PERSONAL PARS.

NZ Truth, Issue 73, 10 November 1906, Page 1

PERSONAL PARS.

Well done, Nelson Illfingworth, Sydney's own sculptoi". His bust of Seddon is universally acclaimed "the best portrait of the late Premier m the. exhibition."

Late cable from St. Petersburg : The woman concerned m the recent removal of . money from -. a Treasury van m St. Peters-burg is a Jewess named Bokoyavlinskaya. When -arrested the *woman had no money .m her possession. It is stated that she would have escaped had not her moniker got tangled up m her skirtsofiski and trippedheroffi the perpendicular ski. ■* • . . • . ■

Mr Hone Heke was ■& very interested spectator during the opening of the Exhibition. The New South Wales exhibit of timbers found a special attraction for him, and he had to admit that the Mother State of Australia could give us a point or two m the way of hard^ woods, but he always got even by inducing his N.S.W. acquaintances to "Come and see the fernery." . New Zealand is an easy first there.

Brief excerpt from the report of one of the ex-New Zealand bounder jawy Judkins's meetings' m Sydney ; "Occasionally the chairman pulled Judkins by the coat-tail, and tried- to curb his insolence and stem the torrent of his abuse of his opponents. The Judkins vocabulary is limited— it consists of "rogues, criminals, riffraff, thieves, organised bands nl criminals, bullet-head, ugly~ face,", and similar trivialities. It's, the spite he puts into the diatribe that causes the dander of the sports to rise.

Mr Harold Ashton, who recently arrived from America to take up Miss Tittell Brune's tour, expects to be m Wellington with the Opera Company at ' Christmas time, and will shortly afterwards -pilot the "Squaw Man" through this country i Harold secured the rights of the "Squaw Man" for , -Mr Williamson when m the States a few months back; and he is going to father the show through New Zealand. • Speaking to a "Truth '■* man the other day he said, "It's a sort of show I'm sure, you'll like." Any show, that brings Harold along is welcome.

Mclntyre, director of exhibits at the bis show m Christohurch doesn't seem to have the hang of things somehow. He is supposed to direct the workmen who clean up the place every night, but he knows so much about it that the men never know whether they are to work or otherwise,- and on Saturday last one batch were told by a policeman stationed at the entrance to the buildings that they w«re not waoited. On Sundae night they were sacked because they didn't roll up on Saturday. If a lunatic from Sunny side would only escape from his keepers, and toddle off down to the glorified warehouse at the bottom of Armaghstreet and order the whole show to shut up the chances are that nobody would doubt his authority for. a moment, but just pack up their things and go home.

The next New Zealand Chess Congress, which is to be run under the auspices of the Canterbury Chess Club, and which commences on December 26, will be the most important ever held m the colonies. Arrangements have already been made for it, and some of the 'best players who pawn their suits to win, or check an opponent who wears a check suit, will be m Christchurch to contest supremacy. One entry was actually received from Buenos Ayres, from Mr R. Sainsbury, who happens to belong to three clubs m the Argentine, and hails from either Napier or Gisborne. The Chess Congress threatens to be the biggest held m the Australasian colonies, and W. S. Pascoe, he .of the specs and the cenial, winnins: manner, is the secretary, and a good secretary at that.

By the will of the late Hon! Ebenezer Vickery, of Sydney, which has been admitted to probate, the deceased's sor>s Ebenezer and George Begg Vickery, and his daughters Amy Alfreda Vickery. ani Mary Jane Waterhouse—failing any one of them to act his son Joseph m substitution— are to be the trustees and executors of his estate, which has been sworn for probate purposes at £483,354 8s 9d. Provision of an ample nature has been made for the widow' (whom .the ancient married only two years ago) afid thej enormous estate is divided up between his six living children (now old men and women). The old Wussleyan— who made religion a ladder to wealth, but unlike many others, did not kick away the ladder once he had climbed it— bequeathed altogether £8,?O0 to Methody religious institutions and £2,600 to hospitals and otheir charitable institutions. How like his breed to care less for the bodies of the poor than for providing that they be staffed with unsatisfying religious dogma- '

The much discussed Munrd attended the races cm Cup day. It was reported by his friends that, he was the . only man on the course with sufficient judgment to couple Star Rose and Captain Shannon on tli© double machine. Subsequent investigation proved this to be incorrect.

