SOCIAL GOSSIP

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 131, 3 January 1903, Page 10

SOCIAL GOSSIP

By Christabel

THE year is so nearly over that, before another week has passed, the bells will "Ring out the old, ring in the neiw," amd eventful 1902 will be but a memory. I hope that> the new year will prove a happy and prosperous one tor ail my readers. Christmas' oaine and went just like every other Christmas — the. various churoLes weie tastefully decorated for the services. All Wellington went "a piomemg" on Boxing Day, and clever indeed was anyone who found a picnic spot all to themselves. * • • I noticed some shady, and alco becoming, river haits being worn by pionicing girls, who revealed to me the secret of their firm foundation, although "flopnv" enough to fan the face, they were perfectly firm and tight-fitting on tihe head. An old sailor hat had been utollised, and around this were stitched, one over another, three box-pleated frills of stiff cream musilin, forming the brim. A muslin crown, drawn over the straw, made that all right and the more elaborate ones had s edgmgs and rosettes of black velvet bebe ribbon, which looked very smart. These hats are infinitely cooler than a sun-bonnet, if not quite so picturesque « ♦ • While on the subject of picnics here is a. mixture for sandwiches, which 19 delicious, and not a; bit extravagant. Pound the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs with 2oz of butter and three anchovies mix thoroughly, and spread on slices of bread cut in rounds triangles, or any fancy shapes. * * * Mrs HuntJey Elliott (Chnistchtuch'). with her little' daughter is spending a few days with her parents. Captaan and Mrs. Kennedy * * * Miss Marchant, M.A. is spending the vacation with her people here. Miss K. Marchant returned with her sister from Dunedin Mrs. Ralph Fitzherbert and Miss Kennedy (Marton) are in tow n for a week or two. * ♦ » Mrs. C. Richardson (Australia) is visiting her relations in Wellington. * • * Mrs Matin/ eson (Pahiatua) is visiting her sister, Mrs. MacEwen. * * * The fashionable combination of blue and green is by 110 means confined to one's hats. Several blouses have made their appearance, and a day or two ago I noticed a very smartly-gowned eirl in blue voile, who daintily lifted her frock, revealing a petticoat of bright erreen silk. Her hat was also composed of these shades. • « * In France women are allowed the privilege of wearing male costume if they pay a fine of £2. Several wellknown women have elected to do so, and a special few have been given the right by the Government — an honour, it is said, coveted greatly, as it is a tribute of great merit. Rosa Bonheur, the well-known artist and Mdmes Fourreau and La Zeannette (sculptors) are amongst the favoured ones. ♦ * ■* The latest fancy is a bolero formed of a series of box-pleats. These are fastened part of the way down, but are allowed to fall freely at the base. It is cut fairly short, reaching but to within about four inches from the waist line. As may be easily imagined this style is quite unsuitable for the stout woman and 1 these boleros have a decided tendency to increase tihe size of the figure The thin woman, therefore, should welcome them gladly. ♦ * * And, talking of box-pleating reminds me that I lately saw a very becoming gown of tihe old-fashioned Chinese silk, the skirt of which was box-pleated all round the waist. The pleats were confined about a foot of the way down after which they were allowed to flow freely The trimming of this frock was not guipure, as one is generally led to expect now-a-daiys, but it was bordered with Oriental embroidery about three inches in width. This trimmed tihe edge of tihe skirt the cuffs, the neckband, and also the border of the deep cape collar of tihe same silk. The ef-

