MAINLY ABOUT PEOPLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 47, 20 March 1909, Page 3

MAINLY ABOUT PEOPLE.

ROYALTIES' INCOMES. (From a London Society Paper.) The donations given by the various Royal lies of Europe for the relief of the. sufferers in the. recent terrific Italian earthi|iiake make a comparison ot the several income., interesting . The Tsui, of coins.. is the richest monarch in the world, and probably flic richest that has ever lived. His total annual revenue :., about .CSO.Odll.OOO; bin expenses anproportionately heavy, and after lie has paid for the upkeep of bis million scpi-are miles of cultivated land,, and forests, as well as the expenses of his mines in Siberia, it would seem that lie has none ti inch. King Edward rcccive, 1,470,0011, but little more than a fourth of this goes into the privy purse. A stipulated sum is invariably put aside for household expenses, salaries, pensions, charities, rewards, etc. The Reichstag allows the (ieniian Emperor about CI 30,0110. lie has also a salary as Kin;: of Prussia, which amounts to about C757,."i00. lie has great estates and many resources at his disposal, but his expeu-cs are tnii'cudous.

THE SMALLEST INCOME. The Emperor of Austria is also King or Hungary, and therefore, like the Herman Emperor, draws two salaries. The amount of each, in his case, is nearly CStK..")OU. The King of Italy receives about C7.iU.001l a year, but out of this allowances arc pai'd to the Uucen-Dow-ager, to the Duke of Oe'iioa, and to the children of the Duke of Aosta. King Alfonso has an allowance of C;t.>7,000. and at provision is made for other members of the Spanish royal family outside of this, I lie sum quoted is practically all his own to spend as he pleases. Leopold 11. receives about £175,000, but he has keen business instincts, and all the world knows of the way in which he augments his salary to gratify his luxurious tastes. The smallest salary paid by any Power to its chief is the C12,00U aliowed by Congress to the American. President.

A MIGHTY 11UXTEK. There are probably few living men who have had a move exciting, and iui terestiug career than. Mr. 1'". U. Scions, who is shortly to start on another Airicau hunting expedition. He has shot wild animals iu almost every pari of the world where wild animals are to be found, and lie has had as many hairbreadth escapes from death as lias the toughest old warrior iu the army. Mr. Selous' love, of hunting must have been born with him, for he was only a boy at school when he made up his mind to become a Xiiurod. At present he is considered one of the best riders and deadliest shots hi the. Empire, and it is interesting to note that although his nerves are o° the strongest, he is an inveterate tca-driukcr and partakes of this beverage with nearly every meal.

'• ALLAN yUAR'i'LHMALV.'' Among Mr. Scions' adventures, probably one of the most exciting occurred when he was going down the Zambesi iu a canoe. The little daft was »unk in about twelve feet of water by a hippopotamus, and Mr. Selous, having lost all his belongings, was forced to swim for his life. Luckily he reached the shore in safely, but it was an eerie experience, and "one of the hunter's narrowest escapes irom death. It is not generally known, by the way, that Mr. Selous will be handed down to posterity in the person of a popular character in fiction, for he is the original of Ml'. Kidcr Haggard's ever popular Allan yuarlcnnam. 'Mr. Selous has written a good deal himself, and one of the greatest admirers of his books is President Roosevelt, who is shortly to emulate him as a hunter in Africa.

A KLNDLY BISHOP. The lU. Uev. Edward King, D.D., Ihe lHshop of Lincoln, who celebrated Ins eightieth birthday the other day, is extremely popular throughout his diocese, and is' noted everywhere for his great kiiulmss »f heart. Some years ago, when he was well over seventy, he attended a confirmation and heard that there was a poor crippled girl who was too ill to be brought to the service. Without more ado, the Bishop, despite his great age, set out and walked, in a blinding storm of rain and wind, the two miles that separated the church from the cottage where the poor girl lived; and there, in her simple bedroom, be performed the solemn service. It is over lift\ veal's since Dr. King was ordained, and he became Canon of Christ t'linrch. Oxford, as far buck a- ISi.l. His ebvalion I" the bishopric came :u 188.-> since when he ha* been one ol the hardest workers in the. Church.

LACK OF FAITH. The 111-hop lells « good story of a trip he once took iu the Highlands »f Scotland in company with a big, burly Churchman. While crossing a loch in a small boat, a heavy storm overlook them. Immediately Dr. King's companion began to pray. But (his did not please the matter-of-fact boatman, who expostulated in loud tones. "Xa, na." he exclaimed, pointing to Dr. King, "this wee moil can pray, but you big 'uu num row!"

M. CLEIIEXCEAC. 11. Clcnimccau, who. iii the recent attack which was made on him, so gallantly intervened to save his assailant from" violence, was originally intended for a medical career. As a matter of fact, he practised medicine, taking a coasultiiig-room in lloiitniartc, and prescribing for thousands of patients for a strictlv nominal fee. lie never sent in his bills, neither did his patients ever come to ask for them. For many years lie was regarded in France, as an unpatriotic agent for England, and whenever lie spolto nt l'" 1 ' 1 '" uieelingH lie was invariable greeted with shouts of "Ves, oil, ves."' to indicate that he. had lingIMi'svmpathic-. When in America lie siot onlv developed a reverence for Washington, whom he regards as an ideal statesman, hut he also married an American wife.

THE HAN LN BLACK. A story is told oi how when lie was j appointed to a scat in the. Cabinet for the tirst time, a telegram was dee patched to hi- country home summoiiin.' him to l'ari>. lie. reached the (jure de°Lvon in a torrent of rain. Stepping out of the station he was approached by a coitcc'lv attired man in bhiek. -Your carriage is waiting. Excellency." 11. Clcuiciiccaii jumped into the vehicle, but was a>toni-lnd to see the. man ill black close the door on him. "Are you not coming ill loo?" he cried. "11. le ilinistic," 'said Hie other, "I will rule on the box." "Oh, uonscime, you II get soaked. Come, jump in." '■Excellency." the. other started. "Enough," 11, le llinistre interrupted; "are yon coming in or not?" The man in black .stammered something as he was pulled miside. It was. on the journey home that the future President of tin- French liepublic became aware that his welldivssed companion »'a- a footman attached, to the .Ministry.

KXfMdSII IN MADRID. A leader wlin ha, recently returned from. Spain writ's: "JOver since the iniir-ri-o'e of Kin" Alfonso the Kn-li-li lan- ■ ■M-i"«i' and evcrvtlir.ig Kiifili-h is the nosl correct thing in Madrid, mid the ,-i„st fa-hiiiinible. Kngli-h fashions m every ,liape mid form are all the rage- - Kio.rii.l, sports, such u, g"lf. polo, teiini-. football, horse-racing, etc Iliciv \v«« iccentlv to be seen an Kngli-d. "in-icl comedv company peiloriiiing at l»« Cornelia Theatre, and. althi.uj.liU w., of i second-rate order, it met Willi mi- „„.;,.„. ,„ccess. The ne\v,papci» have advertisement, with such weird expressions a-: -Crcat. smart straw hats. •llinii life tr«n,ei> from Loudon-~vc-y smart.' All Spam has gone lMigli-li mad. and the very dogis and hor,es km KiHWI name*. The following clinic s!"n"'i''i one of the shop windows of u i,viii ( -ii.al cstahlishlileiit of the city.- !„„„.,' nothing until vi.it tin* ~,1i,b1i,l in. where the prices are mo,t reduced and highly incredible!"