A CHRISTMAS TOUR.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 285, 28 December 1889, Page 2

A CHRISTMAS TOUR.

(By Santa Olaus.)

" Many cling to homo sweet home;

But as for me, I lore to roam."

Scores of people there are in town and country whose whole attention and leisure hours aro devoted to the haunts of home; whose chief delight '-. is sitting with jhoir family by the . jfireside, iti bestowing tlieir more 'particular,care upon the cultivation ■■■. of vegetables for household use, or ok spending' thdir time in attending- w 1 affairs "pertaining" entirely to domestic commodity. .And thus,, day after, day, iriohth ; after month; and year? after year they toil on, finding happiness alone in providing for jOthei'B, and never, claiming for themselves:an hour in which.to vary,the monotony, to invigorate their system,' or to refresh that brain be impaired through constant d9H» tion. torona .particular .object. B | whilst there are numbers who in this; •■ ! manner, whioli' is indeed one" of ■*■ bouefaction, spend their days, there are an equal number who Lave views of an entirely different and opposing nature,'regarding lhVwitk? its ploasures and destinies, and who act iu ac'cordarico : witk their convictions to the mutual benefit of all. Ami to the /latter' class. "'Santa Clans," the author of these few lines, most assuredly bolongs. Tired, to some extent, of city life, worried almost tp death by business anxieties,] and'in a Btate Omental depression,! we long for a period in whiohwo recruit ourselves; and is it therefore

a matter for wonder that we decide on taking advantage of •the.L'olidays bo providentially ifforded us by Christmas for a retreat to the country. In anticipation of a season of great festivity we mako every provision for our tour, and Tuesday morning (Christmaß eve) finds us steaming out of the Empire City in one of those great commodities of this Colony— v the train—in the construction and . development toperfectionofwhioh the- , utmost ingenuity and skill has exercised; but with a result whiob>, will appear from what we are about to relate, to be most, unsatisfactory. Puff I puff I scream! scream! a short rattle, and we are at Kniwarra. All is right, and off wo speed, nothing - daunting. Could there be anything better than this ? Could we dream of anything more charming; or could we wish for anything more imposing or desirable in any respeots than this ride round the bay, in which we inhale the refreshing breeze, from Its briny ocean, and are refreshed Hd invigorated in our .system. M alaa! there is an end to nearly all things, and this enjoyment, unfortunately for us, is brought to a sudden termination. Having passed Petone, with its elegant workshops and beautiful villas, we begin to realise that there is still room for improvement in our most elaborate railway system —at least that is the conclusion at which we'arrive. Jolt I jolt! wo go: at every few yards, our paco iB reduced to a little over ten miles an hour, and what with the anticipation of an agonising journey of four hours, with stoppages about every minute', we are overcome with an intense feeling of Bqualnrisliuess, (or seasickness),'' ancftj( make certain gesticulations, which, j'f v not pleasing to those of our fellow passengers who suffer from nervous debility, is a great relief to ourselves. Arriving at Kaitoke,.we of course present ourselves at the rooms set apart .for refreshments, and, as „a matter of faot, become tho followiug thirteen rather two hours) ride. It is some-, what refreshing on this seotion of the journey to be acquainted with the fact that there is no small probability of our being consigned to the "valley of dry bones," —where some have gone before, But there is no such luck i nil obstacles are surmounted, and we are soon at Festherstou, Here we again favor the refreshment rooui,—which we hear, is shortly to be closed—with our esteemed patronage, and a couplo of hours hard straining, broken by not infrequent . stoppages, lauds us at tho coming city of tho plains—Masterton. Here' wehayeaßt'ay, the chief oharacleristio of which is its enormous length, and the Btationmaster very kindly consents to our proceeding to Ekotahuna but apparently has a decided objection to our arriving there at time table hour, Eketalnma our railway career being about an*f hour behind time,and with a desire to> reaoh Pahiatua(oM'hiippy destination)' before the shades of night appeal make the best of a bad job, and our noble Jeliu, who' hold the reins on tho box of Macara's coach, realises the position aiid shows us of what

material bis haul-working naga are made, with tho result that we are

landed at Pabiatua but half an Lour

behind time, Here we are of course, met by friends, and proceeding to their residence we feel somewhat recovered from'out' " sea-siolmoss"

and with bat little reluctanco exercise our demolishing propensities oa a repastwhich was, to,say theloast, substantial.' This over, we go in search of the town, but alas! we cannot sea it for hdusos; or rather, 10g5... However, we dicicovor at last

an extensive building in which is retailed liquors of a most spirituous character. To this building we immediately repair, and although somewhat fatigued by our unpleasant

journey, our appreciative faculties remain, aud if wo did not enjoy the little bit of "Christinas eve" jui provided in the parlor of that edjmce /j. by an enthusiastic crowd of " busii-f i« whackers" and others wo are devoid / " pfsptoettgwliicliis in the happy ' possession of the vast majority of man. In one corner can be observed

