PARS ABOUT NOTABILITIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 257, 3 November 1906, Page 11

PARS ABOUT NOTABILITIES.

Keystone 11., although a wa,rm favourite, failed to 'bring about, a change in the ill-luck the Stanleys 'have always had over the Leger. The "Rupert of debate" Avent a-racing when he was quite a young ouan, both '■'on his o\ra" and as the manager of his grandfather's : horses, and if he never scored a Leger, never scored a Derby «or an Oaks, win either. Toxophilit-e. the. Derby favourite of 1858, failed to come off. Ithuriel. another oi! his horses, w<is "got at,' , and lamed; and Canezou did nothing for him in the "classic' , line. Still, in twenty-two years, and in stakes alone, the. Earl netted not far short of £ 100.000.

The American papers tell of the marriage to a shop-girl of '"Count Hans Ferdinand yon Hochbrrg. heir to the duchy of liohnstoek, and nephew of Princess Jtarie of SaxeWeiniar." There is such a Count, who iis third son of a, younger brother of the Prince of Pless, and tirst cousin of the Prince, who mar•ricd Miss Cornwallis West. He is not related to any Ihnncess of Saxe-Weimar, and is not heir to anything, but was born at a village of Rohnstoek twentysix years ago. We are not in a position to confirm or dispute tho statement as to his marriage: nor docs it signify. Lord Sinclair, who lias reason to be proud of the seventy-sixth anniversary he celebrated a few weeks back, served with the old Fifty-seventh in the Crimea, the Mutiny, and New Zealand, and has given two sons to the service —the elder to the Greys, and the younger to the Seaforths. The Sinclair Barony was the result of the division a fifteenth-century Earl of Caithness thought good to make of his titles and estate?. The Sinclair Barons presently ran out, and a daughter was le.ft ]\listress of Sinclair. Pile married into another branch of the. family—Sinclair of Herdmanston; and when, after the Forty-five, an attainder came into operation, and t.he attainder ended by the extinction of the estate-tail, it was her descendant -who provided a fifteenth Lord, and a grandfather of the present peer.

The King and Queen, ot Is'orway arc to aorive in Knglajid about the beginning of this month, and they will st«y in the country for mx weeks, during which period Uiejr Majesties arc to be the guests of the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace. Saudrmghaui. and Windsor Castle. The King of Norway was to have been created a Knight of the Garter when he w:is crowned, and the Prince of Wales was to have. made the investiture. It was decided, however, in postpone ihe King's admission to the Order of the Blue Ribbon until November, when hie investiture is to tnke place at Windsor Castle

A statue to the late President McKinlcy was unveiled in the Capitol grounds at Cohimbus (Ohio) in September. Mrs. Nicholas Longworth was announced to perform the ceremony, pnd the great rush of spectators to get near her almo*t W to ;i panic. Fifty thousand persons were present. Many women standing near tne platform fainted in the crush, and the sjieeehos on the programme had to be abandoned. !Mrs. Longrworth. rising to the emergency, imcpremoniou'ly cut tho ribbons of the covering of the statue and dismissed ttie people, who trooped off. shoutiTig,

"Goodbye. Alice!'" Eye-wit nesses express the opinion that had it not been for Mrs. Lonyrworth'* prompt action in accelerating the unveiling and dismissing the crowd, many of tho persons who were overcome by the crush in front of the stand would most likely have lo?t their live*.

Lewanika. the enlightened ruler of Barotseland. who has just abolished slavery throughout his dominions, was one of the dark-skinned chiefs who visited London with Colonel Harding at the tirnp of the Coronation. The journey homeward took him months to perform. Re was live weeks travelling by ox waggon from Buluwayo to tne Zambesi alone, and even then he was still 300 mile- from his capital.

The heavy burden which fell to tho lot of the "present Duke of Rutland in the phape of death duties when he succeeded to his father's estate, early last month has had a remarkable effect (says the "'Daily Express"). Owing to the large sum .which he is called upon to hand over to the Exchequer, he. has found that substantial reductions in expenditure will b" necessary. lie has, therefore, decided to close Bolvoir (.'nstle altogether for the next 12 months", and many of the servants have, already received notice. The Duke has also let his Miooting-box and moors at Longsshaw, Derbyshire. There is little doubt that the total value of the estate was well over half a million, and taking that figure as a basis the amount of death duties will bo at least £37.500.

"Mγ Arthur Burrows, of Lincoln's Inn, who has celebrated hi* ninety-fourth birthday, is the oldest barrister in the kingdom, and continues to hold the post of conveyancing counsel to the Chancery Division, to which lie was appointed in 1877. Mr Burrows enjoys excellent health considering his great age. and ho regularly attends lv.s chambers in Oldsquare.. Lincoln's Jrm, on certain days in the week to dispose of his work. His connection with the law extends to nearly se.venty-six years, as ho entered ns a. student at Lincoln's Inn in November, IS3O.

American money won't buy everything —especially in Scotland, where the aristocracy, though poor, are prouder than Satan of their belonging*. The Brad-loy-MiJl'tinfl have again made overtures to Lady .Seafield for Balmaeaan. In facf. their instructions to the agent who acted for them was that she could name her own price. This is about tne. twentieth offer they have made Lady Seafield. but to all temptations she is adamant. Gold will not buy Balmacaan. though it, is quite an open secret that it would come in very useful to the Opilvie-Gnints.

John Alexander Dowie un September ■lo bade farewell to about two hundred Zionists, the remnant of his numerous adherents. lie has started for Mexico, where he hopes to regain his health, but there are very few of his most ardent followers who do not expect au early end. A mere shadow of the once fiery "Prophet" Dowie was carried into the spacious parlour of Shiloh House by his two giant negro attendants, and in weak, trembling tones said to his assembled friends: — "1 am going away, but I will return again to triumph over my enemies. I am a sick man, but the sickness is not of the body. I am suffer-

ing from a broken heart. My "wife and sou have left mc and you are the only ones -who remain faithful. Zion will be come the greatest religious centre in the world." Then with quavering voice he closed his short address by starting his favourite hymn, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again." The closing scene in the active life of this one-time acknowledged leader of a peculiar sent was pathetic in the extreme. Women buried their faces in their hands and sobbed aloud, while tears rolled clown the cheeks of a majority of the bronzed men. Dowie was carried to the head of the stairs, where he pronounced the apostolic blessing and thus ended his career in Zion City.

A notable double wedding celebration recently occurred when the popular Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden kept g-o.lden wedding, upon the same date that witnessed the celebration of the silver wedding of their only daughter. the Crown Princess of Sweden. All these, royalties arc closely allied to our Royal family, the venerable Grand Duchess being the only sister of the late Emperor Frederick, and, consequently, a sister-in-law of the late Princess Royal of England (the Empress Frederick), while "her daughter, the Swedish Crown Princess, is the mother-in-law of Princess Gustavua Adolplms (until recently Princess Margaret of Connaught), who has just left for Sweden, after a prolonged visit to Bagshot, the residence oi" her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. Unfortunately, no grandsons other than those of the House of Bernadotto have been born to the illustrious couple. Their elder son and his wife (born Princess Hilda of Nassau) have, no children, while the doatb of their younger boy, a. most promising Princo in early manhood, was the great sorrow of their lives, Both the Grand Duke and Duchess were widely congratulated upon tho birth, some months since, of the Duke's eventual heir, the little son of his nephew Prince Max of Baden. The infant is also n. great-nephew of Queen 1 Alexandra's, Princess Max being a daughter of her sister, the Duchess of Cumberland.