PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 29 January 1908, Page 82

PERSONAL NOTES.

-',—Amoflgst-'lhe, — Amoflgst -'lhe stories which 1 - are t'oldconcerniri£ Mjr fp Henry, Kemble, the wellknown actor who has just died, is the'following. Kemble once played in a ' rather "baa .-■oometijr . written, Vby il^i l^ , -notoriously,;, irascible dramatis*?/. 'and- there web friction" at "the rehearsals. One , morning the author sarcastically pointed out to Mr Kemble that he was not playing a melodrama, , and ,_adyi'?ed,|liim > 'to speak as s if he were, an ordinary L ';Sdj:awing-TOom. The actor instantly replied: "Mr , I 6hould not dream of saying such' Billy, vulgar things in, "an 'ordinary drawing-rcom." . A' popular member of the House of Lords) a- good sportsman, a favourite courtier, and" a particular friend of his Majesty King Edward VII. Thus might the Duke oV Portland be- tersely -described. In _ his _ youth -."thß^-ownerpf iWelbeck Abbey, had a great paesion for horse-racing. , He started a &tud when he entered the Coldstream Guards in 1879, and won the Derby two ,i years in succession— viz., 1888 and 1889, not to mention such'.classi& events as tjje Oaks, St. Leger. One' and Two Thousand Guineas, j The Duke's winnings (in the way of stakes, not bets) amounted to a very considerable sum, but at the request of the Duches=s, whom he 1 married in 1889, he -devoted the "entire amount to the construction of a row ,of a,ln;Bbouses for widows on the Welbeck Estate. A year after his marriage ..the Duke entirely gave up horse-racing in order to please his wife, and sold his stud, and since them he has devoted himself to yachting, shooting, and fishing. — Lord Bayleigh, whp recently celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday, is notable, not only as the discoverer of argon, but as one of the largest dairy-farmers in England. He farmi for this purpose alone more than 2000 acrs of land, and 1000 cows graze "on the meadows round Terling Place, his seat in Essex. To many people it may seem j strange that Lord. Rayleigh, who is without i doubt- the greatest scientist in the House j of Lords, should interest himself in sucfi. a project as dairy-farming. .'His lordship, however; has always , taken the keenest interest^ in the land problems of to-day, and it was a desire 'to demonstrate in a practical manner what can be done in tho way of dairy-fai-mini? that led him to develop his farm at "Terling. — The ' reported' attempts to kidnap Master John Nicholas Brown, nephew of Mrs George Vanderbilt, and the very youth f ul heir to £2.000,000, are the latest illustration of th^ disadvantages of 'being a mi'lipnaare. 'It is ;not long^sinee^-tHe 1 15-year-old son of Mr Edward Cudahy, the pork-packing Croesus, was carried off to a lonely house, and only recovered, his liberty on, -payment of a ransom, -of. _, £sooo^ deposited by "his father at a specified spot on a remote country road. Many an unsuccessful pot has been devised to kidnap Mr J. D. Rockefeller, on© of which was on the point of , succeeding- when. It was wrecked by the detection,' at 'the last moment, of one of. the* "conspirators. 'The proposed ransom, according to the confession of Patrick Crowe, the > leader of the -gang, <was £400,000./ 'Ijess fortunate was the experience! of the' ''iron-We; millionaire" CKapin, who was carried off to^a^ lonely cabin in the Michigan Hills, a„. ransom of £10,000, and who .hadeLa^ dramatic from : a.^for.esfc_fire afief*"it"b'a<r~put_hTs ?ap"U>rs" to 'flight. — Mr* Sage, the widow of the American millionaire,' Russell 'Sape, recently announced that' she wouTd'giv^ away Vthe bulk* of her millions to- worthy. '-individtfais who nperltvl assistance, but wore too proud to ask. Tha result «■»« that she was prompt.y

