HOME GOSSIP FOR THE EVENING STAR.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2013, 17 June 1875, Page 2

HOME GOSSIP FOR THE EVENING STAR.

London, April 7,1875. "He whistled as he went for want of thought" is a description of, course calculated to convey to the minds of usi who i;.ye amidst sophistications of all sorts, the extreme of rustic simplicity and. felicity;. For the future, however, rustics must be warned against indulging the practice of whistling—the want of thought, no doubt, may be carried to any extent, anywhere —except at proper timea, in proper places and in a limited degree. .One of those' wonderful magisterial decisions, which make u«' London folks, open out eyes and contemplate all rural doings and conditions with so much admiration, has convinced us that whistling, which we , considered a decidedly objectionable and i ill-bred, not to say vulgar custom, in society, is actually a criminal one, and may be dealt with accordingly. Don't we wish we could get any London magistrate to look at it in that light, especially as regards our butcher's boy, and eke" our butterman's, both of whom having a feud with our landlady, owing to various misunderstandings arising out of deafness on hei 1 side and inattention on theirs, perform j& duet, accompanied by an appropriate war dance, every morning when they meet on the door,steps. "But we never shall. Is not the obtuseness of Metropolitan magistrates proverbial P We-1, the rural case, as it has reached us, standsthus. A worthy and well-bred divine ! went into a certain market in a certain provincial towna'shorttime aeo, and while making his purchases, had his sensibilities outraged by a young rustic who whistled —if "for want of. thought" at least not for want of work, as he was diligently: cleaning a pair cf scales. 'The courteous and philanthropic ecclesiastic mildly . endeavoured to improve the young rustic's manneri, by pointing out the indecorum of which he was-guilty, in thus indulging in that peculiar sort of vocalism io public, and especially in* his - (the clergyman's) reverend presence. The ungracious hind declined to refrain from his obnoxious recreation ; whereupon this benignant priest appealed to his higher feelings by informing him that the ecclesiastical organs ofhearing were in a peculiarly delicate state, which caused them ta be much affected by the noise. As this incorrigible boor, however," only continued to "whistle louder," the clergyman had, no resource but to bring him before a magistrate, who very properly inflicted a fine, and a pretty heavy one too. Some of the young miscreant's friends, produced as witnesses, endeavoured to set up as a defence that he was not whittling with any peculiar loudness; and they all appeared to be rather doubtful whether whistling was ah act within the powers of the law; but this of course they did not dare to express. The' magistrate had no doubt about it, of course, and acted accordingly. What has this to do with " gossip"' from London ?' Well, not much; but in excuse be it said, ■ first and foremost, that there is really very little gossip going on in London, perhaps because London has" not yet quite filled itself after the Easter recess ; and secondly, that the writer of this "letter is not in "J ondon just now. " Blessed bo this same Easter recess "which makes it the orthodox tlr.ng for everyone to scatter into all sorts of out-of-the-way places, for a week or so, and enjoy the 'benign influence of ignorance. The place of this writer's present sojurn is not that adorned by the presence of the benevolent pastor and the learned Magistrate above mentioned ; but there is something worth seeing' notwithstanding. Is there not a delightful pier on which a few insane persons daily pay a penny for the privilege of walking —it is a seaside watering place—and where no inharmonious whistle, except of the wind, can reach their ears, by reason that -that portion of the public addicted to the custom don't pay their peruies to go there P Is there not a really beautiful Marine Parade where any one can walk, without paying anything, and see the crested waves, driven by" this b.isk, southerly April breeze, come turn-

