ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

Free Lance, Volume II, Issue 75, 7 December 1901, Page 3

AL L SO RTS OF PEOPLE

MISS Janet Waldoif the American lady, is not the Miss Janet Waldorf of the footlights A charming woman, of exceptionally highstrung temperament, keen, alert, practical, who, apart from her stage creations, is intensely modern and American. Miss Waldorf can be persuaded sometimes to speak about heiself, but her interest m Muss Waldorf is not synonymous with her interest in her voice, her acting, her audience Her fine, dark eyes dilate when she speaks of the parts she loves * • * She speaks lovingly of u ßomeo and Juliet," but considers that her Camille is her strongest part. A reference to her travels will give you the globetrotting American lady, accent, gesture and all, and she will dilate on the people of every corner of the world — everything but her triumphs, which have been many and world-wide. Intensely nervous is Miss Waldorf until she is 'on " when she becomes merged in her part * * * Mrs. Dow-Cumei has, something to do w ith Miss Waldorf's artistic success The joung tragedienne is as it were a protegee of this lady, who has among other 1 stai s " brought to light the sparkling Julia Marlowe, and the inimitable Miss Hoffmann Mis Dow-Curner is a Plnladelplna lady, and the only stage manageress in the world So thorough1\ does she know her business that she is letter perfect m every play of the compam 's repertoire She will talk %olubh to -sou from the wings, with frequent asides to her artistes supers, carpenters, etc Her expeuence is a long oik 1 and she owns to thirty years' constant tiavellmg in her part as manager("v, actress and business lady generally. Mi Whitely King, from twelve to hfteou jears ago, was one of the best known "of the Parliamentary "Press Gang" in Wellington. He left New Zealand to push his fortunes in Australia and pushed them to such purpose that in a short time he was secretary of the New South WaJes Pastoralists' Union, and the big squatters liked him so well and the New Zealander did his work with such thoroughness that they have kept him in harness ever since. But you may bump across Whitelev K\v on Lambton Quev any day now His health needs ' toning up," and he has come across to New Zealand with that ob]ect A fortnight ago he was m Auckland — freshly arrived from Sydney — and just now he is spending a holiday with his mother and other relatives in New Plymouth. Anon you may sight his glossy belJtoppei and white \est on the Quay. * • • Mi Whitely King is a grandson of the Be\ Mr WTutely, who was murdered by the Maoris at White Cliffs (Taranaki) in the sixties. Whiteh at one time created a stir in the colony by an offer to the then Native Minister to head an expedition against Te Kooti. Nearly twenty years ago, he contested the Taranaki seat under the auspices of Sir George Grey, but w r as not successful Subsequently, he left for Sydney to try his fortunes there, and was at once appointed to the lucrative and responsible position which he now holds

Mr Napier, M H.R . and authority on defence, is disseminating his views on this and other matters freely. In reply to a recent lettei in which appaientlv lie gave the Navy League instructions as to what to do m the ca<-e of an attack on New Zealand the secretary of that body writes Mr. Napier It is to be hoped that the Bntlsh squadron in Australian waters in years to come will be largely officeied and manned by men of colonial buth It would be an exceedingly good thing for everyone concerned if the Admiral commanding in your waters now had been born in Australia or New Zealand " Mr Napiei is a colonial Draw your own conclusions. Police Probationer Harry Fitzsimmons has the reflected glory of being 1 elated to Champion Bob of that ilk He has had the distinct on of being dandled on the knee of that hero of the ring, and, perhaps, he believes that the reputation of the Fitzsimmonses will help him along in his police career It certainly should scaie the drunken derelict or the too frequent burglar if the youthful policeman presents his pasteboard, being careful to state at the foot thereof his relation to the hero of a thousand battles. Young Fitz himself is imbued with the instincts to go out and look for a fight He got what he was looking for in Africa, with the Second Contingent, and saw much storm and sunshine with that corps Fitz's father wears the New Zealand medal and long-service decoration, and the pair, when they foregather over thear evening lemonade, compare war notes, and talk of hairbreadth escapes — Maoris and Boers, Brown Bess and Lee Metford. Probationer Fitzsimmons was employed previous to his enlistment by Messrs. Hellaby, the great Auckland 'butchers This nim gsne him the magnificent horse that carried him over the veJdt, and kept his billet open foi him The occupation was, however, too peaceful to suit the embryo constable and he- has drifted into the ''foorce." Unlike several returned f ire _eiaters he confesses that his part in the war is not worth chronicling, which leads us to suppose that whole books could be written about it if he assessed his services at the; value of many of the wearers of tho khaki Mr. W. T. Wood, Palnier&ton North's newly -elected mayoi, is a Tasniaiuan by birth and a blacksmith by occupation. He has just leturned horn a holiday trip to the tight little island, 'by the way. He is a well-known figure up in the Manawatu, where 'Bill Wood" is a synonjm loi straightforwaidness and Lonesty. Mi. W ood worked at his trade in Tasmania until he reached man's estate, but the desiie for adventure proved irresistible, and he joined in one of the man} rushes to the West Coast of the South Island. It was on the goldfields, by the way, that he first met Mi. Seddon, and the friendship between the two is as strong now as in the days when friendship often meant something moie than mere words. Well on the right side of fifty, Mr. Wood is in the prime of life, and, let us hope, has many years of useful labour before him The Duke and Duchess of York are expert camera fiends, and their collection of perspiring mayors, embryo knights, and leading lights of colonial Society is unique. The tired Duke, m Ins most bored moments, is said to have had photographic designs on funny events 01 people. A Home papei humourously remarks that in many of 'Prince George's New Zealand negatives a large gentleman generally appears very close- to the cameia. From a study of the photographs of colonial celebrities the gentleman certainly bears a remarkable resemblance to Dr. Seddon New Zealand's Prime Minister."

