INTERESTING ITEMS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 347, 25 March 1911, Page 2

INTERESTING ITEMS.

We have come to look upon Mr Lloyd George as the incarnation of Wales. It shakes the foundations of belief to hear h ; .3 claim to be "a Lancashire lad." But he is quite right, for he was born in Manchester. He may, in fact, be described as a Welshman born in England. Signor Caruso was at one time earning tenpence a week for singing in a church choir at Naples. He was not encouraged by his father, a hardworking mechanic, to take up singing as a profession. But like all great singers, the gift came to him spontaneously, and the sums he now earns are, of course, simply fabulous. Mr Joseph Chamberlain is described as having been a shy, reserved child, though one who liked to have his own way. He was a very quiet and good little boy. and did not care much for games or physical recreation. Mr Chamberlain win a lad of eighteen when he left London for Birmingham, in order to help his father in manufacturing screws. On one occasion, during the hearing of a case in which a poor woman was concerned, Judge Parry announced that the trial would have to be adjourned. "What does that mean?" asked the woman. "Put off," replied the judge. "Oh! When till?" "Till next Monday." 'Oh, I can't come on Monday," exclaimed the woman, indignantly. "Monday's my washing day. But I tell you what. You'd better come and see me your Honour. That 'ud be much better than troubling me to come to this, 'ere court."

An amusing story is told by MiGeorge Alexander concerning a clergyman and his actor son. The former wrote to Mr Alexander, saying: "My son John has threatened to go on the stage, and I want you to stop him." Shortly afterwards the young man went on the stage, and Mr Alexander met him and asked him how his father took it. "I have not seen him," the young man nswered, "but he takes some interest in me, because whenever any actor is charged with a crime he underlines the report of it in the newspaper and sends it to me." The Reichstag allows the German Emperor about £130,00 U. He has also' a salary as King of Prussia, which amounts to about £787,500. He has great estates and many resources at his disposal, but his expenses are tremendous. The Emperor of Austria is also King of Hungary, and therefore, like the German Emperor, draws two salaries. The amount of each, in his case, is nearly £562,500. The King of Italy receives about £750,000 a year, but out of this allowances are paid to the QueenDowager, to the Duke of Genoa, and to the children of the Duke Aosta. Mr George Bernard Shaw is a great lover of music. He is a keen critic, and does not hesitate to voice his real opinions. He was once invited by a friend to go and hear an Italian quartette of instrumentalists. He went, and sat throughout the performance with a stony countenance. His friend, thinking to draw a little praise from him, remarked: "You know, Mr Shaw, these men have been playing together for twelve months." "G. B." looked at him incredulously for a moment before he replied: "Twelve years? Surely we have been here longer than that!" Mr Andrew Carnegie has given away over 1300 libraries, and not fifty of them have been the outcome of personal interviews with those who asked for thern. The American millionaire conducts most of his "library" business by correspondence. When appealed to for cash to found an institution of this kind, he requires to be furnished with a full statement in writing of the reason why he should open his purse in favour of the locality in question. Should the applicant propose to call he is almost invariably told not to do so, as Mr Carnegie dislikes arguing on the subject, and prefers to think out the matter for himself.

The credit of having the loudest voice in the House of Lords belongs to Lord Ashbourne, The tones that were once his pride have been modified by time, use, and age, but he can still, like John Peel, "awaken the dead." There is a story that when Mr Gibson, as he then was, made his debut as an Irish law officer in the Commons a colleague, hurrying into the House, met another coming out. "Why, where are you going? Don't you know that Gibson is up?" "Yes, I know, and I am going to the Lords." "To the Lords. Don't you want to hear him?" "I fancy I shall hear him with more comfort from the distance." Lord Warwick told a good story regarding himself recently. Alluding to the accidents of birth, he said that some years ago when he was connected with the Warwickshire Yeomanry, and drilling his men on the common, a man in very poor circumstances and indill'erent health came up, and said: "Good morning, colonel; .1 know you very well, my lord." The peer answered that he did not remember tin: man, whereupon the latter rejoined, "My lord, I am the baity that you were vaccinated from." "So that," added the earl, "perhaps the. blood of one of the poorest of my fellow-citizens is coursing through my veins at the present moment." For cleaning white fur, put a cupful of Hour into a very cool oven and allow it to absorb the heat until it is quite hot to the touch, but not tinged with brown to any degree. Mix it quickly with an equal quantity of calcinined magnesia, and rub well into the fur. This is the best way of cleaning white fur, but the cost is rather more than the following method: Moisten a little bran with warm water and rub it well into the skin; as each handful absorbs the dirt and is used up shake the fur well before applying another. When the fur looks quite clean rub over with dry bran applied with a small wad of book muslin.