MAINLY ABOUT PEOPLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 115, 12 June 1909, Page 3

MAINLY ABOUT PEOPLE.

(London M.A.P.) A PRINCESS OF WALES STORY. Little Princess Marys recent birthday recalls an anecdote which the Princess of Wales once told in a speech to a certain girls' society. "When I. was a schoolg.rl," said her Royal Highness, 'I liked geography with all uiy heart, and am afraid that 1 was very ignorant in the subject. Once I was' set a map of the world to do front memory—the outI line only. On showing it lo my governe.w wi.ien completed, she said in quite an alarmed manner, 'Why, you have left out China! Don't you know where it isV 'Yea',' I replied, very stubbornly, tat .very loyally, '1 know where It should ibe, tat 1 am not going to put it in my map. The Queen is angry with China now, »o it has no right to have a place in ibe world at all!'" WHEN THE ROYAL PLATE WAS LOST.

During the recent spring cleaning at Sandringham an antique silver inkstanl, to whiclr the Queen attaches particular store, went astray. It has, however, turned up again, much to the relief of all concerned. This' malls a similar incident, when something like a panic took place at Windsor C'netlo a year or two ago. A Stale banquet \v.is to take place, and tins inngnilieent collection of gold plate was to be displayed. Those charged with Hue cleaning of this went to the huge wales w3iere it is kept, and great was the consternation when it was found that two beautiful gold ewers, that date back to the reign of Ceorge 11., were not in their accustomed places. The heads of the Castle police were immediately summoned, and a thorough s'i'tticli of the safes ami the liovil pantries took place to see if anything else was missing. Everything was"therc° however, but the ewers were nowhere Ito be seen. The higher ollicials of the Castle were at once communicated with, [and everyone who could have tan concerned with the varnished treasures in any -way were rigorously examined, and special help from Scotland Yard was summoned. The propriety of informing the King wais being discussed when n occurred to one.of tJie ollicials to telephone to Buckingham Palace to ask for the plate sales there to (bo opened to see if by any chance the ewers had been left behind. To the relief of everyone, an affirmative reply was received. The • oflicor of the Household, however, whose : dirty it is to check the .return of ill plate from the other Royal palaces to \\ mdsor, had a very bad quarter of an hour.

TSAR AS SPECULATORS j Of all European nionarelts probably ,th(j most systematic speculator is the Isar of Russia, who has a rcmarkab'y keen insight into the intricacies of the money market. Moreover, his Majesty rarely makes a bad investment, ilis •Majesty adheres to the excellent rule of never allowing ihis linaircial losses to exceed the sum of .£20,000 a year. This is by no means- such a large 'sum when it is remembered that the Tsar is, with the possible exception of the Sultan of turkey, the wealthiest sovereign in the world. Only once did he actually exceed in one year .the limit to which he is prepared to go. That was live years a-o when his Imperial Majesty plunged i heavily on some Russian gold miniii" I shares which afterwards turned out worthless. It appear* that on this soli- • tary occasion he .went against his life- I long habit and acted on the advice ol I a leading fit. Petersburg stockbroker, i who, fcuraaig- the property to be in a ! ua<l way, induced the Tsar, to toy-in I order that toe might get rid of his own ' shares. The Tsar conducts all his flnan~! cial transactions* through an agent, and I once every half-year such shares as his ' Majesty wishes to retain uro then regis- i tered la his own name. b \

THE EDUCATION OF A QUEBX. i A correspondent sends the following account of the training of Queen "WiF lamina. Much aa has been written about her girlhood, these details are as J!"™ , as ">«)' a l '" iiitercwiug. Queeu Uilhelimiia, like Kais,r Wilhelm, Ki„.. . Alfonso of Spam, the Empress Alt. ai.dra of Hussy, the King of Italy, and, ■»deed, many „„„ther hinte and Pri n ! I w.-s destined to play an important part : on lie European stage, was brought up ! b., an English g, m ,„ess. The now fan' .each Ui hHmk.-" wt !<n , sh , ° wa \, but talolt the e1n.,1 had reached her sixth >"«•'%. with the facility of aenuiria" I, '■ *v v"" W ■ <?hatt « almost as T • '?J? shsh " 3 '" But <-'« °i' French ijiui-en Hilhelmina's education was contoted by her mother on most or W Ta> a Sups chalet forming tlle nnc , , a little estate, »nd over this she was - -uu to exercise complete control.

