Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1926-08-26, Page 7PRINCE OF WALES, FAMILY... ORATOR, WRITES ALL HIS OWN SPEECHES Consults Experts, Dictates R Copy in Pencil and Reh at 1-1 By Walter T, Roberta. In taking the chair at the opening of the Brit eIt Association at Oxford on August 8 and in making the presiden- tial speech the Prince of Wales did something that no Prince of Wales has, yet dons. The last member of the royal family to take the chair was Prince Albert, the husband of Queen. Victoria. The speech has been a dif- ficult one for the Prince to prepare, as ,it must of neoesslty.deal with modern scientific developments., This, however, is not by any means the first time in which the Prince of Wales has had to speak en subjects of which he knows little. His practice in preparing such a speech is to get the material from experts on the subject. Inman the material so supplied he Makes a rough draft of the speech. He dictates this draft to a shorthand writer. When the draft is completed at least two of the experts whom he has consulted are summoned to York. House again, when the Prince reads the draft to them in order to see that there are no technical errors. Speech to be Broadcast. The Prince has had to be especially careful in the preparation of his speech to the British Association, which will be deliverAed to scientists of world-wide reputation and will be broadcast throughout the world. The Prince actually read the 'draft 'of this leech three times to experts before he was advised that the technical mat- ter it oontain•ed waa correct. When the draft of a speech of this kind is completed the Prince writes in pencil the whole o1 the speech he in- tends to deliver and learns it by heart, s for he rarely delivers a speech from ough Draft, Makes Complete earses Finished Product omen notes, When he is what inay be Gallen "part" ,perfect in the speech he re' hearses it fn the Presence of a few mem' hers of his household and the speech is then ready for delivery,. It may be mentioned that the Prince of Wakes has not since the end of the war allowed any one to write his speeches for him. In this practice he follows the exanij 1e of bis father, who has always composed his own speech- es, although King Edward invariably left the composition of his speeches to others. Two Speeches. Were Difficult. In his earlier days the Prince of Wales was beset with an extraordinary nervousness which marred his speech- es and sometimes rendered them al- most unintelligible to his audience. Now he bas quite conquered this ner- vousness and barring the fact that oc- casio'ully he allows his voioa to drop rather too low, his speeches are easy for his audience to follow, and there is a melodiousness in his voice that makes him pleasant to listen te": • •' - There are two speeches which the Prince regards as the most difficult he had made. One was made shortly after. his eighth birthday at a lunch party given in his honor by a lady who was a friend of Queen. Mary, then Duchess of York. The lady had given a silver sword to the Prince and, ac- cording to his father's direction, he had to express his thanks formally for the gift at the conclusion of the lunch. The Prince stood upon a chair and with considerable dignity and in e clear voice said: "I thank you very greatly for giving me such a beautiful word. I shall always keep it and shall always remember this pleasant party." Preserving Our Wild Life. "Great efforts are being made to pre- serve our wild life." "Yee, there never was a time when our universities and calleges were given such large sums," Big Diamond Found. A six -karat red diamond of a rare type Lias -been_ found at the Kimberly diamond nines. Besides the King, the Duke of St. Albans has the right of driving in a carriage down Rotten Row, in Hyde Park, because he holds the hereditary office of Grand Falconer of England. A Menace to. Music. The greatest •menaoe to the nn.sical profession is the anti -musician who has absolutely no appreciation for music, nor any musical understanding, but who persists in excluding music from every gathering, thus discourag- ing many from studying music. It is evident that some people dislike music and cannot see the necessity for musi- cal -evolution, but simply because a certain person dislikes music that is no reason why these should be induced to waste musical ambition; but such is frequently the case, particularly with some parents; who : consider music an idle diversion and money expended for musical instruction an absolute waste. If non-musical parents were instruct- ed along musical lines -and were taught the true value of musical development, there would be many more greater musicians existing to -day. While music is studied more exclusively at the present time than ever before, and most homes are supplied with musical instruments, it is nevertheless true that music is the least understood of any branch of learning, A man who will not help others is not, himself, worthy of being helped. BRITAIN CALLS ON LITERATE TO ESTABLISH CORRECT PRONUNCIATION England has found .an answer to the question of what to do with its poe laureates. Dr. Robert Bridges, the pre- sent incumbent of this honary office has been made chairman of an lin portant committee to standardize the pronunciation of the English language tor the British Broadcasting Company. Other members are George Bernard Shaw, Sir Johnston Forbes -Robertson, Professor Daniel Jones and Lloyd dames. Correot pronunclation is a matter of usage, and this committee will In- fluence the way English is pronounced daily for eight to ten million people, iso in time the comfnittee will fix the habits of the entire nation. Most of the authors of dictionaries are experts In determining what the usage is. But this committee will establieh usage. They are pronunciation dictators, and • will de more to dominate spoken Eng- lish than any body of men that ever existed. I made about "capitalist" which many t cultured English -men, particularly 1those whose culture begins with a 111 capital 0, pronounce "Ca-pitt-alist," • with the accent on the second syllable. Is the first "1" hi "minority" and in I "simultaneous" long or short? Should i the "h" be sounded in "humor"? Is it • "golf" or "gof!"? And must the future world follow the students of Oxford and Cambridge and call it "laBORa- 1 tory"? Is the old Roman orator to be "Cicero" or "liickero"? Power of Radio. There you have the power of the radio. And it is even stronger than it seems. For what finally becomes cor- rect English is likely to become equal- ly correct Canadian, and American, and Australian. And the only svay ,to escape these Mussolinis of pronuncia- tion In America, It would seem would be to set up a similar committee there, and to permit this committee to dom- ineer over all the announcers of all the btindreda of American stations. By rtlaeer weight of numbers the usage of 0,000,000 American 'speakers of Elm 3 tth would carry the field against the image of 45,000,000 British speskerp. 40 as broadcasting in America !a not. ally' to be centralized and national - ed, as in l]nglab.d, Dr. Bridges and fir: Shaw may fee fairly confident of being able to dictate to America of the aaxt generation how to pronounce ltd language. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Shaw will impose leis will oft posterity, g,nd regolro it to eay ''l,ls-pi e," in- Itt, d of "eyeae/ te," as is usually said no* by moat eauea e4i aria fu .moatrt1h $$ r � � tt i .�1�t`9te Advocate Pure English. Ever since broadcasting took a . strong hold on England, the lovers of puro English have realized what a chance the radio offered for cleansing the national speech. Some persons have taken the opportunity so serious- ly as to suggest that the Government should employ as announcers such eminent purists as Sir Johnston Forbes -Robertson and Miss Sybil Thorndike, who should be permitted to give little dis•courses, simply to accus- tom English ears to the beet diction. But the task will probably remain with the pres•ent announcers. They are, as it happens, a splendid set of speakers. The voice of the nameless anuounaer of the London station, who addresses the largest permanent radio audience in existence, Is as well known as many great men are known in the i flesh. 1-Iis l nglist is not too sing- ; songy, it escapes the affectations of the modern .Oxford school, it is' rather i nearer Harvard that Oxfo rl. He talks Iwith case and elegance, rarely stumb- les over a phrase, speaks distinctly without •over -clarity. Many of those Who hear hint every evening, tired as they aro after the clay's work, must feel that they have a distinguiohed and accomplished visitor beside the hearth, and welcome Win an•d heed Ina for all his dis.enibodied existence. It is not known what his name is. There was a time when the an.noufee1-s were iheniSelv.es announeed. But with their sua'a voices they broke too many hearts through the other, and were Inundated with love letters to Wadi a point that anonymity became k}eir only rotuge ADAMSON'S ADVENTURES (Copyr! ht. 1024. by Tho Sell Syn tate, Inc:) Not So Good Orn 1 -lis Feet. A Contrast in Seasons. Cumberland. above the two