ENGLISH GOSSIP.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 933, 17 January 1890, Page 22

ENGLISH GOSSIP.

(FROM Ouit CORRESPONDENT.) London, December 1. The news of Stanley’s safe arrival at civilised parts has removod that long existing feeling of doubt that his valuable life perhaps might have been sacrificed on the dark Continent. It is rumoured iri commercial circles that he will be asked by the Duke of Fife to undertake the management of the African Trading Company, of which the Duke is (he principal director. The New York Herald sent a correspondent from Zanzibar up country to interview Stanley, with a request that he would write a personal letter for publication in that paper. Stanley did so, with the result that the next day the letter appeared in the London and New York editions of the Herald. The cost •’f wiring the letter to New York wa 3 8s Gi per word, and the enlire cable message coat the Herald over £7OO. This is newspaper enterprise with a vengeance. In the letter Stanley said ; lam in perfect health and feel I'lce a labourer of a Saturday evening, returning home with liia week’s work done, his week’s wages in his pocket, and glad that to-morrow is the Sabba'h.”

It lias been rumoured that during his travels Stanley had accumulated many tons of valuable ivory. It is true that he sent one consignment of a few tons to London, where it realised good prices, but the story that he has LIOO,OOO worth still in hand is untrue. He had a lot on hand, but when sorely pressed by enemies he burned it rather than let it fall into their possession. Private letters have been received in Sheffield from Zanzibar, which state that the supply of ivorv from that quarter is likely to be very small for some time to come, on account of the disturbed state of the interior. AYhatever quantity Emin Bey had collected has long since passed into the hands of the Arab traders.

Great Britain is congratulating herself that the Budget will show a very substantial surplns, and the question is asked what will Mr Goschen do with it ? It is generally believed in parliamentary circles that he will devote part of it to the reduction, if not the abolition of taxes on tea, coffee, or cocoa, thus encouraging the old political cry of a free breakfast table.

There have b-en some grave scandals in connection with the London School Board. The contractorsemployed by the Building Committee have shamefully “scamped” their work in many in stances. As a consequence the ratepayers have riot received proper value for the four or five millions which have been sunk, and, what is more serious, are liable to the frequent recurrence of abnormal expenditure for repairs. To give one example of the way in which money has been squandered and lives endangered, I will q'uote the case of the Nynehead street school, New Cross. The site selected was literally a large bog. During the erection ©f the school the clerk of the works repeatedly called the attention of the Board’s Architectural Department to irregularities that were going on. Instead of being supported, he was only snubbed. He contended that the flooring would not stand securely, as there was Bft of manure under it, and suggested iron girders and rolled iron joints, but he was overruled. What he predicted haq taken place. Two years after the whole had to be taken up, the block flooring, asphalte and everything eise, at an enormous cost. Mr Lobb, in a letter to the Telegraph, says :—“ As an instance of the architectural blundering ami neglect, the flooring of 108 schools had to be torn up at a cost of LIO,OOO, because there had been no provision made for the elevation of desks, &c.”

The Lancet i 3 doing good work by exposing the unsanitary condition of many of the metropolitan bakehouses. It sent a special commissioner to ir.vesligate the matter, aud his report has sent a thrill of disgust among bread consumers. Iu one underground bakery in Lambeth were found on the same level, and just at the door, a dirty closet and a broken dust-box or bin. Dust and effluvia would therefore mix with the bread, particularly as the great heat of the bakery would draw the air in. Some of the bakehouses at the aristocratic West End were even in a worse state than those south of the Thames, or in the squalid districts in the east end of the town. The bakers’ strike has raised tbe priceof bread, and to-day the 41b loaf is retailed at SLI. A couple of months ago it coat just fourpence. It is not generally known that the staff of The Times newspaper includes seven policemen, who are employed solely on the premises. They are, however, paid by and are under the contiol of the City Council. Their pay at present is £95 per year.

