Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

11 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

......-LITERARY EXTRACTS.

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LITERARY EXTRACTS. IDIK CAPE-TO-CAIRO RAILWAY.—Mr. Stead con- Elues in the October Windsor his interesting account pjf Mr. Rhodes's undertaking. No practical proposal, r. Stead points out, has ever been made yet to con- tract the Cape-to-Cairo line. All that is at present 10 negotiation is the construction of the northward (Extension of the Bechuanaland railway to the gold And coal regions of Rhodesia, which it is necessary to tap in the interests of the colonists themselves. Even if there were no Cape-to-Cairo Grand Trunk line in the air, the building of the railway to the gold region of Gwelo and the valuable coal field of the Jiafungabusi district would be indispensable. for the Bechuanaland Railway Company, we are further informed, needs coal. At present it has to Carry its fuel as well as its freights from the Cape to Rhodesia. Hence its cars return empty. When the Mafungabusi area is tapped, where 70 miles of coal- beds lie waiting the pick of the miner, not only will the railway find fuel, but it will also find mineral to fill the cars at present returned empty. The hundred miles from Buluwayo to Gwelo are all surveyed and pegged out ready for the constructor. From Gwelo to Mafungabusi, a distance of 150 miles, another Section is surveyed, and will be taken in hand I at Once. Beyond Mafungabusi there are over 150 miles to cross before the line will reach the Zambesi. This fiver it is proposed to bridge just outside the Portu- guese frontier, about 500 miles east of thto Victoria Falls, where a short bridge of a quarter of a mile Will carTY the lines across the one great river it will meet on its northward way. Mr. Rhodes hopes. to Cross the Zambesi in five years' time. FRANCE'S CONSCRIPT ARMY.—Are these armed mul- titudes as formidable as mere arithmetic would have 11. think? France, for instance, prides herself upon being able to put in the field millions of trained men. What does this boast amount to ? Upon the outbreak of war, in these days of rapid mobilisation, much—perhaps all—would depend upon the troops first in the field. And these troops, upon whose behaviour in the brunt of sudden battle the salvation of their country might depend, would be—not a body of well-trained fighting-men, leavened with veterans, and relying on their leaders with glad confidence- lJut a crowd of half-taught lads, lacking in thews as well as training, and led—or driven—to battle by officers whom either they have never seen until the day of conflict, or whom they know-dnd hate. As for the reserves, suffice it to say that officers of the active army refuse to regard them seriously, and consider them merely in the light of civilians playing at soldiering. The officers of the reserve (for the most part promoted privates) have received no military education worthy of the name. The non-commissioned officers and men consider I the month they have to serve every other year a hateful episode. Awkward in their unaccustomed uniforms, they do not even look like soldiers, and it would take months of training to convert them into such once more. In point of efficiency thev are, of course, far inferior to our volunteers. But behind these stands yet another line of defence —the territorial army and its reserve—an army com- posed of men who have a faint recollection that they once were drilled. There is something pathetic, as well as absurd, in picturing these middle-aged citizens in time of war, clad in antiquated uniforms, handling unaccustomed weapons, and painfully, if Conscientiously, struggling to acquire a knowledge of new regulations and modern drill. To sum all up, it may be true that Providence is still on the side of the big battalions, but chiefly, we think, when those battalions are well officered, well trained, and animated with all the virtues of the soldier.— Trooper 3809," by Lionel Decle. SIR WALTER SCOTT AND ABBOTSFORD.—Scott had painter's as well as a poet's eye for scenery indeed, he compared a planter to a painter for the exquisite I delight afforded by such employment. The planter," he said, is like a painter laying on feis colonI s—at every moment he sees the effects coming out. There is no art or occupation comparable to this it is full of past, present, and future enjoyment." When the Laird was in Edinburgh attending to his Official duties, he sighed for Abbutsford, and took the liveliest interest in all that was going on there. He writes to the land steward: "George mufet stick in a few wild roses, honeysuckles, and sweetbriars in suit- able places so as to produce the luxuriance we see in the woods, which nature plants herself. Get out of your ideas about expense; it is, after all, but throwing away the price of planting. If I were to buy a picture worth £500 nobody would wonder much. Now, if I choose to let out £100 or £200 to make a landscape of my estate, and add so much more to its value, I certainly don't do a more foolish