PERSONAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 78

PERSONAL NOTES.

— Joseph Pulitzer, the millionaire editor of the New York World, has a penchant for silence. Some years ago he had a stone tower built at his summer home. It cost him £20,000, but as it was not perfectly ! noise proof, he had it torn down.. It was j rebuilt subsequently, and now one could not hear a cannon go off outside the 'battlements. The walls have been filled with mineral wool, and a noiseless passenger-lift runs from the editor's sleeping apartment in the fifth storey to the swimming bath in the basement. — One of M. Paderewski's hobbies is billiards. He plays nearly every day when ha can spare time fiom practising and composing, and it; a very fair player. " I think I like billiards," ho say*; "it not only exercises my eye and hand, and keeps them in training- even wher I am amusing myself, bu' it also produces in me the delicate and refined aitistic feelings which I have so often to express on the piano, as when, for instance, I play my favourite Chopin." — The arrival in England, on leave from Bermuda, of General Walter Kitchener serves to direct attention to a very, clever soldier who, had he not 'been the brother of Lord Kitchener, would probably have fared far better. It was generally believed as one period of the war in South Africa that he would receive a certain important post that had become vacant. He was, however, passed over, and " K. of K." was very frank in the matter. "It should have gone to my brother by rights," he said, " but had I done so everybody would lia\e yolled 'favouritism' at the tops of the:r soices, b o I picked someone else." — Where one romance begins *or Spain another ends. The death is announced of Don Carlos of Bourbon in his sixty-first year. His troubleb had a feminine origin. When Isabella, daughter of Ferdinand VII, came to the throne of Spain in 1833 there were those who doubted whether a woman liad a right to reign in Spain. A war i followed, and the grandfather of the now leceased Don Carlos fought bravely for the ;hrone. His grandson has also fought, and fciad he possessed the necessary military qualities would certainly have succeeded in L 873. He leaves, one son, Don Jaime, who s a colonel in. the Russian army. — Albert Chevalier, the comedian, tells of in amusing conversation he overheard in :he old Lyceum Theatre. He wae sitting n the stall*, enjoying one of Sir Henry Erving's fainoua scenes, when he became :onscious of an unusual amount of whi*>perng proceeding from 1-is left. The inter•upters were two stylishly-droned young adica. " Quito too nice, isn't he?" said me, referring to Sir Henry. "Oh, quite nore than too nice '." answered her comjanion. "Only, doesn't it strike you — a ittle weakness in the knees'/" "Weakness!" etortcd her friend. "My dear girl, that's ii 3 pathos.'' — Bjornsen, who is reported to be seriously ill, once told an interviewer that when as first book was published not one of his I riends could bo prevailed upon to read it. j i.t length a fellow-student, who-e opinion he young author valued highly, was por-ua-flfd to attack tho book on being piomsed a. bottle of punch. In fulfilment of his promise, lie climbed one afternoon up o Bjorn=en -> attic, filled a Jong pip e > unros^ed to hn Mnglet, for it was \oiy hot, ung himself on the bed, and began to lead,

