The World.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2280, 19 February 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

The World.

[TIIK following paragraphs are extracted from tho London society papers and other journals.] Thk characteristic features of the christening of His Highness Prince Alexander Albert of Battcnlierg, at Windsor, on Saturday afternoon, were the coldness of the weather, the radiant spirits of the Queen, the extreme smallness of the subject of the ceremonial, the peculiar attention paid to Prince Alexander of Bulgaria (his uncle and godfather), and the rigour with which the invitations were curtailed. Lord Onslow (in the newest and most artistic of wigs) conducted the sponsors to their places ; and few of those present will forget the look of pardonable pride with which the Queen received the child from the arms of Dean Davidson. The unofficial guests were limited to ten, of which three were doctors ; and the Royal party broke up almost immediately after the luncheon in the Oak-room, at which the youug Prince was duly toasted. The dishes which always occupy the Queen's sideboard on Christmas Day— the cold baron of beef, the woodcock pie, and the boar's head—will not have to be conveyed to the Isle of Wight this year. Her Majesty usually receives several boars' heads from Germany, with other Teutonic delicacies, including a peculiar kind of gingerbread, of which the lamented Prince Consort was very fond ; and in his time a case of Imperial Tokay always reached Windsor from Vienna, as it was his invariable habit to drink a bumper of this wine every night after dinner. The proposal which is put forth in the Times fov the women of England to subscribe to a Jubilee testimonial to the Queen is an excellent one. As a woman, she has always set a bright example, whilst (is a ruler (although not, perhaps, absolutely perfect) she has been greatly superior to her masculine predecessors. Women, therefore, may well be proud of her, and they ought, irrespective of politics, to subscribe to this testimonial to one of their own stx. Mr Froude starts early next month on an intended tour through the West Indies, and he proposes to pass some time in Cuba. I wonder whether his visit will lead him to arrive at the opinion with which Carylye astounded and horrified Emerson:—"A nigger's back is the natural place for whipcord." The Duke of Marl bo rough, having commenced to farm on a large scale at Blenheim, has established a very choice herd of shorthorns there, which will be a great acquisition to Oxfordshire agriculturists, as it is the only one in the county. The duke has also stated a fine herd of Jersey*. Mr Carpenter-Gamier, late M.P. for South Devon, has sold his Mount Tavy estate, near Tavistock, to Mr Radford, of Lidford, who is carrying out a variety of extensive and costly alterations in the house and grounds. Mount Tavy lie? in the midst of some very romantic scenery, and the whole valley of the river Tavy is exceedingly beautiful. * The disciples of the Chealsea sage say that Carlyle's dsvotion towards his wife was intense ; the sceptics believe that it wasall moonshine. According to Carlyle himself, from a letter of his that is to be sold to-day at Christie's it would appear that he had his doubts about women. He says—"The hearts of women, dear little creatures, are by nature exaggerative ; many is the Bristol diamond, or poor Scotch pebble, that has been taken for a true stone of price." Madame Patti is attracting immense audiences in the States. At, Philadelphia the Welsh-born citizens presented her with two silver vases above two feet high. The chairman of their committee said to her : —" We simply pray that Almighty God will bless you with peace and plenty, and that your days in beautiful Craig-y----nos Castle may ba brighter and brighter until you are called to sing the sweet sjngs of Zion in that blessed hereafter, where the harps of gold will gladly welcome your Dnw ack bendithis chwl."

The liberal leaders are in great straits in consequence of the turn affairs have taken in Ireland. They cannot sanction the Plan of Campaign, and yet they am afraid openly to denounce it. They will attack the Government for restoring to vigorous suppression of the latest prase of Parnellism, and yet they must admit that the Executive could not allow Mr Dillon and Mr O'Brien to pursue their course unchecked. I believe, however, that, on the whole, the leading spirits in the Gladstooian party regard the development of the crisis in Ireland with satisfaction. They think that in the end it will help on the cause of Home Rule; and as long as the movement which, for the moment, absorbs Mr Gladstone's sympathies advances, the new school of Liberals will not trouble themselves about anything else.

One of the most amusing , episodes in the annual play at Westminster is the system of the College " call-boy " cominsr bofore the curtain to ask permission of the headmaster, who sits in the front row in all the pomp and glory of State, for the play to proceed. This formality takes place before each act, and, to the casual visitor, is as diverting as the array of "lower " boys in the gallery, headed by two leaders with batons, who form the most completely-organised claque that the author of the most doubtful play could wish to behold. The epilogue this year was particularly good. The Socialistic hits and stage directions, "Alba Aula" and " Pallus Mallus," aa well as the vaccination question, wore rapturously applauded. The acting was, however, not so good as has recently been the case.

All Magdalen College and half Oxford foregathered on Thursday week at S. Peter's, Saton-squire, where Mr Warren, the president of the Magdalen, married Miss Brodie. Prince Christian Victor brought both his parents, his Grace of Newmarket was too ill to be present, but a strong contingent of Magdalen undergraduates helped to fill the church, and Canon Liddon (who has now lost all the old ascentic appearance) performed the ceremony. Dr. Roberts took hie almost unrivalled choir with him to London, and the splennid singing seemed to greatly please Lord Selborne and his daughter, who were sitting amongst the dons who came to grace with their presence the nuptials of their confrere. The bride and bridesmaids, in soft silk, looked remarkably well. The bachelor Warden of All Souls' acted as best man, and Sir Benjamin Brodie gave his sister away. The Magdalen undergradnates provided a very maguificent wedding-present for their president.

Lecturing at Brightlingsea last week on silos, Mr Bateman stated that he was opposedto Lord Tollemache's tap system of draining silos, but that he had tried himself and drained a certain amount of juice into a sunk tank. Soon afterwards lie found his labourers were extracting this juice from the tank, tormenting it, and making what they called silo wine, on whick they got most gloriously drunk. The Irish Government expect that they will derive great assistance in defeating the Plan of Campaign from the operation of the bankruptcy law. The landlord can make his defaulting tenants bankrupt, and the effect of that will be not only to deprive them of fixity of tenure, but of the value of their tenant right and improvements. If the tenants see this danger before them they will be less ready to adopt the Plan of Campaign.