SMILING THROUGH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 288, 5 December 1935, Page 14

SMILING THROUGH.

MR. SAVAGE AND HIS FRIENDS.

"It lias been my privilege to know him for the past 29 years and he has been a wonderful friend to my husband, myself and family. I shall just go on minding him, in spite of the fact that he is Prime Minister of New Zealand," said Mrs. A. J. French yesterday, when speaking of Mr. M. J. Savage.

Sitting in her home at Salisbury Avenue, Heme Bay, Mrs. French said she could not find words to express licr appreciation of Mr. Savage's kindness to her family throughout the years. There was a saying that to know people thoroughly you bad to live in the same house with them and in tliis case she found an unselfish., kind-hearted and understanding man. "He is quite domesticated, too," she added.

When asked what Mr. Savage did in his spare time, Mrs. French's reply was, "What doesn't he do? He reads and gardens, helps with the 'chores' and has a deep appreciation of music. He pursues all sorts of hobbies—when the public will let him." Mrs. French said that people would ring up at 8 o'clock in the morning to know if Mr. Savage was up. This always made her smile, for he would be up and dressed hours beforehand ready for the day's work.

"I have never seen Mr. Savage in a .temper. He is even cool when his ideals are attacked," she said. "I have never known anybody to be so pleasant to everybody. Ho has many difficult decisions to make and to everyone he is tactful and kind. People are contimially appealing to him for help and with them all he is patient and. tolerant.

"A remarkable thing about Mr. Savage is that he is the same sort of person now as he was when he first came to live with us. All through the business of the election he has been the same—cool and calm. He took the news of his victory in the same way—but he had a wonderful smile on his face."

Mrs. French said that in a way she regretted leaving her home in Auckland, but at the same time she was looking forward to going to Wellington. Mr. Savage had said that if they did not want to leave they could go backwards and forwards to Wellington, but Mrs. French and her husband could not see the home without him. "It is now that he needs his old friends and supporters," she said, "and we shall be there."

Mrs. French was reluctant to talk about herself. "Oh, I have my family, both the children bein<r married —and I am a grandmother. Mr. Savage is godfather to the grandchild. I love my home and garden and my job is to watch over them all and help them to help others."