OVERSEAS NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 52, 25 November 1929, Page 4

OVERSEAS NOTES.

Rumour has been rife for a long while regarding the state of affairs among New York’s “Four Hundred”—which to-day is more like “Four Thousand.” But recently national publicity was given to the latest move on the part of distraught hostesses by an article in the “Saturday Evening Post.” Comment has been made for a long time about the impossibility of giving a dinner worth eating because of the way young guests ignored the time of arrival. They did not dream of putting in an appearance earlier than threequarters of an hour past the stipulated time. Hostesses tried the dodge of sending out special invitations to such offenders and deliberately marked the hour 45 minutes earlier than was stated on the invitations sent to punctilious guests. But the sweet young things soon discovered the duplicity of the hostesses. They were honTfied to find themselves arriving at dinners with the Mid-Victor-inn precision of the “old-fashioned crowd.” They quickly punished the perpetrators of the annoyance by appearing on the scene one hour and n half after the stated time! Hostesses had to acknowledge themselves defeated, and then they compiled the black list, which has thrown the Washington social impasse into the background. Now they are placed on the black list they will have no option but to announce a reformation or to stay in the outer darkness of exclusion. The League of Nations Assembly at Geneva this September was remarkable for the large number of women officially taking part in it While the women now sitting in the British House of Commons represent only one per cent, of its total membership, they are given 33 per cent, of the. allotted places in the national delegation to Geneva, at the head of which is Dame Rachel Crowdy. Women of many countries arc increasingly represented at Geneva, being especially valued for their work in the various “Commissions”—for Child Welfare, Public Health Refugee Settlement, and also in the work of the Internatiofial Labour Organisation. The two Princesses of Burdwan have been enjoying their first London season. They are the daughters of the Maharajah of Burdwan, one of the wealthiest of the Indian Princes. They are both small and slight, with graceful figures, and were looking bo picturesque in their “saris” recently at a big ball to which they had come in Lady party. They had dined with Lady Alexander first at her house in Pont Street, and each had a jewel, like a beauty spot, on one side of the nose. They are extremely quiet and dignified and speak excellent English. * * * Miss Lorna Millar, of. Amesbury Street, Palmerston North, is in M ellington. A police court Bible was missing when a witness was about to take the oath at Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, and it was found that a court official had borrowed it to read.