PERSONAL ITEMS FROM LONDON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12268, 12 May 1903, Page 6

PERSONAL ITEMS FROM LONDON.

[FROM OUB OWN COREESrONDEXT.]

London., April 11. Sin Jons Hail has secured rooms for his stay in London at his old address, 20, Kingstreet, Portman Square, where he resided for some time during his last visit to England.

Mr. J. Embling, late general manager of the Bank of New Zealand, has been on a visit to friends in the country, and only returned to town last night. He is staying for the prosent at the Hotel Russell, Russell Square.

It is announced that Sir Arthur Lawley, who was requested to become patron of the association formed by New Zealauders resident in Pretoria for mutual' assistance and social intercourse, has consented to accept that position.

Dr. Garnet-t, the well-known educationist, who has been securing some half-dozen male and female teachers of cookery for Auckland, has, I hear, obtained the services of some excellent people, whose passages to th© colony are now being arranged for.

Last Tuesday evening, under the auspices of the Royal Colonial Institute, a paper was read by Mr. Benjamin Kidd, entitled "The State in Relation to Trade." The attendance was not a large one, but among those present were the following New Zealand&rs: Major F. Nelson George, Mr. A. Conway, Mr. G. Hall, and Mr. C. Watson.

Among recent arrivals from New Zealand, who travelled via Australia by the P. and O. steamer India, are the following: Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Kernot and Miss Kernot, Mrs. Mason and the Misses Mason, Mr. G. H. Mason, Mrs. L. D. Nathan, Miss Calpan, Mr. Calpan, Mr. A. E. Exley, Mr. W. Gibbs, Mr. A. H. Picgus, Mr. W. Ramsden.

Mr. W. R. Hodder, who was formerly resident in New Zealand, but settled in London some years ago, has just brought out another novel, which is published by Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. It it, highly sensational in character, and is entitled " The Doubling of Joseph Brereton." Mr. Hodder contemplates a visit to New Zealand at no distant date.

Mr. T. J. Fitzpatrick, for some years manager at Dunedin of the Citizens' Life Assurance Company, who came to London to assist in establishing branches of that company in the United Kingdom, tells :ue that lie is not returning to the colonies. Mr. Fitzpatrick has been appointed cliiof inspector for England and Scotland, with, headquarters in London.

Mr. H. 0. Cameron returned to London this week after a month's tour in the North of England and in Scotland. In addition to his ordinary inspection of the methods of distributing New Zealand produce, Mr. Cameron made a round of visits to various military stations, with a view to seeing whether colonial produce was being supplied to the troops. I hear that he has discovered several irregularities.

Yesterday afternoon the " quiet afternoon" for clergy, arranged, as in former years, in the Ladye Chapel of St. Saviour's Collegiate Church, Southwark, was conducted by Dr. Wallis, Bishop of Wellington, New Zealand, and lasted from two o'clock till six. The object of this "quiet afternoon" is to help the clergy, who are pressed with much business during Lent, to give attention to their own religious needs prior to Holy Week and the great Easter Communion.

On Saturday a representative gathering of friend.! of the British and Foreign Bible Society gathered at Waterloo station to bid farewell to the Rev. F. W. Mac Donald (ex-presi-dent of the Wesleyan Conference) and the Rev. R. A. Raynes, who are visiting NewZealand and the Australian States on behalf of the Bible Society's centenary. The deputation sailed from Southampton in the steamer Minnehaha, taking the trans-Ameri-can route to New Zealand. They expect to bo absent from England until the end of the current year.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Beauchamp (Wellington) and their family arrived in London recently and are staying at 27, St. Stephen's Square, Bayswat-er. Mr. Beauchamp tells me that one object of their visit is the education of their three daughters, all of whom have entered at Queen's College, London. Mr. a.nd Mrs. Beauchamp intend remaining on this side of the world until next autumn. They purpose visiting the Continent before returning to New Zealand. Mr. Beauchamp speaks in glowing terms of the prosperous condition of New Zealand.

Callers at the Agency-General this week have been: Sir. O. T. Newton (Chri3tchurch), Mr. J. Francis Dixon, M.B. (Auckland), Mr. J. Graham Motley, Mr. J. Owen Lewis, Miss Henry and Miss G. Henry (Wellington), Mr. and Mrs. Harold Beauchamp (Wellington), Mr. and Mrs. J. Embling (Wellington), Mr. G Bailey (Invercargill), Mr. W. L. Hodgson (Chiistohurch), Captain J. E. Goring, Mr. and Mi" 3 ' P. T. Farmar, and their two daughters (Blenheim), Mr. Howard H. Christie (Wanganui), Mr W. Purvis Chrystal (Ohristchurch), , r^ d ,,* rS- A - R Kernot and their daughter (Wellington), Mrs. de R. Newton (Christchurch).

