Shorter Notices
The Squire of Piccadilly. Memories of William Stone in conversation with Henry Baerlein. (JarroIds.ifs.) "An ! That reminds me of the ladder we used to have .. . as we sailed along the Nile, so that we could lean the ladder against one of the temples and chip off little bits of it. You could do what you liked in the early eighties." These reminiscences of Mr. William Stone, a convivial bachelor who has lived in Albany for most of his life, have been taken down in the form of conversa- tion, and little of their vintage, quality has been lost in the process. Stone, who became a,trustee of Albany 56 years ago, today owns more than half the 50 sets of chambers which the place contains. The frontispiece shows him as he used to set out more than half 4 century ago to visit one of his seven clubs. He is wearing a top-hat and frock-coat, a jam-pot collar and stock with a jewelled tie- pin, a superb waistcoat and narrow and some- what baggy striped black trousers. His valet is handing him what looks like a pair of gloves. Of one of his clubs, the Oxford and Cambridge, he has been a member for 63 years.
In the 1860s Stone's nurse, if he mis- behaved, would threaten him with " Boney." She was paid ten pounds a year. After Clifton he gained a first class in Natural Science at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He was friendly with Clerk Maxwell and was offered a fellowship by his college, but he was well- off and jealous of his independence, and he declined. He has led a singularly care-free life, loving among other things travel, horses, fishing, art and the theatre. He brought his friend, Squire Bancroft, to live in Albany, and he relished the conversation of Oscar Wilde, whose wedding he attended: At one time for amusement he drove hansom-cabs , and made balloon ascents ; but he has adapted himself to cars and aeroplanes. He regrets the decay of leisure and of " badin- age," and the passing of levees. "They were the most colourful functions.. . . We males . . . put up a very fine show. . . . I usually went every other year." For long life his recipe is moderation in drink and a woollen vest worn under his pyjamas throughout the
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