PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVI, Issue XVI, 20 April 1901, Page 756

PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

(Erum Our Special Correspondent.)

LONDON, March 1. ITote.-sor Herkomer has finished his

portrait of Sir George Grey, which no* stands in the Agent-General's room awaiting the approval of-tße Trustees of the National Portrait Gal levy, to whom it is to be presented The portrait of the old man eloquent will rank as one of the best of the professor's works. The picture is a tine piece of quiei, refined painting The subject has been handled with a reverent sympathy, and the whole effect is restful. Although Professor Herkotner never saw Sir George Grey and had only very inadequate photo graphs from' which to work, he has used his vivid imagination to such purpose as to produce a quite start.ing likeness of the statesman in his old age. Sir George is depicted in about his soth year, while his faculties were still keen—veritably a grand old man The picture might aptly be termed • 4 (»r»*v: An Arrangement in Black ana White.’ - for there" is hardly a touch of bright colour in the whole picture Clad iu a black frock eoat with black tie the statesman sits at a table, as he often sat in the House of Representatives. bending slightly forward, his hands crossed on some papers, th* white of which and his cuffs bright Up the long stretch of black above them Hair, beard, moustache and eyebrows are white as the driven snow, and from under his shaggy brows his blue eyes look out in a half dreamv mysticism. The face is full of a kirdlv expression, as if the statesman was pondering the problem of bow best to advance the happiness of the "unborn millions." It is the period of the venerable idealist, not. that of the autocratic man of action. * ? ® ne . x promissa barba. horienti capillo" is the quotation that comes naturally tc one’s lips as one gazes upon I’rofessot Jlerkoiner’s fine study of the veteran soldier statesman.

During their private visit to the Ophir last Thursday the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall suggested structural alterations iu the arrangement of the cabins, which will run. into a prettv bit of money. Everything, indeed. is being done on the most luxurious Seale, the furnishers and deco rators (S." .1. Waring & Sons) being the smartest and most expensive in London. barring perhaps Gillows.

\ccording to the "Chronicle: “The Duchess of Cornwall and York is taking the greatest interest in the alterations which are to fit the Ophir for the journey to Australia: and it wil a very much transformed boat that will be thrown open to the privileged gaze on March S. Ths Duchess" orders ‘to make it as like Clarence House as possible.’ are be ing carried out with as much exactness .is is possible, considering the in" itial unlikeness of a liner to a town, house: and the alterations and decorations will cost precisely £20.000. Among other necessary- alterations has lieeu that of removing all the first-class cabins, which are to be replaced by ‘suites of apartments’ fo» the three ladies in waiting who will accompany the Duchess of Cornwall ami York on the journey.”

Mrs Brown-Potter is generally being pointed by somebody. Just at present Mr George Coates, the young Australian artist, whose work the greatest living Trench critics have so warmly eulogised, has her in hand. The result will probably lie seen in the comity \<-adenty.

Poor Harry Monkhousc was a. joy to all who luicn him, but none of his friends exactly marvelled when they reaul of his sudden death from pneumonia. If ever a person burnt the candle at lioth ends he did. He had troops of "pals" of convivial tastes, and they stuck to him nobly whilst cash was plentiful. Latterly Harry Monkbouse, though earning £4O a week, got into the Bankruptcy Court through a piece he put on the road with disastrous results.

There was .* time when the “society” pu|H-r« were full of Miss Dorothy TenB»nt. heroine of a hundred hnmdeaa and amusing escapades. The late Mr

Gladstone worshipped the elever lady, young .Mr Benson immortalised her as "Dodo,” and finally the hero of the hour, .Mr Stanley, married her. Since her marriage Mrs, now Lady Stanley, has been but little heard of. and settled down to Darby and Juan domesticity. At Christie’s last week Sir John Millais' famous picture. "‘No!” for which Miss Tennant stood as model, was sold. It fetched 1400 very far price, all things considered. Originally. I fancy. Sir John got 2000 guineas for “No!" but he was then in the hey-day of his repute.

Lady Ranfurly and her two daughters leave for New Zealand by the Himalaya on the 21st inst.

Mr. Onslow Ford’s bust of Sir Geo. Grey is not yet quite ready to be placed in the er.vpt of St. Paul's; I understand that the sculptor is making a few slight alterations in the way of thinning the face a little.

The friends of Mr. Henry Stockwell, the New Zealand tenor, who has been settled some time at this side, will learn with concern of the death of his wife, who leaves several young children. Mr. Stockwell accompanied Amy Sherwin on her last Antipodean tour in 1806.

Trooper Hanson, of the First Contingent, who lias been spending his siek furlough away up in Scotland— Medrox. Tighnabniaich—was one of the few New Zealanders who took part in the Queen's funeral procession through London, and he had the hon our of attracting the attention of "Bob" as the great little man passed through St. James’-street on his way to Buckingham Palace. The Earl made brief but kind enquiries as to the reasons of Hanson's Homecoming, and whether he was keeping well and enjoying himself. The incident has figured in all the papers, the New Zealander being identified as a "stalwart colonial.” “lithe, sinewy A ustralian," “a hard bitten, burly Can adian," "a handsome Maorilander,’ etc. Trooper Hanson expects to leav* England shortly for New Zealand.

