TOPICS OF THE DAY. (From Our Special Correspondent.) London, October 5.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 322, 5 December 1888, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY. (From Our Special Correspondent.) London, October 5.

The-livaxp of Norfolk. ,__, _ . Even it the Duke ot Norfolk' is not, m, the papers asseVL, 'engaged -bo Miss Me Tavish, ib ia quit/6 likely ho moans to many *some,A:nericuni. H,is bfide will, however, 'have to po^ef-e.two^ qualifications. She ' must; bo. a Pwomau (jafcholic and enjoy perfect health. The lute Duchef-s, besides being tbo Buh'o's ■ in &fc cousin, was not strong, and, to these fact,!?, f and hi<? own far from robuet physique, .His Grace ascribes the sad state of "the poor little' Earl of Arundeb and Surrey. -Whilst there was, a chance 9? the hitter's , growing up the Duke revolver! to [ remain single, but on learning that the boy 1 must always be a hopeless, invalid he had to again take into "consideration the question .of tne succession.-" Most of the old Catholic families in England into .which he coul,d mafry are more or less f related to one another, so his Grace betopk himself to America^ where sooner or later he ought to be able to find a veiy charming brir/.e. .. Personally the Duke is the quietest and moat modest of men: On the ocea3ion ol the opening of .Parliament., by the, Queen two years ago, he -was encountered walking down to -Westminster with an untidy brown paper parcel under his arm. " What have you got there", Duke?" asked an astonished Iriend. "My Earl Marshall's robes," was the quiet reply, and on his Grace jogged as if -going to a vestry meeting. In the height of the season one often meets the premier Duke *in England arrayed in shabby, semi-priestly attire, and bound, for" Brompton, arm-in.-arm with a couple of Catholic clergy. The head of the Howard*at one time, comparatively recently, wished, to- become a monk, but the Pope and Cardinal Manning very properly refused to hear of such a thing. An American wife ' will, let us hope, wakothe young man up. Young Journalists. Out&ide journalistic ciicles very ','iew people are aware that the many improvements introduced into the " Pall, rMall Gazette " were mainly suggested, not by Mr Stead, but by his sub-editor and first lieutenant, Mr E. T. Cook. The -younger generation of Oxonians now out in .your part of the world will readily remember Mr Cook as one of the most eloquent presidents of the Union. His, too, waa a particularly bi'illiant epoclv at Oxford, including.' as it did Mr B. R. Wise (since Attorney-General in New Soubh Wales), the Hon. St. John Brodrick (the young and eloquent member for Guild ford), Mr 8., C. F. Costello (wellknown in Radical circles), the new editor of the "St. James's Gazette,"' and the editor of the "Record." The new generation of newspaper men are" a" very different lot to the old. One has only to compare thesmoking-roomsatthe "Savage" and " Savjlle " Clubs to realise this. At the Savage, knights of the pen are mostly Bohemian, weather-beaten, bibulous, and not too well-off. At the Saville, culture and clean shirts, double-eyeglasses and dilletantism mark the pale, slightly-jaded journalist of the Andrew Lang school. On the whole, I think the Savages are the ablest and' cleverest writers, as they are I cert,ainly most amusing talkers. There seems less money in journalism every year, yet countless young' fellows are going in for it. The London 1 "" Star " has seven or eight smart men (two or three of them from the 'Varsity) on its staff. They get no salary for six months, during which the sub-editor develops as best he can. At the end of the probationary period the useless men go and the promising men are put on the salary list. For every personal "par" accepted from^outsiders the " Star " pays 2s 6d. The suK-editof has scores to select from every daj\ -

Astonishing Dramatic* I*roductioo. Augustus Harris seems to" have scored even a bigger success than usual with "The Armada." I have not seen it yet, but I hear that the great sea fight between the Armada and the English fleet off Calais, is one of the most astonishing scenic illusions ever witnessed on this side of the Channel. It appears the energetic Druriolanus routed out' a wonderful Austrian scene-painter, who has discovered certain surprising methods of completely deceiving the eye. Thus many of the massively-built ships of war which can be seen manoeuvring in the background during the terrific engagement in the foreground between a Spanish galleon and an English man-of-war are in reality mere flat canvas. The procession of Thanksgiving to St. Paul's, which winds Tup thefplay, is also spoken of as a great tour dejorce, and the Inquisition scenes in Spain £are realistic enough for anyone. "Carina," the new comic opera at the Opera Comique, has made an unexpected bit. The lifaetto does not appear to be much above the ordinary run of opera bouffe books, but* alKthe critics speak^well of Madame Julia Woolf's score. Madame Woolf is quite an old lady. She took a King's Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music about thirty years ago, and was a prominent performer at poor Alfred Mellons nronienade concerts. The most elaborate arrangements have been made for exploiting the new Gilbert; and^ Sullivan opera. Two American companies are already on the road and two English provincial troupes and one Australian are rehearsing. From all of these, as well as from the Savoy theatre, author and composer take heavy royalties, all risk being borne by the respective managers. Should the work prove a success equal to "Pinafore" or "The Mikado"it will be far the most profitable of the partnership. The first production at the Garrick Theatre, which is the name given to th© handsome new house Gilbert is building for Hare, will be an English versibn of " La Tosca," with Mrs Bernard Beere in the title role >- The fair " Berny "- (as her friends call her) is at present in. .Paris, ordering the dresses for the piece. An Aristocratic Organ-Grinder. The soidesant son and heir of Earl Poulett, the^ estimable Viscount Hinton, has, after trying various more' or less reputable methods- of obtaining a livelihood, hit on a novel means of utilising, his birthright. He now perambulates the streets with a piano-organ bearing a placard with the legend, "lam Viscount Hinton, eldest son of EarlPoulefct," and setting forth at some Jength a report of his troubles and grievances. ,1 met his lordship in Sloane Square the other day, and, judging by the crowd round him and the chink of pennies "in his hat, ,1 should say he was doing uncommonly well. . In appearance this -scion of oup old nobility is not prepossessing*, - He may be the true son of EarlPoulettand his dancing girl wife, or he may not, but hisfeatures are anything but aristocratic. *

In the course of a sermon preached at Wanganui, referring to the character of Jacob,' Pastor Spurgeon, of Auckland, said : — " I cannot' be brought to admire Jacob, whom I "still believe, notwithstanding the lady lecturess (Miss Yon Finkelstein) and hftr theory, a cunning artful cheat. God allowed him by-and-by to be taken in hhni self: Cute as he was, he found thai his :<uncle was 'cuter, and the cheater soon became himself cheated. So 1 God paid him out, and in his own coio."