A review of Mr. John Liddell Kelly's book of poems " Heather and Fern" or " Songs of Scotland and Maorilaiid," appears in a London payer, which says: "It contains verse of all kinds, from th merest rhymes to sonnets, that are creditable to Australasia. It is a veritable hotch-potch—translations from Heine rubbing shoulders with an ode to the Auckland Fire Brigade. Fortunately Mr. Kelly is not guilty of much of that sort of thine (the latter).. As an example of his quality, the two quotations which follow are ™rrnT representative." The lines beginning . The world is wide!" are those referred to in the second case, and are quoted in full.

An appeal has been put forth by Bishops Hem bouse (formerly of Nelson, New Zealand) and. Shriflvsbury, Prebendary Selwyn and Dr. Hornby, Provost of Eton. It runs as follows:—"It is proposed, if a sufficient sum can be raised, to provide some suitable memorial to the Right Reverend Charles John Abraham, who was called to his rest on February 4 last.. As Bishop Abraham was the colleague, both in New Zealand and in this country, of Bishop George Augustus Selwyn. such memorial might take the form of a ' Bishop Abraham Scholarship,' at Selwyn College, Cambridge, the foundation of which he was the first to suggest and took a leading part in securing."

Very high expectations are entertained with respect to tho New Zealand football tef.m which is to visit England in the coming summer. One paper says :—"There were no fewer than three New Zealanders, MeEvedv O'Brien, and Fox, in the Kent side that beat Somerset. With Orr in the side, there will be four Australasians. It lias been a great year for men from ' down under.' To judge from such samples of New Zealand rugger as McLvedy, O'Brien, and Fox, the visitors of next season will make some of our best sides sit up. Science is the feature of New Zealand play, just as robustness vithout science was the feature of the play of the Canadians."

There is a probability that Dr. John S. Purdy may return to New Zealand in the courso 01 next year; if so, he is thinking of travelling by way of the United States. Meanwhile he is studying all the latest developments in medicine and surgery, particularly in relation to bacteriological research, and permission has just been granted him to take the army medical staff course at the Army Medical Staff College, in London. About the end of this month Dr. Purdy will take up the position of house surgeon at a hospital ir iSorth London. It is about four Months since he reached England from Africa whither he went with one of the New Zealand contingents.

Mr. Charles T. Newton (Christchuroh) has just arrived in London, having travelled from Australia by the Orient steamer Omrah, in winch ho had an excellent trip. His object in coming to this country is to begin a course of .nodical study for his M.D. degree at Edinburgh University, and ho, therefore expects to remain for at least five years in' the United Kingdom. One rather annoying incident on the Homeward trip of the Omrah was the supposed outbreak of bubonic plague between Colombo and Suez, with the result that passengers were unable to land either at Suez or Port . Said. Their disgust was great when, on arrival at Naples, the passengers were informed that the case had not been one of plague after all.

I mentioned last week that Mrs. W. P. Reeves had reoently had the honour of being presented to the King and Queen at the most recent "Court."' I .have no doubt that New Zealanders will be interested to hear about Mrs. Reeves' dress on the occasion. The material was a neat white and black striped brocade of small design, made in Princess shape. There was a front of transparent gold and green embroidery over white satin, and the large revers round the shoulders arid their continuation in front were of vivid green velvet. The Court train was of transparent chiffon in white, embroidered with dewdropa. 1 Mrs. Reeves, of course, wore tho customary plumes and veil, and looked very charming ill hor simple, byt becoming gown.

"The Rev. W. Oom-Brown.'tho new rector of Pretoria," remarks ft London paper, "is the son of Sir Thomas Gore-Brown, and was born in Auckland, New Zealand, jn 1858, while his father was the Governor of the colony. Ho was educated at Harrow and Cambridge', taking his degree in 1881. After leaving the University he visited the Holy Land, and, on returning, enlisted in the 7th Hussar. s , in order to gain an insight into a soldier's life He was in the ranks for some months. Ordained in 1882, his first curacy was at Pallion, Sunderland, where he remained for a short time before moving with his vicar to South Shields. Four years later he became incumbent of St. Hilda, in the same district. Three years ago he made a trip round tho world for the sake of his health, and then, acting under medical advice, went to South Africa."

Mr. H. W. Stevenson, the well-known billiard player, who was recently beaten for the billiard championship, left England a few days ago for the purpose of touring Australia and New Zealand, as well as other parts of the British Empire. He was a passenger from Tilbury Docks by the Orient liner Ophir, in which steamer he purposed travelling as far as Colombo. At Colombo he will play various matches, and then a fortnight later pick up the s.s. Omrah there and proceed to Australia. I understand that Mr. Stevenson's programme includes billiard matches in West Australia, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. From Australia he will go on to New Zealand, visiting Auckland and Wellington. Subsequently he will go on to Canada, returning to England next November, when he will probably immediately afterward challenge Mr. C. Dawson for the championship.

"Mr. 'Seddon continues to mortify his pride like Pooh-Bah, by pocketing the insults that are offered to him, in the shape of filthy lucre, remarks " Labby" in Truth, who proceeds: "It revolts him but he does it. Each time a fresh instalment of the famous ' National Purse' is presented to him I get a budget of correspondence from New Zealand asking me to contrast Mr. Seddon's acceptance of the cash with the scornful repudiation of any such monetary testimonial which he published when he was in England last summer. That point has already been thoroughly rubbed in both here and in the colony. I observe, however, that a writer in a New Zealand journal has drawn another instructive contrast between the good fortune of Mr. Seddon with" his bags of gold and the miserable fate of the colonial troopers crippled in tho war, who have nothing but a pittance of a pension hardly sufficient to keep body and soul together. Mr. Seddon lias made more out of his patriotism than these poor fellows."