thing." It is pleasant to see from the Laidlaw MSS. with what alacrity and iteai Bcott's noble friends helped him with kind con- tributions. The of Buccleuch sent bushels of acorns; the Earl of Fife presented seed of Norway pines; a box of fine chestnuts came from Lisbon—the box was sent on from Edinburgh to Abbotsford unopened—and before the factor heard of them they were peeled and rendered useless for planti ng. Confound the chestnuts and those who peeled them," exclaimed Scott, the officious block- heads did it by way of special favour." Scott told his friend Morritt that he never was so happy in his life as in having a place of his own to create. He was perpetually buying land from the needy, greedy, neighbouring proprietors to add to his original pur- chase. It. rounds off the property so handsomely," he says in one of his letters. There was always a Corner to round off." For these neighbouring lands he paid far beyond their market value. On one occa- sion when a friend remarked that for a certain tract tie had paid an exorbitant price, Scott replied good aaturedly, with a shrug of his shoulders, Well, Well, it only is to me the scribbling of another volume more of nonsense." Abbotsford meanwhile from a rustic, cottage in the wizard's hands grew into a fairy palace. The furniture and decorations were of the most gorgeous and princely description, the wainscots of eak and cedar, the floors tesselated With marbles or woods of different dyes, the oeil- ings fretted and carved with the delicate traoery of a Gothic abbey, the storied windows blazoned With the rich-coloured insignia of heraldry, and the walls garnished with the time- honoured trophies, while scattered through the man- sion were rare specimens of art, and sumptuously- bound books, gifts from King George and other friends. His antiquarian tastes were visible every- where. Except his wife's boudoir every room was a museum. Over one mantelpiece hung the sword of the great Montrose, on another Jay the pistols of Prince Charlie. Nor was religion or sport iorgotten. She beautiful marble heads of nuns and confessors, End antlered heads of noble stags adorned the hall, while Maida, the famous staghound, kept sentinel Over the Omnium Gatherum. Such was Abbotsford, Which of all the creations of his genius will probably he the first to perish.— Sir Walter Scott, by James Hay. YAW DYCK.—la an article on the recent celebra- tions in Antwerp of the" Third Century" of Van Dyck, M. Octave Maus gives, in the Magazine of Art, ft "ivid description of the gorgeous procession. He Bays:—Antwerp, where these traditions are held in peculiar honour, has many times distinguished itself by the magnificence of its processions. It was enly natural that it should commemorate with all possible splendour the three-hundredth anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest painters of its School and the commercial capital threw itself heart and soul into this artistic demonstration. It achieved it in the most triumphant way by adopting, Dn the suggestion of M. Auguste Possemiers, the scheme of a procession of which the subject was to he Art through all ages up to the time of Van Dyck. To realise it effectively, the Municipality appealed to those societies which, since 188a, had shown a Kecial skill in representing by living figures every nd of episode of history, manners and Brtistic inventions. From among these it selected— SB it had done in 1802 for the Landjurseel," and in 3S94 for the torchlight procession of the Great Exbibition-ten societies who were to compose the different groups, while a special committee of artists and members of the Municipality decided on the general design. The societies which had the honour Of being chosen were those of the Vriendenschaar, the Leopold, the Verbroedering, the Hoop en Liefde, the Morgenstar, the Jouge Vlamingen, the Albert Grisar's Kring, the Klauwaarts, the Jouge Fontein- isten, and the Vondels. A sum of a hundred thousand francs, to be distributed in prizes and rewards to those associations which should particu- larly distinguish themselves was voted by the town Council. The committee of consultation and Superintendence was further strengthened by the Addition of the most distinguished musicians at Antwerp, that they might agree with the members of the procession as to the measures to be taken to give the musical part of the performance an artistic and archaeological value. TJIus organised, the arrangement of the profession, under the collabora- tion of the most distinguished architects, painters, aad sculptors of the city, could not fail to be both Splendid and artistic, thoroughly correct in its details, and magnificent as a spectacle. The several marches round, all favoured with beautiful weather, roused the throng, collected from all parts, to indescribable enthusiasm. In fact, it was a great delight for men of the best taste to a e thtse various groups of figures, dressed in stuffs ot every hue, making their way 0nder the glorious sunshine along the streets of Antwerp, and the cars, decorated each in the style of the period to which it belonged, With its banners, its orchestra, and ita out-riders. What added to the excitement was that this unwonted magnificence was displayed for the glorification of Art, and the Srtistic purpose of each group found a symoathetio gnpoose in hearts that beat in unison. "[lI. J), "r .R\ WOMEN DETECTIVES.