LITERARY NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2191, 24 July 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

LITERARY NOTES.

[t'ROM OUR OWN COUIUtSPONDENT.] Paris, May 2?. Frankfort is one of the moa^ ooSraopolitan cities in Germany, Its inhabitants aro iutelligent, active, anicl ifiaus- 1 ' trious. They are just as "hbspitaole/*' aa Parisians ; they do not give you bed and board for nothing ; but if you bring within their walls intelligence, activity, and the ability to pay your way, tuxes included, tho foreigner is welcome to become a sojourner. Moro cannot be expected from any civilised capital. Such are M. N ue's reflections, from a residence in Frankfort. As his countryman, the Ptfro Didon, he concludes ; in proportion as I know Irermauy more, I lovo Franco bettor. Neither authors ••write down" the Germans, like Tissot — who is a Swiss. M. Nile, draws a comparison betwoeu German, English ami French ladies. With tho former, although beauty be not rare, it ih massive, material ; the features are square ; cheek-bones, large ; neck, fleshy } and shoulders, broad. Teeth, cx T cellent ; skin, roseate ; eyes, all the shades of blue ; figure, slim, and bust superb German girls have essentially looks, at Quce spring-like, and attractive, merely •* roses without perfume, fruits without flavour." Ladies are dsvoid of piquancy of character. They oompri^e the whole gamut of blondes — from ash grvy up to flaxen. The few that are dark, are of Jewish extraction. English ladies are frequently less handsome than their German cousins, but they monopolise the truest type of sculptural beauty ; they ha^e a profile more accurate ; traits more fine, more full of distinction and nobility. The English lady is at the same time bigoted, a rigid practician, prudish to an extreme, stiff in ber bearing, a no-surrenderer on religious principles, and intractable in her prejudices respecting caste and blood. A German lady is more liberal, more broad in her social and religious views; she is more the housewife than either a French or an English lady, thinks less about her hair — a matter that she leaves to Nature. She does not blush to be in relations with the kitchen, or feel humiliated if caught with a brush or a saucepan in her hand. An English lady only gives orders, but a French would do neither. Frank in looks upon servants as helps, not mean whites, and laughs and jokes with them. M. Nuc asserts that German ladies are pro\crbial for jammaking, and nothing can surpass this branch of cookery in causing mistress and maid to sympathise as a woman and a sister. The future then is to jam and democracy. A Parisienne has wit, captivating manners, and that ye ne sais quoi, which replaces all drawbacks under the head of physical beauty. In a saloon she would attract all the gentlemen to her side — leaving her national rivals out in the cold. She knows too how to wear her toilette with ease and distinction, because her elegance dreads no competition; she is not 'clothed but dressed; where colours are in harmony, shape in faultless taste, and both selected to suit herself and to vex every member of her sex. Germans are more intellectual than French, have solidity rather than eolat ; they possess above all practical sense. There is nothing frisky in their conduct ; no shining excentricities ; no subject for society journals, but a temperament as calm, as her conduct is tranquil. The German blue stocking is a product that is limited to her own fireside. She is not afemme dc Icttrcs ; never takes to tracts, tea, the ologies, or collecting cards. At an early age the Gorman girl is trained for her two great aims in life, to catch a husband and wear him even to her heart, by making his home comfortable and keeping his purse from leakages. On the frontiers of Oran, in Algeria, is the famous oasis of Figuig, belonging to Morocco. It adjoins the Sahara. France wants that region to round off her Orau province, and the lamb troubles the stream. Figuig. it is alleged by the French, is simply the repair for Kroumirs, &c. So it is then down for a " Tunisian protection " in due course. The territory is naturally very rich, and a Naboth's vineyard is always tempting. The native population of the province of Oran is chiefly pastoral, cultivating only so much as suits their wants of cereals. In ISB2, France sent a mission to the Emperor of Morocco, complaining of the Figuig Kroumirs, and demanding half-a-million francs damages. The Sultan's minister for reply drew forth his little bill, amounting to 1,800,000fr5., for exactions by the French troops on the frontiers of the kingdom, and requesting payment of the balance after deducting the half million claimed by France. M. Duval urges Morocco not to listen to other European powers also having axes to grind, but to place herself under the guidance of disinterested France. Up to the present the Sultan does not soo this, more especially as he is asked to give a pledge of his desire for the alliance by ceding Filing. The latter, as Europe will have Anon the Morocco nut to crack, iH about 600 nqivire miles in extent. It is a little Republic ; birds of a feather flock together ; an African Andorre or San Retno. Each of its eight chief villages enjoys " Home Rule" from time immemorial. The territory is sheltered from northern and desert winds by high mountains, and is watered by two excellent rivers. It contains numerous springs and palm forests, has plenty, of vegetables, and produces the best of date?. The population, adds M. Duval, is active, warlike, industrious, and intelligent, Strange Kroumirs ! Lenaga is the capital, with a population of 6000, of whom 2000 are armed with rifles. The town is surrounded with nice gardens. There is a camp city, Gitane, whose inhabitants live under tents. They are, it seems, broken-down robbers, who have given up their peculiar struggle for life, and now live by bogging. It would then be a capital region for the recidivistes, and less costly than exporting them to the Pacific. Some of the towns of Figuig are defended so strongly by palm-tree barricades as to defy the best Woolwich Infants. Three highways give access to the region, whose " commerce and industry are in a flourishing state." It is a business centre, and exports to the Soudan silk, cottons, woollen and linen tissues, ready-made burnous, jewellery, arms, gunpowder, harness, &c, in exchange for ivory, gum, pppper, ostrich feathers, and Morocco leather. The inhabitants are tall and robust, with terrible black eyes. M. Duval promises they will very soon be made happier when annexed to Oran, in a word, Burmahiscd. Those interested in chinoiscrics, or porcelains and kindred wares, ought to keep a sharp eye on the Celestials, who are as good as Britons in manufacturing antiquities. The south-west portion of Borneo, has a speciality in the production of gigantic vases. No house-holder there, would feel happy without such penates, and these he venerates more than ever did a Roman his. The Dyak's vase, has a large mouth tapering down to a very limited base, the sides are varnished, and have relief designs— the latter chiefly a coiling serpent or lizard. M. de Torney fixes the price of one of these vases at, 4,000fr, The patterns confer the value, because they aie viewed as cabalistique. ADyak will make any sactifice to possess a va?e ; will negociate for its purchase during several weeks, which ia paid for in ingots of gold and even slaves. When a visitor enters a hut, the vase is carefully placed tor greater security in a corner of the hut. It is piously cared ; the owner will hardly permit its being cleaned, even with a little oil ; but it is occasionally rubbed with some blood. If the proprietor intends going on a journey, he places some rice beside the family jar — because popular belief ascribes to it, a soul, the same as man's, and its presence in a house, suffices to turn aside misfortunes, aissure good harvests, guarantee {irosperity in business, and success in ove. " . The assassination of Lieutenant Palat,