A MODEL ESTATE. ! »„', .JHsolf hclpmg to dig, sow seeds prick lettuce, and 4l t : n I h° W a aut oßl y <* ut ° £ doors, b« n " ' 'othouses provided for ],er. Itoaed a'bout her estate were building on>^,c.l l ,cken», 1 ,„d™bbits. a „d] l iv? 1 ; »l t, "J the eh,ld. who loved ,U| nni- • , but loved horses the best, would ™ ' ""favorites' stalls and feed x l,c" ;!( «l<ple« and carrots. There -was '•'{,' noiii,shore to s | lol . t| ■''''''•'Ulu.l'rim.essffilhelraiu'aontl™. «•' H.ons, and her governess tells what large ucmamls her youthful family m „, k . u;:on jut hiveiiLive fatuity, and how uukkly tlie power of romancing was cultivated, and practised with success.

A DOLL FAMILY. A large family of dolls was bought for her, and these she was taught to hantUe as morise'.'s of humanity. An establishment was set up for the dulls, and on so targe a scale t,lr.it children, and even "grown-ups," could move with comfort anions.' the nicely-proportioned furniture. '.there were papa, and mamma, and 'boy, and girl, and lraliy-iuloug-clolhcs dolls, to say uo.iiing oi ilomei.ks! Tlw cans of them took up ii great part of Wilhehuina's day. They had ailments which' were treated serloursly; they had regular meals and regular les'souw; and were taken for walks anil drives,

LORD LAX§DOWNE ASD A PKOPIIECY. Lord Lairadowiw, who is to preside at (he forty-sixth anniversary dinner of the Newspaper Press Fund, had, when yet Earl of Kerry and an undergraduate iit Oxford, a remarkable prophecy made concerning thiui by Jowet't. "There goes a mini," declared the famous don on oao occasion, "who is as sure lo be Foreign Secretary in due time, in whichever party he chooser*, as to-inorrow'n sun is to rise." A s «H the world knows, the prediction came 'to pass. It is perhaps only in the fitness of things that Lord Lansdowne i»))ui|ks French as well, and pi'ol'irblv belter, tlnui the average Paris'lau, when it is reineniliered that on hih mother's ,<:<le he is descended from n famous French diplomat. Unlike, many a lesser ?*--'i,i French scholar, lflnvever, his h ' •:. ver uses the foreign knauage when an English expression will serve. Illustrating this pornt on one occasion, Lord 'Lansdowne told an amusing story of an Englishman and a Frenchman who were bidding each other liOoil-ihye at a railwtty station. The former, whose knowledge of Frcneili was not all it should be. called out as the train was movimr, "An reservoir." The hitler wavrl !i- hand and answered, '■Tanks."

THE DUKE OF IIUTTiAND. The Duke of I'ntlaud, who has been advocating compulsory ie-lUs>.cs for M.TVs sn that thoy may learn more about asrifultiire \ras\ as plum Mr. Manners, nrivlite >..,..■..*.,,.,. („ i] w ] ato T i(m l Sali* liuvv. whi-ii !>'■■ eirned the nickname of "Salisbury's Manners." The Duke is an active man, who takes great interest in current affairs. TTo is particularly interested in education, and sonic time ago made an amusincr spceclli on the Ir* nori.aure of tenchina people to write I their own name? distinctly. When lie. wes a secrelnrv, lie said, he had to mien 1 f thousands) of letters every voar. Vervj oflten the text of the letter could lie j ' read, lint it was impossible to find out . | who bad signed- it. Tie had receive.l a I b'l,li": onV a short time previously, and lie had not the sligfiit'est conception I whnm it "'as from. When ,he rcilbd Ito letters like lint, continue^his Gvne\ amid lausrh'ter. he always enl the Mire 1 oil' and t>as;ted it on the envelope, trmt--11 in? to the clevomesfe and wit of the post I hum.