TOPICS OF THE DAY. (From Our Special Correspondent. )

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 226, 29 October 1887, Page 3

TOPICS OF THE DAY. (From Our Special Correspondent. )

The Queen Waiting Another Book— Death ok Loud Doneuaile from Hydrophobia— pasteur's treatment a failure —gladstone on 'liie queen's jubilee ~ A Notable Speech— Profits ok a Poiuji.au Song — What Cohorn Eakns — Paulus Fokty Pounds a Day -"En Rkverant i>k la Heine "--Dkath of Patxjkavk SimpsonHis Successes— A "Savage" Triumph"Tr,E\bUHE" at DkuryLane—"ThePointrman" at the olympic— coming events — Scandal at York- Alleged Pulling ok Loud Ayleshctry's Evkwiit— Mk Bsns-on Wagers £100,000 — Plunging Extu \- ordinary Dkuhy— New Magazinfs— Ni:\v Editions— Books to Head, etc., etc.

London, September 7. From Balmoral comes the interesting intelligence that our gracious Queen i^ engaged in the compilation of a new book' the title and matter of which are being kept a prof o and secret. Princess Beatrice and Her Majesty's intimate friend Lady Ely ("Jane") hove so far alone been per" mitted to peruse tho MS. 'Tis surmised, however, amongst the household, that tho work will be found to be a memoir of Piince Leopold. The death oE Lord Donerailc from hydrophobia, after he had undergone a prolonged course ot Pasteur's treatment, and a\ as pronounced eui-ed, has effectually shaken public confidence in the Parisian mrant'i theory. The peer and his coachman were both bitten by a pet fox which was .suffering from rabies The coachman, after und< rgoinu Pasteur's treatment for a few da\s, declined to persevere. He siuvives, whoreas poor Lord Doneraile is dead. Tho inference seems ii resistible. Everyone should read the speech on tho Queen's Jubilee which Mr Gladstone delivered to a '..mall audience ab Ha warden the other day. It is. quite one of his happiest recent etlorts. The grand old man contrasted the Jubilee of George 111. with tho Queen's Jubilee, aptly describing the one as a Jubilee of the classes, the other as a Jubilee of the masses. George III.'" Jubilee was chiefly celebrated by great folks, corporations, and so forth. Indeed, the masse*were far too hard pressed to think of Jubilees at all. The condition of the poor in that leign was once pithily thus described : '* The poor starved and were hanged." The food of the people was dear, and their wages low. The most trivial offences were punished capitally. Tea wa" 8s a pound ; sugar was four times the price it is now : wheat was more than four times its present price ; meat was cheaper only because there was no one in the pooier clause" to compete for it, and wages were little more than half they are now. The Queen has associated herself with all great changes for the better, and made her Couit an example of :i pure and noble life. Mr Gladstone concluded by reminding his audience that those in high station are notnece^sarily removed from temptation, and that the Queen deseneand'is entitled to the heaity prayers of all her subjects. A popular song is often a far more xcdnable property nowaday* than a successful book. Setting aside such phenomenal triumphs as Rider Haggard's fairy tales-, it may be doubted whether any work published during the past twelvemonth has icturned its author so much as Chas. Coborn has made out ot " Two Lovely Black Eyes.'' Three years ago, •when singing infinitely more humorous ditties, Coborn could with difficulty earn £6 or so a week. He now makes between t'6o and £70. Why "Two Lovely Black Eyes'' should have proved such a leviathan hit no one can say, leabt of all its author. The melody was well-known throughout the London .Music Halls as " My Nelly's Blue Eyes '" for months before Coborn wrote new words for it, yet never attracted much applause. Coborn himself admits he parodied the song merely as a makeshift. He has been singing it now for the best part of two year*, and the accursed tune being done to death on piano-organs, one might imagine people were tiring of it. Not at all. On the-e sultry August nights, when the- j world-and-his-v/ife are nominally out of town, the Trocadero continues crowded to excels, and "Oh ! what a surprise !"' is shrieked out with unabated fervour. No country cousins' metropolitan education can j indeed be said to be complete until he ha^> heard "our great original vocalist"' in the " popular anthem of the da}'." Substantial, however, as are Coborn's earnings, they sink into positive insignificance when compared with those of the Parisian comique Paulus, who&o Boulanger song, " En Hecenantd" la lle/nr,'' is the sensation of the moment in the French capital. A few years ago Paulus was an ordinal y cafe chavlanf vocalist, earning perhaps £4 a week, certainly not moie. He made a hit with a now very well-known song all over the world, " Petitßleu,''andat theopeningof the London Empire Theatre was engaged to sing it in " Chilperic." His humour unfortunately fell rather flat A\ith English audiences, and even the approval of Tawhaio (who was visiting us then with his chiefs, and was a constant attendant at the Empire) failed to soothe his wounded self esteem. Paulus returned to Paris, and till the Boulanger song tome months ago raised him to the highest pinnacle of notoriety, was scarcely heard of. He now very often makes £40 a day ; has a country hou&e filled v. ith curios, sports a private secretary of imi>osing appearance, .and is altogether a very great man. The Orevy Government's embargo interdicting "En Rercnant de la Rcine, " was the final touch needed to make Paulus positively idolised. He sings the &ong of course J just the same as ever, but with slightly altered words, Those who would like to know what this new French National Anthem is like have only to buy •Hie " Sporting Times " of August 27th. which gave the full words and music and an English translation as well. Mr John Palgauve Simpson, the dramatist, who died the other day at the advanced age of 83, was a notable person in the theatrical world 20 years ago. He .studied under Scribe, and wrote some two score plays altogether, a fair proportion of achieved success. Unfortunately, Palgrave Simpson's literary fame was over before the days of long runs came on, or he would have made a large fortune. The present generation of play-goers know him best as the author of "A Scrap of Paper," which the Kendals have almost made their own, and of u All For Her," a powerful drama associated chiefly with Mr John Clayton. At the Savage Club and at all first nights of importance Palgrave Simpson was a legular attendant. He got himself up most carefully, and might have been any age (people said) between 40 and 70. Certainly no one suspected he was over 80. On theatrical questions the old man was a recognised authority, and nothing pleased him more than to be referred to for the date of the production of some forgotten play or revival. R.I.P. Mention of the Savage Club reminds me that Mr E. Goodman, an original member and a brother of the erstwhile popular

