ABSENCE OF MIND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 78, 1 April 1880, Page 4

ABSENCE OF MIND.

Absence of mind is a mental infirmity .more-.. often ..ridiculed, than pitied, yet one that is frequently seriously inconvenient to its possessor. From the philosopher of antiquity, who walked ■absently star-gazing till he fell into a well and was drowned, down to the ■absent man of own day, who loses some Important appointment by forgetting to change trains at the proper junction, absent persons have suffered from their unfortunate propensity for abstracting themselves from things present. It is curious that this failing is more common to clever persons than to foolish ones. People whose heads are comparatively empty cannot, perhaps, lose themselves in a train of thought so engrossing as to blot out other objects. Absence of mind generally proceeds from pre-occu- - pation. Sir Isaac Newton, when pondering on his great discoveries, had to to rely on his servant whether he had dined or not. St. Thomas Aquinas fell into a theological reverie at the royal ..table, and.startled Louis XL and his courtiers by • suddenly exclaiming, " That argument is unanswerable against the Manichees." A long list might be collected of great men who were remarkable for this' failing, commencing with the worst specimen, like St. Thomas, who became utterly oblivious of their surroundings down to the minor offenders, who only forgot some circumstance which made their remarks illtimed. Itis well known that Racine lost the fayour of Madame de Maintenon, and consequently that of Louis XIV., by inadvertently alluding to "those Wetctad plays. .of.S.. arron's,". oblivious that he, was speaking to the poet's widow. According to Walpole, the .Puche^s. of Marlborough, never forgave . JBispop (Burnet for an unlucky speech to ;,-3xeT husband, who remarked -that he was V surprised at so great a general as pelijsaritis, being, abandoned," " Con/^der^ha't a brimstone of a wife he -.had,'' rejoined the good prelate, with unconscious satire. Few examples of this forgetfulness are more amusing than a modern instance related by the late Archbishop Sinclair, who speaks of an eccentric Scotch nobleman ofthe beginning of this century, who, dining at a house where the dinner was extremely bad, forgot that he was not at home, and gravely apologised to his fellow guests for tbe badness of the repast, remarking that "he supposed the cook was drunk again, and that the kitchen wenchhad dressed the dinner." Equally delightfulis the story of a lady who called at a house about 2 o'clock, expecting to share the midday meal, and, obliged to go without receiving the desired invitation, betrayed the current of her thoughts by taking leave of her friend as " dear Mrs. Luncheon." It must be extremely inconvenient to be thus liable to betray what one thinks.

Absent people are perpetually affronting their friends who do not always believe that their unfortunate speeches are purely accidental, and not sarcastic. As a rule, absent men are not the kind-est-hearted creatures' in the world, and most averse to giving annoyance to anyone ; yet they will say the most terrible things in society, and tread on the tender feelings of their neighbours in a manner distressing to witness. — Globe. .-*.-._..

Tawhiao haa issued a manifesto of considerable importance, in reference to a meeting which is to be held within the next week or two at Hikurangi. The proclamation is dated 'Te 16 o Poututerangi.' As our readers are aware, since the missionaries came, the Maoris have adopted our calendar, March being called 'Math.,' and Feb ruary being called ' Pepuere,' and so on. But the Hauhaus have gone back to the old Maori calendar, where the seasons or months were distinguished by different names, according to the work to be done on the cultivation or in the forests. The" real object of the forthcoming meeting is to attract back within the ranks of the Kingites Rewi and his followers, and the Ngatituwharetoa, of the Taupo district, who, about the time of the Kopua meeting, applied to Sir George Grey and Mr Sheehan to put roads and telegraph lines, and railways through their country. The proclamation is very much in the style of Tawhiao 'a celebrated speech at Kopua. It claims dominion and power for Tawhiao over the whole island, as governor and ruler of the country, and the only one who can save the race. He says, however, tbat he intends to maintain peace and to discountenance all trouble and war. He refers somewhat contemptuously to Te Whiti, and evidently is determined that the Waikatos shall not mix themselves up with h'ira. Rewi, we hear, is staunch in his determination to follow the line he has lately taken up, of friendliness towards the Europeans. ,Tukukino, of Ohinemuri, has lately been at Hikurangi, asking advice about Thames affairs. Tawhiao counselled him not to agree to a road being made ,-^t.Te Komata, to, protest against it, but to take no action which would be likely to lead to a breach of the peace. —tlcrald.