SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 907, 29 August 1910, Page 9

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

The Ministerial Recoption. ■'. So-boisterous and so stormy-looking was the weather on Saturday that the garden party which was being given by tho members of tho Ministry and their wives for the purpose of affording their guests an opportunity of ..meeting Lady Islington, and which was to have taken place in the grounds of Parliament Buildings;was changed into a reception at the Town 1 Hall instead. Notwithstanding tho fact that the alteration, was made, so near the time of the actual event,, cqmplote arrangements had' been made-for. tho pleasure and comfort of tho guests, several hundreds being present during the afternoon. In all, something like two thousand five hundred invitutions were said to have been issued. " The entrance and vestibule of • the building had been carpeted and decorated with great clumps of pampas Ri'nss, ferns and foliage, and inside tho main hall the stage, .where the guests of honour were, later on,' to sit,- had been comfortably furnished I ,with chairs and tables, while lycopodium and yellow spring flowers adorned the front of it. Tea-tables, prettily decorated with yellow bulbs in silver vases,- wore -arranged round-the sides of the romn, and deft-hauded'waitresses handed around.tea to tho many guests. The Garrison Band,: stationed in .the gallery, played selections during tho afternoon, as did Mr. Maughan Barntsft upon the organ. The hosts and hostesses of-. tho afternoon were Sir Joseph; and '/Lady' Ward, Dr. and Mrs. Findlay, the Hon. James Carroll, tho Hon. T. Mackenzie and Mrs. Mackenzie,'the Hon. J. Millar and Miss Millar, and the Hon; G. Fowlds... Tho remaining Ministers were out of town.. . - : ' . ■■• '■: UDon their arrival, his Excellency tho Governor arid Lady Islington, with .Captain Hamilton in personal attendance as rfide-do-camp, accompanied •by Mr. and Lady Beatrice Kerr.Clark, Miss Cotton, and the Hon. Joan Dickson-Poynder, were'received at the entrance door, by the-Prime Minister and Lady. Ward .ind the remainder of, the Ministerial .party, and Lady Islington was presentod by Lady Ward with a very beautiful .bouquet of violets and maidenhair •■' fern. They were then escorted into tho, hall, where later on a largei. number ,of people were presented- to Lady Islington. 'During the course of. a brief speech,. Sir Joseph Ward extended to her Excellency a very cordial welcome on behalf •of the people of New Zealand, andv.addedy that this expression of welcome was in no sense derogatory to the intentions of shis:iWorship the citizens, to also welcome Lady Islington to the capital. Sir Joseph then called for three.cheers for-her .Excellency, and the : big hall'rang with the hearty response of tho assemblage. ' ' " ', It was a very great surprise and a 'still greater pleasure when Lady Islington made a delightful little speech, partly in reference to, some of the remarks made by the Premier in his welcoming speech, where' he mentioned how much she must. have felt leaving her friends iu England.- Her Excellency replied that she had indeed left many, very dear friends at • Home of whom she was very fond, but in coming to' New Zealand She would make new :friends, and was determined to make' herself have' a happy time. She had heard at Home of some things in, New. Zealand .which, were ■pleasant.and some unpleasant. .'One was .that-the sun .was, always .shining. Another was that .Wellington' was a. windy place at times, and the third.thing was that'sho' would meet with great lindness. and hospitality everywhere in New Zealand. It is needless to say. that the speech charmed everyone, 'and so : clearly and distinctly was it uttered that every word was heard all over tho hall. His Excellency, we know, is''a good speaker, and it seems added good fortune to think that .we have another one so good as Lady Islington. ■Subsequently,, his Excellency, on behalf of Lady Islington, conveyed to the Prime Minister her Excellency's ■ appreciation of the warm welcome which had been tendered to her by tho .people of 'Wellington; and desired particularly 'to acknowledge tho very graceful tribute Lady Islington has received from '.the 'schoolgirls. A copy of his Excellency's message has been forwarded by the Prime Minister to the educational authorities for transmission to the schools. Ladv Islington wore a very graceful dress "of 6ome soft bkek clinging material with tho skirt being caught in as we are now seeing them a little more than half way from the waist. AVith this was worri-a very large.black hat with large .ostrich,'-plumes, and round her throat were strings, of pearls.. The Hon. Joan Islington .'wore a. coat, and skirt' of pale bi«cuit-coloured cloth with a black velvet hat.'Lady Beatrice Clark was in black with a large black hat with ostrich feathers going straight over the crown and heavy furs.' Miss Cotton was also in black with a semi-transparent yoke and a largo black hat with , ostrich plumes. Lady Ward wore a dress of black ninon over black silk, and . over it the new sleeveless coat" of"the' same material. With it she wore a, large black hat with ostrich plnmes. Mrs.,lMnd. lay woro a dress'of black-lace over white silk, and a large black plumed hat. Mrs. T. Mackenzie a black silk dress with yoke of black lace over violet silk, and black hat with ostrich feathers. Mrs. Buddo, black silk dross with large black hat. Miss E. Ward, a grey dress with .black plumed hat. Miss Millar, a grey costume with black and white hat. Miss Mackenzie, daughter of tho Hon. T. and Mrs. Mackenzie was also present. Mrs. Wilford, the Mayoress, .was to be seen among tho guests. wearing a brown costume and .brown hat with red roses. Many of tho members .of Parliament and of the' Legislative Council attended the reception with their wives, as did those representing the educational and religious institutions of the city, the Civil Service, the military, etc. Some of the visiting clergymen from England were to be seen thero as we11,,-and one noticed also the members of the Education Boards Conference which was' being held in Wellington during last week.

Preparing for Calve;' .As well as hnviii.i the queue system.established for Madkm* Olvo's approaching concert, there are many people who are stronger advoestinj the sale nf ss. and ,Is. tickets before the day of the concert. The following letter . which has boon "received stronflr paints the tribulations that are usimlly undergone in trying to obtain tickets on the actual night of the* performance when there has been no sale beforehand: —l am taking the liberty of addressing you to ask you if it will be possible to arrange for the sale of ss. and 3s. tickets for Madame Cnlva's concert lieforo the day of the concert.' These tickets need not be advertised until a day or two after tho plan has been opened, so as not to interfere with the booking. Yon are probably not aware of tho horrors one has to go through to get tickets at tho Town Hall here for any big function. Thero nro tiny windows to go to, but oven if one is fortunato enough to secure a ticket the getting out of tho crowd is so dreadful that what