People We Hear About

New Zealand Tablet, 22 November 1906, Page 28

People We Hear About

One of tho former students- of-' Stonyh'ursfr : * College '" Major : and Brevet Lieutenant ColoneL.B.rA. Kenna,' V.-U.' D.5.0., has been given-.jthe command, by special' promo--tion, of Hhe 2ist /Empress' of .'lndia's Lancers , vVhieh, has' been vacant since the retirement of Colonel, J^/Fowler - of Chatburn. Colonel Kenna goes over the.fcead^of ttiesecond , in- command of the regiment, who is his jsenior in age and service. ' " - v Miss:.O' Connor Eceles is /a West ol Jrelaffd -laxly r of; unusually varied" accomplishments, and- - the: committee"' of the Munster Connacht -Exhibition did a wise -• thingwhen they gave her charge of the Cottage ' Industry Section,. She is of a ' very old and distinguished family, being a near relative of the princely house • of O Conor Don., She knows how to manage a- farm, a dairy, and a garden, how to housekeep, keep accounts, cook, sew, and nurse the sick ; how to lecture on household economies and household management, and finally she >is a novelist, essayist, and short-story writer of wide repute. Of the small number ot Peeresses of England or Scotland in their own right, the only Catholic hitherto has been the youthful Baroness Beaumont. There is however, now a second Catholic Baroness of England , ln J the ™ persou of Lad F w en tworth, hitherto known as' Lady. Mary Milbanke, who, by the death of her father, seco«d, Earl of Lovelace, ami twelfth Baron Kentworth has- succeeded to the latter dignity, created in 1529 and one " ot those peerages heritable by heirs-female. Lady Wentworth is in her 35th year, and unmarried Her aunt, Lady Anne Blunt, the late LowT Lovelace's - only sister, is also a Catholic, and Lady Mary Milbanke has been much with her since her father's 'second marriage some years ago. Cardinal Merry del Val when a little boy- took piano lessons at Brussels from M.^Albeniz, then a student ,at the Conservatoire. Some of the teacher's reminiscences of his pupil are. published in a French- paper He was, says M. Albeniz, ♦ a delightful child, exquisitely distinguished in . his manner and captivated everybody with his charm. Never in my life have I known a pupil .more persevering or more attentive. And I remember one amusing detail which often, recurred to me when I saw my pupil become a priest and rise from one high -ecclesiastical posiUou to another. When he was about eight and I was about eighteen, I often used to amuse myself by asking the young Raphael what he meant to become when he grew up To my delight this son of a diplomat used invariably to reply " I mean to be a tram conductor." ' As things turned out, M. Albeniz's pupil has done rather better than that. Americans reckon that Sir Thomas Lipton, who runs groceries in Britain, is outclassed as a grocer by James Butler, of New York. Butler is a Kilkennyman, who runs 16G retail giocery stores in Greater New \ork.' He was born in the Xower, Kilkenny, "fifty years ago, and is the son of a farmer. He first owned the clothes he wore when he emigrated at the "age of nineteen. As a steward in Windsor Hotel, New York he saved 2000 dollars, and set up his landlady's son P J. O Connor, in a grocery business. It was toi save the lad s failing health that the partnership was started, Butler remaining at lus job. O ' Connor J recovered his health, and the partnership of O'Connor- and Co prospered amazingly. Butler was the Co. In 1886 Butler -bought O'Connor out of his three small stores and in twenty years Butlerised grocery stores began to spring up all over New York 'in a night,'- and the " name of ' James Butler \ began to stand for the popular idea of grocerying. % M.A.P.' has noted the interesting fact that the three leading figures in the recent negotiations- with the Sultan were Irish, namely, Lord Charles Feresford " Sir JNionolas o' Conor, the consul, and Mr. Andrew Ryan vice-consul at Constantinople. Mr. Ryan, although "his ' name has not been much mentioned, has taken a very prominent part during the, crisis. Before going to Constantinople three years ago Mr.' Ryan saw much service in , Persia and the East generally. He is a . native of Cork, where his standing- in the Queen's University isa record. His family • may be regarded as remarkablyclever. One of his brothers holds a high position in a the Indian forest service, and another is a'Dominican * priest. Has sister, Miss May Ryan, " has " been the most distinguished lady student that has ever been enrolled in the Royal University, .and her wonderful. series of successes, culminating in the unique honor o£'~a fellowship", ftas"been/one of the slock- arguments for more ." generous treatment for women inamiversity education