RANDOM SHOTS.

[BY ZAMIEL.]

gome write, a neighbour's name to lash. Some write—vain thought—for needful cash, Some write to please the country clash, "' And raise a dm.

For me an aim I never fash—

I write lor fun,

"H/P^h the close of this week we may hope fiO get clear of the Jubilee craze, and it will doubtless be with a profound sense of relief that most people will welcome the return to everyday things and common-sense nomen clature—when,men will sanely settle down to duty instead of rushing about and jubila ting, and when a spade will once more be called a,spade, and not a " Jubilee agricul tural implement.'1 Beforo bidding farewell to the subject I would offer a remark or two.' To my mind, the torchlight proqes- Bipns on Tuesday night were the grandest feature of the rejoicings, and after them (a ■long way) came the illuminations. Tho latter were only partly successful, some of the artists having palpably had no ex perience at that kind of work ; indeed, one of the gentlemen of the' brush exposed his confusion on the subject of anatomy and native manners by painting a stalwart Maori standing cross-legged, and with his two big toes together ! Maoris in general are: not in the habit of throwing themselves into that dignified cross-legged attitude; •but'perhaps when their feet are peculiarly ' constructed'they can't help it—being like Pooh Bah, "born that way." Tho news ■from Wanganui tho morning after tho Jubilee holiday, to the effect that Mount Ruapehu, so long an extinct volcano, was having a vigorous "blow-out"on its own ■ account, was rather alarming, but the out break has proved not to be very serious after all 'In point of fact, the mountain was, like the great British public, simply letting off a little loyal steam, or perhaps was ex pressing active sympathy with the brother mountain Tongariro, made over to the colony i by the Maori owners, as a Jubilee gift, lor a public domain. ' .

■■' i More serious by far than the outbreak of 3 Euapehu is the eruption of Jubilee odes, poems, and songs that has taken place all over the colony. One hundred and eleven New Zealand poets thought themselves i capable of carrying off the prize in Welling •. . ton, arid in.additibn to that bright galaxy, every township in-the colony produced a >. Jubilee poet with a spick-and-span odo 'i which had to be recited or sung, and pub lished for the benefit of the admiring - i public. ; At a' moderate calculation, New t. Zealand has produced at least five hun .'• ;dred Jubilee poems. That would give us d one poet to every thousand of the European . population, and as rhyming is a very infec .•. tious disorder, .the whole of the peoplo are -. in danger of >" .'breaking out." Mi1 J. A. , froude,' who is blamed with injuring the I colony's credit, is, I fear, also responsible v for this deplorable poetic eruption. The J author of '•' Oceana " declares in that work s, that .the great English poet of the future O! tvill probably be born and nurtured on the ,c s'junexhausted soil and spiritual capabili erliiflß of New Zealand," and the great man's c .dictum appears to have already produced oi&uife' Everybody knows that the poet is l ■.'*/ born," but the idea that " unexhausted

-. 'Bpir" is necessary to his nourishment is .quite anew one. Leaving others to follow i out that train of thought, I would simply * iremark.upon the-hapiiy conduction of Poesy '; and Poverty hinted at by Mr Froude in t .his, remarks on New Zealand. Poets are ' 'triotoriously impecunious; so is New Zea -rU&i";'2rff6, thSlafcter has within her the .'■:*■' spiritual capabilities " necessary for the !. production ; oi.a host of poets. Or (lest I ~ jpayhbe ! .qonfQ«oding,causd'anS effect),' take, it fclje other way: r-^Jroyorty is the nurse of ;=, Jthg .jKJets; ; L wbo ;',' learn in suffering what iiftey sing an song;" New Zealand is de r j)lorably ; popr; ergo, she produces a plen d [tepus crop of poets. My private impress -.^ionij^jthatj)9 ,per. cent, of the New Zea

v ,jiand) : ba.r l ds would be better employed if . ihej,\yould let the "spiritual capabilities " , jseverejy alone, and turn their attention "|and their spades) tp the .".unexhausted «oil"—in other wordsj, get out of debt and on to a special settlement farm !

Yejs; ..the Jubilee is over, and a jolly, , 'good' job, 0 too ; but the country will now go madion politics, and for three months to come the colony will be involved in the £.-rsiu3noil "of ■ electioneering, with the inevit ■i'.able flow, of balderdash and blarney. But - : . ,the army of self-seekers there will be '' pop a.few h'onesb men with the interests of v the' Jcioiony at heartj with 'a real desire to f. serve- her/ and with a policy that will be t [ .accepjiable.. to the people at large. Sir Geo. • , Grey has sounded hjß .trumpet challenge " that' \viir soon ring from end to end of the : colony, and he will in a few weeks face the .: Premier' on his own ground at Dunedin, and I venture to say will shatter the r jLyceum idol badly. Very soon, too, will • the scramble for Auckland city seats begin, |/jai}d.Twqijld predict that never before in, * the political history oftlje colony has there " fceen such a''\i-edistribution of seats" as r spijl take place at the ensuing election. election has been considered a , yejy-lntjeresting problem since Mr Darga yille fixed upon the seatashisown in prospec , J '•, Mr Alderton, a Whangarei man, is '..also!id 'the' field for it; but the Political Quidnunc will have it that Mr Reader Wppd is '";the man for Marsden." _■ ~• aili •"* * * * * * * * *

