All sorts of People

Free Lance, Volume XIX, Issue 1012, 19 November 1919, Page 4

All sorts of People

A NOTICEABLE .stream of Presbyby terian parsons and elders from the North passed through Wellington on Monday and Tuesday on their way to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Kirk, which opens at Invercargill to-day (Wednesday)., There was the fire of battle in the eyes of some of the ".Fathers, and brethren." Which reminds us that two ''heresy hunts" are on the tapis. The Rev. A. A. Murray, of St. Andrew's, Auckland, has to explain why he recently underwent the Baptist ceremony of immersion although he still continues, to baptise orthodox Presbyterian babies by "sprinkling." Then the Rev. B. Hutson, of Wellington, is calling the RevIsaac Jolly, of St. Stephen's, Auckland, to book for certain heterodox statements in his recent book on " The Second Advent." The Presbyters don't expect the Assembly proceedings to be in the least bit dull or tame. In fact, the atmosphere is charged with electricity enough to blow up Invercargill. . * # » .. •»

Mr A. M. Proctor, of Ngaio. Road, Kelburn, lias a bright little daughter, just turned nine years old, who displays a quite talent for dropping into poetry. She does not spend any time' in cogitation. When the inspiration conies upon her'she takes her pencil and writes down her thoughts in fairly good rhyme, in variety of apt language, and with a force of simple but true expression that is far in advance of her few years. Here is a tiny scrap called "The Windmill":— Look at tiie windmill With colours so bright; ' It dances all day, it dances all night; It always is dancing, it never keeps ■ m still, Dancing and prancing on top of hill. " Baby Dear " is quite a little gem in its artless way. Listen: , My darling sweet baby, I've watched you all night With your pink little fingers Closed up so tight. \ Try, baby dear, when you're a grown v , man To make the world better as much as \you can. - Don't let your strength fail; I'knpw you will try, , Not now, baby dear- — But just bye=and-bye. Here is another called " The Sun " : I love to look up at the sun so bright, Shedding a beautiful, dazzling light, Shining on houses, shimmering on trees, . Making it. simply delightful for bees Singing their very untuneful song, Dancing from flower to flower all the day long. Oh, beautiful sun, what can I do, To make myself just as beautiful as you? The bees' "very untuneful song" shows that .this tiny tot of nine has a very observant mind.

Just one more little sample, "The Fairies' Christmas Tree"": — Oh, how I wish I could go and see The beautiful things on the fairies' tree, With blowing trumpets and exquisite toys, Especially made for good girls and boys. I only wish that I could go And see them dancing on tiptoe. i would never want to go away From that beautiful land Where there is only play.

And then the youthful poetess paints in water colours her idea of the fairies' 'tree laden with giftsi. It is only fair to explain a propos of little Miss Proctor's use of such big words as '' exquisite " and '' especially '' that .her spelling of them is entirely her own. For instance, " exqusite" and " espiesley." This seems to negative the obvious suggestion that she herself copied them.

Dear Free Lance : In your issue of November 5, under "The Long Trail " (page 6), your Miss Cox-Taylor (column 4) is made to say, after speaking of the Dolphin Inn, Southampton, where Miss Cox-Taylor found lodgings: "It is always known as one of Dickons' Inns. . . He was born at Plymouth, as most people know, just across the water from Southampton." Dear, dear, it is a far hark to Plymouth from Southampton: in peace or other times, and so, my dear Free Lance, -I would for once like to give the truth of where the late Mr Charles Dickens was actually born. The immortal novelist was a .native of the town of Portsmouth, born in 1812 at 367 Commercial Road, in the parish district, of Portsea. (Portsmouth Town is divided' into four districts, viz., Portsmouth, Southsea, Landport, and Portsea), and my mother was born at 300 Commercial Road, Landport, and her brother (late of 81 The Terrace, Wellington,, the late Captain William Cook, of the Union Steamship Company), being my uncle. Strange to say, some of the most able biographers of Charles Dickens misplace his native town. Some little time ago I saw in an American paper, where they claimed him as a "product" of Portsmouth, New Hampton, U.S.A.! Finally, all this is perhaps about a typographical error of using the word "Plymouth" instead of "Ports-, mouth," but I may mention that, something like Wellington v. Auckland, there is a fixed jealousy of righteous claims each native feels bound to protect, and Portsmouth cannot give Plymouth the 'honour of fathering Charles Dickens. Now-to> finish-. My late greatgrandfather, Charles Cook (who was also a cook by occupation) made the acquaintance of Charles Dickens, sen. (who Avas a retired paymaster from the dockyard), and he taught 'him to smoke a pipe and drink rum at the age of 75, and although he lived to 97, his relatives always declared his life was cut _ short from making the evil companionship of Mr Chas. Dickens, sen., whom I believe was a most jovial, lovable (second Mr Micawber) person.—l am, etc., Ernest A. Dance. Havelock, Marlborough. *.# a *

[Mr Dance is quite correct. Charles Dickens, was bom at Portsea, Portsmouth. As our correspondent suggests the use of "Plymouth" in Miss CoxTaylor's reference to the Dolphin Inn was a misprint for Portsmouth.—Ed. N.Z.F.L.]

