Toques and Hats. Noted Wives of Noted Men.

Otago Witness, Issue 2362, 1 June 1899, Page 52

Toques and Hats.

Noted Wives of Noted Men.

" Zealia " writes : —

Floral toques are a good deal seen. The crown may be of the flowers, while the brim is formed of leaves — either green, or the new white varieties which are -veined with pink or mauve- or green. Or often while the flowers outline the brim, the crown is composed of leaves. Newer even than leaves, however, is moss. In Paris this idea was originated, and I am told that the real moss is frequently used there ; in London it is only the artificial that is adopted, so far as I have seen. Also in Paris there is a craze for maidenhair ferns — artificial — for adorning their toques, and in combination with the fern a tremendous cabbage rose is used ; the more unnatural the shade of the ro&e the smarter it is considered.

In hats, one shape of which I have seen a number of examples is that with a very tall crown, terminating in a sharp pomt — the pinnacle hat is its designation. Sometimes they are made of drawn silk over a wire shape, and are usually trimmed across the front with large loop's of ribbon and spreading wings, in order to give the necessary breadth. These shapes are made, too, in a satin ruMi straw which is difficult to obtain, ;md therefore very expensive. I must not omit to mention the hat — in any shape you like — which is covered with chine silk stretched tightly over the foundation. As a rule, the blurred pattern is large, and so far as my experience goes they are very ugly and dowdy and dull. There is no doubt that the toreador will be one of the prevailing shapes. But perhaps the shape of the year will be the Directoire hat. It is at its height in Paris, and is beginning to assert itself her^ though X have not seen anjr srorn as

yet. This shape sets well on the back of the head, each side curves high up, and so makes a point over the face, the back part falling on to the hair. All these Directoire hats are provided with strings of black velvet coming from the back. According to all accounts, many of the large sorts of hats will have strings of velvet or tulle or ribbon to tie under the chin. One can scarcely imagine this fashion " catching on " very quickly ,• during the summer one would fancy that strings would be a great nuisance on a warm day. Many of the new bonnets will be carried out in the Directoire style — the style which bears the cachet of the season.

Something else which adds variety to many of the straw shapes is the use of two colours on the one hat. A black hat, for instance, has often the entire under brim of white straw. And combinations of colours, too, are frequently Seen, one of the prettiest being a straw shape of grey with pink underneath.

If it be true that clever men, rarely marry intellectual women, it is at least "a rule that has many notable exceptions, in which the wife not only works in the same field as her husband, but -also wins more laurels. ■ I

Two of the busiest journalists in London are Mr and Mrs Meynell, and it is difficult to say whether wife or husband does more or ' better work. Mrs Alice Meynell has been n-clevei. writer, shice the days of her early girlhood ; she has written many charming poems and half- a dozen books, and 'contributes largely to some of .our leading journals, to several of which her husband, Mr Wilfrid Meynell, also contributes.

Mrs Alma-Tadema, wife of the wellknown Royal Academician, wields almost as skilful a brush as her husband. She is a painter of rare gifts, both natural and acquired, and carried off the gold medal at Berlin three years ago. Mrs Alma-Tadema's daughters also have a large share of the family talents ; for one is a clever artist and medallist of the Paris Exhibition, /and the other is a writer of fiction. In Miss Dorothy Tennant, Mr H. M. Stanley, the explorer, married a woman of acknowledged gifts. Her clever book illustrations are still remembered as full of rare promise. The name of Tennant suggests other clever wives ; for Mrs Asquith, who was Miss Margo Tennant, is recogniesd as one of the most gifted women in society ; another sister-in-law, Mrs Harold Tennant, wife of the member for Berwickshire, made a great reputation as Miss Margaret Abraham, Superintendent Inspector of Factories, a leading authority on labour questions, and an eloquent platform speaker. Mirs Mandel] Creighton, wife of" the Bishop of London, is one of the ablest of our historical writers, and her bright, pen has illumined many pages of our history. It is scarcely remembered now that, in the early days of her married life, the Marchione&s *of Salisbury, then Lady Robert Cecil, was a regular contributor to the Saturday Review and other journals. Lady Jeune, the wife of the president of the Probate and Divorqjß Court, takes very high rank among gifted society women, and is by many considered one of the ablest women in England. She contributes largely to the principal magazines and reviews, is a great authority on all social questions, art excellent speaker and a past-mistress of all social arts.

Mrs Henry Norman, wife of Henry Norman, the well-known traveller and journalist, ' plies a clever pen, as " Menie Muriel Dowie " won fame with her very first book, "A Girl in the Carpathians." Lady Jersey rivals Lady Jeune in social and, literary gifts. She is indefatigable with her pen, and has written hymns, plays, and stories for children, as well as countless articles for the reviews and magazines.

Mrs Pennell must also rank among the clever wives of clever husbands. She is the literary partner of her husband, Mr Joseph Pennell, the brilliant artist in black and white, and has written many books of travel and adventure for his illustrations.

Mrs Humphry Ward, whose pen is a veritable mine of gold, is the wife of an Oxford Fellow, who writes for The Times, and who is responsible for several bulky volumes on art, poetry, and biography. The Marchioness of Dufferin is not altogether eclipsed by her husband's supreme talents. She is' not only a remarkably clever society woman, but she is also a gifted writer, who, under other conditions, might have won laurels with her pen, as the records of her Canadian and Indian life demonstrate.

Lady Aberdeen also ranks among the intellectual wives, and. like Lady Dufferin, ha<f written charmingly about Canada.. The Marchioness of Granbv is one of the cleverest of our amateur artists and sculptors, her tastes and gifts being singularly like those of Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lome.

The list of clever wives might be very largely extended without exhausting those whose work is public property. Beyond these are the thousands of able women whose gifts find their best exercise within the bounds of home. <