feet was exceedingly pretty, and quite a change from the stereotyped insertion amd apphque which has now became so common. ■* « ♦ A pretty wedding was celebrated at St Joseph's Church, Buckle-street, on Wednesday. Decembei 10th, when Mr Thomas J. Hogan, second son of Mr. M. Hogan, River Bank, Wan^aum was maimed to Miss Henrietta Margaret (Ettie), third daughter of the late J E. L Hansen. of Wanganm. The Very Reverend Augustine Keogh was the officiating oiero-vmain, and the bride weai nig a soft w hite silk gown , with veil and orange blossoms, was given aw ay by her brother, Mr. G. Hansen of Carterton. • * * The bridesmaids were Miss Laura Hansen. Miss Cissy Hogan, Miss E. Hog.ni, and Miss Grace Nelson. The two former wore white Swiss musJin dresses, with lace and ribbons, and carried bouquets and the younger two were attired in cream Indian muslin and lace, and carried baskets of marguerite daisies. All four wore picture haits, and gold brooches the latter being the gift of the bridegroom . Mr. O. Hanisen, of Nelson, acted as best man and Mr A B. Hansen as groomsman After the ceremony, a number of guests were entertained at the breakfast, by the bride's mother. The pre» sents were very handsome and included a marble clock from Mr. Hogans fellow employees and a set of carvel's from his employer, also, a handsome "ift from the bride's sister, in Denmark. The wedding oake was the gift of the bride's brother. The happy couple left later on their honeymoon, the bride's gown being of crush straw beriv frieze with Russian coa/t, and a white velvet hat, with knots of black velvet ribbon and ostrich feathers. * ♦ ♦■ Mr and Mrs. Tom Wilford leave veiv shortly for Home. Their two little children will remain with Mrs G McLean in Dunedin. * ♦ * Mi. and Mrs. Turrell are spending a shoit hohdav in Christchurch. * * » The engagement is announced of Miss Maude Ellis, 8.A., of Nelson, to Mr. J. Glasgow , solicitor. * * * Lieutenant Oriel Hovell, son of the Dean of Waiaipu, is on furlough for several weeks, and is staying with his people at Napier. Lieutenant Hovell shortly proceeds to Singapore, where the Manchester Regiment will be ' uartered. * » •» An Australian girl thus describes Melba's gown worn in "La Traviata" "Something in subdued cream and ficelle tones, wonderful oobweb laoes, with an outer detached train of heavier mesh, through which pink rases broke as sometimes the sun breaks through the morning mist of grey clouds. In the front of the skirt, was the same pink nusiiings. It was all very beautiful, and diamonds, the price of which would make any of us grow dizzy calculating, glared with wonderful brilliancy from neck, shoulders, and hair. Madame Slapoffski's gown was also most distraotmo:, being of wonderful mandarin silk, with a long tram lined with turquoise blue, and touches of blue caught the eye in other parts of the gown. Her coiffure was most peculiarly arranged, there beine a parting at the back of the head." » * * The Coronation ceremonies a,re to be celebrated at Delhi on January Ist and everything is to be done on a magnificent scale. A very beautiful gown has been designed for Lady Curzon, wife of the Viceroy- It is of rich Indian silk, richly embroidered with a magnificent desicm of peacocks' feathers. The whole dress is to be entirely of Indian workmanship. Lady Curzon it will be remembered, was an American girl, very beautiful, and the daughter of a millionaire' — Mr. Leiter. of Chicago. (Continued on page 13 )

The marriage of Miss Mabel Salmon and Mr. Edgar Rudman, of the Wellington College staif, takes place at St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral nest week. • • • Mr. and Mrs. Prouse, the Misses Prouse, and their brothers, are spending some weeks at Rotorua. Some of the party travelled by bicycle, and enjoyed the trip very much. « ♦ • Mrs. Stevenson leaves by the Gothic for a trip to England. • ♦ • Mrs. Pye-Snuth has been suffering from a serious illness, but her many fneaids will be glad to hear that she is now oa the road to recovery. • • • The engagement has been announced of Miss Dorothea Hajris, only daughter of the late Mr Chant rey Harris, to Mr. R. Hone, dental <?urgeon, of Wellington. • * * Another engagement lately announced is that of Miss Nellie Wills, eldest daughter of Mr. Frank Wills, Wellington, to Mr. A. S. Kennedy, son, of Captain Kennedy of Wellington. • * * The engagement has also been announced of Miss Ivy Barraud, of the Hutt to Mr. Walter Blundell, son oi Mr. John. Blundell, Wellington. • ♦ • Mdlle. Dolores has decided to \isit New Zealand again early m the hct year All who have heard tins sweet singer will look f orw ard with the greatest pleasure to her concerts. Mdlle. Dolores is to arrive, I believe, shortly after the "Melba" season, and it will be very interesting to compare the two voices. In Melbourne, as in Sydney, this singer had a wonderful reception, as the following: clipping will show — 'At Dolores' Melbourne concerts, she was deluged with floral tributes, and each night a procession of flower bearers, composed of managers, and ushers, followed her to her carriage, but, by the time they reached the footpath all that was left of the bouauets were pieces of silver paper which encased the stems. The enthusiastic crowds rushed her flowers for mementoes of the sweet songbird and, not only women, but| crowds of men-, eagerly grabbed a blossom to keep in memory of her sweet notes. • * * Mrs. Burns, of Christchurch, who took the soprano solas' in the recent production of the "Messiah." at Waagamui, passed through Wellington, homeward bound, last week. Her wonderfully sweet voice charmed all who hoard it and the Wanganui people were very loth to let her depart.