overwhelmed with hundrediTof cadgers and thousands of begging letters, and to escape the plague of appeals she fled precipitately into retirement at Long Island. Her money j6 now ilowing into the coffers of innumerable charities and institutions. New York University alone has received from her upwardsl of £50,000. Mrs Sa-ge'-is a simpleiiving woman with one pronounced fad — a loathing 1 of tobacco. She resigned her tnmbership of a society 'because the men would smoke at the annual banquet. She claims to 1-e descended from Miles Standish, and is very proud of the fact that her direct ancestors came over in the Mayflower. Mrs Sage has never been to Europe. — Although Mr George A'exander, the well-known actor, has earned the reputation of being one of the best-dressed men both on and off the stage, and,- in fact, has i been responsible for one or two fashions in men's attire, he is by no means a dandy who sacrifices comfort for smartness. In private life he has a weakness. Tor Jounge suite' of check tweed and a. flannel collar, a Itaste, similar to thai; of another^.popularj actor, Mi- Oscar Asche, who, by the way 7 is alscf"very fond of a Norfolk- knicker suit, with cap to match. Mr Andrew- Carnegie, too, "when at home prefers the latter mode j of attire to any other. A jacket suit of Harris tweed is Lord Rosebery's favourite ; J but Mr Balfour, except wherl golfing, rarely j changes from tfee conventional frock-coat, which seldom fits him well. The. doublebreasted blue reefer of M/ John Burns is well known, while the -Rev. -R. ,J. Campbell thinks there is nothing- so comfortable, as a flannel or velvet jacket, which he often > wears borb in public and private. — The death of Sir, Henry Colvile as the result 'of ' a motor ""accident has -removed from the British 4.rmy a man of many' tastes and talents. Soldier, sur^pyor, balloonist, explorer, author, yachtsman, and 2>hotoETapber, he seemed able .to turn a ready hand and facile brain' to the most unexpected tasks; and the on© clouded spot of a biilliant record is that Boer War incident at Lindley, the ultimate result of which v.-as that General Colvile was ploceu on half pay. Years ago, before baloonjnjr beca-me a. fashionable pastime, Sir Henry had made a deep study of aeronautics, and cne of his many ascents was on the occasion of his marriage, when he spent the first day of his honeymoon' in navigating a big belloon from the Crystal Palace to Ely. He was as much at home on the waters of the Channel as he was in the air, and on one occasion, when serving in the Guards, he paddled a canoe from Dover to Calais in half-a-dozen 'hours. Sir Hen-y , was also a lover of the dramatic art, and he has written two Or, three "plays. - — In" addition to being _one of the best 'in^anipuJetors of "club, driver, and cleek" in legal profession, Mr Justice Kekewich, who died a few days ago, had a pas*ionL for deer -stalking,' grouse-shooting, .an"d sadriidn-fishing. He could trace his ancestors r back 'for several centuries. One of them sat in 'the Long Parliament, while another was first member of the old "rotten j borough of Soltash. Justice Kekewich is said to have supplied the Court of Appeal with more business^than - any other Chancery judge,,- aitd"* this fact once - prompted a bold retort from an advocate. In> -deckling against a trustee for a breach of trust, the judge remarked that he was a trustee, and if ever he committed such acts aa those before him he would be obliged tb- decicla against himself. "But your lordehip' would appeal," remarked the counsel. — Sir William Crookes is one of the most .versatile of living savants, having given Valuable information to the "world on such diverse subjects as spiritualism, our wheat supply, the radiation of light, the cultivation .of. beetroots, and the art of dyeing fabrics. Sir William was born in 1832, and became mtsrested in scientific; research when quite a lad. • Before he was 30 he discovered a new element called "thallium " which was one of the wonders of the International Exhibition held in London in 1862. 'Since that time he has devoted his life to science, and his name will go down to posterity as the inventor of the Crookes' tube, for without this clever instrument we should probably never have behold the wonders of the X-rays. Sir William ie a great believer in marriage a"s an aid to success in life, and some time ago he and Lady Crookes celebrated their golden wedding.

. — ■ In the earlier "Victorian era there was born, ia the neighbourhood of Hilngavie. Mr Jaruc= Buchanan. On the conclusion of his school career Mr Buchanan joined a shipping office, became a com agent in Glasgow, and then established a connection in London with ,the business of distilling whisky, a connection which has - i # emained unsevered to this day. Whisky alone could not absorb bis untiring energy ; and he takes a continuous keen, and active interest in politics. But he has resisted all persua sions to seek the honour of representing a constituency, since he is convinced that he docs more good outside the House than he woulf' in it, and is, besides, loth to fritter away -iis not too abundant leisure at St. Stephen's. He is one of Mr Chamberlain's staunchest a-nd most energetic supporters on the burning question of tariff reform. He.6erves on the committee of thd Tariff Reform League, and is Lord Winterton's- indefatigable helper, practically his right-hand man. He talks more good sense in any two minutes of his terse speeches than rr,©st speakers talk in any hour of their longer orations. Horses run politics very c-oee in his affections. He gives a good deal of attention to agriculture, both at home and abroad, sharing with Lord Aberdeen a tract of 20.000 acres in British Columbia, on which they are developing the fruit-growing industry and assisting immigration to foster it. He is wel] known i to many secretaries of charities as one of I the most 'lavish donors in the United Kingdom, who never allows his name to appear on their lists of subscribers. Standing something over 6ft, yet scaling only lOst, of sinewy, upright frame, strong features, and shrewd, kindly eyes, he gives jou an abiding impression of- extraordinary alertness and force. — ''Jehu "Junior," in Vanity Fair.

