TAWHIAO IN LONDON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5096, 2 September 1884, Page 3

TAWHIAO IN LONDON.

(From the " Star's " London j Correspondent.) MAORIS IN WONDERLAND. SPECIALLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT pP THEIR VISIT. Our London correspondent, writing via, San Francisco on July 17, says : — THE MAORIS* BECErTION. On Wednesday afternoon Mrs Saintsbury's " At Home/ for the King's friends, was held at Deineter House. lam sorry to say the affair did not go off quite so well as we had anticipated it would. The King was in a good temper, a number of really charming ladies were present, the refreshments were first-rate, and the music was excellent ; but nearly all the members of Parliament and literary " swells " invited proved conspicuous by their absence. As I told you last mail, a large number of notables had accepted, but on Monday and Tuesday Mrs Saintsbury received letters from the Lord Mayor, and several M.P/s, who had intimated their intention of being present, stating that either business engagements or ill-health would prevent their meeting the King. For one thing several other entertainments took place on the same day, viz., tbe banquet to the Marquis of Normsnby ; the Society of Arts soiree ; and several company dinners. All these, of course, 'combined to keep people away. Notwithstanding the above drawbacks, however, I must say that all who were at Demetor House thoroughly enjoyed themselves. As usual the King gave Mrs S;tintsbury a good deal of tiouble. At half-past ton he started off to see his tailor friend in Oxford street, and at half -past three in the afternoon he had not returned. Skidmore and Mr Preston accordingly were despatched to find the errant monarch. On reaching Oxford street the first thing they saw was a fearful crowd flattening their noses against the window panes of Young's shop ; and from this of course they knew the King was inside. On pushing their way into the house by main force, His Majesty was seen to be in his shirt-sleeves, having just taken ofE his coat to try on another. After a few words with Skidmore, His Majesty slipped into his outer garment and prepared to go homo. Unfortunately, however, the tailor suggested that he should go out the back way, to avoid the crowd. On opening the door at the back of the shop, Tawhiao at once rushed upstairs to tte sitting-room, and, flopping down on the sofa, refused to stir. Skidmore tried'to persuade lum to come, but all his entreaties were of no avail, and the King pulled out his petition and commenced to read it to himsel*, evidently j intending to stay there for the Vest of the day. Skidmore then went back to .Deineter I House, leaving Mr Preston to try to get : the King home. This he succeeded in j doing, for in a quarter of an hour Tawhia»p •

