ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

Free Lance, Volume II, Issue 76, 14 December 1901, Page 3

ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

SIR Henry Berkeley Chief Justice of Fiji, ha& returned to the South Seas but not vet to Fiji He is at present staving at the Wellington Club. Thirteen yeais in Fiji has not made an old man of Sir Henry Keen, aleit almost youthfullooking, Sir Hemy looks as. if he were on the best of good teims with the world at large He is smait-looking, lrrepioachablv groomed, and quietly dressed in dark clothes, with the inevitable small white stripe Sir Henry parts his hair, which l.s still thick and brown, in the middle is the peisomfication of genial it v and bonhomie, and evidently finds life veiy mteiesting and amusing If one did not know he was a judge, one might imagine him a ca\alr\ officer 'Solemn a& a judge" he ceitamly does not look Sir Heniv has been to England to see his main relatives The. family is a distinguished one. the Berkeley peerage being one of the most ancient of which lecord may be found in Buike The Fitzhaidingc family, whose castle is at Berkeley Gloucestershire is connected with the house, and from the "sugar" State Berkelevs, of America and the We«t Indies the Fi]ian Chief Justice is sprung Sir Henry is proud of the fact that his son Henry is a colonial He also is intended for the bai . The \oung man, now nearly twenty years of age, was educated at Christchurch where he staved foi toui or five \eais Afterwards, he went to Paramatta, New South Wales to gather further knowledge The fact that Sir Henry's son was reading in tho Inner Temple, London and making great progress in his studies, does not affoid either father or son the satisfaction that the possession of tho South Afncan medal and four cUsps docs to the both ' When the drums began to beat " young Berkeley like his anoestois, felt impelled to buckle on his swo— no nfle for he loined Kitchener's Hoise a,s a tiooper and as eoipoial served through many sanguinary engagements, returning with some experience of wai and a bullet hole in his leg *- -* "*■* Sir Hom\ was disinclined to allow his son to leinain in the service as he was intended foi the peaceful puisuit of the law and hence his soldieang is over Sir Hen iv Beikelev is fond of New Zealand It is coolei than Fiji and m his opinion mm c beautiful He comes to tris count rs as often as possible and as he knows "everybody " the politicians legal lights and everyone who is anybody New Zealand always "set* him up" for a fuitnei of hard woik, and he always carries back to Fm the plensantest, memories of his visits * * * Miss Janet Waldorf was at Taiping (China when the wai m South Africa broke out and recited the " Absent - minded Beggar " at an entertainment to raise funds foi the war The poem was written by an Anglo-Indian and on this occasion recited bv an American The hat was handed round bv a Chinaman the money was eiven to a Scotch treasurer nnrl nn Englishman letumed thanks to the pontriburoi s

