HOME GOSSIP.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5602, 7 February 1879, Page 7

HOME GOSSIP.

(4 tla» tit tbs WwU,) ' H A letter from Cyprus informs me that there is much sorrowing at the approach of Christ' mas on the island j for there is no chance of the men of the Cypriote army of occupation celebrating the day in the English fashion, and they hare yet to learn the Cypriote style of keeping the feast. There will do no roast beef, though plum-pudding will be plentiful; and fig-leaves are to do duty for holly andiry in the decoration of the huts. STo mistletoe, and no pretty girls to kiss under it { for the Cypriote damsels, who are not bewitobingly beautiful, object to kissing from the strangers, and the officers place a ben on flirtations with the native ladies. The men say that it is selfishness on the part of the officer*, who do all the flirting themselves. Music is scarce, for there is only one regimental band available on the island. However, they are to have an original Christmas pantomime, and the officers are getting up aharlequinade for the delectation of toe men and their Cypriote friends. Worst of all, the postal authorities have made no arrangements for enabling the friends of the men to* send 9 cheaply presents or other mementoes pf the season. Out of sight, out of mind, is evidently the motto or the officials at home. When the history of cricket for. 1878 is written much will be said of the falling off of the champion. The reason, howevsr, is easily found. When, a few years ago, he was making such huge scores, the great cricketer ' lived tor the game; nothing was eaten bnt the plainest food, nor was wine drunk, except to restore the wearied forces of nature. How we bear of beakers 0 { champagne prepared for luncheon tin the pavilion, aud that the county eleven, when on a trip to the provinces

with all TximMt paldl'id iay thV Irastoflt" dooe itself -weß. : High feeding ig incompatible with running , the cnoketor booomo* blown the eye is effected, and an Insidious shooter finds iti way to the wioket. Charlie Buffer often told me (hat no very fat man could get more than fifty rune. . B The Prince of Wales will create quite a sensation in Bard-land on taking possession of Ms Breconshire sporting estate. To a real Prince of Wales in Wales itself will bo quite an original experience, and the loyal Welshmen are already on the war-path. The Freemasons id the eastern division of South Wales, under their popular P.G.M. Sir George Elliot, hare concerted measures for the proper roceptiouof -their Kojal Brother and Master. If the Prmce is as good a brother of the angle as hels of the square he will have rate sport, teeing • that aff round Brecon are concentrated, the finest trout and salmon streams in England or Wales. The Welsh will insist upon attributing to the Earl of Beaoonsfleld some of the credit of this eminently popular purchase. If the Droids will only leave him alone, the Prince will cat on well with his Welsh neighbours, Patti* it mar be remembered, has a house near Bridgend. ; It is of rpre occurrence . that a person will prove his own guilt t bht a case of the kind occurred last week in the Divorce Court. The wife, who hod previously obtained a decree of judicial separation on the ground of the cruelty of her husband, an ex-sergeant of the police, presented a second petition charging him with infidelity, the suit being undefended. There was a difiloulty in proving the case, owing to the absence of witnesses j but the husband, who .was in Court, intimated that h*> was the respondent;. whereupon he was (worn and examined, when hefrankly acknowledged that hs had been unfaithful, and a dboreo' nisi was pronounced. ■ An old “ gallery reporter,” in his merry moments, used to drink to the memory of the a of Abyssinia, on the ground that he was ted to the dusky Monarch for a winter session of Parliament. Most gallery-men Trill have the same grateful remembrance of Shore Ali. The representatives of the D.T., however, cannot be enthusiastic, in that :way j for the untitled managing-proprietor of the jPeterborough-coUrt establishment has deter*' mined that Shew Ali should not be borne'in friendly memory by his staff. With bonK‘ tent generosity, the D.T. parliamentary dt has not been engaged for the session, but .only for , a portion of the session before Chnstmas. The Ameer Is not the goose of the golden eggs for Edward Lawson’s employees ; but Edward Lawson will save £IOO or so; and “ down inJudeo ” is oonsidered to have done a Smart thing. A’very near-sighted fnend narrates an experisneeandmakesasuggestion. "lam one of tho most near-sighted persons. I am, however, a Fanatical believer in Turkish baths. When in the bath 1 see less distinctly that! ever. Yesterday, I went up to one of the attendants, ! and said I was ready to be shampooed. ' To iny consternation he replied, * Are -yon,indeed P So glad!