THE SKETCHER.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1189, 14 December 1894, Page 9

THE SKETCHER.

A GOSSIPY _AUTOBIOGRAPHY. SIR WILLIAM GREGORY’S OLD FRIENDS. DISRAELI, PALMERSTON AND PRINGE OF WALES. From Our Special Correspondent. London, October 27.

Far the most entertaining volume of personal gossip we have had this year is the late Sir William Gregory’s Autobiography edited by his wife, and just published by John Murray. This amusing veteran must not be confused with Sir Charles Gregory, the venerable civil engineer wbo recently espoused the octogenarian Mrs Stirling. Sir William was a much more important and distinguished individual. LORD PALMERSTON’S MOT. A Palmerstonian jest is among the political reminiscences:— “ I remember a charming mot of Lord Palmerston one evening at a party at his own house. The Princess of Servia was going out, and her dress caught in the doorway. Lord Palmerston stooped and loosened it, and then, bowing and laughing, said, ‘Vous voyez, Princesso, cost toujours la Porte qui vous incommode.’" THE QUEEN S BAL POUDRE. Hero is a description of the Bal Poudre in 1845 :

“ It was in this year, on June 6fch, that her Majesty gave her' celebrated Bal Poudr4, to which I had the honour of receiving an invitation. The costume was limited to the pei’iod between 1730 and 1750. My dress cost between L7O and LBO, so I may as well describe it. High red-heeled shoes with diamond buckles; white silk stockings with gold clock; cherry-coloured velvet breeches; a deep waistcoat with flaps of white satin, embroidered with arabesques ; a turquoisecoloured velvet coat with gold buttons, from whence emerged a sword; and on my head a small three-cornered hat trimmed with ostrich feathers. The costume of the time required a small bob-wig with a couple of side curls. Most of the guests cut off their hair and invested in a horse-hair wig. I allowed mine to grow, and had it well curled and pomatumed and powdered just before starting. The dances of the evening were minuets, Sir

Roger de Coverley, and country dances. After her Majesty had danced her minuet the other minuet parties came forward and danced before her. I never saw so striking a sight as this ball. Besides our own national attire, civil and military, we had Hungarians, Venetians, Russians in short, the inhabitants of all Europe in the dress of the period ; and the ladies looked superb in powder, rouge, and patches, especially ladies in -the autumn of life, who, for that night at all events, com. pletely cut down the younger and more blooming debutantes. ... At about half-past two in the morning I felt a very unpleasant laxity in the state of my curls, and found that the heat of the atmosphere and my dancing exertions were gradually relaxing them into straightness, and so I took my departure. It was a lovely warm morning, and the streets quite

deserted. I walked up to St. Jal±les , street on my way home, and found Croclcford’s Club still open. On going upstairs, the supper-room was full of men from the ball, and not one in ordinary attire. It was an exact representation of Hogarth’s “ Rake’s Progress." The Rekes of 1845 were not drunk, to be sure, but there they were as in 1780, with their legs up and their swords thrown on the table or the ground, their bob-wigs either on the back of their heads or altogether off. It was one of the most curious sights I ever saw. I only wish I had had the power of Hogarth to record it. I am not aware that any drawings were made of the costumes, but well do I remember the extraordinary beauty of Lady Waterford, Lady Canning, and Lady Douro (now Duchess of Wellington), and how fascinating and picturesque Lady Villiers looked as a French marquise. 1 can ' still see Lord Cardigan striding proudly through the rooms in the uniform of the 11th Dragoons at Culloden. How strange my friond Robert Curzon looked in a quaint Venetian dress, how high bred Lord Wilton and Lord Alford, and how odd the guardsmen, in their long white infantry gaiters and old-fashioned high-peaked caps 1"

THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE REBEL LADY.

Sir William Gregory got his K C.M.G. while Governor of Ceylon. He received the Piince of Wales there, and here is an incident of the brilliant assemblage at Kandy:—• I “After dinner, we adjourned to the j Audience Hall, now the Hall of the ■ Supreme Court, formerly that of the 1 Kandian kings. Here were assembled all ! the great Kandian chiefs, each of whom was introduced to the Prince, and received

most graciously. Moreover, the wives of these chiefs were also assembled, in a blaze of jewellery. Among them was a celebrated old lady, one of the largest landowners in Ceylon. She was a woman of the highest rank and bluest blood, and had been lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Kandy. To the memory of her ancient mistress she had remained unswervingly faithful, stubbornly refusing to pay her respects to the Governors or their wives—

a good, houest rebel in heart. She, however, had the strongest regard for Mr Parsons, the Government agent of the Central Province, and placed the most unhesitating confidence in him. He had persuaded her that she could not avoid, as a great paying her respects to the son of her sovereign. Mr Parsons pointed her out to the Prince, and told him her story. He at once descended from the raised dais, went to the old lady

and took her by the hand. He said, * I have heard of your unshaken fidelity to your former mistress, and I admire "you for it. But she is gone and dead. I ask you now to show the same fidelity to my Mother and your Queen, and to accept and wear this ornament (a gold brooch representing the Tudor Rose), which is one of the symbols of the English crown, in remembrance of me.’ These few words were said with singular kindness. The old lady was silent for a minute, and then burst into tears. ‘ I will always wear it,’ she said, ‘ in memory of you and your mother, who will henceforth have no

more devoted servant than myself/ And a devoted loyalist she became, and remained till the end of her life." THE PRINCE IN DANGER.