—Under the heading of "They Make Good Detectives," a contributor to Cassell's Saturday Journal writes thus :—" A great deal of good detective work is done by women, but not any of them are officially employed at New Scotland Yard. That may come in the future. More than one, however, is working fairly regularly for the department, but who they are none but the authorities know. They are paid by fees, and frequently receive as much as £10 for a single case. Such secrecy, however, is used in their employment that even their receipts are signed in fictitious names. Women detectives are largely employed by private inquiry agents, and for shadowing a suspected person they would be hard to beat by the cleverest male rival. Much of the evidence procured for divorce cases is obtained by them and just ns it is well to set a thief to catch a thief,' it is advisable to set a woman to catch a woman. They are very clever, too, in such work as writ-serving. You see, no man has any suspicion of a pretty, demure woman, and when, perhaps, he is preparing for a a little flirtation, he finds himself, 'served' before he knows where he is. I don't think it is a lucrative calling, and, certamly, it is an unpleasant one. I know one or two women detectives who make from JE200 to £300 a year, but the work is very precarious. They may make £10 in a week—and, indeed, I know a case where a woman made £100 out of one job-but then they may be many weeks or months without making a penny. To any of your readers whose ambition may lie in this direction, I should certainly say Don't." Ronm.Ù WORK.—Albert Robida is the subject of an appreciative article by M. Octave Uganne in The Magazine of Art. In concluding an enthusiastic review of Robida's work, the writer says :—Robida has just come to the front as an architect: it is he who has planned the Old Paris," which will be one of the wonders of the International Exhibition of 1900. Here will be restorations of the most curious buildings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries— dungeons, towers, barbicans, posterns, streets remini- scent of Rabelais all the work of this strange artist, embodied, constructed vitalised. Near the Pont de l'A.lma a broad stage may already be seen supported on piles, and extending along the shore over the Seine. There, next spring, will rise the buildings chosen for reproduction to give us an idea of old Paris," and there lords and citizens in costumes of the' past will meet the visitor as he enters by the Porte Saint-Michel, and do the hon- ours of the Pre-aux-Clercs, the Pont-au-Change, the old Louvre, the Grand Chatelet, and what not more. A master who is able at once to reconstitute the past so accurately and picturesquely, and to give us such startling visions of the future, certainly deserves to be made known to readers of The Maga- zine of Art; for we rarely find combined in one man so much creative power and such a fertile imagination. LONGFELLOW'S ADVICE.—Madame de Navarro gives some charming pictures of Longfellow in "A Few Memories." She says that every conversation with him led to good result. His first advice to her was See some good picture—in nature, if possible, or on canvas—hear a page of the best music, or read a great poem daily. You will always find a free half-hour for one or the other, and at the end of the year ,your mind-will shine With such an accumu- lation of jewels as to astonish even yourself. "The poet was fond of a good, amusing story, and had many to tell of his own experience. He was particularly delighted at the ingenuity of an enterprising vender of patent medicine, who, vaunt- ing the marvellous effects of his drug, no doubt in the hope of inspiring the poet, invited him to write a verse for the label, promising him a percentage on each bottle, and a free use of the medicine for him- self and family. On one of his birthdays he was astonished at seeing a waggon containing a piano drive up to his house, followed by a strange young lady in a carriage. The young lady informed the housekeeper that she wished the piano to be put in a room where it would sound well,' as she had com- posed a piece of music in honour of the poet's birth- day,and meant to play it to him on her own instrument. Longfellow was a great lover of music, and Wagner appealed to him strongly. We heard several operas together in Boston after my engagement there. He generally arrived before us, armed with flowers, and full of delightful anticipations. On one of these occasions someone sent a magnificent bouquet to our box. Not knowing the donor, I did not take it np. He insisted on my doing so. Put down my simple ones,' he said, and take up these beauti- ful flowers. It will gratify the giver, who is no doubt in the house. Try never to miss an opportunity of giving pleasure; it will make you happier and better.' Kindness was the keynote of his character. No convenience to himself was too great if a good turn to anyone was at the end of it." A HORSE PALACE.