PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 81

PERSONAL NOTES.

—Mr Winston Churchill tells an anvus^ ing: story concerning an old man who happened to see a portrait of him in a shop window. The old fellow was- greatly interested in the picture, and> asked a bystander vho fewas. "Oh, that's Winston Churchill," ij as tne reply. "Where does he preach?" asked tjis 014 £23^ suddenly. "Oh, he :s rot a pfeaciiSr." said the "other; "he's a politician." "A. "^hat? "A politician— a member of Parliament." Th% old San slowly shook his head 1 , and a ' look of pity came into hi 6 eyes. "That's too bad ! too bad !" he exclaimed sadly. "Arid he has such a good face, too!" y__ — Sir 'Henry Gampbell-Bannerman was the youngest son of the family, and the" most distinguished. Coleridge and Washington Ir\ii^ -were the -youngest of 11 children; TBenjamin Franklin " the last 'born of "17; Johann Christian,." the eleventn and youngest' of Joharin 'Sebastian Bach's children, was also . the .greatest " of them: Wagner, Mozart, and 1 Rubens* were 'each the last of seven; as. was also" T>aniel ' Webster ; Rembrandt was" the baby in a .family, of, | six, Schumann itione of five, George". Eliot in one of four, and .Charles Lamb ' the youngest of three. J The full list of "famous' I youngest 6ons is a formidable one! ■ ." — The little Tsaorevkoh Alexei Nicolaie-1 vitch is the richest child in the world, for, although he is only three, years old, he is j already worth over £300^000 a year. Shortly ! after his birth, he was insured for -half a million pounds, and the .money spent on ' guarding him from harm would keep dozens iof poor families in comfort' for life. On j more than one occasion an attempt has ; been, made to kidnap little ( Alexei ; and *oine time ago, in spite 'of the, vigilance^ of '■ the detectives, a man actually gained access j tb the gardens where the , Imperial children are wont to play. Luckily 'he was soon dis- ! covered, and an exciting drama was lost to j the world. The Tfearevitdh is ,a brighi, | quick-witted child/ as yet' happily ignorant ! of the troubles 'of the .nation oyer which.' | he will one day Tule. Though, if .we can I believe the astrologer who cast his horo- ■ | (cope, his reign will be much more tranquil I than that of his august father. — The Marquess of Normanby, to "\vihom, a second daughter has recently been ' born, is the only member of the f House of Lords who ever thought of turning schoolmaster^ to help to clear off the' encumbrances on, his land. In 1890, after 'he h,ad been vicar of St. Marie's, Worsley^Manchestex, for 18 J years, he succeeded to ' the title and 8000 j acres, heavily burdened, and he set apart j ' a portion of Mulgrave Castle, Whitby, as a high-class school to help to pay off the charges. This was one of the most exclusive preparatory echools in., the country, and Lord Norman'by only gave' it up on the occasion of his marriage in' 1903. Apropos of this school, the stoxy is told of a" crushing reply which" Lord Normanby once made to the rich parvenu who wanted some guarantee of the social status of ihe school before placing- his son under the marquess's charge. c: So long 'as your boy conducts himself well and pays due attention : to his work I shall make no inquiry as ,to the | antecedents of his parents," .replied hie lordship. —Mr John Foster Fraser, author, lecturer, journalist, traveller and what not, who recently celebrated his- fortieth birthday, has enjoyed many curious aiid amusing experiences during his versatile I career. But the funniest- of them all was with the Lord Mayor of a big provincial I town. Mr Fraser was down "to lecture, and this is how the Lord "Mayor, who "rathe 1 * j fancied himself as an orator, introduced' • him: "Ladies and gentlemen,'-!— The lectureri we are to have the pleasure of ' listening to I to-day i 6 a gentleman whose name is known' ' in every quarter of the globe. 'Amid -the | frozen -deserts of Siberia, the hilltops of j the Himalayas, th© grim regions of- Tibet — | in the stormy Balkans, and in the-, peaceful i States of America — there is, in" fact, no quarter of the earth, north, south, east, w<.st. where his name is not known and respected. Ladies and gentlemen, I have lr.uch pleasure in introducing to you the celebrated traveller, Mr — cr — Mi— er— er — Mr John Foster." — The journalistic protests that are being made against the Lord Chancellor's new Official Secrets Bill recalls an amusing mci I denx concerning Sir Thomas Henry Sander - j eon, who retired two years ago from the i post of Permanent Under-Secretary of State ' for Foceign Affairs. Sir Thomas always declared that the essential qualifications j for a young- man entering upon a diploma- j lie career were the "ability to remember all lie hears and the eenso to keep it to j himself ," and it was a standing joke among ; those intimate with the Under-Sceretary that he himself never answered the- simplest remark without carefully turning it over ! in his mind and examining it in all its ! bearings. On one occasion, it was said, he met a well-known politician in the corri- j I dor of the Foreign Office, who .c'ajkd out genially, "A very fine day. Sir Thomas." I "Is that so?" responded Sif Thomas, deeply meditating; "I shall have, inquiries made, i and let you know about 'it J" The King years ago dubbed Sir "Thomas Sanderson ' "'the Keeper of the Nation's Secrete.'' I —Sir William Butler, whose residence, Bansha Castle, Tipperary, was burgled rei cently, has seen service in nearly every part of the world, and, curiously, enough, one of the medals in his collection was awarded i for services rendered in the Fenian outbreak in _ Canada 40 years ago. When serving in Egypt, Sir William had brought before him one morning an Arab spy who had been captured by the' British troops. Tho Arab, with a great show of | bravado, told Sir William in a torrent of words the dire vengeance that would overtake him if Mohammed Ahmed learnt that a hair of his (the Arab's) head had bsen injured. But the prisoner was panicstricken when a certain officer who accompanied Sir William Butler eaid., "Mohammed Ahmed— who is he? Ca« he work miracles? LoGk here" — and, taking his gla^a eye out, he threw it into tin* air, caught it dexterously as it descended, and replaced it. "Could your master do that?" ho said. The Arab was thoroughly cowed, and thenceforth became the officer's devoted slave. — The most popular man at St. Martin's le Graaid to-day is Mr Sydney Buxton, the Postmaster-general, who has earned universal congratulations, on his inauguration of penny postage to the United States. He is popular because he js accessible to any member of tho Post Office Department. Since he P.M.G., Mr Buxton ha-s made a point of gett : ng into cloee touch ; with the employees at the Post Office. 'He J is just one of us,"' the latter will tell you, [ and the consequence is. that not only has rMr Buxton brought about many reforms La

