A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 129, 2 June 1934, Page 3 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

jHE CIGARETTE HABIT.

DANCING ON CROWDED FLOORS.

mom Our London Lady Correspondent.) ' 4 medical inquiiy has just been conducted into the symptoms of increasing tubercular trouble amongst young women in London. The general conclusion is, I understand, that any tendency of that kjud has no specific cause, but is attributable to modern mechanicaliscd city life. Which seems to mean, in plainer words, that modern ghls ride too much and walk too little, and possibly cinema too often. Incidentally, the inquiry dealt with the much-debated question of the feminine cigarette habit. The cases were investigated of one hundred young women who were in sound health, and another hundred with tubercular symptoms, and their respective smoking habits compared. It transpired that, whereas 42 per cent of the B ound ones snicked, only 29 per cent of the o'hers did so. But this proves nothing, except perhaps that women ■with' weak chests arc usually wise enough to avoid gaspers, NEW AMBASSADOR. Since Lord Derby's day there has teen less sport and more politics talked at the British Embassy in Paris. Lord Tyrrell's social gatherings have been less formal than those of his immediate predecessors, Lord Crewe and Lord Hardinge. But Sir George Clerk has a very warm spot in his heart for all things pertaining to sport. He is no racing enthusiast like Lord Derby, but he is a keen and a very bad golfer, has lis own diminutive yacht, loves fishing and would not miss a big Rugger match for worlds. He always contrived to arrange his annual leaves when at Constantinople so as to be at Twickenham {or the 'Varsity fixture, which explains the fact that he spent half-a-dozen successive Christmas Days on the Continental express. In appearance he is the beau ideal of an ambassador, his manners are suave, and ho can play bridge or poker with the best of them. A GREAT HOSTESS. It seems years ago since "The Voyage of the Sunbeam" was the best year's teller. The story of its delightful toyages in Southern Seas is recalled by the death of Sybil Conntess Brassey. She was just as enthusiastic about yachting as was her husband, and when the latter was appointed Governor of Victoria she accompanied him in the yacht all the way to Australia, the return journey being made in the same way when his term of office expired five years later. Though she loved visiting the untrodden spots of the world, and made a wonderful collection of native trophies, Lady Brassey was one of the most delightful hostesses Society has ever known. Her entertainments at Melbourne wcro of a kind that had never been surpassed, and she entertained royally when in London at the house in Park Lane, which adjoins that occupied by Sir Phillip Sassoon.

THE OLDEST KIND OF SONG. London is likely to take kindly to a vogue of ancient Gaelic songs. A few days ago Mr. Duncan Morrison, of the Royal Academy of Music, Glasgow, gave & pianoforte selection of these haunting melodies at Londonderry House. He has himself industriously collected these old songs, which have been set to music in the admirable tradition adopted by the late Mrs. Kennedy-Fraser. So struck was Lady Londonderry by their beauty and interest that she has offered to pay the cost of their publication for popular use. So we may have the Western Islands' folk songs hummed by modern Londoners in a few weeks or months. The Hebrideans tuned their lyres to majestic natural inspiration, and the almost prehistoric charm of their music loses nothing in the passage of the centuries. But I am told that few older, and certainly few more delightful, melodies exist than the famous old Londonderry air._ That, also, however, is certainly Gaelic.

DESIGN OR COMPULSION? In New Bond Street this afternoon everybody turned round to gaze at one very chic young woman. She looked, walked and dressed like a lady of degree, and she was in the deep mourning enjoined on the English Court as a mark of respect to Belgium's dead monarch. She was a pretty brunette, and wore on her raven locks one of those funny little pork-pie hats that are so fashionable: This was jet black, as were her smartly tailored costume, and her elegant high-heeled shoes. But tliere ended the note of mourning. The young woman's shapely legs were stockingless. She did not even affect black ankle socks, though that would have Deen rather a weird funereal touch. Her legs were bare, and the contrast with her Hack attire was almost sensational. 1 am still wondering whether the effect was due to deliberate intention or to mere accident. Was she suddenly "out of black stockings?

THE NEW DANCE. Club and restaurant dinner dances in town grow more and more crowded, With the consequence that more and more tables have to be accommodated, and the actual dancing space cut down accordingly. When anything from fifty to a hundred couples try to dance on a space about 20ft wide and probably not much longer, something has to be done about it, this kind of crush dancing being almost impossible for any but experts. For some time dance teachers have been suggesting slight modifications and alterations in favourite old dances to meet the new conditions. And now someone has evolved an entirely new dance, which consists chiefly of small steps and swivels. It is so "neat," this dance, that it could easily be done on an ordinary (lining-table, if need be, so it should prove useful on an overcrowded floor.

DUCHESS OF YORK. Though, like the other members of the Royal family, the Duchess of York las to "refuse far jniore invitations than Bhe accepts, she found herself unable to Resist the suggestion that she should attend the jubilee gathering of the "London Angus Association. She is a "stive of Forfarshire, and never misses *t least one visit a year to Glamis where she spent her girlhood. Asides, her father, the Ear] of StrathW& is president of the association. presided over the dinner, and the accompanied by the Duke, ;]Mved in time for the dancing. About •-1 rucsts attended.