A NEW MILLIONAIRE.

Manawatu Herald, 15 March 1889, Page 2

A NEW MILLIONAIRE.

Colonel John T. North is the latest millionaire, or as he is called " The nitrate King." He was bora in the year 1840 in a village in Yorkshire, nor far from Leeds, where, at the age of eighteen, he was apprenticed to the enK ioeetir.g trade. When bis time wus out be edtered the service of Messrs Fowler, of Leeds, the steam plough makers. While in Cbeir employ young North was entrusted with the charge of some machinery wnich tbe Fowlers wef* fending to Obili for the manufacture of nitrate soda for soil fertilia* tion. This macbtoery North wat to put up and fix in some factories in Chih. He was by no means loath to 1 undertake the work, as he already had a brother settled in South America, and he* was pleased at the thought of joining h.tui. So t>way he wenf, tbia vigorous, enterprising young Torkshireman, perhaps with some idea of " bettering" himself possibly with the hope of making the moderate sum which to him would seem a ." fortune," but hardly with the smallest anticipation of becoming one day possessed of such enormous wealth as literally to be unable to compote its extent, for that is tbe present financial condition of Colonel North A few words aboat the nitrate of soda which has given Colonel North his sobriquet and his wealth as well, may not be uninteresting. Lying embedded id the sand on the west coast of South America, a course material called caliche much used by the natives for fertilizing purposes, is found. From this material by means of boiling and evaporation, the nitrate of soda of commerce is produced. For such worn out old soils as those of England and many European countries, the effect of this comparatively new fertiliser is simf ly marvellous, and it will nowhere be denied that to Colonel North' 8 sagacity the iotroduc tion of nitrate soda to farmers and cultivators is almost solely doe. Colonel North gave a ball at the Hotel MetroI pole, in London last January and it was i a big success— like everything Colonel North touches The Metropole was decorated and lighted as only Colonel North knows bow to light it. each of the corridors was beautifully decorated and the alcoves and side rooms were admirably arranged. The floral decorations were too pretty for anything — palms, ferns, asters, and chrysanthemums being u<ed in a manner too lavish for expression. On every available pillar or uprignt throughout the great Whitehall suite was hung a great shield of white chrysanthemums and lilies, bearing in its centre tbe letter "N " in scarlet geraniums. Waite a walked about with three and four bottles of Champagne in their bands, and their only duty was to fill empty glasses. Surely such a f *ncy dress ball baa never been givrn in London for many a long year. Over a thousand guests assembled in tbe two ball-rooms arranged tor their reception in tbe Whitehall suite, and in the gorgeous dtawiagr and banqueting rooms. It must be acknowledged that when Lady Randolph Churchill walked into the principal ballroom on tbe arm of Colonel North all voices were for the moment silent, all eyes opes in order to see and comment upoi this latest innovation, Trulj, tbe American beauty looked well in her dress of black, her white shoulders looking all the whiter from the contrast with the great mass of black Lair which is her principal adorn, meat. Lord Randolph also came a little way out of his shell tuder the genial influence, and wa« found to be a very sensib'e person. Every notability whom Colonel North could get together at short notice wan there, from Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill all tbe way i through. Mr J. L. Toole in hU cb»r* j acter of the Don, Mr Lionel Br«>ugb as j Hamlet, Mr Thomas Thome as n met vil- j leux of the Paris Direetoiro period, \ down to Arthur Eobettn a* au * : unfinished gentlemen," with incomplete opera hat, coat, waistcoat, &c, just as the taller brings it for its first " try on." ! The ladies' dresses were » >t so good or so striking as those of the genMemen, perhaps because there is not the same scope for the beooming in dress. Among those which were striking were a com* plete Pompadour for Mrs North, the lady hostess, a blue Turkish tunic and nstmh* feather fan to mutch yellow niik sa*b midpoint de gaze trousero for Mi«a North. A very striking costume of j;reen ilk and yellow and black slashes en tabUer was worn by a lady friend, wtile Lady Kirby's distinctive robe was of blue velvet and while lace with fur trimmings. Colonel North himself made the most perfect Henry VIII., and Augustus Druiriolanus looked simply splendid as Francis 1., in blue satin brocade, with , Mrs Harris as bis spouse of the same period. Some other striking costumes . were tbe excellent Pierrot " of Mr 8. Burnand ; the •• Napoleon Buonaparte " of Mr Opie Bendall, which was quite ' equal to that of the late Harry Jackson ; the " Bulgarian " of Mr Ctton ■ Woodville, tbe North American Indian, > the Bed Cross Knight, and the Black > Brunswioker. There were, as usual at i fancy dress balls, a number of gentle' , men in Court costume and p'o military and bunt uniform, /auto de nkmt ; but these bright oolou rings added to the beauty and gorgeoumess of tbe scene. Whence do these dresnes come? Why. from odd nook* and corners in Coventgarden, from dingy shops in the Haymarket and Leicester-square, and a warehouse here and there in the strand. Mr Simmons, in Kmg.ntreer, Covert* 9 garden. He is tne happy owner of over . a thousand fancy dresses, from gorgeoud kings to humble peasant maiden ». " Our most difficult customers are the ' ladies'' said Mr SiinmouM. "Their I very first question is. What »im.'l I 1 wear? Some ladies have no i'lea what will suit them, and they come and run • over tbe plates for three or 'our houn r and then say they will f»»» home »nc f think of it, The nwuH is that w« generally find out that these Indie* h<T< 5 tuade their own drenMW tVom Hew I gleaned at our »hop. One uua -uuiei lia( 3 great difficulty in oVciJi/u! the ofimr H«j 3 whether she sbtmM wvar ' Mu«ic ' o 1 Blsie Maynard 'a' C.>li>ijpl Nor'b'* ball Her husband persisted in aiiniirin-; tin ' the latter, ami sin- wanted thr ot'iur we received six iel»»t»raii-- >» tn ( > <) .y, [ We siipp'ii'd quite n hnii-n.-d <h,<se for (JoKine! Noith'" 'lui^y hall. Tbi j Colonel's own dress cost qaitr ;< b'iu dred goin^nv- He took the idea irooi (

L^uis XIV. we have here now. The* long coat is violet silk velvet, and it is covered with heavy gold braiding." Baoaour cays that Colonel North's ball cost somewhere '• in the neighbour hood of " .610,000, as the ' American! say; the best wine in the Metropole cellars was on tap, and ran like water, and the flowers — well, the Dnobets of Montroso wasn't "in it "—are wid to have represented a value of nearly £2,000 sterling.