; .limade light of that statement when I <,fu"st heard it a fortnight ago; but lean , ccc :; that the Whangarei paper gives the istraigji 1- tip for Mr Reader Wood. O.ver . the leader is au adverfciaeinent "Wanted, , a.fit and,proper person to represent Mars ,,den in the tenth: Parliament of New Zea land," and,; the leading article proceeds to . .extol ~the gtatesmanship; of Mr Reader Wood. The intention is obvious; but the I *. 1 Advocate " in its special pleading makes ~ $good point in Mi" Wood's favour by quot ; ing the ; following from an anti-Vogel speech which that gentleman deliverer 1 several j years ago from his place in Parliament on r.the subject of borrowing. This extract .jghqws the man for Marsden in the character pi a seer^r-a prophet who had no credit at -.that time, • but who is certain to be ..eagerlyi welcomed in these days when re trenchment and cessation of borrowing are Vtfye.watchwords. A portion of his address jjs.-rwqr.th giving. He said : " Sir, there are members of this House, and I am one of ihem, who would scorn to ait upon sofas and .'.chairs that were not .paid for out,of their E pw ( n pockets—who would sit on a deal bench jit a deal feeble, paid for, fifty times sooner ; than sit on .couches and;feed off damask ob , r fcained by/m^ans of borrowed money. And yet, ,sir, here, i the representatives of the ;, people^ the representatives of a 'great -nation/ are sitting on these wretched .things, .and know- that the whole is -paid ,for, by other ; people's money.■. The in which we seat ourselves.- this ..tawdry mixture of the styles of a church -and a Jt dancing, saloon—is'paid for out of -pther ..people's money. The ministerial .are paid for and mended, and patched out of other people's money. In 'fact, travelling expenses are paid out of r ,otlier, people's money.,. There is no fund- set "/oj", ; th.e replacing ;of '.these wooden structures, varying in value from fifty •jgouu^s; ,tg :tljbu§auds of. pounds^ and as, juijf^o^rge .of .time,,- tliey.'must fast decay ■ away, from what gepurce are they ever to he •.'replaced?. ¥ou will have, to go and borrow $Lgain !" .The ■ occasion is: said to produce the man. jsho.uld think that," the man for j^arsden,"and others who think like him, will now," take occasion by.the hand " and get a ljf&jntotposition oncd-m0re.. ,'..": ■ •; vJ

Ett*r?he apostles of Jfo Borrpwing _ must not stop short at a condemnation of Vogei ism ; they must be prepared with •some scheme of raising revenue in an equitable manner,, and so as npt to :burden unduly colonial industries and.colqmsts themselves. Direct .taxation will be unpopular ; but to my mind that must be the .mebhod.adoptea of raising revenue and teaching colonists? practical.ecpnoiny; and believing so 1 would offer the 'Non-Borrowists a few^ints as to methods of "raising the wind." Thejsystem of taxation is said to have been invented by the Romans, and among the earliest taxes, is that mentioned in the New Testament when there went forth a decree from-Oajsar that all the world should bo taxed. i,ne> Anglo-Saxon lias earned the art of taxation to perfection; but they made many ludicrous mistakes, as, for instance, the window tax and the proposed tax .on matches-both imposts on .illumination quite out of accord with Jubilee ideas. From 1695 to 1707 a "birth tax was levied ; for the birth of every child to plo beian parents a tax of 2s had to be paid, and tho rate increased with the rank ol tjlio parents until it got to be as high as £.W for the birth of a Duke's child. That tax would be a good idea in New Zealand, where the birth rate is alarmingly high, but the "progressive" feature of the tax leading to the " bursting up " of the aris tocracy would be unpopular here, where dukes are hold in such high estimation. Another idea might be borrowed from the present Russian Minister of Finance. Russia is about as hopelessly in debt as New Zealand, and the Czar's financial wizard " has hit upon tho brilliant plan of putting a tax on all hens'and ducks eggs placed on the market. The Russians believe in protection, and tho Minister, therefore, professing that his object in im posing the tax is to encourage tho breeding of poultry, andexempfcs the first twenty eggs from taxation. This tax is expected to yield ten millions of roubles per annum, reckoning two hundred millions of fowls to produce each twenty eggs per annum ; but if the hens and <lucks go on strike the Minister will have to go on a now " lay," in which case he may tax turkeys' eggs, or more probably annex Turkey herself ! A combination of the egg and birth taxes may be best for New Zea land — a stiff poll-tax on all now arrivals in the colony from parts un known—the object being twofold, viz,, to raise revenue and to "protect" colonists from the competition of cheap labour. I commend these suggestions to Sir Julius Vogel's successor, whoever he may be !

Among local Jubilee observances that of the Auckland Burns Club was perhaps the most notable, as being incongruous. Burns was no admirer of Royalty, and ho would not have had much sympathy with tho Jubilee nonsense and "gush1 that have been so freely flowing of late. In his "Dream," written in 17SG, ho writoa :—

For me, boforo a monarch's face, Even there I winna flatter; For neither pension, post or place Am 1 your humble debtor, and when, later in life, the bard accepted a paltry place in tho Civil Service, ho gave great offence by hi 3 outspokenness. Apropos, the Dunedin Scots appear to have made a happy choice of situation for tho Burns statue, and one which is beautifully typical of the " harum-scarum ram-stam boy." Burns was a convivialist, and as I showed in a former issue, his antipathy to the " kirk" has descended in undi minished force to his posterity. The eternal fitness of the statue's attitude will be best provedbyquotingthe following conversation which is said to have been heard in Princes street, Dunedin, the other day : " What d'ye think o' the Statue?" "It's gran' ; the attitude i 3 like real life." "How d'ye fliak' that oot?" "Dinna ye see he has his back to tho kirk, and his faoo to the pnhliprhoose ?" The Auckland Burns Club, however, is conducted on strictly teetotal as well as fervidly loyal lines; and the members may fairly claim that thoy ex press their admiration only for what is admirable in the great poet's character and genius, and cast the friendly mantle of oblivion on those traits which aro con sidered uncouth or disreputable.

This does not suit the local industry people, and they offer £100 down for the use of the book for an hour; £100 down, if he will let a membor of tho firm hold it, and turn his head away for half an hour. Thoy tell him to leave the book on a shelf and re turn in an hour and-he will find £100 inside it, the whence of which he need not know. The honest man will not be tempted, so " bounce "is next tried. The derelict late partner of this English firm is found out, gum-digging or something of the kind, and a lawyer is employed to make out a power of attorney, giving the Auckland firm tho right to the book. The honest hash-house man, like Ajax, defies the lightning, and so the thing remains. I would hope that virtue in this case will be rewarded by the Home firm, to whom a letter is travelling by the last mail.

