PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 17 April 1901, Page 68

PERSONAL NOTES.

— Although she has lived in seclusion for so long a timr- — o\er since the death of the Duk^-a. cliangc has naturally been wrought in the condition ot the Duchess of Albany through the fact that iier son succeeded to the Dukedom of Saxe-Coburg on the death of his uncle, the late Duke of Edinburgh. The Duchess, who was 40 on February 17. is the aunt of the young Queen of Holland. — Mu^ie is Mr A. J. Balfour's chief indoor hobby, lie pHys the riano extremely well, and is \ery fcid of nil classical and grand opera music. His great forte, however, is the theory ot music, and he never misses any chance whatei er, when in London, of attending a good concert, and he is a regular member of the Handel Society, seldom missing it=> meeting. — Evm" con jplciou^ in the Jewish history of T.Vg n -'nd will be the accession of his JLi- 1 le^ty, -ov the record-, ot the first Pi ivy \ Counc.l of the rpigu v/ero signod -by several membeis of the Jewish persuasion, conspicuous among whom wa« Lord Pirbright, more widely known, perhaps, as the Right Honor- j able Baron Henry de Worm;. Lord Piibri'iht, who was 61 on February 16, was for 15 years a member of Parliament. — Though no longer member for Plymouth, and without t'.c privilege of writing M.P. after his name, Sir Edward Clarke i* undoubtedly one of the most tonspicucms men in England. He has been associated with most of the famous cases of liis geneiatiou, notably the Jameson ca?o, the Baccarat case, the great Penge murder, and the famous detective ea^e of necu'.y a quarter of a century ago. Sir Edward w\s GO on February 15. 1 — One of the most familiar fiq>-ure3 in attendance at big football matches is that of j Lord Kinnaird, who celebrated his fifty- j fourth birthday on February 16. As a young | man he was a -vigorous footballer, playing constantly for the Old Etonians, and his interest in the game is no less keen to-day, although he has long since ceased to "don the jersey." Up till two or three years ago ho was a regular attendant at the meetings of the London Football Association. — Prominent though he has always been in tho eyes of the world for 40 years, Li Hting Chang, whose seventy-eighth biithday occurred on February 16, has, during the recent troubles with the Celestial Empire, occupied a more conspicuous position than ever. The Grand Old Man of China is one of the richest men in the- world, if, indeed, he is not the richest — richer than even Mr John D. Rockefeller, the Standard Oil King. Some years ago, indeed, it was stated that Li's fortune was £50.000,000. — The Right Rev. Randall Thomas Davidson, D.D., Bishop of Winchester, who was in attendance at the _closing pcene at Osborne, had special claims to a function which has been usually exercised by the Primate, at the deathbed of an English sovereign — in recent times, at any rate. If he is not yet an archbishop himself, he hps been chap 7 ain and secretary to two archbishops, and is the son-in-law of one of them. He was Clerk of the Closet to her late Majesty, and Honorary Chaplain, and Sub-Almoner, and Domestic Chaplain. He is Prelate of the Order of the Garter, and he is a Scotsman. — Clergymen so liberal-minded as the Rev. E. D. Shaw, vicar of High Wycombe. are far to seek. Not long ago he acquired an ancient hostelry in the little Buckn town, fiom which the barley brew had been dispensed uninterruptedly for upwards of two centuries, converted it into a parish club, and remodelled it upon his own lines. To signalise the opening of a billiard table, the latest addition to the club's resources for providing manly recreation, the reverend gentleman on a recent Saturday played a match over the green cloth with the mayor, Councillor Biich. • — Mr Wilson Barrett's birthday was on February 18. He ha 3 won nieces'? only after a hard fight with fortune. After giving London the best he knew in some magnificent productions at the Princess's with disappointing results, he gave up his theatre and went into the provinces and to America. There his indomitable will and marvellous perseverance conquered, as these qualities always will conquer, and Mr Barrett is now understood to be one of the very rich men in his profession, as he is certainly one of the most large heaited and generous — The Earl of Darnley — better known for many years on the cricket field at Home and throughout the colonies as the Hon. Ivo Bligh — ha* practically abandoned his old love for the more easy-going game of golf, and he has just become captain of the Woodbridge Club. There was a little romance about the Bail's maniage in Melbourne, when he was out there critketing m 1884. He hurt his hand badly in the field, and, on leturnmg to the pavilion "for repairs," was tenderly bandaged up by a pretty yoting colonial lady, whom he had not mot before. That lady is now the Countess of Darnley. — A distinctly grand old man in the military line i<s General Sir Henry Daubeney. G.C.8., who received the congratulations of numerou3 friend* the other day on entering on his ninety fir.^t year. The gallant general served for 30 years m the old 55th Regiment, and was subsequently colonel of it for more than 20. He has seen much seivice, bot'i iv India and nearer home, and was recommended after the Crimea for the Victoiia Cross, which, however, as a regiOi9At*i £gid office^ h§ could got, under the

