STORIES OF CELEBRITIES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 154, 27 December 1924, Page 17

STORIES OF CELEBRITIES

"THINGS I SHOULDN'T TELL"

REVEALED BY THE PASSING

YEARS,

Naturally the author of "Things t I Shouldn't Tell" uses the title to cover many pages of indiscretions. That is, they would have been indiscretions if they had been brought into a book while ths heroes and heroines of the stories were in their heyday. But with the passing of the years most of these joyous, or quaint, or otherwise entertaining beings have vanished. The book is published in London by Nash and Grayson, and has been received through Robertson and. Mullens.. The stories relate to "the sixty odd years, preceding the Great. War," so the author must be allowed to have reached years of discretion, as well as indiscretion, says a literary critic.in;the Melbourne "Argus." His anonymity, he says, is a "secret de Polichinelle" to men and women who were really conversant with English and foreign society in the period named. He admits, that he has had a collaborator both .in this, book and in the . earlier "Uncens.ored Recollections." He gave the material to a friend, who put it.into shape for the Press, and, with the author's approval, introduced some anecdotes and matter of his own. The book reads, as, if it had been "worked up" by a professional writer well acquainted with books of memoirs, but there is a great deal that seems'like first-hand experience. The author claims that he has been lenient and generous to everyone, but there are cases in which the lenity is not easy to find. This applies especially to "writers mentioned— Swinburne,-Gilbert, Wilde, George Sand, Zola, and others.. •

KING EDWARD AS PRINCE.

The author claims friendship with King Edward, especially . when he was Prince of Wales, and has a good deal to say about that King and hi 3 circle. Leading members were. Lord Charles Beresford and his brother Marcus. Lord Charles is said to have been the ringleader of a silly, clique of practical jokers. Sometimes at a country house these men would pretend to retire early, and. later,, from an. ambush, would pelt the ladies with clothing, brushes and combs, and' other articles. Beresford once hustled Christopher Sykes.out of bed ori-the pretence that the Prince desired to see him immediately. ; Sykes, as he" left his room, tumbled over a cord and into a tub of cold water. Lord Marcus1 Beresford was-satisfied with: verbal wit. ■ A. man who had managed to" become a member of- the Tiirf. Club, after being blackballed on an earlier occasion, was told by another member that he would give him £500 to take hia name off the list. .On hearing this. Marcus Beresford said to the insulted man,- "Sit tight, X. Sit tight, and I dare say he'll make it a thousand." '

'What the author regards as one of his greatest achievements was telling the Prince diplomatically -that' continually washing his face with soap would bring a, crop of wrinkles: Treating of . other incidents, he says that the Prince was very well read, and appreciated anything suggesting ; literary knowledge. Therefore the author carefully noted, or perhaps sometimes invented, passages for "impromptu" quotation. Occasionally the/Prince remembered them long afterwards: One saying, when an aristocrat, married a wealthy widow, was, "That's what .Bacon called a black pudding mar-' riage—he bringing the blood and', the other the sack of oatmeal:" .

The Prince told a friend that a cheap article ' would " only cost six Eddystones:" The reference was to the small .representation of a lighthouse- behind Britannia on vsome of the earlier Victorian, pennies.' A,coolness with Lord Charles Beresford, which lasted for some time, is said to have been caused when Beresford roared at a remark "of a street vendor of a parrot. Questioned by the Prince as to the bird's powers of speech, the man, who did not recognise the newcomer, and had been chaffed before his arrival, said:, "If it couldn't.speak better than you, I'd .wring its - neck^'- - The grace of the Prince in making a present is illustrated by a story of a poor Englishman, Matthews,' who had been, born on the Balmoral Estate, and now lived in France. The Prince used to send for him when he visited Paris. On one of these occasions a' jeweller had brought some rings and pins, and Matthews was asked by the Prince to select pne for a friend, as he had excellent taste. He took up a fine ruby ring, and the Prince slipped it on his finger, saying, ' You are. choosing for yourself " King Edward's brother, the Duke- of Edinburgh, appears on many pages. Wo are told that he had a habit of showing his appreciation of a joke in a forceful way, and once nearly pushed our author through a shop window.

