Personalities.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 376, 23 July 1903, Page 7

Personalities.

THE KAISEB'S ACQUAINTANCE. the way, talking of the Kaiser, I jI©K was told a delightfully humorous M2M anecdote the other day. An American was very aaxious to be ?Jwesej|ted to His Majesty, and told a l|NMg who had some influence at Court his dfcsire. Permission having been obthe friend, on the favourable Opportunity presenting itself, was allowed to bring the American to the notice of the monarch. Instead of the usual profound bow, the American took the Kaiser's hand, and, ehaVing it vigorously, remarked, * I am glad to meet such an enterprising young man. That's the sort we admire in America.' The Kaiseir was in a good humour, and remained talking with hie enthusiastic acquaintance for a while, but he afterwards told one of the members of the Court that he had never been spoken to in that manner before, and it is not difficult to believe it.

fk GREAT ADVOCATE AND OEATOE. It is by a curious coincidence that another celebrated man who owes part—a very small part, but still a part—of his early success to Charles Beade Bhould be Sir Edward Clarke, and we can imagine the reader asking, Whatever had Charles Beade to do with him P The incident may perhaps be forgotten by many people, and it is well worth recalling. Everyone knows that Sir Edward Clarke began his career under the most unfavourable conditions. Ha was employed in business for twelve hours a day, but after the regular day's work was over he studied hard at the Evening Classes for Young men at Crosby Hall. One has not the spaco here in which to describe all the details of his wonderful career, but in due time Edward .Clarke gained the Tancred studentship of .£lO7 for six years. Ha supplemented the income by writing for the Press. In 1864. when he was only tweuty-three years old, he was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inc. A barrister without friends or relations in the profession has a terribly hard task before him, but the future 'Sir Edward' had reached the first milestone on the road he had determined to follow, and he was content. Daring the first year at the Bar he earned about .£100; the second) r year he made double that sum; in the third year treble; and in the fourth year his work at the Bar brought him in J6600. By the time he had been at the Bar thirteen years he had increased his yearly inoome ttffibout £B.OOO a year, and before theierid of that year—in 1877—his name wai| hf ad§.'v This is how it was done. * Making a Nam:b,

He was one of the counsel engaged in the defence of the prisoners in the famous Penge case, in which four people—two men and two women—were charged with having murdered the wife of one of the accused men by slow starvation. Mr Clarke—as he then was—devoted himself entirely to the medical side of the case, and he brought some of the most eminent specialists of the day to say that the symtoms of the dead woman were consistent with tubercular meningitis. It was entirely owing to Mr. Clarke's masterly cross examination of the medical witnesses that a great doubt was raked in the public mind as to whether the prisoners were They were found guilty, however, and were sentenced to death, but the day afterwards these was a great national protest against the verdict, and at the head of the people who demanded the respite of the prisoners was Charles Saade. In the end a memorial, signed by four buEdred of the medical profession, was presented to the Home S jcretary, and in the end one prisoEer obtained a free pardon and the sentence of ths other three were commuted to penal servitude for life. Within a month of that trial came*the famous 'Long Firm Frauds' case in which Mr: Clarke obtained an acq uttal forJhiß djent. Sir Edward has said that he considers he has been paid ,£I,OOO a year ever since for his work ia those two eases. Those who know the famous advocate sad orator, however, know full well that had there been no such cases Sir Edward would have made his name all the same in others. He owes his great success entirely to himself, to his untiring energy and determination. He works—as he always has worked—w.th method, and he makes a point of never leaving ofi one day's work until the next i 3 practically done. ~ ! * AT THE COUBT OF LOUIS XIV.

One of the diffijulties of Royalties—one of the things that account for the ten- j dency to selfishness which has been con;., aidered a weakness of the Royal caste "-is that they go seldom hear the truth, 1 M.A.P/ gives a couple of examples of this in even the lighter affairs of life. For instance! when Louis XIV. was once playing at backgammon, a favourite game with him, a dispute arose as to the doubtful throw of the monarch. The courtierg, appealed to by the K ng, said nothing—not daring to give the verdict against the King, not caring to tell too palpable a lie. The Comte de Grammont entered at this awkward moment, and the King asked him Jto decide the matter. The witty courtier replied without a moment's hesitation:' 'Your Mijosfcy is in tho wrong.' ' How,' said Louis, * cau you decide before you know the question?' ' Because/ replied the Count, ' had there been any . doubt, all these gentlemen would have given it in favour of your Majesty.' There is a similar story connected with the late Czar of Russia. He was one night playing a game of whist at Homburg; and the present King, then, of course, Prince of Wales, and several of his friends were of the party. Among those friends was S.r James Mackintosh, a well-known bon vivant of the eighties and nineties, S.r James way a blunt, downright roughspoken Scotchman. £n the midst of the game S.r James called out to the Czar, • Yau've revoked.' Everybody's blood ran cold. The prince of Wales is said to have kicked the! S jotchnian under the table, and the Czlr, blushing and confused, exclaimed in Bewilderment,' Eevoked J Why, I never did. such a thing in my life!' But Sir James persisted, and the monarch was provdcf to b6 in the wrongj whereupon Sir James replied to the observation of the Czar, • I dare say you've often revoked, ybar Majesty, but this is the first time you were ever told so.'