LONDON JOTTINGS.

Waikato Argus, Volume III, Issue 184, 16 September 1897, Page 4

LONDON JOTTINGS.

(FROM OUTi LADY COKRESrONDESX). BANK HOLIDAY. Lonuon, August 4. Our holiday-seekers this week cannot blame the clerk of the weather if they do not enjoy their summer vacation ; the days are so brieht aud glorious, though as hot as real English July weather can make them. There is a marked difference in the character of the daily crowd ; most of our Royal visitors and Colonial friends have left and " Society " lias made a rush.out of town to exchange Loudon for country air, while vice irrsa, our countiy cousins are taking advantage of cheap excursions and doing thenbest to inhale London air as a change from their native atmosphere. Monday being bank holiday-the holiday of the year which takes precedence of both Easter and Whitsuntide, every man, woman aud child seemed to think it their bouy.den duty to go somewhere. Races, suburban galas, excursions everywhere as far as London holiday ground extends. At Earl's Court Exhibition (Kensington)—always attractive, there were about 60,000 visitors, while in the opposite, direction over 22,000 thronged the lovely Highgate woods. There were sixty special trains sent on to Hampton Court for the river and Hurst races, and other places of resort were equally well patronised. Verily all London teemed holiday mad ! Vehicles of all sorts, more or less crowded, thronged the streets, trams, bieak-vans or hrcak-neeks, as they are called—down to costermongers carts, which, iostcad of their usual load, on Monday carried living freights, and how they—the occupants of these seatless, sideless, shakey constructions .stuck on at all, was a marvel, but away they went spinning along, apparently quite contented with the style of their turnout, for —as I remember an old Colonial friend who exeel'ed in comic parts, ejaculating : " What's the h'odds as long as you're appy " ! Yes ! I can see our comic friend now,seated on the stage floor before a Cambridge audience in the last scene of a farce called " Chiselling," I believe, when he gave utterance to the above philosophical remark. THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE. Myself and friends spent a comparatively quiet day at the Imperial Institute, chiefly to hear Edwards Strauss and his Hungarian Band again, as this is their last week. They certainly do play splendidly, so delicately, and yet so marked in their accentuation ; more so than any other I have heard. The 'cello playing was a treat. The Queen's Westminster Volunteer's Band also played, and it would take a good deal to beat that. ■ The cornets came out finely ; indeed the principal one was worth going to hear for itself alone. The Imperial lustitute is not altogether a success financially. It is a' very interesting place, but not attractive enough for the general public. There are some beautiful exhibits, but one would have to devote days and days there to thoroughly examine each section. The New Zealand Court, though small, is very good. I scanned eveiy exhibit in it, so as to discover as many familiar names as 1 could. I found two specimens of wool one (half-bred Merino and Leicester) from Fencourt, and another of the same cVs marked W.L.A. from the Waikato. I " smoled a smile " upon them and metaphorically said : " Ah ! how d'ye do " ! Turning round I found myself facing three Maori figures on a pedestal in full (?) costume. They seemed to beam upon me, and I said : " Salutations to you " to which they dumbly replied : "Sune to you and many of them " ! • THE FASHIONS. There were some rather pretty dresses amoni: the lady visitors, but the blouse reigns pre-eminent everywhere, with or without short Zouave over jacket. Skirts plain, but exceedingly full at the hick. Trimmiug round the bottom seems coming into great favour. Sleeves continue to get smaller ; still very full, but hanging loosely from the shoulder, without stiffening or with very little. Some plain, but not tight to the arm, up to the top and then fiuishing with one puff or rather a deep frill trimmed to correspond with front of blouse. Ladies can easily use up short pieces of lace they may have lying by for trimming across a blouse. One or two frills not too full across the bosom tucked or not and edged with lace or inset tien between being greatly in vogue; but, to lock well, a woman must study colour as well as style. I heard of a man the other day sajing to a friend who was suffering from a fit of the "blues." " Go out and look at a girl in a white dress," aud there was a good deal of wisdom in the remark. In this weather to see a woman in a yellow b'o'use, a bright blue silk skirt, a pink hat with big pink bows and feathers and a mauve sunshake is apt to make us wish we ha«l never been bom. One seldom sees the Princess of Wales, who is acknowledged to dress with more perfect taste than any lady in London, with more than two colours. Her favourite this .season appears to have been mauve, lilac, heliotrope, combined with white or silver, cream or black. A dashing style of beauty may, without detriment, venture on a little more daring show of colour, but it must be in good form. THE KING OF SI AM. Our present Royal visitor, the King of Siam, with his seventeen unpionouncable names, seems to be a pleasant, intelligent personage 1 believe he is aptly described as a "dapper little fellow " in appearance, all observation and activity, very different from the languid repose of some of our foreign visitors. In going to different places His Siamese Majesty appears to know as much about what he is looking at as those who attend him, thereby saving them a good deal of explanation. On Monday he went to St. Paul's, and being particularly anxious to mix without restraint with a real London Paul: holiday crowd, the authorities let him have his way, and that vicinity being about as busy a one as could be, he hail the gratitieutiou of rubbing shoulders with the people en ina&ic to his heart's content. REGULARS Y. VOLUNTEERS. It is seldom one goes out in London without seeing or hearing something very ludicrous. The other day a small contingent of volunteers came inarching along, and just for a few moments caused a stoppage in the usual crowd. They were evidently rather new hands, not having attained that breadth of chest and general swagger one sees in the regular well-drilled soldier. A woman near me said to a policeman : "Are them reg'lars ?" He looked at her, aud then, in a lino tone of scorn, which sent me ofT into a state of inward convulsions, he replied : " Look at their chests, madam, look at their chests," at the same lime expanding his own already well-developed chest to its utmost limits. The bewildered won.an did look at their chests, evidently in blissful ignorance as to what she was expected to'lind there, then silently tun.cd away, a sadder, but, I fear, not a wiser woman. PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. Last week was held the annual meeting of the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and 1 was glad to be able to be present. There was a large audience, quite as many ladies as gentlemen. Sir George Mcasom, in the absence of the Duke of York, was chairman, and there were some excellent speeches made. There are three, branches, in particular, of this splendid society, which I think might well be carried out by the Auckland S.P.C.A., or anywhere in the colonies. One the annual parade- of enrt and traliic»hoises, which has been a great success, it has

