WAYBACK ON TOUR.

Shannon News, 27 February 1923, Page 2

WAYBACK ON TOUR.

SEES EVERYONE IN THEIR BEST “JOGS.” SIGHS FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS. A Manaia Rip Van Winkle recently emerged from his seclusion and went on tour. Evidently it was his first break from the, backblocks for many moons,'for, according to the inevitable interview with the local paper, he found things had changed from the good old days of our mothers and grandmothels; he did not find the girls ■ and young women knitting stockings in the train as he expected. Moreover,. everyone travelled in their “best togs.” i His “impressions” are rough, homely and to the point, and though his remarks will not be relished by the young ladies, they ring with true back-block conservatiim and mock modestry. For that reason the “interview” is worth reproducing:—

In the matter of the weather, the Manaia man found little difference anywhere. Passing through the graingrowing districts he saw that wheat, oats and hay were having a rougn time. The outlook, however, did not seem to have a restraining effect oh the tendency to travel luxuriously, N i for he says:— ' V'

“All .the passengers travelled their best togs, with jewellery, .both t ' the wrists and on the body. .1 am -. sorry' to say that the present female sex are far away from the style of the • good old mothers and daughters? of the early days. 1 have not seen one : Colonial girl able/ to knit her own. stockings, as f our good old, beautiful mothers used to do , while on their journeys. Their display of stockings . and shoes is enough even to degrade their sex. Taking my bearings from Hawera, out of all the females I saw, I could, only see ten good, upstanding,-heaithy-looking young women, who I thought had the makings of real good wives. There is great danger that, when once the other puny Colonial girls are married the majority of them will be only hospital subjects, especially if they have any children. • The very appearance of these puny# girls is suggestive of diseases brought on by improper dressing, their necks being too much exposed. Even now the hospitals are crowded with such subjects, with limbs as frail as violins.”