PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2572, 1 July 1903, Page 76

PERSONAL NOTES.

—Dr Ellicolt, the F'shop of Gloucester, who has just received tho almost unprecedented honour of an address with a thousand signatures, congratulating him on the completion of his 40 years' episcopate, is tho oldest bishop on the bench, both, in years a.nd according to the date of has appointment—he is just on the .&ve of celebrating his e.g'aty-fourth birthday. The Biphop will be rememberee! as the president of the Now Testament Revision Committee, upon which he did unremitting work. He is more largely responsible, in fact, for the revised translation as we have it than any of his colleagues. — A nephew of that popular *=ailor-noveli.=t Captain Marryat has been the Church of England Dean of Adelaide during the past 16 years. Dean Marryat (says the Westminster) tells a etory about a Sunday-school boy to whom lie once presented a book «9 a reward and encouragement. Asked some time afterwards how he liked it, the young Australian replied: "Oh! it's all right ; but nocking like to good as 'Midshipman Easy' and them other yarns of yours." Dean Marryat was born in London 76 years ago. and graduated at Queen's College, Oxford, in 1851. He commenced his clerical career in Adelaide, Jhe South Australian metropolis, in April, 1853. — Lieutenant-gonpral Sir James Edwards, who has been appointed Colonel-comman-dant of the Royal Engineers in the place of Sir John Lintorn Simmons, has been for some time an officer in tlus corps, entering in 1852. Ho wears the Crimean and Turkish medals, the Indian Mutiny medal with clasp, and the Egyptian m-cdal and Khedive's Star. He has been four times spec ally mentioned in de-patches. fle sat in Parliament for Hyvhe. Ke is, besides a soldior, a gemus and a statesman, amd his opinions on the many subjects to which he t'c\otos his attention are always respected aaid invariably acted upon. To the army he has gn«"n mest consideration, and ma'iy are the thooiics of reform in the Senior Service whioh, if not acted upon at hcadquai tcrs, have at anyrate won him the «*-pcct and confidence of tho world's (military" exports. Unlike many nho-e opinions aie worth having, Sir James i> most approachable to the- interviewer on his pet subject, and many columns of lus \lews ha\e appeared in tho form of chats with journalists. — The doyen of financier?, at least of (vorkmg finiaicior?, is an American, Mr Edward B. Wesley, who. though considerably oier 90, is still a prominent figure at Wall sticct. He is over 6ft, broad-shouldered, with ma.==ive frame and head. Tho epan of almost a century has left him erect, bright-eyed, and vigorous. Five days in the week, except in inclement weather, lie can be &een striding along Wall street, or following closely tho market reports in his piivate office. "Mr Wctley began hi* career ■as a speculator when a Jad nine year= old, in the little town of Lester, in Worcester county, Massachusetts. His first "deal' was a lottery with a prize of a shilling, and tickets <old at 25 pins each, pins being then expensive articles among the village boys. He cleared a dollar profit, and started in tho randy trade, and after workjng for eight month, on a farm ho arrived one day an New York with some £2—Bo times the traditional amount— in his pocket If you a.sk him th". pporct of Ins long life and his wonderful vigour, he w.ll tell you contentment and fmgal In ing are the virtues that have enabled him to keep an active body and biain when nio.t men are -n their dotage. —Mr Ilndilon Chamherfi, the well-known diamati-t, i- tho -on of Mr John Chamber?, of tho Xcw South Wsilf* Cnil .So-r\ioe, and was bom in tli.it « '>lony. Ho early betiayed a liking for up country life, and it ]<; fa;d of him that he- has turned his hand to e\ciy profe-piou of the backblock.*, cxc. ptintj bu.=!iranpiiig. At 22 he had found hi:, \u<\ to London, wheio he made his living as i coiTd.poiuler.t and writer of phort stone-s and hi- fir-,t nlav, "The Open Gate," wne produced in 1887, and in the same year Mr Tree accepted the young author's "Captain S"ift," which was a conspicuous suc- <<-.-. A fplcndidlv and athletic Upe of man, Mi Chambers i<- a<; much at home in the caddie ac out of it, amd iv all

his aTnirs his youthful training has stoo<J him in good stead. Impossible is a word that ho docs not know, and it is related that when even Mr Tree recoiled from the prospect of a performance before a Dublin audience on the night following- a "command" performance at Balmoral Mr Chambers undertook to engineer the journey, ami did it triumphantly. The drive to the ph'tion at Ballateo" is still looked back upon, by those who took part in it with mixed feelings. Perhaps an even more remarkable feat which is credited to Mr Chambers is that of having read a play to Mr Tree in a Turkish bath.

