MISS COLONIA IN LONDON.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 108, 9 May 1896, Page 1 (Supplement)

MISS COLONIA IN LONDON.

Confidences to Her Cousins Ackoss

tiie Ska.

London, March 21. Dear Coosin :—The firsb drawing-room of the season was held last Thursday by ' the dear Princess,' assisted by her two girls and supported by Prince Charles of Denmark, in whom as the fiancee of Princess Maude, we all now take the tenderesb interest!. The contrast between the two sisters-in-law, the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg is very great!, the latter looking quite an old lady, whilst the former appears about the same age a« her daughter Victoria. You vaxxet not, however, accept the now photos of H.R.H. as absolutely accurate. The fashionable photographer takes every line out; of his sitter's face, thereby retaining certainly an impreeion of youth bub destroying genuine likoneas. The Princess' most remarkable personal characteristic in an extraordinary upright—bole upright— carriago, which she retains for boars at a time to the dismay of ladies in waiting, especially when travelling. She attributes the habit to her rigid bringing up, and in speaking of ib recently eaid to a friend : ' We were never allowed to lie down during the day-time when wo were children for tearof makingourselves untidy, and I am so accustomed to the habit) now thab I should never dream of removing my bonnet while on a journoy.' The 10th insb. was absolutely the 33rd anniversary of the morriago of this juvenile grandmama. In noticing it one of the papers calls to memory Mr William Forsyth's poem of ' Welcome' to tbe Princoss Alexandra, quite the best among hundreds published about thnt time. Here is a stanza :

And tho queen of our hearts Is the queen of the sea; And as long as tho sea rolls on. May the love of the faithful, the faith of the freo Be around nor children's throne. And -rrhato'cr be the siornis that tho wators toss, May their hanner in peace and war Be the sceptre that wares to tho Souihern Cross And that shines to the Northern Star, And (ho thunder-burst of welcome Like a storm-surße on the strand, Is the wonder-burst of welcome — Of tho far-resoundiiiß welcome— Of a fvliolo rejoicing land: Fon who but the. sen-king** child should bo i Tho bride of the bravo old land. The name of Alexandra reminds me of another marriage, that of the Duko of Coburg's young daughter. She is only sweet seventeen, but it is, I believe, a fact that the Duke of Coburg", even more than the Ducheis, is in favour of vory. early weddings. About the time ot his eldest daughter's marriage he remarked in conversation with a lady of his household that the happiest weddings he had known wore those in which tho couple were both very youn-j. The Duchess of Coburg and her daughters have been busily shopping in the West End during their stay at Clarence House, and have made innumerable purchases in connection with Princess Alexandra's marriage. Royal Cigarette Smokers. I ww an American paper the other day which represented tho Princess of Wales and a party of ladies at Sandringham puffing cigarettes after dinner. As a matter ot fact it ii notorious H.K.H. dislikes the enioil of tobacco only a degree leas than the Queen, nnd has a special aversion to perfumed Turkish cigarettes. Not only does she insist on none of her own entourage adopting tho ugly praci ice, but she has persuaded her niece, the Empress of Russia, to discountenance it at St. Petersburg. The latter" is credited with the observation that a cigarette in the mouth of a woman ia as bad as an oath in that of a mast, and has requested that neither her ladies-in-waiting nor yet the ladies of the Court phould approach horso long as there is the slightest aroma of tobacco about their clothes or about their person. Dresses at the Drawing room. Bub I have strayed some way from the drawingroom, which was, of course, nob a gorgeous function, the Court being still in half morning. The two young Princesses of Wales were dressed alike in corsages of black satin, embroidered in jet in the design of loaves, the (sleeves being of Vandyke chiffon strapped with jet, which also formed the waist belts. Other Royalties present were the Duke and Duchess of York, the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gobha, and the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. Some of the dresses among the •' general assembly' were of a vest handsome description. That of the Lady Mayoress (Lady Wilkin), was of rich white duchesse Batin, beautifully embroidered with silver, and priceless lace inserted with the embroidery, the Court train which fell from the shoulders was turquoise velvet, lined with pale mauve ■ satin, and ornamented on one side with a large plume of feathers. Another elegant gown was worn by Lady Aline Beaumont) (sister of the Marquis of Londonderry). The ' Watteau ' train waa of ivory brocade shot with yellow, the design in clusters of tulips and turned back on the left side with bunches of the natural flowers, the skirt being composed of plain white satin, and bodice draped with chiffon and finished off with an empire belt of embroidered silver. Viscouutesa Cross (wife of the Lord Privy Seal) looked very handsome in rich black satin draped with lace and traiq of black moire bengaline, ornamented with a cascade of lace, caught up by jefc ornaments. The Lord Chamberlain's daughter, Lady Bertha Wilbrabam, selected a dress of grey ahot silk, trimmed on the bodice with chiffon and i white feathers; and a long manieau de Cour of pale mauve brocade, while the Hon. Fanny Hood (Lord Hood of Ayalon's daughter) looked charming in a gown of Boie do Barri satin, with Court train of moss-green velvet. A striking drees was that of Lady Russell of Shallowfield, the train being of wine-coloured velvet, lined ; with shot iiilk, and draped with point d'Alengon lace, and the dress of beautiful satin brocade, the predominating colours being soft maize and pink. And to conclude we must mention the dress of Lady Tweedmoufch, which was of black. Lyons yelveb, richly embroidered with jet, and having large sleeves of tulle, the Court train being of the. sama vel?eb lined with ,

