A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 217, 13 September 1930, Page 4 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

WONDERS OF CONJURING. TENNIS IN SCOTLAND. .(From Our London Lady Correspondent.) _Tlie little story, told of Princess Elizabeth buying a picture book and: paying for it with her own pocket money is a n indication of the totally different life which she.is able to live while she is.in Scotland. London shops may fas-1 cinate her, but there could be no question j of her going into them in the informal! way she can in Forfar while she is stay-' ing with her -grandparents at Glarnis. London, really must be very dull for the small Princess, because her. associa-' tion with it is necessarily so aloof. She drives through the "park, but cannot get out of her carriage to play, and the wistful expression with which she watches the traffic from her Piccadilly nursery suggests . that she envies the small people of her age who are able to ! l>c about on the pavement. In Scotland life must be much more fun. No wondei; she cried last year when the time camefor her to return to town. ! FASHIONS-IN CABARET. Is o private dance is considered complete these days unless there is an after supper cabaret, and the fashion for these variety turns changes in the most amusing way. A dancer, a humorous singer, a . juggler has only to have a success at one party and he or she immediately becomes the rage everywhere. And if there are two dances on one night, the hostess who has secured the star cabaret turn secures also the cream of the invitation list. Just now a wonderful conjuror named Giovanni is finding himself in great demand. He lias the reputation of having picked the pockets of both Mr. Winston Clmrchill and Mr. Philip Snowden, and the other night, at one of'the fashionable restaurants, he turned the tables oit a smart diner-out, who having emptied his pockets and put away all his variables, Jnvited Giovanni to "fleece" him. With a smile and no apparent effort the conjuror relieved him of his evening tie, and he had no idea that the white bow "was missing until he was asked if he was trying to set a new fashion. . ■

PORTRAIT OF A TWIN. The Ruthven twins do so many things together, in. spite. of. the fact that one is no\y Mrs. John Barrau and the other is still Miss Ruthven, that it is a little surprising to find an '] exhibition of por_traits containing a" picture'of one twin and not of the' other. Mrs."Barran has been painted 'by - the Countess Eric Lewenhaupt, a charming; woman artist who has an exhibition just now at the Goupil ; Gallery;. and although the portrait "is an excellent likeness' her unmarried sister ■has"'.not forlowfil the usual course and allowed the''artist to show "a.pair." .Still, when I was in the Gallery looking- a£ 'the picture Loth sisters ...arrived .together to inspect the artist's Avork, dressed exactly alike even to their necklaces and their gloves with embroidered gauntlets.; ; There was a flutter of, interest- when they came in, but they, are so used to rousing interest that they went on with, their conversation and, quite unperturbed,' began to compare notes as 'else .existed. '. ~. ' "... '■". ■..".'''. ■'■'■':; - RIVAL PARTIES. V; This week'has '*seen v a'number of very smart "farewell" parties'." Two- of them clashed a riiglit or two.ago, aiid Royal guests who had, beeii. invited by each of the hostesses; found themselves in a rather embarrassing position. The first and-, most . carefully" : arranged function was sponsored by. : a; wealthy. American woman who has -taken; a house in "Mayfair for "the, season and, as in. other years, has spent a good deal.of .money upon entertaining people' in /the smart set. A ljttle contretemps at one of her dinner-parties some time ago hurt the' feelings of a wealthy young, hostes.s who was among her guests,-and when it was discovered that she -was -arranging an-' other entertainment a rival party was hurriedly got iip by a \ social leader of considerable standing. Guests found themselves in a very awkward predicament, and members of the Royal Family who were involved did" not appreciate the, posjtion at all. . .

TENNIS AT PEEBLES. Lawn tennis fans who Lave returned to- London, after taking part in the Scottish championships, are full; of enthusiasm for the beauties of Peebles where the tournament was held. Peebles is ':< quite one of the loveliest spots in the south of Scotland. If the lawn tennis ground is not on such an ambitious scale as at Wimbledon, the courts are as perfect as.they can be and the absence of :stands seems to add rather than detract from the enjoyment of the meeting. The courts lie in the valley well below the hiil which dominates the little town, and on the other side of the road runs a beautiful stretch 'of the Eiyer Tweed. The surrounding • mountains complete the picture, though the heather as yet is scarcely at.its best. -Here, as at, many other placeg in, the;.south of Scotland, everyone makes a point on one day in. every year, , of picking great bunches of the purple blossom in order to help on the next year's growth. [Peebles is within a short run of Melrose, and everyone was anxious to see the pld abbey *by the pale moon light.' A GENEROUS DONOR, I was at St. - James' Palace when Lady Cynthia Colville announced the receipt of ten thousand pounds from LadyjHou&ton for the funds of- the National Council for Maternity and Child' Welfare. The intimation came in the form of a telegram, but, with untold means ,at her disposal, Lady Houston had not troubled to condense her message or omit from it •words which a poorer sender might have considered unnecessary. It began "Dear Lady Cynthia," and finished as a letter imight have done "Yours very sincerely." Indeed, if the two pink telegram form.3, necessary to accommodate the message had not been fluttering in the wind at the garden party one might have been forgiven for thinking that a letter' and pot a telegram had been received. FEMININE TEIUMPHS, Miss. Foster, by-winning the King's Prize at Bisley has capped a sequence of recent feminine triumphs that began with Amy Johnson's - Australian flight and ended with Winifred Brown's carrying off the King's Cup in the Air Miss Foster's is-the most amazing feat of all, and demonstrates sex equality; where scientific mechanism and not .mere human physique is the dominant factor, as more than legislative fiction. The lady sculptor .and chicken farmer though she has the.advantage of./living next door to the Bisley.; butts, was; shooti'ing against the crack riflemen'of : all -the 'services, and her nerves proved magnk ficently equal to the strain. Unless another war admits- more women to service qualification, Miss Foster, who I 3 87, is likely to be; the first and/lasi woman to win the King's Prize,