ALL SORT OF POPLE

Free Lance, Volume XVII, Issue 920, 1 March 1918, Page 4

ALL SORT OF POPLE

TTT is surmised that the ex-Mapriland -**- Jawyei- referred to in th& following "potted romance' 5 from, the ■'Bulletin" is rather well known in Wellington. Incline your ears and listen to- the "Bulletin":—You will remember painter Gordon Coutts, onetime instructor Sydney Royal Ai - t Society. and represented in the Gallery by a portrait of "The Bulletin's" old friend, George Reid, and • other canvasses. One of his promising Sydney students was Miss Alice Hobbs, whom he afterwards married in 'Frisco. They were in Paris when the war started, but hurriedly paJeked up and returned to the U.S.A. After living in Piedmont for two years, Coutts returned to Paris, but his wife refused to risk the XT-boats. Then the artist decided to do his bit, and was with the Red Cross in France for some time. Becoming ill, he went to Tangiers to recuperate, and was glorying in that country's colour when he was astounded'to have divorce papers served on him. He flung 4 his brushes and palette aside, and hastened to Reno,, where Mrs. Coutts had.become domiciled, to contest the suit. The lady alleged that her husband's artistic temperament was too much for her and constituted cruelty.

of Sydney, referred to in tins paragraph.

: Coutte tried to effect a reconciliation, but failed, and finally filed an answer, mentioning an ex-Maoriland lawyer (who had already secured a Reno divorce) as co-re. Coutts's solicitor, however, advised him to drop the cross-suit. "You will get the worst of it," he said; "a woman has only to shed a. few tears on the stand in a Reno divorce court, and the best case in the world is lost." So the case was uncontested, and Rend decided to free the lady from the cruelty of an artistic temperament. "When I was 21,'* writes Coutts bitterly, ."I thought I knew women ; now I know I don't know them and never did." v * * « st Reno is a; small town in Nevada, U.S.A., and a. Reno divorce seeins to be a commodity much in favour with suitors who, for reasons best known to themselves, are shy of appearing before a Divorce Court in their native land. It will probably be inferred that the Maoriland Lothario wasn't courting any publicity when he hied away to Reno. ■ * * * N ■» What would you think if you were fined £40 for kissing l your own wife? Or, to put it in another form: Is it worth £40 to kiss and hug one's own wife in the misapprehension that one is kissing another woman ? That is what it cost Vernon Hooker in a Chicago l Court the other day. The other woman was alleged by Mrs. Charlotte Hocker to be Miss Catherine Bell. Miss Bell possesses a red •Mmono. The room was dark and Mrs. Hocker had on Miss Bell's kimono. Mrs. Hocker testified as follows: —"It was getting real dark. AH of a sudden my husband seized me in his arms and gave me a hug and the nicest kiss I've had: for some time. Then he said, 'Where's Charlotte?' He thought I wag Catherine, the Bluebeard that he is;" And then followed the inevitable flood of tears. The Court atonce levied a fine of 200. dollars on the adventurous but misguided Vernon. * ■ * * * Mr. Holland told a rather good story ——perhaps it was an adaptation-—at one of his latest election meetings. He was finding fault with the Government for sweating the school teachers, and

in this connection introduced his parable. A young lady teacher went down to the Post Office Savings Bank to make a deposit from her monthly screw. As the festive clerk received the small roll of sticky, malodorous bank-notes he sniffed and asked: "Aren't you afraid of the microbes, miss?" "Not a bit," promptly replied that pert young_ school teacher. "No microbe could exist on my salary." From time to time the cablegrams allude to some violent harangue of Lord Charles Beresford on the subject of national economy and efficiency and the necessity for spending ' our last shilling and sending our last man if Britain is to win the war. Lord Charles , is fond of these robustious flights and having been, in his day, a somewhat popular figure the press gives him his full share of publicity. The other day— to b& correct, sometimes in November last—the noisy Lord Charles got a little dose of publicity which, we are afraid, he did not particularly relish. This was when he appealed for the exemption of his valet, a young man of twenty-seven, and it cameout, in the course of the proceedings, that the noble Lord maintained in his bachelor household a staff.of three footmen and four female servants! Naturally, enough, some very sarcastic comment appeared in the press on tihe text — "Practice and preach it." For an exadmiral, one who so often leeturesthis fellow peers on the virtu© of efficiency, eight servants for one bachelor seems a somewhat large order. We read a great deal about the selfishness of the British munitions workers. But they are not . the only selfish people in England. We had thought better of "Condor" Bedesford. In future, when we read of his noisy appeals to his countrymen to do this, that, or the other thing or war winning we are afraid that,. remembering these eight servants, we shall simply wink the other eve.