I would remark upon a curious historic parallel which struck me the other day when reading the fortieth chapter of Genesis. That portion of Scripture deals with the fortunes of King Pharaoh's butler and baker, as all my readers are of course aware. I read in the second verse of the chapter that the King " was wroth against two of his officers"—the chief butler and baker re spectively ; but the nature of their offence is not disclosed. Similarly an august royal personage of the present day was wroth with two officers—Col. Baker and General Butler respectively. Like Pharaoh's officers, these gentlemen were sent to Coven try; but though they had no guileless Joseph to read their dream's, they somehow got the same treatment meted out to them as their early Egyptian prototypes. The ancient narrative reads that Pharaoh " restored the Chief Butler into his butlership again, but he hanged the Chief Baker." In like manner I see it recorded that General Butler has lately been made the recipient of a decoration at the hands of his sovereign, while Col. Baker still languishes in a cruel exile '-along with the barbarous Turk." That -" history repeats itself " is a trite saying; but it is not often that there is such a curious para] lei between the Kingdom of Egypt 3500 years ago and the England o£ to-day.

Centenarians in Germany.

Some curious statistics have come to light at the last Census in Germany, which was taken about a year ago. According to these, there were at the end of 1835 no less than 72 male and 160 female centenarians in permany! Curiously enough, no cen tenarian was counted at Berlin, Hohenzol lern, and in Sazony, while the largest number lived in the provinces of Ppsen, Silesia, and East and West Prussia. The may numerically be devided rs folio >v;S'.:— '.' 100105 years 105-110 yrs. Bachelors .. .. .. & .. 4 Married men „ .. '.. 10 .". 7 Wiclowors " ".. .. ..31 .. 1C Unmarried women .. ..11 .. 9 Married Women .. .. 6 .. 3 Widows/." ".;.; .. .. ,9S ... 33 There are 9 persons over 110 years in .Germany, 5 women and 4 men ; the oldest' women is 117, and the oldest man 120 years old.; ■ ■■■ v • "■ ;

A Scotchwoman from the country applied lately to a respectable solicitor for advice. After detailing the circumstances of the case, she was asked if she had stated the facts exactly as they had occurred. "Ou ay, sir," rejoined the applicant, f Ithought it bestT.to .tell you. idiexplain :truth 4 you can put" the lees' till* yoursel."

ATHLETIC NOTES.

(By Action. )

FIXTURES.

FOOTBALL. Senior Cup.

June 25.—Albert v. North Shore; Grafton v Ponsonby. July 2.-Gordon v. Albert; Auckland v. Pon-

sonby. July.—Auckland v. OtaKO. August.—Auckland v. Canterbury.

Junior Cup,

June 25.—United v. North Shoro; Grafton v

Ponsonby; Auckland v. Waitemata. July 2.—Gordon v. United; Auckland v. Pon sonby ; Waitemata v. Graf ton.

Second Junior Cup.

Juno 25.-Solwyn y. Wavorly; Remuora v. Gprclon ; University v. Waitemata.

AQUATICS.

July, 1887.-Hanlan v. Teemor. United States. October L— "Thistle" races for the America

Cup. Nov. 20.—Beach v. Hanlan for the Champion ship of the world on the Nepean.

CORRESPONDENCE.

FooTn.ALLKK.—Certainly not. As the Southorn Unions have only adopted tho professional rules this season, they cannot object to Whitesido as v professional, lor tho money he has been paid was for last season. Ho is a playing member of his club, and works for Jiis Jiving.

FOOTBALL.

