TABLE TALK.

Evening Star, Issue 7307, 3 September 1887, Page 5 (Supplement)

TABLE TALK.

SOCIAL, THEATRICAL, AND SPORTING. (From Our Special Correspondent.] London, July 13. The amount which the Queen herself will have to pay towards the “Jubilee” hospitalities is estimated at from LIOO,OOO to LI 50,000. In consequence of Mr Stead’s repeated coarse attacks on the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family, the committees of the “ Brooks’s,” the Carlton, and five other West End clubs have ostracised the * Pall Mall Gazette ’ from their precincts. Stead has never been able to forgive H.R.H. for publicly “banning” his paper during the “Maiden Tribute ” furore . Mr Matthews, from whom such great things were expected as Horae Secretary, has proved an egregious failure. The Conservatives are furious at the manner in which he blundered over the Cass case on Tuesday evening. The Under-Secretaries behind him saw clearly enough “the way the cat jumped” half an hour before the division, and urged their leader to give way gracefully, but without result. Subsequently it transpired that Mr Matthews and Mr Newton (the Marlborough street Magistrate) are personal friends. Hence of course the former’s dislike to meddling with the matter.

So many of the new “ Jubilee” sixpences have been gilded and successfully passed as half-sovereigns that even Mr Goschen has taken fright and consented to their withdrawal from circulation. At the Crystal Palace no fewer than thirty of these delusive coins were accepted by the stall-holders in a single day. The denominations of the new money were omitted (it is explained) in view of England shortly adopting a decimal coinage. The enterprising stock-brokers who “cornered” the value of the Jubilee five-pound pieces up to nearly L 9, now learn with intense disgust that they are being freely minted, r.nd will continue to be produced so long as the demand for them continues. The Queen of Hawaii has been a terrible trial to our Court officials, who on more than one occasion would have given much to be able to spirit her sable Majesty back by cable to Honolulu. Quite a serious crisis occurred at one of the Buckingham Palace banquets. All the foreign potentates were present, and the King of Saxony was suddenly informed by the Lord Chamberlain that he would have the honor of escorting Queen Kapiolani into dinner. “ I’m d d if I hump about a black woman,” quoth the German, and grew so angry at the supposed slight to his dignity that the Duke of Edinburgh had to be substituted and suffered martyrdom in his Saxon cousin’s place. “ Dagonet ” says that quite the most wonderful sight of the whole Jubilee was Queen Kapiolani trying to set her watch by the automatic weighing machine at Charing Railway Station. Lord Colin Campbell has been formally adjudicated a bankrupt. His debts amount to L 15.622, his assets to LllO. Society has turned its back upon him, as well as upon his injured wife, and the Argyll family ignore the existence of both. The Duke, you may remember, lent the young man L 5,000 to carry on the divorce proceedings. His Grace’s generosity and family pride were duly commented on at the time. It now, however, turns out that he took good care to secure himself by attaching some reversionary interests to which Lord Colin was entitled.

Lady Colin is even worse off than her husband, who has L4OO a-year which no one can touch. Before the trial she was able to make money reviewing and writing for tho papers. Now none of the staider journals care to employ her. Several “society” papers would accept articles published under her own signature, but her ladyship will not write thus—at any rate in England. I am glad Mrs Bernard Beere means to visit Australia next year, for you will bo quite delighted with her performance of Mrs Despard in “As in a Looking Glass.” Since Genevieve Ward surprised us with her powerful acting ns the heroine of "Forget-me-not,” there has been nothing quite like it. Mrs Beere’s Australian repertoire will also include “ Fedora ” and “Masks and Faces.” I have not seen her in the latter, but report places her Peg Woffington second only to Mrs Bancroft’s. “ The Shadows of a Great City ” is the title of the melodrama with which Miss Grace Hawthorne initiates her management of the Princess’s Theatre next week. The critics have with one accord dammed the new play “ Civil War,” at the Gaiety Theatre. Perhaps if Mrs Brown Potter had not played the heroine and Kyrle Bellew the hero, they might have been more merciful;but both are unpopular with “the profession.” “Curly” is as handsome as ever though his erstwhile hyacinthine locks arc sadly grizzled. I saw him in the Strand the other day, smiling the same sad, sweet smile which the Melbourne ladies used to find so irresistible years ago. The new Swedish prima donna, Sigrid Arnoldson, has made a genuine hit, and on the nights she sings at Drury Lane the scenes associated with tho early days of Jenny Lind and Nillson are re-enacted. Already fabulous prices are being paid for seats to witness her first appearance next week in “ Dinorah,” an opera hitherto sacred to the unapproachable Patti. By-the-way, “La Diva,” after hearing Mademoiselle Arnoldson in “ II Barbiere,” is said to have remarked in French “ Behold my successor.”

The Duke of Westminster has a handsome two-year-old brother to Ormonde called Ossory, that will make its debut in the Middle Park Plate. Orbit, the Duke’s colt by Bend Or out of Windermere, which cut such a poor figure at Stookbridge, will also be reserved for the back-end meetings.

