HERE AND THERE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17027, 28 April 1923, Page 8

HERE AND THERE

j | AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING, THE HUMAN FLY The risks that film artists run was illustrated in a fatal attempt by Howard I «ung to perform his sky scraper scaling feat*. When endeavouring to scale the Hotel Martinique. New York, hundreds of spectators w«r>horrified to see the “ Human Fly ” fall eight storeys to his death from the face <> f the hotel. It is understood that Young was performing for the motion pictures, and doaens of cameras wore turned on him at .the moment he fell. After the tragedy yards of film were taken showing the action of the crowd. His wife was among those in the street watching him perform his daring fed*, and fainted. Young was one of the organisers of the so-called “ Safety First Society.” formed for the benefit or those engaged in occupations of more than ordinary danger. A cantract with a. moving picture firm was found in the dead, man’s pocket. Ho wore white duck clothing, and across his shoulders, printed in large letters, were the words, “ Safety First.” BRITISH CIVIL*SERVICE ESTIMATES. British taxpayers were interested in the new' Civil Service Estimate*, in which a reduction of £88,184.994 was made for 1923-24. Next Year’s total will be £314,134,754. against £403.319.<4B in 1922-23. Included in the former sum is £16,000.000 for transitory services arising out of the war. The reduction is chiefly due to the passing of war-time expenditure, the figures under this head amounting to £47.694.754. Did Age Pension* are to be increased by £585.000, and Housing Schemes by £146,630 ; but “ house building ” drop* from £IOO,OOO to £lO. With regard to the Revenue Departments. the newest imates for Customs and Excise are £5.009,000. against £5.220.000; for Inland Revenue £6.-582.211, compared with £7.154,328; and for the Post Office £50.873,500, in contrast with £53,822,450. HALF-A-CROWN. In the course of a recent after-dinner speech. Mr J. Seymour Lucas, R.A., told a good story against himself. He had been on a visit to Madrid, where c. client, resident in London, had commissioned him to make six small studies from Velasquez at an inclusive fee of six hundred guineas. Returning to England, the artist took a cab from the station to his home, and carelessly left the portfolio of drawings on the seat of the vehicle, whiefi drove away. Calling at Scotland Yard the following day he found, greatly to his relief, that' the portfolio, with the contents intaot, had been left there by the driver. It thee became necessary for him to put ? value upon them, in order to fix the reward. For the moment he was pnTried. and. turning to the inspector on duty, he asked him what he thought. “ Weil, sir ’ he replied, after looking at the drawings. “ if you ask me. 1 wouldn’t give half a crown for the lot.” QUITE GOOD. One of the wittiest of many wittv stories that centre in the pictunesqu* personality of Mr Edwin Scrymgeour, the Prohibitionist M.P., was told by an intimate personal friend of his. During a recent by-election, in which he took a prominent part, his name was spelt Sorymgour in a handbill circulated just before the meeting. The attention of the individual responsible for the accidental omission of the “ e ” was directed te the oversight, whereupon he made excuse as foHows: *’ Gentlemen, I admit having made an error of a vowel, and beg to make avowal of an error.’ Quite good for a Scot ! STRAWBERRY HILL. One by one Twickenham’s famous mansions, which were at their zenith in late Victorian days, seem to be going. Recently York House came into the market, and now (the “Daily Chronicle ” records) Dowager Lady Michel ham is desirous of selling historic Strawberry Hill. Marble Hill is a puhiie institution; Orleans House is atill there, but its lovely grounds are gone. Cam bridge House. just ever Riclimond Bridge, on the Twickenham side of the river, wh%re the Dean Pauls used to live, ha* dropped out of the public ken; Pope’s villa, “ Labby’s ” home, is now a convent. Horace Walpole bought the freehold of Strawberry Hill from the Crown, and built a sham Gothic castle on it. mainly in plaster. He crammed it with all sort* of treasures, enamels, books, prints, paintings, and old armour, and made it his chief home. Walpole selected Mrs Anne Darner to succeed him at Strawberry Hill, leaving the house and all it contained to her lor life, with £2OOO a year t* keep up and maintain the dignity of his temple. Subsequently it passed to the M a hie grave family, and in midVietorkm times the place wa* the residence of the much-married Franees Lady Waldegrave. who gave there wonderful garden panic*. Then Strawberry Hill was bought by Baron d»> Stern, a city financier, who left it to His son. the late Lord Michel ham. OPENING ROYAT. TOMBS. The Pharaohs are not the only monarchs whose tombs have been opened (writes Bassett Digby, F.R.G.S . in the “ London Evening News Nearly 200 years ago archaeologist* broke open the tomb of King Edward I. in ’Westminster Abbey and measured “ Longshanks,” as the ILstorv booh* tell us he was nicknamed. He was found to justify the uame. for his height was 6ft. 2in. Ho wore a gilt down, and a gilt- sceptre rested in each of his hands. The robe in which he was buried was srudded wih pearls In the presence of the Prince Regent (later George IV.) the coffin of the beheaded Charles 1.. discovered in a vault at "Windsor, was opened in 1813 by Sir Henry Halford, a famous doctor of the day. The presence of the severed head, with its penned beard, proved the identity of its ill-fated occupant. Edward the Confessor has been far more “ investigated ” than Totajikhamen. for his tomb in West-minster has been broken open no fewer than three times. The only Royal tomb in Europe in which a dead monarch has been found seated oa his throne wa* that of the Emperor Charlemagne, at Aix-la-Chapelle. Frederick Barbarassa had it opened. Tt was a wonderful sight. The marble throne is. or was until recently, still on view at Aix Charlemagne was dressed in his imperial robes, a sword hung by his side, and or: his knee® rested a Bible. PEERS “ BURY HATCHET.’’ The sequel to Lord Derbv’s recent speech at Liverpool is Lord Birkenhead’s statement that “ a friendship of more than 30 years has now been restored unimpaired.” The temporary breach in their long and close friendship arose out of “ the rather sharp and acrimomoxis discussion,” to quote Lord Derbv’s words, which occurred during the General Election. Th© news of th© reconciliation, writes a political rorresnondent. has been welcomed bv the friends of l>oth in the Conservative Parf|«