Honorary Secretary, has jusjs achieved a conspicuous succoss wibh an amusing story of iho Anstoy School. It is called "Too* Curious," and details the phenomenal adventures of a gentleman who under oertain welldefined restrictions is granted the unique privilege of foreseeing the future. You will easily realise what delightful complications there 'is room for when I explain that thouoh this gifted porson can by asking questions foreseo the future, he is quite unable to utilise his knowledge and to influence it. Thus he may learn that his brother will be run over by a cab on a certain day at 11am., but he can do nothing to prevent the catastrophe. The idea is quite ingenious enough to bo worthy of the author of " Vice Versa," and on the whhle has been cleverly worked out. The price of the book is six shillings. The melodrama of " Pleasure," produced at Drury Lane Theatre last Saturday evening, is to all intents and purposes a failure. Two scenes— The Battle of Flowers at Nice and the Earthquake at Monte Carlo (both exceedingly clever effects), may possibly sa\ethe play so far as Mr Harris's house is concerned. It will, however, be impossible to roproduco them realistically on a much smaller stage. The plot (if it (\in bo called a plot), scarcely deserves de-M-'iiption. The hero (an Oxford undergraduate, named Jack Lovel) seduces the conventional village maiden, and puts her in what the papers call an " interesting condition."' Although in Act I, Lovel unexpectedly succeeds to n peerage, he seems -willing to make his sweetheart "an honest vomun." This, however, wouldn't suit tho a Main of the piece, Lovel's uncle, who hopes to induce his young relative to drink himself to death unmarried in the course of u \ear or two. He therefore insinuates { h.-it Jack is not Miss Jessie's only " friend." .lark believes him forthwith, and hpurns the fair Jessie, and embarks on n career of "plefisuie." After playing the fool in various ways through 3 long acts, conscience come- to the rescue. "If 1 am doing wrong,'' cries Jack, at the closo of Act 111, "may God punish me,' an invitation to v, hieh Providence responds with an earthquake. Lovel is buried in the debrh of hi-j \ilL, from which the devoted Jessie, (much to the naughty uncle's discomfiture), jacks him out. 'In Act 7 (fancy 7 acts), Lovel duly repents and conducts his "light o' lo\ c" to the altar. The moral seems somew hat hazy. Eighteen months ago Lord Savcrnake, (k^pilo his loud raffish ways and deplorable language, was one of the most popuhr youny men on the turf. The general im-pie-^ion was that though his manners were r'no-e of a stable-boy his feelings were those of a gentleman, and that he might be trusted not to connho at the pulling of a u\\ omite or any other crime contrary to the current code of turf ethics. His colours ■uere in consequence favourites, and when r-orr.e Inn die-racer or selling-plater carried them successfully to the front the cheering u-ci to bo loud and long. Since, however, his lordship came into the family title and assumed, with tho Marqui^ate of Ailesbury, the " red jacket, \ ellow sleeves, and black cap ' of the Brudenell-Biuces a change has come ovct this =;tate of things. Lord Ailesbury "s horses i do not somehow show the same consistent foi m a=! Lord Savernake's. On more than one occasion lately the mob have loudly hi.