bling in ? Is there not a nice clean, cheerful little town, where you can buy real delicious southdown .mutton, .and -, other articles of food not much, better nor 1' worse than in London, 1 and "tbe local r produce in the shape of policed pebbles manufactured into broaches, < crosses, &c., at a!l seasons; and at the.-right season in , the shape of ilpe figs, grown in that old J garden where St. Thomas a Becket planted fhe first fig' tree known in Engl»nd<p f \i Nice, thriving, tidy little' Worthing^! * Had we, like. the owner _:of the - donkey, attended to the advice of our friends, we had never seen thee; for all recommendedus to some favorite resort of his or her own ; but; we came, p.pd we have seen the pier, and the parade) and the inevitable invalids in bath chairs, and convalescejati, in flies, and children brought down for A week's change.'of .air after measles or whooping cough, and the pebbles, and, .- not the figs, but the fig garden. This last is shown by an old lady'who takes.-" care to inform you that besides the gar- '< den being very-old,- she - is very 'old herself,' a ( ndrthat;;shev has been there-,-.for thirty-five, years, and the famous fig tree, A for, she believes; seven hundred; and;' though she_ does, seem slightly oblivious , t as to whether : she might not, had she been a dweller therein at an earijer period of her existence, r bave remembered-St. Thomas a "Becket,* and his' gardening, is not mendacious enough to assert that "she"""" does. Lest anyone should harbor any , profane doubts with, regard to the *' fig. tree thoughfcan she cot triumphatitly,;? point to the remains of ;the Monastery \ close at hand, founded by the same .saint. ( ~ It can't be the,same, you must -be aware, * as that honored by. the, presence qf,,th« „i Brothers Birchingtpn, in ,which the said saint gained' such a' triumphant victory over old Clootie, because that stood some* where be.tween Herne, Lay and Margate ;/- but of this we did not discourse' with the 'f old lady. We went to see the remains' »he pointed out; which consist""only"of " what seems to have been the chapel, of,.^ the Monastery, now turned into a school"^' house; aprotestantschopl-houseovidentiyj - for as 1 we approached there came forth-an 1" * orthodox pastor who pblitely. invited us in. We 1 were none of us whistling, be. ; it said;. had. we!been we might'havi 1 been s'" invited to the Magistrate's Court instead';.although I .do. believe ir there' are divines !-* among vii uriclerical and human epbugfii bear with that sound,'.^ithjoufefanyj^ uncomely quickening of ; their ..qrthodoj"*. zeal. Having gone in !we saw nothing but the usual garniture of' a school-room, and enough evidence in thebuilding itself to prove its authenticity^ E-jind (la' civil .' schoolmaster; and a very meagre attend* ance of pupils. ... . ' And no w. of .veritable Londcjn gossip. On Friday evening nfest Captain Boyntoa is to submit'his invention of =,* life savings ijress to the crucial experiment ' of cross* \ ■ ing in it from Dover to Boulogne/ He is""", to be accompanied by two"pllot-boatbi^, and the Queen/ who lately—at*4er own request, witnessed an exhibition of r various experiments with it* in Cowes Harbour •--has requested him-to "send'her the first message of his safe-arrivaL-—,. , ,-.. „..„' ; I Yesterday evening Cardinal Archbishop i , Manning held ■ a reception at the'Archie-' piscopal residence in Westminster; at which it is said every dignitary of the Romish Church in the JJnited Kingdom was present; 'and yet it iswhuperecUthaiF: ." his elevation to the College of C&rdinaM^ ' has been no less provocative of.heart burnings among his compeers,.than his appointment to the Archiepiscopacy wal:! some years ago, on which occasion the^ , , Catholic la'iety, too, were'not devoid 1 :of r some members who expressed feelings of., dissatisfaction. They could, however, l give no better. reason than,his^ known,; asceticism; and since he has been found ' to be as kindly, forbearing,,andvmemfuit towards all his charge, as he is rigid in his personal observances, their ditcpntynt - ] has been changed into admiration.. : Messrs Moody and'Sahk'ey are «till' >p among us; but though their meetings are well attended they, are not absolutely' 1' crowded, and there is no sxcitemrat; nor, ' to their credit be it said, db^they"seem desirous of exciting any. The preaching " is admitted by all hearers'to contain much more of sound practical 'admonition, and exhortation^ than of mere appeal tto^thej feelings;l so;that' sobef-mmded people! who are diigusted,; and riot unreasonably^ with most' so-called'revivals,--and~ren»^; valis'ts,are hoping that plain truths, told^- > in plain'language, to ; those-who rnever : heard, or probably had a chance to lieu them before, will bear some fruit. It is natural to reverential minds toJ both dil- -v like and dread the irreverence, not to say /profanity, of- spasmodic , preaching:,Ml general, but the most referential anjong „ us,are, beginning to rememberitie.sayJßg^ "he that is not against us is for us," and tb ,bid,them• Godspeed. One profeweA -\ convert, however, has already got" himself '? into trouble. This 1 gentleman, Williani' Webster by. pame, considered -, himself called upon especially-to devote himself to the conversion of ■- the. Israelites, amonf ■; us, but unfortunately for himself he,chose,' as a method of doing so, asystem of ob-Cv structing and annoying the Israelitish dwellers in the, savoury region of Drury W Lane while in pursuit of their lawful ■ callings. The police seem.to have dealt very' tenderly with. 5 this apostle in their endeavours at making him keep the peace towards the objects, of his zeal;: but as he , would not obey th«r milder remonstrances they were obliged take,;- ; him in charge; and it hav?ng been proved that beside his present V call" to convert the Jews, rhe ..considered himself... under a perpetual call to obstruct the Police themselves on all occasions/ which ;had already led to several convictions for .-- so doing, he was fined £3, and warned;; against proselyilsm for the future. ; Two ingenious gentlemen-named' Mr Henry Ward, and Mr Samuel Hoyland, inaugurated the other day a new variety of that, branch of :ndustry which literal minded people regard as swindling.- One of our Metropolitan Gas Companies haying resolved to supply gas to their customers from common-instead:of > canal coal, at a less expense to the:consumers^-i issued bills calling on their costoiners-to ']\ look to their gas-burners, which 1 ' might—l;: • in anticipation of the change — need renewing. With the- quickness which r . belongs to trae v genius, the abovementioned gentlemen seized the occasion; They called at the houses of several of' - the customers, mostly' " unprotected .; females," elderly widows or spinsters; — with comfortable belcngiags, ■ndrepre---sented themselves as having been.seHi by- * the company to look after: the burners* * Having'been shown^over the hbtfie-by the lady or her maids, they took off a! I' ; the gas burners, replaced them; with vg*s .; value about fourpencp 'each,- :a'nd' then 1 " demanded a sum varying from about £l to £3, according to fbe number. of g|s lights in the house. For a short time they were eminently successful; indeed,

one trustful lady-handed them a fivepound note, out of which they^ actually ' gave her tho correct change; but their career was cut short; for one lady, prompted, apparently, by. a; suspicious butler, paid them their demand and took their receipt, but sent said butler after them to watch their further proceedings ; who considered those proceedings so unsatisfactory that he gave them in charge, and. their abilities ure likely for aome time to'be lost to the public. Forty-one thousand pounds have been already subscribed for the. restoration of Bristol Cathedral, and three thousand more are said by the committee to be necessary for the ■ work. A new corps' of volunteers has just been raised on the Shaftesbury Park Estate, at Lavender Hill, Olapham. This is the newly-builfc " Workman's Town " as it was called at the first. The Earl of Shaftesbury has just been presented with, a donkey by. the St Luke's branch of the Costermongefs' Association, of which he is the President j the annual meeting was held in the Foresters' Hall. Wilderness Row, and the Lady Edith Ashley w.°s presented by the wife of a costermonger, on the same occasion, •■ with a beautiful bouquet.. Lord !Sha'ftesbury, whoso phi-* lanthropy is as unbounded in its spirit as as it is practical aud judicious incite tone and action, is worshipped by this longneglected class; which to a good deal of Toughness, and even occasional brutality, unites a great amount of patient industry, shrewdness,-and"even kindness. He has been unwearied in his efforts to better their worldly condition, and improve their moral; and it is mainly owing to him that the Costermongers' Society, which gave dinners during the winter,to 58,000 children whosei, parents are .costermongers, exists.The donkey presented to his Lordship was described as " a fine, docile, grey-coloured donkey, which had seen much service in the hawking of vegetables under a kind , costermonger., of , .Whitecross. street; " , and, what is'more gratifying to the public generally, we are told that " ajl the don-' kies exhibited on t.hat occasion were in ' good condition and'appeared to have been well treated." The animal presented to Lord Shaftesbury showed his docility , by allowing .. him to- be led up a flight of seven steps to the ■ platform where , his . Lordship, occupied the chair! "''After''lhe presentation Lord Shaftesbury made a short speech appropriate"in both its 'brevity and"its humour; in which he said he " hoped he had in the course of his life done his duty as donlcifcs generally, did-theirs;-with unTrayering patience and unmurmuring resignation to eyery thing put. upon them." ....