nothing whatever to do with the value or breed of the horses shown, the judges ! are guided entirely by their condition, general appearance, and that of the harness ; showing no skin blemishes from ill-treatment, thjht throat lashing or (-training, but evidencing in every way that they have been kindly treated and well-fed. The owners appear to be as proud of the rosettes fastened on their horses as of their own prizes. Gould not something ot this kind b 3 added to the numerous colonial horse shows ? It would be a feather in the cap of Cambridge if it started this, and 1 know there arc many gentlemen there who ore lovers of horses. Another gcod thing is giving prizes for the best essays by children in different schools, so as to teach them, while young, to ba kind to dumb animals. Essays are written by teachers as well, and as to write a good essay entails reading and thinking, it tends to awaken interest and also removes ignorance, which is often a cause of cruelty. The third branoh—a very important one—is the co-operation of the clergy. I remember talking to Mr Burtt, the Auckland secretary, on this very subject-, when he was lamenting the lack of interest shewn by people in this good cause. The London Society have succeeded beyond their expectation in enlisting the clergy's help. Last year there were two thousand sermons preached in as many churches on behalf of oar dumb friends. One special Sunday is set apart for this, so that it is universal in all churches. It does not interfere with the offertory at all. Surely this is an easy and an excellent thing for ministers to take up? If we can help our fellow-creatures in faroff lands, whom we have not seen, surely we can raise our voice on behalf of those long-suffering, patient animals—man's best friends—which we have before our very eyes day by day, serving their misters so faithfully in spite of ill-tieatnv-nt. The London Society for the Prevention of Crtnlty co Animals are working vigorously to put down two things—viz., vivisection and docking of horses, and in time they will, no doubt, succeed. I should be sorry to hear of the latter piactise becoming prevalent in the co'onies. It spoils the horse's appearance, and, as a gentleman said in his speech (himself a veterinary surgeon), '"it is one of the most senseless and ciuel practises which ever emanated from man's brain.'' Canon YYilbeiforce, in a short but most vigorous and eloquent sprech, spoke very strongly on these points, The Ladies' Kennel Club, a very popular .Society, is joining the Royal Society in its work, and there is no doubt this w.ll prove a valuable help. The Lo don trim and 'bus horses are a splendid lot of animals, and it is pleasing to note how strictly the conductors prevent overcrowding. Never once, even during the Jubilee busy time, have I seen one instance of allowing even a single passenger above the authorised number ; on the contiary, numbers are turned away, no matter who they arc or what the weather is. This cannot be said of the Auckland trams. Often it is pitiable to see the poor horses dragging an overload up such an incline as VVel-lesley-street. Jlere the streets are all level, which, by comparison, makes it much harder for the Auckland hoises, where the streets are hilly, in the suburbs here the cable trams are used. They go up hill splendidly, and I think run own more steadily than the horse trams. I have written at length on this subject, hut is it not worth it? And it would be gratifying to know that friends in the far-off colony Were working for the cause of mercy with more enthusiasm as well as in this vast aud busy City of London.