FEATHERS AND CHAFF.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 767, 17 May 1877, Page 2

FEATHERS AND CHAFF.

(From an Auckland Correspondent.)

BACCHANALIAN KESKARCHES. There aro soina Dhrases which are cur

reab in oar languages tho derivation ol which ia lost. Let me give you an instance. There is the phrase 'to shout,'. — which i3 so frequently used in colonial commuuities, and which is a, sound of welcome to the ears of the publican and the thiraty. I was long ia doubt as to the origin of the phrase, and I stumbled upon it. the other day quite by accident ia looking over a book, wherein I found the Greek word Bacchus, which is derived from lacho to shout, to o»y, either in joy or lamentation, I premtnein reference to tha shouts of the Bacchanals in their

urgies. Doubtless the word ' Hh«at : ,f in tho sense of treating ta fermeni^and spirituous liquor, is derived from the same source, and was first applied in that sense by some jolly student. It ia a fact that the word signifying to shout or cry either in joy or lamentation is exactly appropriate. We-'ahoub' at a marriage or a christening and also at a 'funeral.' Then again take the phrase 'on the spree,' Berlin stauda on th.3 river Spree, and the students of that cily were' formerly nor torious for their dissipated -habits. May not the phrase have originated in the pranks of the students on tke river Spree ? I give these things hero' bo eaase I never met with them in any dictionary. Possibly my gueßses may be erroneous, and if so, I should be glad if some one will seb me ri^ht, as tho clock said. At any rato it will be a comfort to sonn of your readers to know that what appears to be vulgar slung has been derived from such a highly re*pectablo source. • POLARTGATJONS.

H<- had recently jot ed the Good Templar , and the Ruby flush that h>id beautifit I. is nose ami cast a roseate huo ovor Lii eaturea had been replaced by a g!. n-ii lj palo white and yellow. Ho m?t bi*. nond Brown, whom ho had not seen fcj years, and the greeting was very cor-di.-.i. Brown was A little fafc man, with a ( I uk neck, and stertorous breathing, and !«'* nose might have served as a dangerlamp on a railway, so pickled was it with whisky. « Well,* 'taut often we meot,' 3uid Brown, 'come and havo a liquor.' ' No. I'm a G-ood Templnr. But I'll tell u what I'll do, I'll go across the sireet tli you to Ca< ning's and have i lemone and laapberry.' Brown stood aghast

and aaemed ii'.oto cuok-*, bus he mistereJ himself with a great effort and suij, * J^m.dnade and raspberry ! way look 'ere/^)lo mm'— yer mi 3 'ht, just as wall ask a o>ve to go and, take a (irmk at a puaay.' And^o they parted. \- ;.•;;> BlDISft TWO TOSSES.

% \Walii9 has a' fund of humorous anecdotes of tl»e dry Botch. Bort. Half his speeebba consist of auld wives ohimneyoorner yarns, and doubtless Parliament will be con? ideral-ly edified at timea by the doctor's anecdotes. After a weary deb ite, and towards tho small liours they will have a uemlo bopoiific « ffect. The ''other "day lit) doctor related how, in tltt days olhis youth, he was wont to attempt to ride two horses at once, and how he caino to grief between ths two. The same habit - appears to have nceoinpmied him through life. T is trying exactly the same game now',' and his hobbies are O-rey-isai aud Ooutralism. Do you remember the' dine when- he -spoke in the Theatre Royal,- 'anil endeavoured to cast a damper on" the reception of the Greyite* ? and in contrast^ ' read his 'redone speeches. If the doctor does not hivo a Ull between the two horses, ha will prove himself a ridt-r oi great skill. ; ; ; ;: LATE HOUiia. A rev. clergyman preaching on the subject of the relations between muster ana servant, strongly denounced tlie practice of bank inunugera keeping their clerks working late at night, but°immediately afterwards he said he had to lament the abstraction of a £l-note irotjii tiie oiforiory-bag. It is diifijult to K erceive tha oonuection, but there may be some mysterious link betweeu Jafe hours and petty robbery. The rev. gentleman forgot to say anything about the late hours of editors and printers j but tiien you see, we only steal from each other's coiumna.

CAN A PUBLICAN GET DBtfNK IK HIS OWtf HOPBB* This is the all-important question which Lord Chief Justice Coleridge, und Mr Justice orove, after some months' of calm' deliberation, and reading the concents of a moderately large library, have decided according to law. It seeuis that in Liverpool several publicans had beett puuiahed by fine for drunkenness in their own house, and aa ippeal was brought. The learned judges were of opinion that the convictioos were bad — that a pubiicun can get as drunk as he pleases in his own house. vV hat a fine spectacle itself to behold two eminent judges standing up for that gloiioua freedom for which our forefathera bled, and toiled, and liquored up.

BIG BAES. Are many of the ladies of Waikato troubled with over-iar^e auricular appendages? .Never having Been any of tnern, Icau'tsayj to tell you the truth, I'd rather not. But if there should be one, I send this, greetiug, to bring balm and consolation to ' her troubled soul. The 1 Uttica Herald '• tells a wonderful story of a young lady who might have been the belle of the season had not her eara been a trifle over 18 inches long, descending upon her shoulders much after the fashion of the ears of a retriever dog. No art of the hair-dre3ser had been able to conceal those enormous ♦listeners,' and year by year she saw the chances of seizing upon BOme decent man, marrying him right off, and having him always at hand to pay her millinery bills, was growing nioro aud more remote. In sheer desperation Bhe consulted a surgeon, who saw a way out of the difficulty. She refused to take chloroform, did this Spartan woman, whilst the Burgeon was working away at her ears with a large pair of shears, such aa are generally used for clipping furze-hedges. The surgeon believes that the ears will be all ri-jht within a few weeks.