* And I then discovered that I had been addressing most* ' awful nob ’ and mistaking: him tor a shampooer. Now this is too dreadful. To identify one's fellow-ereatuns when divested of their normal garments is most difficult for any one to do. Would it not be a good thing if the attendants in Turkish baths were made to wear some distinguishing mark, suppose a red calecon, or a httie rod band on the arm ? It is a fearful thing to make such mistakes as I have made—feartid to both the mistake* and the mistaken.” : In a first-class carriage by the five o’clock train from Easton square sat two gentlemen, up to that time, and probably since, strangers ito each other. The elder lived hear Crewe } the younger, e» route for Ireland, intended to drop at Chester. The conversation between them grew animated. Saiththe elder presently, “Give up your idea of sleeping at Chester, and do me the honour of passing the night at my house.” The offer was accepted witii grateful effusion, On leaving in the morning, raid the guest, “Answer, my question frankly-’ What indubed you, ion such an insufficient acquaintance, to confer so great a benefit on mo?” Replied the host, “Ae you press. me, your question shall be frankly answered. My wife always tells me that 1 am the ugliest man in Great Britain; I wished to show her that there was an uglier.” Australia is becoming popular with the British traveller. Captain “B.” Coventay, Mr Arthur Coventry, and, I believe, one of the Bonveries, are about to start for Melbourne. It is expected that they will be absent about six months. The well-known: Satleman jockey, Mr Hugh Owen, waste ye joined the party, bat has been unavoid-ably-prevented. v , ' Economy has .been entered in the pro-, gramme of Lord Beaconsfield’a Government, for in future the green ribbon with which Bills for the consideration of Parliament used to be tied up is to be abolished. This will effect a saving of some fifty pounds ayear—something to be uproariously grateful for in these extravagant tunes. i I hear, on good authority, that Mr Edward Levy-Lawson, part-proprietor and editor of the Daily Telegraph, will present himself as a candidate for the, Borough, of Wiudsdp at the next general election. With many others, T shall be curious to see the colour of his address, and to learn under Which lung tins Bezonian is prepared to speak, if not to die. At the present moment it seems impossible to name the camp with which he will ally himself. A warin supporter of Lord Peaoonsfield’s most autocratic measures,- he ia a prominent member of the Devonshire Club ; a professed Liberal, he has used the powerful resources at hie command for the furtherance of extreme Tory views, and for the annihilia* tion of the ex-liberal leader, by whom the political status of the Daily “Telegraph was! virtually created. But there is no doubt that the party which eventually succeeds in enlisting Sir Edward Levy-Lawson will have gained no ordinary recruit.' He is a man of great natural ability, with a special aptitude for organisation, of indomitable courage and unflagging zeal. He is a political power and a social success; his means are large, his hospitality unbounded; and, living as he does within an easy distance of Windsor, he might probably be induced to take os active an interest in the welfare of the Borough and the local charities as the great Mr Richardson Gardner himself. Sable tails are the fashion this winter. Seeing so many toils about—perhaps hundreds to one set of trimming—gives rise to the horrible suspicion that tbebeautiful little animals may be served as professional ratkillers servo the rats when paid bgthetail,ib being no object of theirs to destroy; the market by killing, the rat. that may five to produce yet another toil. The fur of the. Russian sable is too expansive to be much seen, the finest quality with (hat lovejy bluish tinge costing from 25 to SO guineas an animal; and considering the number •of animals it would take Russian and merchant princes (of the good old times) Could afford them; Calculating the number of toils In the market, What becomes of the bodies P That ; iq adarik quostion. Oalouleting the other every body, or rather live animal, ought on on average to produce at least 200 (ail*.! A manager and a burlesque writer were standing at the stage-door of the Gaiety look- ; ing across to. tho Lyceum. “ What is the meaning of all that scaffolding P ” said the manager. “‘The ‘sticks ’ Irving turned out of the Lyceum I ” auswered, the burlesque 1 writer. Lord Beaoonsfleld once said that Lord Salisbury's invectives were , “ wanting in finish;” bn V Judging by his reference to Lord Lytton m Thursday's donate, I tike him less in eulogium jhhn to ritttperatiou..