LONDON TOWN TALK.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 26, 8 June 1877, Page 2

LONDON TOWN TALK.

(Cbrrespondentof the afeibw^O^iryas.)* The tn!»tsri»ge«pkb© Buke of Con naught with the daujtfrfer of tbe or>Kmg of Hanover is saw Wm broken off on ac-* count of the high standard of literaturedemanded by the young lady, wboisa blue stocking. Il will be very bard tOs find a bridegroom to suit her, who is at. once f and a man of letters... Would it be, disrespectful to suggest*.* circular addressed to the cadets of reijjning families with the amount of tbe pri«* and its dowry in figures, and the subject* of examination required ; and finally, a-, competitive examination. Temple Bar is to fcoafc last— on Mid* summer Day at latest, ■ I hope it may be. fonnd possible to remove it in the Ameri*. I can fashion en bloc—\t has put our carriage 1 traffic en bloc often enough— and to place it in some less objectionable position ; for,it is a notable relic of the past, Above* it, as it now stands, is the muniment room* of Messrs CUild^ # Afib>inkeTß, full of cheques paid in dnni^ft^last 200 years, and containing, als&Nsj|X} Wynne's plate, . which was pawne^f<?|lh£ house in her r ßoyal lover's day*,* an#neV« redeemed. I send you a rety dhixj&ftng epigram whieh^Tielieve even tbopl^rsons who - mttPnrtf ** It is old M whe» they are annoyed at exco^nce will abstain front defirying. It is running about the dobs here, and is (falsely) attributed to- genial, %r' Francis" Doyle, but it has Bern, If believe, appeared in print— My dstighters praise our Curate's eyes, . .: I canndtl%« their light divine, For wh^a iMjrays he closes his, And wh^pae preaches I close^nine. The clergf are always fair game for a-. joke, but I am not sure that the members^ of thj dramatic profession dtj? not get i» d quite "as hojt|V-m tt^ way*of deprecia- "1 ( tiou— as the pfeachefr, rf l ' I note a very curious ease of wh'eious - mania this week, m which the sufferer credited other persons with the affliction^, under which she herself labored. She* killed a little daughter of he* own, tod then " sent hef* other two \& drown themselves ; " fortuna^y thw had n< tbeea brought up in thgt-dobtrfnti of passive obedience and fook adyie^upon the matter from other I remember no example of • precisely simitar kind, for lunatics have generally a very shrewd suspicion that thtir views are peculiar, and do not trust othettwitbthe execution of th«m. - <& 1& .-** Poor George Odge* fs. dead, * very* hone&fe if not a very^bte Jnan. He bad none of the vices of tM^eiriagogue, was . _ v , courageous without insoleft»e»and vigonm* - "" without "mere sound" and fury "—a qui«|» * simple, working man, who never pretended . '0 to any higher station, and who wished to , effect the amelioration, of hi* class, and not to benefit Jffmself only. He was notan aristocratic-looking man, nor did he.. afFect fine clothes — a circumstance which , once afforded toe ennsiderabhs amusement. I was c^osstog Hyde Park on* Sunday • with M— , who knows everJsiDdy, titd B— , who is very particular aboul irGm^ . i he knows? when we met . was of course an ac^QaintanCft^gPt^ I^^ stopped aad spolro to HtnS^^^>od % heavens,'' said B — , " who . "' friend ?" When he was toldf, he thought worse of H — than ever for the nerfe quarter Of aa hour, until we met anoAeiV:,

G«orge, a stout florid gentleman, whe gave M three fingers and spoke familiarly about th« weather, " Well," said B— ecmQdentially, •« I ean'tf understand a mar knowing the Duke of Cambridge and— Od«ei." Odger fiad not tbe eloquenc< pf Bradlattgh, who is a vefy clever fellow indeed j but on tho other hand, he nevei pet people's backs up, nor made eaomic Where there was a chance of making friends. If there are no marine novelists, there are enough and to spare, however, of the dry land ones. Ten yoars a^o, or so, om of these give us a story in whioli the principal villain is represented as following a profession which did not then exist, except in the bruin of the writer, and which all the reviuws insisted on decrying as monstrous and incredible. He was represented as turning his dishonest penny by impersonating stupid* young gentlemen who coul.l not pass their ex'am.ination3 for the army and qualifying them for comTiissions by proxy. This system has now, unhappily, become quite credible, however monstrous, and is creeping into every branch of tho public service. As we have be«n Jong accustom A), under the o'd pasronage plan, to be governed by dolts, this has had no apprciable effect beyond making the examiners look sharp after the identification of their candidates, but the imposture is becoming serious now that it is extending to pharmacy. A well- educated young gentleman in the Post-officfl, "who had gainel ieveral prizes and medals." has been giving bis leisure and attention to passing ex tminatioDs to qualify other people as chemists. I (upposo he finds it profitable, and the proverb worthy of acceptance that states— When house and land are gone and spent, Taea learning is most excellent. But it is a queer use to make of learning. I have no doubt this case will be used by the opponents of education as a proof of its demoralising effects. The sonnet of the laureate in the first number of the Nineteenth Century has aroused more comment than commendation. It is not a master-piece, bat was it not, people ask a little infra dig. that Alfred Tennyson should compose a poem upon the a,dvent of a new periodical ? Having one© begun the system, however there seems no reason why he should not crown with hia genius the firstborn of every enterprsing venture and it is possible that whon tho birthday of Truth comes round, he may by induced to celebratejt in* appropriate stinzw. It is cruelly said of him that erery body know (beforehand) that he wrotts for tho Nineteenth Century. It is now asserted, aoimg ranny other things, about the fallen Turkish Minister, that Midhat Pasha is a Jew. If so, he is an example of Lord Beacon?!! ;ld's bizarre theory that the Hebrew race are singularly good at governing thoiv fellow creatures, for he seems to have boon the only capable man at Constantinople. The whole Eastern question has been so^thoroughly worked out tint not even a pke cau be mustered up upon tho matter. Its appearance above the dinner table is the signal for proftrancl gloom. Not so with the question of" Gentleman Helps," which is now havin^ib share of publice attention, after the lady helps hare boon—not very satifactorily— disposed of. Two excellent tnaterfamilases— No. 2, with daughterswere discoursing u;xm this matter in ray presence. "You m:iy depend upon it," ?ays No^h&tggkaji these gentlemen helps will in mNJbP|^ the low irrnial work.'' •■' SifJuWfiQ^m" rcpliod No. 2, " I don'tf cawraiiout that ; it is the hymeneal r work" ibaJL I am afraid of their rising to." It is un'iTAtood that the marriage between Sir William Stirling Maxwell, of Keir» arid the H.on Mrs .Norton, which has lon* been spoken 6i as "on the tapis, took place privately Jast week at her residence. Wfcat a s %»og|yl|fbhb hers been, and wliaiNa dengljHHMiime of V memoirs'' »M miu'ht pii!w|pPsb.e h'nd a mind. It^sfc^rtain thafe money will not now erSM^^Jxpt to do it, for JSir wiiii.im Mxzmmaßhimkiffitim a