an emaciated being, who has evidently come out second best in a

pugiljstio encounter; arranged on seats along the sides are demonstra-

tive beings, who are persistent in calling themselves musicians, and who perform on instruments as varied

in description and harmony as they are numerous; and in the contra is an excited crowi of Terpsicboreans, whoso ideas of the fantastic step are at py rate such' as to cause complications ; altogether forming one of the most interesting pictures we have ever witperee'fl, 'This was Christmas Eve, and'as a fitting and very expressive welcome to the following day, the brass baud turned "t

out in full force at 12 p.m. itseman- ' atious being of a oharaeter whioh beggar description, At first w«ttt our passions of anger arising at being wakened from pur, slumbers,- and,, would Have been very pleased to have! the opportunity afforded us of interviewing the = local ;:policeman; bat tlieu again' we thought of the" old rhyme. ~ " If every one would see : '' ; '' ; '-'' To his own reformation, Hot very easily U: We nih/ht reform a nation." ''WfiAna this;resulted in our'restrain-

ing our angry feelings and devoting ourselves tothatsleep of which wewere in urgent need. Christmas morn broke fin*, though oloridy, and .%

*- 1,,. i. ____^ our passiiig again through tbo main etroots of the City, all that could be soon to a fow old buffers in front of a pub, who wcvo evidently suffering a recovery, and the stillnoss of a

Sabbath pro'vailed.' The i 'most interesting item in the programmo of Christmas Day wad the dining with an old Mastertonian in theMangahao which place was reached after considerable exertion and effort, tornprising tlib fording of a couple of river?, etc. etc. Here was. fertility in all its grandeur, the cattle grazing most contentedly in fields of excellent pasture, the birds singing lustily in the woods adjoining, und the sound of flowing wators adding enchantment to the pleasing scenes wo had witnosscd. Nearly the wliolo day was spent in this bush, tho solitude of which can scarcely ho described, we returned to Pabiatua in the evening. Very littlo of interest transpired through the remainder of the day.

beyond the glancing over the country whioh is destined to become the most valuable in thu colony, and after .1 very refreshing sleep, undisturbed by the clanging of fire bells or even tho sound of revelry as on the previous evening, we preparo for our return mounting tho coach at 11 a.m. we proceeded again through the bush with its toworing trees and lovely sceuery. After travelling about thirty miles by train we again arrivo at Mastcrton, where we spend a pleasant night with the happy inhabitants of this town.retnrning by train to the Empire City on tho following morning, in which place we are now to be found, having passed a merry Christmas in every sense of the term, and awaiting with recruited health and vigor/the advent of the New Year, aud. prepared for its miuglcd festivities and adversities.

Nearly Bowled Out. People who disregard sanitary precautions at the present time are either wofully ignorant of the peril they run, or are shamefully reckless. Typhoid, which is spreading its octopus feelers in all directions is a terrible disease. It is not that its immediate action is specially dangerous to life; the- real evil lies in the debility which il leaves behind. Ask the physician, and ho will give you a grim list of the ailments which follow on thn track of this pestilence, Deafness, dimness of sight, softening of the brain, muscular and nervous atony, idiocy or imbecility—

these aro some of the disasters which threaten the unhappy victim of typhoid attack, It is thus apparent that what I we have to guard against is not so . much typhoid itself, but the consequences which result from it. Nevertheless, " when tho devil is about, the saint often smells brimstone,'' as the Spaniards say, and when typhoid in in the air, lurks iu tho dust bin,is hidden in our drinking waier,and contaminates more or lessee whole ol our surround-

ings, we must prepare to be smitten. It is well in such case, to know a restorative agent,w|iich if taken when tbo patient is suffering from tho dire after effects of the attack, returns to the blood those saline elements which liavo been lost, and enables nature to throw off the poisons that have been accumulated, in tho system. Mr G. i Walker, who resides at 48, Mount Street, Pyrraont, Sydney, N.S.W., writes as follows;—"flaviyg suffered from typhoid fever for seven months, during which t'me I had four relapsns, I need not tay how prostrated I was, but I must say Warner's safe cure has been to tuo both safe, speedy, and certain, lam now quite well, and

4 enjoy a cricket match iia much as before my illness." Mr Walker being fond of out door sports, and well braced by exercise, was naturally better enabled to' fight against tlir terrible odds, tthich would have Sent most people to the cemetery, But in the end ho would have fallen into a lamentable condition bad he not resorted to tho agent which has once more restored him to health and the J.LI I! 11 Mil 1 . -.. .1' ,_..!.._

cricket held. Tho lusson tins teaches should not be lost upon others, who perchance, having less vital power of resistance to diseaße,need,all the more, the help of this exceptional remedy. In the case we refer to Mr YValker was plying a losing game, and tnat swiftest of bowler, death, had nearly taken his wicket. He gratefully records that he owes it to tbo above named means, that ho was enabled to win the match.