NOTES AND NEWS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 177, 1 September 1914, Page 3

NOTES AND NEWS.

, Mrs Boyle was a "passenger to the north last night." Mrs Fenwick has returned to Christ- < church from her trip to Wellington. Miss B. Hay (Timaru) is the guest »f Mrs A. MeKellar, Park Terrace. Miss N. Wright (Timaru) is staying with Mrs George Rhodes, "Beverley," v lliccarton. ' ■ ••'.*. Mr and Mrs H. D. Little, of Hui Hui, rare in -'town,- and are staying at' Warner's. s '.-,."'. A ."■'.;".. Mrs Denshire (Ashburton) is the •guest of Mrs Matson, Avenue Road, -Christcnurch. . . ■" " Mr and Mrefc N; Makikihi; ire expected to arrive in Christchurch and will stay at Warner's. Mr and Mrs G. L. Rutherford XMaedonald Downs), and their little daughter Betty, are staying at "Warner's. Mrs Bethell (Pahau Pastures), who &as*been visiting friends in Palmerston North, returned to the south On Saturday. Qn the occasion of Tier departure for Sydney, Miss Mildred Tavendef, who has been for some years past on tne staff of -Messrs Dougall and Upliam, -was presented by the firm with a hand.aom<>' gohV*b:raceleti and by her, fellow -„s!erks .with a leather., tiandbag, "\comoletely fitted." . - '*. A really -excellent entertainment was iheld in St. Michael's Schoolroom, last flight, by the pupils of Miss, Cox anil Miss D. Saunders, assisted by Mr C. _Morris and Morris. The hajl was ■closely crowded, and the Canterbury Patriotic Fund,, to which the proceeds' were devoted, should benefit substantially as a result; The entertainment -consisted of a programme of dances of infinite variety, with the addition of; -two songs", Little Shamrock" ''Mandalay,'.' by Mr C. Morris. 'The dancing of- the children was quite - jprofessionalyin its excellence, anoV £he performance of Miss Alma Heriacrsonj; ►who was the .ballerina in beautifully dressed " Snow Ballet," was, exceptionally good. JUje dressing throughout, It may be mentioned, was very pretty and .appropriate, A delightful nuinber was Quarrel" by two tiny dots, !Natalie and Vivienne Morris, who danc•ed themselves through a quarrel scene, =and a subsequent reconciliation, very -well indeed. Several English folk were presented) in a rustie setting, and an old English minuet was glanced by eight girls, in the quaint '•costumes, of the early eighteenth century, with the powdered hair and ''beauty patches* that their great-'grand-!*nothers loved:-r Another old-time dance was a quadrille of the 1861 period, in which the programmed names of the participants were, very high-born indeed —the Empress Eugenie, Alexandra, Princess of Wales, Princess M&ry q£ Cambridge, Countess of Derby, Marchioness of Sutherland, Viscountess Palmerston, Marchioness of Aylesbury, and Lady Mary Montagu.. Crinolines v figured in the dressing of this quadrille, and were manipulated with considerable skijl by,, the wearers. A Chinese ■dance was a very good item, portraying the meeting, and falling in love of two young people, and the subsequent. appearance of the "heavy father," with the liveliest disapproval in every gesture. However, the disapproval vanished before the end of the number, and the curtain fell on the young couple receiving the parental blessing in good traditional style.. Miss D. Saunders gave an excellent interpretation of Anitra J s dance! fro«T the " Peer Gynt'' suite, and was enthusiastically recalled arid forced to give a repetition of her graceful performance. A Spanish dance '■■■ by a number of girls, a coster dance by G. Bowring and C. Baldwin, a '.'polka fantastic," and a Bussian mazurka were also included v in the programme. Misses Nellie Smith and lulu Me Murray danced a sailor's'hornpipe very neatly, and a couple of little Irish Colleens were responsible for a ; lively Irish jig. A Russian ballet arid a, display of ballroom dancing were also ! given. Mr C. Morris sang "Rule Britannia," and "the spectacle of a number of girls, bearing the flags of Britain and her Allies, who marched on the stage during the song, evoked a spontaneous burst of applause from the audience. The singing of "God Save the King" by the company and audience concluded the performance. "What is the most interesting age in woman?" was a question recently discussed by an artist, an author, and a w&Wn of society. The artist said that he did not like to paint the portraits of those between the ages of 21 and 40. Before 21 the face has an expectancy which charms. It is looking forward with joyous freshness and hope, and is i 3!ull of puzzling promises. At 40 years ; the character is formed, and the lines' '. •of the countenance are strong for the i painter's study; but in intervening years the face has lost its expectancy,

is apt to be indifferent, and has no particular interest. The author differed from the artist. He liked to studywomen between the ages of 30 and 40. They had then the experience of the world and the joyousness of youth. In those years they were brightest and most interesting. The society woman thought that it was impossible to make gengral answers to the question, as individual women differ in regard to the most attractive age. Some are most bharming at 60 - years, while others have passed the prime at 20. The beat .answer would be that women are always beautiful to the friends who love them.

•London so far htfs>been showing the? picturesque and voluminous summer capes of satin and taffetas and lace and fine cloth and serge. Paris also; has been exploiting these same fabrics, but now a prominent dressmaker has gone one better, and has brought out a cape made of. velvet—black, swallow, blue, puce, or other sombre hue, lined with white satin or with a colour to contrast. This generously proportioned* cape of i velvet is to fall in folds from the shoul-1 ders, and the effect is, to be completed ] by a large flower thrust into the belt | of the dress of white embroidered tulle which is almost hidden by the cape. The designer is confident that those who adopt his latest combination will look charming, -:and his mannequins ar& to be seen promenading in a succession of dresses in which lace and tulle each one more tempting than the last. Long velvet capes and white cobweb dresses will be chosen by. fashionably attired racegoers, and in all likelihood the "summer" hat of this uniform will be of velvet to match the cape, large and shady of brim, flat and round as to crown, trimmed ..simply with ostrich feathers or with a wreath of very large flowers of the clematic variety unattended by foliage. Most of the white* tulle and lace dresses have narrow underskirts of embroidered net or satin, with bodices of tulle and lace, with a touch of colour atthe waist. A S/Jfdncy scribe, with a strain of the late Emjly Soldene in her pen, writes as follows: —We're mixing" science and politics and war. Is} a 'dainty dish to be set before a king, only this time there isu 't a king handy, so vice-royalty is shouldering the responsibility. The Science- Congress almost at our doors. Great fun over the housing of the erudite folk. Certain patriots, when the subject was first mooted, offering hearth: and home, larder.stocks, and the motor car for the use and «ibenefit of their guests. When it came to close personal particulars, little fits of temper and little drops of tears. The term professor SO misleading. One dame who had stipulated for meu guests, found herself faced with the proposition of rearranging the"guest chambers.! Professor stood' for blue-stocking in this instance, and instead of the severe masculine room trappings she had fixed up, the whole scheme meant rearrangement, with a plentiful supply of mirrors, and powder jars, and photos, and what not. Nothing doing, and in ten minutes over the ever-useful 'phone, the guests were changed, and the family once more breathed freely.