FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 913, 5 March 1930, Page 8

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK-OUT MAN/’ THERE'S NO ESCAPE Lean men and clean men, Wild men and mild men, Wee men and he-men, Numb men and dumb men. Tailor men and sailor men, Finch hitters, steam fitters. Golf players, man slayers. Jobbers and robbers Get married. Tall girls and small girls, Big girls and trig girls, Neat girls and sweet girls. Cash girls and rash girls. Bad girls and sad girls, Circus riders, home abiders. Opera singers, hash slingers, Crooks and cooks Marry them. —“London Opinion.” THE GO-GETTERS American go-getters in tlxeir pursuit of “wows” and best-sellers sometimes overlook the important fact that the object of their literary or dramatic interest has been a long time dead. A Mr. Goldstein, of Toronto, has succeeded in convulsing the Englishspeaking world by addressing a letter to one 'William Shakespeare, of Stratford-on-Avon, inquiring whether he has any more plays for conversion into talking-films. The missive yields a laugh, but Mr. Goldstein seems •almost too genuine. However, this sort of thing has happened before. Two years ago an English publishing house which had reprinted some of Dr. Johnson’s works received a letter in which an earnest American besought their co-operation in obtaining from Dr. Johnson the American rights of past and future efforts. SHORT CUTS TO FORTUNE . Talking of American rights, D. H. Lawrence, whose death was announced from England yesterday, found that the absence of them robbed him of a fortune when his uncopyrighted book, “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” published in Florence and rigorously excluded from England, was pirated by an enterprising American and sold in thousands in the United States. Lawrence had made a considerable sum out of the sale of the volume in Europe, but this was more than doubled in America. As the book was on the banned list, the author had no redress. Though an undisputed genius, Lawrence dealt In subjects that are usually treated with considerable restraint. Since his prosecution following the appearance of an earlier novel, “The Rainbow,” his works have been in considerable private demand, and at least one well-thumbed copy of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” is in secret circulation in Auckland. PANSIES Scotland Yard kept ’an alert eye on Mr. Lawrence’s output, and his graceful prose and verse was regularly scrutinised by its eagle-eyed censors. A sensation developed in the literary world of England when a packet of manuscript poems, entitled “Pansies,” was seized in the post and confiscated. Thus advertised, “Pansies” became a great success when it was secretly published, and a Wellington bookseller, blissfully ignorant of its character, ordered it among his regular supplies. The righteous man was paralysed to find on its arrival the type of work he had imported, and doubly shocked when a few moments later a telephone message from the police informed him that he must hand over the forbidden volume. Having industriously traced each volume, “The Yard” had placed the New Zealand police on the scent. So now "Pansies” is gathered in the mysterious retreat to which all confiscated books are committed. Perhaps it is in the Police Commissioner’s library! hospitality The dinner to be tendered to the British Rugby team by the New Zealand Association in London will give the tourists a sample of New Zealand hospitality even before they leave England. Possibly it will be their last chance to accept hospitality in the spirit in whieh it is given. Former British Rugby teams have not always hesitated to enjoy whatever hospitality and social diveAion were offering, but this one may be different. Some of the mannerisms of British Rugby men—or “Rugger” men, as they prefer to be called—may interest New Zealand crowds. In fact, the members of the great colonial democracy may even be amused. British footballers wear long and rather baggy shorts. The paradoxical garments have pockets in them, and the immaculate sportsmen keep their hands in their pockets while resting or being photographed; but in spite of these affectations they play Rugby for its own sake, and on that count alone, apart from the skill with which they play it, they will be entitled to our respect.