PERSONAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10407, 3 April 1897, Page 4 (Supplement)

PERSONAL ITEMS.

It ia said that Sir Edwin Arnold has contributed nearly 10,000 leading articles to the London Daily Telegraph. The Queen Regent of Spain, who will soon have a motor-carriage, will be the first European sovereign to use one. Ib will be known a? an " electric victoria." Canon Fleming, of St. Michael's Church, Chester Square, London, has had a large telephone transmitter placed in his pulpit, so that his sermons may be heard in a number of hospitals and other institutions. The Rothschilds of Paris, following their usual custom at the beginning of winter, have sent 100,000 francs (£4000) to the Prefect of the Seine to be distributed amongst needy tenants in the twenty arrondissementa Of Paris. Oxford University has conferred the degree of Doctor of Music on Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore, of Calcutta, in recognition of his talent* as a musician, and of his efforts to promote the cultivation of music in India.

Samuel Smiles, the author of "Self-Help" and other books for boys and young men, is now over eighty years old. He is living quietly at his suburban home near London, writing a little now and then, and looking after his literary interests. Empress Eugenie, whose artistic tastes have been one of the causes of the life-long sympathy and friendship between herself and Queen Victoria, finds relaxation still at times, in spite of her advanced age and failing eyesight, in a little water-colour drawing, formerly a favourite pastime of here.

Last spring Queen Natalie of Servia lost a valuable diamond ring in Paris. After much vain searching, the Queen announced that if found she would give it to the Little Sisters of the Poor. It has now turned up, and the Sisters are going to raffle it—2o,ooo tickets, at a franc each. To an Italisu journalist who interviewed him Jules Verne appeared like "a retired general, or a professor of mathematics, or a Secretary of State." He does not show his nearly eighty years. His manners are simple and kindly, and he is rather slow. Verne is still busy writing two romances a year, though he publishes only one. The election of the Marquis of Huntly as Lord Rector of Aberdeen University for the third time is an unprecedented event. He is nearly fifty years old, is the Premier Marquis of Scotland, and, as chief of the great Clan liordon, is known as the "Cock of the North," a sobriquet won by " deeds of derring-do," and held by his powerful house for hundreds of years. A special gold medal is to be presented to Dr. Nansen by the Royal Geographical Society in London in commemoration of his brilliant journey in the Arctic region. He is already a gold medallist of the society, and the special gold medal which he is now to receive will be similar in character to that given by the society to Mr. Stanley on his return from his memorable Etnin Pasha Expedition. "My life," writes Rosa Bonheur, the great lady animal painter, "is that of a peasant. 1 wake with the day, and lie down almost at nightfall. Early in the morning I stroll in the garden with my dogs, or drive my pony-cart through the Forest of Fontainebleau. Towards nine o'clock I take my seat before the easel, and work until half-past eleven. Then I breakfast quite simply, and afterwards smoke ray cigarette as I run through the daily papers. I resume my work at one o'clock, and at five Igo out for a walk. I love to see the eun sink behind the trees of the forest. My dinner is as simple as my breakfast. I finish the day by reading."