Mr. Shand, of the "Thames Star," who has been awarded the African «ar medal, was. an energetic war correspondent, who supplied many New Zealand papers with "copy" during the opening stages of the war. Oftentimes, when there was no help for it, Mr. Shand was very near the firing line, and w^hatever happened he was ever most energetic in getting the true points of an engagement from men who were in it. On various horses, in many trains, and baggage waggons, Mr. Shand managed to' get to Pretoria. If memory serves, this energetic correspondent ran a photographic establishment m Pretoria, together with a Mr Berry, who went to Africa with a later Contingent. * • < Mr. Bern was the man who took the photographs . at least the negatives. Mr Berry went with his Contingent, on the march, and Mr. Shand brought the negatives to New Zealand, where he exhibited them as lantern slides to large audiences in the Thames district. Mr. Shand's enterprise was remarkable. A fatigue party w r as told off to dig a large hole, in which to bury camp refuse. Mr. Shand conceived the quaint idea of photographing it, and calling it "His last rest," or something to show that a hero lav buried there The picture appeared in the New Zealand papers, with the fatigue party standing bareheaded, and with solemn faces, mourning the buried iam tins, biscuit, cases, beef tins, and old sacks * * * Mr Shand's militaiv experience, gained by observation of British and Boer tactics, should fit him for his present position as captain of a company of infantry at Thames He is editor of the "Thames Star," and takes a keen interest in the needs of Quartzopohs * » • If you have noticed a keen-looking, w hite-bearded old gentleman getting along very rapidly on crutches, and you do not happen to know that he is Mr George Harris, you are evidently not an old-time Welhngtoman. He is the man with a hobby for cricket and Latin quotations You may see the learned gentleman in the Basin Reserve, or in the columns of the daily papers — sometimes He writes for what he expressly calls the "culchawed" magazines, and coaches tihe young idea in cricket and Latin quotations, each with an ease born of long practice. George is a character, and he has a tale to tell in plain English sometimes He tells how he originated, and was honorary secretary of, the first cricket club started in Napier in 1859 and how he did duty successfully also as honorary secretary of the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club and Napier Choral Societj Mr Hams gravely informs us that his affliction, by which he is forced to use crutches, arises from the fact of his having acted in that capacity to the said Choral Society although there is no evidence m the records of that Society to show how the gentleman could have received permanent injuries from contact with a musical association. < # ♦ Mr Harris was a gentleman jockey, too, inter aha, as he would say. George scaled seven stone ton pounds in those days, and he steered a horse belonging to Mr. Carroll, father of the present Native Minister, to victory m the first race he ever rode. As Mr. Harris truly says, ' sic transit gloria mundi " Today, despite hisi unfortunate affliction, the genial ex-secretary, jockey, cricketer, and Latin scholar, finds life very pleasant He is as keen as mustard on his favourite old sports, and worse nominations have been made for the position of cricket coaches than that made m a humorous spirit of George Hams, the sport enthusiast.

