PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 77, 30 March 1908, Page 8

PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

(From "Our Special Correspondent.} LONDON, February 21. Dr. and Mrs. T. Hope Lewis, of Auckland, have just arrived in London. They left New Zealand about mid-October last year, and after spending a week in Sydney, left for Ceylon, where about 3 weeks were spent visiting the buried cities at Anuradhapur.a, with a week's golf at Nuwara Eliya and a delightful week at Colombo visiting , old friends. The buried cities are only beginning to; be known, and are of intense interest. The immense dagobas built solidly of bricks were constructed 2400 years ago, and being cleared of bush growth are now in parts available for inspection and study. After leaving Ceylon, Dr. and Mrs. Lewis left the X.M.S. China at Port Said, and went to Cairo for the Nile tour. Luxor, Thebes, and Assouan were visited, and a stay m&cc in each place for a thoroughly good view of the Tombs if the Kings, the Temples of ICarnak and Luxor, aud the great Dam, which, by the way, has practically saved Egypt this last low Nile. They had a rough passage in the little Isis to Brindisi, and. went at once to Naples. While there they visited Pompeii several times with the greatest interest, more especially after coming from such antiquities as those eeen in Ceylon and Egypt. The doctor strongly recommends this tour for anyone interested in ancient times. The comparison of the treasures in the splendid museums at each of these localities makes the study trebly interesting. Naples, Rome. Florence, Venice and Milan were visited leisurely. After a fortnight in the Riviera, visiting Mentone and jMonte Carlo, they went to Paris, where a rest was enjoyed before proceeding to London. They will remain in London some four months, during which time the doctor will devote himself to the surgical specialities he is most interested in, and he and Mrs. Lewis hope to return to New Zealand by Canada in the autumn. "" The Bishop of Auckland, with Mrs. Neligan and the children, has taken tip his residence at 12, Airlie Gardens, Campden Hill W., which will be his headquarters during his stay in England. Bishop Neligan has a busy time ahead of him. Between now and the Lambeth Conference, which begins on July 5, he has already something like fifty engagements "to preach or speak in various parts of the country. On the 9th inst. he visited Selwyn College, Cambridge, and preached at St. Michael's Church: on the 13th he was. at Rotherhithe, and last Sunday, the 16th, he officiated at all the services r.t St. Stephen's, Paddington. During the course of next month he will preach at Croydon, Holy Trinity (Sloane-street), Windsor, Paddington, St. George's (Hanover-square), St. James's (Fulham), Bognor, Stoke-cn-Trent, and Chelsea. On the evening of the opening of the Pan-Anglican Congress, June 14, Bishop Neligan is to preach in St. Paul's Cathedral. Among the gentlemen presented to His Majesty at the Levee held at St. James's Palace last Wednesday, was Lt-Col. E. W. Chaytor. of the New Zealand Permanent Defence Force. His sponsor was H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, Inspector-General of the Forces. One of the last of Miss Florence Nightingale's Crimean nurses, Mrs. Moonen, who has died at Dulwich at the age of eighty-three, had a remarkable record. She was an excellent linguist, and besides travelling all over Europe, she had made three voyages round the world, and she lived in Paris during the Siege. But a most remarkable achievement was that, although very infirm and deaf, she. at the age of eighty, journeyed alone to New Zealand and" back to visit a nonagenarian brother, one of the early settlers at Auckland. Captain J. "R. Bridson, who vacates the command of the " Challengei " next month, will be succeeded by a well-known officer. Captain Herbert D. Da Costa. Captain Da Co=ta has an experience of naval life extending over thirty years, and he is very keen on gunnery. He saw a good Dr t °f practical work in this department at the smashing up of Arabi's defence of Alexandria whilst a midshipman of tiie old ivon-clad Superb, which on that memorable July 11 threw over 200 shells intto the forts'and batteries of the harbour. Captain Da Costa commanded the Pylades on the Australian station 1902-5, so that he is no stranger to Antipodean waters. The R.M.S. Tongariro left London yesterday for New Zealand, via Cape Town and Hobart, with the following saloon passengers: — "Sir. and Mrs. C Burdon and two boys, Miss H. M. Cocks. Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Foster-Melliar, Mr. G. Hall, Mrs. M. Harris and family, Miss G. Hatherley, Miss H. Jeffcock, Hon. M. St. John, Mrs. St. John and two daughters, Rev. P. F. D. De Labilliere. Dr. F. T. Waldron, WaMron and son. Mr. E. Alden. Mr. W. T. Atyeo, JUr. H. A. Beevor, Miss R. Birrell, Mr. Win. D. Blair, Mr. G. Broom, Mrs. N. Broom, Miss D. C. Broom. Miss K. Browning.. Mr. A. Chapman. Mr. W. W. Corpe, Mrs. b: iA. Corpe, Miss A. A. Dunn, Mr. \V. G. I Cragg, Mrs. M. A. Holmes, Rev. R_ H. £L. ' Kempton, Mrs. Kempton, son and j daughter. the Rev. John Laird, ' j jlr."wiiliam E. Martin, Mr. W. R. MeXelvev, Master J. J. Murray, Master ; J. G. Murray, Mr. P. Naish. Mr. and , Mrs. D. Seaward- Mr. P. R. Skelton. Miss M. Steven, Dr. V. F. Usher, and Mr. D. n. N. Wells.

