INTERESTING ITEMS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 325, 4 January 1911, Page 3

INTERESTING ITEMS.

<s>— ® One of the most economical of peeresses never pays less inan four pounds for a pair of shoes. The favourite mode of illustrating family descent by what is called "the family tree" is of Greek origin. The Greeks called it a "strmma." King George is one of the finest shots in the United Kingdom, he is also very modest about his prowess in this connection. A story is told of him that one day when be was out shooting, an obsequious beater, thinking to ulease him, brought up a string of birds to the Prince of Wales, as he then was. "I have been picking up your birds, sir," he said. 'J Howmany are there?" asked the Royal sportsman. "Thirteen, sir." "Very odd," remarked the Prince, dryly, "I only shot "eight." Once when Q-ieen Mary was a girl she and her mother, the Duchess of Teck, were taking a walk. When some distance from homo a heavy shower came on, and as the Royal ladies turned to hurry back they met two poorly clad children. The Duchess and the Princess each took a child and sheltered it beneath her cloak. When they reached Cambridge Cottage the children were dried and fed, and 3ent home in a cab. The next morning their father, a poor shoemaker, called to express his gratitude. The month of October has played a fateful part in the life of King Manuel's grandmother, Queen Maria Pia of Portugal. She was born on October 13th, 1547, and the same date 63 years later saw her leave Gibraltar to return an exile to her native country of Italy. She was married on October 6th, 1862, and the date of her arrival in Portugal as a loudly acclaimed bride was the date of her forced departure 48 years after. To complete the tale of sad memories, King Louis I. died on October 19th, 1889. Miss Annie Abbott, who does inexplicable feats of strength in the halls, claims to having had at one time a golden spider called Ben. He always travelled with his fair owner in a glass box, and this lady had an enormous belief in Ben's powers of clairvoyance. Bsfore going into the theatre at nights she would ask the spicier if they were going to have a good house and make money. If "Yes," Ben would spin a web. If "No" he went back to his box. The poor insect met his death in Australia during very hot weather. Miss Abbott is so fond of animals that she keeps quite a menagerie, and has a faithful bear who follows her like a dog.

The Earl of Longford is enormously wealthy, and inherited several thousand acres when ha succeeded to the title at the age of twenty-three. He waa an officer in the. Life Guards, and a newly-wedded man to boot, when he volunteered for South Africa. He had a narrow squeak of his life, for he was badly hit in the neck at Lindley. On returning home he had another narrow escape, for during gun prac tice at the Cutragh a bullet tore the shoulder strap from his tunic. Like many another young author, Mr W. E. Norris began hir, literary career by sending a story to the "Cornhili Magaiane." The story was at once accepted, and this success determined Mr Norris to abandon a legal career, for which he was originally intended, and try literature. Today he is one of the most popular novelists, "Matrimony" being in the opinion of many, the best story he ever wrote. / Mr Norris lives in a beautiful house at Torquay, with his daughter, who is his constant companion. His sister is Lady Havelock. Not long ago Lord Kinnaird, who is always actively interested in religious work, v>aic] 3 surpvisa visit to a mission school in the East End of London, and told a class of boys the story of Samson. In concluding his narrative, his lordship added: "He was strong, became weak, and then regained his strength, enabling him to destroy his enemies. Now, boys, if I had an enemy, what would you advise me \q do?" A little boy, after meditating on the secret af that great giant's strength, shot up his hand and exclaimed: "Get a bottle of 'air restorer."

The dial of the astronomical clock at Hampton Court Palace was the first of the kind introduced into England, and was juuda fur Henry VIII. in 1610, the inventor b-:ing the German astronomer Nicholas Cratzor. It shows the hour, the month, the day of the month, the position of the sun, and the number of days from the beginning of the year, the phases of the moon and its agf, the hour at which it cyo.sa'jii tl\o meridian, and the time of high water at London Bridge. The winding of the clock occupies half an hour every week, and the weights descend to a depth of U0 feet. Lord Motley once discussed in interesting and characteristic fashion the respective claims of the statesmen and the man of letters. "Would you not rather have passed," he asked, "Mr Gladstone's Irish Land Act, which brought a certain amount of concrete happiness to a whole nation — a small nation, perhaps, but still a great number of men, women and their families —that have written Locke's 'Human Understanding'""'and on being answered in the affirmative Lord Morley rejoined, "I think so—l almost think so; it is difficult to say —but I almost think so." On the same occasion Lord Money laid down a principle of which he himself has always been a shining exemplar. "Literature and politics ought to go together. The author has duties outside his study. He is a citizen and a man as well as an author, with duties to correspond, and he ought not to shirk those duties." Lord Moriey's largest literary achievement is, of cuorse, his "Life of Gladstone, though he has himself recently declared thai political biography is the most thankless of all literary undertakings, snu possibly he would elect, if given the choice, to base his ultimate reputation on one or other of his earlier works,