All Sorts of People

Free Lance, Volume X, Issue 499, 22 January 1910, Page 4

All Sorts of People

V TW% HAT old and seasoned salt, Cap- ,. i tain Jo Jin Bernech, -who is step- ''' ping out of . the Unioni Oom- - pany's active service this month,' is laying down his charts and captain's uniform amid general expressions of regret. He has -nothing to reproach himself with over a long and" arduous seafaring life. And that means that no one is reproaching him. For there has been no more conscientious skipper on deck than John, Bernech, and timid folk who had to "put out to sea" were .always more at ease if the old skipper with the reserved demeanour; ,the grey beard and grizzled, beetling eyebrowis was on the bridge. Captain Bernech was appointed to the command of the Beautiful Star on r March 3rd, 1876—thirty-fouir years aeo. He afterwards transferred to the Maori and the Mahinapua and in January, he was appointed to the command of the Ohau when she arrived in New. Zealand, remaining with that vessel foot- four years. .For many years, he was in the Penguin, in the Dunedin - Wellington - Onehunga . run; when that service was carried on by the Penguin, Hawea, and Rotorua. He was then transferred to the East Coast Dun edan- Auckland run. commanding at different, times the Te Anau. Tarawera. Talune. Waikare., and Monowai. * * * He was still in command of the Monowai when he had to .come ashore owing to illness. His career has been conspicuous by its absolute freedom from accident, and h.& was recognised as being the best coast master under the Union Company's flag. "For a trale on the New Zealand coast on a dark, dirty night, there was nothing safer than the old Te Anau and Jack Bernech." is the opinion of many who are now not so fond of travelling as they once were. "He could smell the land." :r " , *•■*•■* K Passed away at Blenheim, on Thursday last, George Kenrick Wakelin, one of the and . respected links between the old and modern schools of journalism in New Zealand. Twenty-nine years ago Richard Wake- . lin. the father of the Blenheim jour- ' nalist died at Greytown after having been long called "the father of New Zealand journalists." George Kenrick Wakelin had been, a familiar figure about Marlborough for the # past, twelve years. He was a prominent member of the Blenheim Bowling Clufb, and proprietor of the well-known printing establishment in MafkeiHstreet, ivas born in "Willis-street, Wellington, in 1851. and therefore was in his 59th year. . y He was apprenticed to..the printing trade in thel office of. the Wairarapa "Mercury," the first paper printed in\ the Wairaraoa, district, under the editorship of his father. After a varied, experience in many, offices in the North Island, he took oveir the management of the Wairarapa "Standard" for his father, and during the latter's illness became editor of that journal. On his father's death,, he Temoved to the and'worked on the "Standard" as reporter and overseer, and for a. time edited the Patea "News." • ■• » .' » He moved to Wellington in 1885, and for some years worked in the Government Printing Office, at the same time contributing -articles and letters to' various papers. In 1889 he was appointed editor of the Pelorus "Guardian." just being started. '• Twelve years ago> the late Mr. Wakelin left Havelock and settled in Blenheim. He had been ailing, for some .• - . ■ time past, and recently cam© to Wellington for a holiday. He was taken seriously ill whilst here, and had to . return home. His illness developed into brain fever, to which he succumbed. He leaves a widow, five sons, and a daughter. ». * * Miss Dulcie Deamer (now Mrs. Albert Goldie), whose remarkable stories in the "Lone Hand" gained her some reputation as a writer, is at present appearing as the Fairy Queen m the pantomime "Dick WHttrngton," in a company which is now touring New South Wales under the management of Mr. Albert Goldie. _ ; Dulcie wals for a , " little while in training in New Zealand with the Taylor-Carrington Company. It looks as if nothing is going to wither her infinite variety, and the Dick Whittdngtpn business is in danger of becoming a, family affair. ' The Goldies had a son born to them about four months ago. We haven't heard yet what stage name he has adopted, so cannot say if he's in this pantomime cast.

y\ One of the prominent and,successful bowlers in town last week was Mr. Jas. Nasih. tbe popular Mayoir of Palmerston. North. About his own do-mains-he is popularly knoiwn as "Jimmy." It' is fair to state that, although he has ©aught a large measure of limelight oyer the bowling tournament, he> caught considerably more over a recent baby show which was held at Palmerston North, aaid at which he acted as judge with even more wisdom than is attributed to Solomon of old. The XfANOE had a word or two to say anent that baby show, and the judgment thereon. But it is not current knowledge that James Nash, Esq., has been masked to officiate at a baby ©how to be' held by the WelKnlgtooa Savage Club at an early date. We are in the happy position of being able to publish the correspondence which, to date, has passed between, the parties concerned on the subject.

"Wellington, 26th December, 1909:. —James Nash, Esq.. Mayor of Palmerston. Dear sir,-—ln view of the. following paragaraph—"That the Mayor of Palmerston is a tactful man surely cannot be gainsaid after his performance at the Butchers' Picnic yesterday afternoon. He had been, appointed judge of the baby , show, ancl was faced by nine babies, with nine watchful mothers. The committee had provided first, second, third, and fourth prizes,, but in making his awards the Mayor' converted the whole of these into first prizes, and himself contributed five more first, so thasfc each ctild came'-out top, and the mothers, <it ,*>ny rate, were happy. So the Mayor dodged a difficult position.'—may I request, that you will officiate as judge at the baby show under the auspices of the- Wellington. Savage Club, which takes place on Anniversary Day (22rid January).

