Notes and Comments.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 139, 20 April 1901, Page 2

Notes and Comments.

wUdi«Bajdtdbeth»c«tßt» v

rata] •CtntATJI.

the eonntty ;cerate. moee wpednlljv Tfthe andagala

'. have his pe<roHarhiee \«p>peared.before the public, and theßeeke* *fter -notoriety- id the whimsical world finds hira a veritable mine of weahhv He H is who gives out all the preposterousannouncements in church, he i(r ie who unsuspectingly rnake« blushful remarks at garden parties, he v is who --occupies the position of the most sought after young man by the ferairrih;a element in the parish. But he is no* always suffered to exist as a vegetable growth; anon he is a young "athlete fresh frqm college (bat always wearing a verdant expression, despite the jolly companionship he had had) and he smites dpwpT the oppressor of the beautiful maiden, or converts at th» end of the fist the herculean, though irreligious jpiner. With all his faults and imperfections the writers love biro) still, and it will be many a day ere be-* ! departs from the public eye, partiotf-" ; larly if he acts as did the chairman at a "bun.worry" down south. It included a concert, given in the old style, that is to say,' printing was not' as cheap as it is now, and items and thenrperformers were announced by the eh airman. In this case an accr dited sample of th*s verdant yoang ecclesi astic w*a officiating, aud he cmvulsed a large and highly appreciative audience with the annouicemsnt. ' " £

~ m for myself aloue,' by Mr* Joseph HiitrMou." to remark, it was some time before the fair warbler could get eff the mark, and throughout the rest of the evening the blushing countenance of the chairman: was the cause of uure merrimant thau all the rest of the programmj put together.

How few of us reahse, on using" an

envelope, how impprENVBLOPB3. tant a part it plays in

our lives—that it is, in fact, indispensably part of them. This little sheet .of paper, stamped out a certain size aud gummed in a certain place, conveys more human thought nnd thoughtlessness than any other of the medium-. n.-ndtfred ready for ouc use by modern science. Aad (not fca plagiarise Charlie Dash's recitation the other night) we mvy mention that there are many kinds of There is the common or gardenenvelope of our ordinary correspondence, and the commoner or rooregarden envelope which arrives punctually oa the first of the month. Then thnrß"i9 the tinned and perfumed creation,, dainty as the writing on its immaculate surface, which raakss.therecipient's blood-supply rush headlong to his heart, and trwre is the envelope of a turquoise hue (generally accompanied by a gimcleuHu with.clothes to match), which makes the recipient s heart drop promptly into his boots. There is the envelope which, free of postage, tellsus that our boys, iu spite of their superiority over the thousand odd on the Civil Service list, are unfortunately too lute to take charge of the machinery of the State, and that which arrives with printed address and only needs an enclosed cheque and a stampto secure the greatest benefits' the world has yet seen. What a priceless boon is the envelope. How neatly it supplants the postcard with its many possibilities to the country postmistress and the post-boy of an enquiring turn of mind 1 How does it baffle even the stemming kettle of the* blithe servant maid, for no hand can replace tha lost polish of the faithful guardian 1 Finally, in its. many variations of quality, it betrays the circumstances and characteristics of its owner. We are all apt to judge "a man by the quality of envelopes arid paper he uses, au'd frequently this is a good t9st. Which, added to its: othergood qualities,-gives--a very .fair total, to.' this humble necessary article.

Since cbe cUy when Radyard Kipling

‘ TOMMY.’*

usedbho as a steppingstone to faiuo, the British soldier, be lie

Ovlheris, Learoyd, Mulvaney, "or" plain John Jones, has answered to the Christian nams of *‘ Tommy,” with "Atkins” add>*d on Sundays dr days equally solemn Through al' -the ages he has been the same tearless Britain, from the time they clothed him in the suits of stovepipe (assorted sections) which are now relegated to the use of battleships, down to the time when be donned the dusty kharki and stepped on to Afric’s golden strand. Those who have seen him trudging\l6ng the veldt with the load of a home on his back, while the dust-clouds caked on his perspiring face and fjrued grey bis beard and moustache, who have seen him walking steadily into the crooking and snarling zone of fire, who have seen him lying ~weak but- cheerful on his- ambulance stretcher - or .hospital bed—these, and these, only, can realise the full meaning of the words 1 $o often Jwwf . ' ,

«• <Jod blew yooy Tommy Atkins, You're a good f un heart and hand; Tbo*re a credit to your country And to all yoar uative land." Tt&e him where and when yon like—be he British or eolomal-—the following lines by S. W. Soadding ia the Onlooker a»y be accepted as a true bill:— : TOMMY f Ton nmy march him quarter-oolamn Into bell • Ton may riddle him with ballet 3 by surprise I Ton may send him with a pop-gran 'gainst a long-range French tip top gun ; And he'll go, find thinls yon—what you may surm'se. Jou may keen hjni broiling all day in the son ! Ton may sleep him in a puddle od the ground, AndTyou'll find he'll take to water Like the son of Pharaoh's daughter. And he'll swim a flooded river till he's drowned. Ton may send him pipe and 'baccy free of dues, To console him when the day of death is do».e; And he'i' graoke.it. as he's lying With a leg blown off. and trying For a pot-.-hot at the echo of a gun! No ; it may be sermons ain't mach in his line. Perhaps he is ''t quite proficient in thPsalms! And his notions, too, of gbry Are no dr<ubt a trifle «ory. And don't harmo'iise with harps o gold and pa.uis. Bat he doesn't shoot the foe that spire bis life, Doesn't prostitute the piliid flag o truce; His lust drop of blood he'l shed it (H>aven mark it to his credit!) Wi h apologies for dying, quite profuse

So he's something of a preachar, after vl! As the soft-nosed bullets brain him with r splash He expound- a working notion Of the Gispel o( Devotion To the sacred cause of «omething else than -cash 1

Cash, indeed, be sees little of. Titers is, perhaps, a li missus an' kids " t" provide for; tha tnissus, in-iybe. washes or does needle vo;k into the bargain, and they exist somehow ; there is the canteen, and there is always some little expense to b 9 met, be it only planter for a head broken ir. helping a chum. A happy go lucky fellow is •'Tummy," as ready to lend a 3 to borrow, guaranteed to play the grim gama of war in earnest and to Wear white right through.