All Sort of People

Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 866, 9 February 1917, Page 4

All Sort of People

"\~ftTE are indebted to Mr. ' Robert * V Hannah for a copj- of the "Northern Constitution" of December 2 last,, published at Coleraine (near which Mr. Hannah, good Ulster-man that he is, hails from). This particular "Constitution" is filled to the brim with first-hand accounts of Prime Minister Massey's return visit (after 46 years) to his little native town of Limavady, near Berry, and with many interesting personal reminiscences of his schoolboy days from old friends ando companions. •.'"'•■*•. *-.'■'.* <* At the Reception Luncheon in the Alexander Memorial Hall (the poetess" Mrs. Alexander, by the way, wrote that famous hymn, "There is a Green Hill Far Away"), the Chairman of the Urban Council (Mr. Robert Douglas, J.P.), in giving the toast of "Our Distinguished Visitor and Guest, the Right Hon. William Ferguson Massey, Premier of New "Zealand,", said:-— "They in Limavady had a saying-— they had heard it from childhood, and it had become an article of faith with them—that 'Go where you will, Limavady takes the lead/ and surely this faith had been confirmed when they could point to a Limavady man as leader of the great Dominion of New Zealand?—(applause)—and they could name in the forefront of the professional world, the political world, and the mercantile world in almost every country, Limavady men, if their old saying required further confirmation. (Applause.) In honouring their guest they were honouring themselves, when they thought of him, born, and brought up in their town, taught at one of the local schools by a Mr. Brandon, who, he was informed by one of the then scholars, placed his hand on young Massey's shoulders and said: ' 'You are the smartest boy in the school.' They followed his career throughout the sub- - sequent years, and could see that he had more than justified his . teacher's estimate of the boy in the progressive agriculturist, the trenchant, speaker, and the patriotic statesman. (ApElause.) It was a joy to know that as e grew to manhood he fostered and cherished those Imperialistic ideas which characterise the Ulster Scot the; world over." Q a • - q .- '•'/ Mr. Massey's eloquent reply has been already published and so need not be

repeated here. The personal touches, however, given by the "Constitution" are quite nev? and will bear telling. At the Technical School which Mr. Massey. visited, in company with his, wife and daughter, he was told it was the desire of the students that he .should leave them some message, so that they might frame it and hang it up in the schoolhall. .--*.■-* * • : Mr. Massey said if he could put it in -the form of a quotation he thought it might be better. He knew exactly what was wanted, and he thought he could not do better at the moment than leave with them the closing lines of Kipling's latest poem, entitled "If": — "If you can fill, the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, "Yours is the earth and everything that's in it, And —which is more—you'll be a man, my son!" * (Applause.) "And," concluded the Premier, "don't forget that in this connection man embraces woman." (Laughter and applause.) The "Constitution" mentions among other things that among the crowd who welcomed Mr. Massey on Ins arrival quite, a number of the older people remembered the lad, attended school with him, played cricket with him, and one of them said he helped Willie Massey to eat his lunch at school. Mr. Leonard .Donaghey, who was waiting eagerly for Mr. Massey's arrival, recalled the fact that on the "morning young Massey, aged 14, left Limavady, he wheeled his boxesi one large and.two small to the station, and that "there was a tear in Willie's eye." # *' ;. * •» Some time prior to his departure, young Donaghey - and young Massey were sent to bring home a cow. On the road they ' -fell out," and Willie Massey cut Leonard Donaghey about the head. .The latter .retaliated, but proved no match for Massey. who, however, did not wish to have any ill-feel-ing, and so gave the boy Donaghey threepence and told him not to tell his granny. While these stories were being recounted among the waiting crowd on the platform, the fog signals announced the approach of the train, and as the saloon car drew up the "Constitution's" attentive reporter could/hear people, here and. there saying: "Isn't he a. fine-looking man?" Then "the carriage door opens and out steps the gallant Ulsterman." -."»'». #" • « As Mr. Massey stepped on to the platform- he said to the ci - owd in a cheerful voice: "How are you all, boys?" and looking down at the large number of well-dressed - children that

