Personalities.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 358, 19 March 1903, Page 2

Personalities.

IP THE POPE LIVES A TEAK. 3KT is pointed oat that if Leo XIII. is cgp spared to see the year 1903, that year 3k he to him one of quite exceptional interest, a veritable 'annus mirabilis/ Bays the London Tablet. As everybody knows, it will be his his silver jubilee of papacy (elected Pope February 20, 1878); but more than that, it will also be his golden jubilee as Cardinal (proclaimed by Pius IX in the Consistory of December 19, 1853), and his diamond jubilee of episcopacy (preconized Archbishop of Damietta by Gregory XVI. on January 27, 1843. and consecrated February 19). Such a triple jubilee, if his holiness lives to celebrate it, will probably be unique in history. EMPEROR'S RARE SILVER. No ruler in Europe has such a costly and magnificent collection of pilverware as Kaiser Wilhelm, and in it tasre are few pieces which are more prized than those designed to be used by the emperor himself, and they are constantly used either by him or by some member of his family, When the emperor (then Prince William) married the Princess Augusta Victoria, on February 27,U881, tbe cities of Germany presented him and hie bride wi( hj a silver Bsrvice containing 257 pieces, and valued at 420.000 marks, and of this service the pieces of silver shown in the picture form a part. From the time of Frederick William I. the emperor's ancestors had been collecting choice silverware, and, though many of their treasures were sacrificed in perilous or needy times, there were still many wonderful specimens of the silversmith's art in the imperial palace when the present kaiser ascended the throne—so many, indeed, that their value was estimated at 5.000,000 marks. SUCH IS FAME. One of Lord Salisbury's pet anecdotes is the story of the barber of Poitsmouth, whom he had ccc&sion to patronize some years ago. This tonsorial artist did not fail to recognize his distinguished patron, for the latter, on passing the shop a few days later, was gratified to observe a placard in the window bearing this inscription : ' Hair cut, 3d. With the same scissors as I cut Lord Salisbury's hair, 6d.' . A ROYAL FAD. King Edward, from childhood, has always shown the k sanest interest in fires and firemen. Of all the entertainments provided for him by the city of New York, he has most often remembered, and says he most enjoyed, a parade of the volunteer fire department in his honor. There were 6,000 firemen in uniform, and all, save those in charge of ropes and tillers, bore torches, says Everybody's Magazine. It was a great spectacle, and the prince, as he locked at the brilliant display in Madison square, cried repeat dly: ' This is for mei thia is all for me!' with unaffected glee. Daring many years of his life he used to be informed whenever a really big ttlaza was signalled, and he has attended, incognito, most of the big fires in London during the last thirty yaars. TOLSTOI'S POPULARITY. Some interesting statistics in regard to Tolstoi's works have been collected by one of his Russian admirers. Of some of his boots, he says, more copies have been sold than of any book by even the most popular French writer, and, for some strange reason, those books which have been read most widely are precisely those whieh are least known to the general public Of the tenth Russian edition of his complete works, in fifteen octavo volumes, the price of which was 80 francs, 80.000 copies were sold. In the British Museum may be seen translations of his works in various languages, among them being 200 German translations, 200 French, 120 Ennglish 50 Danish and several versions in Tartar, Japanese and Hindustani. His most popular books, however, are two, of which the literary world knows very little and which were written for children. One is entitled,' First Reading Book for Children' and the other * A New Alphabet.' Of the former 600.000 copies have been sold and of the latter 800,000.

HORSES LIKE CHEESE. 'Frolic is particularly fond of cheese, remarked a member recently. * Limburger cheese will attract him much quicker than will oats, corn, or any other variety of feed that is fonnd in a stable. • Frolic,' be said, • will eat any kind of cheese, and he Beldom passes a day that he does not assist several members of an engine company to dispose of several sandwiches. While the animal will eat any kind of cheese he can get, he will leave all other varieties for Limburger. Never does he fail to give a loud neigh when Limburger is brought near him, as he thinks it is his right to get at least a portion of it. At another engine bouse there is another cheese-eating horse. This animal is named Wicklow, and Schweitzer is his favourite brand. When Wicklow fails to get a good cheese sandwich .during the day, he shows his disappointment when night comes.' SPINNING AN EGG. One of Lord Kelvin's favourite experiments while teaching natural philosophy at the University of Glasgow was to spin an egg which was suspended in the air. If the egg were bard boiled it would spin a long time; otherwise, owing to the friction between its contents and the shell, its motion would soon cease. Lord Kelvin inferred from this that the interior of the earth eannot be a fluid, or the globe's rate of rotation would have been checked long ago. Once the students substituted raw eggs for ike hard boiled ones. He was not to be fooled. $J one of them boiled/ was his only comment.'