All Sorts of People

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 221, 24 September 1904, Page 3

All Sorts of People

PADEREWSKI enjoyed himself immensely at Rotorua, and had as good a time as a veritable schoolboy might have done. Maggie guided the eminent pianist, and, of course, the Maons danced a haka foi him, and gave him a suit of native mats. It has been stated, possibly without the least truth, that the great Pole has only been photographed twice in his life. At Whakarewarewa he submitted with a good deal of alacrity to being photographed in Maori costume. Don't imagine he accepted the homage, the kindness, and the piesents without repayment. He played several hundred pounds' worth of music on a piano m the guide's whaie. It is, unfortunately, too late to get a phonograph record of a tone-poem by him. Cuiious that no one thought of it. * * ♦ A piopos of Paderewski, one was surprised to see well-dressed people at his recitals constantly getting up and going out of the pit at the Opera House after each number. It seemed such veiy bad taste. Easily explained. Four clerks, who couldn't afford 5s for a seat, bought one between them, and subscribed Is 3d each. One of the shareholders would go m, and get his fifteen pennyworth, and, coming out, would hand the pass-out check to another shareholder, and so on. Each, of them thus heard some of the gems from the great master. There is a rumour that one man, with whom musac is a religion, and money an unknown quantity, eluded the vigilance of the authorities, and got into the stage entrance of the Opera House last Wednesday morning, and was perched l on a beam above the stage from about noon until the closing of the recital . * * «■ Mr. P. Bush, of the British football team, seemed to be a great favourite with the crowd, not only because he played a good game, but because hie was practically the only member who fiaternised with the colonials. At the 6end-off given to the team in Sydney, the crowd simply insisted on Bush making a speech, although, as* he himself sand here, "I can't talk for nuts." What he said in response to the clamour was "that the British team hadn't oome to Australia to play matches in New Zealand." "We didn't want to_ win matches there" he smiled, and he didn't say they could have if they'd wished. And the Australians, who believe in the invincibility of the fernr-leaf, applauded the sentiment. * * * Rudyard Kipling has thrown several pounds' worth of words together for the "Times." He takes for his text "And Joseph dreamed a dream, andl told it to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more." You'll be able to gather from the last verse that Joseph, although he wore a coat of many colours, also added an eye-glass and an orchid A bolt is fallen from the blue, He wakened realm full circle swings Where Dothan's dreamer dreams anew Of vast and farborne harvestings; And unto him an Empire clings That grips the purpose of his plan. My Lords, how think you of these things ? Onee — in our time — is there a man r We don't know whether the Empire clings to Joe until we've consulted Mr. O'Regan.

Blenheim has achieved its fiist industrial exhibition out of much tubulation. There have been nval factions at work all the way through the organi- . sation of the historic event, and it is the outsiders who have scoied. The winning party was led by Lawyer McCallum, ex-Mayor of Blenheim, and the gentleman who the other day beat exPedagogue Mackay for the vacant seat on the Victoria College Council. This is undoubtedly Mr. McCallum's plucky day," for the ex-master of Wellington College won handte down in the first po 1 ! for the College Council vacancy. The poll was voided on a legal technicality, and 1 at the second poll only the Stratford farmer and the Mairlborough lawyer were the contestants Something more than outside interest is taken in Wellington in the doings of Mr. McCallum, for he mairiedi one of the Empire City's fanest daughters and sweetest singers, Mr. F. F. Grady's eldest daughter. By the way, Mis. McCalrum is taking the .soprano solos in a cantata, "Joan of Arc," which is to be twice produced during the exhibition season. * * *■ When the Marlborough Exhibition was mooted, the municipal body thought that it should take charge of its organisation, and that Mayor Macey should be at the head of its affairs. But, here came a difference of opinion, and the committee elelcted Lawyer McCallum to the post of honour, and passed over the photographer. Then, when arrangements were well under way, the question arose as to who should entertain the Governor. * * * The Borough Council declared that it would hold this end of the stick, but the Exhibition Committee stepped in with an emphatic No ! In fact, the whole of the honoua-s have been taken by the Exhibition Committee, and the mayor and councillors have had) to be mere spectators. Nevertheless, the rule that a house divided against itself cannot stand has been disproved in Blenheim's experience, for the Exhibition, despite the clash of interest, has been successfully and economically organised and opened. Mr. Wm. McGill, Wellington's wellknown monumental mason, and an exmember of our City Council, has a sister who lived in the awful loneliness of Pelorus Sounds for over thirty years, and has just recently taken up an exciting change by removing her residence to the busy hum of Picton. That there are still many people' who reside m loneliness in the Sounds is evidenced by the fact that there are some thiity or forty oil launches in those waters In the summer time not a few Wellington families get away far from the madding crowd for a month by taking up lodgings with the People of the Great Silence in the Sounds. * * * Which reminds us that at the back of the Sounds, in the stretch of inch country lying between Blenheim and Nelson, there are many people who have grown orey during a leniethened residence in a district that still has vivid memories of Te Rauparaiha and the Wairau massacre. Havelock, which awoke out of its accustomed lethargy this week in order to give the new Governor a rousing welcome, has in Mr. and Mrs. Tom Looms a greatly respected counle. upon whom the loom of life has been working continuously for a period of fifty years. The aged couple have just celebrated their golden wedding, an event which provided almost as much excitement as the coming of Lord amd Lady Plunk et These two Buckinghamshire folks came out 'n 18<vL, and have lived in the Kaituna valley ever since.

