Page 4 Advertisements Column 4

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1982, 18 January 1907, Page 4

HAPPENINGS IN THE CAPITAL. DOMESTIC WORKERS. By “Ponolopo.” WELLINGTON, Tuesday. According to the newly-born, union, tho term servant is not a fit title to apply to tlioso who —m return lor very oxcolloiit wages and various other inducement's —do our housework for us. They aro to ho styled domestic workers, to have sot hours and holidays, and fixed wages, lho matrons of Wellington aro seriously agitated over tho mutter. A nunibei ol them aro eagerly searching ior servants, inserting advertisements with various enticing baits, but with no result. I was looking over some very old nowspapors this week, and was struck with tho difference in tho stylo of advortisomonts for mauls hlty yonrs ago to that of to-day. _ lho iiioiioor matron did not cajole tho reluctant servant with promises .of every night out, or stato as an inducement there wore no cliildicn. Sho sot forth her wants with commondnhlo brevity. Hero is one: “Wanted, two fomalo servants. Apply ,J. Mason, Taita.” Anothor runs, “Wanted, a foinalo sorvant oi all work,” and as the demand was not repented, site probably, appeared. A woman who wants a situation states in tho advertisement that sho is middle-aged, and desires to go as housokoepor to a gentleman or to take charge of a family. Sho adds sho is good at dressmaking and millinery. Suoli a domestic treasure surely was not long unclaimed. A curious point has arisen over the citing of employers by the Domestic Workers’ Union. At the last meeting, only attended, by tho bye, by hlteon, it was decided to cite a hundred Wellington employers. And there lias boon soino trepidation among liousowivos, who dread the fateful summons, and yet aro warned not to neglect it, if it comes for lear of vaguely unpleasant consequences. It has just occurred to some that, 'after all, tho alleged head of tlio liouso is tho employer, and it is the husband who will liavo to defend his ease, and give his opinion as to liow long a girl ought to take to do her hair, or how many nights out she ought to have. There would be a largo and interested feminine audionco to witness the examination of tho witnesses if this view turns out to bo correct HM.S CAMBRIAN.

This second-class cruiser,_ a solid, threatening, grey hulk, is lying ill the harbour. Sinco lior last visit in February, she has been in many places. Tahiti, Faster, and Pitcairn Islands, South Aniorica, and Panama, and the ollicors —when you can get them to talk, for naval men as a rule aro shy to speak about their own experiences huvo a host of quaint' rominisconcos. A danfo in Spanish America on torn matting, with dark-oyed donnas for partner’s, was kept up in ono house till the provisions gave out, and continued ill another whore the larder was full Then there was the shooting by Captain Gaunt, who was wounded in a skirmish in Abyssinia, and limps still, of a ten-foot crocodile, and its carriago to the ship in the skiff, whore it snapped its great jaws continuously, to the dismay of the seamen in charge, who, by the time the skiff reached the Cambrian, was seated as far astern as ho could get, away from his unpleasant passenger, whoso skin is at present in picklo aboard the cruiser. Of Potcairn Island, too, one learnt many interesting things, of its wonderful fertility—its two roads aro bordered with flaming scarlet geraniums set in high hedges, and fruit and flowers, aro in bounteous profusion—of its inhabitants, Soventli Day Adventists, who have no wholesome vices, only one man smokes, and ho is a recent arrival, of their mode of Government with two committees, and of tlieir wo-men-kind, who speak. English with a Tahitian accent, omitting the consonants, and who aro not at all in keeping with the beauty of their surroundings. Easter Island, with its weird huge stone figures, about whose origin there is such mystery, was also visited. These images wore carved out of the solid rock, and all aro of tlio North American typo. They have beon carried to tlio place where they no wstand, fifteen miles, by what moans it is impossiblo to say.

