NOTES AND NEWS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 180, 4 September 1914, Page 4

NOTES AND NEWS.

Miss Makeg (Lyndon) is staying at "Warner's. Mrs Boyle (Christchureh) is visiting Wellington. * Mr and Mrs J. E. Straclian (Gore) are at the Clarendon. •• ••.••MrUak(i r 2^s , '-Tprsyth.'.(Sumner) are ■visiting Wellington. Miss v - Inwood returned to Christchurch from Wellington this morning. Mr and Mrs A. E. G. Rhodes have returned- to. Christchureh from a visit to Wellington. Mr ancf Mrs Empson (Mt. Peel) have returned ta Canterbury after a visit to the North Island. ,Mr and Mrs Maurice Harris, -who spent the winter in Australia, returned to Christchureh yesterday. Miss Millicent Jennings left by the - Mokoia on Wednesday afternoon for Auckland, where-,she will spend a four

weekg'holiday. The Eev JT. Gibson-Smith and Mrs ( Gibson-Smith, who have been in England for some time, are expected to arrive in New Zealand by the Corinthic next week. Mr and Mrs Scaife have returned to Culverden after a trip to Dunedin, •where they went to see their son, who is in camp with the Expeditionary Force there. Mr and Mrs McGovern, of Auckland, are returning to New- Zealand in the Marama, from Vancouver. They have Tbeen obliged to cancel their trip to Great Britain on account of the war. The engagement is announced of Mr C. W. Orde, of the Foreign Office, and Miss Frances Davidson, only daughter , of the late James Davidson, of Dunedin, and of Mrs Cunningham Smith, London. The Yen. Archdeacon Ensor,, accompanied by Mrs Ensor and his family, who arrived in Wellington on Tuesday from have" Returned to their home in Christchufch. They spent the winter in the Temora district, in Western New South Wales.

The Lady Liverpool Committee are living a little breathing space after t.ieir strenuous exertions of the past ti.ree weeks. After to-day the depot in I. iehfield Street will be closed until farther notice, which means until the equipping of another force has to be taken in hand. A number of ladies are going on with the knitting of socks and Balaclavas against that time, and money for the fund is still coming in.

Great Indian ladies are finding new outlets of expression in many directions. The. Begum of BJiopal, long known as a successful administrator, an advanced educationist, a learned scholar in Persian, a clever writer and an artist of rio little skill, has lately taken up a piece of research ' of great interest to Mohammedan women. She has tried to find the site of one of the great personalities of the Moghul dynasty in India, the Princess Zebunnissa, and has come to the conclusion tha,t it is in Lahore. She intends, therefore, to erect an imposing monument at Lahore in memory of her great countrywoman. Perhaps the real significance of the honour now beiftg paid to Priucess Zebunnissa, herself a writer and scholar, and an inspirer of others, .lies in the indication it affords of the changing spirit of Eastern womanhood. None understands this better than the Begum of Bhopal, who has known how to reconcile the old traditions of quiet and seclusion with the most progressive ideas and action. „ The anticipated-passing into law of the Plumage Bill in Great Britain has given great hopes of a vast increase of business to the manufacturers of ribbons. Already there have been signs of the increasing popularity of ribbon, and the craze for multi-coloured varieties

was largely helped by the Bulgarian war and the so-called futurist fashions. Bulgarian colours were much worn by fashionable' French women in the early stages of the war, and the weird and wonderful colour combinations associated with futurist Costumes have made the gayest plumage seem dull and gloomy. The value of ribbon used in Great Britain increased by more than £500;000 during the last two j r ears.

At a meeting in aid of the South London Hospital for Women, entirely staffed and controlled by women, Lady St. Helier stated that Lord Kitchener had paid a striking tribute to the work done in Egypt, by woman doctors, who had gone out there and trained the native women in matters affecting diseases of Women and children. In conversation with her, he said it was quite impossible to give an adequate idea of the work done in a year alone. "The best thing I can say," he added, "is that they saved the lives of 5000 little babies." ■

St. Barnabas's Church, Bethnal Green, in the East End of London, was lately the scene of an interesting ceremony. Four sisters, whose ages ranged from 25 to 19, were married at the same time. The ceremony was witnessed by an enormous congregation. The brides were all dressed in white, and were attended by bridesmaids, dressed in different colours for each bride. The sisters were 'married according to age, the eldest first, and the youngest last. They left the church in reverse order, the youngest leading the procession. The brides, who were orphans, lived together at Bethnal Green. They realised that if any one of them married, and thus withdrew her 'financial. support from the home, it would be impossible for the others to keep on the house. It was, therefore, arranged for the four to be married on the same day. Shortly befQre the outbreak of hostilities a young Swiss woman, Melle Clair Richer, began a series of lectures in the chief towns of Switzerland on the defence of her country, especially as regards the manoeuvres in the Alps. ' Her meetings on the subject were always crowded, and in her audiences were many Swiss officers. Melle Richer, who is the daughter of an officer, announced that.she did not want a "social assembly," for she spoke on military matters from a technical point of view, having studied them carefully, and visited the fortresses in the Alps of which she spoke. Striking pictures illustrated thU lectures, which were delivered in a masterly manner.