THE LUMBER ROOM

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 55, 20 March 1937, Page 4

THE LUMBER ROOM

' ' PAUL

pby."

— Rupert

Brooke.

— Shane

Leslie.

—Padraic

Colum.

1 A

! Other People's Btisines?The Coronation Contingent bas set sail for the land of Kings and eastlea and I an? rtir.inded of the old f-aying; that an Engliehman's home is his castle. After a moment's thought, however, it is apparent that the cTraw- ; bridge is down and no long'sr can we isolate ourselves from our fellows. ,.:nr business is too complicated. We have to^admit an army of professionals who make their living by attendiug to other people's business. There is the accountant who advises us how to disgorge our hard-earned wealth in discreet .portion* tothe numerous hungry officials; there are the lawyers who very. wisely help us when in drfficulties with our neigh1 bours. And so it goes on. Well Shot Shotwell! Described as the first attempt to analyse war, a complete social and economio history of the World War ha# been published in 152 volum.es. This announcement has been made by Frofessor Shotwell, director of the economic division of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. There is a certain grim humour that Professor Shotwell should have made this statement on hehalf of the technocrats who delight in such matters. 1 believe that there has even been a statistics! inquiry into the authenticity of telepathy. Not much connection between the World War and telepathy, admittedly, but still it just shows to what lengths inquiries can be pushed. Safety First. "Safety First" is & vile motto. Men should rule themselves and not be caugibt by catcbwords , . . Safety First is soul-destroying, a pestilent heresy which will robe th© raee of man of all incentive and spell doom to tho '* British Empire. It is indeed really a euphemism for not facing facts, for ladk of confidence in oneself or one'# principles. Imagine Nelson fettered by that doctrine; or Florence Nxghtingale turning back from the Crimeaxx horrors to her sunny garden and Safety First. — J. E. B. Seely. A Poet's Duty. "It is a poet's duty ijo tell of things that others cannot see, like a watchman wiih a glass on a high tower; to tell of truths that would otherwise pass unseen through our: gexxeration." — ^Lord Dunsaay. Clouds. Down the blue night the uxxending cdlumns press In noiseless tumult, breab and wave and flow, Now tread tbe far South, or lift rounds of snow Up to the wjiite moon's hidden loveliness. ' ' Some pause in their gr#ve wandering . comradeless, And turn with profound gesture vague and elow, As who would pray good for the world, but know . Their benediction empty as they blq§s.

The Crack of Doom. I never see ihe newsboy# run Amid the whirling street, With swift untiring feet, To cry the latest Venture done, But I expeot one day to hear "Them cry the crack of doom.

The Pioughman. Sunset and silence! A man: around him earth savage earth broken; Beside him two horses — a plough! Earth savage, earth broken, the brutes, : the dawn man there in the sunset, And the Plough that is twin to Ihe Swdrd, that is founder of cities.

Seliing the World. After the death of Pertinax, the Roman World was offered for sale by auv- - tion by the all-powerful Praetorian Guard. Didius Salvius Julianus M#rcus, a wealthy Roman merchant, outbid all others, and the world was knocked down to him after he had paid the equivalent of £1,000,000 in gold on March 28, 193 A.D. The Roman Sexxate took an oath of loyalty to him. When the Roman Legions stationed in Great Britain learned of the disgraceful deal they rose in indignation, and, under General Septimu# Severus, hxxrried to Rome, where Didius was seized and beheaded. Septimus thereupon beeame Imperator of Rome. A Warnfng to Litigapts. In the year 999 a wealthy landowner who expected tho world to end in the year 1000, gave the mountain of San Tisoxx© near Naples, to the Convent of the same name. As the world did not perish, the owner claimed to cancel his gift. At present the two commuxxities of Ravella and Lettera are still disputing the ownership. For some 900 years or so testimony has been taken with never a decision. » A Fathom. A fathom is a nautical measurement of depth. It means literally "an embrace" from the Anglo-Saxon "faetm" and is defined by an Act of Parliament as "the length of a swain's arjhs around the object of his affections." Said the Spider. What is celebrity ? The advantage oj bemg known to people who don'fc knc.w yo -Nicolas Chamfort. He who would thoroughly know tho vanxty of men has only to consider the c&us© and effects of love. The cause is .je ne sais quoi, an indefinable trifie —the effects are monstrous. It the nose of Cleopatra had been a little shorter, is wtuld. have changed the history of the^ world.— Pascal. Nob»i(ly is so weak but he is strong -mough tc bear the misfortunes he does not feet — Duc d© L# Roohef oncmjld .