PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2672, 31 May 1905, Page 69

PERSONAL NOTES.

— The "Earl o£ Lewes, who has completed his fifty-second year, is the oldest son of the Marquis of Abergavenny. The marquis is 78 years of age, and has long been a pillar of Conservatism, lis is a wealthy pc-er, a popular host, and a good sportsman. who in his day was one of the crack shots of England. .Among the pro ptrty which the Earl will doubtleS* some clay inherit are two beautiful seats at Eridge Castle, in Sussex, and Nevill Hall, Abergavenny ; the latter prettily situated within a short distance of the town which has given its name to the ancient earldom and the marquisate yhich revvaided the present holder's long and distinguished services to his _ party.

— Viscount Brackley, tho Earl of Ellssmero'6 eldest son, who lxas-,successfully led his cricket team against the elite of British Guiana, is a captain in the Royal Scots, otherwise known as the Eothian itegiment, amd was A.D.C. to Major-general Sir W. G. Knox during the war in South Africa. The first Viscount Brackley was Lord' Francis Leveson-Gower, second son of the Marquis of Stafford, and a Privy Councillor and Knight of the Garter. He was also the first Earl of Ellesmere, the present peer being the thiid, in. the direst line. Lord Blaclkley was born in 1872, so" he will be 33 next November. He has three brothers and five sisters, one of the latter being- the wife of Colonel Kemp, M.P. for the Heywod Division

— Lord Wemyss, who it was thoxight would* receive the Knighthood of the Thistle ihat has goae to the Earl of Leven and Melville, only eaine into the title in 1883, when he was 65 years of age. Before •that, "as Ecrd' Eleho, fie had taken a great interest in the Volunteer movement, with the earlier days of which his name will always be honourably associated. The Eleho sl-ield bears witness to his practical interest in the movement. It must be something like 45 years ago that a new corps of Volunteex-s was embodied in London, - of which Lord Eleho took command. They were marching- up Fleet street, with his lordship in charge, when it became necessary to execute the movement, ''Right wheel." The order was given, but the raw, recruits were becoming hopelessly entangled*, when. LokJ Eicho saved the situation. "Hang ifc all," he roared out, "turn up Fetter lane !"

— Lord Grimthorpe. wha entered on his ninetieth year in this month (May), is stilL devoted to his. old occupation of claekmaking-; and is actually at the present moment engaged, in the construction of a. clock tor a Yorkshire church. Tt is close on half a century since his lordship' became a Q.C., and very nearly as long since he achieved his greatest work in the clockmatking line — the construction of Big Ben of Westmrnsfcer, on whose face the name of Edmund Beckett is duly inscribed. Sir Edmund Beckett was created a- Baron 19 yeairs ago, with special remainder to his nephew, Mr Ernest Beckett, M>P. for Whitby, who is himself olosa on 50. Mir Beekett is an art connoisseur of renown, and it was he who first made the fame of the French sculptor Rodin known in England.

— That most genial' of Chinese diplomatists. C!hang Ta^-J-en, whose three years' term as Chinese Ambassador to the Corrfc of St. James's expires shortly, has become thoroughly Europ-eanised, and has, indeed, more than once found his life in dang«nthrough his "barbarian" sympathies. Chac? had the misfortune after a visit to London to return to Peking just at the outbreak cf the Boxer emeute, and the fact that ne could speak English being regarded by enlightened' patriots as a damnatory token. he was seized and carried off ta a t-emplo outside the city, where he expected that every moment would be his last. But he was brought before Prince Chwang, wno found nothing against him, and gave him his liberty, which he turned to excellent account, isiuca it -was he who induced Prince Ching to return to Peking for the peace negotiations. — The Rajah of Sarawak, otherwise Sir Charles Johnson Brooke, is at present on a visit to England, and is residing at Chesterton Hou c o, near Cirenccster. His Highness, who is now. inVflis seventy-sixth year, succeeded his uncle, fche late Rajah, nearly 40 years ago »as ruler of Sar-aw-ak, with a popula-tion ol half a million inhabiting 40,000 square miles of territory. irle is married to a Wiltshire lady (sister of

