TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1213, 31 May 1895, Page 17

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

From Our Special Correspondent.

London, April 5. The last days of March were fatal to four noteworthy Englishmen Lord Alcester, the Dean of Canterbury, Sir George Chesney and Sir Charles Mills. With the first-named, who as Beauchamp Seymour played a prominent part in the New Zealand war, I have dealt fully elsewhere, and of the Dean it bufficeth to say he was a pillar of the Establishment. But both Mills and Chesney were unusually interesting personalities. Sir Charles had for many years repro ■' sented the Cape Government in London, and was a power in South African affairs. He was a German by birth, and commenced life as a private soldier in the English army, where he took the name of Mills, subsequently purchasing a commission. After campaigns in China and India, Captain Mills went to the Cape, and in 1866' entered the Cape Parliament. He soon became a prominent politician, and was sent Home in 1882 a Agent-General. Sir Charles was a bachelor, and had delightful chambers above the Agent-General's offices in Victoria street, where he entertained a good deal in a quiet way.

Sir .George Chesney was a soldier, diplomatist and novelist, and successful as each. Most people knew him simply as the author of the "Battle-of. Dorking," but in the opinion of good judges " The Dilemma " was his finest work. Sir George had been right through the Indian mutiny, and in " The Dilemma" he practically retold his own experiences. Later in " A True Reformer," the veteran Anglo-Indian suggested a scheme of army reform, which attracted considerable attention. In private life Sir George was a charming conversationalist, and full of ideas, in the House of Commons, however, he proved a worker rather than a talker. A week ago the old gentleman was in his place, and seemingly active as ever. He died after only a few days' illness.

" The Battle of Dorking " was published in Blachivood's magazine nearly a quarter of a century ago, and created a great sensation. It was quickly re-issued in pamphlet form and sold all oyer the country by the hundred thousand. Of course imaginary invasions of England, battles in Kent and sieges of London at once became the rage, and imitations of Sir G. Chesney's brochure innumerable. The authorship of . thig literary bombshell was a secret at the time, and not till years later did it become known. In his last novel, " The Lesters," Sir. George pictured the probable consequence of putting Socialist theories into practice. It is an entertaining story, and, like everything he wrote, quite readable.^ The " long arm of coincidence" has brought about a painful tragedy in connection with the new play at the Garrick. It seems that, despite Mr Pinero's care in coining a (as he supposed) unique name for his heroine, there was in. existence a real Mrs E bbsinith, or rather j E bbSmith, and worse still she had figured in the Divorce Court, owing to an unhappy marriage, and imagined herself " notorious." Naturally very eccentric, this genuine Mrs Ebbsmith lashed herself into a. rage over the title of the Garrick play. Precisely what she 1 felt nobody knows. She wrote to her brother that she had had " an awful week" owing to the " Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith," but that she heard the play was a superb work of art, and felt she ought to be flattered. On Saturday she was going to see it. On Friday evening, however, the poor woman took the train from town to Reading and drowned herself in the Thames. It was shown that deceased, though a robust elderly woman, had long been "queer" and hovering on the brink of insanity. Tie worry in connection with the name of the Garrick play must, just have overset her tottering reason. Mr Pinero and Mr Hare were naturally distressed by the occurrence. The former thinks he saw the name EbbSmith in the papers at the time deceased divorced her husband, and that it registered itself unconsciously in his mind.