— Early this year Field-marshal the Duke of Connaught will take up his duties as Commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean forces. * The Duke will have his headquarters at Malta, and his salary is to be five thousand a- year. Now, the pay of every member ' of the army, from Field-marshal to drummer boy, is governed by a little red official voluir-e, with a somewhat cumbrous title, "The Eoval Warrant for the -Pay, Appointment. Promotion, and Non-effective Pay of the Army." A new edition of this "nrultum in narvo," which very few but War Office officials and orderly-room clerks understand, appeared a few days ago. It

contains the following:— "The pay of tft« various gradings has been fixed at the following daily rates : Field-marshal com- ' mandinjr in chief, Mediterranean, £5000, ? inclusive of allowances, but without quarters. This works out at £1,825,000 a year, with wliich no doubt the Duke would havo been pjetfcy comfortable. The attention of the Army Council was called to the matter, | and orders were immediately promulgated to the army that a yearly rate was \ intended. — News received by a recent English mail tells of the death of Mr John M'Kie-, of "Whitespottes Cottage, Auldgirth, Dumfries, Scotland, the last known survivor 6i the 181 persons saved from the historic wreck of the troop Bhip Birkenhead in. Simon's Bay, South Africa, in 1852, whpa 4-54- soldiers and* sailors perished, - after, heroically. sacrificing themselves to save theii women and children on board. The Dumfries and Galloway Herald, in .referring to Mr M'Kie's. death, states that he<wa6 born, in Paisley in 1829, where he. was appren- > ticed to the weaving tradeC, At the age of 21 he enlisted in the 74th Highlanders, and it was three , years later, when 'going oub with his -regiment to' the Kaffir war, thafc - he, was wrecked on the Birkenhead. When the Vessel went down with- the -soldiers all standing at attention, 'Mr MTSio was fortunate enough to come .into contact with some v wreckage, to wh^ch s ne dung for 21 hours' before being washed ashore.' His experiences clinging to the wreckage in a shark-infected sea were terrible. '\He saw '"Commander 'Brodie^pulled away from a raffc' , to whieb , he was> 'clinging t>y one of , tho huge" sharks that were swimming- -about in shoals, and he expected every moment te>\ 'meefc'.with a similar fate. ■ ;Mr .M'Kie had 1 a distinct recollection of hearing the trumpet charge of the Light" "Brigade at-Bala-" olava." In addition* to,serving in .the Cri--. mean war, he went through the horrors of, the Indian mutiny. After* -he^ was dis-' charged from" the"army, Mr M'Eie took up his residence' in Auldgirth', whore ho Jived*,, highly respected and esteemed, until his death, on 29th November, 1907.

—Mr George Clemenceau, the French. Premier, is not only one of the ableststatesmes and most remarkable lawyers that;, his country has ever produced, but he -is a man or fashion, and one of the leaders of the smart set in Paris. His manners -are exquisite hia dress faultless, his conversation brilliant in the extreme. He can enter into the light spirit of gaiety of the Parie drawing room as successfully as he can discuss 1 after dinner the profoundetet 'literary anj_ scientific subjects. He speaks 'English -perfectly, and , with a slight Ame-u, ricaa accent, having, in. his > youth -filled tho" * post .of translator for one of ' the 1 -, big: publishing houses in New York. , But -he considers that intimate use, of a foreign tongue is apt to r spoil one's' literary- style, i and therefore seldom converses nowadays in any, but his native language. t -^sThe new King of Annam, Duy-Tan, which is_ said to mean!. "Attached to Reform," is the son of Than Tai, , whoipt France made King 19 years ago, and latelydeposed because some of his atrocities were discovered. _ Duv-Tan,is'& timid and' un.learned child of eight, and was chosen on,^account of his fijeedom . from intri'gne-r-an obstacle which stood v in the way of the_ election 'of an older ' son of ..Than, Tai. It. must ' have, been a pitifnl sight when the ohild wa3 .enthroned. Arrayed'incubarsome robes of state, wholly new ip him, he was led at 9 in' the morning to an altar erected in the palace on which, were placed the myrv^and jade emblems of rorali" an 4 there he was made to pray to the spirits of 'his royal ancestors.

THE NOBEL PRIZES. These prizes, of the value of ;87700 * each', were awardod ;.n; .n Stockholm: en Tuesday, Pecember 10. I'he- recipients were : tPhysics Profes3or Michelson, University of Chicago; ohemistrv, Professor Buchner,'University ,of Berlin ;. medicine,, - Pro- r" fessor Eaveran, ; 'Pasteur "'.lnstitute, Paris; ' and ■ literature,. ■Mr Rudyard Kipling. ' The peace prize, awarded by the Storthing, of Norway, ?s' divided between Signor Moneta, president ' of the Italian -Peace Society, and M. Henault, French delegate at the recent Hague Oonf ci ence.