LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2308, 26 May 1898, Page 43

LADIES' GOSSIP.

•*-One day a tall, handsome, and very young-looking officer in the uniform of the 16th Lancers stepped out of the train at Windsor with, an almost boyish expression of happiness on his face, and tucked himself modestly into the Royal carriage waiting to convey him to the castle. This unassuming son of Mars- was none other than Lord Fincastle, come to receive his V.C. from tha hand of his Sovereign, in recognition of his gallantry in going to the rescue of lieutenant R. T. Greaves, at Nawa Kili, last August, under a murderous fire of tfte enemy. There were three officers in all and five of the Guides in this rescue party. Poor Greaves was killed as fchey Drought him" in, Lieutenant -■ Maclean (one of the rescuers) was mortally wounded, and -Lord Finca&tle's horse was shot under him. Th} Queen was quite charmed with this modest and comely hero when he appeared in her presence, and said many gracious things about her appreciation of his bravery. Her Majesty was also much interested to heir that the book which he and Lieutenant Lockhart have written about the " Frontier Campaign " made its appearance in print that, very day by an auspicious coincidence. Lord Fincastle is the son of Lord Dunmori. and has nearly completed his twenty-seven+h year, though he looks so young. He ha 3, however, already had a good deal of military experience, having served, in the Soudan campaign in 1896. After that he went out to India as aide-de-camp to Lord Elgin, and took part in the recent operations in Uppei* Swat.

— While the Queen of Italy is known as a doughty hill-climber and a beautiful woman, it. seems to escape general recognition that she is also the most -learned royal woman in Europe. From her earliest childhood Queen Margaret has had a passion for books, and early set herself to master the different languages in which the best of them are written. She studied English in order to make Shakespeare's acquaintance ; and to this day he remains her favourite author, followed closely by Ruskin and Darwin. Among German writers she loves Goethe best ; among French, Racine and Chateaubriand. She knows Spanish well, and Latin end Greek are familiar tongues. Add to this a wide range of 'ologies of which shs has a thoroughly practical knowledge, and the Italian Queen's title to the reputation of being the most learned of Queens is obvious.

— There are many society leaders who can on occasion make admirable and often eloquent speeches. Both the Princess of Wales and the Princess Louise — the Marchioness of Lorne — are capable of saying the right thing at t-he proper moment, ani the Baroness Burdett-Coutts and Lady Randolph Churchill can both speak in a thoroughly earnest manner almost without preparation of any kind. The latter lady is a smart and pointed speaker. Lady Hencv faomerset, too, is often eloquent ; aad. tirnongst actresses, Miss Fanny Brough — ■ who manifests the deepest interest in the welfare of her sister actresses — can always arrest the attention of the heads of her profession, for she is a most sensible speaker. — Princess Victoria, the elder daughter of Princess Christian, is an excellent horsjwoman, and now rides regularly to hounds. — Her Majesty does not keep Lent herself, but, with her usual thoughtfulness, she is not unmindful of those who consider meagre fare necessary to the well-being ot their souls, and Lenten dishes are duly prepared, some of which are quite delicious, and far removed form "eating penance. '* Mackerel souffle a la Carmelite is worthy of trial. Mince and pound in a mortar five ounces of uncooked mackerel free from all bone and skin. Put six ounces of butter, the same quantity of flour, yolks of three very fresh eggs, half a pint of milk, and "a dust of cayenne pepper into a stewpan. Place the pan on the fire and stir steadily till the contents boil ; mixing thoroughly so that there be no lumps. Now remove the slewpau from the fire, put into it the pounded fish, and add a little cold milk. Whip to a very stiff froth the whites of the eggs and put them into the pan. Have ready a well-buttered souffle tin which has a band of greased paper standing two inches above it. Pour in the -prepared mixture, and sprinkle a few browned breadcrumbs over the top, with some pieces of butter here and there. Bake in a moder-ate oven for half an hour, remove the paper, and ser\'e at once, very hot. — Khadija Hanem, the sister of fihe Khedive of Egypt, devotes her life to improving the condition of her felloiv countrywomen. She adopts for her work the native dress, and wanders fearlessly in the lowest quarters of Cairo ministering to fclse needs of the poor. The Khadija is specially interested in a girls' school which she lias started in conjunction with Lady Winthrop Stanley.

— The wife of the late Earl of Bradford had a sister, of whom it was said she wi« the only woman- who refused offers of marriage from two Prime Ministers. Sh& was a Miss Forester, and in her youth refused Lord Palmerston. She married the Earl of Chesterfield, and as his widow refused Lord Beaconsfield.

