Whatever other virtues Englishmen mayrhave, they are not general-Iy- considered briliane dinner. con-Versationalists, There, was once French lady in Shanghai who had number of English friends. "At the last of a series of dinner. parties at which the topic. of Conversation hed remained. invariably the same, the lady turned, 2 Tittle exasperated, to her _reighhour and said: "Oh, you English, You tale always pony, pony, pony. Apart from the fact that she pronounced it porrly, porrly, pony, She" was right. Fortunately. the: lady is not here now or we, too might come in. for some of her cryptic sallies; for—at the even-more damning epithets, my readers—1 also "am going talk' porrly' once again.
There are two ways in which people in" Shanghai talk about ponies. To the casual listerer each Is about as boring "and incor, sensible as the, other. One complicated medley of terms which fneltdes such phrases as... "did nile" in two "six. this mornin No, not a hope, "Yes, the. pony's fast alright: but he stinks." "Colossal ramp, of courte, Took at the dividend!"
Those who have. suffered at the hands of such speakers, will be glad to know that they will not begin a ring. Like'the tortoise they hibernate, and Hie very low and quiet during the winter months.
Trio. They will be giving ihe' concerts at' the Amert fan Women's Clubs one on Decete Ser 'T™and the other "on the hind." The' programme for the frat recital cantatas one number a plane solo—whick from description sound 30 fascinating original that T cannot rest telling Jou about Tk. itis entitled Gores from. an Exhibition" by" Moussorgaky, and this fs the theme wifhere'ig rst Prelude calles Promenade" which, is intended 0 convoy the idea of the "composer ial among the iteres: vepetted teroughont the com: Position aa the player describes ons picture and waders om to the nex, fiat picture "The "Gnome which vepfesonts a dwarf, who to with faltering steps on his Hide "rooked legs' Next is The Old" Castles" an' italian castle the Middle" Ages in front of Wi "minstrel ings is songs, Nexe omer a. feeGng impression children quarrelling at play the HRuteries "gardens "in Parts. "And then a delicious. one entired the thet of the unharshed. Chickens, followed by a sketch of "French market women bargaining,—There another eerie "picture name] Catncombs" which portrays the side of the catacombs, of Paris, by iignt of a lanterns. here "the skulls rutse 'a soft radiance over citala: that are being given by the programmes for the two re-'Trio' are in full respective 1 Tri in Bat maor—Op Allegro moderato Lo 1M, Pictures from an Exhibition like the tortoise But it is my sad duty to have to form all sufferers that etaer and Just as bad—pony talkers will take their place during the cold. season, hey are beginning already. A. meeting (in spite of the fact that was" private) was. sufficient. to sturt them eff. The fact that. the country will soon be open seems to ave riged them al 0 the ultimate Wil start; ud thie te the kind of excitement. Soon the
conversation that the foremen ed, Prench Indy protested against.
"or course, I had the hunt in my hands. "If (Kipling simply isn't in twenty pounds lighter, and if Td wth there ity' Tad een about been up on a decent sized Z instead of a little rat of a ought it at the Monin #0 near homes if T hadn't lost paper After the ast check, and if (thie the final one) T hadn't gone al ping, past that last platform, would have won the hunt."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.