LONDON CHAT.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9110, 22 May 1895, Page 6

LONDON CHAT.

(fuOM OCT. OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, April 5.

Lord Beaconencld's much-abused acqnisition, Cyprus, hardly proves to be the •• squalid possession " which Sir William Harcourt designated it. It is neither useless, nor a burden on the British taxpayer, nor is our occupation disadvantageous either to ourselves, to Turkey, to France, or to the Cypriotes themselves. As matters stand France obtain her interest, Turkey her tribute, the Cypriotes better Government and more liberty, and the British taxpayer clears £10,000 a year by the whole affair.

Moreover, when —yea, when !— we do evacuate Egypt, we shall of necessity move our troops simply to Cyprus and constitute a new Malta there. It must be remembered we had not bombarded Alexandria and iuvadcd Egypt when poor Dizzy, who did know and see a thing or two, after all, effected the Cyprus coup. While we hold Egypt, Cyprus is perhape leas important as an outpoat. But directly we leave Egypt, Cyprus at once rises to first-class importance as a strategic point. So we shall not give it up just yet. Two " records " were established in the House of Commons last Tuesday. Mr George Russell yesterday, in the second reading of the Welsh Church Disestablishment Bill, delivered the longest Shakesperian quotation ever ventured upon within those walls, extending to twenty lines. It was curiously apt, beiug from the conversation between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely in " Henry V." It is too long to quote, but your readers will easily find it, and its singular appositenes3. It begins with the Archbishop's worc3, "My Lord, I'll tell you, that same bill is urged,' and ends, "'Twould drink the cup and all."

This " palpable hit "—to quote the great bard once more—fairly brought down the > House —of Commoua, and roara of laughter' from both sides testified to members' appreciation of the humour of the references, and when, after quoting the Bishop's remark " This would drink deep," Mr Russell went on with the Archbishop's reply " 'Twould drink the cup and all," with a sly emphasis on the cup, the House fcund the allusion to that oft-quoted vessel which the other Chamber is supposed to be so persistently •'filling up" quite irresistible. The other record was achieved by Mr Galloway Weir, whom I will not characterise as one of the recognised bores of the House because that would be unparliamentary. Mr Weir had managed to get no fewer than eleven questions on the paper consecutively, and asked them all, as well as several supplementary queries—about a score in all.

Each time Mr Weir rose he was greeted with ehouta of laughter aud deep groans, whereat on every occasion he turned round, faced hia interrupters, and glared at them in a moaC severe and reproving tone of voice. This had an irresistibly funny effect, and the laughter was louder than ever, especially aa Mr Weir repeated this process of turning round and glaring in silenc rebuke on each of the eleven times that his questions were greeted with merriment. The queries related to nothing of interest, and when No. 11 ana its supplementary enquiries had at last been disposed of some other {members proceeded to put questions •• arising out of "Mr Weir's. They wanted to know if this performance of Mr Weir's was not an abuse of the privileges of the House as a grave encroachment on other members' rights, aDd also whether the I leader of the House had realised that if every member claimed a like allowance of questioning time 120 hours would be thus absorbed daily. It was not stated where all those hours were to come from, and Sir William Harcourt did nob attempt to grapple with such a problem. We have not done yet sorrowing for the genial humourist Corney Grain. He is a special loss to that section of good folks whose principles debar them from the dear " scarlet delights" of the theatre, but who have unspoken longings after the "forbidden." Corney sat isfied their longing souls with his dramatic representations, so that during the season of the country cousin his entertainment was crowded with the rustic clerical families and the pious folks from quiet squares and respectable terraces. Bub what he was to the young who can tell ? And he loved above all audiences a juvenile audience. He was always at his best at a boys' school at the breaking up. In point of antiquity his family had more to boast of than the greater part of our aristocracy. The Grains were of the yeoman farmer order, and have held lands in Cambridgeshire for some centuries. - The brother of Corney is a solicitor in the town of Cambridge, and there is no record of the family having supplied members to any of the higher professions. There are countless families in England of the yeoman class who can show tenure of lands for many hundred years, but who seem never to have been inspired to try their fortunes in arms or the learned professions. Their ambition has been confined to keep what was their own, and to till the land as their fathers did before them. Here and there a cadet of the house would drift out into the open and be perhaps heard of in successful commerce, or in foreign countries. But the head of the family has almost always repeated his father.