— The Princess of Wales receives mainanonymous letters. TKey come to her on all sorts of subjects, often inclosing presents. Recently she received a box with holes punctured in tlie sides, and, when she opened it, a tiny white dog jumped out. H3l* lioyal Highness has kept the dog. — Diamonds, rabies, sapphires, and emeralds are the " precious " stones. When mounted, however, all gems are classed as jewels, including the xoeaxl, opal, topaz, garnet, tourmaline, and chiysoberyl. — Speaking of things Yankee, their lat-sst invention is certainly a most admirable one. Hot air "on tap " has long won itself a place among the resources of civilisation, but now an enterprising New Yorker has arranged that cold air shall be provided in pipes to householders, who will have it on tap just like gas or water. Many possibilities are brought into view by this xrea r convetiience. At overcrowded evening parties a thrifty hostess who liad her hcras-a properly connected 'with, the cold-stora^3 plant would undoubtedly find her reward :n.: n. a reduced consumption of champagne. Than think of its social and moral' effects ! Who can say what might be the consequences' cf malting an icy breeze through the cosssc-

Vatory among the couples who are sitting nut? ' Probably it would nip many an imIprudent proposal in the bud, and certainly it would leave" many a flirtation drooping under its chill; Then think of its advan'fcages at public meetings and in the House. — An interesting anecdote of Nellie Grant, tlie President's daughter, is told in an (American paper. Miss Grant, when a schoolgirl, visited London, and was asked to luncheon by Queen Victoria. After the meal jivas over, and Nellie had gone, the Marchioness of Eiy, the ' Queen's secretary, ,who was of the party, expressed her ,great surprise .at the perfect self-posses- ■ aion . and freedom , from embarrassment of the young* American. " Yes," said the \ Queen,- smiling,' "indeed, it was I who was embarrassed." • — An old woman, with faded crape hat. and black shawl "drawn closely about her shouldeis, that were still straight, walked briskly up to the box-office window^ of a. ' London theatre one evening recently. " Will you please tell me- what will be a-phiyio here to-night?" was her question of the ' ticket seller. "' A Widow's Tears,' " re- •' plied- the man inside.' "It's a^sad un, am t ' it? " eagerly asked the old woman, her keen •grey eyes, brightening. ' '"Nothing but' •weeping.";'" Good; good," muttered the old ; woman, ■as she turned away. It was a big 'opening night. .As the crowds poured out ixito'the street 1 they saw a stoop-shouldered, " decrepit old woman, who hobbled on a stick, bhe wore a crape-hat and black shawl. On a tray that she carried were shoe laces and lead pencils, which, in a quavering, entreating tone, she offered for sale. Pennies and sixpences rained into the tray, but shoe laces and lead pencils were untouched. Hearts were still tender irom recent' pathos^ There is nothing like seizing the opportunity. — A woman's club has been formed in America the rules of which prescribe that the candidate must remain single, make a " verbatim report in open meeting of every proposal of marriage, received, write a poem or story every month, and learn fencing. — The announcement is made of the en- , gageinent of Miss Catherine Duer to Mr Clarence H. Mackay, son of Mr John W ' Mackay, and a wealthy heir. Miss Duer was one of the Duchess of Marlborough's bridesmaids, • and is a great beauty. She is regarded a"s the cleverest girl in New York Society. , '—Which private individual possesses the largest and most expensively decorated and furnished bedroom? is the question asked in ' a Home paper, which replies as follows: — Mr Stephen S. Marchand,' the American millionaire. This apartment is of elliptical form, 76ft by 22ft. The walla are panelled ' wHli elaborate carvings, after the style of ' Louis XV. .The background is finished white enamel, and .the carving and mould- " ings gilt..' TJurpr^ce for the wall and dado . woodwork alone amounted to the ■ sum o x ' £12,800. ,The_ wall inside the panels is . hung with a purple and gold Genoese velvet. _ This material was" manufactured by a Lyons firm, at a cost of £7 15s a yard. The ceiling elaborately carved and decorated by special . artists from Paris, cost £3870 more. The curtains were of the same material as bhe - -wall panels, and five pairs, with accessories, cost £1840 ; whilst under-curtains, made by hand of the finest Brussels net, interwoven _ with silk, cost another £1350 at £270 per ' pair. The bedstead, of massive ebony,- with elaborate carvings of solid ivory and inlaid with gold filigree, cost nearly £38,000. This bedstead took nearly 2£ years in making. A single broad ivory band which runs round the under-framing was fret-cut in such an Intricate pattern that four fret-cutters were over 18 months on this part of the bedstead alone, and one of the men thus employed lost his reason by the tedious nature of the work. The magnificent trophy at the head of the bedstead was so large that a single piece of ivory could riot at first be obtained. After seven months a tusk of the requisite size was found, and .the cost of this ivory and the journey to Africa, where the tusk was discovered, ran Mr Marchand into a further expense of nearly £4000. The hangings of the bedstead were of a special purple damask, costing £4 18s per yard, exclusive of the initial cost of the loom cards. ' The wardrobe cost £29,080 ; the v dressing table, £12,400 ; washstand, £7200 ; and table de nuit, £2870 — the "entire suit amounting to ,£93,550.- The chairs, of solid carved ivory, ' ] with ebony and 'gold inlay, brought ( this . amount up to .something over £100,000. Trifling items, such as £750 for a chevalglass, £1230 ,for a chimney-piece and over- , glass, £490 each for the iour doors of the - room, £228 each for the over-doors of the same, and £710 for the wash-table fittings of Oriental alabaster made the whole cost amount to £193,740. — " Hair dressing nowadays," writes the Paris correspondent of a London paper. " plays a very important part in the completion of a lady's toilet. Artificial waving of the hair with curling-irons is almost entirely discarded in favour of broad, rather loose waves, obtained by a new and simple process. A very pretty style, and one quite new, is produced by the hair being waved all round the head, and parted 'in the centre in front. Clusters of light curls fall over the forehead. The hair turns up high behind, is very much waved, and formed into an upright twisted cogue on the top of the head. Another effective way of dressing the hair is to wave it all round the nead. to separate ifc from ear to ear, bring it together in front, turn it back over a frisette or cushion, combing it loosely so as to make it puffy, leaving the forehead uncovered. The back hair is turned right up, fastened with a modern comb ornamented with several rows of small pearls, the chignon boing formed by an eighteenth century cogue with friezed points, above which an ornament, composed of bows of ribbons and -wings, is placed. For evening wear, for dinner, or for full dress the hair is . ornamented with flowers, feathers, fancy aigrettes, and jewellery. Poufs of feathers ■ or light material, too, are much worn, some of which are composed of gold braid and marabout feathers, finely spangled marabout resembling hoar-frost, of flowers with foliage, and dragon-fly wings, of twisted knot* of blue, pink, or maUve velvet, mixed with clusters of lilies-of-the-valley, of silver leaves and gauze wings, and especially pretty ones deftly formed by a combination of feathers and flowers." —A lar^e firm of refreshment coutractoxs