I had a chat yesterday with Mr. .Arthur H. Adams, who seems t-o be making gratifying progress in English literature and journalism. He has a short poem in this week's issue of the New Liberal Review, and also a very good article on Australasian Finance, dealing with the arguments p;«t forward respectively by Mr. H. W. 'Wilson and Sir John Copeland, in the Daily Mail. Mr. Adams takes a somewhat optimistic view, but makes out a very good case, contending that the effects of the Australian drought, although undoubtedly serious, have yet been materially exaggerated, and that the country posseses abundant recuperative power to make a speedy recovery. He further maintains that the adverse judgment pronounced against the professedly reproductive expenditure of loans is wholly premature, it being muoh too .soon yet to judge what t ie ultimate effect will be. He points out that Australia is a great country, working out its future, and that it is not fair to form a final opinion upon results which are still in progress. Mr. Arthur Adams has had other articles, short stories, etc., accepted by leading London journals and periodicals.

Among the debutantes who had the honour of receiving an invitation to attend the Court helcl by their Majesties, King Edward and Queen Alexandra, at Buckingham (Palace, on the evening of March 20, was Miss Kate Isaacs, of Auckland, who was presented by her sister the Dowager Lady Samuel. Miss Isaacs wore an exquisite dress of white satin, the skirt being covered with narrow tucked chiffon, with a shaped flounce of accordion pleated chiffon, with dainty frills of the same round the flounce. The corsage was also veiled with tucked chiffon, draped with very old duchess point lace, with garniture of white lilac and green leaves. Her Court train was of small scrolled brocade satin, with frills of chiffon all round; on one end of the train was a large bow of chiffon with sprays of white lilao, and on the other end was an artistic drapery of old duchess point lace. The train was lined with white satin. Miss Isaacs wore in her hair the three orthodox white plumes, with white tulle veil attached, the latter falling below the waist. Her ornaments were pearls, and she carried a bouquet of white lilac and maidenhair fern.

There are many New Zealanders who will be sincerely sorry to hear of the death of the Rev. Charles Clark, the unrivalled lecturer on British literature and historic associations. Few who heard him will forget his vivid and eloquent discourses on Westminster Abbey, Christmas carols, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Dickens, and other interesting subjects. Mr. Clark was 65 years of age, having been born in London in 1833. Ho entered the Baptist College at Nottingham as a student for the ministry. His first pastorate was at Bermondsey, where he remained for two years, becoming the pastor ol Broadmead Church, the headquarters oi Bristol Baptists, in 1866. Three years later he accepted the pastorate of the Baptist Church in Albert Park, Melbourne, where ho married in April, 1869. Having been very successful as an amateur lecturer on secular subjects, he resigned his pastoral charge in 874, and lectured professionally throughout the Australian colonies with extraordinary success. After a tour in America in 1876, where he attracted large audie&ees, ho returned to Australia, but soon afterward left for England, where he remained till 1889, when he revisited Australia. For some years past Mr. Clark has resided at Bristol.

With reference to the lamented fate of Sir Hector Macdonald, a New Zealander, new resident in Scotland, writes to nle as follows regarding an incident of ::ie lute general's visit to New Zealand When Sir Hector Macdonald was visiting New Zealand, large crowds assembled at the railway stations to get a glimpse of the famous general as he passed through the country. At a country station, in the North Island called Patca, where the express train stops ton minues, to allow passengers to get refreshments, the usual crowd had assembled when it was known that Sir Hector was passing through from the South by the evening train. Tired, no doubt, by the long day's journey and wishing to rest, the general decided not to leave his carriage, and sat in a corner with his back to the platform, and the people, calmly smoking a cigar. The people were naturally a little disappointed, that he did not come on the platform, but after two or three minutes' delay an old resident of the, place, Mrs. Howitt, who was born in Inverness, and whose 40 years' residence in the colonies had not spoiled her beautiful Highland accent, went up to the carriage window, and gently tapping on it, said, ' Hector, won't you come out and sTftike hands with a Highland woman?' Quick as magic, Sir Hector took the cigar from his mouth, and was on the platform shaking hands with the old lady, and insisted that she should introduce him to all her own personal friends before he was introduced to many prominent men who were also present to have the honour, if possible, of shaking hands with the fighting hero, but who had respected his wish that his journey through the country, when travelling, should be undisturbed by any public function at the stations. As old and young gathered around it was with difficulty that the general reached his carriage again, but when he did, and the train commenced to move off, the people cheered as only a colonial crowd can do, for they realised that m modest, unassuming Sir Hector Mao donald they had seen one of nature's gentleman, and a true hero. His pathetic death will move the hearts of the people in that far-off colonial town in a way that no pen can describe."