LONDON IN AND OUT OF SEASON,

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 22

LONDON IN AND OUT OF SEASON,

(Feom Oub Own Cobkespondent.) London, March 23. THE BMPBKOH OP GERMANY HOME. Against the unpleasant domestic record of the miserable Milan place the following charming picture : — The young German Emperor recently invited a young lieutenant in the army to dinner, which takes place in -the imperial household about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. - Theyonng man stayed a couple of hours talking with hij liege lord, and then begged permission to retire, as he had to join his regiment on the following day, and had promised to visit his sister on» more before. going. The Emperor said he w«J a model brother, and then added, ".Well, you must come and have a cup of coffee with me be* fore you leave," with which they left the droning room and had their coffee in the smokiDg room ; and when they returned after an absence of 20 minutes the officer was surprised to find his sister in the drawing room surrounded bf tbe imperial family, chatting amicably with the empress. Furthermore, the Emperor insisted on the two staying to supper at 8 o'clock, and the Empress led the way to tbe supper table with smiling grace. The sapper consisted of a plain joiat and vegetables, and the Emprea observed graciously, " You must not think \ii are always so grand as this. It's only when w« have guests that we enjoy such state." THB BMAUGEST PBINCIPAIiHT IN EUBOPB. The Monte Carlo season draws to a close~*i least the sight-seeing season is ending; the gambling season, like Tennyson's " Brook," got* on for ever. As is well known, the Monte Curio Casino is owned by M. Blanc, who pays Prince Charles a certain royal sum yearly in rpn.irn for the monopoly. Charles 111, the hereditary Prince of Monaco, is an old man of 70, who i» almost, if not quite blind, and is, moreover, at this moment very ill, He has a passion for science, and has spent a good part of his life |D a way oddly inconsistent with his patronage of M. Blanc ; for he has been wont to journey to his yacht from place to place sounding, recon* noitering, and whatnot in the deep seas. Bin» November last, however, he has been confined to his castle, where no one is allowed to see hiffl, and he.isßeriously jindisposed* The Prince i« possessed of more titles than any other man io Europe, and probably the world. Here are » few of them : He is Duo de Valentinois, Marqa'w de Baux, Comte d'Oarladz, Baron de Bois, Seig* neur de Saint-Bemy, Sire de Masfciquon, Coote de Thoriquy, Baron de Mazarin, Due de la Me 2' lereggy, Duo de Mayenne, Prince de Cbslw» Prince de Porcien, Comte de Ferrelli, Comte de Belforfe, Comte de Tnann, Comte de Rozemont» Baron d'Altkirok, Sire d'lsenheim, Marquis de Chilly, Com ;e de Lpngjumeau, Baron de Ma&y» and Marquis de Guigcaro. I daresay there »** more, but I will not try you further. T& 0 Prince married the Comteese Antoinette w Merode, and has one son, Prince Albert, born « 1848, who is a captain in the Spanish navy. B fl married the Princess Marie, the daughter of tne late Duke of, Hamilton, and Princess Marie 01 Baden. There is also one son of this marr»£ e » Prince Louis. In conclusion, I may say thattna fortunate possessor of sp many titles holds bw»7 over 14,000 people, whom he defends with »J» army of five officers, seven subalterns, BD ",^ privates. Forty-four gendarmes complete tw defences of the principality. Prince Albert « supposed to look with disfavour upon the g* o '

• * tables, so that when he ascends the throne ia * MR FROUDE.

The story has been going about— originated, f course, by a London correspondent— that The ifimes fiasco nas resulted in the conversion of Mr Fronde from Unionism. It is not exactly stated that M r Ff° uo<e k* 8 become a Home Ruler, but f j 8 said to be ef opinion that Home Rule will h*ve to ° c g rante d a 9a 9 an attempted solution of the difficulty. Mr Froude, however, has written L the papers saying that there is .not the filiflbtest truth in this story, and that he is as *troDg a Unionist as ever. It is reported on better authority that the eminent historian, «hoin Sir George Grey captured, is writing a novel. Mr Froude, it is interesting to note, has written fiction .before (I am not referring to his kistbry), and one at least of his stories bade fair to have considerable , success, when it was suddenly withdrawn from publication. This was called the " Shadow of Clouds." His new novel «jll be political, and on the lines of Lord Beaconsueld's 'political novels. »»Drrn?Bi-Y tall ajjd most divinely fair." jjiaa Winifred Dallas Yorke, the fiance of the pake of Portland, has now become fair game for the newspapers, and her actions are chronicled regularly. - A romantic story of the ff av in which the pair first met in a railway earjiage has been in circulation, but there is no troth in it, as they met in the ordinary manner 6 t some society function. .The engagement was brought abont at Belvoir Castle, when they were o n 11 visit; to the Duchess of Portland, and it is stated that Lady Granby acted the part of mitchmaker for the occasion. Miss Yorke is D ot over wealthy, and according to an authority jj» divinely tall and most divinely fair," being likely to rival the Duchess of Leinster in good looks. If she is as they say, 6ft in height, I should fancy the divinity of tallness had gone a triflß too far, but this is of course a matter of tute. Miss Yorke was one of the stallholders jt the ice carnival last week.

