PERSONAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6996, 19 April 1884, Page 4 (Supplement)

PERSONAL ITEMS.

The Empress Eugenie subscribes £400 annually to Peter's Pence, and the Princess Clotilda Bonaparte £200. Arthur Peel, the new Speaker of the House of Commons, is a very presentable sort of a gentleman—tall, dignified, and, withal, good looking. ' . The Legitimists of Lille have presented a gold medallion of the Comte de Chambord to his widow, a duplicate in silver being forwarded to' "Queen Margaret," the wife of Don Carlos.

The Sultan, " in testimony of high'satisfaction" with Mr. Edwin Arnold's "Pearls of the Faith" as a pcetical exposition of the religion of Islam, has conferred on him-the Order of the Osmanie of the Third Class.

James Gordon Bennett, the proprietor of the New York Herald, is said, by persons who have seen him in Paris lately, to have become prematurely old. His hair is turning grey, and he is as slow and precise in his movement as an old man. His chief amusement now is baccarat.

Dr. W. H. Russell, the Nestor of the special correspondents, was married the other day in Paris. Dr. Russell, who bears his 65 years well, and his oharming bride, Mdlle. Antoinette Malvezzi, stood forjhalf an hour on a raised dais in the chapel adjoining the church, and received the congratulations of all the numerous friends who defiled to shake hands with the happy pair. The Countess of Grosvenor has sent through Miss Howson, daughter of the Dean of Chester, a gold crosß to each of the lay clerks o£ Chester Cathedral who took part in the funeral service of'the late Earl of Grosvenor, with the wißh that they should wear it as a souvenir. The cross is of chaste design, bearing on one side the letter " G." under a coronet, and on the reverse the date "January 25, 1884." The details of G. A. Sala'a Australian tour have now been definitely arranged, and and the distinguished journalist will leave England for the Antipodes in the spring of 18S5. . He ia much bantered by confreres as to his deficiency in elocution; and, with the pluck that always characterises him, he has consented to take lessons from an intimate friend in the mysteries of the Demosthenic art. His style will be that of Irving in The Bells.

The Marquis of Bute's fine residence, Mountstuart House, which' a few years ago was burned to the ground, has now been replaced by a pile of palatial appearence, built of costly material, the marble work alone being estimated at upwards of £50,000. No date has yet been fixed for the opening of the mansion by the noble Marquis, but visitors to the island of Bute during the winter have made a point of seeing the imposing structure. Mrs. Langtry, who has taken a house in New York city, is furnishing it in the highest style. About the first thing one notices on entering is several mosque rugs from Arabia, sent to her by the Khedive of Egypt. These are, in value, well nigh priceless, as thsy were bought from Mecca to the Khedive during the last pilgrimage of the sacred carpet from Cairo. iShe has for chef tlie famous M. Vefour, of Paris, and a colossal butler, six feet and a quarter—not of an inch, but of a foot—high. She dines off plate fit for a royal table, and has a dessert service designed by Millais himself. Mangin, the celebrated black-lead pencil maker of Paris, is dead. He drove every day in an open carriage, attended by a servant, to his stands either by the column of the Place VendStne or on the Place de la Bourse. His servant handed him a case, from which he took large portraits of himself and medals with descriptions of his pencils, which he hung on either side of him. He then replaced his round hat with a magnificent burnished helmet, mounted with brilliant plumes. For his overcoat he donned a costly velvet tunic with gold fringes. He then drew a pair of polished steel gauntlets upon his hands, covered hia breast with a brilliant cuirass, and placed a richly mounted sword at his side. His servant then put on a velvet robe and helmet, and struck up a tune on an organ mounted in gold. To the crowds gathered around he then exclaimed : "I am Mangin, the great charlatan of France ! Years ago I hired a modest shop in the Rue Rivoli, but could not sell pencils enough to pay my rent. Now, attracted by my sweeping crest, my waving plumes, my din and glitter, I sell millions of pencils." This was true. His poncils were the very best.