Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1891-01-31 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

THE SOCIETY PAPERS.  (From the World.)  The Queen has just presented a magnificent elephant to the Emperor of Morocco. The animal was purchased in India expressly for the purpose; and it was brought from Calcutta in a P. and 0. steamer to Giberaltar, whence it was conveyed in H.M.S. Phaeton to Mazagan, on the way to Fez. The elephant is splendidly caparisoned, and mountel with a sumptuous howdah. The Queen of the Belgians has inherited in no small degree the superstitious feelings of her Hapsburg ancestors, who believe so implicitly in the White Lady of the Hapsburg. She regards January as the unlucky month of her husband's dynasty, and always passes through it with fear and trembling. It was in January that she lost her only son; in January the husband of her second daughter was murdered; in January 1890 all her personal souvenirs were burned in the lire at Laeken ; and now in January 1891 she loses her nephew Prince Baudouin. It was in January also that she saved her sister-in-law, the ex-Empress Charlotte, from the conflagration which consumed the Terveuren Palace.  The late Prince Baudouin was in feature by no means unlike his English cousins, as he inherited the fair hair, light eyes, and fresh complexion of the Hohenzollerns. He came of age last June, and for some years past had been learning the duties of kingship in the study of Leopold L He was accustomed to walk constantly about Brussels in his Carabineer's uniform, and was almost as well known as the King. He threw himself heart and soul into his military work, and during the intense cold of December was accustomed to command his troop while carrying out certain manceuvres on the frost-bound roads. He was immensely popular, both with the men and his brother officers, entering into all the amusements as well as the business of soldiering. He was greatly distressed by the illness of his favourite sister Henriette, by whose bedside he watched for several nights.  Though Parliament has met and a great number of people are in town, London is very dull; there is absolutely nothing doing or coming on. People who dine out a great deal say they never had so few invitations; and, what with an early Lent, London promises to be very dull till after Easter. Mr. Horace Hamilton, who died suddenly last week in Dublin, was the brother of the gallant Lieutenant Hamilton, R. E., V. C., who perished with his chief, Cavagnari, at Cabul, as well as of two other soldiers who died in their country's cause. Mr. Horace Hamilton was reputed the fastest bowler in Ireland, and his cousin of the same name holds the lawn-tennis championship. Lord Rosebery has gone abroad for a few weeks, having been advised to take a complete change and rest; his children are in London, where they will remain until their father returns to England.; An extraordinary number of masters of foxhounds intend to retire at the close of the season, and it is impossible to imagine where successors to most of them will be discovered. Lord Penrhyn gives up the Grafton country, which he has hunted for many years at his own expense; Mr. Oakeley, the Atherstone, after a most successful mastership of 20 years; Mr. Tindall, the Cambridgeshire; Mr. Wickham, the Fitzwilliam ; Major Alfrey, the South Berks; Major Tempest, the Blankney ; Mr. Esdaile, the West Somerset; Mr. Ricardo, the Craven; Lord Fingal], the Meath; and last, but by no means least, Mr. Bassett has decided to resign the mastership of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, in which he succeeded Lord Ebrington about five years ago, and it will be very difficult indeed to replace him.