thousand - August is wet, generally, in Scot- foot mark, just where the Stagshorn land, but when you are in Scotland you moss begins; and the wild raspberry won't mind rain, or had better not. which here is found cn the tops of the. . And the Scottish summer tee- bills, and in Scotland at the bottoms, lights are things to remember. They . . • In Norway you will have the are overdone in Norway, where they cranberry and the saeterberry; but in go behind the hill for five minutes and Norway you will want nothing so long begin the day before you have thought as there are cherries. I know Kent of going to bed. You can't keep that very well ---but its cherries are not as up—but It is exciting enough at first. good as those of Norway.—Maurice The great charm of the Norwegian Hewlett, in "Last Essays." Summer to me is that it includes what we call Spring. The other season in Gardens.that country is Winter, which begins in September and ends with May. Crab apples, peaches, plums and pears, Then, immediately. Summer begins: Heavy the branches bang and low! the grass grows and is ready for the, Each tree is a store that displays its scythe, the cherries flower and get wares; ripe and are eaten --all at ouce. You How their vivid colors twinkle and get those amazing contrasts there glow! which you only. have in mountainous' Mulberries, luscious cherries, prunes, countries; which I. remember most' Quinces, apricots, all of these, vividly crossing the Cevennes from. Le Made crisp by autumns, or sweet by Puy to Atlas. On the watershed I wasJunes, picking daffodils, only just ready to be j Are the pretty gifts of orchard trees! picked; in the valley of the Ardeche' they were making hay, and roses were Cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, beans, dusty in the hedges. I slid. from • Endive, peas, potatoes, corn, March into June—in twenty minutes. • Cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, greens, You will not be so piqued in Eng -1 Celery fresh with dew each morn! land; yet if your taste lies in the way i Lettuce cool in its lettuce bed; of strawberries, for instance, you can i Beets, each color and tint we find; do pretty work even in England. You Arti•ohokes, onions, peppers red— can begin in Cornwall, or Scilly, and l These are the gifts of gardens kind! have your first dish in early May, or late April, with clotted cream, of ' Oh, a house though pleasant can never oourse. Then you can eat your way I be through the western shires to Hemp-; A home, till It has an orchard tree; shire . . . in June . . . You can go i And vegetables that proudly grow on to the Fens and find them ready for 1 All in a neat little, sweet little row! you in early July. In August you will f —Mary Carolyn Davies. find them at their best in Cumberland, I. and in October, weather• permitting, you will have them on your table in a All the is lovely, Scotland. After that, i1 you . Life is world really care for strawberries, you must : fair; it leave this kingdom, and perhaps go to • They are sweet et and who find California. I don't know. I Desolate and bare, The Summer will give you better Smiles and birds and roses throng berries than the strawberries, in my Every heart that thrills with song; opinion. It will give you the wild If one has the eyes to see, strawberry . . . Then there Is the Beauty bides eternally. bilberry, which wants cream and a For the heart that's loving, great doal of tooth -brush afterwards, I Lave is everywhere. and the blueberry, which grows in ! —Thomas Curtis Clark. Song. Patience. A simple word, and yet so hard to learn, For all my life the bonds of circum- stance Have chafed my spirit. Even now I yearn For that which is not mine, and hope that chance May bring the wished -for treasure to my side, Valued the more the more It is denied. The poets tell me to regard the stars Who all night long their patient watches keep; Their placid faces do not show the scars Of vain regret: they neither sigh nor weep. But have the stars a soul that feels the woe That human souls- like mine must daily know? I must be patient, yet I will not look Unto the stars whose peace is not for nie, Whose mind, if there be such, must be a book Unread of mortals, in which sym- pathy Is surely found; but I will rather Look unto One who evermore is Father. —H. 