After fclic lapse of a great many seasons, Auckland's bannor has beon lowered in fcho football field, and bliafc by a team hailing from a province littlo thought of up till now. Very little interest was taken in the match Taranaki v. Auckland, and most people looked upon the result as a forogono conclusion. Still, a great many shook their heads ; the team that donned the blue and white bars was not such a very .strong one, and the redoubtable Whiteside was absent from its ranks. Well, to cut a long story short, the Taranaici men came, they played, thoy conquered, aud have now returned de lighted to their homes. The game was a very good one, and a great deal might be said about good and bad play on both sides. Taranaki had the best of the first spell, and continually kept the ball in the Auckland'^ territory, but the local kiekists reversed matters in the last half hour, and only once did the leather stay for any length of time in Auckland's twenty-five. The Taranaki backs are a fine sot of players, their only fault perhaps being that tney tackled rather high ; but then they were so fast and smart that the Auckland Slayers gained but little by a few misses, lempton, Bayly, aud Stpohr are a very fast trio, playing with plenty of dash and always getting their kick. Bayly several times shone in that particular line. Rodgers at centre-half proved a veritable stumbling block to the blue aud white forwards, stop ping their rushes splendidly, and running, or rather, I should suy, dashing through them repeatedly. The two winginon were very smart, picking up clean, following up fast, and passing well, but they could not dribble, and were rather prone to the fault of all wingiuen—-they played offside too much. The- Taranaki forwards had the ad vantage of our men in weight, and they put their heads low in the scrums, and so got tho full benefit of it. They wore rather fond, however, of hand ling a dead ball, using the liands to knock forward, and keeping.on the wrong side of thoserum when they came through; but they showed our men a splondid oxanjple in their following up and collaring. Auckland has very seldom before put a weaker represen tative team into the field than they did on Tuesday, and the Selection Committee might have very materially strengthened it, but unfortunately the weather prevented tho Probables and l'oasiblcs mooting, and tho scratch team had to do. Braund at full back made one or two mistakes in taking the ball, but his collaring was good. The try by which tho Aucklandor.s were defeated was'got through nofault of his, for ho collared Hempton a couple of yards from tho line when ho had passed Madigan and Brown, but Hempton's weight brought tho two to the ground, and he was just able to touch tho ball down out of Braund's reach, Snow collared well and at times was good in his kicking, but he is altogether too slow and cannot pick up clean. Tom Brown did not come off nearly as well aw was ex pected. He seldom or never misspd his kick, but in collaring he was noticeably weak. Madigan did not have many shows, the opposing halves being too quick, but once ho was almost in, being collared on the line. Ho would have done far better if he had passed out more. Wynyard did not by any means come up to expectation. * Now and then he made a good run, bub his collaring was wretohed. He generally went for his man too fast, and overshot the mark, while his punting did not suit either; still, in one respect he snowed up well, and that was in his passing in the second spell, and once he had hard lines in not getting in. Albie Braund without doubt played the best gamo among the backs. He was always in tho thick of it, stopped Rushes pluckily, passed unselfishly and collared well, while once or twice he made serviceable runs. He reached the full back.on one occasion, and if any one had been backing him up Auckland must have scored. Among tho forwards Marshall, Murphy and Lecky played the best gaiue. They were generally on the ball, and did a tremendous amount of work. Jack Lecky made a splendid run in the first spell, dodging in flue style, while in the second ho dribbled from his own " twenty-five " up to past half-way, and then spoiled all chance of scoring by trjdng to pick up when he had only tho full back to pass. Lindsay showed far bettor form than he has done this season, and altogether played a sterling game. Otway, Poland and Spencer did not shine much, but they grafted hard the whole game through. Arneil was Al on the wing, but Elayed throughout with hard luck. When c did cob a dribble on he was never backed up. The Auckland forwards seemed to have forgotten how to do it. Instead of th combined, rushes we aye used to expecting from our representatives, it was usually tho individual player that did the work. Again, the scrums were seldom or never packed as scrums ought to be packed. Two, three, two, heads low aud straight through — that is how it ought to have been, instead of seven forvyards in a half-moon getting pushed all over the field, as thoy were in the first spell. I must sa-y they did slightly better after half-time. Murray did not by any means piny a bad game, but he was not up to representative form, and Wooller would have given far greater satisfaction in his place, especially against a team weak in dribbling, and then Arneil would have had some chance of being backed up by a player who knew his play. Taking the Auckland team as a whole, there was a lack of combination visible, and except on a few occasions, their play was what I might char acterise as " dead alive," —that is, compar ing with past teams. Tiiis might be at t«J»atod to the heavy state of the ground, fi«M* the superior weight of their opponents. Auckland has, however, been beaten on thflir own ground fairly and honestly by a splendicl fifteen, and we must grin and bear it as best Aye can, trusting that we may have the chance before the season closes of turning the tables under the shadows of Mount Egmont. • j A great many questions have been ask,ed and (301110 nasty things said about R.: .Whiteside refusing to play for Auckland. I may as well, therefore, give the full facts of tho case. Whiteside has no wish: to bo paid, nor has he any desire to have himself insured against accident. He says if he. was afraid of being hurt he would nob play at all. What troubles him is that: the Union have not, in his opinion, don© the right thing by him. He never

asked for any recompense for his services against Wellington last season, but having made up his mind to go South, as he had. no work here, one of the Union Committee brought him £5, and told him if he stayed he would have the same for every repre sentative match he played in. As the New South Wales team was on its way here then, he stayed and played in the three matches, but did nob receive a penny. He only wishes to have these arrears cleared up, for he told the Union last year that he would not think of playing while they were having him in that style. I dislike the idea of paying footballers at all, bub I am of opinion that if the committee last year gave Whibeside to understand that he would be remunerated for his play, the pre sent committee are bound to see fair play done to him. It would be a good plan, then, to adopt the English rules in reference to professionalism, and we would have no more bother. I am sure all Aucklanders were sorry to see him absent from the "Reps.' on Tuesday, and I have no doubt that if he had played the result would have been different. What will we do against Otago and Canterbury without him ? With great regret I have to record tho disbandment of the Waitemata I. I ex pected them to do better than they have done, and little thought they would collapse so soon. The greater number of the players have joined the Alberts. Stone will play for Grafton, while Grey will don the black and play behind the scrum for Gordon. I. would suggest to the Union the desira bility of replacing the present single wire fence round the ground at Potter's Paddock by a post and rail fence three or three and a half feet high. With two interprovincial matches coming on— not to mention Cup struggles —it will bo cheaper in the end. The Olago Union have not decided as to when they will send a team North yet. They have, however, informed the Canter bury Union that tho annual match between tho two provinces will be played an they re turn, most probably in September, so they evidently intend to send the team late in tho season.

Tho Wellington Rugby Union Committee have passed a rule empowing the referee to order off the field any player who dis putes the decision of an umpire. This rule has been agreed upon in consequence of the growing practice of not only questioning decisions, but passing insulting remarks to umpires. In Melbourne all the players now have a number sewn on their backs so that the spectators by referring to a small card can tell the name of the various men.

ATHLETICS, ETC.

George Perkins, the ex-champion sculler of England, has arrived in Australi»._ He is taking the trip to train rest, and it all depends on how he regains his form whether he gets any matches on or not. William Beckwith, the famous English swimmer, is in America, where he is to swim G. Lundstrum, of New York, any dis tance from 1 to 20 miles for from LIOO to L2OO a side.

The ooirmittee appointed, by the Vic toi ian Cricket Association, to consider the best means of reviving the interest in the game of cricket, recommends, among other things, that the patronage of the \r.C.A. should not be granted to any English team visiting the colonies for three years after the season 1887-SB, nor to any Australian eleven visiting England for four years from this date; that only one intercolonial match be played with N.S.W. and only one with South Australia, in alternate colonies, and that the wickets be wideued one inch, viz., from eight inches to nine inches in all matches except intercolonial and inter national.

A new style of wrestling has been intro duced by Sam Matthew in San Francisco. It consists in wrestling on horseback some what after the stylo of what schoolboys play at school, and called " cock fights," horses taking the places of boys. It is said to be very exciting. The following answer to a correspondent appeared in a recent issue of " The Tas manian" : —A Tasmanian team visited New Zealand in 18S4, and that colony there fore is bound in honour to send a team to this colony."

