TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 35, 12 February 1890, Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

(from our special correspondent.)

London, December 12. HEALTH OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

The insistence of the Courb newsmen that the Prince of Wales is perfectly well again has no effect whatever on " Bocietv," which: has somehow become aware that H.R.H. is suffering from a troublesome complaint which with men of his age generally ends fatally. Apropos I may remind you of the well-known Hamilton Palace prediction, which has since last year greatly impressed superstitious folk, and provoked some discomfort even in the Royal family itself. The prophecy came about this way. In 1877; the Prince of Wales, the late Prince Imperial of France, and the Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria were all on a visit to the Duke of Hamilton, at Hamilton Palace. One Sunday afternoon the Duke took his guests round the stables and riding schools, and the Prince Imperial distinguished himself by mounting and tamingahitherto unmanageable stallion. Amongst the onlookers was an old woman who enjoyed the reputation of being a wonderful spae-wife or fortune-teller. This somehow got to the Princes' ears, and they sent for the crone and urged her to prophesy for them. The old lady was much moved, but for a long time nothing could be gob oub of her. At last one of the suite audibly pronounced her a fraud. In a?.i instant the weird creature arose angrily and solemnly pronounced something in Gaelic which horrified all the Scotch present. Fortunately, the Princes could not understand, and the Duke of Hamilton promptly hurried his guests on. Tho Prince of Wales, however, insisted on knowing what the spae-wife 'had said. He was told, and looked a little grave. Ito seems the old witch predicted thafe none of the heirs apparent present would wear a crown. The incident was naturally remembered when the Crown Prince Rudolph died last year, and some tactlesa person repeated it to tho Princess of Wales. H.R.H., nob being very weJl at the time, fainted. This catastrophe occurred ab Windsor, and of course reached the Queen Ja ears, who insisted on knowing " all about it," with the result 'chub in a few hours the story waa Palace tedk. THE FATHER OF THE HOUSE. Mr Christopher Rice Mansel Talbob, the; " Father of the House of Commons," and the richest landed commoner in England, is dangerously/ ill. He has long since passed the allotted threescore years and ten, being in facfj 87 years old, and up to a month back an joyed excellent health. Mr" Talbot is a character. He entered the House in IS3O, an ardent Whig, and haa thrice refused a peerage. A regular attendant at debates, he for year 3 was one of the Sxsb members to reach the.House and last to .lea,va. Rumour indeed at one time; had it bivib he waited to put oub the lights. Billiards is his favourite relaxation, and even of late years it has been no unusual occurrence for the vivacious old gentleman to sit up playing till 4or 5 a.m. A question of title alone prevented Mr Talbob's taking a peerage. He wished to revive the Barony of Mansel, and that Mr Gladstone could "not consent to, as it would take precedence over several other peerages. Mr Talbot was obstinacy personified on the subject;. He would be Lord Mansel or Lord ntDthing. AUTHORS' PROFITS. The Largest sum ever paid for a biography was £18,000, which Sir Walter Scott gob for his "Lute of Napoleon." Sir Walter alsoreceived, the record price of £8,234 for " Woodstock," which was written in three^ monthf/. For eleven novels and "Tales of my Landlord," the same gifted author had £110,000, and in nineteen months—from November, 1825, to June, 1827—he earned no '/ess than £26,000. Longmans paid Maoaulaj' £20,000 for the second and third volames of his history, and Thiers and La,martine each received £19,000 for a history. Victor Hugo, who could only command 300 francs for "Han d'lslande,'* obtained £16,000 for "Los Miserables," which is far the highest price ever paid for a novel. George Eliot's £10,000 for "Romola" is said to have recouped the publisher well ; but the £12,000 given for " Middlemarch" newer came back again. Bulwer Lyfcton made £80,000 by his novels; and Trollope (in twenty years) £70,000. Wilkie Collins' £5,000 for •" Armadale" and £3,000 for "No Name," everyone .haa heard of ; but ib may not be so generally known that Sue gob £6,400 for the " Mysteries of Paris" and £4,000 for "The Wandering Jew." John Murray paid Gibbon £10,000 for thtf "Decline and Fall" and Lord Byron £23,000 in four years. Of the late Mr Tupper's "Proverbial, Philosophy," a million and a-hialf of copies wera sold in America, and ior these he received the magnificent sum of £80 ! The sales of the English edition, however, yielded a comfortable annuity for some years. Colenso's "Pentateuch" sold for £3,000, and Paley's "Elements" realised £2,000. DRAMATIC NOTES. One hundred pounds per week was the inducement offered to Miss Kate Vaughan to return to the burlesque stage and play a small part in the Christmas revival (written up to date) of Brough's " Field of the Cloth of Gold." Unfortunately, ib was a sine qua non that the lady should give at lease one of the beautiful dances for which she was erstwhile so famous, and in which she has never beea equalled ; and that her doctor forbade. Miss Vaughan will never dance in public again. On the subject of " The Gondoliers " the critics are, for once, absolutely unanimous. Save perhaps " Pinafore," ib is the most (all-round) [satisfactory work the collaborators have produced. With neither libretto, music, nor performers is it possible for even the most hypercritical to find a serious fault.

Curiously enough, " La Tosca," though affording the finest acting and most perfect tout ensemble, seen in London for a long time, has, so far, failed to catch on with the public. The fact is, it is too full of horrors for our sisters, our cousins, and our aunts.