PERSONAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 227, 26 September 1898, Page 4

PERSONAL NOTES.

(Via Suez.)

(From Our Special Correspondent)

LONDON, August 19.

It is nice to be an Agent-General— sometimes. ; Mr Keeves, who is at present enjoying a well-earned holiday tour awheel in France, will hardly have settled down again to work before he will have to'take another spell from the office, in order to attend the International Congress of Hydrology, Climatology, and Geology, which opens at Liege, a few weeks hence. These conferences of course entail some serious work but their conveners always seem to bear in mmd that an work and no play is like the east wind not good for man and arrange all sorts of enjoyable little picnics ±or the delegates attending. Why tne Government should specially desire Mr Reeves to attend 1 cannot make out but perhaps Mr Seddon and ins advisers have a notion that the AgentGeneral will be able to pick up a man suitable to take up the management of the Thermal Springs. I am afraid however that Mr Iteeves will never lay hands on a man. equal to Dr. Groube for that position who will be willing to "O out to the colony at the salary proposed without retaining the right to run a consulting practice. The Government, I understand, refused to allow Dr. Groube this privilege, which is one usually conceded, I believe, to candidates for similar appointments.

Mr Robert Fenwiek, of Auckland: brought his brief but very busy visit to the Old Country to an end on Thursday, and will be with you almost as'soon as this letter. Mr Fenwick sailed by the Teutonic yesterday, and proposes to catch the Moana at 'Frisco on September 7. In the interests of Morrin's (Limited) he has during the past six weeks got through a vast amount of travelling and interviewing, and picked up, one may safely conjecture, not a few solidly valuable wrinkles. Mr Fenwick is a quiet, self-contained gentleman, but 1 guess his eyes are what the Yanks call clean-skinned, and business he may anytime seem to miss is unlikely to prove profitable to opposition shows. Whilst in England he has visited most of the important hardware centres, including Glasgow, Edinboro'. Sheffield, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Billson (where the corrugated iron comes from). Mr Fenwick has also fixed up an important arrangement whereby Morrin's will act as inward agents in Auckland for the new American branch of the Tyser line. The latter boats are to sail from New York for Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, etc., loading up in the colonies with frozen meat and returning direct to London.

Mr Fenwick was surprised to find that despite the rumours anent hardware nowadays being either 'made in Germany' or 'manufactured in America' all the big English factories had more orders on hand than they could easily execute, and seemed by no means apprehensive of the future. And yet, whilst he Avas in Glasgow the corporation accepted the tender of an American firm for a large contract for wrought-iron gas pipes.

The 'Scotsman' gives Mr Eoland William St. Clair a flatteringly lengthy notice for his leviathan work 'The St. Clairs of the Isles.' He has, your contemporary considers, been overmodest in describing his book as a compilation, for it is made plain that he has devoted to it a considerable amount of original inquiry and research.

A friend of Mr 'Jack' Gallagher is sending him out by the 'Frisco mail a selection of photos, of famous contemporary racehorses by Mr Clarence Harley, of Newmarket. These include Galtee More, La Fleche, St. Simon, Merman, Velasquez, Maluma, Jaquemart, Ladas, and Jeddah. They should add materially to the attractiveness of his interesting collection of sporting curios.

I hear that 'Captain' Charles Lorraine, the Auckland parachutist, who has gained a considerable amount of cash and notoriety since his arrival in the Old Country three years ago, intends to return to New Zealand shortly, with a view to getting an engagement, to thrill visitors to the Auckland Exhibition with his long drops from cloud-land.

Captain Lorraine's longest drop was one of 15,000 feet, but I understand he did not take this'risk intentionally He meant to let go at 13,000 feet, hut found his parachute unwilling to part £rom the balloon at the moment, and when he had persuaded it to the partingl he found himself three thousand feet above the altitude he had intended to start from. He, however, did the long drop successfully, ami included his usual gymnastic pisplay when nearing the end of his journey.

Lorraine, I understand, has never so far received any injury from parachuting-, but he has had several close calls, and if he continues in the profession long enough will doubtless prove to twelve good men and true that it isn't the fall, but the chances of a too sudden stop that makes the parachutist an undesirable 'life' from an insurance point of view.

Mr and Mrs John Duncan, of Wellington, and Mr Arthur D. Duncan are touring through the Highlands'and having a delightful time, thouo-h not perhaps so much shooting and fishinoas the latter would like. When last heard of they were at Braemar. The party do not return to town till the end of September.

_ Miss Cora Casselli and Mr Mario Majeroni return to the colonies by next week's mail steamer.

Mr Geo. Agar looked in again on Monday last, bringing with him Mr William Pattman, erstwhile of Ashburton. Mr Pattman has settled down at Bath and the chances of himself or Mrs Pattman returning to New Zealand (save perhaps for a visit) are remote.

