PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3426, 11 November 1919, Page 61

PERSONAL NOTES.

The death has occurred of the-Earl of Eglinton and Winton, aged 71. He had: been operated on for appendicitis some days previously. He was the son of the thirteenth earl, who was twice Viceroy of Ireland, winner of the Derby, and the organiser of the famous Eglinton Tournament. Rain spoilt tho whole affair, and it cost the earl £30,000. The late peer was as capable a horseman as his father, and was for many years M.F.H. of the Eglinton Hounds, the best pack in Scotland. The new peer is the eldest surviving «on.

—Mr Herbert Ward, the explorer, artist, and sculptor, whose death is announced from Paris, had a life of adventure. When he left Mill Hill in 1878, at the age of 16, he sailed in an emigrant ship to New Zealand, and, after placing every sort of part in Australian and New Zealand life for three years, completed the circle of the world as an A.B. He did not rest many months in England, and after two other sea voyages spent a most adventurous eight months as head of a military expedition into the interior of Borneo. His next expedition was to the Congo in 1884, where some three years, later, on his own initiative, he collected 400 natives, marched to meet .Stanley, and served with him for two and a-half years in the centre of the park Continent. He was the last surviving officer of Stanley's Elmin expedition. Lord Harris, who perhaps (represents the spirit of cricket more than any other man, and uses all his influence in preserving it, is a most entertaining speaker, and referred the other day, at a meeting of the Cricketers' Fund Friendly Society, to the famous "ashes." Most of us do not know, or have forgotten, the origin of the term. Over 30 years ago Australia beat us at cricket for the first time, and our pride suffered a severe shock. Punch, as usual, marked the occasion and published this epitaph: "Sacred to the memory of Engish cricket, which expired at Kennirigton Oval. The remains will be cremated, and the ashe3_ taken to Australia." It was from this epitaph that the term sprang and became a olassic. Bernard Shaw has a contempt for convention, which sometimes gets him into trouble with theatre managers. A crisis was reached one night, when he was stopped at the entrance to the stalls while wearing. a velvet coat. "What do you object to?'' asked Shaw; "the velvet jacket.'" The attendant rodded assent. Very well," said Shaw, quite unabashed, '"I will remove it." And the next moment he was striding up the aisle in his shirt sleeves. "Here, that won't do I" shoutoi the attendant, as he hurried after Shaw. "Won't do?" echoed Shaw; "do you think I am going to take off any more?" And with a flourish of indignation he put on th«j velvet jacket, and left the theatre.

Army lifo at 0110 time appealed to Sir Hnmav Greenwood, head of the British Overseas Trading Department, who was recently hobdav-making with Mr Lloyd George. Pie has told how at ,16 years of age he ran away from his Canadian home to join tliA army His father followed, and found Ida young hopeful doing 1 sentrygo with all the wide and jauntiness of a born soldier. "The old gentleman was for going for me on the 'spaa\3 the rod' pi*inciple," says Sir Hamar. " But I turned out the guard and had him arrested for attempting to crush the sentry." The end of it was that the colonel and the elder man put their heads together, and Private Greenwood had the hardest, toughest outing ?n his life in that camp-.

The B'shop of Peterborough, who has beaten Ger/yral Scely, the Air Minister, in a hundred yards race for men over 45, is far and away rhe tallest bishop in the Church of Ena'hind. Ho stands well over sft in his stockings, and is broad in proportioa. Another prelate with a taste foi athletics is the Bishop of Lonopn .who is equally proficient at golf, tenr.is, or fives. Bishop Browne, formerly of Bristol, was a great mountain climber in his dav.

—Mr John Burns, the ex-Labour-deader who retvred from the Cabinet after the war had started, is thoroughly enjoying his retirement from public life, and was only once ;n the House lest session. He said, " Don't believe in half-and-half measures. Either you are in a thing or you are not, and now that I am out of the House I take no intere-t in it." He has been busy for years now acting as a guide, philosopher, and friend to parties of soldiers visiting the Palace of Westminster, the Abbey, and other placea of interest in that historic reighbourhood. The former member for Battersea has a minute knowledge of English history, and has done an immense amount of good in explaining to Americans and our fellow-subjects from the dominions what lies behind the splendid history of this country. He has convoyed these parties three times a day, and one colonel told him that he had three times been in one of these parties. He offered to have one of Mr Burns's little lectures printed at his own expense for the use of the troops "Honest John" has also taken largo _ parties down to Hampton Court, and given an account of that fine building, .with its beautiful rooms and paintings, on the spot, not forgetting, of course, the fan'iiß, haunted gallery. Sir E. Marshall Hall, K.C., is classed as amongst the'/' greatest forensic orators who have adorned the annals of the Bar of England. Force, humour, and eloquence mark this most distinguished advooate. There are many barristers who can "manage a esse," -make a good speech, argue point 3 of law, and otherwise fulfil the duty of an advocate, but it is upon Marshall Hall that the mantle of Erskine and Russell of Killowen has fallen. As a defender of prisoners he ftands unequalled. With the possible exception of Sir Harry Poland, K.C.—happily still well and active —there is no one at the. Bar who has been in anything' like the same number of oauses celebres as Sir E. Marshall Hall. Tho Nicholls case, the Yarmouth murder case, the Oamdien Town murder case, the Brides in the Bath case, are but some out of many of the cases in which he has_ appeared as counsel- —in fact, so regular is his appearance in famous criminal cases that there was a newspaper outcry when he tefused to defend the late Dr. Crippon, being engaged elsewhere. In the Brides of the Bath" case, where a man named Smith married a series of women and then, haying insured their lives, drowned them in baths, Marshall Hall defended the murderer. The man was convicted and hanged, notwithstanding the extraordinary brilliancy of the defence. At the trial (says John o' London's no theory put forward bv the prosecution ••as to the manner in which the drowning was dono stood the test of criticism, and the fact remained that each "bride"'was found drowned in a few inches of water, and no one could say how it was done. In speaking of this case to Sir Edward, the writer was told by him that (assuming Smith did kill those women), Smith did not directly and personally drown his brides, but compelled them by hypnotic influence to drown themselves. This view Is startling, but it seems to be held by all those connected with the case, and anyhow it is a possible explanation of the mystery, and if this theory is correct, it is easy to see how it might be applied to other mysterious cases of a cognate character. Marshall is of commanding height and a fine athlete. He is likely to be appointed a judge, andi if the Chancellor"s aim is to appoint a keen, generous man of _the world, largely exerienced in all manner of legal business, and possessed of sufficient learning, the appointment will be justified.