had assembled at the entrance to~ the station, he remarked "Plenty of young T stefs in Limavady." # ■■ ' •.■•.-•«. "'•".. . An amusing incident happened dm • ing Mr. Massey's motor run from, the Alexander Memorial Hall to the school. An old woman, rather -. excited, was pushing away everybody to try and. get a. glimpse of the distinguished gentleman, and at last she shouted: "I want to see Willie Massey; I mind the, day he threw the jug of sweet milk on me." ..'•.■•* ■* # * At the reception Mr. Massey was asked on behalf of the Rev. J. J. Glade, P.P., to accept a volume of Father McGlade's travels. The volume was accompanied by a letter in which Father McGlade expressed his regret at not being, able to be.present. Altogether the .visit of the Prime Minister of New Zealand to his native town was "a great day intoirely" for Limavady. * * * - ¥■ The Countess. of Torby, mother of young George of Battenberg's bride, is a kinswoman of the young Grand Duchess of Luxemburg, whose neutrality has been treated so cavalierly, by the Germans. The _ Countess Torby's father was Prince Nicholas of Nassau, who made a morganatic marriage in London with a Russian lady, who was created Countess of Merenberg. The Countess Torby's own morganatic marriage with the Grand Duke. Michael Miehaelovitch has been crowned with great happiness. # ■ - • ■ • *. ■„. * Corporal David. Curry Missen (killed in action) was 48 years of•_age. .He shouldered a gun in his country's cause purely from a sense of patriotism. He was over the age limit, and, therefore, was not called upon to go to the front. Moreover, he was a married man. He left as a sergeant.in A company, 14th Reinforcements. As is

usual, on arrival in England he was reduced to the, ranks. Later, he won .promotion on the field, and got- two stripes up again, and , was transferred to the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. Corporal Missen was born at Wanganui. His wife resides at Hamilton, in the Waikato. Geneva] sympathy will be ffcit for her. ~ • - » « '». • Trooper Albert John Cross, cable news of whose death in action was received last week, was the third son of i r - J E - T 'i- 9 of Dairy JFlat, Auckland. He left New Zealand with his brother, Trooper Ernest Cross, in. the 6th Reinforcements attached to the 3rd Auckland Mounted. Rifles. The two brothers saw nearly two years' active service, together. They were two months on Gallipoli, ; coming away at the evacuation with the" "Diehards." Roth took part in all' skirmishes in - E gypt until the action leading to the capture of El Arish, when Albert was killed, and Ernest, though escaping unbounded, had his horse shot dead under him. The deceased soldier was very well known m Auckland, and was a very keen volunteer. He was 27 years of ase. Prior to enlisting he was in partnership with his -brother in the contracting business. ■ *' '_. * * « _ Henry Brearley. "the inventor of rustless steel, i s a native of . Sheffield where one would expect him to come from. It is said that when Brearley first projected his new idea, which will be welcomed most of all hy household drudges, whose duty it is to clean the family'cutlery, his friends used to scoff at it. They would come to him and say: "I'll rust that steel for you man hour." And they would go away and subject the steel to the spout of an old kettle, ' which emitted; super- ' rusted steam. Then, rejoicing, they would return with the blade on which tne kettle had dumped some of its superfluous rust; But it always wiped

