CURRENT GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6063, 23 April 1881, Page 3

CURRENT GOSSIP.

V' '.'. :V.. ". \ r- & JMasy wealthy,Englishmen,.in Italy drive four-in-hands. .'_...> ; ■ ~,a ■..:■.-.--, The Saturday Review says that all English, barristers are being trained for jury, work.' ,' Lord Derby tliat_the report that he is to enter the Ministry, is a pure invention. The remuneration;. of. Adelina* Tatti— the Patti—whilst ' singing amounts id -thirty shillings per minute. , ...... :......: Bret Hart, the American humourist, TJ.S. consul at Glasgow, was accidently shot in the hand while out sliootiag. ,: .:.. ' : Mr. Angus Mackay, late M.P.-for Queensland, and editor of the Queonslander, has b*en appointed cditor'of the Sydney Tqwii and Country Journal. c ; ' A despatcli from Vienna says :—" The marriage of the Crown Prince Rudolph and.the Princess Stephanie of Belgium, has been definitely fixed to take place in May next." ■.:..., Many great men miss their :',', Firsts" at the .university . examinations..-. .* Matthew Arnold took only a " Second," Cardinal' Newmana-'VThird," and"Ruskin a'"FourtK."" The obstinacy, observes a London jour'--' [ ualist, with which old smoTccrs cling to life is really marvellous; they seem altogether to ignore the fact that tobacco is a' deadly poison. . ••■-.,. ■ ..-..'. Helena Modjeska, the eminently gifted Polish actress, belongs to a family of artists, one of her brothers, .Felix Benda, being considered one of. the most distinguished'actors in Poland. .;.'--.■ . . ..:. ... i ■■-. .',-..;■■ Cabs and ordinary conveyances not being procurable in snowed-up'London,-Miss Kate Stanley, the-well-known actress, had recently to bribe the driver of a Piekford's \-an to take her to the theatre. - .■--■■■< Mr. A. B. Hays, who lately died in N York, the oldest bank cashier in the wo ■ j was perhaps the only person ever named. .; Aaron Burr, and his.name was so detestable to him that he never signed it in full. ,";T , A nephew of the great Div Edward Jenner, Mr. Stephen Jennor, now eighty-seven years old, lives in great destitution at Heathfield, near Berkeley, England. He was the subject af many of his xitaclo'a experiments. - Madame Alboni, who many years ago ex-. changed the triumphs of the, operatic stagefor the pleasures of a happy domestic, life,, lately sang in Paris, for a charitable object.: her voice not having lost all its melody .and, strength. ....... The funeral of Mr. Sothern, .the actor,,>vas only attended by a few of his private friends. Mr. Sothern was an-avowed infidel,: but. the service for the dead was read over: the grave by a brother aator. The deceased left his property to his sistor. ' ■■'.., ■ ■

The game whi:h is sent by the Prince of Wales and by other members of the : royal family to London hospitals is rarely, says the London Truth, if ever tasted by the patients, but is distributed among the officials, .vho regard these presents as their perquisites. , A. poetical mission in .England sends beautiful sea-shells, which are generally collected by children, to little sick people in homes or hospitals. Since May, 1879, : it has distributed a quarter of a million of shells, from the West Indies, South Africa, and Spain, as well as from the English coast. Mr. Creswick has been banqiietted at the Urban club. In reply to the toast bi his health he spoke thus :—"The colonies have been peopled by those who had witnessed his labours in the old country, and had approved of them, and they were to him like brothers. He could scarcely pass down a street without hearing, ' Mr. Creswick ! —is that you ?'" Mr. Artlmr Berrill,-sou of Mr. Bcrrill, of the Australian firm of Gordon and Gotch, London, has just been awarded the silver mudal, given by the Marquis of Gamden,-for the general proficiency exhibited by'.this young gentleman, more especially in algebra and Euclid. 'At a recent examination of Camden High School, presided over by Dr.- Bell. Master Berri 11, besides achieving this/the highest honour, was awarded a number'of other prizes.

One of thejargest projects for adding to the pleasures of Now Yorkers next summer is a "grand floating palace," to be permanently moored off the Battery. It is to be 500 feet long', SO feet wide, with three decks and bathing conveniences below. The charges of admission will, be graded to suit the finances of all classes, and there will be music afternoons and evenings with eatables and drinkables. The whole will be gorgeously illuminated at night by hundreds of jets and a number of electric lights. The following remarkable instance of stupidity in. a local .body is related in the Australasiail:—"Election of a Dead Man" is a good startling head-line, as it appeared in a. Melbourne daily paper last week. What bothered a whole roomful of common councilmen was, that at a shire election two candidates were nominated, and that before the day of election one died. Under Counsel's advice (Councellor Cornelius O'Planagan ?), the poll was proceeded with; and singular to relate, the dead man was elected. This was a poor compliment to the second on the poll, but the successful candidate did not take his seat, and the shire couucillors rightly enough want a clause in the Local Government Act to prevent dead men getting elected in'this uncomfortable way in future. :. '";',-.

Sir William Fox is quick at ■ retort, .and usually silences any hostile questioner.: :But ho met his-match the other day at Awahuri. He was lecturing there about his "American experiences, and, amongst other things; talked of America's vast grazing farms, -where fullfrown bullocks could be raised for the maret at three dollars each. At the close of the lecture, one of the audience questioned the strict accuracy of this latter statement. Sir William persisted that it was strictly accurate. "Then, "retorted Ilia questioner, "how is it, that if hides are worth, ahnoat. anywhere in the world, from 15s. to 203., that stockbreeders can be so foolish as to sell their stock at less than the value of the hide?" This was a poser. Sir William looked thoughtful, aud retired to cogitate over" the problem. .. . , ... ■