The semi-weekly messenger., 1906-07-27
r STIRRED UP
FASHIONABLE WORLD
INNS Upon Gambling, Bridge, immortality and Di
,one-Knighthood of Noted Painter.

| from Workmen in Leeds and Manches-
ter and other big towns One work
Ing woman Of Sheffield, when sending
postal order, wrote that during thir-
" years work in a Sheffield factory II
was her greatest joy TO have her hoI-
ldays On the mOOrs. Many shiIlings
and half-crowns had come in to prove
no" widespread was the belief in the
scheme, which, mainiv through Miss
| Octavia Hill and Canon Rawnsley. had
! Deen brought to this successful cOnclu-
| sion
About e1,0O is still needed to COM
| pIeLe the purchase money for that
me Ellzabethan mansion, Darlington
court. The old market house at Win
! ster, IN Derbyshire, has passed into
the trusts hands. Mr.. G. \. ROths-
chlld IS about TO present some thirty
! acres in the Burwell Fen. to remain
IN Its primeyal state as q sanctua,z-
| for birds and plants, and beautiful
spots on Newton common and tho NAL
| Vern Hills have been presented to the
trust. This is a side Of its useful
ness that is steadily growing and is a
permanent influence for public-spirited
deeds. The trust now believes that the
time has come to ask for rOval char
| ter and to apply for parliamentary
powers to make suitable bylaws for
their properties. Clearly the national
trust deserves the honor. In DAYS
when so much Of beautiful England
IS being destroyed there is some sweet
ness in thinking that the trust will
deserve the thanks of pOsterity
The election of Cardinal Matthew to
be member of the French Academy.
was quite in the nature of things.
The academy treats itself to the lux
ury OF having cardinal among it's
members just as it carefully cultivates
the part de dues. The only thing is
that in republican France it is be-
coming more and more difficult to re-
crult dukes. Fifteen or twenty years
ago there wereGmen like the Due L
Aumale or the Duke IAudiffret-Pas-
uuler, who We're worthy of the high
honor Of being elected to the Forty
immOrtals.' But the latterday duke
IN France shows, as rule, more inter-
est in breeding xace horses than in
contributing to French literature.
There will therefore always be more
chance Of finding academicians in the
Sacred College than in the ''Almanach
de OGtha.' All the same, it is diff
ticult to explain the claims of Cardinal
Matthew to sit beneath the cupola Of
the Palais Mazarin. He is one of the
most amiable and diplomatic of pre-
lates. He has climbed the usually
thOrny path of the hierarchy to the
red hat without once showing militant
qualities. He is essentially the schOl-
arly priest But at the same time the
man in the street would be sorely
puzzled to mention the name Of sin
gle book from his eminence's pen
which could be described as a contri-
button to French literature.
The real truth is that the French
Academy has been becoming more and
more political in its composition. Take
for instance, NJ. de Freycinet Or M
Ribot. Both are men of exceptional
intelligence but their Dagaze littera-
aire, formerly the only passport to
one of the forty fauteuils, is conspic
uOus By it's absence. The same even
holds good of NJ. Paul Deschanel,
though in his case at pinch one
might accept his newspaper articles
as contributions to literature. Even
res was really more due 70 the fact
that he is a member Of the reaction
ary party in the chamber than TO MS
literary ability. great though 1t IS. But
/ when an AlNhOnse Daudet and an
| Emile ZoIa were rejected by the FOR
ty ImmortalS' the literary men or
| leading can console themselves In
the estimation of the public they oc-
! cupv the "forty-tirst fauteuil' lmmor-
talized in the bitter irony OF Arsene
Houssaye.
/ Mr.. Luke Fildes' knIghthood con-
: ferred in Yesterdays honor list on
the occasion Of the kings 'Ofhclal
: birthday is considered almost overdue.
Among English artists he may De
! termed the chief court painter, MS
great commission being the state por-
traits of the king and queen IN their
: coronation robes. 1t Is SAID that tne
queen considers Mr.. Luke tudes' por-
trait the best that has oeen painted
of her IT cannot be said that he Is
| among the outstanding painters OF
his time but. after Mr. Firth, he Is
Derhaps the most popular English
nainter. He carried on the tradition
of dramatic contemporary pictures De
gun bv the elder painter. and one would
not be surprised to learn that the
prints after The Doctor were as
numerous as those after The Derby
Dav." Since the decline of the ',anec.
dote picture he has confined himself
generally to costume portraits OF great
ladies. In his early days he illustrat-
ed Dickens Edwin brood: ana Is
understood to hold th- key of the mys-
terv The knighthood bestowed on
Carruthers Gould. the cartoonlst OF tne
westminster Gazette, is however. quite
exceptional the only precedent oelns
that of Sir John Teniel whose non
party position makes the case nt,le .
different It is exceptional. but Wnat
can be done with SO exceptlonal