in the Senegal, is viewed by some as an intrigue on the part of the Senouaya. Tho Tona^rfjg^however, do not require the Ktirflnlus, fanaticism, to rob or ftssftlisinate For tb^era '\the~ • enej^y is nojgso much the ChrisljW astihe exp^rer. object to H^rop^uisK pinetrnting* into their territories.'* '~ln A the <; Upper Gambia the French have their Soudan — apart from the open southern "frontiers of "Algeriaf The Mussulmans' associations or " Lodges " ara blamed for causing the hostility in Africa to Europeans. According to Captain Ney and M. Meyer there are" ninety of these Islam Frpemacon confraternities. The members must acknowledge ab.*oluto »übraisHion. They are simply " corpses " in the power of the directing chiefs. Their first duty is to obey ; their second to aid their brothers. They " form only one and the name soul." These communities have ramifications everywhere, with head centred in Constantinople, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. Their messengers are sometimes discovered, their despatches deciphered, or their watch- words found out. A morsel of wood or a shred of oloth indicates in advance the time for " rising." The success of tne, Mahdi, either against the English or the French, becomes quickly known. This confraternity has its "organ," whioh is published at Constantinople. It is a tiny sheet, with a oiroulation of 100, )00 copies ; possessing immense influence, and having " our own correspondents* " from Samarcand to Matador, It is alleged that the Sultsri'w powerless' against these associations, whose hostility could overthrow him. ■ j The English and the French are j;he enemies which the corporations desire 1 to extirpate j against them, "The war >^ili endure till the day of judgment with truce interludes, but never peace." If this 1 be so; the English will become roofed in Egypt till the crack o' doom. The official clergy denounce these societies,, but the best way it seems to "repel attacks " is by quoting texts of Koran, on toleration. Pity Hicks Pasha did not try that. Scripture quotations do not I carry much weight apparently with [ Western nations. In any case it is good to put one's trust in the god of battles ; I keep the powder dry, and never to lose faith in big battalions. Profe3sor Mosso of Turin draws attention to the cause of *'Fear" Our body contains on an average nine pounds, of blood, which by veins and arteries ; is kept circulating, and so sustains life. These vessels dwindle down to a fineness greater than hair ; hence they are called capillary vessels— as' seen, on thejlips, tips of eara and fingers, while imparting* to the cheeks their carnation hue. These tubes communicate with the larger sized veins, and soon these rivulets swell ; to , streams, and throng to the heart in the form of a grand current. The blood vessels or canals are coated with muscular fibres, that dilate or contract. In the former case more blood ia concentrated — hence, *• blushes,' in the latter less — hence, paleness or fear. These two psychical facts do not depend on the heart, since it beats more rapidly or more strongly, following the emotions of bashfulness or fright. The influencing agents are the innumerable nerve-fila-ments which accompany the blood canals, exercising their expanding or contracting action, and more perceptible 6n the face, because the blood vessels are there most delicate, similar to the hand wheu placed in hot and then plunged into iced water or snow. Ih youth, the emotions of the mind are more easily betrayed by the features, than in advanced years, not because timidity has disappeared, but owing to tne delicate vessels having become harder and less sensitive, just a« sunshine acts on the visage of an infant, or a youth, more markedly than on adults. Ladies will not blush uniformly, though the promoting cause be the same ; no more than when leaving a heated room, their hands will be equally warm. This is due to a greater degree of dilation or contraction of the tiny blood vessels. It is the same cause which makes one cheek blush more, or one part of the forehead perspire more freely than the other. Although the vaso-raotor nerves be equal on both sides of the body, they excite differently. After the emotion or fright, the sensation, of "cold" follows, stronger about the head and down the back, when the " flesh creeps," and next in the arms and legs. This is due to the contractions, similar to our dropping asleep in bed. The heart's pulsations in* • crease during digestion, and by their volume, Professor Mosso can tell, whether an individual has eaten or not ; whether he is of a reflecting or impulsive temperament. Thd more rapid the ciroulatiou, the more vigorous the life. Just as in the ease of A river, the more the bed is contracted the swifter is the rush of the current. A lady avowed, that a ring 1 she could never remove from her finger ordinarily actually drops off if she gets a fright ; because the vessels oontract and the blood rushes from the extremities of the finger to the heart. Hence, the correctness of the proverb : " A cold hand, but a warm heart."