Mr Richard Cameron (Auckland Savings Bank), with his wife, have spent a very pleasant time in Scotland visiting- Edinboro', Scotland, and some of .the favourite watering-places. Mr Cameron has improved in health and is now visiting- the Midland Counties. They are at present touring- in those most delightful of English counties, Devon and Somerset. They expect to be back in London^, in the early part of September and will go over to America shortly afterwards and probably remain there a couple of months, returning- to Auckland at the end of the year. , , ,

Mr .Tno. Wilkie, of Wanganui, who" came Home with his wife and family last February by way of Australia id. the German liner Bremen, writing from Brodick Arran, N. 8., tells me that he has recently purchased three rams from the famous Lincoln flock of Messrs J. and W. Wright, at a cost of £600, for shipment to Wanganui. The rams wiy be forwarded by the Suapehu, which leaves London on September 15. Mr Wilkie seems uncertain as to the duration of his, stay in the Old Country, but as his family ! are being educated in Edinburgh it is probable Wanganui will not see him for some time to come.

Many in New Zealand will deeply regret to hear of the death in her 64th. f year of Mrs Kate Isaacs, wife of Mr Henry Isaacs, erstwhile of Auckland, - V which occurred on Sunday last at 180, Belsize Eoad, Hampstead, after a.?: brief illness. The funeral took place at Willesden Cemetery on Tuesday. -

Mr Henry Hess, whose anti-Labouch-erian sixpenny worth, the 'Critic,' seems to be well up in New Zealand matters, comments favourably on Lord Eanfurly's undertaking to visit every town, in the island. Those who know New Zealand best (he says) declare that His Excellency has got his work cut out to fulfil his intention.

The same financial authority declares the most interesting portion of the New Zealand Budget Statement is that which refers to old age pensions. In deciding to reintroduce the Bill which was abandoned last session Mr Seddon is fulfilling a pledge which he made soon, after the Wellintori byeelection Mr Lionel Holland's Committee might do worse than circulate copies of this Bill among their .colleagues at Westminster. Its startlmgly bold aim may be put in a sentence by saying that it enacts, ihat every person in the colony over sixty-five years of ag« shall possess an income of not less than eighteen pounds, a year! .. . .■

Mrs Besant is just off to Australia on a visit to. her daughter, Mrs L. Besant Scott. Mrs B. has been but little en* evidence latterly, and 'tis whispered that the religious convictions of the erstwhilo ' ciisciple of Blavatsky and Co. are once again liquid.

I have been trying to get hold of-Mr Thomas Brydone, who, 'tis rumoured, has just carried through some important operations, notably the sale of the Kaitangata Coal Mine and the purchase of an oil plant for the Shale Company at. Orepuki. He is not, however, in London at present.

The British Antarctic Expedition under Mr Carsten Borchgrevink will sail from the Thames to-morrow (Saturday). The Southern Cross has been lying in the St. Katherine's Dock, near London Bridge, for some weeks past, ,

but comparatively few people have taken the trouble to inspect either the vessel or pay a visit to 49, Pall Mall, where the equipments of the explorers have been on view. The interest in Polar exploration which the Nansen boom created has indeed entirely died out amongst Londoners.

Dr. Cockburn intends to shortly convene a meeting of the Agents-General for the purpose of attempting to persuade the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reciprocate the action of Canaclar and the good intentions of New Zealand in respect of the tariff charges\ on British goods in a small way by allowing all Australian wines to .be landed here at the shilling duty-irres-pective of alcoholic strength.

Among the institutions which the Science Scholarship Committee of the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851 have decided to invite to recommend science scholars for 1599 are the Sydney and Melbourne Universities. Last year the New Zealand University was invited, but the consideration of the recommendation had to be delayed in consequence of the disaster to the Mataura in the Straits of Magellan, and the decision of the Commissioners will be made known later.

This is a world of the oddest coinr cidences. Those of you who read Miss Balfour's South African travels will, I daresay, recollect how during a water famine at Johannesburg the lady inadvertently annexed a bucketful of the precious fluid she saw standing in the hotel passage near her bedroom door. Miss B. was bathing herself luxurioxisly when an agonised voice ■.. came through the keyhole: 'Please, missie, don't use soap, or cook says we shan't 'aye enough water to make soup for the table d'hote.' Curiously enough. Miss Catherine Bond, whose Australian and Japanese globe-trot-ting commonplaces are just out, met with a similar experience. It occurred at the hotel at Okawama, • Japan,where she. enjoyed a lovely hot "bath on rising in the morning, but .was. subsequently greeted with reproachful looks by her fellow travellers at breakfast, who told her that if she .must- bathe in the cistern she need not have used scented soap, as it gave an unpleasant flavour to the coffee. This yarn fcj scarcely so refined as Miss Balfour's. But I daresay you'll forgive Miss. Bond, as she declares.Australian girls > are the nicest she ever met. * . . ''..