Two snapshots of Sergt. S". G. W. Blythe, showing him (1) as he was. when he enlisted at the beginning of the war; and (2) as he is to-day after two years , active sereiee in East

Captain W. J. Clachan, of the Middlesex. Regiment, reported killed in action on January 6th while attached to the Bang's African Rifles , in East Africa, had a military career of exceptional interest. In August, 1914, Imperial commissions, of which there had been some talk earlier in. the year before the outbreak of war, were offered and as earlier ~W. J. Clachan had been urged to consider the matter of qualifying for one he immediately entered fon the educational and medical tests, and was one'of the successful candidates. He left New Zealand with the Main Body, arriving in England in December, 1914. After a month or so at Chatham, in February,

Afri'ca. Sergt. Blytlie, who , is the son of Mrs. M. Blythe, of Wellington, has just been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. He is attached to the Motor Transport Company.

1915, he left for France, joining a battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, in which at the time were Captain Whiteman, of Wanganui, and Ldeut. 0. R. F. Johnston, of Wellington, both of whom rose to higher rank and both of whom were killed in 191(>—Captain Johnston at the Spmme and Lieut.Colonel Whiteman a few months later. .»' '. * «■ ;■-,• * . W. J. Clachan saw service :. through the big engagements! of 1915 and 1916. He was three times wounded, the first occasion being at Hill 60, when he was struck on the head by a bullet which ' remained undiscovered, Clachan remaining in action during that period. He was then again wounded in the face . and head, at Rooge, also in the Ypres salient—this time nearly losing the sight of an eye. In a month or two he was again at the Front and he remained there until the big Somme advance of Ist July, 1916, when the British regiments were sorely tried. In the ease of the Middlesex Regiment (2nd Battalion), Captain Clachan was" one of the few survivors. On this occasion he was wounded above the ankle. It was some months before he was again passed fit for general service.' Ever active, he employed his spare time at Chatham in attendance at a musketry course at Hythe and an ; adjutant's course at Chelsea, in both of which courses he very successfully graduated. He was then offered a good position in England in connection with an Officers' Training Battalion, but refused, as he felt he was of more service elsewhere. ■». .. ■* # # Early in 1917 he was seconded to the Ist Battalion of the Ist Bang's African , Rifles, composed of organised black troops. (Askaris). Leaving England' in ' May he arrived in Africa, spending a : few months at Zomba, Nyassaland, in depot training work, and leaving to join General Northey's column in October For the first time after a/ period of_ three 'years he had set his foot on conquered territory—on what' was German Ji ast Africa. However, in December he was directed to fall back on iort Johnston with his command, as the remaining remnant of the German Army had been driven south into Portuguese East Africa. About December, 17th he was expecting to be. sent out and it was evidently in Portuguese East Africa, a little to the north and east of Fort Johnston, that Captain Clachan was killed in action on January 6th, 1918. However, no particulars are yet to hand. It may be ah interesting fact that there are seven regiments of the Bang's African Rifles in Africa each of Which has four battalions. The headquarters of the Ist \ , Regiment is at Zomba, Nyassaland. -» The passing of multi-milUonaire Alfred Rothschild, says Melbourne ''■Bunch,'' will be much felt by Madame Melba. The .great Jewish financier was her fairy godfather in England from the first day that he' heard her melodious voice. With riper aicquaintancej he became her unofficial adviser, and put the Diva into a number of lucrative ventures; which consolidated her growing fortunes. And to his quiet perseverance Melba owed her first big fees as guest and entertainer at West-End functions, where hostesses would pay three hundred guineas for their friends to listen! to the golden notes. Alfred Rothschild was also her friend at Covent Garden Opera House, and stagemanaged her' last great triumph there. He was a particularly ■cultured, sympathetic, modest man, who maintained the family traditions in the city, where chicken and wine awaited all clients during the luncheon hour. His mansion in the West End was v filled with priceless works of art and protected by a network of burglar alarms which, the smartest cracksman in ■ Europe could not cheat. •-. Alfred Hill, of Wellington, musical composer, is claimed on the other side as a native of Richmond, Victoria. 'Tis true he first saw the light of day ! in Richmond, 'Victoria, but he was brought as a babe in arms to New Zealand and here he grew lip toman's estate. By the way, Alf (who studied Maori music before he started to write Maori songs) recently made a study of Indian music before setting out on his composition of "The Rajah of Shiyapore," the new musical comedy which has been soi favourably received in Melbourne. Some of the national airs and ceremonial chants of old India are brought into service, and another notable number is the national anthem of Siam. This is the third of Mr. Hill's operas, the others being; "The Moorish Maid" and "Tapu." By the way, we learn privately that Mr. Alfred Hill has won tihe £25 prize offered for public . competition—in Christchurch was it not—for the production of the best National Anthem for New Zealand. Now *then, all together, cheers for Alf. The next thing is let New Zealand hear its newest National Anthem as soon as possible. With Alf Hill as composer it is bound to be- a> good one, prize or no ■* prize. ,