The Rev. Mi. Van Staveren, of the Teiidce Synagogue, has returned fiom the Kermadec Islands. He is not going to buy them, he says, and he fuither remarks that if the Government give him the fee simple of the group, with £oO(J() a yeai, he will still be firm, and let Nature have its own way on the bleak volcanic, useless dependencies of the Kingdom of Dick Even the Bell family, residents for twentv-thiee years have left the desolate group. Did anything ever grow on the islands? Yes, neailv enough oranges to supply the Terrace, he says. The country w ould run nearly a sheep to the 100 acres if the rats would let it, but as the lodents aie graminivorous cainivoious omnivorous, etc., the pet lamb paddocked in the drawing-room is the only chance foi mutton Aie the islands a nice place to spend a holiday? Delightful— for a few houis For a month, the change to a lunatic asylum would be welcome Mi Van Staveren gives it as his opinion that further settlement n^a^ take place during the next 100,000 years White Island, on which "nothing can live " is inhabited by hundreds of thousands of garnets, In two hours Mr. Van Staveren and his party gathered seveiaJ dunng the next 100 000 years Foi instance, oui own White Island, on which "nothing can live," is inhabited bv hundreds of thousands of gannets Once upon a time m two hours Mr Van Stave) on and his paitv gathered several bucketsful of eggs there. Two men, who were impiessed with the sulphurous possibilities of this island once landed there, pitched camp boiled the bilh laid an impromptu table, and sat down to partake They did not partake Awful rumblings terrestrial wobbhngs _ and sulphurous vapours ended the picnic summarily. They struck out, intending probably to swim to Auckland * ♦ * But, to leturn fiom White Island to the Kermadecs, Mr Van Staveren says the horrors of the islands, and the general dieariness was amply compensated for by the life on board the Hinemoa He is of opinion that from the captain to the cabin boy her crew are ''thorough gentlemen " All that can be done to make passengers' lives a pleasure is done and if one has to zo to the Kermadec eioup in oidei to live on the Hmomoa then the sacrifice of going to that fai awa\ solitude is not too groat ¥■ * * Anna Tayloi, the Ameucan woman who bobbed through the Niagara rapids in a barrel to earn money enough to pay her debts is evidently a leinaikablp woman An Amcncan paper says Anna's husband w a.s ne\ ci heaid of until the said papei looked him up Also that Anna had no debts of her own but was anxious to gi\ c Mi Anna" a cleai start and a new appetite foi whisky saloons Mi Ta\loi, on the da\ of the ban el feat, was sitting on one m a stoic lawns, odds to the extent of his wife's wageis on the lcsult He did not witness the finish. It was too much foi him — he w as speechless Same paper aveis that Mi Anna demanded the haid-won dollars- when Mrs A arnved home and that she probably I'uing the confidence that a trip ovoi the rapids would gne thrashed the bibulous bettor into soberness An entei prising entiepreneur has captuied Anna and is alicadv building at Buffalo a scries of artificial lapids wheiein the lady w ill disport foi dollars The oistwlule head-of-the-household husband is humbly following Anna and her new found wealth and it is only when sh° has given him an extia "quarter" that ho assumes his old position as biaggart Now if onl\ Poic\ Dix could eaptuiP Anna '

Mr. Brown, photographer, of Willisstreet, i& a proud man. He entered into the focal plane shutter competition, 1901, open to the world, and, against all-comeis, has secured Messrs. Thornton Pickard's coveted first prize. As this competition was enteied into by professional and amateur photographers throughout the world, the honour is worth having. The successful pictures weie snap-shots of the polo tournament at Miramar, and are fine examples of the art of photography. Remaining competitors and prize-winners came from various parts of England and France, and include some of the finest exponents of photography. Before that 'cute Yankee Charles McMurran. left the colony, he gave New Zealaiiders some advice that was good To a Lyttelton pressman he said ' Why don't you advertise the col on v and its products better? Why don't you brand your newspapers. tweed, meat, and every thing else 'New Zealand ?) Surely, you're not ashamed of your country , you can't be — one of the be«st little countries m the world Have a local name if you will — I expect it's useful in the colony but when you send goods away brand them 'New Zealand ' Put 'New Zealand' on your newspapers, on your bill-heads, and on voui letter paper on everything, in fact, that'll carry print, to tell the world that you know that you have a good thing, and that you'll boom her for all she's worth." * * * Now, the "hide-bound Conservatives" opine that wo have advertised too much. They accuse" Dick" of this weakness. They would rather be modest than have a commercially-great country. The modest y of the Yankees is not aggressive, and their business is big. Thank good-ncv-s the trait is not too pronounced in New Zealand. Who shall say that the hido-bound ones may lose it in the scramble for a place among the nations 9 General Hutton, Australia's Com-mandor-in-Chief, has a peculiarity which endears him to the average Australian. When commandant of the State of Victona he frequently used his gift of tuitrid, jagged, concentrated vituperative anathema, and, on one occasion, he let himself go befoie a particularly awkward squad with such emphasis that the audience stood enwrapped in admiration. When it was all over, and the Commandant was moving away, as cool as a cucumber, and not even flushed by his effort, he was confronted by an individual from a little knot of spectators, who saad "I say, mate, I don't know who you are but if you should ever lose your job an' want a billet you come to me " ' And who the devil are you, sir p " asked the officer "Me? Oh, I'm Bill the Teamster. I own more bullock teams than any man in the West." * * * Dowie, the reincarnation of Elijah, w ith a pair of wings manufactured in an Anieucan factory, has aow, in Australia, a siiuad of missionaries, looking for convents and dollars to boom Dowie some moio Bv the w a;s Dowie, who does not exactly "sell all he has and give to the poor," opined that McKmley could oasih ha\e got well if he had had faith The Anai dusts promise Dowie an interesting object lesson. They tell him, in the kindest terms, that they will oblige him bv shooting him in the stomach, so that, he may demonstrate to the world 'he infallibility of his faith. The new F/hjah is too busy napping his wings to the imgle of dollars to come this way himsolf Melbourne wants him, of couisp, but somehow he does not think the climate of the marvellous city too hpalthv so he sends his prophets along. The prophets are to "do" New Zealand on their way back to the States so if there are any ambitious wing-flappers hero they may go right back to 'Murka, and no one who is left will be sorry that thov have so nobly devoted their lives to faith dollar and Dowie

