PERSONAL MOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2425, 5 September 1900, Page 64

PERSONAL MOTES.

— Admiral Fairfax, who recently died at Naples, was the Duke of York's first captain, and greatly attached to him. In a letter which he sent to his Royal Highness, the admiral once wrote : "I always liked you, for you never gave yourself any airs with your underlings or officers." — Prince "Victo. Dhulsep Singhs, the eldest son of the late Maharajah Dhuleep Singh of Lahoie, who at one time considered that he was entitled to have the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond restored to him, was 34- on July 10 He attracted a good deal of notice a couple of years ago, when he married the youngest daughter of the Earl of Coventry.'' — Lord Tweedmouth, who was 51 on July 8, is a barrister by profession, having been called to the Inner Temple in 1874, while from 1880 to 1894 he sat as member of Parliament in the Liberal interest for Berwick. During his last two years in the House of Commons he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Liberal Whip, while in 1894-95 he filled the offices of Lord Privy Seal and Ohancelloi of the Duchy of Lancaster.

— Count Lamsdorff, who is announced to act temporarily at the Russian Foreign Office in the place of the late Count MuraviefF, is a man with an infinite capacity for" work. It is paid that nobody can remember that lie has ever taken a holiday, and that his anxiety not to lose time by going into society is so great that he used to leave his visiting cards very early in the morning before people were ouc of their beds.

— Sir John Monckton, who has been town clerk of London for more than a quar.ter of a century, was 63 on July 6. ' The position is naturally an onerous one, and requires a great deal of tact to fill it, but Sir John fills it with undoubted distinction. Lady Monckton is well known on the stage, for, aftei acting for many years as an amateur, she made her appearance as a professional, and has played at several of the West End — Sir Felix Semon, who recently attended the Khedive at Port 'Victoria, is probably the greatest specialist on the throat living, and it is by no means only in England that he lookb foi his patients. Being German, he volunteered to fight during the Franco-Prus-sian war, was in the Uhlans of the Prussian Guard, and was present at both the sieges of Metz and Paris. Then he went back to study medicine, travelled to "Vienna, then to Paris, and finally to London, where he settled down and has been ever"" since. Lieutenant A. B . Wood, son of Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C.. has been promoted captain in the Scottish Rifles, his father's old regiment. He has had some narrow escapes during the present campaign. The adjutantgeneral has two other .sons at the front, and the three have had their second experience of active 'warfare. Captain Evelyn Wood, who has been aide-de-camp to Sir H. Ohermside has now been appointed military secretary to Genera] Sir F. Fore&tier-Walker on the lines of communication. - , , The coming of age of the Earl of Leitrim has just been celebrated by his friends and dependents, but he— the central figure of the celebration — was absent, for the very good reason that he is fighting the battles of his country in South 'Africa. He is the youngest peer at the front— he is iust topped in point of age by the Duke of Westminster, who was 21 last March. The youngest of the barons aij the war is Lord Denman, who is 26 next November, and who is famous at home as a great jockey and rider. Lord Roberts, the eldest of the barons at the front, will be 68 at the end of September.

g u Augustus Hemming, Governor of Jamaica, whols at present in England on business connected with a very serious constitutional deadlock in that colony, is noted for his cricketing powers and an abnormal memory. He is probably the oldest efficient cricketer in the Empire (being 59 years of age), and until late years continued to accompany the Incogniti C.C. on its annual tours. • in formci years he frequently' played for the "Gentlemen" ngainst the "Players,' and proved himself a good all-round man in the field. He has been on the committee of the M.0.C., and, with the late Sir John \stley, was one of the founders of the Sports Club. — Sir Robert Finlay, who, when Sir Richard "Webster was made Master of the Rolls with the title of Lord Aher&tonc, became At torney-geneial, was 58 on July 11. He is one of the few men who aie qualied to practise both Medicine and Law, for he graduated in the former science at the University of Edinburgh, and was called to the bar in 1863. In 1835 he entered Parliament for the In--vemess Burghs. The advantage of his medical training \ra« by no means thrown away wher Sir Robert was talfinp 'private practice at the bar. for he often held briefs ir> cases in which medical jurisprudence played a prominent part. — The Right Hon. Walter Hume Long, the pi evident of the Board of Agriculture, celobralec 1 his 46th birthday on July 13. He has sat- in the Conservative interest as member for one of the divisions of Liverpool since 1892, but he first entered Parliament a dozen yeurs before ns member for North "Willshhe. In the noxl Pai'liiment lie became Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board.