"There are 1713 entries, we have been moich harassed in- our elvorts to obtain a judge in' whom we' feel the ■oompetitotrs vsdll have the utmost confidence. I have therefore to request that you will comply with the" wish _of the Committee, and by so> doing gave satisfaction to all concerned. I have the honour to be. six, your obedieairt servant. Marcus F-r-M', Baby- Marshall. N.B.—As this is very largely a' public matter, I have supplied the press v.ith a copy, of this-letter:"

- People who> are aware that Mis?. Amy Castles is famous in England > Ireland, and her. own native land, would be surprised to ; -.' hear that. her name is almost a- household, word throughout all musical Germany. She visited Germany when but ilLequipped with a knowledge of the laoiguage. yet, despite this disadvantage, her tour wais a long series of enormous successes, which were the more pleasing to the young stranger in so. far that she had toi appear .before Germany's most critical audiences, amid under the orchestral direction of ~som© of its most famous conductors.

If Sir Joseph Ward trembling in. his Prime Ministerial slippers, assuredly he ought to he doing so. Is he aware that that - mighty ' organ known as the Warkworth "Times" is on his track ? List to _ the following sublime burst of rhetoric that appeared in a recent leading article of the

said mighty organ:—"Oh, our country, why are yon to be pulled hither and thither by office, retainers ? Why should your representatives be dragooned into servility to allow a handful of men to secure their dominance ? How long; Oh. Lord, how long." The punctuation) may leave something to be desired, but the sentiment reflects equal credit on the heart and pen of the editor. \

Bernard Stone, who recently returned to America after a brief holiday visit to Auckland, which is the city of his birth, has- pitched his camp in the town of Vale,-Oregon, where he. in company with one, J. J. MoGrathj has started a paper known as "The Malheur Enterprise and Vale Plaindealer. 5 ' The title sounds pretty imposing, at any rate, and the "plaindealing" part of it suggests all kinds of editorial support. Bernard •is the manager of the concern-, wjhile J. J. McGrath is the editor. Judging fey the general appearance of the first issue, the paper should prove a success. Bernard is a Ixustlimg sort. 'a;rud, if he is controlling the business end of the concern, success should be assured.

There seems to be no end to the peculiarities of Inclement Wi'agge in his lecturesubjects; • He- ' has done some fine things in his time on the lecture platform •. with such trifling themes as "A Voyage to the Moon and Home Again via the Milky Way," "The : Romance of the .Heavens,'"' "Soots on the Sun," etc. But. if the Star" speaks truly in this case which seems doubtful, Mr. Wraigge's last public effort annexes a whole grocer's shopful of 'biscuits. ,The "Star" gives it out that Clement Wraigge delivered a lecture at . '.St.. James's Hall the other evening, , entitled: "The Flight of .a Soul to a large audience." "We should be interested now to know whose soul it was that flew! and what the audience did with it when they got it. ,

A word about Colonel Alfred William Robin. C.8., who might be called "the other side of the storv" in the Knyvett sensation which continues to: excite military . folk right through the Dominion. Colonel Robin is a Dunedin man. and commenced his military career in the Otago Hussars, in which he attained to the rank of captain. He commanded the New Zealand mounted troops at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in- London in 1897. On his return, he became major commanding the;. First Regiment. Otago Mounted Rifle®. On the outbreak of the South African War, he went away in command of the First Contingent.

He was mentioned three times in despatches, received the Queen's -medal and five clasps, and was made a C.B. in 1900. and in the'same year rieceeived the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, hecoming Brevet-Colonel a year later. For some time he was officer commanding the Otaigo District, and in. January. 1907. he was appointed first military member of the Council of Defence and chief of general staff, which positions he still holds.

Madame Ada Crossley is making an interesting botanical experiment in her residence in _ St. John's Wood. London. She believes there is a close

practical connection between the Australian eucalyptus and the voice, and .that the well-known i evergreen, while efficacious for illnesses of the throaty is also in ia gpreat degree for the musical voices of aatives where the eucalyptus flourishes. During her recent Australian tour, Madame Crossley selected- a few eucalyptus trees, and had them, sent to. England, with the result that six of them are now growing in her garden. They are planted in imamense pots, so. imbedded in the. ground that the trees appear to be growing in. the earth itself. The trees have grown- beautifully m. London for seven months. They are very hardy, and take care of themselves very well during the summer and the autumn.: When the snow and frost come they are placed in the hothouse.." '

Mr. T. E. Donne, who as busying, himself in. London, has unearthed the followinig choice; bit of "information" Teganding New Zealand, which appeared m the (Ohio.) '.'Enquirer" on May 25th last.' Referring to a Maori woman who was aidimtted to the hospital in the previous day, the paper says: "She speaks English' fluently although she lived for yeans in what is known as Kings Country, in New Zea- - land, which but a single white . man ever explored-. Like all the natives of that country, she is proud of > , her birthplace, where' its chiefs still live in nude barbaric splendour, and where polygamy is still.practised, although cannibalism has been abolished." Thais may be regarded as another striking; •example of the free imagination of the American reporter, and also of the misleading piffle, served up by the. American press..