the new 'moire Mouille' silk, and fastened in a large knob; she also wore a black tulle veil and plumes, and a superb diamon tiara. The bouquets were chiefly composed of lilies of the valley, white lilac, whifca roses, and shaded violets. Fashions in Names; The announcement thab the chairman of the Chartered Company's (the Duke of Abercorn's) litble grand-daughter was to bo named Mary Matabele Mashona Hamilton, • was incorrect. Bub tho child actually baa ■ been christened Mary Rhodesia Hamilton, out of compliment to 'the strong man of South Africa;' probably many other pareota will take a hint from this precedent and do likewise. Undoubtedly fashion influences names as well as garments, as witness tba run on certain names at certain times; s> few years ago Ethel, 1 label and Maud, ware all the rage; to-day Dorothy and Doris are reigning favourites to be replaced in a few short months by some mora fashionable appellation—Boris, perhaps. Nob very long ago it was, saya tha • Globe,' our lot to adjudicate on a name campetitioa and a plebiscite being the easiest way oub of tho difficulty, wp took one, with the result thab Dorothy, Gladys, Wary, Muriel, and .Violet were the most popular for girls' names, Frank, Cecil, and Charles for boys. We have littlo doubt, bearing the latest Royal infant in mind, bufc bhab George would displace one or other of the latter name* were a similar competition to be made to-day. Had nob the late Prince Consorb been christened Alberb tho name would not be so popular in England to-day at ib is, and boB tor the Priaco of Wales, the conjunction of Albert with Edward would be a - mere accideafe, and would most certainly nob be mefa with ao frequently as it is. The Beatrices of to-day owe their appallation chiefly to the Queen's youngest) i daughter, and Arthur came into voguo with tho great Duke of Wellington. •-■■«. Bub ib is nob only personages thab are at > the roat of many, name* bat events also., We have nob yeb come across a Johannesburg Smith, though there may be such a one, butt . Alma is quite a common name for ladies of . a certain age, and it is stated seriously thab a child was christened ' Seige Sebastcpol' during the stirring times of the Crimean War. Ib is a well-known fact that in 18S7 many children were baptised Jubilee, and ib is recorded thab in 1883 the name and memory of Jumbo were perpetuated on an inaocenb child of Rye, who doubtless rues tha day when the children's peb was dragged from the Zoo to foreign climes. •Gossipl and Its Gowns. Even the wonderful dressei worn by Mre Langtry in ' Gossip,' ab the Comedy Theatre, have nob sufficed to popularise . thab ' curious mixture of the entire Kendal repertoire,1 as William Archer called 'this peculiar play; A general criticism upon the Jersey Lily's dresses can easily be made. Mrs Langtry—leb us charitably hope from modesty—takes infinite pains to divert the eyea of the audience from her beauty. Unlike a well-known nondaiTie, who having; a beautiful arm and hand, wears neither bracelet nor ring, and avoids gloves when possible so as to draw attention to what she is, Mrs Laagtry draws attention to whab she has, and seems prouder of the jewellery thab she has acquired than of the beauty that is her natural gift. Such a costumo as her drafts of pale bine pique, with its bodice of taffetas glace veiled with embroidered lawn, and belts! with bright green velveb and a girdle of emeralds and diamonds, was pretty f zom a dressmaker's poms of view, bub its fashionable sleeves and fluted basques destroyed the effect of the splendid lines of tht actress's figure. Ib might well serve 't Parisienne who relied more on chic and charm than actual loveliness, bub Jane Harding would have repudiated a costume thab did nob enhance her particular style of , beauty, and could only draw eyes from thii woaror to the thing worn.