A brave rescue by a devoted mother took place a few days ago in St Pctersireet, Hackney. A house was on fire, and in a back room 0:1 the fi>-st floor were a couple of young children. The Fire Brigade made several attempts to rescue the children, but the flames and the dense smoke drove them back. At 1 liia point the mother, who bad been away’- from home, came rushing down the street and wanted to enter the house. Her friends tried to keep her back, telling her that several men had -attempted the task but had all failed. On hearing this the mother made one dash and was up the stairs in an instant.

There was a painful scone in the street, for it was felt sure that she had only gone to her certain death. Women fainted at the thought, and strong men wept and prayed for her safety. In a few seconds, however, the woman appeared with a child under each arm, all of them well nigh exhausted. The question is sometimes asked, where did the red-haired people come from ? This has never been satisfactorily answered until lately. Dr Daniel G. Brin,! on recently read a paper before the American Philosophical Society on the “ Ancieut Etruscans,” who for ages have been one of the puzzles of etnnoiogy. The doctor is inclined from study and observation to think that they came across the Mediterranean Sea from the far South, and that they belong to the same stock as the existing Kabylea of the Atlas range. Like the Kabyles, they were tall, blonde, end dolicho-cephalic, or long in the head. So were the ancient Libyans as represented by the modern Berbers of the old Barbary and the Guanches of the Canary Islands. Their language was analogous to the Libyan tongue, and the position assigned to women in their society accorded with that of Libya, while it entirely differed from that of Greece, Asia and Turania. These blonde Libyans are also supposed by some authorities to be akin to the ancient Amorites of Scripture, as' represented by the red haired or blonde race still to be found in the mountains of Palestine and cropping out among the Jews. It is even suggested that the sandy haired and freckled type of Scotchman is a survival of the same stock. They appear to have been a wandering race, but the red hair, like those little flags which are sometimes stuck into maps, is a never-failing ensign of their whereabouts.

At the Royal Aquarium, Wes'minsf.er, among its many attractions at the present time are a troupe of male and female Arab dancers from Cairo. Dressed in the picturesque costume of their country they have a brave appearance on the stage. The men are fine built, lithe fellows, and the women are fleshy and handsome. When they appeared at the Paris Exhibition tbe garments ofi the females were so transparently thin that even Parisian modesty was shocked, buthere iu London, where we are essentially a modest people, their clothes are of a thicker texture. Their dances are of a voluptuous nature, and one of them resembles exactly a Maori haka of the olden time. This was given at a private Press representation, but the general verdict was that'it would be better to abolish it from the public stage, a 3 English people were not used to such strange exhibitions. Where these Arabs learned the Maori haka, or when did the Maoris learn their ht:ka from the Arabs, is a question for our scientists to puzzle over ; but one thing is certain, the love dance of these Arabs is identical with the love dance of the darkskinned Maoris.

People often wonder at the derivation of the word masher ” applied to the young bucks of fashion at the present day.- Mr Herman Merivale points out in the Daily Telegraph that the word is possibly derived from the gipsy dialect, in which “ masha ” means “ fascination of the eye.” Mr Merivale adds that “it is true that the Romany refers only to the feminine charm, but our modern masher is gifted with enough epicehery to add to the natural probability of the derivation.”

