TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6184, 12 March 1888, Page 2

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

i — i . r» (From the " Star's " London Correspondent.) Remarkable Features of the Jubilee Year. THE DEATH ROLL. Before finally closing the record of Her Majesty's Jubilae Year ifc may be well to glance briefly over one or two features not likely to have been touched on in the Colonial press, but yet of considerable general interest. In the first place then, 18R7 has been a year of many deaths. "Never before in this century," says Lord Desart, writing to Vanity Fair, " have so many distinguished and familiar actors been -withdrawn from the bills of the Comedy of Life." He proceeds to give an. appalling list which is far too long to« quote hero. The following namoß will, however, indicate clearly enough the truth of the allegation : — Lord Iddesleigh, Lord Lyons, Lord Narthwick, Mr lleresford Hope, the DuchCTs of Norfolk, the Duke and Duchess of Lamafcer, the Duchess of Richmond, Lady March, Lady Brassey, Lord and Lady Dalhousie, and thirteen Jother less known members of the peerage. Ateo Jenny Lind, Mrs Eeury Wood, and Mrs CraU-, Sir Owen Lanyon, Sir Charles Young, Sir Alexander Stuart, Sir J. von Haaafc, Sir Francis Bolton, Sir William Miller, George Fordham (the •jockey), and Miss Kate Munroe. It will be noticed with, some Burprise possibly that the professionals who live the most; wsmring lives (artists, actors, vocalists, and j journalists) are conspicuous by their &b- j l sence from this fatal list. Jenny Liad and \ '. Miss Munroe are the only vocalists named, ( : and we have absolutely not lost a single : actor, arfciafc, and journalist ot note during : ■ the twelvemonth. j COLOSSAL SCANDALS. ; j Eighty-five and eig-hfcy-six were both < memorable tor colossal scandals, social . i

scandals. Last year there was not a single one. Murderß too hare, from a journalirt's point of view, been curiously scarce. Ido not of course mean that there were fewer terrible tragedies in low life than usual during the past twelvemonth, but that we have notbeen startled, or shocked, or tit tilated, or scandalised (as the case may be) by many causes celebrcs. Till Surgeon-Major Cross made that little mistake with his wife's medicine at Hurlow Hall, for -which he has Bince been moßt deservedly hanged, Mr Stead's protege, Liski, had the honour of being our champion Jubilee murderer. GREAT SOCIAL LIONS. America supplied the two great social "lions" of *S7 in " Buffalo Bill " and Sullivan, the prize-fighter. I may remark here, just by-the-way, that the stories going about relative to the Prince of Wales' interview with the beefy Yankee are purely apocryphal. H.R.H. merely put in a casual appearance at a serai-private fencing club, o£ which he is a member, and at which Sullivan had been engaged to do a little " sparring." He neither shook hands with the prize-fighter, nor addressed a, direct word to him. Those who know H.K.H.'s rigid notions of etiquette, disbelieved the story from th* first. It haa since been pretty thoroughly contradicted. I believe though itis^ fact that an early account of the great encounter between Smith and Kilrain did, by some mischance, find its way over the Queen's private wire to Windsor. Whether sent as a joke, or through a blunder, no one Beenis to know, but the contretemps made endless mischief. The message was, of couuse, suppressed}' but the truth reached the Queen's ears through Lady Ely, who practically " bosses " the Court when in residence. The Prince of Wales and her ladyjahip aTe not on terms. When John Brown died, His Eoyal Highness hoped that his mother would turn to the proper person (Sir Henry Ponsonby) for advice, &c, and it was a bitter disappointment to him to see her give herself over body and soul to a meddlesome old woman.