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postal matters for the benefit- of the public, btifc h© jhai jalso inaugurated schemes .which, have-% greatly improved the k>k ''of civil i*rsnts. - : W}ieirllß;^;&^.fTOni^ofßcial puties Mr t Buxton li^es Jp^ spend the v^S? wit^r^od.'SJpd* gun. I|e caji shoot; "a- driven, partridge md throw a dry fTy' better than most -of" his- contemporaries. His skill in thi-3;dixeetion being challenged on one occasion;^ a contest between himself and Another member" of the House of" Commons was arraaiged. Ipriends of both parties, who constituted themselves as umpires, all' agreed thaf Mr Buxton was the better fisherman; and "when he . over readied himself and fell into'the^'riveor, they agreed still further that he\ must be awarded the palm for awkwardness. ' Upon which Mr Buxton got hia revejjge by slyly tripping his opponent "P "a-nd him a ducking. v • "— bomfe^pedple have been.- expressing- siu> prise a.t the rapid advancement of Mr C. F. G. Masterman, M.P., who married a daughter of Sir Neville Lyttelton the other day. Air" Mastearman only entered Parliament as Liberal member, for West Hairf \(North) at the last general election,' and to-day holds the position of Parliamentary^ Secretary to the Local Government Boards 'Mr Masterman's success, however, is noti so surprising when one considers his record.? ■When &t 22 yeao§ of age he gained firsts' in the natural sciences and moral sciences; tripos at Cambridge, and wound up with' a fellowship . of his college,- meanwhile having 'been* president of the union, everyone. 6a*d i we. should hear a great deal more o^ .him. He tried journalism, lecturing, and! novel-writing before he took to polities! which apparently constitute his forte. Ire the Lobby Mr MasteriKaii has been referred/ to as "ivevertire," on account of his energy, which is &s remarkable as hia versatility, j , — He* has played 'cricket for Harrow, represented Oxford in running and rowing, swum _ twice across Niagara, stroked 1 an eighth across the Channel, has climbad thel Atps,- shot' in the Kocky Mountains and? Himalayas, established fishing records, is a' punting and fencing champion, and — well', there is scarcely any need to mention his other accomplishments in order to show that Lord Desborough, the organiser of tho Olympic Games at the Franco-British Exhi- , bition, is the most representative sportsman' in England. In addition, his lordship hai' found time to win distinction as a politi-, ciaai, author, and war correspondent. X ! i was in the Suakin campaign that Lor-cj 1 ! | Deeljorough had one oi his narrowest ea-' 1 cai*§s from death. His horse had been shoti und^r him, and 1 he found himself obliged]' to try .his sprinting powers against a hordo .of Dervishes mounted on fleet Arab steeds}.' ! His pursuers were less rban 100 yards iiifj the rear, and it was only after a run o&j h«Jf a'Hwle, which brought him within eight;' of the British camp and safety, that th#* [ Dervishes gave up the chase. "I alwayg! ! enjoy a ifood run," his lordship says, "bufel n»t under those conditions. The pace wa-r f»r .tdcTKot." ;,^ —"As President of the Canadian Pacifitt I iUilway, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy is head? i of the most gigantic railroad corporation inV' tht -world, which owns or controls 13,001)' miles of tracks, has five fleets of steamers" on two joceans, employs 74,00 C people ini f tkree continents, and, besides having its*' own .mines, has nearly 12,000,000 acres ofi' land in Canada. Sir Thomas has been de-* scribed as "a man almost bloodless in thai, intensity of his devotion to material ends':? 1 He does not please, he does not charm, haf* does not delight, but he interests." Hot attributes his success to his marvellous ac-' quaintance with all details of railway or*' ganis>ation. Sir Thomas possesses the mosfft (roomy ,and perfectly-equipped official car inf] 'existence.. There are nine rooms in thai car, /the first being a reception room, with)] accommodation for 15 persons, and hand- j 'somejy furnished with sofas and chairs, tho 1 sofas" being designed to be transformed into' j beds When so needed. There arc also two ! bedrooms fitted with brass bedsteads, witli^ a bathroom between them, both finished inf ' ' white en-amel walls. Farther On is a wellequipped office, furnished in mahogany,! with . every convenience for the transaction' • ! 'of business. The other main apartment js f the dining room, which is fitted to acconi- ' modate eight persons.

,— A rat can go without watei for thre© or four days. '

—An interesting experiment is to b» made by the Liverpool Corporation. Tramways Committee. A first-class tram ser> vice is to be run on the principal resident tial routes, the fare on each penny section; to be doubled. It is understood that this change is tho outcome of complaints than coalhcavere and other workmen with dirty clothes travel in the ordinary cars. >,. r

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