Pug Jack O'Brien sits behind a cool 100,000 dollars, made entirely out of punching people: 'Tis said that Jack is more free with his glove m the ring than with his dollars anywhere else. A wealthy, close-fisted pug is a rather rare bird. As a rule,, they are either open-handed or deadbrokers !i

Sergeant Rutledge, who recently, had charge of the Manners-street station, is at present doing duty at the Exhibition. Although Rutledga is a native of, Christchurch, or rather the Port, Lyttelton, the city 08 churches, flatness and dust palls upon him and he is hankering for the Wellington breezes again.

In his just published book, Bob Seivier, the ex-cash bookmaker and exowner of Sceptre and husband of the sister of the Duke of Ailesbury, has this slab of cold common sense: "It I were asked which I Would sooner be, an angel or a devil, I would' at once declare myself a devil, for then I should at least escape that greatest of all insidious evils m man— hypocrisy ., The man who has no devil m him should have been born, a woman !"

The Mararoa was very crowded on, Wednesday week making; her trips from Wellington to Christchurch for the opening ceremony of the Exhibition, also the sea was very choppy. A. well-known M.H.R. -and his wife were on board, and the lady, who has the reputation of being charming company, .besides . being exceptionally! . good-looking^ found, the gentle undu* lation of the waves a little disconcerting to the stomach. The passengers m the adjoining cabin were startled at painfully frequent intervals with loud and piteous appeals ta "Charlie. Charlie.". But Charlie imew he 'had as much hope of rendering, first aid as he had of getting into the Ministry, so he took the things philosophically and said nothing.

General Booth has been giving some advice for the attainment of old age. The precepts on which, it must be admitted, he himself has flourished vronderfullv. include "Eat as little, as possible," "Drink plenty ofl water m preference to adulterated concoctions," "Take exercise," "Have; a system, but do not be a slave to it." "Do riot fill your life with a ' lot of silly and sordid pleasures, so that when you oome to die you will 1 find you have not really lived. ir Strange isn't it that he makes" no mention of accumulating boodle* Perhaps that's included m the system, and if ever man was a slave to system Boodle Booth is.

Seeing a mention of poor old Auckland Billy Murphy, one time feather*weight champion of the world, reminds one of the lad who took the championship from him when Billy, brought it to Sydney, viz. :— Griffo, the marvel of science. Remember an incident of their second fight at the Sydney Amateur Gymnastic Club m York-street. There had been' a hot prelim, and a heavy argentiferous shower. Along about the middle of the fifth round, while Murphy was making hits at Grif. that would have burst him open if he'd allowed them to land, Griff suddenly side-stepped, stooped and picked a shilling out of a crack m the board floor. Tossing it nonchalantly to his gaping second, h8 said with utmost sang froid, "Blime, that's mine for a drink afteir," and dabbed a trio of dandy lefts onto the snout of the amazed, enraged and deeply scandalized Murphy.

Paddy Regan, a steeplechaser and hurdler who had no superior m Australasia, was killed at Moorefield course, on Saturday, October 20, by his mount, Royal Standard, falling with him. The "Sydney Sportsman says : "After the gelding had clambered over several fences he came a cropper at the first of the treble the second time round. Regan was conveyed to the casualty room immediately, but when overhauled by the doctor he was found to be dead." A most nopular fellow was floor Regan and when he was up it was never on an unbacked one. Hundreds backed the man on top, on account of his proved skill as either coaxer or driver as required. No steepling fatality, since that which ended the brilliant career of Tommy Corrigan has caused such profound regret all ever Australia as has poor Paddy's. R.I.P. Really, ' considering how many crack riders across country come to a violent end and how many (all m fact); are continually being smashed up till, even if they survive, their later days are a misery to them, it is wonderful that any mencan, be found to follow the «*an£^""ws -aJ.lituo