Captain C Simpson, mentioned in Lord Kitchener's despatches for successful handling of troops, graduated in the management of boys under our Education Department. He joined the Fifth Contingent, and quickly earned a commission. Like many others, Lieutenant Simpson hated to see more men going to the front, and himself at home, so he joined the Seventh with a rise in rank. Genial, jolly, and a good soldier, Captain Simpson sings a good song when the evening Boer has sniped his last shot, is a "dab" with the gloves, and runs a half-mi]© with a good deal legs fatigue and quicker than most. He hails from Blenheim. * ♦ ♦ Lieutenant P L. Tudor, another of the batch of New Zealanders mentioned in Lord Kitchener's despatches for excellent work m the field, is like a certain biblical hero, who slew a giant, a shepherd m civil life. He got tired of his flocks up at Marton, and went forth to slay if possible. As a lance-corporal in the Third Contingent, he got a chance to kill something. Evidently, shepherding Boers suited him better than shepherding sheep, for he quickly rose, and went on service with the Sixth when that corps took the field. The name of Tudor has been connected with fighting before, but certainly the members of that historic house were not mentioned in Kitchener's despatches. * • * Ivanhoe Baigent, if he had happened to have saved that comrade in the earlier part of the campaign, might have been awarded the V.C. Unfortunately, his chance oame when everyone was on the look-out for that kind of thing. And so, when Private Baigent went out to pick up a dismounted and wounded comrade, his comrades of ihe Sixth said he was a smart chap Baieent worked hard with his hands at Pahiatua before he went to Africa, and Nelson people will tell you the familY is renowned for its capabilities of hard "graft." * * » Baigent, in a letter recently, says that he is not looking for a billet as Commandant or Adjutant-General when he returns but will be glad to grasp the opportunity and the shovel that will earn him a good wage. He believes that the war has been infinitely harmful to many young men, who are unwilling to fill, on their return, the billets they held before enlistment, and require fat positions, which they believe a short spell of active service has entitled them to * • * Mi Chamberlain's splendid memory for faces is frequently the subject of comment in the House of Commons. Recently he was passing the lobby, and hoartilv greeted a new member whom he had only met once before, some years ago, at a political meeting. The legislator, highly flattered, boasted of this distinction to a friend in the smoking -room. "Wonderful memory Chamberlain has got '" he murmured. "Yes " remarked his friend drily. "He asked me who you were yesterday." * •» ♦ Mis. Robb, of Dreamland, is a lady whose visions of the night may be looked upon with affectionate regard and envious admiration. For did she not dream of TortullaP Did not Tortulla win p And did not Mrs. Robb, through faith in her vision, thereby become possessed of a goodly sum of the boodle of this world? All these things are known unto all men. And now Mr. Douglas Gordon has sent the lady a handsome framed photo of Tortulla, and a host of people who put their money on the same and profited by backing the lady's dream fancy, have forwarded portions of their winnings to the same address This kind of dream is decidedly useful, and should be enc oui ae;ccl It will tend to put down the nncprtaintv of turf operations because ovorvoiie will be able to back a "cert."