The Prince of Wales’elephant hunting in Ceylon was the cause of no small anxiety to Sir William Gregory : “ I detached two of our most famous hunters, Messrs Varian and Fisher, to keep a watchful eye on the Prince, and not to scruple to lose their own lives in saving his. I must confess I watched him and his companions .off the next morning to the scene of action with unmitigated apprehension. Telegram after telegram was being forwarded, that, under no circumstance, was .1 to permit the Prince to incur danger. But to try and stop him would have been as futile as the Pope’s bull against a comet. We had provided against danger as far as we could, by placing the guns on rocks above the jungle, and towards these points the elephants were driven. But they absolutely refused to advance in these directions; they rushed madly about in terror; the jungle was about, fifteen feet high, so that only their motion could be seen. At last, after waiting till their patience was exhausted, the sportsmen determined to leave their posts and go down into this jungle, which was impassable, save by the elephant tracks. It

was a most reckless undertaking, and such as no experienced hunter would have dreamed of. Fortunate was it for them that a notoriously fierce elephant with one tusk had broken away from the herd the day before, or there would have been 3ome dreadful work. Mr Fisher described to me the scene in the evening. He could not tell where the elephants were going, as he could see nothing save the waving of the bamboos. All at once one came right down upon, and, as it wore, over the Prince, who was as cool as a cucumber, and brought him down, literally at his feet. He shot another, and jumped on his carcase in triumph to possess himself of his tail. When this was effected they say that the courtier-like elephant got up and made his way to his friends tailless." LORD CHARLES BERESFORD’S JOKE.

After the elephant hunt the drive back to Colombo was enlivened by the following episodes : “ Lord Aylesford was on the box, and took the reins from the Tamil coachman and began to flog the horses, who, having had enough of it already, swerved and upset the party into the ditch. No one was hurt, and the Prince’s sole care was not to lose his elephants’ tails. The Malay escort soon put the carriage to rights, Lord Aylesford was removed from

the box, and all was ready for a start, when Lord Charles Beresford, pointing to the coachman who was mounting to his seat, .said to the Malay sergeant, in a solemn tone of command, ‘ Cut that man’s head off 1’ Out flashed the Malay’s sword, and in an instant the command would have been obeyed, for a Malay is ever ready and willing for a fierce deed ; but, fortunately, the coachman understood English, and sprang up on the other side of the road to a ledge of rocks, where he was safe. Lord Charles, seeing how nearly his joke had caused a serious catastrophe, now called out in stately

tones, ‘ The Prince has graciously par* doned him, let him come down.’" These extracts show the lively character of the autobiography of this former Governor of Ceylon. The autobiography was written for Lady Gregory and her boy, and not with a view to publication; l It must have been all the livelier for that before Lady Gregory (as she says in her preface) “ left out many passages that seemed too personal, or that might have vexed the living or slighted the memory of the dead." It is still lively enough, and will be a popular volume this winter. The editing on the whole has been judiciously done. A passage or two, however, dealing very freely with the private lives of Lady Beaconsfield and her illustrious husband, will not be read with universal pleasure. The gossip only, illustrates the wellknown conjugal affection of a devoted husband and wife, but it wanted pruning in the printed narrative. We prefer this story, which, thoughjt is not quite new, is freshly told ANECDOTES OF MR DISRAELI.

“In the year 1868, one day, in the lobby of the House of Commons, Colonel Taylor, the whip of the Tory party, told him that many of his friends were dissatisfied at the distant manner in which he treated them. Mr Disraeli asked who the malcontents were.

Here is one of them,’ said Taylor, pointing to Admiral , M.P. “ ‘ Pray introduce me at once,’ said Mr Disraeli.

“Accordingly he was introduced, and quite fascinated the old sailor, who, on shaking hands, said—. “ ‘ iVlr Disraeli, I am extremely glad to make your acquaintance. I am not a novel reader, but my daughters are ; they have read all your novels and constantly express a high opinion of them.’ “ ‘ This is indeed fame !’ replied Mr Disraeli, in a solemn tone, but with an indescribable look at Colonel Taylor." Sir William Gregory was able to illustrate Lord Beaconsfield’s staunchness to certain old friends :

