People We Hear About

New Zealand Tablet, 15 April 1915, Page 41

People We Hear About

Among the British officers recommended for distinguished conduct on the field in Sir John French’s official , list published about the middle of February was the Right Rev. Mgr. Bickerstaffe-Drew, one of the principal Catholic chaplains at the front, who is well known to the reading public by his pen-name, John Ayscough. ; ' Lady Dorothy Feilding, daughter of the Earl ofDenbigh, is doing active and useful work at the front with the Munroe Flying Ambulance, and has been honored by King Albert with the Order of Leopold, the highest Belgian decoration. The ambulance moves quickly from point to point as required, and its designation does not indicate that Lady Feilding is an aeronaut. Captain William D. R. Kenny, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, attached to the Egyptian Army, has been, appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Sultan of Egypt. Born thirty-three years ago, the son of Mr. Justice Kenny, this new A.D.C. to the new Sultan'was educated at the Oratory School ; and he married, in 1913, Alexandra, daughter of the late Nicholas Mouravieff, Russia’s Ambassador at Rome. Lord and Lady Denbigh, one of whose daughters was married during the second week in February, have a family of ten children, including seven daughters At an audience with the late Pope, Lady Denbigh produced a photograph of her whole family, grouped according to size, and asked his Holiness’s blessing on them. Pope Pius wrote with his own hand a verse from Psalm cxxvii. at the foot of the photograph, and added his autograph, expressing the pleasure it gave him to see the portrait of this fine family of Catholics growing up, as he trusted, to serve God and His Church. A writer in the Catholic Universe of Toledo, Ohio, says:—One of our sweetest, sincerest Catholic singers is Denis A. McCarthy, of Boston. This poet was born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland, and was given his first education at the Christian Brothers’ School. At the age of fifteen he landed in Boston, and since has been in or near that hub of American literature and made it his scene of labor. Mr. McCarthy has published two books of poems which have brought great credit to him. They are none of your ‘wishywashy,’ sickly, sentimental trash; they are not involved, unconstruable tradings of sweet-sounding words. Mr. McCarthy’s verse is essentially meaningful, religious. Catholic, and musical. The following story of Santley, the famous singer, is worth telling. Mr. Santley, who had not then attained to fame, was travelling through a mountainous district in Mexico, when his party was suddenly attacked by a horde of half-bred bandits, who roughly demanded their valuables, and threatened, as an alternative, to take them up into the hills and torture them until a ransom should be forthcoming. At the first alarm the guards who had accompanied Santley and his friends fled. They were conducted through devious pathways for miles, until they arrived at a rock cave high up among the hills, where they were forcibly robbed of their money and valuables, including the best of their clothing. Over their rude supper that memorable night, Santley sang an aria as he had never sung before. His voice was then much lighter in tone than it is to-day. As the song rippled forth on the clear mountain air, the dusky Mexican faces lighted up with pleasure, and at its close the leader expressed his delight, and asked the senor to sing again. Santley saw his chance, and seized it. He asked, through his servant, if he might sing for his liberty, and a reluctant consent was given. For two hours that night he charmed his captors with a lengthy programme of exquisite melodies. The next day the party were taken down the mountain-side and set at liberty, to their great relief and delight.