Mr. Kelmann, the ' magician," whose clean, neat work on a local stage is being observed with much interest, tells us that as a lad' he worked on the shimmering Darling Downs, in Queensland, but be didn't follow pastoral purxots long, for he became a bank clerk. His most interesting experiences happened at Burk'etown, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, whither he went to manage a branch bank. 'Twas heie he saw blackfellow "magic" Of oourse, eveiybody up that way is "horsey," and the future magician was a member of a raoing club which held a yearly carnival. At these carnivals the blackfellows helped by clothing themselves in stripes of paint and adx and fighting sham-fights that were not always 1 sham. * •* * For instance, one blackfiellow, fighting a bout with spears and shields, received a nasty jab in the ribs, and went away to his gunyah to die. Like the Maoris, the bla,ckfellow always dies if he wants to. An old gin of the camp, noted for her vntues as a "medicine" woman, sat down to her task, and wailed an incantation. Ever heard a native cat incanting ? Well, a gin incants just like it. She waved her arms about, and struck her chest, and all that sort of thing, and then, stooping, appeai-ed to suck the wound, spitting the blood 1 on the ground. Poisonous influence being gone, the blackfellow recovered. Mr. Kelmann found that m the gin's hand she held a shell, and that during the "incantation" she struck her own chest with it, making it bleed. The blood she ejected) was her own, and thus her reputation as a doctor. * *■ # Of a speculative tendency, the bankmanager turned from that profession to meat works. Fat cattle were 30s a head ! The meat works prospered until the drought came along, and cattle went uo with a bang to £7. Then the meat works went do won with a bang. After that," magic." Mr. Kelmann has taken a particular interest in the operations of threes-card men, and sharpers generally, and has saved bucolic plungers many a /'golden googee" by a word of timely warning. He praises the kindness of New Zealanders highly, and is charmed) with the country, which, however, is a trifle cold for him. His wife and two children are in New Zealand for their health. At this time of the year Queensland is beginning to sizzle, and is rather a nice spot to get away from * * * Mane Corelh, the little lady who is generally in a very aggravated state about something or other, says the only unadulterated 1 happiness one can get is in the pursuit of literature. It certainly would' be unadulterated 1 happiness to pursue the Corelh literature with a large axe, a,nd write its epitaph with a bludgeon. * * * The Uessem boys, whose astounding feats were witnessed in Wellington a week or two ago, don't speak any English, but Pa and Ma Uessem, who are with them, use the language a trifle. They come from Cologne, to which place also the "Eau" owes its existence, and. they have been astounding people just as they are doing now since they were five and six years old respectively. The elder Uessems have gymnasted a lot, and were famed in their suppler days. The boys have earned enough money to buy a veritable palace at Luxembourg, and they go thither to rest now and then. The elder kiddy is conceded to be the strongest person in the world for his size. They eat any-Eh'ing they want to, which is a tip for athletes generally, but abstain from tea and coffee. The two youngsters are keen amateur photographers, and have a collection of our natural beauties, including a snapshot of Mr. Seddon on his white' horse.

