PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 10 April 1901, Page 68

PERSONAL NOTES.

— There was a time when nobody knew what Lord Dunravcn would not do. for he was rocarried as one of the most brilliant men m~tho Hnv-o of Lord-. A- a young man he had f \rn proof oE his ability as n \%ar correspondent, acting in that capacity in Abyssinia, as well as during the Franco German war and in the Siege or Fan*. Hi? great interest is undoubtedly yachting, and on two occasions he issued the challenge for the America Cup, but did not succeed in bringing it across the watrr.

— Father Bemaicl Vaughan. who has expressed las belief that "the Empire's kne for the throne -vyill gain in intensity under the new King," is a brother of Cardinal Vaughan, a Jesuit, and, ob\ioufly, a courtier born. At the time of hi? prediction about Ed nnul VII hr> wa- a gue«t of Madame Adehna Path at Craig v nos La&Ue, where he conducted a memorial service tor her late Maie=ty, before whom his hoste-s had *o often' sung. Father Bernard Vaughan is, perhaps, the only Jesuit in England who has a personal acquaintance with the King.

Yho Pope i= a great admirer and fr.cnd of Ijli.l-. In ho libraiy and in the alco\e? of In. lecpptior-room a number of them aie kept, and their chatter always interests tV Pontiff. "You see," he once said to a f< -eign Minister who had called to pay h"> inspects, "these birds aie my diplomat. "Whenever I leceive anyone here he can only make a report as to my amiability, nnd "c.in seldom understand my woid- because the chatter of these songsters drowns all that I say. The visitor often cannot tell whether I have even spoken " Lord Brassey, Governor of Victoria, was 65 on February 11. , The first Brassey's "Voyage^f the Sunbeam" has become almost a classic, recounting as it did her famous yachting excursion round the world. Lord Brassey's interest in the pea may be said to be life-long. From 1880 1o 1883 he was Civil Lord of the Admiralty, and Secretary to the Admiralty in the two succeeding years, while he ser\ed on Royal Commissions on unoeaworthy ships, and was for years president of the Institute of Naval Architects.

— The father of that modern school of fiction which has acquired =r> great a popularity through mingling scientific facts with a mvkl imagination, Jules Verne, was 73 on February 8, but age "does not wither nor custom stale the infinite variety" of his plots or the skill with which he weaves the threads of his wonderful tales of adventure. Every morning, year in and year out, he goes into his study and does so much work, never missing his appointed task, and to this habit of constant and regular employment is due the fact that his publishers are able to present the world with a new' volume at such frequent intervals. • — The Marquis of Que«nsbury is one of many young aristocrats of to-day who prefer hard work and adventure to the palling delights of society and club lounging. As Lord Douglas of Hawick he was only in the twenties when he went to the goldfields of Australia! and, like Lord Salisbury in his young days, shared the rough life of the miners. He quickly qualified as an expert in ores and veins, and became recognised as an authority on all mining matters. From Australia he went to Canada, where lie succeeded in discovering a rich deposit of copper which promises to brino- him a large fortune. As the Marquess is still little over 30, his future beems to be rich m promise.

— Cardinal Vaughan's hobby, if hobby it can be called, i- that of collecting money for objects he has at heart. _ Some 37 year= ago he went off to_ America — then a greater undertaking than it is now — to collect funds for a missionary colloofo Although the then Pope, the kindly Pio Nono gave him his blessing, he strong dissuaded the young English priest from going on what lie thought a fruitless errand. However. Father Vaughau came back with a goodly sun. and with characteristic fearle«« M's wrote to the Pope's secretary: "Tell his Holiness that his blessing was worth more than his prophecy." —Mr Thomas AT. Lawson, of Boston, \la*«.. who is having a yacht built to defend the America Cup. U little known even on his own tide of th" v.a i cr. Like Sir Thomas Lipton, cntlreV t elf-made, he differ, from S.r Thomas in thil hi« great fortune is altpo^ 1 oniiiclv tho result of daring and successful speculation _ He has a notable ttea-n vaciil. an cxtenshe stud of horses, a fino collection of works of modern art. five children, and the "Lawson pink." This beautiful Wioti co-t him £6300 to produce, and help*, with th" JJ-t <f hi? ether interests, to rrove that he is ratholic in his taste-. "His yacht must defeat that which the New York Syndicate- h building before it can compete in. the international contest.

