A WAHINE'S LETTER FROM LONDON.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 9010, 24 January 1895, Page 3

A WAHINE'S LETTER FROM LONDON.

" Weekly Press," Dear Cblia,—l closed my last letter with the hews of the death of the Czar, and .no doubt you have had in your papers all the details of the ceremonial with regard to the journey to St. Petersburgh, the lying Instate at Moscow, and all the funeral arrangements—about, I should think, the most wonderfully gorgeous funeral pageant that the world has ever seen. English society greatly commiserates the poor widowed Czarina In having to bear the burden of such a long and trying ceremonial, which, from all accounts, seemed at times to be more than she could bear. Truly royalty has hard times, no' matter whether it is for rejoicing or for sorrowing, and how thankful they must be now and then to escape from these functions, and have a few hours of peace and quietness.

I regret very much to have more sad news to give you of the death of our old' friend, Mr E. A. Worthy, who was so many years one of the masters' of Christ's College. I say old friend for I know that .he was such to very many of my readers, and that his sudden death will be regretted by many who can recall his kindly'ways and ready jokes, and the interest taken In all the games and pursuits of the young of both sexes in Christchurch. At the time of his death he was staying in France and went one day for a bathe, meaning to return and take his wife and daughter out at a fixed hour. As he did not reappear they grew anxious, and his son with some companions went in search of him and found him lying face downwards la the water. He Is supposed to have dived from the rocks, and struck his head upon a jutting piece of rock, which stunned him, and that he was drowned before recovering con- : sciousness; I was-glad to hear that Mrs and Miss Loughnan were at tbe same place and that their kind help and sympathy had been the greatest comfort to-Mrs Worthy and her family in their great sorrow. All New Zealanders here are .very. anxious for details.of the wreck of the Wairarapa. Many of them had friends on - board, and great sorrow'has been felt at the news cabled home.

My letter has begun;sadly, but I must, not continue in the same strain through- j out, but tell you some little of what the - London world is about. The great event of the Lord Mayor's show drew the people out ln thousands, and long before the hour of star ting the streets were lined with a dense mass. I did not go into the city, ' but was fortunate enough to get a good j point ot view in the Strand, not far from | Charing Cross. The day was not wet, but neither was it fine. In fact it was remarkably dull, with gusts of cold wind, and now and then a feeble effort to rain ending in a few minutes' .drizzle. It might have been a good deal better, but also it might have been a good deal worse, and that remark or something like it, I heard applied to the show itself. This was the first time that I had ever the good luck to , see It, so of course I could not compare it' with • former years, but I heard that j the fire brigade, who were absent this j year,' had. always before been a prominent ; feature in the procession. The gardeners* and fruiterers' guilds had prettily-dressed i cars, elaborately ornamented; but the ' girls who formerly represented the goddess Flora and her attendants were replaced by wax figures, and. the movement of their car caused considerable oscillation to the poor dummies, giving them a remarkably helpless appearance. The spectacle makers and the tin-plate workers made a good show; dressed in the costumes of three centuries ago, and worked busily all the time. Tbe Epping Forest keepers and the Friendly Society of Foresters made a brave show, as did the boys of the'training ship Warspite; but the orphan boys of the Gordon Home, with their drum and fife band, and a drum major who was so small that one needed a telescope to see him' properly, received quite the greatest ovation. The escort consisted of the Bth Hussars and the Middlesex Yeomanry, and both had their bands. We had also the bands of_ the. Life Guards In their state uniform, the Scots Guards, the Royal Artillery, and several others which gave us plenty of music, and last of all came the Aldermen with their carnages prof usely decorated with chrysanthemums, and the state carriages of the sheriffs and the new Lord Mayor. Just behind the procession, almost in it, though not of it, came a stage coach, the top occupied by bushrangers duly handcuffed and guarded by police, which caused great amusement. This last was an advertisement of tbe play "Robbery Under Arms,** which was then being performed. I hoped to have seen It, but, alas I the company failed, and its day was soon over.. Directly all the procession had gone by tbe streets were filled by a dense crowd, omnibusses innumerable appeared from back streets, and everyone made for, their, homes. The sight of Charing Cross just then would- have astonished, many of the residents in Christchurch. It was'a marvellous sight, and I wondered very much that no one got run' over, for people race across under the horses* noses in tbe most reckless fashion. I saw two ladies driving pony tarts through the crowd, each with only a very small groom in-attendanee, and thought them rash, to say tbe least ofyft. Being the Prince of Wales* birthday, there were somebrillianb illuminations at night, but as those sights are always more or less alike, I did not go out to see them,. Since-my last, I have been to see the latest play at Old Drury, "The Derby Winner," and very much I enjoyed it. - It is a sporting melodrama witb, of course, the impecunious'nobleman and the very ' aristocratic villain ; but the plot Is so good and so well worked out, that long, as it takes to perform (three hours and a-half) the audience is spellbound the whole time, and one's interest never flags. The