The New York World is a most enterprising newspaper. A short time ago an animated discussion took place in New York on the possibility of circumnavagating the world in the time, or even less, suggested by Jules "Verne in his romance of “Round the World in 80 Days.” It will be remembered that his hero Pnineas P. Fogg was a ’cute Yankee, who did that rapid journey. Of course, at the time of the appearance of Verne’s novel the world at large laughed at the absurdity of the thing. It was thought a peep into a very distant future, when a man should be able to run round the world in 80 days. But the recent acceleration of speed on our ocean steam boats has made it a matter not only of probability, but of absolute certainty. The New York World, always an audacious paper, said the trip cnild be done iu 75 days, and, moreover, one of their staff should do it. And tc prove the axiom that an American woman is capable of travelling anywhere without an escort thej* would send one of their lady reporters to do the task. Their choice fell on Miss Nellie B'y, one of the smartest female reporters in America, and a valued member o< the World’s staff, to which she has been attached for several years. Miss Nellie Bly is a pretty brunette with lovely eyes, a charming figure, and is barely 23 year 3 of age. She stands sft 2|in in height, and is of a very quiet and reserved nature, but for all a wonderfully smart journalist. She is a rapid shorthand writer, and is remarkably good at graphic descriptive writing. When the World told her what her task was she said “lam ready,” and in exactly four days she had started on her long trip round the world. She only took with her a dark tweed travelling costume, a change of linen in a small handbag, an ulater cloak, an umbrella, and a purse well lined with gold. How few women would start with such an outfit, and how many are there who, even on a journey half that distance, could carry as Miss Bly did, the whole of. her luggage in one hand ? She left New York on Wednesday, November 13th, at noon, for Liverpool, where she landed early on the 21st, reaching London next rqorning,

Here she presented herself at the London office of the Wr.-gld, and saw several notabilities. She left by the first train from,Charing Cross en route for Paris, and calling at Arceins to pay her respects to Jules Verne, to whom she explained her mission. The veteran novelist held up his hands in surprise, and said “ My dear girl, it is impossible for you to do it under 82 days.” Upon heariug this, Miss Bly is reported to have said—“ Great snakes 1 Good bye, Jules, old man. I guess I must just skedaddle,” and she made a bolt for the front door, and rushed to catch the train for Brindisi. She goes through the Suez Canal to Columbo, thence to China and Japan, leaving Yokohama direct for San Francisco, thence overland to New York. From each available point on her route she will cable to the World the particulars of her trip, and on her return will contribute to that paper a graphic account of her wanderings. She will be a pioneer of her sex in the feat of circumnavigating the globe, a: least in a continuous journey. She has pluck, energy, and more than a woman’s share of go a-headedness, and if she does not reach New York again on January 27th it will not be her fault. There is an immense amount of betting on her performance, and should she be back in the stipulated time some very handsome and valuable presents will be made her.

Among other, British globe-trotters at the present time is Sir" John Sterling Maxwell, the Unionist candidate for the College division of Glasgow. He started last week on a nine months’ tour of the world. He makes first for Calcutta, and thence via China to Australis, New Zealand, Cauada, and back home. Sir John is a well built young man, 23 years of age, single, and wealthy. His mother was a daughter of the Earl of Leven. He has a couple of splendid houses, one known as Keir, near Dunblane, in Perthshire, and the other is Polioc, at Pollockshaws, near Glasgow. The object of his trip round the world i 3 principally pleasure and to gain some insight into social and political life in the colonies before he settles down to a political career in the House of Commons.

The wife of a gentleman whose name is well known in the Colony had a narrow escape of losing some valuable jewellery a few days ago. The lady in question is Mrs M. Nelson, wife of one of the fiemof Nelson Brothers, exporters of frozen mutton from Hawkes Bay. Mr Nelson travelled by rail to Milverton, near Leamington, having with him his wife’s jewel case, which he placed in a cab that he hired to take him to his destination in Warwick. He unfortunately left the casein the cab, and did not miss it for s<*>me time after he arrived at his house. He did not know the cabman, but the police traced him out. The jewel case, however, was not to be found, but it was ascertained that a racing man had used the cab after Mr Nelson, and had been driven to the wellknown Wheatsheaf Inn in Warwick. That house being full the landlord had procured a bedroom for the man in a private residence. To the house Mr Nelson and the police went in the middle of the night and aroused the owner thereof. They proceeded to the racing man’s bedroom and found him fast aeleep, after a big booze. The jewel case w.»s lying intact under one of the pillows of the bed. Without waking the man the police took the case away, and Mr Nelson found that the jewels were all safe and nothing removed. Mrs Nelson wore them the next evening at the Primrose Ball, and no doubt the racing man would wonder where they had gone to.