* * *■ ff Geoge Payne, the well-known wool kmg- of the Wairarapa, tells a good story a propos of his last visit to the

Old Country. He thought he was getting up rairly well in years when he earned the burden of 6b summers and winters on his shoulders. But afcer meeting a frisky young uncle of 9(3 in the rsortii of /Ireland, he came to the conclusion that he was only a youngster after, all. He expected to meet a regular leather Christmas when he . caned upon this venerable uncle, and his surprise was rather excited when the aged party invited him out for a walk. But id grew into astonishment at the terrible pace which the old gentleman set. George began to puff; and blow in the effort to keep up with him, and at last the ped. of y6 turned and said " Why, George, my boy, I must be going too fast for you. : iou should really have toid me." ■K. «• * * Joined the Great Majority last week: Mrs Baillie, wife of the Hon. Captain Baillie, a veteran of .* the Indian Mutiny. The late Mrs. Baillie was one of the most charming old ladies it was possible to meet, and added to her personal charm brilliant . musical talents, which she exercised up till quite recently in spite of her great age —89 years. The late Mr s Baillie came to this country with her husband in 1857, and settled in the Wairau district, afterwards living for many years in Picton. She was a familiar figure of late years in the precincts of Parliament, where she regularly escorted her husband, who was afflicted with blindnessi, to his place in the Legislative Council, of which he was a life member, and waited for him till his duties were over. It was quite pathetic to see the tiny, frail, much-bent figure of the aged lady tenderly leading her blind old husband, •' now well over 90, from the motor-car into the Upper House. One oT the two sons of the Hon. Captain Baillie was killed during the war, and in this latest and heaviest bereavement the Indian veteran will be assured, of the deepest public, sympathy.

By the way, it is not generally known that; the late Mrs Baifli© was a first cousin of Lord Roberts. She was in constant correspondence with the great little Field-Marshal known asi " Bobs," and she received one of the last letters he wrote before he died.

Although the public in a general kind of way has known President Wilson has suffered a serious break-down in health, the fact that it was touch-and-go with him at first just beginning to leak out. It appears that the President had a bout with influenza while he was in Paris that left aftereffects in the shape of bronchial irrita,tion. This, coupled with the strain of the Peace Conference and the far worse strain—to a man of his temperament— of stumping the United Statesi through all degrees of climate in support of the League of Nations, so wore him down that by the time he reached 1700 miles from White House, rest, and silent seelusion, he wasi all out, and the principal anxiety of the Presidential Party was not how to keep going, but how to get back in the shortest possible time.

The fast express engine was hitched to the liome-bound end of the Mayflower, the President's private car, and the President himself was put to bed and ordered to stay there. The train was given clear right-of-way for a record run over those 1700 miles of track to Washington, and to enable this to be done t'he entire service had to be re-routed. Hundreds of train dispatchers had to overhaul their train sheets, thousands of switches and sidetracks; had to be manned against the possibility of accident and disaster, and right along the line trains were held up, waiting until the flyer, with the sick

President on board, had whirled, past in its race with death. It was one of the fastest runs ever made by a special train. -. One of Wellinton' s most familiar Jfigures, that of Dr.. Edith Huntley, will no more be seen in our midst. Dr. Huntley was in bad health for some time, and on Saturday morning, in the home of her friend Mrs McVicar, she ..passed quietly away at the ripe age of seventy-six. Dr. Huntley was the head of what was known as the Lahmann Health Hpme, and there contracted a partnership with Miss, or as she preferred to be called, Dr. von Danneville. During the war, Miss von Danneville was interned on Somes Island, but was removed for reasons of health and allowed to resume a partial liberty. Curiously enough she left for Australia the day before her kind old partner died. Dr. Huntley was always accompanied in her walks abroad by two huge St. Bernards, and wa s a well-known in Kelburn and afterwards in Miramar. Before her arrival in New Zealand she wa s a Zenana doctor for many years in India. -- . * * * « The late Dr. Edith Huntley was a spinster, and was comfortably" -well off. It is understood that she has a sister in England (said to be her sole surviving relative), to whom she has left a small annuity. She didn't take up medicine until late in life, but she had some fine diplomas, and even held a certificate for mechanics. When actively practising her profession in Wellington some years ago it was a familiar sight to see her in all weathers pedalling her bicycleM>ound the streets, followed by at least, one of her big St. Bernards dogs, and sometimes two and three of them. These dogs were like children to her, and it was only a few days before she took ill in August last that she disposed of them. Latterly «he has been staying with her friend, Mr s Mc Vicar, at Miramar,' and though her health had been failing for some weeks past she made a determined fight to the end. On Saturday evening she had a good meal, and early next morning she quietly passed away in her sleep. Mrs McVicar states that she was a fine, upright woman, whom few people really knew. In addition to her professional accomplishments she possessed an undoubted gift for verse writing. It was she who composed the "In Memoriam Hymn" sung at the Wellington Peace celebrations.