Lord Tenny&on, South Australia's Governor, is a poor peer. His father like most poets, was improvident, and left little patrimony. The present peer, who as also a poet in a dilettante way, is not given to saving, although he is by no means extravagant. Little acts of kindness are reported of this quiet gentleman, which go to show that he is rather a better success as a poor man than many Governors who are wealthy. * • • Sir Hector Macdonald has bumped up against the conceit of the colonial soldier. He has had the audacity to tell Australian military men that, although Australians are splendid fellows, they still require the training of regulars to make them as good as "Tommy." There now i After Australia and New Zealand have beeai telling the whole world how they taught Tommy to fight, one of Tommy's generals tells them they can learn the art of war from the people whom they are alleged to have taught. This is a crowning humiliation. As far as can be ascertained, no' one particularly resented Macdonalds utterances, and he has left for India and his Tommies sound and whole. * ♦ » Annie Taylor, who acquired the opium habit in the Chinese dens in Auckland, and is now a lunatic in consequence, furnishes the most telling example we have yet had in New Zealand of the results of this accursed practice, and of the necessity that existed for a law against the importation of opium. It is alleged that this young woman owes her present condition to the indulgence of opium, and the pity of it is that the creatures who induced that indulgence cannot be imprisoned for life. Goodness knows, we have vices enough of our own without permitting the degrading and very worst vices of the Chinese to be practised in our midst and amongst our own people, and especially to the extent that it is said to have been practised on Annie Taylor. * * * A few days ago, this victim to the habit, who appeared in the Court in a dazed and stupefied state, pleaded to the magistrate that she was completely at the mercy of the Chinese, and an inquiry into her statement was promised ; but it is doubtful, seeing that the woman is since deranged, whether the inquiry will do any good. It is too late to take her testimony, and on that account it is probable there will not be any punishment for the harm that has been done to her. The law to prevent the> landing on these shores of opium should be rigorously enforced * • • The name of Mr. Williams, the young telegraphist, who stuck to his post and his instruments while Cheviot was collapsing like a pack of cards, should be remembered. The coolness of this young man would have stood him in good stead in any position in which courage is appraised at a high value. Mr Williams belongs to Hokitika, and for his self-sacrifice the people of that town, it is believed, will probably make him some recognition. This operator formeilv held an appointment at Auckland, where he was very popular. He was transferred to Gisborne, where he unfortunately contracted typhoid fever. From there he went to Christchurch, where again the same malady attacked him. ♦ • • The postal authorities sent him to Cheviot for the benefit of his health. For a man suffering from liver, Cheviot is certainly a fine healthful place, as it does not allow that useful organ to remain still long enough to get torpid. It would, however, destroy the average man's nerves. Mr. Williams evidently has a good set He did not share in the general exodus, but just stuck quietly to his instrument, telling tihe people of New Zealand, and, in fact, the world, that the old earth was bumping uncom-

fortably There is no V C. ot telegraph\ , and we don't know that there is any fund foi the special service*, of telegraphists The kindest thing the authorities could do would be to promote Mr. Williams to an office that lemains stationary, and let another clerk anxious for lenown take charge of the Che\ lot office, 01 what lemains of it 9 » ♦ General Hutton, Australia's new Commandant General, is a gentleman who, under a good deal ot fuss carries a good devil of .sound militaiv knowledge To him the world owes the mounted infantry idea and to him many a Tommy owes the priceless boon ot a new shirt or a pair of ammunition boots Like most officer of high rank, he is sometimes unieasonable in ins demands A piopos a flMng co umn.of which he was the head camped to rest horses, nearest depot about L>o nwles men ragged, boots hole> shirts bv no means " Parade for General s Section General and officers commanding colonials pas, down ranks. "Men with bad boots Why? he fiercely asked the major We + have none on convoy sir " replied that officer 'Well dash, blank it send for some the-e men have to have boots by to-morrow." The men did not have boots to-moi-row, or next day. or the month after, but, then, you see, generals do not go poking around every day. Ge , ne .™ Hutton is considered to be one of the finest exponents of "palaver m tho SJmy He is responsible for tho colonial idea that Colonial "rooineks aie the finest soldiers in the world He used to tell them so in Africa ft pleases them, and makes them work in spite of holey shirts and solelcss boots * * * John Lane, the man who started the •'New Australia" colony of Cosme, in the wilds of Paraguay, finds things uninteresting in a country where no on. gets any salary but himself, and he has gone to' AustraJia to pick up recruits tor his small Arcadia, where everybody works for his tucker— and Mr. John Lane It will be icmembcied that a few of the New Australians escaped from Cosme as soon after its establishment as possible. They cannot escape now, for they have no currency, and the steamboat companies do not barter passages for pigs or tickets for turnips * * * Mr. Lane has been 'doing" England for converts to his faith of 'social-equal-ty-all-round-exoept-the-boss," and he has increased the recruits for Cosme by four men, a woman, and twins. He is at present in Australia, endeavouring to convince the people that the only true happiness is in working at top speed for nothing a week and "tucker " Mr Lane finds it difficult to get teachers fot the young Cosme youngsters. The teacher is required to instruct the iuvemle colonist in the arts of educational socialism after he has hoed his potatopatch or dug his chain of land So far the routine has only sent the teacheirs to hospital, but if enthusiastic eduactionalists cannot be found in Australia, New Zealand, which is sociaJisticallv inclined 1 , can surely furnish some flesh and bone and brain to help M Lane's little scheme, and boost the colony along Mr. Thomas Walker is a versatile gentleman, who seems to be pretty widely known in these colonies He made his first tour as a trance lecture^ or inspirational medium Then he blossomed forth as a free thought orator, and on the strength of his fluent oratory sailed into the New South Wales