The Rev David Macrae is a jovial Presbyterian parson with any amount of latent humour, and the story he told the other night in a lecture at the Brightonstreet E.U. Church Literary Society, Edinburgh, is a good one. He said a free church minister of his acquaintance was recently taking a tour in Norway, and one day while waiting for a train at a country station unconsciously sat down on an ant-hill. When he got into the first-class carriage fortunately he was alone, for to his horror he was tormented with thousands of ants. In fact his unmentionables were swarming with them. How to get rid of them he did not know, but as a last resource he took off his breeches and shook them well through the carriage window. While doing this to his terror the trousers caught into a low - lying telegraph wire and were whisked out of his hands, and as the train was going fully 30 miles per hour his trousers soon grew smaller to M 3 view in the misty distance. Htre was a pretty situation for a clergyman ! He had no change of clothes with him, not even a rug, and in a short time the train would arrive at a principal station. As the train slowly pulled up at the platform he saw to his horror a large number of passengers ready to embark. Fortunately he remembered ho had an English newspaper in his pocket. He unfolded it and wore it like an apron ; then he made a sudden clash across the platform to a waiting room, and closed the door. When the train had gone the stationmaster, thinking something was wrong, went to the room to inquire, but here was a fix. The person could not speak Norsk and the stationmaster could not speak English, so that their conversation was extremely limited. However, ths man ascertained that the clergyman wanted someone who could speak English, so he sent a messenger to a house some three miles off, where some of the family spoke English. By- and-by a lady appeared on the scene, and to her the unfortunate

minister explained his troubles. Soon after his missing breeches were returned to him, and he departed on his journey—perhaps rather cross-tempered after his curious adventure. What is the matter with .the mental organs of the Austrian Royal family ? The late troubles in the family have aged the Emperor at least 20 j 7 ears in the past twelve months. The Empress has, according to her subjects, some queer notions, aud has become very unpopular. The Archduchess Valerie is and has been for some time subject to epileptic tits. The Princess Stephanie i 3 most eccentric. The Archduke John Salvator has made up his mind to give up his rank and fortune and become one of the masses. He wishes henceforth to be known as Herr Johann Orth. He was always fond of the sea, and has passed several examinations in navigation. He is now first mate of a British vessel sailing to Calcutta, and has applied to be naturalised as a British subject. Red-tapeism is not exclusively British property. Other countries are affected with the same disease. One case has just cropped up in fair Italy. In that country, it may be mentioned, salt enjoys a Government monopoly. A short time ago a wealthy family residing a few miles out of Naples had several of their children sick. The doctor ordered them to Capri fot a change of air, and suggested that they should have a saltwater bath every day. The family rented a house near the beach, but as the children were too ill to bathe in the open sea, the servants brought up daily the salt water to the house in buckets. The Inspector of Customs had his eagle eye on them, and being a man thoroughly soaked in all the essence of red-tape he saw that an infringement of the Customs duly was taking place. These servants were actually, and before his very nose, guilty of taking salt (water) without paying the usual duty. He arrested them for their heinous crime and locked them up in a eule prison cell. The father of the family bailed them out, bit not before he got a medical certificate to say that the salt (water) was required for medicinal purposes. The inspector, however, stuck to his lheor3’ that the salt (water) should pay du'y, and now the father of the family has to give the inspector a receipt for every bucket of salt water taken, from the sea for the children’s bath. The rumour is again revived in club circles that Mr Gladstone yyjll accept a peerage early in . the. new year. It will be remembered that he has refused this honour more than once, and his reason, it is said for accepting one now is that lie feels his end is not far distant, and his children are not averse to bear a title. Probably the rumour may account for the reason why Mr Gladstone will not again contest Mid Lothian. This is shown by the fact that the Unionists have selected Lieutenant-Colonel Wauchope as their candidate. The possession of a title increases one s financial worth—at least Miss Belle Bilton imagines it does. It will be remembered that a few months ago a “sprig of nobility,” known as Viscount Dunlo, a callow youth, eldest son of the Earl of Galloway, fell in love with the lively Belle, who with her sister sings risky songs at our music halls. Although she was a good ten years the senior of the youth, and moreover was the mother of three bouncing children who did not know their respective fathers, the Viscount married her. He was promptly sent out to Australia, and,_ by late accounts, wa3 heard of in New Zealand. The Viscountess, alias Bello Bilton, still continues singing on the stage.. The two sisters made an agreement to sing in the Christmas pantomime at the Princess Theatre, Manchester, but it appears that, after they had signed the agreement, the lessee of the Bradford Theatre had offered them more money. Tho case was brought into Court, and the counsel for the defence said that “ Eady Dunlo, being a married woman, an injunction could not be granted against her her artistic worth was increased by her mairiage. I mentioned some months ago that a whipping school for girls had been established in London. The proprietress of the school, a Mrs Walter Smith, is already doing a good business. In her circular she guarantees for 10s 6d to whip any refractory daughter into the most perfect health, moral and physical. She says she has tried her discipline on girls twenty years of age with the happiest results. I fancy Mrs Smith’s trade in the colonies would be a poor speculation. A colonial girl would turn the tables, aud the whipper soon become the whipped. A lively discussion has lately been » going on in the daily papers on the germ theory of infectious diseases. It is pointed out that if medical men are right in saying that diseases are conveyed by floating germs, and if they must notify the existence of contagious diseases to the authorities so that cases can fee isolated, surely the contagious doctor should himself be dealt with, for is he not the chief carrier and transporter of germs 1 Every time he leaves a patient’s bedside lie must take away on his clothing a certain quantity of germs, which he will leave at the bedside of other patients. Besides, whoever heard of a doctor disinfecting himself ] It is well known that puerperal fever has been communicated in this way. There are cases in which conscientious medical men have been known, after visiting a patient with puerperal fever, to give up their practice, destroy their *