“One day in 1867 we met in St. James’ street, and he took, my arm as far as the Carlton. He spoke with much kind feeling about old times, hoped that, although I could not be his political supporter, I would always continue out of the House our pleasant relations of former days. I answered that X thought he must be aware I had not forgotten them, for though on many occasions X had made speeches adverse to his policy, I had carefully avoided ever saying one word which could be personally disagreeable to him. He said, ‘ My dear Gregory, I should be blind if I had not noticed your invariable courtesy to me, and I have been anxious to get the opportunity which has to-day occurred of renewing our old friendship ; and now let me ask you to do me a great favour. If during my term of office I can serve you or yours in any way, of course I don’t mean politically, give me the pleasure of allowing me to do so.’ Soma months afterwards there was a vacancy amongst the trustees of the National Gallery, and I said to Colonel Taylor, the whip of the Tory party, that I wished he would mention to Mr Disraeli my desire to be named to the vacancy. Taylor said

he would do so, but he feared Mr Disraeli could not comply with my wish, as he had already conveyed td him the desire of several of his supporters, peers and M.P.’s, for the honourable appointment. For all that, the next day came a note offering it to me iu the handsomest terms." The autobiographer, while acknowledging this favour, was not restrained from putting on record this frank opinion of his “ friend ": “ That he was a man of immense talent not even his greatest enemy can deny : but even I, his personal friend, must confess that from his entrance into public life until his last hour he lived and died a charlatan." THE BUNKUM OF “PEACE WITH HONOUR."

In a letter to Sir'Henry Layard in 1878 also Sir William Gregory wrote : “ I shall be curious to hear the discussions at the beginning of next session, for already some of the most staunch Conservatives have not hesitated to express their convictions to me that they are not by any means happy about our position in the East, and that they fear that there has been a good deal of charlatanism in the bunkum of ‘ peace with honour ’ of Lord B- . These irreverent ideas are freely expressed, but I doubt if the feeling has pervaded the low class of voters in the constituencies, and if we should gain much by a dissolution." TRENCH’S HOTEL.

Sir William Gregory was born in 1817 at the Under-Secretary’s Lodge in Phoenix Park. His grandfather was Undersecretary from ,1813 to 1831, and the Lodge at that time used to be called Trench’s Hotel, from the frequency of the visits of the Trench family-. Lady Anne Trench was the autobiographer’s grandmother. But “ Trench’s Hotel " was also of course not unfrequented by eminent statesmen whose acquaintance was useful to young Gregory in his Parliamentary days. Among them he saw Lord Melbourne. Mr Gladstone getting to know this in after days,' asked' Sir William Gregory, “ Did he swear at you ?" Sir William could not remember, as swearing was so common in those days, but he did remember Melbourne asking him if there was anything in the room he would like. Gregory coveted a stick of sealing wax, and Melbourne, adding a bundle of pens, playfully said, “ That’s right; begin life early. , All these things belong to the pqblic, and your business must always be to get out of the public as , much as you can." The Marquis of Wellesley took a keen interest in. che classical studies of young Gregory, whose , successes at Harrow are commemorated by a scholarship there, and who had Dean Liddell for his tutor at Oxford. His first Parliamentary success was the defeat of Lord Morpeth in Dublin. The story of this success leads up to reminiscences of Sir Robert Peel, O’Connell, and the Parliamentary figures at that time. LORD ASHLEY’S DEFEAT OF SIR

ROBERT PEEL. Lord Ashley’s triumph with his Factory Bill in 1844 is vividly described:— “His grand presence, his fine voice, which rang through . the House, his deep sincerity,, and tlio noble words of his peroration, caused a sensation such as I have seldom seen equalled. The young members deserted their leader and went with him. The division appeared to be a close one, bub when the tellers advanced to the table, arid the Clerk handed the numbers to Lord Ashley, we who were supporting him knew that he had won; and so he had, by a majority of nine against the Government. The House broke out into cheer after cheer, and I, oblivious of all Parliamentary decorum, jumped up and unthinkingly waved my hat over Sir Robert’s head, who was sitting just below me. He turned to me when the turmoil had subsided, and said laughingly, ‘My good fellow, I shall give you a scolding if you wave your hat over my head whenever

you beat me; and the Speaker will give a scolding if you wave it at all.’ This was a lesson but it was administered in a pleasant way." LONDON GAMBLING IN 1846. In descriptions of the social life of the first half of the century, revels, and duels, we read of the gambling at Crockford’s and in London generally : “ The state of London as regards gambling was scandalous. There were copper bells, silver hells, .gold hells, where pence, shillings, and pounds were played, scattered over the town but especially in the region of St. Jame3\ They were nominally illegal, but were carried on with perfect impunity, ruining servants, tradesmen, and gentlemen alike. Sir James Graham set to work with no half measures; the police were ordered to break into every hell and bring the keepers and the gamblers also before the magistrates, by whom they were severely punished. But that was not all. In spite of the remonstrance of that class who, while honestly disapproving of evil things, cannot bring themselves to attempt their removal, in spite of prophecies that the youth of England would betake themselves to private play if they had not the vent of public play, Sir James Graham sent word to Bage, the manager of the club who had succeeded * Old Crocky, that the police had orders to enter it with as little ceremony, and to arrest its inmates, as if it were a coffee hell frequented by costermongers. The consequence was that in a month or two it was closed. No private play resulted from this closing."