establishments in various parts of ! England make it the practice to engage as • waitresses the daughters of people who, to : use a common expression, have " come down J in the world." Amongst their large staff ; are girls who are daughters of solicitors, ' doctors, and even clergymen, who have fallen on evil days, or died, leaving their ! families unprovided for. It may not be alto- . j gether out of consideration for this class 1 that the firm recruits its waiting staff from amongst its members, but such is the ! - general belief, and the wages paid being j , somewhat above the average, the situations j , are eagerly sought after. It is said that on [ t marriage each girl is presented with a sub- j stantial present .in the shape of current i coin of the realm, but for the truth of this '. the writer will not vouch. One would, imagine that very few refreshment house- ; keepers would delight in having ugly, or ! ' severely plain, girls to wait on their cusj tpmers, but an old-fashioned Quaker conj fectioner, who also kept a cafe, would j tolerate no others. Moreover, their dress j had to be aa seA-erely plain as their looks, and so had their method of doing up their hair. \ If . there was one thing lie 'abominated "in 'a waitress more than another it ' was the ev.er : popnlar fringe, and any app'i- j cant whose fair brow was thus adorned was j promptly informed that she would not suit. ! Not one of his waitresses was allowed to ] converse with a customer of the male per- j suasion, and if one happened to smile while taking an order she was at once severely reprimanded for her levity. Since the old man's death his place of business has been conducted on more modern and rational ! lines ; and it has consequently lost its • former reputation for the plainest waitresses ; in town. As showing the difference in j people, it may be mentioned that there is a cafe in London in which none but waitresses who wear the fringe are employed. ■- The proprietor asserts that this adornment greatly improves a young woman's appearance, and as a result makes her a more acceptable waitress both to him as an employer and to the public as customers He ! may be right or wrong as to this, but there ! can be no doubt that, his refreshment rooms 1 are both popular and prosperous. The patrons of another establishment are waited on by a bevy of tall damsels, none others being engaged for this class of work, 'mere does not appear to be any particular reason for this, except the desire for uniformity in height. — A certain charming woman, who is not afraid of being thought unconventional, has grown tired of asking people to musical evenings only to discover that they detest the sound of a piano, and have only accepted because they did not know- what else to do, and says that she has done for ever with forcing cards upon other people who would rather be left "alone to talk -to each other. " My new scheme will do away with that," she explained. "My idea is to decide at the beginning of each season how many and j what" kind of entertainments I shall give during the -winter. This iisfc'l mean to send to all my acquaintances, asking each one to i check oft' the particular thing he prefers, j and return the list with his name. Then I shall sort these out, putting all of one kind in a pile by itself, and when the time coinos i for me to give a function, all that I stiall i have to do will be to make up my invitation list from these names. In that way, you see, I shall be assured that everyone is getting what he likes most, and that if he is bored he can reflect that it is all his own fault, and that next time he had better choose something else." —It may interest the fair readers of Modern Society, says a writer in that papev, to learn that the richest satins of Jiinglish manufacture will be chiefly used for DBb fashioning of dresses for the forthcoming Drawing Rooms. White, pearl, oyster, and the palest mauve are the favourite colours, while the finest embroideries in gold, silver, diamante, and jewelled spangles will be lavishly employed. Emeralds and rubies are the chosen jewels, and those who do not possess them must either take a back seat or resort to a clever " imitator." One very great lady who is renowned for her co-ec-tion of the former gems has chosen a very beautiful toilette to wear with them, 'lue jupe (petticoat) is composed of ivory satin worked in the finest silver thread. The design takes the form of lilies-of-the-valley, the leaves being represented in applique of lily-of-the-valley, green. The bodice, which is in the same tender shade of satin, is entiiely draped with priceless old rose point fastened with emeralds and diamonds. From the waist falls a regal train in emerald -green velvet", trimmed on one side with a cascade of rose point and bunches of wiiite ostrich feathers. Add to this a tiara of emeralds and diamonds, with superb necklace to match, and the effect is better imagined than described. For debutantes extreme simplicity will prevail, but such a delicious, foamy, shimmering, bewildering chiffon simplicity that a heart of stone might melt a t the sight ; and our maidens, moreover, art; to carry coy posies of snowdrops and other sweet and modest English blossoms which match so well with their tender years of youth and freshness. One hint to those intending to pay their respects at Buckingham Palace : Spare no pains in obtaining the best gloves — take two pairs ; accidents do happen — the prettiest wellfitting, but not tight, shoes ; the filmiest of tulle veils, wilh feathers gracefully arranged. — - The Dowager Lady Ormonde deserves her distinction as " the prettiest old lady in England." Her silvery hair, beautiful eyes, and perfect features, supplemented by a rare grace and dignity of carriage, make her a type of the old-fashioned gentlewoman who moved in courts " when George the .Third was King." " Her character is as sweet as her face," as an enthusiastic admirer declares, and she is beloved by a wide circle of friends. The Dowager Marchionness.. who was a daughter of Sir Edward Paget, 0.C.8., has been a widow since the days- of the Crimean war, and she has transmitted her good looks to her sons, the present Marquis and Lord Arthur Butler. — The Duchess of Fife, regardless of current style, makes a point of always wearin? a rather short skirt, save hi the evening. — "New York women are wearing more diamonds this winter than ever before, and scene at the opera on gala nights is. sirnjplx:

