TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11492, 27 January 1903, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Advanced age and the wor ° . King Oscar, nee of governing two countries which are united moTe liame , jiian in have neC c>asitated King Oscar temporarily laying aside his eceptre, and relinquishing the government to his son as Regent. Deep- '" respected, fax beyond the border of hie K°B*»*> for the ™ dom « f iiis r » k ; and ° n more than one occasion appeiiled to as d^tttSn countrieS , King Q^vaddhixelefthißmarkonXonhen,, i{ not on European, We and literature, fo been bora to any estate cave the fettered position thai he occupies. A learned m*a t a rtudent of iiiJtory, with *

capacity for original Tesetirch, he iras, a* one of his oiograpbers has mentioned, a Doctor of Philosophy long before he was a King. 'His people claim him ac the best-instructed monarch of his day. and this lie is not only by study in books or at the- feet of learned professors. Heowes it in part to the unrestricted intercourse with ihie people which seems to be the privilege of a Scandinavian monarch. There is no social bar to audience with the King of Sweden, and there is no bar erected by himself between himself and the populace outside his palacee." He travels a great deal in his twin kingdoms, and it is said, knows by sight all the leading people of both countries. He is an orator ■>f isoino power, and has been a poet, the latter in the days of his youth, when, In open competition with his countrymen, and v.r.der a disguised name, he won the prize vffertxf by the Swedish Academy with h:<9 collection of ballads and historical "o-manc-es in praise of the Swedish navy. He wa« a sailor himself for years, and ha* new lost h'.s love for the sailor's life, and "is credited with being a match for any >"f his admirals, or generals, too, in the knowledge of tfieir pi-ofwsion, while the> tn-couragercu-iit. he iuts given to scientific exploration is $<hown by the assistance l.c gave to Xitnsen and Sven Hedin to prosecute their enterprises. When it is added that Oscar speaks six modern languages fluently, and reads two others with ease, while, he is also a good Latin scholar, it will be seen that his people's boast :s well justified.

The personal experiences of A Bishop mission work which thr r among Bishop of New Guinea con Cannibals, tributes to the December " Pearson's Magazine," mako interesting reading. "The thoughts which New Guinea suggests, - ' he writes, "cannibalism, malaria, sago swamps, tinnei meat, and murders, are not the setting »n which we .picture -apron, shovel-hat, gaiters, and lawn-s'eeves. Still, there is a Bishop of . New Guinea, though his travelling costume is flannel shirt, dungaree pants, putties, stout boots, and slouch hat." Episcopal dirties are varied in that <Koee.se, and sometimes startling. In July last, for instance, the BLshop had to aut as pig-stk'ker-in-ehief at a great carnival held by savages at a place a few miles distant from his head station in Bartle Bay. Great numbers of pigs had been brought in for the occasion, in order to provide a feast for the assembled tribe. " A liative sticks his pig in a very leisurely fashion," says the Bishop. "Two natives rest a pole on which the beast is slung, on their shoulders. The pig body downwards, while the sharp point of a native's spear is inserted into its side. The animal squeals in agony for about ten minutes, and then expires." The Bishop told the natives it would never do to kill all their pigs in this fashion, and he promised that he and his staff would kill one for them quickly and painlessly on the following morning, in time iov tne feast. The natives, rather to his surprise, jumped at the offer, and the reeult was that the Bishop and one of liis clergy had to slaughter eeventy-two pigs. More than once the Bishop's life has been in danger, although lie hae never suffered any bodily injury. Owce a, dingey in which he was returning to the mission-ship capsized in the surf, close to where a. huge ehark was swimming. The occupants were washed safely ashore by a big wave, only to find themselves iv the hands of hostilelooking cannibals. After some parley the whites boldly asked for a house in which to sleep, and rather grudgingly the nativei gave them one. "It wae while the situation was still somewiuat dubious," says the Bishop, " that we saw one of the natives stiffen his right arm and bring the point of hie upear up to the breast of one of our men. The latter never flinched, and the man who threatened him rather nervously hopped his spear, -with tine words, '-<o more fighting—vre will have peace. , A better spirit seemed at once to prevail. The tension wus distinctly relieved, and we turned in andtfept as soundly as lizards and uiosquitos Jibuld permit." It was aa eerie experience while* it lasted, but the party were allowed by the cannibals to go unharmed. The Biehop is inclined to attribute hie immunity in this and. other exciting adventures to the 'fact that he and all his staff never carried any weapons.

During his brief stay in The Masai East Africa, en route for Warrior. Durban, Mr Chamberlain was entertained to a wardance by ohe Masai tribes. These Masai are amongst the most warlike of the coloured peoples of Africa. As with the King's eons in Mr Gilbert's opera, " fighting is their trade." When not at war with their neighbours they are as oftesu as not at <leadly strife with on« another According to one authority the whole nation may be described as an organised body of cattle-lifters. " The Ehnoran. or young men of the fighting cla»s, are all trained to this service, for which their etrange equipment and ■formidable weapon*) —sword, spear, shield, and clvb —are wel! suited. In the eyes of the natives no more terror-inspiring figure can be imagined than the young Masai warrior bounding over the grassy steppe, his face enframed in a fantastic ostrich-feather head-drees, a strip of cotton, six feet long, streaming from his neck, and his legs above the ankle decked with the flowing hair of the Colotms monkey, simulating wings." Tvery man among the Elmoran is at least six feet high, but in physique they are graceful rather than burly. The fighting thief of each district holds his position by viitue of his prowess in battle, while the Lygomani, or president of the " national assembly " of the district, depends for sup port mainly on his oratorical powers. Beyond these leaders the Masai recognieee no form of government. " After some twenty years of a roving life," adds the writer already quoted, " passed amid constant scenes of murder and rapine, the Elmoran settles down in his kraal with one or morr wives, obtained by barter and in any fitful mood cast to the prowling hyena, the fate that awaits himself when his end comes."