the explorer, Mr Harry c!e Wlndt), whom the late Queen received with So\ereign honours when sht> visited her Majesty at Wm<-!-oi some jear' ago The Rajah himself wa 1 - accorded by King Edward, soon after his accession the rank and precedence ot tho L,j-eato«t Ind'an feudatory jinnc^s. Paternally he t - a John-on, '-loving adopted tiie name of Brookt when he succeeded his unole. The Rajah and Ranee have a son, known as the Rajah Mudah, who was educated at Winchester and Cambridge, and has assisted his father in the administration of th-e movement of Sarawak for a good many years.

—As the Bukc o . A Ye g-rea'te«t ot our n } i.'j i\ iman Cathci.c houses, so is the ilarquie of Bute the head of tho wealthiest. Tho late Lord Bute was a convert to Rome, and was distinguished, among other things, as being the original of .Lord Beaconsfield's "Lothair." and even the fabulous wealth attributed to that young person was scarcely an exaggeration of his fortune It was his. father who commenced tiie development of Cardiff, and thus started the piling up of the family millions where be-fore were only hundreds of thousands. At C'ard'fr. where so many of his interests lay. the late Lord Bute raised himself a lordly palace by the restoration and part'al modernisation of Cardiff Castk. The neighbouring coalfields and ironworks and docks made expense a smali consideration, a.nd for years the skilful architect Burgess roamed about the palace, building and beautifying practically at his own sweet will. All his fanciful genius was lavished on the great clock tower and the suite of private rooms contained in it, including the "summer and winter" smoking rooms, with their frescoed walls, beautifully tiled and vaulted ceilings, painted with celestiaJ symbols. He designed also the noble staircase, with its marble columns and steps of rose-coloured granite, and the panelled and frescoed banqueting hall. — Lord Clonbrock, who has entered on his seventy-second year, is the fourth baron of his line, and one of fche exceedingly select Order of the Knights of St. Patrick. Luke Gerald Dillon is his name, and he numbers among his relatives John of that ilk, the sad-faced Nationalist M.P., who was described by one of his colleagues during the days of the Parnell trouble as a "melancholy humbug. In the late Lord Clonbrock's time the family sought alliance with aristocracy of the ba=e and tyrar \nv.% Saxon, -the late baron having married Ct.-o-line, daughter of the first Lord Churchill, an example which the present peer followed by taking to wife Augusta, eldest daughter of. the second Lord Crofton. In his younger days Lord Clonbrock was in the D'piomatie Service. and acted as attache at Berlin and afterwards at Vienna, where he remained till 1862. Since then hf has been private secretary twice to the Viceroy of Ireland, only coming into the title in 189 S. At Clonbrook, by Ahaseragh, in his native Galway, of which county he it his Majesty's lieutenant, he owns not far short of 20,000 acres. The peerage was oi -eated in 179Q in favour of one Robert Dillon, at a time, when loyalty to the Eng-hs-h Government not uncommonly was so rewarded.

— The recent recruiting, in the depart ment of the Sleine reveals the fact that out of 16,110 Parisian conscripts 112 can neither read nor write, 110 can read only, while 569, who can both read and write, are incapable of solving the simplest arithmetical problem.

— Few people breathe properly, a wellknown doctor says, and this is especially the case with persons of sedentary occupation — particularly clerics. Such people should rise from their seats at intervals, throw back the shoulders, and inhale the air deeply, holding- the breath for a few seconds. When in the open air they should acquire the habit of taking deep, regular breaths, remembering always that the nose is the proper channel for the passage of •air, the month being kept closed-. This exercise will not only strengthen the lungs and render them better fitted to resist disease, but will improve the phj'sique I generally.