PARS ABOUT NOTABILITIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 250, 19 October 1907, Page 11

PARS ABOUT NOTABILITIES.

A newspaper correspondent tells a story which he says President Roosevelt related to a few of those seated closest to him at a recent dinner. Here it is: Two women were discussing some new neighbours who had moved into one of the most sumptuous houses in their city. "They seem to be very rich," said the first. ,"oh, yes, they are," replied the second. ''Shall you call?" asked No. 1. "Decidedly," was the answer. "Are you quite -sure that they are—er — quite correct, quite —cr —good form?" inquired the woman who had started the conversation. "Oh, my dear, I'm quite positive about it." said her friend. "They have thirty servants, eighteen horses, twelve dogs, eleven automobiles, and one child." His Excellency, Sir Walter Francis Hely-Hutchinson, Governor and Com-mander-in-Chief at the Cape of Good Hope, entered his 59th year in August, and received congratulation in the clear, bright winter South African sunshine at Government House, up above the Gardens, and under the shadow of Table Mountain. The change from the Governorship of Natal to that of the Cape of Good Hope, via a military secretaryship to Lord Milner.'must on the whole be a pleasant one, for the rather dull life at Maritzburg, with its very trying climate, cannot be compared to the delights of Capetown—even including an occasional North-Easter. Sir Walter has had a very long indirect connection with South Africa, for in 1574 he accompanied Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor of New South Wales, on a special mission to Fiji as Attache, and, of course, Sir Hercules was Governor of the Cape for many years, and eventually became first Lord Rosmead. Doctor Ott. who superintended King Edward's "cure" at Marienbad, is said to be making the largest income of any liv™S physician. This is not surprising, when it is remembered that his patients include half a dozen sovereigns and half the American millionaires. "Kings," be says, "are mostly sensible patients, for," as he tersely adds, "they do what they are told." King Edward he regards as quite ideal in this respect. He rarely has much hone of curing the dyspeptic American millionaire, for the simple reason that this gentleman won't rest. Even when he is asleep his brain is working away at figures, so the doctor explains. Fashionable and wealthy ladies are also among his patients. By them he is regarded as a magician in the reduction of obesity. Dr. Ott is said to be responsible for the really wonderful figures of innumerable smart leaders of Continental society, who go to him year after year for rules and advice. The recent confession made by a medical man, that he "always smoked to excess." recalls the story of Sub-Dean Naish. One day he was going on horseback to dine with Lord Digby. He rode in full canonical dress, and was, according to his habit, smoking. In an absentminded moment he put the Lighted pipe into his pocket. A farmer overtook him and told him he smoked. "T know it," replied the divine. "No man smokes more." "But you are on fire, sir," said the farmer, earnestly. The dean arrived late for dinner, having left his canonical tail behind him. The Jam—Ranjitsinhji—had trie misfortune to be thrown from his horse in. August, and so injured his shoulder that cricket may be a matter of great difficxilty. if not an impossibility, to the great Oriental batsman for some time to come. It is not generally known that Ranjitsinhji is to be married to a lady of his own caste to whom he has long been betrothed, and it was proposed to play a cricket match or two in connection with the celebrations. As ilr MacLaren would have been in India for his own business purposes, no doubt he would have played. The late Lord Dunmore. whose death is just reported, was evidently an active spirit in revolt against the easy and uneventful conditions of an English nobleman's life. He was soldier, settler, explorer, a hunter of big game, an accomplished musician, and. in later years. a promineni Christian Scientist. His traj vels in Central and Western Asia have rarely been surpassed. During his ride from India to the Bosphorus he managed to explore a good part of Cashmere, Tibet, the Pamirs, Chinese and Russian ' Turkestan. Over and over again, it is said, the Russian authorities in that then little known region would have turned | the traveller back or arrested him —on account of the perils of the route—had it not been for the Emperor's letter. He lost four horses by the intense cold, and suffered himself severely from the same cause. In the Pamir region he and Major Roche to some extent anticipated the researches of Lord Curzon and Sven Hedin. His lordship's book, published in 1893, contained an excellent account of these wanderings, which hcs been dei servedly praised for its easy and natural style of narration. Of his journey in the Pamirs and Central Asia, Lord Dunmore gave an account in an address to the Royal Geographical Society, of which he was a Fellow, on July 3, 1593. In the course of it he described the intense cold which he and Major Roche had experienced in crossing the so-called " roof of the world." For four successive nights they slept at altitudes of 18,000ftf to 19,6*00 ft. The journey through Russian uerritory Lord Dunmore did alone, as Major Roche had not the requisite authorisation to accompany him. On Christmas Eve, 1892, he was" in the Altai Mountains; the thermometer fell to 28 degrees below zero—7o degrees of frost —and on awaking Lord Dunmore found three of his horses dead at his tent door. He had also visited New Caledonia. Naturally, with these roving instincts, Lord Dunmore was a great hunter of big game. It was said of him in those days that he was " a man of great physical strength, able to endure much and to dare anything." Lord Dunmore was possessed of moral as well as physical courage. It required some endowment of the former quality openly to avow faith in the dogmas of " Christian ■Science," as Lord Dunmore did some ten years ago. " Not many people know how Buffalo Bill c?.me by the name familiar to the whole of the civilised world. When the first railway was being laid across America," says a writer in the " Penny Maga- | zinc," " the track was continually broken by herds of buff;does, and eventually Col. Cody was offered £100 a mouth to keep all the men supplied with buffalo meat. Accompanied only by a Scotsman on a wiry pony, he would set out, round, up the buffaloes, and turn them in the direction of the railway. Then, when they were near enough, he would pick them off, while travelling at full speed, with bullets, so that not only did he provide the meat, but he actually delivered it at the door, so to speak. He kept an army of men in food for eighteen months like this, and killed upwards of five thousand buf-

faloes. Never a day out of the seven would pass but what he would deposit nine or ten carcases at that particular point -where they were required. The feat was truly a remarkable one, when one remembers that there were only two men to do it."

When Archbishop Trench was Dean of Westminster he delegated Canon Cureton to preach at the Abbey on a certain saint's day. On such days, says a writer in the Philadelphia "Public Ledger," the boys of Westminster School attended service, and afterwards had the rest of the day as a holiday. While Mr Cureton, on the morning of the day he was to officiate, was looking over his sermon at the breakfast table, his son asked, in a tone vibrating with anxiety: "Father, is yours a long sermon to-day?" "No, .Timmy, not very." "But how long. Please tell mc." "Well, about twenty minutes, I should say. But why are you so anxious to know?" "Because the boys said they would thrash mc awfully if you were more than half an hour."

The negro President of the Liberian Republic—Mr Arthur Barclay—who was last month in London, represents one of the most curious little communities in the wide world. Three of the most important portfolios in the Government— War, Admiralty, and Interior—are vacant. The Republic has its own national flag, system of coinage, stamps—in which the fauna of the country fi <T ure largely, including the elephant, gorilla, stork, hippopotamus, and lizard; a decoration (the insignia of the liberian Order of African freedom); and a Government seal in which a dove, a palm tree, and a ship are the principal emblems. Mr Barclay owes his position to an incident which happened whan he was a boy of twelve. Sir Harry Johnston states, in his comprehensive history of the Republic, that in 156.-5 three hundred West Indians, mainly from the British West Indies, migrated to Liberia and that among them was a little boy —Arthur Barclay—whose father was a free negro. Trie President has had a long career in the public service. Successively he has been Clerk to t*e House of Representatives, Judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions. Postmaster-General, and Secretary to the Treasury.