ROYALTY IN A MOB. THE DUKE AND THE REPORTER.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 388, 27 July 1889, Page 3

ROYALTY IN A MOB. THE DUKE AND THE REPORTER.

Both the Prince- and Princess of Wales have capital nerve. It was an awkward moment last Saturday afternoon when the small body of police on duty ab Whitehall failed altogether to make way for the royal party through the dense mob of Eastenders packed tight as sardines in the Horseguaida parade, and hundreds of 'Arrys and 'Arrietts swarmed close round their Royal Highnesses cheering, jeering, hissing and cat-calling. The unpleasant feature of the conlnlemp** was that the hissing and hooting well nigh diowned the cheering, the" Socialists evidently being present in large number^. Prince and Princess after one glance of dismay at one another smiled as serenely at the crowd at though surrounded by a regiment of soldiers. Prince George of Wales and his .•'sisters absolutely enjoyed the novel situation, in fact, the younpr sailor geneiallv shook hands with several of the iolk near him. , Far different was it with the Duke of Cambridge, who was walking and who dived into the crowd after his royal relatives with greater .courage than discretion. In about two seconds the Commander-in-Chief supported by a solitary Police Inspector found himself engaged in a free fight. Right valiantly did the old man lay about him with his famous "gamp," and right loudly did, the Inspector yell, "Room for 'Is Royal Highness, make way for the Dook of .Cam bridge.' 5 It .vas no good. The crowd laughed and jibed, but no way could be made. I see a "Sun"' icporter who took part in this melee, and mliosg eye the angry Duke incontinently blacked, has applied for a summons against the Queen's cousin. The magistrate suggested "civil procesSj" but the reporter said he preferred " criminal."

A DRAMATIC ENCOUNTER.— 3, ANGWORTHY MEETS HIS WIFE IN THE PARK. Mrs E. M. Langwoithy, who it now the "pet" of a "gentile" subuiban clique, canoe into contact with her recalcitrant pouse under somewhat dramatic circumstances at the Four-in-Hand Meet on Saturday. Both parties were on horseback, Mr Langworthy being accompanied by a tiim little Frenchwoman, and Mrs Langworbhy by a lady friend. Mrs L. had (so my informant assures me, and as he's a friend of the Steads, he ought to know) ridden twice up and down the row •when she espied, as she thought, a friend (Colonel Sussex Lennox) a little in front, with his wife and another gentleman, whose back seemed (as indeed it was) familiar to her. She said to her friend, "Why, there's Colonel Lennox,' 1 and ixxle up alongside the party. Mrs .Langworbhy addressed a few commonplaces to the gallant officer, when fcomcching in his manner attracted her attention, and for the first time looking round, &he lecognised her husband. He at the same moment saw her, and for a few seconds the unhappy pair stared mechanically at one another. Then, without a word, Mrs Lang.vorthy reined in her boise, and simply signing " turn " to her friend, rode sharply off in' the direction of the. Marble Arch» The rencontre was noted by a number of people, come of whom have grossly exaggerated the circumstances.

THE PARNELL COMMISSION-PRO-BABLE CLOSE. Sir Charles Russell is loss confident than he has been as to the date when the Parnell Commission inquiry will close. One tiling, however, seems certain — no report can be laid before Parliament this session. Public interest in the Commission has long dwindled to nothing. The newspaper reports which used to cover columns and are now (save of course in the " Times ") reduced to brief summaries, conclusively prove this. It is indeed principally as a show to which to take country cousins and colonial visitors people now use the Commission. OBrien and Co. were no doubt amusing in the witness-box to spectator.'., but few outsiders cared to hear, much less to read, what they had said. The one person to whom the interminable and (now) useless inquiry never seems to tire is ]Nlrs Gladstone. During; the list three or four months she has generally managed to be present two or three tifnes a week, and she always takes copious notes, presumably for the G.O.M,'s edification.