with tihe punch by his side. Bjomsen salon the sofa, 'hungry for praise, but not a word dropped from his friend's lips until the pipe, the bottle, and the book were finished, when he arose, dressed', and took his departure, remarking as he went, "That is the best "book I ever read in my life." Then Bjorn&en felt that his punch had not been wasted. — Prince Edward, whom they still call "David" in the Royal Family, is a nice, sensible boy (says M.A.P.), with a will of his own, and a simplicity quite uncommo/ in these days. Although he did not do brilliantly at Osborne, he did well, and Jus masters speak of him as thoughtful, and like* wise, what argues well foi his future* as King of these realms, as "all round." Kingi Edward is devoted to him, and teaches him xnany things — particularly manners. As a little fellow, Prince Edward was very funny in his sayings. Queen Victoria, wtho hacj been a terrible martinet in her time with her own children, quite spoilt her great grandson. " Pick up your toys, deaT," said hds nurse -to him one day, when, she came to fetch him after he had spent am hour with, the old Queen. "No," exclaimed the child 1 , "I won't!" TJien, turning to the Queen, "You do it for me," he said! peremptorily. — Writing of General Gallifet, who died a few weeks ago, the' Paris correspondent of the Daily Telegraph cays: — "The friendly eritio who chibbed him ' General Sarah Bernhardt' objected to the theatrical manner in which the general raised his kepi when taking leave of his officers at the termination of this or that gathering. Ho forgot or elected to forget that .this kepi had never been raised in any other manner, not even in the hour oj the supremest danger at Sedan. Gallife| did not really com* mand the desperate cavalry charge in that battle. His promotion to brigadier had not yet "been gazetted. He simply charged 1 at the head of his regiment, the 3rd 1 Chasseurs d'Afrique ; but, before doing so, ho addressed a few words to his officers, lifting his kepi in the manner objected to. 'We* have the honour of being selected (he said) to cover the retreat of the army. I count upon you gentlemen. And inasmuch as it ea.oh other again, I bid you farewell.' There is probable that many of us shall not see are still people in France who sneer at Galliffet's manly remarks." — The Pope, who is shortly to assume the unaccustomed role of defendant in the Italian law courts, is the hero of an amusing and characteristic little story which is now going the round of his native press. A deputation of monks, rep resenting some Order, had recently obtained an interview with him. According to the etiquette of th«Vatican, only Cardinals are allowed to sit in the Pope's presence; thus an invitation from him to do so is deemed equiva/lent to a Cardinakte. Now, his Holiness i«y. above all things, a plain man, frequently ignoring the observances of the Papal Court. H«» promptly begged the monks to take seats. They, hardly knowing whether they could venture to do so, remained hesitatingly before him. "Surely," cried the Pope, ir> tones of mild exasperation, "you do not expect me to draw the chairs forward for you." The Pope's delicious sense of humour was admirably exemplified a short time ago, when he asked a Hebrew gentleman from Venice to convey his apostolic blessing to a sick friend in the city. "But," your Holiness, said the visitor, " I am a Jew." "No matter," replied the Pope. "The goods are all right, though the packing may be a trifle bad." Another time, while receiving Biehop Schneider, of Padeborn, and noticing that he was very nervous and ill at ease, the Pop^ remarked : "Monsignc^, 3-ou; and I ought to be the best of friends, for are we not clo6ely connected as brothers?" Seeing that the bishop had failed to cptch his meaning, ho bent forward and with twinkling eyes observed: "Do we not both belong to the great family of Tailors — the Schneiders and Sartos?" — Princo Bariatinsky is amongst the first three or four dramatic authors in Russiz. In 6pite of the fact that ho was a playr&ate> of tho present Czar and that his family is one of the oldest and rjnost aristocratic in Russia the Prince is notoriously democratic, and his writings have frequently come under ths- ban of the- censor. The Princess, a great actress, who is visiting England with the Prince, shares her husband's concern for the progress of Russia. In St. Petersburg she is the owner of her theatre. After her break with Souvorine regarding th« anti-Semite incident she insisted on having: a theatre of her own in St. Petersburg, which her husband directs. Prince Bariatinsky's brother married a daughter of Alexander 11, and the Princess is the only real Princess on tha stage. One of her greatest successes in St. Petersburg was in the character of Katusha in "Resurrection" ; she has also played Cleopatra in Shakespeare's '"Antony and Cleopatra." Her personality ie a wonderful mixture of dramatic and artistic feeling combined with a passionate love of freedom and a yearning for the emancipation o* the people of Russia. — Many admirers of Mr H. G. Wells will welcome the simple picture of his life at Sandgate which is <lrawn by Mrs Tooley in the Woman at Home. Mr Wells, it seems, is one of the large number of literary meni who find walking to be their best exercise : "He finds a tramp of 20 miles along the coast or through the pleasant Kentish scenery which joins the hinterland of Folkestone the met helpful and exhilarating thingfor hi 3 work. When ideas do not flow freely, and that sometimes happens even to so prolific and versatile a writer as Mr Wells, he 'strikes' his pen, dons walking" garb, and in the pure invigorating air, and ofttimes battling with wind and rain, finds a tonic for mind and body." Of Mr Wells's residence wo vea<J : " His home, ' Spade House,' is a quaint-looking place, with a, deep sloping roof, rough-cast walls, and email latticed windows, standing out conspicuously above Sandgate. It has a garden by th-c sea. pretty nooks and corners, old-fashioned flowsr borders, and a tennis lawn. The rooms are cosy and low-ceil-inged, plainly furnished, but with artistic harmony. . . Mr Welfe believes in having a home unencumbered with things which make for ihow and costliness, but do not ensure comfort. . - . Mr Wejls's study is & low room, with books arranged irt cases round the walls. The windows look aero~s a little iris-bordered lawn, straight upon the English Channel. Mr Wells is a. most careful and fastidious worker, and his books cost him much labour. First, he writes Ins manuscript in a small, fine calisfiaphy, and tho pa^e^ show many interpolations. Thou jt is typed, and he correct* and recoi'ivcts it for the pj.e*s.