Wairarapa Jottings.

Free Lance, Volume I, Issue 32, 9 February 1901, Page 16

Wairarapa Jottings.

IN spite of the unenviable notoriety Masterton has achieved through its remarkable Tennis Club, the evidences of personal sorrow on the Queen's death have been positively astounding. Hitherto Governmental orders re mourning for persons of high estate, even sovereigns, have been regarded with a certain amount of indifference. That cannot be said of the present occasion, where high, low, rich, a»d poor, Briton and Boer, have, with unprecedented sincerity, adopted the band and ribbon as their emblem of heartfelt sorrow for the greatest ruler who ever held a sceptre. * ♦ • Emphatically the greatest ruler. Submissive as a daughter, true, true till death, as a wife, just and loving as a mother , temperate, wise, and righteous a& a sovereign. If such attributes do not entitle our late beloved Queen to be called "great, " then words are empty playthings, and character is a myth. X • • We are too near the marvellous personality of Queen Victoria to do her noble qualities justice. When, however, the future historian shall essay to estimate the position and character of the late Queen, it will be found that no monarch of ancient or modern times will be assigned so august and lofty a pedestal. Starting life with the noble aspiration of being good, she fulfilled her destiny to the letter, leaving a name enshrined in the hearts of countless thousands, and a leputation that must endure while men reieienco vntue and respect true nobiht\ # •>- * The life of the Queen is piegnant w ith moving incident " That she was not without humour, the following storvette fully proves Some short time after her accession the Ministers of the Cabinet deputed Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, to interview Her Majesty as to the advisability of taking a consort. Now Melbourne was one of your easv-Roing men, something after the style of the present Duke of Devonshire, better known to fame as the Marquis of Hartington, and he by no means relished a mission of such singular delicacy. However, his duty was clear, and when duty lies before an Englishman it behoves him, m the words of Cousin Feemx, 'to get out of it the best wav he can." ♦ • » Approaching the Queen, not a little perplexed, he asked Her Majesty if there was anyone, any gentleman, whom the Queen liked better than any other Tbe young sovereign blushingly looked down, and acknowledged there was. Lord Melbourne heaved a sigh of relief, and, with many courtly apologies, begged to know the name of the man on %\hom so much honoui was conferred Blushing; a still deeper crimson, the youns Queen, with delightful locoseness, replied — "My Lord, the man I like better than all others is — is the Duke of Wellington " W T ith so much information the first Minister of the Crown was forced, for a time, to be content * * » Kurupuni is a subuib of Masterton. It is the Hobson-street of the town. There dwell the elito supreme It is the home of Schoolmaster Jackson, Artist Irvine, Chesterfield Dalrymple — to say nothing of your ow n true and trusty correspondent In spite, however, of the hyper-aristocratic sunoundings, it is officially announced that trains will no longer stop at Kuruuuni station. An infinitely inferior insult has, in times past, hurled society into the merciless throes of a sanguinary revolution. Let the Minister for Railways bewaie' He may not care "the puncture of a flea's proboscis" for the nobiht\ of outraged Kurupuni ; but, it he w ill persist in trampling on the gouty toes of tliese patricians, they, in tuin, will arise, under the leadership of the invincible Amazon of Carnarvon House and take temporary possession of his pineal gland. « * * Here's to the cabmen and eai ners of Masterton! Why, O Polonius, this enthusiasm 9 Sure, the boys are mustering to organise a concert m aid of the funds of the hospital ' Masterton maj well be proud of its doctors, naisons, lawyers, publicans, and sich— but she stands alone in regard to cabmen and carriers, and if only "Prior" Gilbert can be induced to execute a nimble clogdance the result will not be long in doubt. • * * Who is "Dicky Donovan p " Anyhow , under that striking alliterative norn de plume a modern "Junius" has arisen on the Masterton r»ress. His matter is distmtlv original — that no one would care to dispute , except where the scissors play a leading part in his "reflections" — though there he shows a genius for excerpts that breathe the soirit of prosaic feebleness. Witness the quotation from "Macmillan" re the slipper-throwing custom at hymeneal festivities. As a matter of fact, the

custom, old as the hills, is commemorative of parental control passing from the parent to husband, but not in the way suggested. The history of the custom lies in the fact that mothers were supposed to use the slipper, as the readiest rod of correction to hand when the daughter merited castigation. Hence, in throwing the footwear" after the bride it symbolises a transference of authority from the mother to son-in-law. But allowance must be made for "Donovan," who writes like a dicky-bird lately out of its shell He may improve, and then, again, he may not. Put your stuff on the not. # * * By the way, talking of not, reminds writer of a report published in a Yankee paper of a celebrated duel. The bloodthirsty antagonists rejoiced in the names of Shott and Nott, and the account, trusting to memory, ran something as follows — "Yesterday morning, at The Oval, Messrs. Shott and Nott met, fifteen paces apart to settle a matter of honour, so to speak, at the cannon's mouth. Both gentlemen fired simultaneously, but the seconds, as we go to press, have not determined who was the victorious combatant Rumour has it that Nott A\as shot, and Shott was not. In fact, Shott swears the shot he shot shot Nott and, on the other hand, Nott affirms the shot he shot shot Shott. We candidly confess our inability to decide, but we undoubtedly believe Nott is not Sliott neither is Shott Nott "