MR GLADSTONE AND THE CABMAN. By the way, that veteran statesman gob bowled over by a hansom cab in Piccadilly last Thursday night, or rather Friday morning. It was a " starry night for a ramble," and Mr Gladstone, after dining out with some friends, resolved to walk home. Crossing Piccadilly wrapt in thought (the cabman says), or on the alert (Mr Gladstone says), the ex-Premier collided with the shall of a hansom (one of a long line of carriages), which upset his equillibrium. Beyond a slight bruise he was most fortunately unhurt. The cabby has not been summoned.

THE MAYBRICK CASE. Mr Maybrick, the Liverpool merchant 1 , who has (so the Crown alleges) been deliberately and mosfc treacherously poisoned by bis young; wife, was a brother of Maybrick (" Stephen Adams "), the well-known baritone vocalist and song-writer. The do-

ceased seems to have lived on good terms with his wife, who was nearly twenty years his junior, till the spring of the present year, when his jealousy was oxcibed by her "goings-on " with a young man named Brierly. She would seem, indeed, (judging by the compromising letters discovered), to have fallen rabidly in love with Brierlv, who, on his side, appears only to have very moderately reciprocated her passion, and to have dreaded a scandal. He, in fact, proposed not lonsr ago to leave Liverpool, and the piotecution infer it was this threat resolved Mrs May brick to the exbrome step of murder. Mr Maybrick's illness, from the first, according to the evidence tendered at the inquest, vas nearly as puzzling as Mrs Maybrick's behaviour. Tho latter allowed no one into the sick- ; room, and insisted that everything the patient ate or drank should pass through her hands. The cook deposes that, almost forcing her way into Mr Maybrick's room one evening, .she found him sick and panting. He said, " Humphries, make me somo lemonade, as you would for a man dying of thirst." Mrs M., however, interfered with. " No, doar ; you know you mustn't have it." Tho sick man seemed much disappointed. Shortly befoio this time Mrs M. «as discovered spooking large quantities of arsenical flypapers in her basin for some purpose. Tho servants v>eiu uot suspicious at the time, but after Mr Maybiick's death recalled many odd circumstances. Thecruelty. \indietivenc&?, and tieichcry of the woman, if she really i? guilty of the ciimo imputed to her, almooD pass belief For diiys she must have calmly stood by her husband's bedside, slowly po^oninghim, and watching him sutler torments!., Dining this period bho wrote it no bo to BiicrJy. which was intercepted. It announced that her hu&band was "sick nn'o, death," and implored fiiicrly not tole.ne T4\ ci pool, ab Mr Maybiick. even should he recover, " knew nothing." Tn appearance Mis Maybrick is tho reverse ofthoir'eil ewfwi^oiiHcuic, lcokuu r a feeble, charactcilesssortot person. Biierly, too, could not by any stretch of feminine imagination bo considered an Adonis. He attended the inquest sitting at fchcsolicitors' table, and seeming apparently quite unconcerned. Mrs Maybrick has beBn too ill since the shock of her driest to appear personally, but the doctor at Kiikdale gaol (Where she is confined) intimated that he would bo nblo to produce her next Tuesday. At the same time-the results of the /wv' mortem will be made known. The Maybucks, I may mention, though residing in a nice hou?.© at Argburih did nob belong to the smart Wellington Rooms '"set."'

