TOPICS OF THE DAY. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, April 20.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 373, 1 June 1889, Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, April 20.

Mr Piumeil and the Frlnee of Wales Straws show which way the wind blows. Twelve mouths ago what an outcry there would have been had the Prince of Wales had any communication with Mr Parnell. Yet now it seems quite the right and proper thing for H.R.H. to ask for an introduction to the Irish chief. Very Hittle doubb prevails relative to the verdict of the Commission Judges. Sir James Hannen threw out a tolerably broad hinb when at the close "of Sir Charles's thrilling peroration last Friday, he ejaculated audibly to Brother Day, "A great speech and worthy of a great occasion," a compliment that was at once passed on in a little note to Sir Charles. Tho appearanco of Mr Parnell in the witne. o s-box may possibly re-arouse a little interest in the proceedings, though Sir Richard Webster will scarcely dare to handle him in cross - examination at all offensively.

r l (IE Late Lord Ely and Princefs Beatrice. It is not, I fancy, generally known that the late Lord Ely was several years ago an aepirant for Princess Beatrice's hand. His mother has always been the Queen's dearesh friend and confidanto, and the young Marquis saw much (too much for his own comfort) of the fair "Bee "at one time The match was pronounced out of the question for many reason?, but Lord Ely remained faithful to the Princess and never (even after Bee espoused the Batten berg) proposed marrying.

Cbkmation of Lokd Ely : An Unplea&ant Pkooess. His lordship lefb orders that his remains should be cremated, and the incineration was (not without some difficult}') duly carried out at Woking on Saturday last. Lord Augustus Loftus could not be present, but his son, Cnptain Loftus, represented him, and the brothers of the new peer were of course in attendance The drawbacks to the cremation u'ecess in England appear to be precisely those I noticed at M ilan. At 3 p.m., after the burial service (all save tne portion usually road by the grave) had been porformed in an adjacent church, the mourners adjourned to the crematorium and the corpse having been recently withdrawn from the coffin (N. B. — This i 3 not necessary) was iatd on an iron car. The door of the fiery furnace then opened and the clergyman, ejaculating " dust to dust, ashes to ashes," the car with its human freight ran quickly in. The mourners then adjourned to the cemetery to loaf about for a couple of hours whilst the incineration proceeded. One can easilj guess how a lively imagination Mould run riot under such painful circumstances, and whether (assuming the frizzling deceased to be a relative of one's own) those two hours would pass very pleasantly. At about son Saturday Lord Ely's cremation was announced to be complete, the fires were let out and his lordship's ashes collected and placed in a Doulton jar, which the executors took back to town with them.

What is Eloquence ? Thequestion " What isEloquenco?" which has been pretty frequently discussed since John Bright's death scorns to me appositely answeicd in tho following lines winch are part of a sonnet on the " C4reat Tribune " by E. H. B. (E. H. Bourdillon) : For thine was the deep eloquence of soul, Which like the steed owning one kingly hand, Obedient to its master's sole command, Held the mute spell-bound gazers at control With that swift fusion of tho heart and mind Parental of tliO3e thoughts wh eh shake mankind.

An Unfoktunate Pair. Both the Emperor and Empre?s of Austria havo, 1 understand, su Herod seriously from the shock and disgraco of the Crown Prince's sad end. The case of the Empress is the worst, as symptoms of mental disease manifested themselves soon afterwards, and Her Majesty's delusions are so numerous and recurrent that it is seriously feared she will presently becomo permanently insane. The Empeior's mind is nil right, but he has ceased to take any interest in affairs of State, and political troubles and intrigues are multiplying.

The Newest Duchess. Mrs Blair having: achieved her object and become Duchess of Sutherland, naturally doesn't see the force ot vegetating in Florida all her days, and has already persuaded the reluctant Duke to return to England and the bosom of hia family. The happy pair are, in fact, even now on their way home. Society is naturally intensely curious to know the lino which Lord and Lady Stafford, Lor.l and Lady Cromartie, and the Leveson-Gowera generally mean to take up with regaul to the i>ew duchess. Recognition and avoidance seem almost equally impossible.

The Sr, Pbancas Tragedy. A gieat deal thab is both untrue and unkind has been written about Capt. Gouldsmith Hunt, the unfortunate man who, in a fit ot ungovernable rage, first of all shot his paramour and then committe'l suicide in a house at St. Pancraa last week. As usual in such cases the sympathy has been entirely with the " poor victim," in this case a Miss Marie de Braham (or Emily Green, as she was really called) and Hunt is accused of every sort of viliainy. The giil Green, nicknamed "Smiley," was a chorister at the Avenue Theatre for a long time, and well-known about town. Vain, greedy and shallow, she had all the faults of her class, and p ecious few \ irtuoe. To make men jealous and set them at ono another was " Smiley's " prime amusement. Poor Hunt more particularly she delighted in rDusing. He was a big, boyish, hairy man with a jolly laugh and Bohemian manner?. Constant association with the "Polls" of the Empire and the Gaiety "tarts" had no doubt rubbod the edges off his refinement aud made him what men call "a bit of n bounder." Nevertheless, he was honestly fond of " Smiley," and her " goings on " with other men made him frantic with jealousy. When the final catastrophe occured " Smiley " had come back to live with Hunt, but could not forbear taunting him with reminiscences of recent amours. Hunt, who was always declaring when enraged that he should shoot her and himself too, appears to have carried out his threat on this occasion. A significant feature of the St. Pancras tragedy was, to my mind, the light in which some of the murdered girl's family looked upon her moral character and irregular mode of life. A brother who gave evidence at the inquest spoke of his sister as a perfectly quiet, good-natured, respectable girl, and then went on to say (quite prosaicly) that she had an allowance of £150 a year from a gentleman whose mistress she had been, but who had now married and settled down. " Besides" (he added) " Marie had plenty of ' friends ' who kept her wellsupplied with money, in fact, she mignt and would have lived happily and comfortably but for her fatal 'spooniness' for Captain Hunt." The brother's feeling against Hunt was one of hot anger, not because the guardsman iil-used his sister, but because the captain (despite his frantic jealousy) allowed Marie to obtain monoy from other men to minis tor to his necessities. 2 T /&a4*M»rie's brother could sco was black-

guardly. What he couldn'b or wouldn't see was that there had been anything irregular or calling for his interference in his sister's mode of life. Again and again he with evident sincerity described the dead woman as " quiet and respectable, never drank nor kicked up a bobbery." Once or twi'e lately I have noticed that the views of the Nether World on this and kindred subjects are peculiar.

Dkamatic Notes. This being Passion Week, most of the fiv^t-class theatres aro closed. Irving set bho example in 1884, and now more houses ecem to foliow suit every year. The failure of " The Panel Picture" (the mounting of which cost £2,000) at the Opera Comique was so complete that Mrs Beringer had to take it off at once, and now plays " Little Lord Fauntleroy " in the evenings. As usual, when there is a total collapse of this sort, the company expected a great success.