AT HOME AND ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 303, 23 December 1929, Page 12

AT HOME AND ABROAD.

Sir Hall ; ; Caine, though now an old man. with uncertain health, is as indomitable as ever. He contemplates a trip to Australia in tho New Year to visit his cousin, Mrs. W. T. Aldridgc, of Melbourne. Mrs. Aldridge was the original of the heroine, Gloria Quayle, in his most famous novel.

Eden Phillpotts, the famous novelist and dramatist, was married in England recently. His bride is Miss Rob'ina Webb, youngest daughter of Mrs. Webb, and the late Dr. G.; F. Webb, of Exeter. Their wedding took place in Exeter on October 17, but not a word was said of it, even to their most intimate friends. Their engagement was announced at tfle end of August.

Sir John Forteecue, for 21 years librarian of Windsor Castle, and who was formerly in New Zealand with Sir William Jervois, speaking at Cheltenham College, said that he had lived for 40 years in the Victorian age, which "enlightened young people" of to-day regarded as a "deplorable age." The only way to become educated was to dig deeply into the heart of at least one subject, and that meant acquiring the faculty of drudgery. Whatever they thought of themselves, their grandchildren would ''endeavour to instruct them 50 years hence upon a great many subjects, and would tell them that for insipidity of thought, barrenness of creation, misdirection of energy, in fact, for general imbecility and fatuity, there was never anything to match the second decade of the reign of George V.

The romance of Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith has interested everyone who admired the epoch-making flight across the Tasinan, It is a shipboard romance, which started on the Aorangi, in which they travelled to Auckland and Australia from America. Miss Powell was a Geelong Grammar School girl. She has travelled extensively and spent some months in America. She is a niece of Mr. 11. W. Gepp, chairman of the Australian Development and Migration Coin mission. Miss Powell's engagement ring is a square cut diamond solitaire, states an exchange. She wore it for the first time at a supper party to celebrate her engagement given by her sisci-, Mrs. Tom Patci'son, at her home at Caulfield. The date of the wedding has not been decided, but it will not take place until Kingsford Smith flics the reconditioned Southern Cross back to Australia from England about the middle of next year.

Miss Entli Turner and Miss Mary Hogg, students of the School of Art, Canterbury College, Christchurcfc, for the last five years or so, will leave next March or April for Europe, where they will continue their studies. At the School of Art prize-giving, Miss Turner was presented with awards for painting, landscape, life and still life. Miss Hogg received the Rosa Sawtell travelling prize, and also one for modelling. The. work of those two students, which was amongst exhibits at the school after the ceremony, was very favourably commented upon. The director (Mr. R. Walhvork), in his report, stated that the help to bo derived by the serious art students through travel to the- older art centres of Europe, was immeasurable and the staff of the school was hoping that,- when- its immediate want, that of increased accommodation, had been satisfied,, some action would be taken to assist worthy students to round oil" their training by a journeyman's rear abroad.