Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-02

lunch party to which she came very late
and very shabby, some one wondered what
had become of a splendid set of emeraIs
which an emir ent person had sold when ex-
travagance had caused a financial catastro-
phe. II bought them. said Lady Sher-
borne. land l nearly always wear them:
indeed, have got them on now" There
upon she fumbled amid the frowsy lace at
her neck. her hands dived beneath. and
out came those magnificent stones. Lady
Sherborne was extremely kind to shy young
girls. though she sometimes embarrassed
maidens who had been out for several sea-
sons by publicly presenting them with boxes
of sweets She was devoted to the opera.
went everywhere, and was really very
clever. wel1-informed woman, though few
took the trouble to ascertain the fact for
themselves. No one doubted her good
heartedness. and she was known TO be SO
very rich-she was daughter of the late
Baron de Stern-that she could afford to
despise the smaller pretenses of personal
vanity, Of which she was totally destitute.
Able Naval Critic.
Sir William Laird Cloves. whose death is
announced. was perhaps the ablest of the
group of naval critics which distinguished
itself in the early nineties. Unlike Capt.
Mahan and Mr.. Jane. he was not a naval
officer: nor was he a naval architect. lie
was a barrster. and took to criticism of
naval affairs because his mind was bent
that way. His historical writings and much
of the critical work the world knows. But
in the service he will be remembered as the
first ou.spoken advocate of efficiency. HIS
illness prevented him from taking any part
in the discussion of the last two years. but
there can be no doubt which side had his
sympathy He did not share the views of
Sir Cypan Bridge Sir Reginald Custance
on speed in warfare Speed he said once
us the soul of all effective combinations for
offense." He wanted not only faster war
ships. but faster merchant cruisers and it
must have consoled him in the end to see
his ideas carried out. Sir John Fisher had
his support in Kidding the navy of its obso-
lete ships. for he wished to see embodied in
the modern ship of war only the most mod
ern ornaments.
One of his grievances against the admir-
atty was that 1t discouraged inventors and
sent them away to return again when their
contrivances were more perfect. The whole
sale adoption of the steam turbine naturally
pleased him. Is for the Bellevlle boilers,
there was doubt in his mind-as there is in
The minds of many still-whether the Belle
vile was defective. In this matter, in
others that seemed to him to hold back the
realization of the perfect ship. he felt that
allowance had to be made for inadequate
training of the personnel 1t was partly to
be traced to the wrong kind of passion for
simplicity at Whitehall then-the simplicity
practically of the Dreadnought. Economy
of idea. directness of aim. simplicity of de-
sign were also his ideals, but he would not
turn aside good mechanical aid to eff
cheney. however involved. for the sake OF
and men of the navy were not quite able to
it as it ought to be used. Sir Williams
loss will be keenly felt by naval officers. He
was not a sailor. But he had the sailors
outlook, the sailors iucisiveness, debate and
a rare vein of common sense to work on.
Blue Memorial Tablets.
The little blue memorial tablets by which
the London county council adds to the i'm
portance of London by making us remember
that great men have lived where we now
go about our little businesses are grad
ually shining out in every part of the
town This week two notable additions
were made One is No "a Gloucester square,
Hyde Park. where Robert Stephenson lived
the last twelve years Of his life. lie moved
from a neighboring square in 1877, and re-
manned here until his death in 1888. Dur
ing that time he devised the scheme for
uniting Christiania and the Miosen Lake,
constructed the Conway bridge, the high
bridge over the River -Aire, the Tweed via
duct and the Victoria bridge over the ST.
Lawrence The other tablet also commem-
crates a man who labored without ceasing
for the service of humanity. Richard Cob
denis house in Suffolk place had not been
considered in the councils first scheme. but
this has now been done. Golden took rooms
here in March, 1865. to be near the A'he-
naeum and the houses of parliament. He
was in poor health when he arrived. ana
the journey In bad weather increased his
Illness He went to bed and did not rise
again He died (as Mr.. Morley tells us)
with the chime of St. Martins bells in his
ears. with John Bright and George Moffat
at his bedside. The house is distinguished
from the others in this clean. placid uttle
street by its projecting ground floor. with
short futed pillars in the facade. 1t has
not been altered since 1859, aid is still let
as chamber for genteel persons
The royal British artists house across me
road ia also unchanged 1t is curious to
note that its president. Sir, Wyke Bayllss,
was made member of the society IN the
year that Golden died. L. H. MoohE.