PERSONAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 23, 31 May 1913, Page 5

PERSONAL.

Hedwig Strawn'a, a farm worker at Posen, Germany, has been officially proved to be 118 years old.

King George visits the Czar in the summer, states a St .Petersburg cablegram.

Mr James Ames, Wellington City Valuer, has been granted six months' ]e:r.-o of absence on account of illhealtii. He has only had one short holiday in something like forty years.

Rev. J. L. Dove, M.A., has resigned his position as principal of the Wanganui Collegiate School. The resignation takes effect about March of next year. At a meeting of trustees regret was expressed that the Rev. Dove could not see his way to reconsider his decision.

Mr H. H. Jackson, who has been appointed to succeed Mr A. L. Beattie Vis Chief Mechanical Engineer in the Railway Department, is expected t'o taKB up his new duties at Wellington about the end of the month, when Mr Beattie Mill retire from the service on pension.

' Mr R. D. Kelly, accountant in the chief post office at Welligton, has been appointed Assistant-Postmaster at Wellington, in succession to Mr E. O. Gannaway, who has. retired on superannuation. Mr R. W. Porter, accountant at the chief post office at Invercargill, succeeds Mr Kelly at Wellington.

Mr Joe Thomas has resigned his position as one of the selectors of the Taranaki representative team. His reason for doing so is that he was unable to attend sufficient matches to form a fair estimate, of the merits of the players. Mr Robert Masters has been appointed to the vacancy thus created.

Lord Stamfordham, who now becomes the principal confidential adviser of the King, has had a lengthy experience of the Court, having first been °. appointed Groom-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria as long ago as 1880. In many ways Lord Stamfordham is the complete antithesis of Lord Knollys, and the keen and alert man of business certainly predominates over the courtier in his case. He has almost completely revolutionised the private secretariat the commencement o.t the present, reign, and has now further changes in contemplation.

Madame Melba was fairly inundated with birthday congratulations on Monday week' (says a message td the Sydney Sun)!'Telegrams came to her from pretty well every : country in the world. -Among those who wished the diva many 'happy returns of the day were Lord Alfred Rothschild, the Duchess of Sutherland, the Duchess of-Rutland 1 ; Lord Charles Beresford. and Mr John Lemmone. The ladies' room at the Athenaeum Club, where Madame Melba received a number of friends, was.' filled with the most costly and gorgeous flowers that could be bought in l London. One bouquet presented td the famous singer was valued at 50 guineas.'

Dr. A, F. Mackay, who has joined Mr Stefansson' sArtic expedition, was a member of Sir Ernest Shackleton'i? expedition, After his journey to the South Magnetic Pole with Dr Mawson and Professor David, he suggested that it would be possible to explore the Antarctic coastline with a party not over-burdened with provisions and equipment, but living largely on the flesh of seals and penguins. He, thought that biscuits and chocolate wore hardly required when the traveller could "make a delicious meal of seal blubber, blood, and oil, with 'fri"d penguin breast and liver." Mr Stefansson in previous expeditions has lived among the Eskimos for years with no stores or equipment beyond a riflle and ammunition, and in the approaching expedition he proposes to repeat the experiment, and will depond largely upon seal meat and caribou for the feeding of the party. Dr Mackay will, therefore, have an opportunity of testing the delights of "living on the country" in the Artie Circle, and testing his culinary powers on seal and caribou meat.