Social Gossip from Home.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 5660, 19 October 1889, Page 3

Social Gossip from Home.

The London correspondent of tlio Melbourne Argus writes as follows : — I have recently met more than ouco tho interesting Indian heroins " Rukhmabai," tho liidy who braved imprisonment rather than live with a husband whn was not hot - own chousing. As a mutter of fuct sho never did uadu-go the imprisonment awarded to her, because before the law's delays were exatisted Mm Miccecded iv compioinising

with her coolie husband, on the terms thiit he waived his claim to have her imprisoned, ;ind siio gave up to him nearly all her propurtv. She has now come to Jini/land ut tlio invitation of some women who arc interested in the claims of their own sex, with a promi-e of hospitality and support until sht! can bo put in tlio w;iy of earning her own living. There is talk of making her a doctor and sending , her baok to India, but it scorns at present doubtful whether she has the strength and nervo for the oidcfil of a medical training , . Shu is vixy pretty, and talks English with a pretty little accent. She seems iv the solitu ie of upbringing to have thought out and solved for hcrWlf ott the most advanced lines nearly all the social problems of the day. Her friends here find that they have nothing to teach her; and she sometimes nearly blows the ivof of their lipids off by the daring , doctrines which she announce!*. Their chief difficulty with her in to teach her to play lawn termie. It is contrary to caw to for a high-caste woman in India ever to run. Not only had Kukhmabai never run a yard herself until who arrived in this island, but none of her ancestresses for countless generations had ever run a yard either, and she is thus handicapped by a prinicvalhereditary disability ; but what Aw, lacks in freedom of limb la almost miido up by quickness of cyo and supiileness of wrist. * There i* t*>ti'i to have bcyn a. piiinful diaputc at Goodwood-house (luring the race meeting, between tho I)uke of Richmond and himimst exalted guest. Tholate Duehos.s of Richmond had an unbounded horror of gambling. When the " House party" was being invited this year, by tho widowed duke, ho made it a condition that out of respect to tiie lato duchess's memory there should be m> gambling at all. Tho guests al! promised, but they found the performance of their promise more difficult than they could bear Ou.tliu lirst night of the House party, the duke, overcame with fatisrue, asked leave to go to bed at midnight. This was at once graciously granted, whereupon tho company sat down to what they call, in their language, a "flutter." Ah it happened, tho Duko had forgotten something in the library, and returning for it oamt; upon the card pariy. He ashed what was b-ing played, tho rfiply beiiur, '" Dutch whist," :t game at which it was explained no money could bo cither I won or'lost He retind to his room not ivhollv satisfied, and next night, having an uncomfortable feeling that his request was being disregarded, he msido a uudden descent upon the Dutch whiwt-playerd, whom ho found unmistakably ab-sorbed in tbu worldwide* diversion of baccarat. His anger knew no bounds. Hot words passed, and the chief guest and his fellows Oeelured they would leave tho house aT, daylight. With the morning came wisdom, and they all apologised and Ktayed, forswearing cards for the rest of their vi«it. Tho duko decidedly had the best of tlio dispute. Tin- death of M. Damala, Sarah Bernhardt's Greek husband, has scut a thrill of subdued snnow through many English hearts, reminding us, an it did, of tho time when Sarah was for a brief space the haughty idol of London society. Sho married Damala in London, bringing him here p-jst-ha*te for that purpose—tho h-jiTors of a t-ea-passage being less formidable in her eyes than tho red-tape vexations of the French law of marriage. She employed as her agent iv managing tho English legal part of tho bnsine-s Sir Algernon Borthwick, M.P., the proprietor of the Morning Pont. All the way from Paris she kept wiring at every stoppingplace a mysterious message to Sir Algernon, couched in tho words, "Fait'js vi'iiir le sheriff." Why she supposed the presence of a sheri/r was m-cessutvy to tho validity of a Knglhlinmrriagesbeucvurexplained. Thcro is no doubt that aho waa teriously taken

aback when she found that Sir Algernon

had failed to obey her commands, and that she liad a growing apprehension that the ceremony was not binding either in conscience or law. At all v vents she parted with Dainala at the church door, and it, was some time before she could permiade herself to allow him to take up his residence with her. It is the testimony of hor friends that she v.na a devoted wife to an almost '•impossible" husband. Finding him wayward and tyraniiic.'il, i-he at iirst compromised by handing him over to her son, Maurice Bernhardt, whom kLc had sot up as a theatrical manager, with tho injunction {afterwards made tin) refrain af a comic song) " fnis souvcnc jout'i- ton lu-au-pcre." But even th-j " beau-iiis" Jfauricu could not stand his M :;pfather for long,

and lXiniiila wiindcrcd awuy from Paris to < nlist in thy Algerian Foreign Legion. Latterly he (.'aim; back to the in France, and was received with Siuah, asid iilm> by Maurjul',' He was with his wifo during her riiceut season in London, and played with great force and ari. Unhappily he had contracted the Parisian habit oi' morphiainjecting during his waucLui ings from >Sarah, who could not break him <.f it, and now the incvilablo end lias come. He wan tho clouucst-lookinjf Gi'ot:k I <;vor saw. Junius Albury, thi: driiiiiittist, wlio died this week, was, like IDamala, one who sl-.orteucd his own existence- by his habits. Commencing 'it , -' ;LS a roj>omaker'n approntico, h ; j had a Joiij.; t-triijrgle to obtain recognition for bid undoubted abilities. When work flowed in upon him, ho had not the mentu.l training to go through it without resorting t<> ttinmlauU. i'or somo yuars he ha.Ojeen v terrible wn-ck, wholly laid abide from work, hit; family being «upported by thes heroic exerticjns of bis beautiful uud'dovoted v.iie, kno\nioiitbM.ii;u as Mary Moore, the leading lady of the Criterion company- Tho gratitude of Charles Wyndham for tlio i»:n\ who h:i<l fitted him with liis most, paying parts first gavoMaryMoc.ro her chance, uul be:tu;y, sviei'Uiu.-s, determinatioti, ;ind a modicum of talent have done the rest for her.