AN INTERESTING INTERIOR, Captain Gaunt’s cabin is a fascinating place, full of quaint odds and ends from various parts of the world, cliielly perhaps from China, where he was British Commissioner at Wei-liai-wei for years. Two great temple lanterns hang from the ceiling, a tiger skin lies on the floor, splendid brasses from Chinese temples are on the walls, and a wonderful red lacquered chair, also from a temple, stands in front of a white cabinet with bits of priceless china and the captain’s various orders. Here tliore is a tom-tom covered witn what is said to be human skin, and there a magnificent hammered silver box, a wedding present. It is a perfect museum of curiosities, but it must bo an unpleasant domicile in rough weather, delightful as it looks just now, with the picturesque ports wide open, giving cool glimpses of the ripplod silver of the harbor. War boats roll tremendously,and in the captain's quarters the motion is at' times extraordinary. The officers’ wardroom boasts a piano, and we were assured that, during a gale, it jumped over tlio table and was found the other side of the room. This is not so extraordinary as the yarn—l tell the tale as ’twas told to me—of an officer who, in common with his follows, had two large deep drawers below his ’bunk. When the ship rolled they slipped in and out, and a worse roll than usual tossed tlio man out of bed, into the drawer, which the noxt roll shut tightly, making its occupant a helpless prisoner. Life in a warsnip is not all junketing, and must become most deadly monotonous. It is romarkable liow many naval men desire to settle down inland. SOCIAL NOTES.

The wedding of the week was that of Miss Fanny Webb, daughter of Lieut.-Colonel Webb, to Mr Leonard Hewitt. The bride is n handsome girl and wore a very i-icli Cliineso sills: frock with fine lace, her three bridesmaids, her pretty younger sister, Miss Hewitt' and Miss Maokellar, being in dainty white muslins, with rose-wrea-thed crinoline straw hats. A very quiet wedding was that of Mr Norman Dalston, secretary of the New Zealand Times Co., to his cousin, Miss Mason,who arrived in the Gothic with her uncle, Mr Dalston, of London, who intends to see a good deal of Now Zealand. Ho has gone to Rotorua and Wliangarei, where ho has a son settled.

There are to be various changes in Government House this coining season. Gapt. Braitliwaito will havo to have a successor, and now Capt. Bingham is leaving in April. So for some months Lord Plunkot will be without an aide. The latest Wellingtonians to dccido on a trip Home are Dr. ana Mrs Fitchctt, who go by the Messageries Maritimes. There is much satisfaction over the new appointments of Dr. Hay and Dr. Valentine. Both are regarded as nj,ost capable men, and immensely popular. Dr. Hay is artistic, a good amateur actor, and a clever talker, while Dr. Valentino is the cheeriest and most amusing ot companions. Miss ITay, Dr. Hay’s sister, left for India on Saturday last. She will bo away six months. Miss Gibson, of Morton, is a guest of Mrs Malcolm Ross.. The two Miss Reynolds, of Gisborne, passed through Wellington on their way to Mt. Cook last Thursday. ~ A FAMOUS BAND. Tho famous and much-advertised Besses o’ the Barn Band must have been very pleased with their reception on their arrival in Now Zealand. The members of the band are dressed in a trim uniform and are a smart-look-ing lot. There is no mistaking where they come from—Lancashire was writ largo in their dialect and their conversation. Tho one pity is that poor old Sodden was not here to welcome liis countrymen, for it was at his invitation that they had comp. When Mr Seddon visited Lancashire they gave him a good time, and ho would have “spread” himself had he been here to welcome them now. Ono ot the mottoes, by tho way, that greeted Mr Seddon on his return a few years ago to Lancashire was, “I’ve come whoam!” In other words, “I havo come home.” When Mr Seddon’s mortal remains came back to Wellington a New Zealand Times reporter, describing the scene somewhat appropriately, used the same words to describe the scene —“I’ve come whoam 1” The intelligent! “sub.” however, altered it to “1 have come: who am I?” Mr Seddon was not there to welcome “the Besses,” hut Sir Joseph Ward did it very well, and in very much shorter time than Mr Seddon would have done it. The scene in the evening when the bandsmen left., in the Mararoa for Lyttelton was somewhat exciting. A crowd of between three and four thousand people had assembled, and so dense was the throng and so keen the desire to sec tho last of “the Besses,” that it burst tho barricades and poured in a dense stream down to tho ship. The scene as the steamer glided out from the wliarl with the massed local bands playing “Auld Lang Syne” and the ship's bugler responding with “You’ll Remember Me,” while the crowd cheered was quite inspiriting. Ono of tho men in tho local Garison Band, curiously enough (Smith, tho trombone), who