Fireside Scraps.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 315, 10 November 1888, Page 6

Fireside Scraps.

American Girls and Sla-n t g. — The neces- , sily of shielding children, says Mra Honry Ward Bcecher from the contamination^ of low associates, and from tho habits which such companionship will surely bi*ing, is oT tho utmost importance Juow expressions— "slang phrases," as they are termed— will "bo one of the first fruits. A, " freo-and easy " way of talking and acting among strangers in tho streets or stores and aUaafc ventured upon at homo will be the ri'oxb. With girls especially if they are allowed to use such low phrasos "other unfominino traits will soon follow ; often a coarse, swaggering manner instead of the graceful, ladyliko carriage that indicates refinement and modesty. When girls or young ladies (?) aro seen with their hands thrust deep into tho ulster pocket or surtout, as is now, the 'term, and the. derby tipped on ono side, talking and laughing loudly, walking with masculine strides, tiioy have no cause of complaint i£ the rude, lMsrged little gamins in the street take infinite satislaction in running' after such nondescripts and calling, l> 1 say, mistor !' Girls seldom fall into habits of profanity ; but, irom lack of proper restraint at home, too often indulge in speech and actions which are far from ladylike ov refined, and not many years ago would not have been tolerated in good society. But of, late, at homo, making or receiving calls; on the • frlreots or in tho cars, this loud, boisterous, free-and-easy behaviour is painfully noticeable. If our .Httle. 'girls greet their brothers aud,sis>tcrs, aiid'iperhaps, even iheir parents, boisterously; if instead of "Good mornino," they cry, "Hallo, papa!" or, "Hallo, mamma!" ,and call to playmates in tho street in s the same rough manner, who will be surprised if this style follows them as they grow up and appear as youngladies? Di^kakii as a Novelist. — Difraehs political stories arc his best, and as novels none ot them, whether political or not, a* c \ei y good. They aro certainly f ull ot bnllianl points, and contain many uitty and somo wise things; but the characters aro nob great creations. They ax c rather lav hftires talking politics or what passes for ujli^ion, than living flesh and blood like ourselves. Nobody ever lobt his heart to Sybil, and if Sidonia wore not so unintentionally funny he would be lather a bore. Agi eat part of them — and the best p ar t are" satirical social sketches, which singularly often take the form of detached scraps of conversation quite unconnected with ono another, such as a man might overhear in strolling through a drawingroom. —A thenamm. Cv^on Ltddo> t "s Preaching. — There are fou sermons in the rich and vaiied literature of the pulpit which would compare with the pennons 01 Canon Liddon for eloquence of expression, for depth of conviccion, for de-icacy ol discrimination in distinguishing t-hp most wvid elements of human experience, for power in describing the characteristic facts of human nature, and for that refinement of feeling which enables the preacher to use all his eloquence, all his earnestness, all his insight into imaginative beauty, and all his knowledge of human chat actor, without for one moment jarring those chords of our nature on which the religious orator too often strikes m as to make us shrink from him, instead of fo as to gain ascendency over us. Tho sermons are rich in power, and yet the power is never redundant, but concentrates itself on a particular end, as a sermon almost always should.— Spectator. The First Sioht ov the Blixo.-— An old negro woman in Pennsylvania, who was born blind, has recently received her bight by the removal of the cataract. W hen the bandage was first removed, the patieut started violently, and cried out as with fear, and for a moment was quite nervous from the efiecfcs of the shock. For the first time in her life she looked upon the earth. The first thing s=he noticed was alittlo flock of sparrows. In relating her experience to a reporter she said that she thought they were teacups, although, strange to say, a few moments afterwards she readily distinguished a watch which was shown to her ibis supposed that this recognition was owing to the fact that she heard its ticking. The blaze from a lamp excited the most lively surprise in her mind. She had no idea what it was, and when it waa brought near her wanted to pick it up. When night approached "upon the day when she first used her eyes she was in a fright, fearing she was losing the sight which she had so wonderfully round alter sixty years of darkness. "*A Hanthem." — Two old British sailors were talking over their shore experience. One had been to a cathedral and had heard some very fine music, and was descanting particularly upon an anthem which gave him much pleasure. His shipmate listened for a while and then &aid : " I say, Bill, what'? ahanthem?" " What,"' replied Bill, "do you mean to say you don't know what a hanthem is?" "Not me." "Well, then I'll teliyer. If I wa3 to tell yer, "Ere, Bill, give me that 'andspiko,' that wouldn't be a hanthem ; but was 1 to say, ' Bill, Bill, giv, glv, give me, give me that, hand, handspike, hand, handspike, spike, spike, spike, ah-men, ahmen. Bill give one thati>band-> spike, spike, ahmen l> Why that would be hanthem." . The Legend of the Moss Rose. — v anous legonds are associated with the beautiful moss rose. One of these, taken from the German, is very touching. In tho depths of the greenwood one sultry day the moss complained that the rich red roses that spread beauty and fragranco all round where more beloved and sought after than it. But in the cool of the evening Christ passed along the mossy glade, wearied with, the noontide heat, and as He gratefully, acknowledged the loving care of His Heavenly Jfather in forming the tendei plant to be a refreshing carpet for wear; feet, a blossom burst forth from the humble moss, and, lo 1 on earth was born the firet moss rose. - The.rich perfume of the rose is believed to cling to whatever the leaves have touched.— Glasgow Herald. Beautiful Butterflies. — The largest, the most perfect, and the most beautiful ot butterflies are the Ornitbopteroe or "Birdwinged " flies, whose wings have an expanse of from 3in to 9in, or sometimes even lit. They reach, according to Mr Wallace, their maximum of size and beauty in the Molucca Islands, and are difficult to obtain became of their lofty and powerful flight. ±n.e three finest Ornithopterss are Piramus, Remus, and Helex. The great genus Papilio is one of the most varied and beautiful of all the The individuals are usually, bub not always, inferior to the argest Ornibhopterte in size, r and le\v v ot ttio latter surpass Papilio Antimachus, tho rarest of the African species. Its wings are longer and narrower than those of the Urnitbopteree, expanding Biin. if not more. The "Dreamer's Table."— There are at present on exhibition at Elkington s, ol 22, Regent-street, .London, a number ot the gifts given to the Prince and Princess of Wales on their silver wedding. The moat beautiful is what is called the « Dreamer s Table." It was presented to the Princess 'by the'eity of Birmingham, and is, all oi the silver, the work of Morel-Ladeuil, the French artisfc, lately dead, whose work in silver is held to be a rival; of Benvenuto Cellini's best handiwork. Like uellini, ,ne executed.hia own designs, and this master-

piece has no othel< W}ci i« 'production. Ib can novoi' ho duplicated, toi 1 buiinijwni>ui bonchb tho clesignH with tlie table ancl llioij dostroyed Uiem. Tho " Dreamer's J nbio hay thicofJcm- u seabed ai. bho baee ot il» podc-ttil, trapped in slumber— a poefc, a husbanilman, a wardor. On tho Mlv ( or feur-fai.-c of bho Üb\o their dreams pwi/op pat»b, bho fi-inol lauuosios wrougbb wifch man elloin clo'icno*. Upiighb 1 m tho centfe 01 llio tuMo shmdb tho tfyruio of «oinniu, .^iL'ouiun; poppies, mid blu-3 goddcas oi cm\im-> is boid to bo a bbapo oi pecwu lovu inco...