The Congregationalists of Courtenay Place are hoping to be as fortunate as their co-religionists of Newtown in getting thei man of their first choice to accept the "call" to fill the vacancy in the pastorate caused by the resignation of the Rev. W. Newman Hall. The church has sent an offer to the Rev. Frederick Warner, who, for some years, has been assisting Dr. Bevan, of the bushy, woolly hair, in the Collins-street Church, Melbourne. Mr. Warner is very well-known in New Zealand, for it was his activity in the ministry over here that attracted the attention of Dr. Bevan. * » ♦ It is remarkable, in view of recent happenings, that when, he was looking for a capable assistant during a tour of New Zealand, the Melbourne divine's choice fell first upon the Rev. W. A. Evans who declined the honour of working in the wealthy Victorian circuit, and then upon Mr. Warner. The latter was then working in. Auckland, and had been secretary of the Congregational Union for several years. Mr. Warner is an enthusiastic Christiar Endeavourer, and he wields a clever and facile pen for religious journalism. He should be an acquisition to Wellington's church life should 1 he accept the "call." * » # vlt has been frequently complained that New Zealand does not honour New Zealanders. If every rule has its exception, then the appointment of Lieut. -Colonel Bauchop, C.M.G., to the command of the Canterbury volunteer district indicaites that at least one na-tive-born soldier has been fully recognised. Lieut.-Colonel Bauchop was born in Port Chalmers, and had lived the whole of his not very long life in Otago until the call to arms sent him to South Africa, and fixed for him a military career. * * ■* He went out with the Fourth Contingent with one star on his shoulder, and, before he had returned 1 to the front with the Seventh Contingent, he had superseded stars with crowns, having been frequently mentioned in dispatches, and, finally, for his services at the front he was reoognised by the King, who made him a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. He also came very near getting the most coveted of all decorations, the Victoria Cross, having been recommended for it for bravery. Before leaving Johannesburg — only a few weeks ago — to take up bis new duties, Col. Bauohop was entertained right royally by the New Zealanders in the city of the Ramd. * • • 1 , Colonel Porter, C.8., who has been succeeded as the Canterbury commander by Colonel Bauchop, is mentioned again as likely to fill the. position of Under-Seoretary of Defence. This post has been vacant ever since Sir Arthur Douglas resigned and went Home, nearly three years ago. Several names of likely successors have been mentioned, but that which has come up most persistently is Colonel Porter. As a matter of fact, the Maori War veteran could have had the secretaryship long ago, but he disliked the office work. He had led an active, out-door life for so many years in Hawke's Bay that he could not bring himself to being "cribbed, cabined', and confined'" in the Big Buildings. V Rev. Bates, the weather-wise little parson, is a marvel. He has discovered that Pelorua Jack is a Risso's dolphin, a grampus griseus, and all sorts of things. The average person doesn't care a twopenny stamp whether he's a whale or a schnapper, a delphinidae, or a dogfish, as long as nobody hurts the cetacean. Rev. Bates is, as you know, a member of the meteorological staff of the Government, and w of opinion that the drought may break up any minute.

