Page 4 Advertisements Column 5

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 15 September 1891, Page 4

J BITS FROM BOOKS. Too Realistic. —It was during hij ! early provincial wanderings that Mr. Barrett j had an amusing experience while playing | Triplet in "Masks anc 1 Faces," which . afforded somewhat of an argument against absolute realism on the stage. In the attic scene, in which good-natured Peg Woffington sends a pie for the delectation of the poor broken-down gentleman and his starving little ones, Mr. Barrett, knowing • that the children who appeared vvith him were not too well accustomed to good solid meals, took care to provide a genuine beef- • steak-pie each rigot which they c sumed with unmistakable gusto, he, too, taking his , share of the realistic meal. But one night, no sooner had Triplet inserted the knife in the crust of the pie than a malodorous savour I assailed his nostrils, and compelled him to "make believe" that he was enjoying the j welcome food. Not unnaturally, he thought I that the children would not be so squeamish, and duly gave them their portions. But to his horror they remained upon the plates untouched, and the curling lip of disdain was the only indication which they gave of their knowledge of its presence. The situation was critical. " Eat, you little beggars, eat !" said the actor, sotto vocc. But it was no good. Nature asserted itself over art, and j for once Mistress Woffington's bounty was unappreciated. The incident reminds one of the conceited young London star who, when touring in the provinces, arrogantly demanded a real chicken in one of his scenes, instead of a " property" make-believe. The stage-manager, after bearing with his upstart ways as long as he could, quietly said at last : " All right, Mr. Dash, I'll remedy it to-morrow. You play the part of a man who is murdered, don't you? "Yes," returned the star. " Very good," replied the manager, " I'll take care that the poison is real !" — Players of the Period. By Arthur Goddard. (London : Dean and Son.) A Balkan Winter. — Writing in the AntiJacobin, Mr, Archibald Forbes relates the following startling facts in connection vvith the last Russq-Tiirkish war: — Winter in Bulgaria had already set in when Plevna fell on ioth December, 1577. The Grand Duke Nicholas, the Russian Commander-in-Chief, supported by Generals Gourko and Skobeleff, had resolved to press across the Balkans in the depth of winter in the face of every difficulty. To Gourko was assigned the task of crossing from Orkhanie to Sofia. The mountain paths at the best had a slope of one in six, at the worst of one in three, vvith abrupt curves ; and they were coated with half-frozen snow. Gun teams were useless ; the ammunition was unloaded and carried by hand ; 100 to 150 men hauled and pushed each gun and limber. With patient zeal and good humour, the men toiled twelve I hours a day, and slept on the snow without tent or blanket, subsisting on two-thirds of a ration of black hard biscuit and occasional meat. They froze to death occasionally — Dandeville's column, for instance, was buried , in a snow storm, losing 53 men dead, and nearly 1,000 permanently disabled by freezing; but those were casual incidents. The effort was a success; proving the fallacy of the belief of the Turkish generals that the Balkans in winter, except by the main road, which they commanded, were totally impassable. Up on the Schipka Pass Radetski had a whole division hors de combat in December from the extreme cold ; on Christmas Day 6,000 men were incapacitated from frostbites. Nevertheless Radetski was able to co-operate with Scobeleff in the descent on Schipka and the capture of Vessil Pasha's army of 36,000 men. The Russian columns had to abandon their artillery, for the snow was from three to ten feet deep. Scobeleff was delayed, and legt many men by a tempest of blinding snow and a dense fog of particles of frozen mist ; but his column rolled and wrJlowed down the mountain side through the snow wreaths in time to co-operate with Mirski in the hand to hand fighting which resulted in the surrender of the Turks. From the 1 fall of Plevna to 31st January, 1878, the j Russian armies marched over 400 miles, ! crossed the Balkans in a temperature of 10 j degrees below zero, fought three series of | [ battles resulting in the capture of a Turkish ,' army of 40,000 and the dispersal of another i over 50,000 strong, captured 213 guns, die- ; tated the terms of an armistice ; and all I this had cost them about 20,000 men, of i whom not less thsn one-half succumbed to j the rigours of a Balkan winter. j The Akka Piggies— The Akka and TikiTiki are not often friendly, but are generally at open war with each other. They have a stature which varies between 4ft. and ift. gin. high, but most of them are no taller than ift. : 6in. They speak a special dialect (not the ! same everywhere), a derivation of an original ; language, which has been altered by contact wi th other peoples. Their heads are covered with abundant woolly, reddish-brown hair, with single curls. The adult men have hair on their cheeks and chin. The names which I they give themselves individually are curious I and original, such as Otikogi, Niambando, 1 and Apumodo, for males; and Mameri, I Imma, and Tipekitana, for females. Most ! of them are completely naked. Amongst those who wear any covering, the men use a piece of bark roughly beaten out and flattened, fixed by a string passed round the waist. The women wear simply a couple of leaves or so. The former use no ornaments, and the latter do not pierce their ears. ■ When the men marry they purchase (or free) their wives from their fathers by payment of a certain number of arrows. Each family rules itself, and its cooking is done separately. ' In case of death, they bury the body in the [ very place where the death occurred, without ceremony of any sign for future remem- | brance. The shadow of death does not I oppress their minds, and sorrow takes no I hold of their hearts— a stoicism inherited from nature, and not learnt in any philosophi- ! cal school. They have no medicines wnatI ever, no sorcery and no superstitions — not I even that of the evil eye. They do not know j how to kindle a fire quickly, and, in order to get one readily at any moment, they keep the burning trunks of falling trees in suitable spots, and watch over their preservation like the Vestals of old. The Akka are very much appreciated as warriors, on account of their dexterity as archers, their nimbleness, and instinctive bravery. The chiefs of the tribes rival each other in securing them as subsidiaries, rewarding them for their services by presents of arrows or food. King Karma assured me that during the war waged against his neighbour Azanga, his own Sandeh, who were so brave against the Mambettu and Mege people, fell back terrified at the approach of the little warriors. " Their arrows," said he, "fly and wound before you can see those who shoot them." In ambush they usually cover themselves with two large tebi leaves from the head downward, one in front and the other behind. Many of these pigmies are met with in the Mambettu country, among the Sandeh, at Azanga's court, and that of Kin, chief of the MegeMaigo. The bow in their right hand, the quiver hanging from their left elbow, with head upright, and proud look, they step quickly, and lay down the result of thehunt. 'J lien they pay a visit of homage to the chief, saluting the minor authorities with a dignified nir. anc] strictly limit the time of their stay to that neccssnry for the business to be done. — Ten Years in Jujuatoria. By Major Gaetano Casaii (London: F. Warr.e and Co.) Cjik-:k;-m.m:ss is an excellent wearing quality. Jt lias been called the bright wejiiiitr of 1 lie heart.— Samuel Smiles,