'r. J. Coleman. Men on Mrs's Several scientists have come to the conclusion that Martians actually exist, and are a race.not very different from our own. They are sand to have proofs that Mars is in the condition that the earth is approaching—that Is, a desert. Wind erosion has removed the mountains and hills and the seas have disappeared. The canals are not ditches nor water -courses, but vegeta- tion on each side of co•nduite of water used as routes of traveI. These scientists also hope to prove that beings of an intelligence and a civilization far in advance of ours exist on Mars. Aches in the Wrong Place! While the hands and arias spent to be doing most la a game of tennis, It is in the logs that fatigue is first felt. This sort of thing holds good in neer* lY all games, as well as In the varioud forms of manual labor. It is not the most used, muscles that are most sub-' ject to fatigue, but rather theae that are kept under tension though doing comparatively little work. It you watch a man sawing he seems to be using mainly his arms and shoulders. Yet in sawing, it is the muscles .of the calves of the legs that are the first to give out, :and on the next day the unpractised sawyer feeld very stiff 1n the loins. It is the same with rowing. The muscles of the calve* and of the Instep are most severely taxed during early training, It is perhaps to be expected that af- ter the first day's hunting of the sea- son, a man should complain of stiffness in the thigh muscles, But It is not so clear why, after a dance, the muscles that suffer most arae those of the back "1 and shoulders. On the other hand, in playing golf fatigue begins• in the legs. So far as the arms and shoulders are concerned,: one might go on round after round without any sensation of tiredness. It is the same with people who work standing at a bench. The writer once spent months pack' lng oranges—packing up to seventy, boxes a day—during which time he handled -and wrapped sane ten thous- and oranges. It was his legs and es- - pecially his feet that suffered, not his arms or hands. In the same way the baker suffers from leg fatigue and •often from vara; cose veins, while the muscles of arms and shoulders, though they seem to be doing all the work, do not tire at all. On the other hand, a blacksmith finds that his back aches after an unusually hard day's work. In fencing, the muscles that first feel fatigue are those of the right shoulder, whilein violin playing it is the left hand that is the first to suffer. But a young violinist who is still learning says that after hard practising he fluds that his neck muscles have gone stiff. Following a long day of fly fishing the neck muscles stiffen. Yet in fly fishing all the work is done with the right arm, and principally from the el- bow. One of the few pursuits in which the expected happens is ordinary digging, which produces the ache just where the strain has been greatest—namely in the small of the back.—B. T. C. Her Cold Feet. "Did you get cold- feet when you first thought of asking your wife• to marry you,,,, "No—got 'em after I married her." Nazariteship. Nazarites was a term used to desig- nate among the Jews those persons, male or female, who had consearated themselves to God by certain acts of a.bstinenoe, which marked then off, or separated them from the Hebrew na- zar, meaning to separate. They were particularly forbidden to use wine or strong drink of any des- cription, grapes—whether wet or dry —and could not shave their heads. In the sixth chapter of the Book of Numbers, from the first to the twenty- first verse, will be found the law laid: down for the governanee of the Nan - rites, The only examples of the class menttiened In the Scriptures are Sam- son, Samuel and John. the Baptist, who were devoted Pram birth to that oon- dition, although the law appears to contemplate only 'temporeary and: vol- untary, rather than perpetual Maser riteship. Darby awl Joan. The house was my Darby; I was its Joan, Yet before winter I left it alone. In the city' morning I used to wake and hear Its faroik whisper In my ear: "Why did you leave met I thought you were tate; It will be ahard winter, Lacking you. "'you knew the goldenrod, But you do not know The late, white blossom I, Of the snow." I heard this many d'.bys Breaking my reet, ' Till' came back one Saturday To my empty nest. w * • Leaving Monday morning, At the road's turning I saw its gable eyes Atter ole yearning. I beard the calling sound Of RS little brook, I bad not the fortitude ' Against that forlorn look. .. n� I could net bear the mourning ....:.:r.r acs:,.,.r..ai�..sot£. �v.• x�: _ Of that reproeebrntl sono.. e ables now, Tourists In Jasper Park preparing for Ririe up 011.0 of the niountnin trails. The Canadian Rookies are be- A1 lllive teain yearThreroirGw•d, frig regarded as the gr.teet s,cenlo playground hi the world. S est idlYrir Ontailits1