedgegrows, In such, a skilful way, <3ut all the berries Try hard to run away. They scramble up the branches, And trj" to reach the sky, I'm certain that they would do Tf it were not so high. Margaret "Grant. H.D., Whakatane

JOKE CORNER Getting an Average A traveller went up to a railway porter at an important station and said: "There are half a dozen clocks in this place, and they are every one different." "Well, sir."" said the porter, "If

thev were all alike, one would do." Cleaned Out "Bring in the oysters I told you to open," said the head of the household, growing Impatient. "There they are," replied the new housemaid proudly. '"It took me a long time to clean them, but I have done It at last, and thrown all the insides away/' Same Difficulty Friend: So you stayed at the*house which General Washington occupied fem a night? Jonesj: Yes, the proprietor let me have the bed that Washington could not sleep in! Endless Discussion Small Boy: Dad, what are the holes in this board for? Dad: Those are knot holes. Small Boy (after consideration) : Well, if they're not holes, what are they? Vindicated Judge: Have you anybody who would vouch for your good eondue 1 :? Accused (Irish): Yes, the locai constable. The local constable denied all knowledge of the man. Accused: There you are! I have lived all life on his beat and he does not know me. Doesn't that speak for my good conduct? RIDDLE POT

How can a thin person get fat?— Buj' it at the butcher's. What bow can't you untie?— The rainboAv. When does five go into one?— When live toes go into one shoej How do you write to a fish?— Just drop it a line. Why is the letter "A" like noon? —Because it is the middle of day. What goes from Auckland to Wellington without moving?— Railway line.