Slavin, the Queensland boxer, is going to pay this colony a visit in order to meet Matthews. From here Slavin will go to America. A N.Z. journal states that before leaving Australia, it is probable that the Queenslandor will meet Jackson. I how ever, consider this highly improbable, as he showed the white feather most forcibly a short timo back when he was matched to box four rounds with tho champion. A boxing match for the hoavy-weight championship of New Zealand has been arranged between Laing of Wanganui and Cunningham of Wellington. The stakes areLSO Laing's backer laying L3O t.0L20 that the Wanganuiman wins. Laing is at present in Napier with Murphy. Charles E. Courtney, the Union Springs sculler, has emerged from his seclusion and will enter in several of the beat regattas during the season. His backer is William Broqkaway, who is prepared to match him against any of the scullers ranking next to Gaudaur, Teenier, aud Hanlan.

A Pretty Story About the German Emperor.

The Berlin corresppndentpf the "Standard tells an interesting story about the Gorman Emperor to-day, apropos of a wedding: At Iglau, in Moravia, yesterday, tho marriage took place of the young lady in whom the Emperor AVilliam has taken great interest since he made her acquaintance at Gastein some six years ago. Every day during that visit the Emperor, sitting at the window of his hotel, noticed the young lady in question who is the daughter ol a cloth manufacturer, at the window of the opposite hotel in the Straubinger Platz. So it happened that when one day the familiar face was missing, the monarch sent an adjutant toinquire the cause. Thus the little romance began, and the aged Emporor never ceased his interest in the fraulein, who was a clever, well educated, and lively girl, but nob a beauty in th c ordinary sense. The Emperor addressed her whonover they met 011 his walks, and from year to year he pressed for her promise to come again tho following season. The monarch further obtained a promise from her that if she should become betrothed she would let him know. This happened last winter, and the lady thought politeness required to inform the Emperor of the day of her wedding with Herr Kilian, a merchant of Iglau. The consequence was that on Saturday morning there arrived a largo parcel from Berlin containing a bracelet richly set with diamonds, a jewel box adorned with the Imperial crown, accompanied by a letter from the First Court Chamberlain saying the Emperor himself chose this present, and he desired the bride to wear the bracelet at the cere mony. This was only accomplished with some difficulty, as the Custom House officials would not deliver the jewellery until it had received the Austrian hall mark. High personage had to interfere to enable Fraulein Kern to wear the Emperor's present during the ceremony, whice took place in the Jewish synagogue at Iglau.

A f Drawback."—ldle Friend to Thrifty Breadwinner :—" Oh, you stick too close to work. No wonder you're seedy. Why don't you run down to the seaside for a week ?, You want change and rest, my dear fellow " Dyspeptic (snappishly) : -^'So I did — tried that. But—the .waiters got all my change !—-and—and the hotel bill took the rest!"

Bouge was worn originally by; the Roman generals in their triumphs, and that they might seem to blush continually at their own praises.-- : :;.':- "-: C "■;i' "• -■■■ "; '"" '■

THE GARDEN.

[By Hortus.]

[Hortus is willing to answer any queries. Cor respondents must give their full names and ad dresses, though not for publication.] ■

TO CORRESPONDENTS

Shelter Trees (" Amateur").—As it is only for shelter, you had better plant Pinus msignis and Cupressus macrocarpa, as they arc very hardy, and after getting established will grow well in very exposed situations. In pur chasing, only get small, hardy, well-grown, balled plants, as tbese will succeed much better than large and perhaps drawn plants. The thicker you plant the sooner they van provide shelter, and as they get too thick, you can thin out. For shelter I have planted lour feet apart at first. . Keeping Awees (" Fruit ").-To keep apples in good order, thoy should not be exposed too much to the light or air. They will keep -well in boxes or barrels. Thoy may also be Kept in heaps, and covered over with hay or straw, so as to exclude the light and filter the air. The air is charged with a number of disease germs, which the straw extracts from it. X our atmosphere is too dry; hence the loss ot sap and the shrivelling you complain of, or per haps your faiit has been pulled too soon, iiie varieties named arc all good keepers. One or the varieties I had in first-class condition till the end of August last season.

Fertilising Necessary.

While engaged in pruning fruit trees for some time past, I have noticed the sickly, feeble, unthrifty appearance which most of them present, indicating plainly that they are in a decline and need prompt and vigorous treatment. The trunks of the trees present a rough, scaly appearance; no roots are seen near the surface of the ground, a condition essential to the healthy growth of any tree, and the top.s present a mass of stunted, crooked, dead, gnarly, knotty, broken limbs, devoid of leaf buds, bub overloaded with fruit buds. This con dition of fruit trees may not be common in other countries of the State, but in all the orchards which I have examined in Mon terey country this is the rule, with a clean, healthy, vigorous fruit tree as the excep tion. It is very rare to see a fresh growth of healthy wood in the tops of any fruit trees -which have been loog in bearing, showing plainly that there is lack of humus or food plant iv the soil. In short, it is evi dent that trees are starving for want of food, and especially for want of potash. While pruning a small orchard in Salinas City a few days since I noticed one large, fine-looking, thrifty tree, which stood near a pile of manure which had been thrown from the stable, while not sixty feet distant •stood other trees of the same variety, having a stunted, sickly aspect.

In another instance that came uirler my observation ashes had been thrown from a leach-tub near a pear tree. This tree presented a clean, healthy appearance, and had made a vigorous growth of fresh v/ood, while another pear tree, but thirty feet distent, presented just the opposite appear ance.

No tree or plant will grow and thrive without an abundance of foliage, which is to the tree what lungs are to an animal; and an abundance of leaves will not grow unless the roots can come near the surface of the ground and find air, warmth and plant food. Roots which strike deep into the soil £0 down for moisture, mineral food and to anchor the tree to the ground. No orchard can be expected to remain long in a healthy, prosperous condition which is being constantly cropped* either by its own growth, or, what is too fre quently the case, with some additional crop.