> Lord Lytton’s mends that, although a man of imefflWW U not defloibntln nraotical ability ; but to say that he hoe “ the shrewdness of a Sootohman,” is to draw his portrait without taste or discrimination. There is no one, probably, more free than the present Viceroy from .that narrow-hearted, adf-sroking caution, which is generally associated with the character of a typical Scotchman. One of the last visits paid by the Princess Louise In England was a farewell caff on Mr Whistler. The most artistic of all our princesses favours eccentric painters signally; not only the development of art which

belongs to the .much-tolkod-of American, but the modern phases of pre-Bapbaelitism have greatly attracted and interested her. A very hlsagreeable story is told about a neighbour of Mr Whistlers, whose works are not exhibited to the vulgar herd, tho Princess, in her zeal, therefore graciously sought them at the artist's studio, but was rebuffed by a Not at home,” and an Intimation that he was not at tho beck and call of princesses. I trust it is not true that so medirorolly-minded A gentleman is really a stranger to “that generous loyalty to rank and sex, that dignified obedience— ” I hope I need not goon with that passage of noble English, which Will stir the pulses of man and boy as long as tho language lasts. i A gallant young foxhunter, qualifying for a seat in Parliament, amused himself recently "J giying instruction in Roman history to tho schoolboys in his village. After having rioquently expatiated on the death of Cfcsar, which took place on the steps of the Senatehouse, he proceeded to examine the children, in order to prove their attainments. In antij bis question, “ Where did Caesar meet with his death ?” one boy eagerly responded, Vln the synagogue;" while another as promptly corrected him by the remark; “No, it was in the summer-house.” The Sural in toffect does not appear quite equal as Jet tp the assimilation or lectures on Roman istory. | The Duke of Connaught, despite the little snobbishness and petty jealousies which his visit to a western county occasioned, about the Sole right of exhibiting “me and the Duke," made himself universally popular in Ireland ; and I am glad to hoar the Irish Presentation Fund is making giant strides. There have been a good many meetings, purporting to deoide the colour and quality of tho Irish white elephant. The latest suggestion is the purchase of a “ big house.” In the event of « Paddy Connaught” H.R.H.’s western the present Viceroy, I Caqnot think of a gift-horse that would stand looking in the, mouth better than a country residence in Galway or “ Royal” Meath by such a'declared lover of le sport ; and a Royal shooting-box would be a well-baited trap to oatoh all discro wned kings and German princes bn the wing, the entertaining of whom “ the kingdom of kings” should, I believe, prefer to : Borne Eule bdj d&j« 1 | The Oratorianshave always been Cardinal Manning’s - ideal priests : wMsky-and-water and cigars and little card-parties might mar the sooredotal austerity of others of Ms clergy, and vex his soul; but the Sons of St Philip Neri Wore above criticism oven in the severe eyes of the most apostolical Cardinal of modern times. The loss of one of his favourities will probably be the greatest grief of his rule as Archbishop. This one think is certain, I think—that no hypocritical priest exists in England; the discipline is too hard and bitter to bear except for conscience’ sake. Nevertheless, .the recanting priest requires all his courage ; for he accepts a social ostracism (from the Catholic world) which has no parallel 11 ; I have heard of managers who receive payment for permitting actors to make an appearance on their boards, audit would appear (here are proprietors of magazines who are open to do business in a similar way. The following advertisement appears in the current number of tho Athenaeum “ A doueeur of three pounds will be given to any gentleman who can secure the publication of a short story in one of the popular magazines. Address,” Ac. There are one or two magazines with a languishing oironlation that 1 wot of kill probably jump at this offer, and possibly will be desirous of knowing if the writer has inv more short stories that he would be willing to get rid of on the same terms.