— Mof-t of the railway companies both in England and m America are adopting the new friction buffer, invented by Mr Geoi°e Westmghouse, for moderating ill* heavy <-hock of the impact between railv ay rarmEfe* ajid waegons. Although Mr Weshnghou-e ha* acquired a huge fortune since he invented his famous air-brake 30 years ago, he is to be seen almost, any day in the woikthops of his si°antic manufactory in Pittbburg. per--onr.lly superintending his business. At the time when he in the "Westinghouse brake he was in business in a small way as an engineer, and hfid to secure the co-operation of a capitalist before he could give th-» brake a fair trial. Now there are not only Westinghouse works in Piti-burg, but alto in England, Fiance. Germany, and Ru-^ia.

—In spite of the fjict tl.st liU yea^nimnbeied 73 on Febtuary 10, Mr George Meredith's hand has lo^t none of its cunning in weaving verse, as a poem in one of the magazines attests; while os n noveh«t he has hvod to =cc his wort take rank among the literary masterpieces of the Victoi ia era, which, in general excellence, not even the "Golden Age of Elizabeth" could equal Somebody once described hi-; style as "cnaos illuminated by brilliant flashes of lightning" — inspired no doubt by the famous criticism of Edmund Kean that "Seeing him

play va^ bYe reading Shake«prare by light ning flashes " This year, indeed, sees the mln'ee of Mr Meredith's debut m the literary wnild. for a volume of his poems was published in I P SI, w-mle eight \car« later his great no\e', "The Ordeal of Richard Fevorel." was given to the world. — The veteran war correspondent, Sir William Howard Russell was 31 in March. Sir William i-> an lu-hman and has teen as much lighting as — jrobibly more Uiau, —

any man li-.ivg Yet ho has pie<=er\od % whole 'Ln through it oil. He aetcl as special cciTe-ponJpnt of The Times in the Dam-h «v vi »S<- Me ,\\ iq li<<l=>tem ; he »us in the Crimea, being, pietciU at Alma, Balaclava, Inkcrman. and the sie^e of Seba=topol; al=o in India during the Mutiny in. 1357 8; ho was engaged in the Italian campaign of 1859, the Cnil War in the United State', the Danish war of 1E64, the v»ar between Prussia and Au=tna, the FrancoGerman war, the Zulu war. the campaign in the Transvaal m 1879 80, and the Egyptian campaign. Sir William, who la the proprietor and the editor of the Army and Na\y Gazette, is still hale and hearty, and enioys life with a« much 7C°t aa he did in the old days when he facocl the bullets—which is saj-ing a good deal — Standing well over 6ft in height. Dean H o l e _now 51— is as erect as any soldier in the army. A born humorist, he has contributed much to the pages of Punch, and i 9 one of the most entertaining raconteurs living He still write* a gieat deal and pi caches frequently. As showing hw versatility aa an author, it may be mentioned that works on subjects so widely apait as 'Hint* to Preachers," V A Little Tour in America," "A Book About Roses," and! "Addreose* to Working Mon" are among tho'e which have come from his pen. Since 1887 he has been Dean of Rochester; and he ha*: travelled many thousands of miles on lecturing tour?. Next to telling amusing stories, the Dean finds his chipf delightf is in the playing of bowls and gardening, particularly in the cultivation of ro? o s, _of which at one period lie had a collection valued at many hundreds of pound*.

— Another title which has just become extinct by the death of its la=t holder is the ancient" Scottish Barony of ElantyrP. Lord BJantyre died rather suddenly in his eightythird "year, having been pre deceased some few years ago by his only son, the late Master of Blantyre. The daughters of Lord Blantyie were very well-known in societysome years ago, and attracted attention hy their stature above the average, fair hair and complexions, graceful carriage, and swanlike necks. They were clever and unconventional young 'ladies ; and one especially (the late Marchioness of Ailsa) was well known for her indefatigable efforts in the cause of temperance and of religion of an extremely evangelical kind Now that the Barony of Blantyre is extinct, the Stuarts, or Stewarts, no longer boast of the same number of peerages as the Howards. They still, however, have as many peprages as the Hamiltons. the Campbells, and tho Plunketts. or Plunkets, each of which families commands, or may command, five votes itt the House of Lords.