Corney Grain's funeral was a singularly impressive ceremony. The service was held at St. Andrew's Church, Wells street, which he was in the habit of attending, and the Vicar oi which (Rev. W. T. Houldsworth) was among his oldest friends. The church was literally thronged with notabilities of politics, society, art and literature. The beautiful set-vice had one feature to which, so far as I have seen, no reference whatever is made by any London paper. That was the remarkable tribute delivered by the Vicar to the memory and character of his deceased friend. Mr Houldsworth, -who evidently spoke under the influence of strong feeling, said .that, although men of note had been called away daring the prevalence of the present epidemic, none who had gone to their rest would be more widely missed than his dear friend, Corney Grain. Few people, perhaps, were aware of the real nature of this popular entertainer. Mr Grain did not wear his heart upon his sleeve, but he was something much more than a mere entertainer. Mr Grain, said the vicar, always gave people something to think about. He used well his brilliant natural gifts, and he cultivated them to the laot. He was ever trying to teach useful lessons, and by genial satire to bring about desirable social reforms. He might be caustic, but he was never cruel or bratal, nor did he ever say anything that could wound the tenderest susceptibilities. He was sarcastic, but never cynical or ill natured. That was one of his great charms, and made him so many friends. Apparently the time has come in the history of the drama when " the play " is no longer "the thing, , ' the star artiste has taken its place. No matter how good the piece, it is wholly dependent on one actor or actress, and if he or uhe rises to the occasion the piece is made, and its faults glossed over. A case in point is "The Notorious Mrs Ebb-Smith," Pinero'a cluf d'oeuvre, to which all London is rushing. Mrs Patrick Campbell has brought out the intent and spirit of the author's creation, or she has endowed it with her own—that is ac people think. It is a very fine play, but Mrs Campbell has made ita fortune. It is not "Have you seen the notorions Mrs EbbSmith," but «' H%ve you seen Mrs Patrick Campbell?" And so it comes that when a dramatist is inspired to write a new play he has some good actor or actress in his eye, and writes up to him or her. 'x'rue, Mrs Campbell stated to an interviewer that Mr Pinero had no thought of her in his mind when he was busy with Ilia heroine, yet there is no doubt that she unconsciously influenced his work. And I am sure that Wills fitted ** Faust" on to Irving's shoulders, and that there has often been rapport between Sardou and the immortal Sara. I wonder what new wonders we shall be told in all sober earnest of the Grand Old Man. Some one writes to a paper to say that the fine old boy once possessed a lovely tenor voice, which, had it been cultivated might have made him one ot the leading singers of the day. He still sings, but no longer with his faithful Catherine, who in her ycnng days used to "duet" with him Plantation aongs. That much discussed action of the London County Council toward the Empire has o«tiidtrabl? mUeed the dividend el

that enterprising music hall. The legal expenses alone were £1178. The structural alterations will also absorb almost a similar amount. The directors stated that the theatre had not done so well since the action of the L.C.C., but they professed great confidence in its future. This muchdiscussed action has had a marked salutary effect on a.l places of amusements for the people. The new licenser of plays may some day have something similar to say to the plays provided for the West find theatres, on the ground of public morality. The Zoo is justly proud ot its latest important acquisition, Daisy, the giraffe filly. She was the sole survivor of six of her kind that were captured in the African open and brought to the coast, a journey of 1000 miles. When landed at Southampton a new and serious difficulty in her further transit arose. She was too divinely tall to pas 3 under any of the railway tunnels to London, and conveyance by road would have involved a ruinous expense. So a box was constructed to meet the difficulty, so shaped that the long neck of the animal was placed in a position level with its back, and in this guise Daisy finished her journey without further hitch. She is 12ft high, but v»ill be several feet higher in time. The Prince of Walee deserves the gratitude of all visiting Britain—he has abolished tips. This levied duty has often prevented persons of limited means accepting gratifying invitations. They eimply could not afford it. A man is expected to tip the footman who attends to his chamber, the hall-porter, thebutler who hands him his hat, the groom who brings round his horse, or the coachman who drives him anywhere. If he ahoots there are the gamekeeper and the helpers, and the servant who hands him his gun. In fact to those in the swim the list is capable of wide extension. And then the amount varies with the house visited, and the richer and the more aristocratic the more is expected, for the levy is not regulated by the visitor's purse, but the host's status. At present no lady can pay a three days* visit where even three servants are kept under five or six shillings in fees at the least. In many large establishments where guests are a standing dish the servants are hired at a lower wage because of their " chances." Now that the Prince has put his foot down there will be a welcome and drastic change. It will not be considered " the thing," a social doctrine against which there is no appeal. The system of servants' perquisites from tradesmen was first scotched by the Duke of Sutherland some thirty years ago, and although such levy is still made, it is by no means what it was. The Prince Consort gave valuable aid in the same direction, and the stores clinched the good work. More about the " Grand old robber I" Sir John Stainer, lecturing at Oxford a few days ago, stated that the " Messiah" choruses "For unto "us," "His yoke is easy," and " All we like cheep," were virtually some Italian duets, published just before the " Messiah" was written, rearranged by Handel in choral form. In proof of this, Sir John had the duets sung in their original form and to their original Italian words, when their identity was unmistakable. Of course they underwent considerable alteration in the process of re-arrangement, but—there they were 1