- Of cotfrse-the -■ clou-ai the third act, from a woman's—nqt >t critic's—^oinfi M view, was the famous diamond tiara which she wore on her hair, ' coiifed in the simple Greek knob bo which she has wisely returned. Her ball dress of ' thick, cream satin, veiled at tho back with '■« tulle and decorated at either side with wide panels of embroidery, the sleeves' were of white tulle, butterfly shaped, and the plainly cub decoueice bodice served as repoussoir to some wonderful gams. In the second act the pique gown is exchanged for a very becoming drees of pale pink' chiffon, veiled with tulle, and edged with fino old embroidery. Geranium - coloured velvet encircled the waisb and was tied ia a huge bow at the lefb side, whilst a bunch of violets nestled near the throat close bo another bow of the bright velvet. An enormous picture hat of black tulle, with masses of feathers, crowned and overshadowed her face. These dresses may sound somowhab gorgeous for the sorvside, bub it must be remembered thab 'Mrs Barry ' was ab Trouvillo, where the fashionable jemmes dv mondc of the foreign colony of Paris vie in splendour with the notabilities of the demimonde. Dresses in 'Fob, the Crown. 3 The costumes in the beautiful poetic drama at the Lyceum are exceedingly tasteful, and cure to be freely copied for fancy balls. Never, possibly, has Mrs Patrick Campbell's strange beauty been so well seb off as by Militza'a picturesque drees of Rhodiaa rod. Over the twin garments was a straight divided ekirt, hanging from the shoulders, of red with cross-bars of gold, and kept in place over the hips by a heavily embroidered scarf, in which green and gold were the dominant colours. The gorgeous underskirt waa half-masked by an elaborate neckleb of silver, and over her long, glossy, dark hair was worn a brighb green silver embroidered scarf, tied turban wise. In the second acb, Militza, chanting bor song of the young girl and the butterfly, seemed to have stepped out of one of tho pages of tho ' Arabian -Nighfce.' A white scarf, the ends delicately embroidered with gold, was tied round her hoad ; over the orange eilk trousers thab reached the ankles, was a straight skirt ..of ...white,, bordered with green and gold, and the bodice was half hidden by jewellery of barbaric splendour, in which the Persian turquoise was most noticeable. The strange characteristic leopard ekia than . figures on so many dresses in the play was claepsd round the hips by ornaments of rare beauty, fashioned of metol enamelled in a deep lucent red, and Btudded with turquoises. In tha last act the slave girl's pale intense face had as background a head scarf of bright) colour-killing rose de chine. A white linen - Persian embroidered skirt half concealed the baggy pale blue satin tronsers, that were decorated down each side wibh strips of embroidery, in which touches of black recalled the spots ia the leopard skin thab again divided skirt from bodice. In her arms sho born a great bunch of flowers— roses, lilies, and carnations—that recalled the principal colour in her dress,

Misa Winifred Emery's regal robes, though of rare beauty, were killed by the exquisite colouring and fashion, not only of the gipsy prisoners' dresses, but also by the picturesque costumes worn by Michael, Coßstantine, arid their followers and enemies. Bazilide's fiiefc gowa was a harmony in green. The ander-dreas of pale emerald satin was worked over with conventional designs in jewels and silks of many hues—the ample queenly mantle of deep emerald velvet; was lined with rose* coloured satin, and accorded well with the heavily jewelled crown thab gave seeming height to Mica Winifred Emery's figure.

The wecond acb ehowa the ambitious Greek princess resting on a coach covered by » bearskin, thab serve* as repoussoir to her over-dress of gold embroidered yellow silk that ia lined with pale blue. The arrangement and outline of thin dress would give admirable ideas for a modern tea-gown. ......