—It is evident that the Emperor of Germany does not expect the "horseless age "to arrive very soon. He has under construction, in the outskirts of Berlin, what is to be, probably, the most splendid stable in the world. Outwardly it looks like a palace, and inwardly it has many of the ap- pointments and characteristics of one. Certainly horses were never more palatially lodged than they will be here. The stable is being erected by the Imperial architect, Herr Ihne. It occupies a superficial area of more than two acres. There will be roomy and com- fortable box stalls for 270 horses, and carriage house space for more than 300 car- riages. In the centre of the whole will be a two- storey building where the Imperial coachmen, grooms, stable-boys, and so forth, with their families, will be lodged. Eighty families will have quarters in the building; the drivers or coachmen will be at least 50 in number. The stable will be provided with horse elevators, telephones, and electric lights, and the walls of the carriage-houses and other portions of the building will be beautifully decorated with paint and gilding by the best decorative artists in Berlin. The cost of the stable is estimated at seven millions of marks, or more than £200,000. Three years will be employed in its construction. CRIPPLES AT WORK.—In an article on Work and Play in Crutch-Land" in the Quiver, Miss D. L. Woolmer gives an interesting description of the various trades carried on at the Home for Crippled Boys, known as Woolsthorpe House, Kensington: Amongst the orders executed in Woolsthorpe for Royalty, she states, was a large doll's house sent to I Siatn by the direction of the King. Low enamelled tea-tables, presses, bookcases, and a handsome otto- man box were in process. In each department, work has to be suited to the strength and capacity. A head may be full of intelligence, though it is set back on the shoulders like that of a fledging hedge sparrow, and the limbs beneath it may be of fair strength. Ono such stunted figure belonged to one of the few apprentices strong enough to stand and work the press in the relief stamping and copper-plate printing room. Defects in arms and loss of fingers are not a bar to the manipulation of visiting or printed cards, nor to obtaining good wages in this calling. The relief stampers sit two and two, an adept and a learner, at each press, along a counter: the one stamps addresses or crests, plain or in colours, the other looks on and lays out the sheets to dry. One lad has the attractive work of filling in the gold and silver as required. Under the law that governs Nature, every living thing must produce something useful or beautiful in order to gain her smile of contentment. Poetry can discern a plant rejoicing in its own flowers and fruit. It needs little imagination to ob- serve a face chastened and prematurely aged by Buffering light up with pleasure over an irreproach- able specimen of copper-plate writing, or an artistic device stamped and finished off in three different Colours. The harness and saddlery department also offers opportunities for decorative taste. Twenty- three boys are employed in the leather room. The designs on blinkers and bridles are less likely to be lost on them than on their high bred wearers. Horses^probably are better able to appreciate the well- stuffed collars. The Drive in Hyde-park sees the harness that comes from this Home, but knows little of the makers. The tailoring department is perhaps the most useful to the community, for it under- takes all the mending and making be- sides turning out high class work. The skilled craftsmen, in the four trade taught in the institution, have seldom any difficulty in obtaining situations. Ex-pupils who have risen to be master engage assis- tants from amongst their successors in Woolsthorpe. The photographs of old boys that adorn the walls are illustrations of its history. Of each there is some- thing to tell. To their teachers and friends, they must be a part of the evidence that labour bestowed on boys whose need is their only claim is not in vain. "'There is one with his wife and six children." Six children ?" Yes, that is no rarity. One or two old boys have eight; but I never heard of any crippled children amongst them. That one maintains his parents but you are not going to put that down ?" This was to arrest an entry in a note-book. Numbers have done the same. One supports a blind father. This one has his own shop; he manages it himself, and is succeeding well. You can see his face looking through the window. His wife and children are at the door." One of the instructors might well declare that this Home had saved the public in poor rates alone an untold sum. Left untaught, most of the lads would have gone to the Union. Now, instead of • being paupers, they increase the nation's wealth.

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