In order to maintain its vigour and useful ness there must be an application of fertil isers ; and nothing is better for this pur pose than barnyard manure, scattered all over the ground, before the annual rains. Cleanings from the stables and droppings of fitock contain all the essentials needed to insure a healthy growth of both tree and fruit.

It would be a good plan, where it can be done, to dig about a tree to the depth of from fifteen to eighteen inches and at a distance from the trunk of two to three feet, accord ing to the size of the tree, throwing into the excavation broken crockery, bones, broken glass, old shoes, grass and weeds, mingling therewith a liberal supply of ashes, leached or unleachcd, and surface soil. A vigorous pruning should be given to the tops, cutting off half to two-thirds of the long, slim limbs, thus encouraging a growth of foliage and of fruit near the body and large limbs of the tree. Most trees are carrying too many fruit buds and not enough leaf buds; and to allow fruit to grow at the extremi ties of long, thin liir.bs is simply to insure their breaking down, to the very great in jury of the whole tree.

In some orchards I have noticed a sort' of gangrene in the ends of limbs, causing them to die, in some instances, one-quarter the length of the limbs. This dead part, together with all dead sticks and decayed branches, should bo cut off down to the living part, or to the crown or collar, -which is the only true place to cut off a limb. Where the trunks of the trees have become scaly, rough and mossy, they should be thoroughly scrubbed with a preparation of unleached ashes, salt and water, made into a thin wash and applied with an old broom. Where the roots of trees have become deeply covered by repeated turning of furrows to the tree, as is too often the case, or by a deposit of soil about the tree where lands are overflowed, this soil should be re moved, as no tree can long endure with its roots buried deep in the cold, damp soil. It will be found, if forest trees be examined, that their roots are near the surface,1 many of them being exposed above the surface. The practice of cropping the orchard with garden vegetables, as is sometimes done, cannot be too highly condemned, especially where Chinamen" are permitted to grow them, for they utilise every foot of the ground, taking all the cream from the soil and returning little or nothing- thereto. Garden vegetables are very exhausting to the soil.—J. S. TujiiiTS, in " Fresno Repub lican." Notes. The constant forcing, by continued appli cation of water, of the growth of orange trees, will always result in the production'of a small and imperfectly ripened fruit. Always bear in mind that one acre of an orchard when properly cared for will afford taoye' satisfactory results than five acres slovenly cultivated. Do not forget to try white hellebore to kill insects on vegetation when the value of the plants will -warrant the expense. A tablespoonful of the powder, in two gallons of water is amply strong. Apply with a spraying syringe. The English sparrow in South America is reported as a destroyer of orange blossoms. This is not expected to reduce the crop of brides there, whatever it may do for the orange crop. The boys, however, must gather in the birds in order that later they may gather in the fruit. A writer in " Gardening Illustrated ", says he has found sulphide of potassium an efficient remedy for mildew on the straw berry. Sulphur and old tobacco leaves burned in the poultry-house, the house" behV'closed perfectly tight-, will clean out the red lice. '"' Do not use fertilisers tod lavishly on potted plants A small quantity applied frequently is better than a full allowance at one time. A writer in. the "Farmer and Fruit grower" advises against the planting of fruit trees, especially peaches, near to gether: say from twenty to twenty-five feet is not too far apart. He claims the wider planting makes better-shaped trees, with better access' of air and sunshine, while the tree has a greater area from which to draw root-supplies. The Indian jDla'n for saving seed corn is to select the finest,-full-ripened'ears at

husking time, leaving husks enough on the ears sp two ears may be tied, together, when they are strung up over poles in the lodge, and, when' fully dry, before freezing weather sets in, it is stacked in a small pit on a sandy ridge, and covered securely from web during the winter. Farms in some sections of Pennsylvania maintain the fertility of their soils by ap plying 100 bushels of slaked lime to the acre once in five years. It is ' said that fields which have been subjected to this treatment for the past 100 years are as productive now as when the experiment was first tried. This application depends for its value much upon the original character of the soil. ' In, vegetable-growing, .deep, rich soil, now so generally condemned for fruit gardens, is of the first importance. Soil cannot be too rich or too deep, if we would have good vegetable.9. We go to work differently to get good fruits than to per fect vegetables. While, for instance, we have to get sunlight to give the best rich ness to our fruits, our vegetables are usually best when blanched or kept from the light. So, also, as we keep the roots as near the surface as we can, in order to favour the woody tissue in trees, we like Co let them go deep in vegetables, because this favours succulence.

Very fevir people are aware of the fact that the Japanese persimmon, when dried, is one of the most delicious fruits imagin able. Those who are acquainted with this fruit know that it must be fully ripe when picked, otherwise the flavour will not be what it should. But the perfectly ripe persimmon is difficult of handling with out damage, and therefore, considerable loss is apt to result. Experiments made, however, show that the Jtipanese per simmon may be dried as readily as a fig, , which indeed it resembles in appearance after being cured. The dried persimmon has a very mealy, pleasanfc taste, and will undoubtedly, as soon as its excellence becomes known, take a promin ent place among table delicacies. The persimmon ought also to make a very acceptable glace fruit, and a good profit awaits the man who shall take advantage of these hints and prepare this product for market in pleasing shape.

"OFF WITH HIS HEAD."