Motoring is said to be a splendid cure —or, at least, one of the very best remedies for insomnia. Therefore, anyone suffering from that complaint should note. A peculiar fashion has lately appeared mi smairt sets at Home, the women, having annexed the half -hose of tiheir brothers. Many articles of clothing have practically been taken from the mere, man, but I should have thought we would have been quite willing to let ham remain in undisputed possession of his socks. The fashion was first started m Paris — it probably originated in tlue students' quarters. Quite a number of American women are following the fashion. • • • On the other hand, it is well-known tihat several eminent men wear stockings. Oner of the most celebrated Generals isi said to confess to the feminine custom, which is only partly feminine, however, seeing that silk stockings were nart of the regular dress in the days when knee-breeches were worn always. In America, a girl has many ways of earning money, but one of the latest ideas is that of professional bridesmaids. One- young lady, who possesses a pretty face," and good figurei, has acted in the capacity over a. hundred times, and finds the work very remunerative. Her duties at a fashionable w eddmig are to look after the bride and bridesmaids , and see that) things generally go off well. M. ♦ • What strange designs are found in women's jewellery. We hate spiders as a general rule, but I lately saw a. set of these crawly insects nestling in some priceless lace worn by a pretty woman They were, of course, formed of lovely gems but tihe idea struck me as peculiar. The trail of the serpent is alsopop uilar in jewellery, Cleopatra rines, of chased gold, being very fashionable at present, ar.d yet how repugnant such reptiles would be in, real life. * • • One of the most oopular jewels is undoubtedly the turquoisei, whidh, we are told, is becoming rarer and rarer every year. Not only are tihey very becoming jewels to the fair-haired, blue-eyed type of w oram, but. they are interesting from their apparent sympathy with them' wearer. It seems to be> a fact, not. a mere superstition, that the turquoise will fade if its owner becomes ill, and it loses its splendour of colour if worn by a, woman of muddy complexion. The Tsantsa. possesses a famous collection of turquoises, but the Baroness. BurdettCoutits is said to have the finest m the world

The Tsantsa>'s sapphires are unrivalled m beauty. Sapphires are only less' valuable than rubies and diamondls and tlhear worth depends much, upon thedr colour. The deep, indigo-huod stones aire called "made sapphires," and the light blue, approaching white, "female sapohires," but the> most prized shade of all is that of the cornflower. * • • A pretty wedding was quietly celebrated on Wednesday December 24th, when Mr. N. Grant, son of the late Mr. Robert Grant, builder aitid contractor, was married to Miss Mary Louisai Severne. daughter of the late Mr. Francis Severn*, of Havel'ock. The ceremony was performed at No. 38, The Terrace, by the Rev. Reed Glasson. The bride, prettily gowned in grey, with ecru insertion and handsome lace collar, was given away by Mrs. Francis. She wa® attended by three- bridesmaids Miss Renme and the Misses Symons. * ■+ * The elder maid wore a pretty grey costume, trimmed with whit© silk and insertion, and a white chiffon hat, and the younger ones were daintily attired in figured deilaine, with embroidered collars and large hats. Each maid wore a gold brooch, the gift of the bradeeroom, and carped bouquets of white daisies, ti^d with satin ribbons. Mr. W. Futter acted as best. man. The presents received by both the bride* and bridegroom were numerous and handsome. * • • Marriage is really a lottery in some countries. Fancy being raffled like a doll ait a bazaar — tifaatl is what happens to some women if the following paragraph is to be believed — In the Russian piovince of Smolonsk theie is a most extraordinary lottery every three months. The ticket? cost about two • shillings and there is only one prize. This consists of the entire sum made by the sale of the tickets, amounting to about £506, together with a lady de=ciibed as of noble birth. The tickets aie only sold to men, and the winner of the prize has to take the lady or forego the money. If married already he may, however, put any friend to whom he wishes to do a good turn in the position of prize winner. It may happen that the winner of the lottery is willing to marry the lady but that he does not meet with her approval. In that case they are permitted to remain in single blessedness and to divide the money. It is not difficult to imagine that even in Bussia, wheie old maids aie generally looked down upon, the chosen bride may often decide that the sum oi two hundred and fifty

pounds is a more desirable possession than a lord and master of whom she knows nothing. • • • Old-world jewellery is greatly in demand, and there is a rumour that the old-fashioned long-drop earrings will be worn again. Ancient seals, fancy miniatures, quaint filigree clasps and brooches are once more brought from their hiding-places, and throatlets and wristlets of black velvet, secured with jewelled-fashioned clasps, are quite the latest wear. • • • For evening wear at home, nothing is more suitable than the sailor blouse design with the wide cape collar. This looks particularly pretty if carried out in some soft muslin, and for the summer it is better that the muslin should be a washing one. You should, however, omit to add the little lace front, and this then makes the smartest little evening blouse imaginable. If ever you find yourself at a loss for a blouse to wear at dinner at home, just don one of your muslin sailor blouses, omit the front and the collar, and " the thing is done." • • • " The Critic " is rather amusing on the subject of women's sleeves : — " There is seemingly no end to the usefulness of the big sleeve of to-day, since dressmakers treat with scorn the plea of suffering womanhood for something in the way of a pocket. It is almost incredible the amount of luggage that can be packed away in the voluminous puffs about the wrist. A fair dame unpacked this treasure house in a tramcar the other day in a search after a recalcitrant tram ticket. These are some of the articles Bhe emptied into her lap : One handkerchief, one purse, two small keys, a pair of gloves, some visiting cards, and a hair net with several fringe pins stuck through it. Who will scoff at the big sleeve after that ? "