Arizona republican., 1899-12-27
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TOPICS OF THE HOUR :


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 Former Senator William NJ Evarts, the venerable and much respected citi- zen of the Empire state, now nearly S2 years of age, continues to take a lively interest in the affairs of the nation. His health is such that he cannot leave his home but there he is visited by many of his old friends, who say that the giant intellect is not clouded. He mani fests a keen interest in all public ques- tions. and has closely followed the course of the nation through the Cuban and Philippine campaigns. MT. Evarts was born February 6, ISIS, in Boston. He was admitted to the bar in 1S41. was chairman of the New York delegation to the national republican convention in 1860, and proposed the name of Will liam H. Seward. At Yale and Harvard he ranked first in English literature, logic and oratory, and his own estimate of his powers is based upon attention to the studies named, all of which con- tributed to make him, as he Unques tionabiy was, the leader of the New York bar.
 The Grand Old Man of Australia, Sir Charles Nicholson. has entered on his 92d year. Graduating as NJ. D. in Ed inburgh when the queen was a little girl in short frocks, he emigrated to Australia in 1884 He is now the soli- tary surviving member of the first Aus tralian parliament. Oxford made him D. c. L. in recognition of his gener- ous benefactio2s to the University of Sydney.
 Discussing Speaker Henderson's ca- reer as a soldier. Senator Allison said the other day: When told that the leader of a student band of recruits wanted to see me, I asked that he be shown in, and a tall, clean limbed, clear eyed youngster entered. He had a lot of recruits with him, and he said his name was Henderson. I looked at the recruits; they were all right. Hen derson had not only brought those boys in on his own responsibility, but he had done it with almost no expense to any one; his enthusiasm had been so infec- tious that the farmers had been glad to feed and transport them free
 Occasionally we get little reminder that John Ruskin is still with us, all though his working days are over. He now lives at Coniston, beautiful place in Lancashire, where he has decided to spend the remainder of his days. inter- esting himself in his books, pictures, and music. It is said that of late the great philosopher has become strangely silent and uncommunicat:ve.
 
 Not long before Charles F. Moody of Bath, Me. died he asked the city coun- cil to set up a street lamp in front of his house. The request was refused and when MT. Moody's will was read it was found he had revoked an intended bequest of s75,00O for a new city hall for the town.
 The collecting of old-fashioned high grandfather's clocks, which was craze a few years ago, brought nearly all of the old pieces of this sort into the possession of the dealers and the collectors and stimulated the counter feiting of them. Some of these cou1- terfeits are clever enough to deceive the average amateur. The finest col lection of old Yankee clocks in New York city is owned by William Curtis Gibson, who has spent much money and time in making it. MT. Gibson be- gan buying Yankee clocks several years ago, and he secured some valu- able specimens from antique dealers in this city who did not appreciate them. The cases of some of these old Yankee clocks are as graceful in design and as fine in finish as the best of the old hall clocks. An old New Jersey clockmaker who had been storing a dozen or more Yankee clocks for many years, valuing them at about what the cases were worth for kindling wood, learned a short time ago that collectors were picking up such clocks and he sold all that he owned at prices that seemed to him extravagant. He had taken these clocks in exchange for new metal case clocks and he thought them to be almost worthless. The dealer who bought them sold the clocks for two and three times what he paid for them.
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 Mrs Leland Stanford writes to friends in Washington that she has now disposed of every vestige of the enormous fortune bequeathed to her by the late Senator Stanford, and has recently signed deeds transferring all his real estate to the trustees of Le- land Standford university. This in cIudes the largest cattle ranches, horse breeding establishments and vineyards in the world, with various farms. coun- try houses and large tracts of wild land. The deed covered sixty-six pages of typewriter manuscript and required S7,O00 in internal revenue stamps. Mrs. Stanford had previously transferred to the trustees of the uni versity all her personal estate, en- bracing stocks and bonds valued at s15, ,000OC0, and, so far as the actual ownership of property is concerned, she is now as destitute as the day on which she was born. She has a con- tract, however, with the trustees, un- der which she is to receive for life an annuity of s25,OOO to be used as she pleases, and all her relatives were lib- orally provided for in MT. Stanford's will.
 ALL THE WAY FROM OHIO.