WOMAN'S WORLD.

Mrs Humphrey Ward speaks French. German, Italian and Spanish, and whilst atil! m her teens acted as judge m a Spanish essay competition. Women who are fortunate enough to possess quaint old seals engraved with their crests as monograms may congratulate themselves, for fashion has decreed that sealinp-wax is again to come into use. Beautiful colours, m shapely sticks, are being prepared to match our Chippendale and Wedgwood papers, and m greys and heliotropes. Experts say that the woman dressed with most taste on the Melbourne Cup day was a bookmaker's wife, and her quiet and ladylike manner added materially to the effect of a beautiful and perfectly-fitting gown, which, if left alone, one might describe bb black stuff with silver shiny things on it. The majority of costumes were described as " rag-bags." The newest idea m England is to have three leaves for ball progranAnes. The music and dances, the partners, and a page headed " Rendezvous," give enough space to clearly write a description of the partner. The narrow column given on some programmes does not give space enough to clearly write what is necessary to find a partner at "large balls. Lady Aberdeen has notions about the elevwtion of the rnas3c», and one idea is that she should, as the chatelaine of the manor, dine with her servants occasionally-. She does ii regularly once a week. It is a" remnant of the baronial days of sitting ■• above " and " below the salt," but must be an intensely uncomfortable quarter of an hour for al! concerned. The earl, it is said, strongly objects to this old family custom being kept up. Lord Salisbury was out driving recently, and his carriage collided with a gig driven by two ladies. The axle of the. gig wns broken and one of the occupants sustsuncd a. somewhat serious injury to tbe he«<3! by falling upon a fence. The Premier placed his own carriage at the disposal of the ladies, who, accompanied by a lady who was, with Lord Salisbury, were driven to their home. Meanwhile, his Lordship sat patiently by tbe wayside and waited until his carriage returned. Tha record pedestrian feat for a woman is that of Mrs Adams Acton, the well-known story writer. She once walked from 1 London to Scotland with her husband, five children, two nurses, and a baby m a perambulator. Tbe baby was a god-child of Mr Gladstone's, and, m fact of thut overwhelming fact, and the Jong journey m his infancy, he is now much like otJicr toddlers. The" nurses were awarded " Ally Sloper's" award for merit. Five 'hundred miles were traversed "by this euter^rising family. The Queen has sent a silver loving cup to Mr James Shaw, the Superintendent at Liverpool of the London and North-Western Railway, who retired from service a few weeks ago. The cup was sent as a mark .of the Queen's grateful appr<wiation of the services rendered m contributing to her safety and comfort whilst travelling during the past thirty-two years. Mr Shaw has four times a year accompanied the Royal train over the northern division of the London and Xorth-Western Railway. "La Fronde," the Paris feminist paper, is by no'meunn thfe first of its kind, for a copy of " L'Atheueo des Dames," a newspaper written hy women for women, and dated January •1, 1808. has been found m the French national archives. Thp aim of the paper was evidently to place, wonten on »n equal footing with men, but these pioneers were nearly 100 years ahead o{ their times, for the paper died a premature death. "La Fronde," on the other bund, though written, printed and published by women alone, is still flourishing, after ne«rly three years' existence. The Princess of Wales is by no meana extravagant m her dressing. The following is a description of her latest house-dress, taken from " Modern Society." Tt is of cream silk, spotted with navy blue, and trirrAnrd with gathered ribbon. The sleeves havp tight-fit-ting foundations, over which ». small upper part of folded siik is arranged to simulate an epaulette, and it is trimmed with niching m continuation of n line of bodice trimming. The bodicr has a seamless back, plain across the shoulders, and gathered to the waist at the crntre. There m a yoke of folded silk, mid the hodicf? pouches slightly «t the waist. The skirt i.« plum, and has a gore on each side of the front, and two back gores. The fulhiPKs at tho back is gathered tightly to tho centre. The rnstimir is lined throughout with soft Mitopn. Tlio last sentence gives us tho -right to he economical if wo will, and yet remain quite fashionable. Most fashionable weddings m An.triea are rehearsed ifu full dress, tho clergyman himself being prosent. The church is lighted, the organist is m his place, the whole bridal party i» present, the signal is givrn, they march up ihe aisle, and at the altar the whole ceremony \» gone through except answering the questions. The bride rtnd bridegroom are instructed not to any "yes" at the wrong time, told when to kneel flown, when to y,vt up, and go thrortgh the difficult and generally trying Q]>uFHti»ti of putting on the ring. Sometiiw*n tho bride and bridegroom go up the hi-hlp a (io/.cn dilTerrut limes with different slops nnrl rlrpirr* of rapidity, Iwfore Ihny hit uji'in what their circle of nenr friruds and relsitfvrf; poiißider the correct. thing. Tbe bmde often tries hall a dozen positions, itncJ many more expressions. In one position she leans a littfe forward; m another she walks erect. Whether she carrion her head on the rigW or left wide is considered important. The way thp veil looks bent ; the adjustment of the ttuin nt the- altar-, co thii(- she can turn round! easily; tho prtv per attitude m coming bacV— these and various other mutters have to be considered nnd mnrked out carefully m ad vll Vice.