rose from his couch, and slowly descending the stairs, was soon in the street surrounriod by a mob. Mr Preston contrived to get him to Demeter House by five minutes past four, and the King was just able to reach the smoking-room before the first guest arrived. The Major was already dressed in hia newest clothes, but the King refused to put on his best clothes, and said he did not want to go into the drawingroom to be stared at. Mrs Saintsbury at length prevailed on him to come and see the ladies, and, once fairly in the drawingroom, he was soon surrounded by pretty gii'ls anxious to be introduced and say " tena lcoe " to the King. By this time the visitors numbered about 50, and they still continued to pour in, till the spacious drawing-room was as full as it could be packed. In one corner of the room sat Tawhiao, surrounded by his chiefs. To , them Mrs Saintsbury brought up each fresh arrival to say " How do you do ?" The King received strangers with great I gravity, but when he shook hands with anyone he knew, his low murmur of | delight showed how welcome he made his friend. j And now for the names of the people I j saw there. First and foremost among the visitors was Mr Moncure Conway, whose gaunt figure and long grey hair rendered him specially conspicuous. Carrying on an ! earnest conversation with him was Mr F. W. Chesson, of the Aborigines Protection Society, and near them stood Canon Gregory, listening with evident interest. Mr R. B. Martin, M.P., was chatting with the Major through Skidmore ; and Mr Hancock made himself agreeable to Patora Tuhi. The King was surrounded by an admiring group of ladies, amongst whom were Mrs Martin, Mrs Labouchere (wife of the editor of Truth), Mrs Clement Scott, Mrs and Miss Nesbitt, Mrs Pender Cudlip (Annie Thomas), Miss Findlay Smith, Mrs Bowden, Mrs Francillon, and a host of others. To these ladies Tawhiao was ex- : plainining by signs that he felt tired and was suffering from rheumatic pains in his legs, while he occasionally touched his jaw to indicate that he felt the twinges of neuralgia. In a corner of the room were about a dozen London Press-men and literati laughing and talking. Among them I noticed Mr R. E. Francillon, Howard Paul, Arthur Goddard (editor of Society), and Charles Morley (of the Pall Mall Gazette), as well as several lesser lights. Of Anglo-Colonials there were not very many, but I saw Mr Kerry Nicholls, of Wellington, Major Nesbitt, Mr Louis Nathan, Mr E. Hopkins, formerly of Auckland, Mr Vesey Stewart, Mr Jones, Mr Horton, Mr G. M. Reed, and Mr Walker, who travelled through New Zea- | land about four years ago. By six o'clock people began to say good-bye, and in half I an hour the drawing-room was empty, and ! his Majesty and suite were in the smokingroom enjoying their pipes, which they I actually had not smoked for two full hours. I On the whole I think the reception was a succes3, at any rate Mrs Saintsbury deserves immense praise for the way she I organised it. It was, of course, a disappointment to her that the best people she had invited did not put in an appearance, but that was not her fault. Half an hour after the last guest had gone, Tawhiao strolled off again to his tailor's, and remained there for the rest of the evening. This was rather aggravating, as the party had been invited to the Society of Arts conversazione, at the Health Exhibition. I think, however, it was best for them not to go, as the King was tired, and might have lost his temper, like he did at the Fireworks display. There is one thing I have forgotten to mention. After Mrs Betty had finished a solo on the grand piano (which, by the way, was kindly lent by Metzler and Co.), Tawhiao seemed ambitious to play, and, seating himself on the music-stool, commenced to strum with might and main. After about five minutes of this, he desisted, and, uttering an exclamation of disgust, expressed his supreme contempt for the instrument, saying it was no good after the piano-organ do«vn stairs, the action of which he proceeded to imitate by flinging his right arm round and round in the air. Te Tuhi now approached the piano, and desired to try his " 'prentice hand" at making music. He met with no more success than the King, and, after thumping for a minute or two, he relieved his feelings by going down to the smokingroom, and playing the " Toreador " song, from " Carmen," on the oi'gan. " Madge," describing the reception, says in Truth : — " We went on Wednesday afternoon to a reception given by Mrs Saintsbury, in whose house the King of the Maoris is staying. The invitations were to meet the King. It was very interesting. His Majesty looked very sleepy, , but amiably benignant. His expression is somewhat spoilt to European eyes by the effect of the tattooing, which is' done in ridges down his face. These furrows run in an oblique direction from the centre of the physiognomy downwards and outwards. He wears something tied to his left ear, I could not make out what, and in his head are several feathers of a greyish colour. They look like a small bonnet at a little distance, and as the King is tall and of a dignified aspect, they fail to harmonise with the general effect. His principal follower, Major Te Wheoro, wore one feather, which stood erect, as though the stem had been thrust straight into his head. This childish adornment looked absurdly out of place, above his fine countenance, which is full of power and intelligence. I fear they scarcely appreciated the music, though the programme was excellent, having been arranged by Miss Elizabeth Philp, whose songs are liked so much. The King is a teetotaller, and seemed to enjoy his coffee and cake. Among the refreshments was a large wedding cake, which had probably some symbolic meaning appropriate to' the occasion. This the King cut, and he partook of it with undoubted enjoyment. Some of the ladies present honoured his Majesty with charming toilettes. One with a green skirt of biscuit coloured lace and bodice of lichen green Liberty silk was delightfully cool-looking. A Watteandrew of a golden shade, worn with a quaintly crinkled Leghorn hat, was also pretty." AT THE TELEGRAPH OFFICES. On Thursday morning, July 10, the Maoris set off soon after breakfast on an expedition with Mr 'John Latey (the subEditor of the Illustrated London News and part proprietor of the Penny Illustrated) who had offered to introduce them to Mr Askell, the Superintendent of the Eastern Telegraph Company. This gentleman received the party very cordially, and after showing them the way the instruments worked, &c, offered to place one of the wires at Major Te Wheoro's disposal gratis. As the latter had long wished to send a cablegram to New Zealand, he gladly availed himself of Mr Askell's kindness, so in due course the message was written out and despatched whilst the Maoris were there. From Broad street to St Martins-le-Grand is but a step, and as Tawhiao and Te Wheoro seemed interested in the telegraph apparatus, Mr Askell thought it would be a good thing to show them the great Central Office, close to the General Post Olßce. Here they were taken up to the immense room on the top floor, in which hundreds of women work despatching and receiving messages. The sight of this countless mob of girls, each seated before her especial instrument, greatly impressed the Maoris, though they were a little at sea when Mr Askell tried to explain the system of sending several telegrams on one wire. The pneumatic air tubes through which bundles of messages from .adjacent city offices are shot, caused Te Wheoro some alarm. He placed his hand close to the end of one of the tubes jus*- as the air was drawn through it, thus experiencing the unpleasant sensation of having his palm forcibly sxicked up and held to the opening. At first the pGor fellow thought the flesh was gone, and gazed at his raisod skin with direful foreboding. Subsequently, however, the incident gave quite a gusto to the proceedings, all the Maoris talking together and endeavouring to explain to each other ; the reason of tlw phenomenon they had ' witnessed. From St Martin's le Grand Mr Latcy ' pioneered the Maoris to the printing office of the Penny Illustrated, where they saw a portion of the current issue struck off and

folded. This too amused Tawhiao, indeed he clearly takes a more intelligent interest in such sights than we gave him credit for. The Maoris wound up the day at the Alhambra, this being their seventh visit to that establishment. We have tried in vain to persuade them to go to other places of amusement save this theatre and the Empire, but it is no use. They like the crowd and the bright dresses and the dancing. THE BARREL ORGAN. Major Te Wheoro's barrel organ has become the curse of Demeter House. One or other of the Maoris plays it all day long. When the whole party are at home, the Major turns the handle, and Tawhiao capers about the room, imitating some eccentric dancers at the Alhambra whom he specially admires. Old Topia albne disapproves of the barrel-organ. He retires to his bedroom directly it begins to " squirm," and, producing a Maori testament given him by Mr Spencer, reads out loud in a slow, deliberate voice.