PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2051, 15 June 1893, Page 45

PERSONAL NOTES.

Mr Chamberlain ascribes much of his success as a speaker in the House of Commons to assiduous practice when a young man at various Birmingham debating societies.

The Empress of Austria has added to her linguistic accomplishments the ability to speak, read, and write modern Greek, which she acquired with astonishing rapidity. She has translated several of Shakespeare's plays into that language.

Dr Alexander Wekorle, the new ministerpresiclent of Hungary, is a perfect; giant in breadth and stature. He is more than a head taller than the average man, erect as an Indian, and exceedingly active. Hia face is pleasing and attractive.

Mr Campbell-Bannennau, M.P , the British War Secretary, rectives daily over 1000 letters by the morning post. Every officer in the army, whatever his rank, is known at the War Office by a number, aud any letter referring bo him in any way, though datirg back half a ceafcury, can be produced in three minutes.

Mr Henty, the popular author of boys' books, has as a newapaper correspondent smelt powder iv many parts o£ the world.

Emile Zola, the well-known French novelist, writes in a most extraordinary fashior, holding the pen between the second and fourth fingers of the right hand, and the process is a very slow and laborious one. He is now 52 ; and the favourite recreations of his leisure are boating and gardening. His manner is very imperious, a fact which makes him many enemies. Zola began life as a clerk in Hachette's library in Paris at a salary of SOir a month. He is now almost, if not quite, a millionaire. He lives in a tiny cottage of three rooms at Medan, where he fled in 1878 to avoid the crowds who went to Paris to visit the Exhibition. The present aim of his life is to gain admission to the French Academy. He is nofc discouraged by numerous defeats, remembering that Victor Hugo had to present himself four times before he became one of j the 40 " Immortals."

The Prince of Wales is one of the best affcer-dinner speakers to be found in England, and, if report may be believed, the Duke of York has inherited the paternal gift of post-prandial loquacity. The Duke of Clarence could never make a good speech, and, in fast, did nofc shine even in the most trivial conversation ; but Prince George was always a lively youth with his tongue. The speeches made by the Prince of Wales are all wholly original, and for the most part are spontaneous — at least for very many years past they have been so, although at the beginning of his career of " diner oufc " he made notes. The idea that his speeches are written for him and learnt by him like a parrot is erroneous. This gift of post-pran-dial eloquence and wit distinguishes the Prince of Wales from all other Pricces of the Blood (whether reigning sovereigns or nofc) in Europe, and he himself: knows this, and is proud of it.

Early in the century a party of Cossacks of the Eussian army entered the Duchy of Parma. These rough-riders of the Czar were as wild and savage as the country they came from, and they galloped over the territory of Parma in search of blood and booty, not glory. The Cossacks came to the village of Le Eoncole. They attacked this hamlet. They shot men and women. They tossed children on the points of their lances, and made a, terrible maseacre aud ruin. One peasant woman, the wife of a poor innkeeper of Le Boucole,held an infant of a few months at b.6r breast. Despite the horrors around she did aofc Jose her piosenca of mind entirely, bufc darted unobserved up the stairway of the cburcb, and ciambered into the belfry. There she .lay hidden white the clamour and the murder proceeded bolow, aad when might came and the Cossacks had gone, she crept from the belfry to the ground, with the child safe at her breast. The woman in the belfry was

Guiseppe Verdi's mother, and the child at her breast was Guiseppe Verdi himself. The Rev. H. E. Haweis, whose "Life of Sir Morell Mackenzie " has been announced, is better known as a writer on musical than on general subjects. He is even co good an amateur musician thafc he has been wittily described as preaching on the fiddle and fiddling in the pulpit, and he knows so much

aboat bells that he went, not so long ago, to Aberdeen to tell the people there how to

manipulate their carillon. Ifc was Dean Alf ord who, when editor of the Contemporary, tempted him to authorship, and the first notable result was Mr Haweis's very successful book, "Music and Morals" — a title, by the way, which led Sir George Grove to remark that music, so far as he could see, had nothing to do with morals. Mr Haweis lives

in Dante Gabriel Rossetfci's old house at Cheyne-walk, which, with the aid of hie wife, who is an expert writer on dress and decoration, he has made a truly artistic residence. At St. James's, Marylobone, Mr Haweis some-

times has his serious moments. " It is not the body," said he to one of his lady members, "it is nofc the body that needs most looking after." «« No," replied she, " I know it isn't ; it's the skirt."