As a county magna + e Mr Long oAvns abouu "' 15,000 acres of land, arid is the colonel in command of the Royal Wiltshire Cavalry, ai position he has hel:l for the past tAVo years. "—" — People's memories ore so short that man 7, - probably have forgotten that Mr BurdettCcutts, who has raised such a serious. controversial issue in connection Avith the Avar, is a brother of Sir Ellis Ashmead-Bartle'-t. Before his marriage to the Baroness E^ ..etiCoutts, Avhose name he assumed by Royal license, he was Mr W. L. Ashmead-Bartlettv He is a sort of Parliamentary foil to hi^ brother, for whereas the lattei is loud and aggressive in style, Mr Burdett-Coutts prefers modest and quiet seclusion in the main. Although he invariably votes as the Conservative Whips direct, ' he consults his own taste as to choice of seat.

— Before his appointment as Minister at Pekin, Sir Claude Macdonald served for over 20 years in the 74th Highlanders. He was,-.' for some years attached on special service to the Agency at Cairo, and it 'fell to his lot' to • try many of the prisoners who liad taken part in the Arabi rebellion. On one occasion, in. the Military Court over Avhich he ,was pre- y feiding, man after man Avas -brought xip'io b© interrogated, and each of them told the same tale of having- only joined Arabi under com- - ptilsion. At last one maa stood proudly for- ' | Avard and said, "I fought Avith Arabi because I hate the English; and I Avould-jfight them. ' again if. l. got the chance." v The- major rose, from his seat and shook the man by the. hand; . and, telling., him -he ,Avas the, only, man Avho had had the courage -to speak-.the* truth, or-_ dered him to be at once discharged. * • — The most notable of American historians ' at present is Mr John Fiske, whom Professor ■" Marshall S. Snow calls the "brainiest man" turned out of Harvard during 50 years. He is iioav 58, is 6ft high, and, in spite of his Aveight of 3001b, is said to be "as active as a kitten." His habits, as described by himself, are decidedly peculiar, for he always sitd in a draught Avhen he can find one, wears the thinnest of clothes he can get in winter and summer, and prefers to work in a cold room. He works during a considerable portion of the 24- hours, and it makes no difference to him whether the time be night or day. He -eats only Avhen he is hungry, rarely takes coffee or Avine, but he drink? two o. three quaTts of beei a day, and smokes a pipe all the time he is at work.

— William Thompson, who has been iinpioved into Lord Kelvin of Largs, the greatest scientist of his day, became Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Glasgow University at the age of 22. He reached 76 years in July, yet he sat in the same professorial chair until last year. Of the multitude of his_ inA'entions there is no space to Avrite. His is the Thompson's mariner's compass ; his the marvellous 'invention for taking deep soundings by means of pianoforte Avires. Going into the great scientist's Avorkshop one day., and finding him surrounded by great coih of Avire, a friend facetiously asked him what note would be sounded. "It is for sounding the deep C," replied Lord Kelvin; but he. has never made another pun. Despite hi§*' great success, Lord Kelvin has little or no concsit, and is a man" 'of the most gentle, modesfc: manner. The students love hinij aiid'-his* lectures are Always popular. One^day Lord KelA'in -described jthe, ideal magnet aVari "infinitely long-, infinitely^- thin, uniform" and- , uniformly, and longitudinally magnetised^ bar." The students vociferously cheere&T this tremendous explanation, and the professor promptly called "Silence." The definition, . occurred again several .times, to the aecom-- ' paniment of cheers and calls for "Silence," until one day there was no applause. Lord Kelvin, however, from sheer force of habit, called "Silence" just the same.. "When is blotting paper not blotting paper?" he once asked a student. "I give it up," was the reply. "Never," cried Lord Kelvin, Avithi much delight.

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