Colonel Tom Price (Tom is his full front name) retned from the command of fche Queensland forces just lately. The tough old waruoi isn't a Queen&lander, but when he returned from South Africa, where he pioved himself a good soldiei, and was cordially disliked, he was duly rewarded. Colonel Tom was raised in a rough school, and he is just as blunt now at. ever he w as. He lejoides in the appellation of "FireLou -and-Lay-'Em-Out Price," in recognition of brilliant ,sei vices lendeied as commanding officer during the Victorian nots. * * • Colonel Tom's language is choice (Tom's choice), a» New Zealanders who came from Afnca in the troopship Hailech CastJe will well remember. That gallant officer was in command of the tioops. Albany had obtained pei mission to keep its hotels open (it was Sunday), and great pieparation had been made to give the tioops (a mixed colonial lot) a great time. Tom and his officers went ashore, andl had a big time, but w lthheld permission fiom the men *• ■* * When tlie Colonel and his officers came aboard again a concentrated "Boo>hoo!" m which many hundnedls joined, gieeted him. Then, he mounted the bridge, and addressed the crowd. But, oui pen faints, and won't look at what he said. Colonel Pride recently claimed compensation from the Federal Government for services rendered, but this was disallowed. He is now going to write a book, and anyone who ha® ever heardl him make a threat knows he means to carry it out. vWord was received in town the other day that Mr. Horace Scott, who is wellknown in iron-working circles in Wellington, had been laid by in London with a serious attack of rheumatic fever. Horace, who is the son of the Government lighthouse artificer, went to Belfast in the early part of this, year to finish his engineering education. He had been brought up m Gable's Lion Foundry, and had had a large experience in the erection, of dredges down the golden West Coast. He was on a holiday visit to London when the fever struck him, and he was staying at Mrs. Pollock's, where so many New Zealanders have put up. * * # The celebrated Japanese General, Kuroki, is said to be the son of a Frenchman and a clever Tokdo woman. The statement is incorrect. KuroTsi's father was an Irishman, named O'Keefe, who was washed ashore near Yeddo from a wreck, and who subsequently married a Japanese tea girl, named! Kurpos As is usual, the husband and wife made one name bv dropping thei half of each, and hence Kuroki. * • • -Melb. B. Spurr is convinced that the public generally has "a clean mind." Wrote he lecently — "I started out seventeen years ago to entertain the public with one fixed conviction — that I would give the world of my best, and eschew all evil methods, if I died in the ditch, and I have not yet died in the ditch I To such as essay to win the public favour by questionable means 1 , I would say : Think twice before you put an impure thought m a pure mind. Don't sniff pollution ; lift your eyes and se^ all the pure, good humour of which all this world is full, and try to reproduce it for the benefit of that world (and yourself incidentally, of course). * * * "Give them a good laugh at a good thing; lift the pall and gloom of depression under which suffering mankind is so often found lying, if only for a few moments, and, whether what you do be called an 'art' or not, and whether you receive £100 a week for your efforts, or a humble fiver, you will have the satisfaction of knowing; that you have honestly earned' what you receive, and, by pure and conscientious effort, have added to the gaiety of the nation Tvithout sullying its purity, or insulting its intelligence." * * # Dr. Wm. E. Redman is easily the Saul of Picton, standing head and shoulders above lys fellows, but the tall medico grew bigger tham ever as t istraightened his shoulders on Picton wharf last Friday afternoon when His Excellency the Governor made Irs fii vb appearance in the village of pictures [\\e surroundings. Lord Plunket, who, rs a rule, doesn't look as if he was enioying life as much as a vice-regal representative should, was in the very host of spirits, for he had hugely enjovod his glimpse of Maoriland's fjords. The weather was all that could be desired, and the voyage throughout had he en as pleasant as a trip to Day's Bay on a summer's day. To return to Dr. Redman, who that day enjoyed 1 to the full the honour of being Mayor of Picton. He was so overcome with the joy of entertaining the vice-royal party under his own roof-tree at afternoon tea, that "he thought not of himself at all, but fasted for the day."

Those who know Colonel Collins realise that he is amongst the best of leaders of a body of men. In the big shoot at Busley a certain member of the New Zealand team, who did not fire in the Cup, became very excited in the closing stages of that contest. The Colonel was nursing his men and confining his energies to keeping down all excitable tendencies on the part of those who were gathered in the rear of the team. The said teanxsman, who is a good sort, but excitable, could 1 not stand the

strain, and, as the Mother Countiy team was distmtmg possession of the Cup in the concluding shots, he began to dance round like the proveibial cat ou hot bricks. The Colonel did his best to keep him quiet, so that the teamsmen who were engaged should not be made aware of the closeness of the match. Mild reproofs failing, the Colonel suddenly bethought himself of several thousand 1 words he had heaid, but never read, and, while he blazed away, the enthusiast wilted into subjection.