AS OTHERS SEE US.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81917, 29 January 1907, Page 4

AS OTHERS SEE US.

The average colonial is somewhat prone to smile at what he describes as the grotesque characteristics of foreign citizens, but he is apt to forget that to those same citizens we are continually presenting aspccls of our own idiosyncracies which mu.-t inevitably give vise to amazement. A native of Spain, who has travelled practically all his life, thus describes his sensations when, in response to an invitation to see the "finest place in S;,jJijey" he went ,to Ramflwick and witnessed a big race meeting. "I went, and I saw one, two, three, four thousand people; mad, quite mud," said he, tapping his forehead. "My friend the lirst officer of the steamer approaches me, and 1 exclaim, 'What a pretty place!' 'Ah yes—quite so—excuse me,' and with the same expression on his face that I saw oa everyone's, he rushes oil' to the bookmaker. Fools! Fools! Someone eouie up to tile and says, with exciter,,.-it, 'Got anything on this race.' .s'o, no. Here I am, in a country I've never seen before, on a racecourse I never heard of until an hour ago; am I going to give money to n man I do not know, to back a horse I know nothing about? No, no. lam not a fool." And' this grave citizen of Spain is startled out of his self possession at the very prospect of such a proceeding. "In Spain, we have the State lottery, three time a month. 1 put a little money in; if I win, very good; if I lose, well. 1 have not Inst much. 1 know it is luck, pure luek. But here are a number of people, intelligent people, who think they know enough of horses to predict 'the result! Ah, it is madness."