It is Town Talk

Free Lance, Volume I, Issue 40, 6 April 1901, Page 22

It is Town Talk

— That the Wanganui municipal opera house i& proving a very profitable spec, for the borough. — That so well-dressed are doctors' drivers now-a-days, that people have to look twice to see which is uhich. — That some of the North Island bands have been using uncomplimentary remarks to each other lately. — That quite a large number of settlers up the line have booked pleasure passages to England. A prosperous sign! — That a Chinaman before a Court for "superfluous beer" is a rarity However, the rarity happened the other day. That up New Plymouth way some business men complain that they have more calls from commercial travellers than from customers. — That a Wellington visitor to the Blenheim races was relieved of, his money by some needy individual before he reached the course. — That the residents of a diminutive northern settlement lately held a concert and dance to provide funds for a cemetery. From gay to grave! — That it would be interesting to know if every lady told the unvarnished truth when setting down her age in the census paper on Sunday last. That a local doctor says he has as much on his books in the way of debts as would almost pay for the reception of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. — That an attempt is being made to ferret out the writer of certain anonymous letters which two townsmen and their wives have been receiving lately.

— That De Wet will be relieved to hear that Trooper Alf. Congdon does not contemplate returning to South Africa with the Seventh. -That a man who had about enough education for a signboard applied for a teacher's position down South. He got it all right, but has now got the bullet. — That the Whangarei Rifles are making some remarks about being supple with obsolete sniders, 37 years old, for firing purposes — and no ammunition. — That Mr. D. D. Hyde, Government poultry expert, is about one of the best paragraphed men in the colony. He apparently does not hide his light under a bushel. — That the superstitious Duke of Cornwall never attends a ceremonial on the unlucky (?) 13th of any month if he can help it. He arrives here on the seventh. — That the Italian school plan of givsum to the credit of prize-winners, mmg savings bank books, with a small stead of ordinary books, could well be adopted here. — That one of the Seventh Contingenters was secretly married before he came to Wellington, and his wife is now using influence to have him left at home. — That Levin people are stirnng-up the Manawatu Railway Company anent their dingy stockyards and the inefficient arrangements m connection with the trucking of stock. — That women seem shy of tackling the forthcoming borough council elections. Even t>he greatest spouters about "equal rights" have not the nerve to come out as candidates. — That a man afflicted with bush whisky put a bullet through the roof of a hotel a fortnight ago. Said he was not going to allow elephants to walk about his ceiling like flies. — That Nelson is likely to send a few hundred children across the Straits on the occasion of the royal visit. They will probably be in straits for accommodation after arrival here. — That a Wellingtonian of oppressive respectability is said to have relapsed somewhat at the Hot Lakes recently, and, led astray by acquaintances, had a right giddy time.

— That Picton folk are promising themselves some excitement over an expected divorce case. - — That Trooper Frank Willis is making strong running for the scarf of popularity in the Sanguinary Seventh. — That a Maori dame struck a portly townsman on the nose with her gamp in the train the other day. Cause alleged Jumping her seat and squashing her jam tarts. — That Masterton blacksmiths advertise that they intend closing for a whole week at Easter a la the banking fraternity. The horse-shoe industry must be all right in that region. — That a city man, who has taken on a little suburban farm, bought a cow at auction very cheap, and has been chewing the cud of bitter reflection ever since. She has blind teats. — That the lily -white League of Wheelmen desires to put down its number seventeen boot on betting next meeting, but none of the committeemen will act as amateur detectives. —That a lowly collector of cigar ends gets a fair cheque occasionally for consignments shipped away to be turned out again as new cigars. What a pleasant reflection for patrons of the cheap whiff ! — That an assistant engaged in domestic work at a certain police barracks, who lately left for Melbourne, turns out to be a man who was "wanted," and the police had been looking for him for some time. — That a certain citizen bought a horse and buggy out of the proceeds of a crood race-win last week. He always spends his winnings on something substantial. His last big win was eighteen months ago. — That a man about town, who, one day last week, in vinous garrulity, gave his straight-out opinion that a certain much-boomed mine was a "wild-cat," had a warm time next day from a number of people, who were apparently interested therein. — That the good wishes of the Blenheim folk go with Trooper Mullen, who joined the Wellington division of the Seventh Contingent. Frank is extremely popular over this side, as well as at Blenheim, and is reputed to be one of the best in Marlborough with the gloves. He had an Al send-off.

— That the Day's Bay variety was by no means the only kind of donkey that was out at Miramar on Saturday. — That the burning question with the Seventh Contingent is "Why didn't Lieutenant Hamer take up that £50 challenge?" — That the Prevention of Cruelty Inspector deserves great credit for pushing his operations on to the polo arena at Miramar. — That the anxiety of the local coal merchants to have another talk with the Premier indicates that their policy is peace at any price. — That the establishment of a local Irish volunteer corps is being mooted, as the result of a discussion at a recent meeting upon the subject. — That if the Government purchases the Mangatoro estate it will be a fine thing for Dannevirke, besides satisfying the great earth hunger up that way. — That at the time the Seventh Contingent received their first pay. a fortnight ago, they had earned for themselves the title of "The Stony Seventh." —That Mr. John Hislop ,of Hawera, is apparently the Government nominee for the Patea seat. Organiser Edwards has been promenading him round the district, at any rate. — That a strange thing about the second trial of, the Conningham divorce case, in Sydney, is that it was not discovered until the hearing had been in progress a fortnight that the jury had not chosen a foreman. — That the Southern shopkeeper who advertised that his customers should buy while the old prices still existed, "as he was about to get married," had counted the cost all right. — That the friendly societies of Wellington did not behave in a very friendly way on the occasion of Mr. Evans's free lecture for their orphanage. Seems as if they know more about the backward than the forward movement. — That, in women's rights circles in Wellington, Miss Richmond's opinion that "woman was not destined to lead in the spheres of art, politics, or religion ' is being torn to tatters just now. Several more Richmonds talk of entering the field to combat that heresy.