—Oa Wednesday, April 1, the Fourth Army CoTps, which embraces the London garrison, come into existence uaider the command of that fine soldier. Lord Grenfell. This officer has bee^i somewhat overlooked 1 Fmce iie occupied tho Governorship of Malta four years ago ; but those who know him best say that he ranks second only to Lord Kitchener as an organiser, while in the fiekl lie i« a strate-out of no mean order. Ebg eljief fame was gained in tho raising and training of tr>e Egyptian army; and conceruiug this work Sir Evelyn Wood come. years ago remarked, "There were tnree of us in the formation of the Khedive's army — Herbert Kitchener did a bit, I did a bit, and Fnrik Grenfell did a lot." Lcxd Grrcnfell is a typical soldieT to look at. tail, upright, with a rugged face that is full of latent power, and a voice that can make itself heard from one &nd oi a parade gTcuiul to tho other.

—Dr Armour's eervioes to his day and several generations of schoolboys have bean so signal and so far reaching that it is only with feelings of the most unfeigned regret that one can contemplate his approaching relinquishment of the position of head master of Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby, which he haa held, for the span of 40 years, with ever-increasing| honour to himself and no less benefit to his ever-changing charges. Although the anxieties, concerns, and responsibilities and ceaseless watchfulness proper to tho life of headmasterehip of a great publio school are xraceivable, it ia doubtful whether any but those who have passed through the experience and have com© to the tarn© of contemplative retrospect fully realise the tensely assiduous devotion necessary to success in this great and momentous sphere. And when Dr Armour resigns his honourable position, he may do so •with. the full assurance that his success has be&n beyond question, without dispute, and altogether signal. Dr Armour has always been held by has pupils in the highest respept, whilst with each sueoeeisioa his popularity only seemed to grow. The esprit de corps which has ever ehacterised the hundreds of boys was directly the outcome of the headmaster's inspiration, and his virility, ever impressed itself on on© and all. Ac director of a echool on the outskirts of a great city, Dt Armour has never been forgetful of his duties in the training of those habits of mind, those inculcations of "first principles," those punctilious details concerning absolute right and definite wrong, which,aT© so necessary to the honesty of city life ; and, in addition to his manoeuvring of boys en mafee, he bad a pleasant way of giving kindly and painstaking; interest in the individual youth.

— Sir Francis Jeune looms very large inf the public eye, but probably few people are aware that he has passed his sixtieth birthday. It is one of the little ironies of life that the man who started his professional career its an ecclesiastical lawyer should hay© lived to be most famed as tho great breaker of marriages. Sir Francis, "bearded like the pard," is said to be the be6t looking of the many Benohere of the Inner Temple. Ho has a fine, dignified presence, and a remarkably good voice; indeed, it is eaid that he strikes terror by 'lis mere look and tone- when he is addressing a peccant witness. Ais a young barrister Sir Francis was better known as the huaband of Mrs Jeune>, then, as now, th© most noted of London hostes£es. He has but one child, a son, who is one of the younger officers in th© Guards, and both his step-daughters are married. Sir Francis and Lady Jeuno, like mest intellignnt people, are both fond of taking up new hobbies: at one time they were keen cyclists, 'lately they have becom© converts to automobilism, and they ha\o more than once travelled up to Scotland in their own horseless carriage.

— One of the most valuable anthracite coal deposits in the United States has been discovered in Western Pennsylvania. It is estimated to hold the enormous total of 300.000,000 tons of coal, and it will not lie exhausted for two centuries. The deposits are estimated to be worth £200,000,000, ane! will require 6000 miners to world them.