off with a damp cloth, and the workman would retire.. regretting that he had hacked a wrong 'un. Then he buried a blade and he gave away knives to friends and asked for reports. All were favourable and the .article became a commercial success and a domestic joy for ever. .* ~.*....'-*. # A wonderful old lady of the British peerage is Dowager Ladv Lamington, who in November last journeyed from London to Lamington, the seat in Lanarkshire of her son, Lord Lamington. She is now in her 93rd year, and it was 72 years in December since her wedding to Disraeli's intimate, Mr. A. Cochrane-Baillie, created Lord Lamjington. For her age Dowager Lady Lamington enjoys really good health, and is deeply interested in her great-great-grandchildren, the two babies of her great-granddaughter, pretty Lady Idina Wallace. . • . . .... . s ' >* » « > By an early steamer leaving New Zealand, a young Auckland vocalist in the" person of Miss Laura Walker, will depart to take up a-two years' course of tuition in the Melba Conservatorium at Melbourne. Some months ago some highly complimentary remarks made by Mr. Paul DufauTt were published in this paper regarding the quality of Miss Walker's voice. On her recent visit to Auckland, Madame '.Melba took occasion, to : hear the young lady sing, and as a result offered her two years' tuition at her Conservatorium. Melba expressed herself as surprised and delighted, with what she had heard, andpredicted a very brilliant future for the - young New Zealander. * _ * * '*'..'/.' Miss Walker first came into prominence at the Aiickland and Hamilton Competitions in 1913 and 1914, where she carried ' all before her in .the soprano solos. As evidence of the range of her voioe, it is worthy of note that she holds' certificates _ for contralto,;' mezzo, and soprano voices. Her more recent successes; have been attained at. her recital given in the Town . Hall, at Auckland and in the Auckland Choral Society's "Messiah" performance, . in which she sustained, with brilliant success the soprano role. An enthusiastic worker for charitable and patriotic purposes, Miss Walter carries the good wishes of thousands and- the hopes that she will add lustre to New Zealand vocalism. ; "•'•■'*•'.*■ ■» ' .-* . ■* -• . ' Mr. N. P. A. Wadia is a wealthy Pafsee of good family at Bombay, who married a Gaiety actress named Eleanora Hammond in London jn London, and' has just had to beg the Divorce Court '■-'to untie the nuptial bonds for; him. ; According to Wadia's story Eleanora led him a: lively dance. When .the honeymoon trip brought them to Bombay, the bride would not meet her husband's family and "called them all sorts of names." On the voyage back to England in February, 1912, Eleanora followed her husband all over the shipT threw thinss at him, flung herself on the floor, and screamed and "yelled. :■ She held him up -to "ridicule,, and called him "a Mack nigger." In April she went off suddenly to India, and fell in with an Aixstrian named Von Plapart, acted with him on the stage,

and finally lived with him. To add to all those woes the copper-coloured, petitioner told the Court his wife was superstitious, her favourite number being four. Sometimes she made him .dress four times for dinner, and if he, got out of bed she insisted on his get-* ting in and out again four: times. (Laughter.) She used to lock him out of the bedroom in his pyjamas. "That is not a very pleasant thing on a chilly night," remarked Wadia with a shiver at the recollection. He got his decree all right. Mixing the colours is not a good matrimonial experiment. Actress Ola Humphries' union with an Egyptian prince is another case in point. Jack Johnson, tlie ex-champion negro pugilist, whose "golden" smile and be-diamoncled fingers and tie, used to be so much in the public' eye, has been "down on his luck" since the war started. He is a "broken" man, and the latest about him' that he is at : Barcelona in Spain, and is proposing to become a bull-fighter. . «• * - < * . •$. -Johnson made a big fortune during the few years in which he held the world's championship; but there was very little brain in that small, hard, round, coeoanut head of his, and he scattered gold with the senselessness of a Jubilee Juggins. He had a weakness rfor gambling, and also a mania for motor cars that led to his owning seven at one time when in London. "Ah'd jist like more'n anythin' else in dis yer world," he said . to a paper man, "i' drive de hull lot of dem keyrs in a. string down the' Strand by ma own self." As it was he paid away a small fortune in motor fines in the course of his boom. ■* * * * Captain Bransby Williams, aged 18, of the Royal Flying Corps, has brought down several Fokkers and "aviatiks" at the front and received the Military Cross from the King. He has now applied to be allowed to return to the front and repeat his heroic experiments if possible, but he has received a letter . from the War Office .addressed to "Captain'B. Williams, M.C." informing him that he cannot return to the front till he is over nineteen years of age!