THE BARONESS BURDETT COUTTS AND BOULAXCSER. The " tattlers " of society are muqb concevned as to what r mptive induced the Baroness Burdett-Coutts (oidinauly a model hostess) to a.?k t a most cccontucally arranged dinner-party to meet General Boulanger. "The Duke and Ouchc-s of Cleveland, the Duchess of St. Albans. and Loidand Lady Cidogan (all intensely proxid and particular people) weie not too well pleased at finding them&elves required to play Second fiddle to a mere " political adventurer,'' as they styled "cc brave (jenired." Still less-, however, could they understand or tolerate the piesence of Mr Knowles (ot " Nineteenth C'entuiy"'), Mr Ureenv. ooJ, Mr Fred Ifarrigon, and Mr Broadley (of the "YVoild"). The duchess (»vho is Dv JMauiier's duchess in "Punch) affixed golden phn-e nci on her eagle beak, and surveying the *• writing persons' with witheiina cli&dain, observed that she feared it would not do to dine with the dear baionet-s in future unle&s she supplied beforehand the names of her probable jrue^ts. Mi ICnoAvlea was immensely amu«ed, and (rather injudiciously, peihap 5 -) chfifled Her Giace unmcicifully. (General Boulanger looked mystified, but discoursed politely enough to his hostess and JBtoadley Pasha. 1 fancy the " writing men " tliemselves were most pu/zlea how they came to get dam czllc galctc. CJenerally the baroness's parties aie so congrcniallj'and admirably arranged.

DEATH OF CHARLES HEAD. Poor Charles Head, who died Jasb {Sunday, the wit of the King and a general favoiuite. He made his nrob gieab coup when Lo/onge won the Cambridgeshire after a dead heat tvibh Wolscy. The horse started aba lon»ish price, and Head pocketed a bis stake. Before the dead heat was run off friends begged him to hedge some of his money, bub he declined, leplying biielly, "Isob a penny." In the "final bussle Adams-, on Lozenge, forced the pace, bub Kcnyon, on Wol&ey, stuck to him like grim death every yard of the way. At the distance both hordes were beaten, and ib was only by the s>uprcmeeb eflorb that Sammy A'lams squeezed tlie eon of Sweetmeab home -just by a neck. Head bought the Philharmonic Theatre ab Islington with his winnings, and the success there of Julia Matthews (tlr c t) and later of Soldene, Clara Vcsoy, and Selma Dolaro soon made him a comparatively rich man. He had an immense fund of animal spirits, and bub small respect for persons, "chaffing" stable-lad or lord with equal indifference. Unlike most uould-be funny bookmakers, houc\er, he never swore or used coarse language.

LITERARY NOTES. Mr Conch, better known us the author o "Dead Alan's Rock,'' has a characteristic littlo fcfcoiy called " The Affair of Bleakirk-on-Sands," in "Longman's," for June, v/hich should not be mi&sed. I can'fc appreciate Scotch humour myFolf, but tho?e who can tell me that J. M. Rarrie's new book " A Window in Thrums," it, if anything, superior to his " Auld Licht Idylls," which two years ago achieved such a big -uccess in the I^orlh. To Englishmen Mr Bariie-is best known by that admirable jcu, d'e-<}>ri( "Better Dead," and by the articles (full of delicate fancies) which he contributes to the " St. James's Gazette." Few, I imagine, know how many really good men are attached to the " St. James's." The news portion of the paper is so bad that Londoners won't take it. For those, however, who care move for the current thoughts of such litemry leaders as Lang, Steven&on, Barrie, Greenwood, etc., than for the latest tit-bits of gossip concerning the most recent scandal, the " St. James's Budget " more especially often yields capital x'eading. The first number of " The New Review," issued to-day at sixpence, contains two capital articles on "General Boulanger," > by Alfred Nag net (a friend) and Camiilo 1 Pellelan (an enemy) ; " English Muscle," by Lord Charles Beresford ; " The Religion of Self Respect," by Mrs Lynn Linton > "The Unionist in Ireland," by Mr T. W. RuFsell, M.P. ; and " A Month in Russia," by Lady Randolph" Churchill, whose 'dclmi as a literary lady this will be. The baronetcy conferred on Boehm, the sculptor s is quite a new departure, knighthood having hitherto been considered sufficient recognition of exceptional artistic merit. The general feeling now favours Leighton being tendered a similar compli- , ment.

The International Labom' Congress at; Paris has approved of the proposal that eight hours should bo the maximum ot a day's work, and have demanded international legislation on the subject.