ABOUT PEOPLE. NOTES AND REMINISCENCES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 09, 11 January 1908, Page 9

ABOUT PEOPLE. NOTES AND REMINISCENCES.

RJLWASDS FOR GRACE DARLINGS. iur. Andrew Carnegie has done a graceful act in pensioning the American "Grace Darling" who has &pent most of her lifo_ in a lighthouse in Rhode Island and the rest of ifc on tho waves in the immediate neighbourhood, saving lives by swimming and rowing. Now she is a- lady of sixty-six years of age, and her lime of active service. is necessarily over. Her little boat the Rescue should be carefully preserved as a lasting memorial of a "who 'meant ti^ do the noblest thing shs knew." But while Mr. Carnegie ib on this beneficent tack "we should like to. see brought before his notico, a certain Ueh^nt fisherwoman, Rose Here by naYn>3j who swam out in a rough sea -to fourteen shipwrecked sailors who were tossing'helplersly ■in an open boat, and, brought them into smooth water. • Even more deserving, perhaps) are those halfstarved sardine fisher maidens } on the neighbouring He Motene, who gave their be&t dresses — the result of tw.enty. years' economy and . hard work-r-to clothe 'the bodies of the English ladies " drowned in tho Drummond Castle: ' • Numerous othe.r "Grace Darlings"- scattered, rbund 'our coasts no doubt there are, and, considering that we are. not so' very far removed from the time when it ■■ was 1 firmly believed that a man saved front drowning' waf bound to be the undoing of his saviour, no better use' of; a millionaire's money could bo found' than rewarding such services. > . THE YORKSHIRE CAPTAIN, t , Lord Ha.wke, the captain of.' Yorkshire's first county cricketing team, is • the subject of a healthy ferment in Yorkshire. The testimonial which is being raised to celebrate tlie twentyfifth y_ear ; of ' his captaincy promises in spirit and liberality worthily' ( to express the feeling of tho whole toward their, famous countryman. Some^ of the finest tributes to bis leadership i (says the London Christian World) are not finding press publicity. Among the circle of his intimate friends ;and, '.'men I*1 '* who have served under him' it is being recalled how he has transformed the in•ward life and ideals of his team,- ABstemious. himself, any license in relation' to intoxicants has been socially black-balled, until for mahy^yearfe how the team has been most exemplary.' Parents who have been aware- of the perils of a sporting career have' felt quite comfortable r while their eons" have, been under .the wing of'Lbr'd 'Ha'wjce.' An .intimate 'associate' has recalled. a characteristic incident. ' As '"second in; command," he went up to Lord Hawke's bedroom" the last thing at \ His lordship was reading the Book, of Books. "Are all the men in?", he asked. "Yes.". "Now 1 can go to rest," he replied. .' f Gdod nfpjit. It has been ,the good ,man behind the clever cricketer that has evoked the remarkable deyotion of those who under-his'leader-ship have won for v the coupry tho proud position" it' holds in' relation- to Eng-. land's most popular- game. ] FINDING ONESELF FAMOUS. Writing apropos of> tho sudden fanie of Madaruo Tetrazzini, now singing with such success 1 •' at Coyent Garden, the London, Standard 1 says:— "lt is an unusual experience in thes& days to awake , and find oneself famous. To be almost 1 unknowh.b'no day, to be.known to all the world the next day, is a triumph which, now seems reserved for stars .of the' stage., .We welcome these Idemonstrations of the possibility of ,waking t to'fincl oneself famous. They remind us that in. : ni'. least one sphere of human activity i the old ' impulsive enthusiasm ~is still sfcrong. ' Still in one tiny comer of man's j domain man^may be a«vopt off his legs by the" display of quite Human attributes. Ho remains capable, ..here-. 'if ' not else--where, 'of making -a reputation \witn a sudden clap of the hands. 'We' can givo quick honour to an actor or opora singer, . •because their "talents make -an jnstant appeal. It always has been ' easier for them to awake to_ fame than "for. other people." . ,r - ' • ".,',"'' \""' "~v THE 'DISCOVERER OF FRANKLIN'S v ", ■; ' FATE. •"- ''„/ . Admiral Sir Francjs Tjebpold v M'Clintook, who passed away .in- Lpndon on; 17th J November, -at • the age of. eighty-* eight, will be chiefly remembered as an Arctic explorer and as the man- who dis'cbvered'the 'fate of Franklin's expedition. The story of this' enterprise, as the' London Times reminds us, was fully related by M'Cliritock himself in j The.- Voyage of the Fox in the Arctic Seas ; a Narra-' tive of the' Discovery of the Fate of- Sir .John Franklin, and His Companions," a work which ran through lhahy editions, randr 'and may, still be read 1 , not only for the tragic interest of the story • which it reveals, but , for the lively- and, picturesque account of ATctio life, dangers, and 'difficulties."'The. Government- had given up all hope 'of solving the v mystery of Franklin's fate> when -Lady 1 'Franklin succeeded in fitting out^the.Foi ykcht. M'Clintock.' and others . gave their setvices, and many honours werd awarded him, iricltiding- a knighthood,' on his return. After entering the Navy in 1831, and seeing some service in the Pacific, M'Clintock began his career as an Arctic traveller with Sir J. C. Ross and Sir E. . Ommanney. Whilst with the Assistance in 1851 he mad 1 © an unprecedented sledge journey of 760 nifles in ' eighty days, and lafcer, whilst wit& the Intrepid, covered 1210 geographical miles in , 105 days, laying down on the charts the West coast of Prince Patrick IslAnd and Ireland's Eye, "a name reminiscent of the land of his birth." "The comparative perfection of Arctic sledge-travel-ling is," says The Times, "almost entirely due to the improvements suggested and first adopted by M'Clintock, who to a light, lithe, active frame of body added an ingenious and inventive turn of mind and considerable skill fn mechanical I arts." Attaining the rank of full Adj miral in 1884, il'Clintock, having reached the age of sixty-five, was put on the retired list- a day later. ii _iT* THE HERO AS TELEGRAPHIST. "Mr. W. Brendish, the telegraphist who, on 11th May, 1857, telegraphed the news of the Sepoy Revolt in Delhi to Umballa, and thus gave notice to the authorities in the Punjab, died the other day in Calcutta," says the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore. "The telegraph office at Delhi was situated outside the city walls. The staff consisted of Mr. C. Todd and two young lads" as signallers, Brendish and Pilkington. On the day following the outbreak at Meerut ths wire to Meerut was cut, and Mr.' Todd, who went to find the 'fault,' never returned The next day Brendish picked up some information of the spread ' of the revolt to Delhi, and telegraphed it to Umballa before seeking refuge with Pilkington and Mrs. Todd -in the Flagstaft Tower." "When the message reached Lahore," says Sir Herbert Ldwardes, "it enabled *Mr. Montgomery and the, general, to disarm tho native troops before they had received one word of intelligence on the subject." The Government granted Breiidish a pension on retirement equal to the full pay of his rank.