brilliant room beyond. The second act i« a racing trial on Malton Downs, followed by a military ball, at which a cjtillon ll danced. The scene at the law courts is a small one, and is followed by the sale at Tattersall's where the sporting Duchess gets the better of the villain. Then we have the sanatorium and the saddling paddock, and lastly the Derby. I am not relating the plot, for It may some day be played in your theatres. All I say is, "By all means go and see it." I fancy in pourtraying the very charming and sporting Duchess of Mtlford, the authors must have had in their minds a lady who died since my laat letter was sent—the Duchess of Montrose. She has been a well-known character in the racing world for many years past, aud owned' large stables iv Newmarket. She trad heir horses under the name of Mr Manton; but everyone knew who Mr Manton was. Some years ago she built a beautiful little church on a portion of her own estate at Newmarket, where her second husband, Mr Crawford, lies buried, and where a little more than week ago she was laid to rest by his side, every blind in the main street of Newmarket being closed as a testimony of the respect in which her memory was held by, the inhabitants of that place. She wa* somewhat of a character, as you may suppose—rather strong minded, and occasionally indulged in a strong expletive if matters were not to her liking; but she was full of kindness, and took a great interest In the welfare of her employees.

Of course you have heard of the very serious floods which have taken place, first in and around Bath and the south-western district, and afterwards all along the valley of the Thames. Eton College has been closed, and the boys were sent away in a great hurry, every foot of their extensive playing fields being under water. Gaa .. ran out in Windsor, and even at the Castle they had to take to oil lamps and candles, and the distress among tbe poor has been, very great. A lady of my acquaintance living in Oxford visited an adjacent village and had to walk along the' I 'street on a plank raised up on tubs, the water covering the streets and the ground floors of all the houses. She went a short distance, but the rushing.water below made her brain whirl, and she had to give up the attempt. The Queem and many members of the royal family^, have done a great deal, to help the sufferers, and now the waters have subsided again, though I believe the fear of sickness from the damp ground still keeps the Eton boys away. They rejoice at the extra holiday of course. The memorial to our good old Bishop in Eton College chapel is now finished, and some day I hope I may see it. "The king is dead! Long.live the king 1" seems to be the motto of the day, as the young Czar is now married and a gorgeous ceremonial and a great day of rejoicing it seems to have been. Even the - poor widowed Empress had to put off her mourning and lead the bride to the altar a The new Empress seems to wia all hearts. She is both beautiful and good from all I bear and very like her mother, our own • Priueeas Alice, of whom no one ever said an unkind word, and wlwse early death caused such sorrow. Let us all hope for • long and happy life for her daughter.

In consequence of the death Of the Duke of Teck's sister, the marriage of Prince Adolphus of Teek to Lady Margaret Grusvenor was postponed to December Bth, aud now a further postponement until tht12th has been announced. I Imagine it is so arranged to allow time for the Duke of York to return from St. Petersburg. Lady Margaret is, I hear, to be called " Princess" after her marriage, by special permission • from the Queen. He goes by the name of "Prince Dolly" attiong his many Mends, so I expect she will be known as "Princess Dolly." '» ... There have been a great many weddings lately, the engagements havlflg.been made during the last season. That .of , the - Marquis of Hamilton was a very brilliant one, -and I went to see it. The centre aisle r of the church was lined with the soldiers of the Ist Life Guards. The dresses oi the Siests were remarkable for ugliness, I ought, and the carriage, areangememts very defective/ as' even the bridesmaids had to come out into the street to find theirs, and all the dukes, and duchesses, &c, went about all over i the place until their respective footmen discovered them and brought up their , - You will now have the Bishop of' Salisbury among you, as he left on the. 16>h Ik the Ormuz for a five months' cruise, I am told that he will preach in Wellington on the occasion of the consecration of the _ new Bishop of that See, and also that ho will take part In a conference of Bishops at Nelson, in January next. Mr and Mrs. Smithson, Mrs Luxmoore and Miss Woollcombe all of Tlmaru now in London, and air return to tha colony shortly I hear. Mr and Mrs George Rhodes of Claremonfe, also talk of return-, ing there early next year. f i have not written any dress details this . month, as there is little, if any Changs; but promise you the latest Ideas in my next. '-___. - .■■ '■';' Yours. ■- _/ WAKura.: -