-^ed Martin (who is Lord Ailesbury's chief ■jockey), and last week, at York, both the younger and the Marquis would have been literally torn to pieces if the Tykes could have had their own way. What occurred was this. Lord AilesI bury's well-known "sprinter" Everitt was made a great favourite for the Hare wood Pta te. in which he was opposed by a very indifferent field. Mr Benzon selected Everitt for one of his big plunges, with the lesult that when Lord Ailesbmy went into the ling to back his horse he found hardly any money on offer. Naturally the young man was very angry, and being of a noisy disposition, he made no secret of his wrath. What Martin's instructions were none can of course say, but no sooner had the jockey left the paddock on Everitt than the ring evinced a curious desire to lay against that animal. From 8 to 1 tho favourite went i back to s's and 6 s (with no takers). More- ! o\ er, it was plain much longer prices than | thi-j would have been vouchsafed had anyI one dared to take them. ! The race itself was a curious one. At 1 the di-tanco Everitt had everything settled i <:ave a turned-loose old horse named WhitI tington. Opposite the stand the latter was beaten too, but Martin rode with such obvious slovenliness that Everitt only ju^t got up and succeeded in making a dead heat of it. The fury of the Yorkshire crowd knew no bounds. Appearances were certainly dead against the jockey. He declared that he thought he had " just won." His enemies averred he intended to "just lose." Tho fact, however, remains that in bho run off odds of 6 to 1 were laid on Xlverict and that he beat "Whitfcing-ton any-ho-v. Loi<: ' ' ln^Hiry and Martin were summoned ljLv,i<j the stewaids, and their explanation not being found satisfactory, the matter was referred to the Jockey Club. It i 5i 5 not improbable that Mr Benzon's plunging has much to do with tho in-and-out running of certain owners of horses jusfc now. Certainly it must bo very exasperating after paying for the keep and training of an animal and planning an effective coup to find the cream of the betting market .skinned, and a false price formed by some irresponsible plunger who has had none of the trouble or expense. The "Jubilee Plungers' " wagers at York totalled up to over £100,000. Amongst other bets he had £7,000 on Prince Rudolph (lost) ; £6,000 at evens on Crowberry (won) ; £10,000 on Hark (lost) ; £11,000 on Gantby (lest) ; £4,000 on Merry Duchess (lost), and £5,000 on $yerittat3 to 1 (won). Mr Benzon's investment on Prince Rudolph had tho curious effect of making that animal a worse instead of a better favourite for the Ebor Handicap. On Tuesday evening "The Prince "wa s looked upon as really good business, and 2 to 1 could with difficulty be obtained. Mr Benzon s £7,000 should have landed the colt at evens, whereas the ring generously offered 5 to 2, and were ready to accommodate the public to any amount. In the race itself Prince Rudolph never showed promiently. Dcby has of late years become one of our best English race meetings.' The arrangements there are admirable, tho stakes valuable, and the fields invariably large and of good quality. Last week tho principal handicap, the mile Peveril of the Peak Plate (of l,000sovs) fell to Harpenden, who has so often and so fatally been fancied for bip: stakes. On this occasion Mr Childwick's erratic colt started favourite at 2 to 1 in a field of nine, and won very easily. The rich Champion Breeders' Foal Stakes, for two-year-olds, was carried off by Lord Londonderry's colt by Hermit, oufcof Hazledean, a smart youngster that made mincemeat of 11 opponents. The Hazledean colt was the crack Blanknoy yearling of 1885, and fetched £1,750 at the July salos that year, most of which has been got back at the initial time of asking. The first of the Nurseries (now such a feature at autumn meetings) was won by Lord Calthorpe 1 with Sandal (by Kisber— Shoestring)