then regulations, obtain. Sir John, who enjoys good health considering his advanced age, has been thrice married, the last time when in Ins seventieth year. —As a musician the late Rev. H. R. Havveis was piobably without equal among gentlemen of the cloth. His favourite instrument was the violin, which he played with a skill that was truly wonderful, but he was an authority on other instruments, and even on campanology. His deformity di 1 not deter him from visiting every belfry of note in Europe. A few years ago, it will be remembered, he put the ladies of his choir in surplices, and also arranged that each of them should weai a "mortar board" cap, a proceeding which wrs followed by a. long and interesting newspaper controversy. It was as a popular lecturer and ai a wnter of the light and chatty order that Mr Hawe'b chiefly excelled. — Few even among our rr.o=t successful of self-made men have witnessed such a change of fortune v, itlun the compass of 30 years as Sir William Ariol, the builder of the Forth and Tay Bridges. In 184-9 young Auol was at the age of 10, a piercer m a cotton mill at a salary of a few shillings a week, and four years later he had reached the dignity of apprentice to a blacksmith. Thirty years later he was building the new Tay Bridge at the coFt of three-quarters of a million ; and within a few more years he was employing an army of nearly 5000 men on the Forth Bridge at a cost of £1,600,000. Sir William had the courage to mairy when he was a mechanic on 30s a week ; and four years later laid the foundation of his immense fortune by staiting business on his own account on a capital of £85 which he had saved from his weeklyearnings. —By the death of Lord Inverclyde, which occurred on February 12 at Castlc-Wemyss, Glasgow has lost a prominent citizen, and the shipping world one of its outstanding figures. John Burns, first Baron Inverelyde, born in 1329, was a son of Sir George Burns, the fir.-t baronet, and one of the founders of the world-famous Cunard Steamship Company. After finishing his education afc Glasgow Uni'-f-rsity deceased entered his father's office, and his efforts on behalf of the well-known firm of Messrs G. and J. Burns conduced in a considerable degree to thi formation of one ot the most popular fleets of coasting steamers in the United Kingdom. But it is as the head of the Cur.aul Company he was best known. Upon tho rptiremfnt of his father in 1860, he beramf actively engaged in the Cunard line, which m 18/8 was registered as a limited company. In 1880 another change was effected, the concern being converted into a public company, when fjord Inverclyde was appointed chairman, an office he retained to I the list, and filled with dignity and ability. I During the dnc^t regime of Lord Inverclyd© j many splcnd. d vo-r.ls were adcWl to the Cunard fleet, including the the Aurania, and the Etruria. The last steomers for the express service built^wero the Campania and Lucanki. These magnificent vessels reduced the Atlantic record on various occasions, the I/ucarua's best run being outward, [October, 189-1 , 5 days 7 hours 23 minutes, i while tlio Caniuanla's fastest trip has been outward, August, 1894-, 5 days 9 hours 45 m'nute.~. An aff ible and gemal gentlpman, Lord Invcrclydo found time in an active business career to interest himself in many_ social aid benevolent mov ements. He possessed also literary leanings, among his publications being "A Wild Night: Glimpses of Glasgow Low Life," published in 1875; "Adaptation of ilcrrl-ant Steamships for War Purpn-cV and "Something about the Cunard Line." both issued in 1687. He waa very fond of yachting, and delighted cruising in his fine yacht Capercailzie. The Hon. George A. Burns, elder son of deceased, succeeds to the peerage.