MIXED. CELEBRITIES.

Women of more'splendour than reputation are introduced in several chapters. Blanche d'Antigny,- Btated to have been the original of Zola's " Nana," was "one mass of diamonds," and caused a society ■woman who caught a passing glimpse of her to make a comical remark on the merits., of various ways' of life. Like JSana, Blanche died of smallpox. Zola ■W; said-to have' had shapely but vilely dirty hands (but he-was only seen once, and perhaps that was not his washing day). Victor Hugo once said, "Emile /.ola a writing resemble ß literature in the same way as a slop-pail resembles a rose.

. One of the celebrities with whom the author claims to have had close friend- ! ship is Swinburne. The infatuations and amours of. the ."Poems and Ballads" are said to have been wholly imaginary. ,-Adah Isaacs Menken, the handsome circus rider, who impersonated Mazeppa in suggesting, no costume, called at bwinburncs.lodgings, introduced herself, and confessed that she loved him because she loved his poems. Swinburne was greatly embarrassed, Adah, who was a celebrity seeker with ingenious ideas of publicity/ waß photographed with him m the Mazeppa costume" as she bad previously been photographed with the elder Dumas. She is said by the author of the present volume to have been a fascinating woman—till she spoke —and her death is alleged to have been caused by a brandy debauch. " Menken, as.she was known, married half a,- dozen husbands or so. One was John U Heenan ("the Benicia Bay "), a moted prize-fighter, and another was " OrP° 6UB C. Kfr." an American humorist. She published a book of poems of some merit. Perhaps it. was written for her, or considerably revised. DANGERS OF WRITING LOVE ... ' POEMS.- '• • ; Another experience of Swinburne which the author says he witnessed while accompanying him on a visit to Etretat was with a rich litU* -*"f"'-tn widow

with-large flawing eyes. "She 'read UP>, f°r, Swnmurne, and with a. very wicked look in her eyes would recite to him some of his naughtiest lines. The eftect was grotesquely funny of this eager lady looking passionately into the halffrightened eyes of the very unwilling little poe ; t. She was relentless and untiring m her pursuit; passed beyond _bemg a mere bore; became an infliction and finally a curse; and would undoubtedly have driven us both to flight, or suicide except for the sudden and timely visit of the sweet angel of Ridicule; who came to our rescue in a way that I cannot tell."

A member of the Broadwood family of musical instrument makers, relates the author, was boasting loudly of his hunting exploits in Africa. Marcus Beresford interrupted with "I say, Broadwood piano, piano. A relative of a duke'who had been Jound cheating at cards tried to- ■ biuft it out, saying, "When I see the Prince I shall know how to dea! with the matter." « Marky " replied with a smile, "Take my advice, George, don t deal any more; just shuffle and cut." George followed the advice by leaving for parts beyond the seas. ■■■■-■■•

One of the friends of the author was Charles Y; rla rte, who, in his early days was a great admirer, of the writings of the elder Dumas. He offered his services as secretary to the novelist, and went with him to Italy. Dumas wa 3 almost finT y-.P ne, r? US; He kePt a bowl filled Avith gold coins on his'table for his friends to use according to their need's for ..their, avarices, and when it was emptied he would carelessly tell the sec retary to fill it again.. Yriarte was in the confidence of Richard Wallace the son of the. Marquis of Hertford, and was consulted frequently when the- great -Wallace art collection ™ , being formed. One story told by Yriarte was that Leon Gozlan in the days before stenographers and typists,'used to write tales on the wallpaper of his rooms when he felt inspired and afterwards have the paper taken off and sent to.the printers. Lord Hertford took a fancy to some of the stories of Balzac, and, wished to meet the author and majie'him a large gift of money: but Balzac was hiding from his creditors, and .could.not. be.found until his wouldbe benefactor had left France. Many other stories, witty or interesting, or both are related by the author.' "Things I Shouldn't Tell " is entertaining from cover to cover.- b