clothiog, and go abroad for a time rather than run further risk of conveying the contagion to other patients. In the fever hospital of the -Metropolitan Asylums Board visitors are compelled to wear a “ germ proof” mackintosh, which completely envelopes the whole body. Bat medical men themselves do not take the same precautions. This question of germ conveyance wants explaining.

Another expeidition-t-o-the North Pole is announced. Mr Oscar Dickson, a wealthy merchant, of Gothenburg, Sweden, is prepared to find all the expenses if Dr Frith jof Nansen, who recently commanded the Greenland expedition, will take the leadership. Dr Nansen is perfectly willing, but as he is an officer of the Norwegian Government he desires that Norway shall defray the expenses. There is great distress among the coal minors in Germany, especially in the Saar district. Two hundred thousand of them have 6ent a petition to the Emperor to intervene on their behalf. They complain that even the unmarried men cannot live on the wages they now get, as all things are very dear. They ask that a court of arbitration may ‘be appointed. Several collieries on the Rhine have notified their customers that they are forced to interrupt delivery in order to keep a reserve against contingencies. The accountant who examined the books in which were kept the accounts of the receipts and disbursements of money received (o aid the dock labourers in their recent strikes, certified that they are in a fairly satisfactory condition. The accounts show that the leaders of the strike received no money beyond, that given in payment of their actual expenses. The accountant says that., allowing for the pressure under which the leaders worked, and the extensive fields of their operations, the deficiency in the accounts, which amounts to L 192, is trifling.

The settlement of the dock labourers’ strike at Bristol was effected by a compromise. The questions of employing foreign labour and abolishing middlemen were waived. Thz strikers lost in wages the sum of LIO,OOO, and merchants suffered severely in consequence of the strike. Many of your readers will doubtless remember the North Woolwich Gardens, which some 15 or 16 years ago were in the height of their "glory,, when William Holland, “the people’s Bill,” was the energetic proprietor. Since his days the gardens have Jp,to disrepute. Lately, however, the Duke of Westminster has purchased the ; gardens for L 19,000, and has offered them as a public garden free to the people for ever. It will be a valuable addition to the parks and open spaces which the County Council now maintain for the benefit of the public.