DISTRESSED ARISTOCRATS Itf AMERICA.

Not only is America in possession of the Duke of Sutherland just now — he is one of many. gir Francis Osborne, a near relative of the Dnke of St. Albans, is working for 4s a day in t gaw mill at Acton, Florida. Mr Wolff, a graduate of Oxford, whose grandfather was the Esrl of Clarendon, and whose brother is Sir Henry Drummond-Wolff, the Minister at Tehran, is a porter in a wholesale grocery at Jacksonville, Florida. So far the colonies can "go as good as " America ; but in the matter of foreign nobility the States "sail away." Baron de Grimen is publishing a fashion paper ; Prince KarlLudwig of Wurtemberg is a dentist in New Orleaus ; Baron yon Vietinghoff is a riding mister ; Count Mensdorf and Baron yon Veltbeim are also riding masters ; Baron yon Grabergis a brewer ; Baron Radowitz, whose brother is a German ambassador, is a coal dealer ; Prince

Etistoff has just escaped the American law courts, and fled with £3 in his pocket — which he borrowed, by the way.

DIBTBKSBED ARISTOCRATS AT HOME. They don't all go to America, however, as we have had the opportunity of discovering this last week. The other day yiscount Mandeville, tyliose wife is an American, and was officiating at the ice carnival at the time, held a meeting p! his creditors, and disclosed the painful fact

that he owes £19,000, and has only £1200 to pay it with. He is the eldest son of the Duke of Manchester, who has apparently washed his hinds of him, for he refuses to interfere, and the creditors may therefore " whistle " for their money. As usual, horaeraoing is the cause of tb&iuin. As you will remember, tbe Duke of Manchester paid New Zealand, where he has property, a visit, some seven years ago. The cue .of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny is tomenhat worse. ■ Sir Claude was bankrupt in Wl\ when his debts were £4427, and his assets of "unascertained value." On that occasion

tbe family came to the rescue, and in 1883— after 12 years — paid up the full amount,' 2os in pound, and the bankruptcy was annulled. Since 1883, however, Sir Claude has been " going it " tg&in, and now the liabilities amount to £12,539, ipd the assets £392 ! Bir Claude state that he

hi been spending £4000 a year during the last 111 years. He has managed to get through his money in various ways. He has gone up in a balloon, has staeplecbased, and has acted as amateur hangman at Newcastle, which little privilege he secured by a tip of £5 to the hangman, His family estates consist of ground tents at Feckham and Camberwell, which bring in

67000 a year, subject to mortgages, of course.

Be is 42 years of age, and claims to be descended from the ancient French family of Champion, chevaliers in the fourteenth century in Normandy, and afterwards Sieurs de Orespigny in the parish of Vierville. The family became Protestants ■ in the seventeenth century, and time to England at the Revocation of the Edict o! Nantes. His motto is, Mens sibi conscia r«f»,— (" A mind self-conscious of rectitude.") PICTURES AT THE COMING ACADEMY. The academy opens in May, and Show Suntay will soon be here, so that artists are getting forward with their work. Mr Goodall, R.A.,

not only has a couple of landscapes ready but "A Dream of Paradise," in which Eve is the central figure. Eve is represented as a beautiful vointm with golden hair and blue eyes, to get *Mch same hair and eyes Mr Goodall passed in «wiew 350 heads at Ely's factory and 500 at the Pj»t office before he saw his ideal. Mr Alma'"dema'B new classical picture, which will soon W ite illustrious predecessors, is " The Shrine M Venus/ and represents some beautiful Roman Mies iv a bather's shop. Six thousand pounds ft John, Aird paid for the Heliogabalus pictore last year, and the "Shrine" will certainly Mgo for less.