> What about setting up an oldest inhabitant competition in God's Own Country? If a competition of the kind were inaugurated in Wellington the chances are" that the veterans would start out afoot on the pilgrimage to the capital from, all over the Islands. Some of these veteran walkers would shame the rising generation, too. Take the case of Mr. Andrew Kinross, a Southland resident, octagenarian. farmer. politician, ■ strangest of mixtures —a poet. This old gentlemaoi of eighty-four or thereabouts walked the other day from In-verca-r/gill to the Bluff, a distance, of eighteen miles, and cut it dut in four hours, arriving before nine o'clock in the morning. The pexformance meant sterorangout at the rate of four and a-half miles an hour. Not too bad for an old 'un!

There are a couple of pedants about Mr. M. •A. Noble, the Australian cricketer, who has just amnounced his intention of retiring from! fkst-c&ass cricket, which may have escaped the ordinary observer. Mr. Noble took his M.A. very shortly after his birth, and was a M.A.N, when he was ened. Both of these facts are singular. For the rest. M. A. Noble is a very versatile entertainer, a<nd the best of good company, sings, a very acceptable baritone song, will play his owii or anyone else's . accompanimeaits on the piano or organ, and tell a good story in rhyme or prose. His profession as ia dentist ds going to. have his more immediate attention henceforward;

Talking of singers, says . "Akenehi." in the "Bulletin," someone has sent nie a picture of' Tetxrazzinii cooking in her New York flat. She stands beside a cooking range, hetr left hand on the handle of a saucepan, ~ andi with the •right she lifts the cover of the. pot. JBfer face wears am anxious- "Have I miscalculated the ingredients" expression. To do the lady justioe, she looks the part, bednig thick ,all over and devoid of neck. But. for that matter, the great singer generally looks like -the cook of fiction, whilst the cook of fact amd of to-day is often a slender, youthfui-looking person, who reads Ella W. "Wilcox's "Poems of Passion," -.and does her hair like half a pier inelon.

Jack Johnson . for whose defeat in the mill with Jeffries all the white world appears to be fervently praying, has .recently earned the tiitle of "Diamond Jack." A sort of black diamond. At any rate, the fighter has taken to. wearing jewellery of late, and pleads guilty to wearing £5000 worth of jewels about bis , person. Johnson admits ■ that thei bulk of the ■money he earned in his recent tour has "been 'invested in precious stones. So the chances are that if Jeffries! downs him : he will still -reinain brilMant.

• Amongst the visitors-< to Wellington at the end of last week was Mr. J. M. ■Shields,, the London pivot of the Pand O. Steam Navigation Company. Any mani might be excused for looking a second time at the P. and O. Shields, especially if hie J ciaugjht the visitor with his-hat off. A forehead i-isirog as abruptly aind square as the PJock of Gibraltar, surmounted by -fizzled, waving hair thick as maliee scrub, and every hair speakinig character and purpose.

Mr. Shields came to, the. Antipodes -with his wife' wholly and ; soilely for pleasure, on; holiday bent. But he reached Sydney .in time to oatch the big coal strike. That meant taking off bis coat, and, incidentally, taking <a month off his holiday also._ His campansy's steamers were to be despatdhed up to the tick of the clock.' That meant , aa-ranging for Japanese coal to be carried. by the company's own fleet from- the East. •■•.'.

Now,. Mr. J. M. Shields has represented his company thirty yea<rs or so in China, and Japa-n. so. he was just the man for the emergency.. The work was don©, all right. All through the strike, while some hundreds amds of tons of slipping lay_ idle ui Svdnev (harbour, the. P. and 0., SUN.

CcmrpanyV boats ram in and out at the scheduled minute week /after .week. And this Mr. Shields—a .born manager .—relished, the work. He knew Sydney e-yen of old. . What part of the world doesn't he know, now that he has visited New Zealand? It was a'bout _ the only country not ticked -off his visiting list" before last week. He has been some seven years or so. managing the London, keadnnau'teTS, still looks about thirty-five to .foirty years of age. speaks with a pleasantly miusioal, wellmodulated voice, make® friends .all the way he goes, amid does his- company an immense amount of service all the time, even while on holiday. .. *. * * The general election at Home. has ■given rise to a- number of good stories about Mr. Lloyd George. One of them concerns a recent banquet at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer was a guest. Sittir>.~ next to him wias a young lady, who listened reverently to every word that fell ¥rom hier hero's lips." "Ah," she ventured at last, "you have suffered a great deal in vout life from being misunderstood, have you not?" "Yes," Mr.'; Lloyd is reported to have replied, "I have suffered from being misunderstood : but I haven't suffered half as much as I would have if I had been understood.'" ' >