dazzling. Last week," writes a correspondent, '" when ' La Traviata,' with Melba in the title role, was given, the stage did not attract nearly so much attention as did the auditorium, where, according to the opinion of an expert, at least five millions of dollars of precious stones were on view, beside which Golconda the brave show of jewels made by poor Violette made no impression whatever. Mrs Astor wore -« double pearl necklace and girdle worth some hundred thousand dollars, while, in a neighboimng box, Mrs August Belmont displayed a magnificent tiara and parure of monster diamonds, which flashed regally on her gown of rich blue velvet. In the box belonging to W. K. Sloafue three of the Vanderbilt ladies were conspicuous for the magnificent turquoises set in diamonds which composed their ornaments. So, altogether, the opening of the operatic season of 1898 was more remarkable for its triumph of wealth than for its triumph of song. " While on the subject of jewellery, what a remarkable furore' has lately possessed the women of New York for turquoises. Turquoise hearts are considered by far the most dainty and desirable of all the big jewelled hearts worn as pedants. Large oval turquoises are in special request for rings, and worn quite as much by men as by women, and turquoise beads are nowbeing introduced instead of pearls to stud the fine gold chains to which eyeglasses and fans are suspended. . Another novelty in love tokens, and one of the most eccentric ideas emanating from the brain of Madame La --..lode, is 'the Beloved Eye.' This, of course, is not the genuine article, but a miniature painting of the human eye, done most exquisitely on ivory, and set about with, precious stones, and is either worn by the enamoured swain as a watch charm, or, clasped by a long slender chain, nestles beneath the laces on his lady's bosom. The painting of the eye alone is by no means a trivial task, "and the one who wishes to offer a. presentment of his or her optic to the beloved one must give many sittings to the miniature painter in order to enable him to produce the exact colour and expression, so the fad for ' Beloved Eyes ' is too eccentric and too costly to be lasting." -