ENGLISH GOSSIP.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 916, 20 September 1889, Page 10

ENGLISH GOSSIP.

(FROM our own correspondent. ) MATRIMONIAL. London, July 26. The one topic of society at the present time is the approaching marriage of Princess Louise to the Earl of Eife. Wedding presents are pouring in daily to Marlborough House. Already they amount in value to upward of L 200,000, and the cry is still they come. The Princess, who has been most sensibly brought up by her mother, has never so far evinced the slightest love for ornaments. It is only on State occasions, and then when compelled, that she has consented to wear the various orders which have been bestowed upon her. A neat and not gaudy dress ring, with its one brilliant, rubies, and pearls, has generally been her only ornament, save perhaps for the plainest of brooches, worn more for use than mere adornment, and to day all the splendours of fashionable jewellers are poured into her lap in endless profusion. Her jewel caskets to-day are a realisation of an Arabian Night’s dream. In the first place her father gives her a magnificent diamond and pearl necklace, consisting of 18 large brilliants of the finest water, alternating with grand pearls and finished with 25 rose-cut brilliants. Mr Horace Farquhar, who is to be “ best man ” at the wedding, gives her a diamond tiara of 36 large stones, which are so arranged as to form, when required, a number of brooches. The Sassoons, who are intimate friends of the Prince of Wales and are enormously wealthy, are pouring in diamonds ad lib. on to the young princess. Another present is a dressing case, with every article mounted in rough-hammered gold, with her monogram in diamonds. The cost of this case will be close on LIO.OOO.- Her young lady friends have given her one of the most splendid bracelets ever made. It is a broad band of large diamonds. All the stones are brilliants of tha first water, and the bracelet is as flexible as silk. The wives of Cabinet Ministers gave her a half hoop bracelet of eleven large diamonds most exquisitely cut. The members of. the Prince of Wales’ household have given a diamond comb, with a design of fleur-de lys and collets springing up between the stems of the lilies. The members of the Queen’s household gave her three sun stars for the hair, set in lovely diamonds. I may mentiou that the tiara given by her father is a very large one, and so flexible that it may be bent in any direction to suit any style of hairdressing. It can also be made into a necklace. The gentlemen of Norfolk have given her a diamond cross measuring an inch and a half in length, studded with magnificent stones. Her brothers and sisters have given her a photograph screen in tortoiseshell and silver, standing 4ft in height. In the centre is the entwined cypher in dull silver. At each corner on a silver shield in letters of dead gold are the fac simile autographs of “Eddy,” “ Georgie,” “ ’Toria,” “Harry.” All sorts and conditions of people are sending her presents. Even the head gardener at Slioen House, where the honeymoon will be spent, has sent his mite, consisting of a pretty little silver cup in a morocco case. The wedding cake for the occasion is 6ft high, 26in in diameter, and weighs Round the base on alternate white satin medallions are the initials of the bride and bridegroom embroidered in gold and white, and surmounted by the coronets of each. From a vase on the head of the classic figure which surmounts the whole long trails of white lilac and rosebuds fairto the base, which is decorated with clusters of heather, white roses and orange blossoms. The wedding will take place in the chapel in Buckingham Palace.' This is a place which has. never been used since it was first designed. It was originally a conservatory,- but the Prince Consort altered it into a chapel, and had it consecrated for divine service. It is a small building 55 feet in length, 40 feet in breath. It has been repainted and redecorated for the present ceremony. Pale blues, greys and mauve are the prevailing tints, while the panels into which the walls are divided are bordered with cool olive green and gold. The ceiling ornaments are set off in maroon and gold. Over the altar stretches a large p,..~e0£ Gobelins tapestry, representing the baptism of the Saviour in the Jordan by John the Baptist, in. which a largo number of figures are introduced. At the back of the altar is a table or gradine, upon which will be placed the handsome communion plate made for the Pavillion Chapel at Brighton in the time of George IV. A few days ago the Princess Louise presented her affianced husband with a cabinet full of presents—cigar cases and such like. It seems they were the accumulations of the time when the royal lady secretly adored him, and spent her pocket money on gifts, which she was not allowed to send him. MR PARNELL IN SCOTLAND. On Saturday last the freedom of the City of Edinburgh was presented to Mr Parnell. The Scotsman, in publishing the details of the ceremony, points out a significant detail of the silver casket in which the freedom was presented, saying “It has transpired that in settling upon the distinctive decorative features which the silver box was to carry, the sub^qom-

