PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 47

PERSONAL NOTES.

— Sir Michael Hicks-Beach has tEe art of saying the strongest things in such a way as not to provoke the storm that would be raised abroad if they were said-by Lord Salisbury or Mr Chamberlain.

— The Empress of Japan takes a great interest in all that concerns the nation, from the rice crops upwards. Her Majesty is said to have a special talent for literature. A pretty poem of hers, set to music, is sung in the schools all over the land.

— Though Mr Walter Rothschild is quite an, all-round naturalist, birds are his special study. He is extremely interested in English- birds, but by no means neglects foreign species. For instance, he is a recognised authority on the pelican family.

— The Pope made eight hogsheads of wine last season from the vineyard in the Vatican gardens. A small part of the wine is reserved for his own use, another portion is sent to the churches to be used at mass, and the rest is sold.

— The Queen of Eoumania, more poetically known as " Carmen Sylvia," is probably the only living author who has written books in four languages. She can write fluently and correctly in French, Roumanian, German, and Swedish, and has an adequate knowledge of English and Italian. '• — Sir Walter Qilbey has a special hobby in which he indulges in his Essex home. He is very fond of making experiments in regard to the growing of peppermint, lavender, and other aromatic plants, and is one of the chief authorities on then,' cultivation and harvesting. — Sir William Russell is the oldest and most experienced of war correspondents. Ec was the correspondent of The Times in the w&gh, didjacalcul&bj.e, §e t yjc£j i ojiie i

country by disclosing the scandalous maladministration of the commissariat and other departments.

— Maurus Jokai has gifts of tbe_tongne as well as of the pen. He was introduced to the Emperor William when the latter visited Buda-Pesth, but was called away to speak to the Archduchess Maria Josef. Returning, he said in" apologj 7 -, " Your Majesty must excuse me, but my allegiance to ladies comes before my allegiance to monarchs."

— Sir Squire Bancroft's London residence is literally packed with all manner of art treasures. In the hall, Indian idols and curios grin at the visitor, and the study of the popular actor lias every corner filled with articles of vertu brought from all quarters of the globe.

— When Sir William Lockhart, the Com-mander-in-chief in India, entered the Bengal army o,t the age of 17, he was remarkable tor his talkativeness and excitability. How he J succeeded in overcoming these characteristics j | ia' unknown, but presumably strength of will I did it. Not many years later he was spoken j of by a colleague as a strangely silent and unemotional young man. —Mr Thomas A. Edison, jun. , the son of the great; inventor, seems to have inherited much of the genius of his wonderful father. Although he is little more than 21 years of ago, he has already distinguished himself by the production of a new kind of incandescent lamp, which is said to be far superior to any other ever made. * — President M'Kinley some time ago found that he was not sleeping well, and he has b3en_devoting his energies to conquering the complaint by his will power. He has succeeded in his efforts, and is again a living » example of tiie rule that no troubles or anxieties are boo great for him to endure who can put them behind him and go into a sound sleep within 10 minutes after retiring. — Archbishop Boyer, of Bourges, in Prance, made a record after his death by being buried as a pauper, his coffin, according to his dying request, being carried from the Archbishop's house to the Cathedral in the hearse u&ed for pauper funerals. There were no wreaths, and the honours due to deceased as Knight of the Legion of Honour were omitted. Sixteen archbishops and bishops attended the service. —Ur Hermann Adler, the chief rabbi in London, is remarkable for his great sympathy with children*, and it is said that he is seldom so happy as" when ' talking with little people. He is vice-president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Dr Adler's hobby is the collecting of manuscript and printed books on the subject of Hebrew literaturs and history, and his library is a monument both of taste and patience, for all its contents have been arranged by himself. — Lord Iteay, the chairman of the London School Board, is Scotch by descent and Dutch by birth. He was born in 1839, naturalised in Britain in 1877, made a peer of the United Kingdom jn 1881, and has since rendered faithful service to the State. By succession he is chief of the clan Mackay, in direct line, as great-grandson of This ancestor commanded the famous regiment of that clan, the Mackays in Holland, and, marrying a Dutchwoman, settled down in the Netherlands, Avithout expectation that he or any of his descendants wotild take the place of his elder brother, then holding the title or issue which failed in 1875. —It is stated in a New York newspaper that a son of Mr Astor, the American millionaire, has as his " fag " at Eton one of the young Battenberg princes. This reminds us of the story that a leading native Indian prince, who had a son at Eton, asked a friend of his, an English officer, who was going home for a holiday, to call at the college and see the young prince. " You might convey to the masters of the college," he added, "my wish that the boys should show no deference to my son on account of his rank. I want my son to be treated in all respects like the other boys." In due course the English officer called at Eton, and found that the young Indian prince was known and called among his schoolmates as ll the nigger." — Miss C. M. Yonge, the author of novels innumerable, of over a dozen substantial volumes of English, Roman, Scottish, German, and French history, of biographies, reminiscences, and other works, and also for many years the editor ( of a magazine, has yet always time for Sunday school work. She has been a Sunday school teacher for 60 years, beginning at the age of 14, and for many years also gave Scripture lessons in the day school near her residence. Miss Yonge lives in the village of Otterbourne, not far from Winchester, attends daily service at the church, takes an active interest in the Girls' Friendly Society, and resists all interviewers.

■ — Lord Ampthill, who is acting as private secretary to Mr Chamberlain, gives promise of as much success in politics as he has achieved on the river. His record as a "wet bob " at Eton and Oxford was remarkably brilliant. At Eton he was captain of the boats, and rowed several successive years at henley ; and he thriced pulled an oar for Oxford in he 'Varsity boat race. As a tribute to his mental prowess, he was also elected president of the Union. Lord Ampthill is still two years on the sunny side of 30, is a son of Lord Odo Russell, for some time our ambassador at Berlin. He is well endowed with good looks and personal graces, and has every physical and mental equipment for a brilliant career.

_ — 'Mr Henry Stacy Marks was- the firm friend of many children who were in the habit of meeting him at the Zoological Gardens. It is said that this custom of taking with little ones was a secret of his, more or less, for he never indulged in it in the presence of any acquaintance of his own. Nurses accompanying children and perambulators grew to know the elderly gentleman well by sight, and could tell many tales of his benevolent kindness to their charges ; but Mr Marks scarcely troubled to notice the presense of any elders. He was often to be seen in the parrot house surrounded by children, whom he amused more than did the birds, so quaint were his anecdotes and so humourous Ids manner of addressing the creatures and suggesting their difference in character and disposition. Many small folk who never knew his namo will wonder what has become of " the dear old man " who possessed. gucJi §491©- ft! «&tursil UisiQlZ Kiiskim