Mr Gilruth has just returned from an extensive tour of the North and West of England, in the course of which, be visited the farms of most of the important breeders <d Shorthorns. ami purchased six Shorthorn bulls and four cows, subject to the t übereuline test. I hope to be üble to give you some particulars of the animals next week, after the test has been made. Mr Gilruth expects the cattle to leave by the Mataura on the !4t.h of next month, accompanied by the veterinary surgeons still to be appointed. In his tour of inspection he was accompanied and assisted by Mr Frank Webb, who has had large experience of cattle as the manager of Mr R. T. Coo|>er's estate at Shenstone Court, Lichfield. This week he visits the Shire Horse Show at Islington.

Though most of us in Anglo-Colo-nial circles knew that Mr. James Huddart's health hail for some time past shown signs of a bad break up, few were prepared for the intimation *»f his death -at Eastbourne last Wednesday. Mr. Huddart was never really the same man after his failure to bring to a successful issue his project for an "all red" commercial and postal route between Australia and the Mother Country, but as events only too amply proved. Mr. Huddart’s scheme was conceived years before its proper time: indeed, it may be doubted whether we shall see in the next five and twenty years the necessity for the establishment of an "all British” steamship communication by way of Canada on the lines Mr. Huddart proposed. On the top of the crushing of bis ambitious scheme came financial embarrassments of no light nature, and then, most serious blow of all. his adored sou. Mr. Cymbeline Huddart. senior midshipman of the Doris, and a young man of whom any father might rightly be proud, met his death whilst gallantly leading his handy-men at Graspan in November, 1899. From that time Mr. Huddart seemed to lose all interest in life, and now, at the comparatively* early age of 53. he has gone over to the great majority an old and broken man. Commenting on Mr. HuddartM career the “Times” says: “Belong- -

mg to a type of men who form pioneers in colonial progress, and deeply imbued with aspirations for the consolidation of the Empire, Mr. Huddart played for higher stakes than the means at his command allowed hixn to accomplish. But if his Atlantic* projects and his ‘all red’ route should still become an accomplished fact—and hope iu this direction does not seem to have been yet abandoned —his name will certainly be deserving of honourable mention iu connection with them.” LONDON. March 8. lite Countess of Ranfurly and her daughters have booked their passages by the Himalaya to the eolony. where they will rejoin Lord Ranfurly in April, in plenty of time to make pre parations for the Royal visit. Mrs Reeves gives a large farewell afternoon tea to them next Thursday, 14th at which there promises to be a large gathering of New Zealanders.

I understand that Air Onslow Ford’s bust of Sir George Grey will be exhibited at the Royal Academy this year before it is relegated to the obscure gloom of the crypt of St. Paul's It is a pity that Professor Herkomer’s portrait of the statesman could not also be seen of the multitude in the same wav.

Mr C. J. Cornish contributes tr "Country Life" an article on trout in New Zealand, illustrated by three picturesque photographs by Mr VVm Reid. Referring to the residents’ ae count of large leaping fish in th» stream connecting Lake Ada with Milford Sound, Mr Cornish says it is "difficult not to believe that these were salmon." Perhaps some New Zealand readers would send their observations on the subject.

Though I doubt Lord Stamford ever fulfilling Sir George Grey's prediction and becoming Premier of England, he is undoubtedly coining to the front On Saturday last the noble earl was triumphantly returned to the new County Council on the “Independent’ ticket, and on Sunday he presided over the dinner and meeting of the Play goers' Club.

Sergeant Frost, who is so certain that the man who calls himself Lillywhite is Blateh, the Colchester murderer. ought really to spend a few years on travel, to broaden his mind

Fancy recognising as Essex dialect the phrase, ‘‘That’* the only Archer as 1 ever knew!” Why the substitution of “as 1” for the simple “I” in sentences of this kind is about the commonest form of maltreatment of the English language all over the metrop olis, and in many other parts of Eng. land. Indeed, it would not be goin£ too far to say that it is the favourite blunder of the uneducated classes.

According to the “Echo,” Professor Bickerton has discovered a new method of constructing houses out of “brown jiaper. freely tarred over.” The professor’s invention is not new. ' ears ago a neighbour of mine constructed a playing shed for his children out of 4 by -2 battens and a quantity of brown paper he had bought at a sale. The shed when complete was tarred and sanded outside ami varnished within, and stood the test of time and weather very well indeed. But its fire-resisting properties were poor, ami the end of the shed and a fowls' house adjacent (with about 20 prize-birds) was ashes.

Death has removed a gallant and venerable sailor from the retired ranks of His Majesty's navy in ViceAdmiral Matthew Connolly.' who had attained the age of eighty-five. A sou of the late General W Hallett Connolly, a distinguished oftieer of the Royal Marines, he entered the naw as a volunteer in 1832, and earlv in' his career won distinction during the operations on the coast of Syria where he assisted in the capture of Caiffa. Tyre and St- Jean d'Acre, receiving for his services mention in despatches, and the English and Turkish medals. He was promoted to a lied* tenancy in 1842, and four years later as lieutenant of the Driver he commanded her small arm men during the operations in New Zealand, including an action in the Horokowi Valiev, and the dispersion of the rebels. He obtained mention in despatches and the medal. Shortly before the outbreak of the Crimea war he reached .commander s rank, and on the commencement of hostilities with Russia commanded the President in several actions in the Baltic. He was last actively employ ed in the operations against the Indian tribes of Vancouver, and after completing close upon forty years’ service was placed on the retired list as a captain, being advanced in 1880 to the rank which he held at the time of hit demise.- - .*