Sergcant-Majoi Billy' Bun, Fust Contingentei and Wellington football leproscntatne, is a man who escaped geneiaJ notice by leason ot a fatal diffidence No one seems to ha\c known that among othois the heav\ -weight, light-hearted footballei had been mentioned in despatches, and put dow n on the list tor a Distinguished Conduct Medal. William is now a staff sergeant-major, turning out finished soldiers for the next struggle The beau ideal of a non-com , Sergt - Major Burr is a smart soldierly vovmg man ju6t this side of tlurt\ He went with the London Jubilee Contingent as a coipoial, and has been connected with volunteering matteis befoie and since He opened the eves of the Tommies in Anca h\ showing them Ins celebiated sprints between the football posts and generally wore down all opponents who tned their skill against one of New Zealand's speediest His DCM is awarded for no specific act, but for general meritorious service His popularity with civil and military will be enhanced bv the recognition of the authorities -+ * r Mi Justice C'onollv is a gentleman who does not alwaAS call people lude names In fact the people of the Salvation Arm a in Auckland are at the present moment proudly swelling tlieii tunics because the patriarchal ]udge said he could not do without them. To tbe people who believe that the Army's rescue work consists in making derelicts toil for long hours and little pay ir other words — ''sweating " tbe learned judge's tribute to the advantages of the Army homes, eto over the King's gaol c will be reassuring. * * * Miss Mabel Manson, the young Timaruvian soprano, has ''caught on" at Home. Seems likely that Australians and New Zealanders will soon have a large corner, of the metropolitan music market. This brilliant young singer lias been distinguished by being accepted as an understudy and substitute 101 the great Patti when that expensive songstress is tirer 1 , and she is said to have filled the temporary vacancy with such effect that- many of the audience on several occasions really thought the world's greatest singer had been using her gifts. As a matter of fact, Miss Manson is> the ''mode" at present * ♦ • The Manchester papers, in which city the young lady filled Madame's place, were unanimous in their praise of her, each predicts a ''great career" for the soprano, and certainly Madame Patti's sore throat was Mabel Mansons chance. It is gratifying to hear of New Zealanders' successes in the arts and sciences at Home, and Miss Mansons sudden bound into ponular favour is a further evidence of the popularity of New Zealand talent in England. * » • Clement Wragge, the rain-maker and baptiser of storms, is a remarkable personality. Clement would rather sit on a rock in a temperature below zero than have his supper any tome. He is about sft llin in height, and weighs under eight stone. His appearance does not suggest the genius that burns within. A propos, the Queensland prophet a while back sat gazing at a new star that would likely affect the destiny of the country, or words to that effect, and continued so to gaze for many consecutive hours, working out mental calculations without food or fire. Bv and bye, a swaesman happened along, and noticed the attenuated prophet painfully thinking out "noms de papier" for the next visitation.

Ridgwar-street, Wanganui

He £>poke. Go aw<ij , man , don't you see I want to bo alone?" said the um-maker. Don't you tell me, ole tellow," said the swaggic, "you just got to come along o' me and have some tucker " Clement did not come at once, and the swagman commenced foicibly hauling the prophet away. He concluded that Mr Wragge, like many other derelicts of the tiack," had left his senses, required tea and damper and he "wasn't goin to see a poor mate astarrin' like that." He hauled the

Light-weight down the mountain track by force, took him to the nearest policestation., and told the officer in charge that ' the pore feller was balmy and starvin." It was only when the sergeant explained to the legitimate swagman that the alleged balmy" traveller \\ as the \\ eather prophet for Australasia that his understanding gripped the circumstances. Said to be the reason why the paiticular planet that brought the would-be good Samaritan to light has never been heard of since