Parliament. Next, he turned up in New Zealand as an evangelist. He tired ot the evangel business, and settled down as a teacher of elocution Anon, ho came to hfe again as a, Sunday e\enmg leetuier on the .secularist platform out in Westralia, and the latest news about him is that he i& now filling the editorial chan of a Westralian Sunday papei One of the sensations of his life «di his accidental shooting of a parson in a Sydney subuiban tram many veais Madame Carlton. the well-known local songstiass, hat, found out she has had a \er\ apt pupil, who nevei paid any foes Tlie lad\ 's rooms wheio she lcceives her pupils and gnes her le&sons in singing, are situated in the budding formerly known as the Working Men's Club Tmmediateh opnosite i& the Albert Hotel and one of the inmates of the' Albert is a parrot, whose bump of mimicry is abnormally developed, even for birds of its fcdthei It has e\ identiv paid paiticular attention to the singing lessons across thowav, for it has been practising hard at the scales for some time And now it is going in for roulades, trills, and the more difficult graces of \ocal embellishment The difficulty is to get it to ring off and give the neaghbomhood a re«*t * » ♦ A few changes, have taken place in Lambton Quay since that fine old pioneer T. W. McKenzie, and his brother Oddfellows started to form the site near the corner of Grey-street , upon which the Loyal Antipodean and the Loa al Britannia Lodges have then quarters It ls stated that at the regular lodge meeting the other merht an offer of £20.000 was received foi the property from a well-known insurance company and was promptly declined In the early days the site was on the margin of the beach and most of it was covered at full tide The biothion

w ore men of grit and stamina, and a good deal of their leisure on long summer evenings and on Saturday af tei noons was devoted to the work in 7 amateur leolamation. They carried (-aith there, and gradually won their land from the envious sea. And now, if they wanted to turn it into coin of the realm they have only to speak the w ord and twenty thousand sovereagns aie leadv for them. Mis. K. F. Allan, who ha* just been ejected a membei of the Charitable Aid Board, is the second of her sex who has been appointed to that position in the colony. She wa& formerly Miss Stella Henderson and is a particularly gifted lady A graduate of the New Zealand TJniversit* she is an MA. with first-class honouis in Latin and English and is besides a Bachelor of Laws She is besides an able journalist, as the prqprietois of the "Lyttelton Times" testit\ , and as a leader writer she particularh shines. * * * She applied for the position of Law Lecturer to Victoria College some time ago, and her credentials, made her a strong competitor. In March, 1900, Miss Henderson was married to Mr. ft F Allan, of the "Evening Post" editorial staff, himself a muchtravelled man, an Oxford scholar, and a cle\er writer. Her interest in the Society for the Protection of Women and Children is well known, and she is \ ice-preiident of that institution. Mrs. Allan is a prolific writer, and corresponds regularly for a leading London paper She intends to common cc practice in Wellington as a barn.stor and solicitor shortly. A lady with =uch unusual talents, high motives, and uncommon "grip" of things generillv should not only adorn the legal profession but should certainly be of sreat benefit to the Charitable Aid Board.