SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 210, 29 May 1908, Page 5

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

On Monday afternoon Mrs. A. do B. Brandon gave a small afternoon tea as a I welcome to Miss Richmond arid Miss Grace Morrall, who liavo recently, returned from' | visiting the Old Country. Miss Duncan and Miss Turner took'chargo of tho tea table, J and a very pleasant afternoon was spent, t Among those present were Miss Holmes, t Mrs. J. Brandon, .Miss Coates, Miss Cobb, E Miss.N. Turner, Mrs. M'Lean, Mrs.-Tuson, [ Mrs. Houston, and Miss Blackctt. j Colonel Davies and his wifo leavo next s week for a trip to Auckland. , Thero was a social gathering of great .1 interest at 20, Owen Street, Newtown, on Wednesday afternoon when Mr., and Mrs. , W. Wilton, two of tho oldest New Zealand ■ pioneers now living, celebrated their 86th birthday. There wcro present their cliil- . dren,'' grandchildren, and great-grand-children, and many of their friends, including tho Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Ewen, and j a most enjoyable afternoon was spent. Mr. : and Mrs. Wilton have a family of thirteen, all of whom are living, and they themselves ( enjoy good health. Miss May Kane, who went Homo some time ago to take a course of training in ' massage, was a successful candidate at the' last half-yearly examination hold under tho 1 authority of the Incorporated • Society of : Trained Masseuses in London, and now holds the society's certificate of competency. . At the Kaiwaewae church on Tuesday afternoon (writes our Featherston correspondent); Mr; Archibald Stanley Benton, second son.of Mr. W. Benton, of was married : to Miss Frances Mary Williams, fourth daughter of the lato Mr. R. Williams, of Kaiwaewae. The bride, who was given away by her brother, Mr. J. R. Williams, woro a charming frock of white silk muslin, trimmed with insertion and lace, and,a bridal wreath and veil. Miss Ivy Benton, her bridesmaid; wore a pale blue silk dress with velvet bat of sarao shade, trimmed with brown. Mr. H. Tutbury acted as best man, and the ceremony was performed by -the Rev. T. J. Smith. After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was given at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Williams, at Tawaha. Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Benton will reside in Featherston. The bride's travelling dress was a navy blue brown-striped costume, with hat to match. MISS 1 OLA HUMPHREY. "And to begin with," said Miss Ola Humphrey, with-a charming smile, "we will bar all the ordinary questions;" , This Nvas all very well for the leading lady of the "Scar- , let Pimpernel" play, who is, no doubt, tired ,to death of "the ordinary questions," but it was rather.rough on tho interviewer, who did not know what those questions were, and knew still less what they were not.. Besides, there are things one always wants to know, and : one was, whether Miss Humphrey was clad to be'back in New Zealand as her friends here aro to see her. "Why, yes, I love New Zealand," said tho. lady.'fervently, "and the audiences are delightful to play -to, so , appreciative and responsive. Thero is nothing in the .world more" 1 enjoyable than acting before an audience, which you feel, is in such sympathy with you, and nothing more deadly than playing to an audience that will not respond, though, of course, in that case there is a great satisfaction in being able to wako tho people, up, and make them enthusiastic. But one can always tell tho moment ono enters how ..the,,people, feel,, and tho charm of tho people here is that they mako it so easy for . ono to do one's best. Tho peoplo in Sydney are like that, too. We had a very good time all the three and a half months we were there. Wo ran the''Scarlet Pimpernel' for seven weeks, and thero 'wero full house's, "and any amount of appreciation all the time.' And. the 'Prisoner of Zcnda' ran for'fivo weeks with equal success." "You know," Miss Humphrey continued, "I think you New Zealand people are simply wonderful-the way you turn out to plays. In America,, wo should consider a town of this size a 'one night stand,' and should not dream of putting a play on more than once, while here you can fill the theatro half-a-dozen times and more for the same play, and oven in tho smaller provincial towns wo played the 'Scarlet Pimpernel' • twic'o to 'packed houses." - ■ Miss Humphrey is very fond of her part of Lady Blakeney; thero is so much light and shade in the character, and it affords her so much scope. ' Tho interviewer crossed over to America, where Miss Humphrey received all her dramatic training, and where sho was playing until sho left to visit tho Australasian colonies last year. "Yes, I know many of the leading actresses in, the States," she said,, "and I have met Miss Margaret Anglin, who is shortly to visit New Zealand. Sho is a very'clever woman indeed, an emotional actress, you know, and that play 'The Thief,' in which sho is to appear, is a remarkably clever play." But just then, there was a telephone call for Miss Humphrey, and tho interviewer had to leave with her mind full of "extraordinary" questions, which will for ever remain unanswered. MONARCHS AS BALLET DANGERS. One is not surprised to learn that Prince Edward of Wales is ono of the most promising of all the dancing pupils at tho Royal Naval College, Osborne, for skill in dancing seems to run in tho Royal blood of England. King Edward in his younger days was as graceful and nimble-footed as you would find in England, as many of his partners, now stately dowagers, love to recall;, and so, with scarcely an exception, are all members of his family., . Henry VIII's dancing, from the pavon to "conrato high," was tho envy and despair of his courtiers, but ho was prouder of his performance in' the ballet. ' Queen Elizabeth had no rival in the stately pavon unless it was her favourite partner, Sir Christopher Hatton. and Queen Mary's grace and agility in tho ballet sent moro ijfian 'ono pnet into rhymed raptures. Charles 11, however, seems to'have been the king of royal dancers. Ho never knew when to stop, for when every one of his courtiers woro dropping from fatiguo he would call for a round of country dances. "Indeed," says Pepys, "he dances rarely."— "Westminster Gazette." Mrs. Maxwell-Scott, a great granddaughter of Sir Walter Scott, is the present owner of Abbotsford, tho famous home of the great novelist. Sho bears a considerable resemblance to her celebrated ( great-grand-father. The drooping blue eyes of Sir Walter look out from beneath a wide, full brow so like that of Chantry's head of tho novelist that it mislit have served as a model. Mrs. Maxwell-Scott is a gifted writor, has edited tho last and best edition of Sir Walter's Diary, and is tho author of "Incidents in Scottish History," ''Tho Making of Abbotsford," and several other popular books. Mrs. Maxwcll-Scott's eldest son served with gallantry throughout tho Boer war, winning tho Distinguished Service Order as a captain of tho Cameron Highlanders.

THOSE WRETCHED EPIGRAMS! It is only a little over two centurics sinco somebody wroto:— "How wisely Nature, ordering all below, Forbade a beard on woman's chin to grow! For how could sho be shaved, whate'er the skill, Whose tongue would never let- her chin be still?" How we have advanced! No man dares suggest now that women talk much or foolishly. Woman has como into hor realm, and enjoys the proper privileges of her slate. Sho drinks pure tea—Suratura "D," 2s. No queen over drank better 1 2