mittee resolved that the English rose should not appear as an emblematic flower upon it. They have severed the union of the flowers, and instead of the rose, thistle, and shamrock being twined as an emblem of the United Kingdom, the committee have desired that on the casket there should be only the thistle and the shamrock.” Parnell, in his speech on the occasion, re-> ferring to the Special Commission, said he admired the courteous manner in which the Judges had discharged their duties under the restricted terms of their references from Parliament ; but had he known that the books of the Irish Loyal and Patriotic . League were to be closed against him, and that acts of conspiracy against the Irish Party were to be covered up, lie woflld never have set foot in the Law Courts. THE WHITECHAPEL MURDER. Some sensation was caused the other day when the rumour went round town that Jack the Ripper had surrendered himself to the police. At first it was believed that the rumour was correct. Certainly a man had given himself up as that notorious murderer. Later in vestigatipns prove that the man. is a lunatic. His name is William Wallace Bcodie, aged 33. It appears that Brodie, who comes of a good family, was at one time in good circumsi ances, but getting into financial difficulties, he negotiated unwisely, and found himself sent to penal servitude for 14 years. At the end of 10 years he was released on ticket-of-leave, and his friends sent him to South Africa. He got a good billet at Kimberley at L 5 per week. He stayed there some months, but voting the place “ horribly dull,” came back to London, and went on the “loaf” and took to drink. He had lodgings somewhere down Whitechapel way. In his statement he says he came back to London to find a woman in Whitechapel to whom he owed a grudge for certain reasons, and then he wanders in his mind. He said he walked from London to Land’s End, in Cornwall, and back in an hour and a half. There is not the slightest doubt that the man is insane. The real Jack the Ripper is as far from being caught now as ever, and his identify is still a mystery. There is a theory in the East End, rapidly gaining ground, that the real murderer is a man capable of rendering himself invisible. Sailors have brought from India stories of the Hindoo fakirs being able to make themselves invisible in some of their feats of prestidigitation. THE TROUBLES IN CRETE. Affairs in Crete are getting serious. Disturbances have occurred at Sphakia, Retimo, Milata, and Sider, aud revolts are general all over the island. The Cretans appear to have a grudge against King George of Greece, wno at the present time is enjoying himself in Paris. The people say they have serious grievances, and it is unworthy callousness on the part of the King to be away, instead of personally inquiring into their troubles. They declare they are tired of him, and will petition the British Government for protection.* Among all the Mussulmans of the island, says the "Vienna correspondent of The Times, there is a demand for British protection. Among the Christians „ opinions are divided, but while the majorily desire, in a lukewarm way, annexation to Greece, the minority is for independence under British protection. The demand for British protection is in fact increasing. The insurgents at Ratimo and Cape Sidera hoisted the Union Jack with Queen Victoria’s portrait. At Milata the police were assaulted to theory of “ Long live England,” and a band played “ God aave the Queen.” At a meeting between Christians and Mussulmans at Canea on Sunday, the Mussulmans proposed that the Island should give itself to England for 10 years, and that a plebiscite should then pronounce on its future destinies. The example of Cyprus, Egypt, and India under British rule was cited by various speakers. COLONEL NORTH. Colonel North, the Nitrate King, the popular hero of, the hour, has returned to London after his brief visit to his nitrate fields in South America, The history of the past half-century shows the rise and fall of many “kings.” Hudson, the railway king, to wit. At one time Hudson was a man who had the magic power of turning into gold everything he touched. At his bidding collossal fortunes were made. He himselc was thought to have millions, and yet a*public subscription found the money for his funeral. It is to be hoped that Colonel North is wiser in his day and generation, and that some of the money he now handles so easily may be securely invested for a rainy day. His friends say this is done, but others shake their heads and foretell a nasty fall, and a retirement into obscurity. Anyhow, he is a golden calf at present,., and half. London is ready to fall down and worship him. His recent trip to South America, which lasted less than six months, has cost him L 20,000. He took with him a suite equal to what a prince of the Royal blood travels with. He had Dr W. H. Russell, the famous Times correspondent, to write an account of the trip, and Melton Prior, the war artist, took sketches to illustrate the inevitable book which will be published, which, after all, will be but a gigantic advertisement £ov his siiare3.