An Interview Wita Chinese High

Executioners,

I oj»"ce visited Canton with some com panions, and, of course, we did the sights there. We visited pagodas and temples galore, silk factories, an artificial duck-egg-^ hatching company's premises, jade and ivory shops, pawn shops, cat and dog butchers' shops, and the city water-clock, all of which have been "done" and de scribed before, times innumerable. Dur ing our mc-inderings in the city our ears were assailed with the Cathay synonym of the Egyptian bakseesh cry, till the caverns of our brains resounded and echoed with it. " Cumshaw! cumshaw!" yelled by immature possessors echoed the sound wherever we went. -When the youngsters' requests were not complied Trith, they, after a little, in variably changed their cry to "Fanc[uai! fanquai!" (foreign devil, foreign devil). We marched into the magisterial yamun to the accompaniment of the cumshaw' tune. Here were shown the instruments whereby bamboo chow is given to the nadal callosi ties of the wicked, also ratans and short bludgeons for slappingtbe face of untruthful witnesses, thumb-screw's and racks for ex acting confessions (no criminal can be ex ecuted according to the laws of China until he has confessed his crime), canquls, a species of collar which foirlargeness and im comfortableness even outstrip the masher's, and which are rectangular planes df wood with neck and hand holes. The gloomy, small depository-room of these torture- im plements we thought to be a fair representa tion of what a European mediaeval chamber of " justice "has been.

We were next taken in our sedan; chairs through an overcrowded busy part of the city to the execution ground, passing on our way the new Roman Catholic Cathedral, whose gigantic spires pierce the clouds. The execution ground we found to be a small enclosed rectangular space, about fifteen yards by fifty, entered by a gate. On the right on entering ran a row of small squalid houses, the habitation of potters whose lough, unbaked work lay all abouton the ground, drying 1 in the sun, but we were informed that it was cleared away when an execution was about to take place. Facing the potters' houses was a high wall, at whose base, and leaning against it, were some large crocks, all of which had their mouths earthed over except one. Here' our guide introduced us to three poorly-dressed China men, whom we noticed gambling at a fan tan table near the gate on our 'arrival. One, a big, brutish-lookingfellow with avillainous cast in one of his eyes, was the hfead execu tioner, and the other two, who were smallish men, , were his assistants. Through our guide we told the head executioner that we wished to see the instruments of his calling, and thereon he produced a short, very heavy two-handled sword and a long knife. The following conversation was carried on be tween' us and this "boss" through' the medium of our guide:—

4' How; do you use this sword ? Where is the block?"—-"We don't use a block. What we do is to make the prisoners kneel down in two rows facing one another, and bending their head down. Then I take the sword, and chop, chop, one on each side, and the heads fall off;; so on, till they're all done, as you'd switch the tops off green weeds with your walking-stick." '

" But you don't always chop a head off with one blow ?"—" Always." . "What is the knife for?"—" For the ling che or death by many cuts. We tie the culprit who is condemned to this death to that cross there (pointing to two rough unbarked sticks roughly crossed),, and. we commence by cutting off the eyelids, etils, nose, and so on, ending by sticking tike lcnifo-into the heart. The cuts vary in number from eight to a; hundred and tAventy, according to the^lieinousness of the culprit's crimes.". "What class of criminals are condemned to the ling che?"—" Parricides,.matricides, and women who have killed and mutilated their husbands form the majority." . "Do the executions interfere with your appetite and sleep ?" ~ . . l/: j i; ; The three executioners grinned sardoni cally at this question, so we asked : " How many pei'sons have you executed in a day ?"—" I have chopped twenty heads off myself in two minutes. See that dark looking place on the ground over there ?— that's caused by the blood of the last batch we had." . ".,, " What is done with the bodies .-?'*— " The friends take the bodies away, but we keep the heads in the crocks over by the wall there, and when we have a large number which are no longer identifiable, Aye bury them. Would you like to see some of the heads ?" , . ■ . : We declined, and one of my companions began to grow pale and complain of hot feeling well, so wo ordered the guide to lead us away. " Gentlemen, give twenty cents each, cumshaw, to the executioners," said the guide,vwhich we gladly did to escape from the staring of the " boss " butcher's swivel ej^e ; and so ended our interview with these High Executioners of the Great Chinese Empire. •■ . L . : '> ..• ::..■■ . ■,: -

One of the queei' things of life is that the man who knows ifc all seldom can tell any of ifc to anybody's satisfaction. " > Those polite members of the House of Representatives.' ' i First Member : " Come; why don't you take-part in the debates? You haven't opened your mouth yet." Second Member : " Ifyrdon ; I r was, ya>vn ing the wholetime you we're speafcingl" *> ;

Three Love Letters.