Benzon, the “Jubilee” plunger, has purchased a batch of yearlings from Robert Peck for LB.OOO. The lot includes a very handsome brother to Superba and Saraband, by M uncaster —Highland Fling. According to present appearances the Duchess of Montrose will win the St. Leger with Eiridspord, Merry Hampton’s form has been much discounted by the poor figure cut by Quilp in the Northumberland Plate, in fact the former is probably one of the worst horses that ever won the Derby. Next to Eiridspord Mr Baird’s Salisbury seems most likely to score at Doncaster. The usual olla podrida of swell and commonplace sportsmen assembled at Newmarket on Tuesday for the popular July meeting. The opening afternoon was a terrible one for tho poor plunger, who came to grief no less than five times out of seven. The principal event, the July Stakes, for two-year-olds, fell to Sir Frederick Johnstone’s as yet invincible crack Friar’s Balsam, who beat the smart Seabreeze cleverly on equal terms. When they met at Ascot it will be remembered Seabreeze tried to concede Friar’s Balsam 71b. Many thought the difference in the weights would enable the filly to get home first here, consequently the comparatively short odds (5 to 2) were laid on Friar’s Balsam. Ormonde’s career of unbroken success was continued at Newmarket on Wednesday, when he carried off the Imperial Gold Cup of L6OO (over six furlongs) from tho speedy Whitefriar and Lovegold. Betting ruled 100 to 3 on the crack, the Jubilee plunger laying Steel and Peach a little bet of 10,000 to 300. The Duke of Westminster’s colt has now won sixteen races, of the total value of L 28,465 10s. Some tremendously highly-bred yearlings were disposed of during the July sales at Newmarket. A magnificent colt by Barcaldine out of Geheimniss (her first foal) fetched LI ,900, and another by the same sire out of Lady of the Lea fell to Robert Peck’s nod at LI,BOO. Mr “Plunger” Benzon gave L 1,500 for a colt by Foxhall— Myra and Ll,loo for a colt by Galopin— Hazeldean, The young Hermits did not fetch such good prices as usual. For a whole sister to Shotover and Martini Captain Macfaell had only to give LI, 100, and L3O more purchased a racing-like chestnut filly out of Villafranca. The swell of the week par excellence proved to be a grandlooking whole brother to Energy (by Sterling—Cherry Duchess), for whom Mr Douglas Baird paid 2,000 guineas. The Chesterfield Stakes, for two-year-olds, on Thursday, at Newmarket, fell to tho Duke of Portland’s Ayrshire after a severe race with Mr Peck’s Bartizan, who

was only beaten by half-a-length, Lord Hartington’s Chaplet colt running into the third place, The finest two-year-old at Kingsclere bar Friar’s Balaam, is the Prince of Wales’s Loyalty (brother to Paradox); but he will not be started till the back end.

‘ Dr Phillips,’ the grossly realistic picture of middle-class Jewish life, which created such angry cackling amongst the descendants of the Twelve Tribes three months ago, turns out (as I surmised at the time) to be by George Moore. The talented author of ‘ The Mummer's Wife ’ did not, however, produce this Zola-like fiction by himself. He was assisted by Mrs Herman Merivale (the wife of the dramatist), herself a converted or perverted Jewess; hence the fidelity of the many pictures. Mr Moore’s now novel ‘ A Mere Accident made its appearance last week, and, despite much that is nasty and repulsive, contains some powerful writing, I fancy, though, that even the most devoted disciples of realism will shrink from the final chapters. These describe with much elaborate detail the mental tortures endured by the heroine, a refined and sensitive girl, who, on the eve of wedding the man she loves, is assaulted and ravished by a brutal tramp. The horrors caused by this “mere accident” are pictured in the most lurid language, and culminate in the unhinging of the unfortunate damsel’s mind. She mistakes her horrified lover for the vile wretch who violated her innocence, and shrieking, as he attempts to kiss and soothe her, backs out of a three-storey window, only to fall dead at her distracted father's feet. The greater part of the book, however, is taken up with an elaborate analysis of the character of the hero—a not particularly interesting person. Cheap editions of Mr Moore’s ‘Mummer’s Wife ’ and ‘ Diana in Muslin' have just been issued at 2s each.

New two-shilling novels include Christie Murray’s ‘Cynic Fortune,’ ‘Lady Branksmere,’ by “ The Duchess ” (not one of her best books), ‘Social Vicissitudes,’ by A. C. Phillips (very clever), and ‘The Outsider,’ by Hawley Smart. The last-named author, by-the-way, has just commenced a riovel in the ‘lllustrated London News,’ called ‘ Saddle and Sabre.’ Vizetellys have reduced the price of their translations of Zola’s novels from 6s to 3s 6d. The new Boisgobeys are ‘The Red Camellia ’ (Chevalier Casse-Gou) ; ‘Fickle Heart’ (Camr Volant), a stupid story; and ‘The Nameless Man’ {One AJJaire Myslerieuse). The latter is oto of the prolific Frenchman’s earlier and cleverer works. Maxwells have purchased the copyright of Boisgobey’s last story, ‘ The Felon’s Bequest,’ and are bringing it out at 2s. A translation of Gustave Droz’s racy ‘ Papa, Mamma, and Baby,’ is selling largely. Mudie refused to circulate it.