Colonel North is a shrewd Yorkshireman, and knows the value of a newspaper. On his arrival at Queenstown the usual newspaper interviewer met him, and under the influence of a bottle of rare old champagne the scribe was duly informed of the glorious prospects of the nitrate fields. Speaking of his latest developments of nitrates, which he has christened “ Primatavas,” he informed the reporter “ they, will earn 100 per cent on the par value.” Such a tip was too good to lose, so the reporter carefully wired the sum and substance of the interview to his London paper, with the result that the next day Primatavas rose from 1-f to 31f, and Nitrate Railway shares from -§• to 25§. When a man gets such a lift as this no wonder he can make money, but sage speculators compare the share market to a barometer. A sudden riseforetellsasudden fall, and some day some one will burn his fingers over nitrate shares. The Colonel is building a mansion at Eltham in Kent, and in his village he is honoured like the Romans honoured their emperors. On his arrival the simple minded villagers took the horses from the carriage and dragged him in triumph to his hotel. He is spending LIOO,OOO on what he calls “ repairs ”to his mansion. It is a palace fit for a king. Massive white marble staircases, statuary, stainedglass windows, a picture gallery 200fb long and 40ft wide. The whole building is 650 ft; in length. The main corridor, paved with black and white marble slabs, is 200 ft in length. The dining-room is 60ffc by 25ft. There are ferneries, conservatories, billiard, smoking, reading and lounging rooms. Three rooms are fitted, with the latest improvements and luxuries, as a Turkish bath. The whole of the buildings will be illuminated with the electric light. CHIT CHAT. The formation of the paper syndicate is now practically assured, and it will shortly be floated. The capital is to be L 1,500,000, nearly the whole of which has been already underwritten. The class of paper to be dealt with by the syndicate is the cheaper quality of news. The immediate effect to the consumer is expected to be an advance of 5 per cent in price, and ,no doubt a further rise will take place when the syndicate feels its power. A new threepenny post card will shortly be introduced for the Australasian service, The stamp in the corner will be a representation of a full length figure of Her Majesty in her Jubilee robes. The portrait is arranged in an oval, and is mounted in a rectangular frame of an ornamental character. The card will probably be ready by the end of September. A well-known whisky king is dead— Mr Alexander Walker, of Kilmarnock, head of the firm of John Walker and Sons. With local charity societies, industrial schools, the infirmary, and, in fact, all movements calculated to forward the welfare of the people, Mr Walker was actively connected. He was a member of the Free High Oburch. The latest device in the penny-in-the-slot automatic apparatus is the adoption of the principle to the electric light in the shape of reading-lamps for railway carriages, omnibuses, tramcars, &c. The machine, which is about the size of a cigar-box, is attached to the back of the seat of the carriage. ‘By dropping a penny in the slit, mechanism is set in motion, and an electric light is set in operation which, after burning for half an hour, is automatically extinguished. g An old well-known landmark of London is for sale—Millbank Prison. It may now be had as a going concern by any wealthy colonist who wishes to obtain a baronial castle on the banks of the classic Thames, and who is not particular as to the style of architecture. Its chief value lies in its site, and in this case the site is an immense one. The County Council have offered the land for the erection of workmen’s buildings. With reference to the Maybrick case, in'which so much interest has been taken, it will be remembered at the first investigation that Mrs Maybrick stated that she was a niece of Jefferson Davis, ex-leader of the Confederate States of America. That gentleman has denied the relationship, and says until he read of the case in the newspapers he had never heard of her existence.

Archdeacon Farrar made a strange statement the other day. . He said the only way for the Church to reach the masses was to found a system of Church monastic orders. The proposition is as follows : Monastic orders should be established all over the Kingdom. There must be the genuine foundation, of the threefold vow of obedience, chastity, and poverty among its members : Obedience, i.e., submission to the rule ; chastity, celibacy, for these particular lines of work in the church ; poverty, a true renunciation of everything beyond food (spiritual and bodily), raiment, and lodging. Money must never come near the order. Its members must never so much as touch a coin. If a member was sent to a place where there was a small prospect of his or her receiving friendly invitations, let him beg a meal in the name of Christ and repay his host with prayer and spiritual instruction. If do house would receive him, let him go to the casual ward and preach the Gospel to the tramps. . The theory is sublime, but the practice I am afraid would land its votaries in the police court for having “ no visible means of support, etc.” The Sheffield Daily Telegraph exposes one of the tricks of German traders,

which are on the increase. German cutlery stamped with the name of Sheffield firms had lately been landed in large quantities in Hull. It was not intended for sale in England. There was a deeper scheme than that in the matter. The cutlery was made to re-export as English goods to foreign markets, where they would come into competition with German cutlery of superior quality. Comparing the two samples the foreigner would naturally conclude that English cutlery was inferior to German, and that market would be lost to England. The quality of the rubbish landed in Hull may be gathered from the fact that after seizure by the authorities under the Merchandise Marks Act, and the erasure of the Sheffield stamp, a lot of table knives fetched only a shilling a gross, that is, a penny a dozen. The Telegraph remarks that with all its experience with the cutlery trade it had no idea that such a degree of badness could be reached by perverted ingenuity. It adds the suggestion that it would be a great improvement to the Merchandise Marks Act to prohibit the importation of any foreign manufactures not marked with the source of their origin. Anent the Royal marriage, an old story told of the marriage of Lome and Princess Louise is being rotold with great gusto. This is the story which went the rounds of the German press at the time and wa3 currently believed in by thousands of honest Teutons : —“ A’younger son of the Duke of Argyla having asked his father’s consent to his marriage; was referred by him to the Marquis of Lome, whom it appeared MacCallum More considered as the head of the family since his marriage with a daughter of the Sovereign. Lord Lome, in his turn, professed his inability to decide on the matter without consulting the Queen. This would seem to be a recourse to the very fountain head, beyond which there could be no need to go, but her Majesty explained that it had been her practice since the death of the Prince Consort to do nothing without the advice of her brother-in-law, the Grand Duke of Saxe-Oobnrg. The Grand Duke expressed a natural reluctance to give any decision without the previous sanction of the Emperor of Germany, who found it necessary to postpone his judgment till he had submitted jhe matter to the powerful intellect of his chief adviser, Prince Bismarck. The last Courtof Appeal had now been, reached. “ What does it matter to me 1 ” said the Chancellor, with his usual rough good humour. “ Let the young man marry as he pleases,” and in consequence, with this gracious permission, the matter was settled.