Mr. A. L. Jones, of Auckland, arrived in London last Saturday. He is on a business trip, and will only make a brief stay in this country, leaving again for New Zealand in five or six weeks' time. Mr. Dennis Seaward, the new art master of the Wanganui Technical College, leaves for New Zealand to-day by the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s steamer Tongariro. Messrs. Blair and Broom, two newly-appointed Government veterinary surgeons, are passengers by the s:*ne vessel. The High Commissioner for New Zealand will represent the Dominion at the International Telegraph Congress, to be held at Lisbon on May 4th. Recent callers at the High Commissioner's office: Mr. D. J. Max (kelson), Mr. Douglas G. Smith (Christchureh) ; Dr. and Mrs. T. Hope Lewis (Auckland). The Rev. Thos. Spurge on, who has been absent from the pulpit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle for some months past on account of ill-health, has sent in a letter of resignation, which will be considered at the annual meeting of the church members next week. Mr. Spurgeon is a twin son of the famous preacher, and I was born in London 52 years ago. He was educated at the Pastors' College connected with the Tabernacle, and afterwards studied art at South Kensington, occupying himself especially with woodengraving. He visited Australia and Tasmania in 1577, and again in 1879. Two years later lie accepted the pastorate of the Baptist Church at Auckland, Xew Zealand, and remained there till 1889, when he undertook evangelist work under th# Baptist Union of the colony. It was in 1593 that he became pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in succession to bis more celebrated father. Of late years Mr. Spurgeon's health has been such that Ire had to take long periods of rest, and last year it was arranged that he should retire for a twelvemonth, in the hope that his health would be sufficiently restored to enable him to resume active work. This expectation has, unfortunately, not been fulfilled, and it became apparent that Mr. Spurgeon had no alternative but to again tender his resignation. The announcement made by Mr. Thompson, one of the deacons, at a meeting of members on Thursday night, was received with i general regret. In addition to several volumes of sermons, Mr. Spurgeon, some 15 years ago, published a book of poems, "Threads and Bits of Blue."' Whilst in Xew Zealand he married the daughter of Mr. Gideon McLeod, of Dunedin, and ho has two children—a son and a daughter. Mr. John Brinsmoad, the founder of the famous firm of pianoforte-makers which bears his name, died this week at the ripe age of 94. His was a remarkable career. Born in Devonshire on October 13, ISI4, he finished his apprenj ticeship as a cabinetmaker in Torringi ton before coming to London, at the age of 21. Entering the piano trade, his skill as a tradesman and his inventive mind inspired him with the ambition to start business on his own account. In two short years his ambition was realised, arid in 1537 he founded the firm that was destined to become so celebrated in every quarter of the globe. From the moment that he started in business in Windmill-street, near Tottenham Court-road, he never looked back. The beginnings of the enterprise were small, but those were the days before foreign manufactures had so aggressively invaded the English piano market, and when the superiority of native workmanship reaped its legitimate reward; and so the Brinsmead undertaking grew apace. The small workshop in Windmill-street has now blosI somed into a factory employing 300 hands, and capable of turning out a new piano every 50 minutes. It "has been calculated that from first to last the house of Brinsmead has turned out between SO.OOO and 90,000 instruments. It may be said generally that the contrivances in piano manufacture with which the period of Mr. John Brinsmead's life-time will always be closely associated have been uniformly designed to ensure greater sensitiveness of touch, instant responsiveness to the rapid repetition of the same note, the provision of a resonating sounding-board of high power, and the production of a round and sonorous tone. The substitution of an iron frame for the old frame of wood really worked a silent revolution in the construction of the piano, for in consequence of the greater rigidity of the metal, it enabled the wires of the instrument to be strung in a manner that could not otherwise have been accomplished, with the result that the tonepower was enormously increased. The Brinsmer.ds. it is understood, were among the first of the English firms to ' I introduce the iron frame.