In the inside-pocket d^i I been white/but was y ello F^^^ wi^ a g e ; and t^le wui|£ with:*>dm*y white;ribboh^w£? ' ■ ribbon anS opened them hS?^ desk at home. "The.ink w™ L\ the letters so worn k,|g S^ they almost fell to pieces Tv thai have bee~ri- folded'"a&T&fofcai? ttUst many timeg They were wriSt^ feminine hand, at a time whensu^^ a: ; was ma small and running chaSr^ m? different from the stiff/irrlguKdf what unreadable scrawl wEh is? n -^ ' to-day, and they bore so old a -date «!¥?■■ - " Troy, June 8 Wr Dear John,-Iknow how/sadK'; you must feel, because I fciow W^ffi I I am. And wewere so, happy;-eJvS ?: only have been as we hoped^£g\ It is very hard to think that this canuS way be for the. best; ■ but p. bSH ought to think so. rPerhaps^ejKS & so some time when, we talk it aU over to gether, and feel the happior because'^ have known how sad separation* is h]l. would be worse, dear, if: I.had lostiaitti you or you had in me. ' would be ffi> worst. Oh, if I could only see1 you'ana'tell" you that I love you, I love you ! £ cannot write, I am so miserable and; unhappy and- I want you so much. ' ' - •r^.'| u*. ' Nor ncedl write-to tell the tale'" !'"' '■■- My pen were doub'y weak. •--=■ i Ah ! what can idle words avail Unless-the heart could speak? ';- . By day or night, in weal and"w6e'J ■•''' m . That heart, no longer free,,-, i Must boar the love it cannot ehbw' Aud, silent, aoheforthee. ' • - . ■ ■ ■ ■■■-■ ■■■■ \h ■'"nn. ~.;: " Troy, June 14,1837, C/ Dearest John,—l have been tryinwito imagine the town as you? describe,'sb'that I might fancy that I werewithybu^ ,Oh;ffl • could be ! It is solohely.1 I Jwatch'a'^tbe • window until it- seems that I must'see'ypu"■■■■'• Down by the bridge'! found a piacethabyoil f ■ cut with your knif ewhen v/e waitedtlieirW night and tried to plan for the::future.c I'"' leaned my cheek against the notch mt&Mst and kissed it, and cried when I thought low far away yon were, and how longifemiglit^S; before I could see you again.■'• ■•But?i^ffbh't: be long, will it ? And you will find'4alts' ■ that we can take when Icometoyou. L, am glad there is a river. 1- Weicari^row on that as we^ used"to.;■'. When^W'talk ■'' it all over by and by, this won't seem aSy thing, will it ? ■ But it is^very hard to:bcar:;. now.: Martha is very kind. Of course I can't say much to her,' butit-.is a:conjd-.:. lation to know that she cares. v-l;Tell>nJe' more about the place, and what yfeare: doing. I want to know all' about; ifc;2and! : feel that lam with you, Once:mqre, rd6ar, I love you, I love you.' ' '• <•<*( : ■"■•■• • . ■ • -'C.^--. ". Troy, July 8,-1837. My Dearest,—We ai-e to leave here.', I don't know why, and. I don't know; for how long. I. believe that we are'.to"tr^iveJ-X-I don't know where, and I don't, I c<u:e!, Jjl want to be left here. What shall Ido 111 cannot hear from you? I must way. We leave to-morrow, 'andi:s^^;* wretched as 1 can be. Only wait',forjj«6,l and I wiU come to you. 1 think of yon, dear, night and day. ; I can see,you and your room. Can you feel that'l^a^^^te you sometimes? I can't tell v/hen I'Sii write again, and I am writing ..flits'ir my room to send to you to-day. I shall fed some way to write. We -are young yet, dearest, and let 'us wait and hope. \I m always, always yours. I love you,'l< love These are t!ie letters. It was difficult fe first1 for me to believe that -the^' L.u< gem written to Brownlow. He was ao dd i.laf I could nob think of him as a young man. After 1 read them I leaned back in mycHair and tried to imagine him as> he: must* tee been when these letters were written to , him, and to picture him standing by -tie bridge with:" C." andcutting the post #i his knife: And then I felltoimagiraiigtie story. What had caused the separatjoii! Why were there but these three '■'letters' Had she forgotten him? Had: she rdfed! Here are the letters, you may tell'ypur own story, and have no excuse for not'Wg perfectly satisfied with -it.—'-'Christian

Care of Infant Life.

Ik the School of Arts, Sydney, lately/^ri Spofforth delivered a very interesting and instructive lecture on " The Care of Irian; Life." There was a goodly gathering of ladies present. The lecturer dwelt' upon the duties of a mother in. caring for her. child, and the rearing -of her. children. With ragard to infant mortality, nearly one out of two infants in Sydiiey! "hefiMlp reached its first birthday died, £hf caf« ' of so numerous a morality are;>ysll"kpj>W^ They are chiefiy/ want of. cleanliness,. W of .ventilation, careless diet and, clothing. ;i In one word, it was defective. liouseiio^l hygiene: Women, arid, the best of .women, are wofully deficient in sanitaryknQ)s^ : although it-is to the> woman 'that we JfSFI:: look first and last for its appUcation,,so ■:-.: far :as household hygiene is "couqctji^:; : Mothers do not know h.QW,,to?gi™ their' children?' Healthful existence, ibey call !it .medical, knowledge, -be.-. ,90 for doctors. If of the"; so;per;cenfc^ infants who die early we ;could know M;:. many are the children of.wetnurses, »», might startle the public. It.is P|«, absurd for infants to wear. long«clo» - ■ What does a babe really want s^doj||:, for ? Sufficient warmth with powder.. to £»>y its limbs was siimcient. Thebabe s^xistenra :  is principally, taken up;in ;three WS 1. feeding, sleeping, ; and;exer« S ing-^g| -Hence the folly .of long' clothes, lv« ; can take the place of niiik, an a^ofg,.... in which our labouring popu a^ou, b.QCO M town and country, are sadly deficie^^M; lecturer had no faultto^indwitha^g and cloth clubs, becauseheMSSJ-JJ, they were preservers of jnfcntfjft J^M clubs were wth them' all. M gjgg of feeding bottles, the lecturer ,ffl*Js* y bottles musb be kep|.P^S^MjifiaJ •■ delicate stomach,of ababerep^^^ anything that is not clean. * °^g J, sour quieter than milk. VFood Wag^, excelLt contrivances. warm;during the ...§s& £^fe; ■ of foods, sold for infants only co torn s a A good food should co "tain staich fco^ jv thl.body, glutfen to bmd W the.gy make flesh, mid.pho^hafe.-g^g^ - bone and teeth, which m »& -| childhood m^MsMSk regards vaccination,-theie at?p^ .^^ found more like m^fokl«:: who were against it..-"W^ ■&'*s&■■ ingocater>ananoherwhg^ 0 humanity,- it assuredly|g rsai dW thesublectofteeth^l^o^^^^. we hear a great, deal, of -M g^j; ■' 0& childfromtho^ b^iMSmm owing to .themismaiiageme^tnitn« faEi /■ accommodation andfdfidg^g^^ . Some mothers are f»g^^ffl infants feel theirfeet , months old. ' This was folly^mtn. - ffeak and was one case 01 ankles, bow legs, Jfto'twoca"^ these distortions Early putting,a child onJusg & . t while the bones of a plentiful j^MSHi|^ ■ milk ;'aM higFtime^w^aV .^i, the poor were, by^ell^^^ fe such matters as this, in J w remedy ypotforth suggested the w i iich is to be,^ >Jlth^ tfor yo«Bg served asa splendid, aj!^- •, j children; " , ,

tm AUCKLAND EViOTING STAB, SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 1887.

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