Recent revelations as to the way in which our leading Statesmen keep
themselves fit have been almost entirely concerned with their physical
recreations. Further investigations make it clear that they owe their
fitness quite as much to diet, to alternating one form of brain-work
with another or to the consolations of music.
Thus Mr. BALFOUR, who has little time for golf nowadays, finds his most
refreshing recreation in reading the speeches of Lord NORTHCLIFFE,
co-ordinating them with those of BURKE and PERICLES, and setting them to
music in the style of HANDEL, his favourite composer.
Lord RHONDDA finds his chief solace in gratifying his literary tastes.
In philosophy he is at present a convinced Rationalist. He is devoted to
the study of BACON, but not averse from the lighter sort of fiction,
having a special preference for cheerful stories published in a cereal
form.
The PRIME MINISTER, it may not be generally known, recruits his energies
by frequent perusal of the plays of SHAKSPEARE. At present he is
conducting a correspondence with Sir SIDNEY LEE and Professor GOLLANCZ
on the esoteric significance of _Labour's Love's Lost_.
Mr. WINSTON CHURCHILL is a voracious novel-reader of catholic tastes.
Just now he is revelling in _Called Back_ and _The House on the Marsh_,
which are being read aloud to him by his private secretary.
Mr. ARTHUR PONSONBY, M.P., the Democratic Controller, is a confirmed
fruitarian, and attributes his robust health to a diet of Morella
cherries and Carlsbad plums, washed down with Stockholm tar-water.
Mr. JOHN BURNS, who happily describes himself as "a dormant volcano" has
of late found an agreeable stimulant in the performance of solos on the
muted first violin.
Lastly, Mr. LEO MAXSE keeps himself keyed up to concert pitch by coining
new nicknames for Lord HALDANE. The list already extends to four
figures.
* * * * *
"Khartum has the reputation of being a very hot place this time
of year. But last June must have been fairly damp if the
meteorological statistics published by the 'Sudan Times' are
correct. The rainfall during this month amounted to no less than
33.6 kilometres. No wonder a man I know there wrote to say the
other day that sometimes the rain is too heavy for him to go on
sleeping on the roof, and this in spite of a waterproof sheet. A
life-belt would probably be more useful."--_Egyptian Mail_.
Only NOAH'S Ark would really meet the case.
* * * * *
[Illustration: _First Tommy_. "WHAT ARE YE GOING TO DO WITH IT?"
_Second Tommy (with tiny prisoner)._ "FIX IT ON THE BONNET OF THE
GENERAL'S MOTOR-CAR."]
* * * * *