THE YOUTH OF THE PERIOD.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 359, 1 September 1874, Page 2

THE YOUTH OF THE PERIOD.

(By Joe Fernkoot.)

The modern youth — the wonder of the age — Most learned, most wiae, and sage How smart bis clothes, and faultless is his tie, Got up express to please Iho modern eye ; Just mark his walk and consequential air, His self-esteem! and supercilious stare ; An eje-glass to perform tho double sight, A Pans hat, and boots much overtight. If in trade, when work is o'er, Ho uoiks much harder than before, And calls it pleasure. Frequents balls, Theatres, hotels, and music halls, And slaves at billiards all the night, Till early, dawn displays its glimmering light, Then hiccups home with staggering gait, And >eems surprised it is so wondrous late. The path is wide, and old now in his youth, When 100 late, he learns the sober truth, And prates about — had he his time again, Fioin folly's ways he would abstain. And so the world rolls on, year after y*ar — First 3outh, now manhood, then the yellow seer. And yet with education widely spread, We find ourselves as easily misled, Still puppets pulled by strings Called Society, which loudly sings About its virtues and good sense ; Which is at belt a sham — a mere pretence. Society we find a cheat that claims a piety It doesn't possess ; and as for its propriety, tT'-ist draw aside the mask and see A hideous mass of infamy. Nations still fight and thirst each other's blood, Like the savage denizens of the wood 5 Man still play« the hypocrite, and prayi That he may not worship idols, so he says, At the same time, for glittering gold, His very soul alive he has sold.

The Ministry, says the Saturday Revieio, is not going to repair too fa«t the mistakes of its predecessors. It will spend more than Mr Goschen would have spent on ironclads, but it will not spend much more. Something liko a hundied thousand pounds beyond the estimates may perbnps bo wonted this year, but even as to that Sir Staffoid Nortbcote is doubtful. The general conclusion of the Ministry appears to be that tbo country can afford to wait for the present, and may mnke its existing ironclads do fairly well. As Mr Goschen justly remarked, the comments of Sir Stnfloid Northoote on Mr Hunt's speech were the best exculpation of Irs own management of the navy while he was First Loid^ that he could possibly have desired. ™ It is slated that the amount spent yearly in books by the Germans, divided by tho number of the population, Rives eight groschen (about 9£d) per head, which is just halt the • amount of the spirit duty for which each head pf the population is responsible.