Social Gossip

Free Lance, Volume XVIII, Issue 972, 13 March 1919, Page 18

Social Gossip

: X>BAK Cheistabel, — ~ ' J! FRENCHWOMAN was speaking to the writer the other uajy about dots and marriage customs, and other ■matters. Asked- if -.she. did not t]iixck . !;th#. French way-.-. little cold-bloodedj .; ishe replied: Au 'Contraira!" N'. . •says that often do ;,aU the ; It a family affair,. But :if matters have Mot been arrangedbe■,forehand, the maijlbn's father, realises ,he | has a duty- r If -he : ;seb§ & . young .main of whom he approves ; he shows ! his ; own hand openly, : cultivates his invites';himj to . the house i and presently. ..introduces the v sub j ect •of marriage 'by stating what' fortune his= daughter will halve. K-' - * -» \ Said fortune or dot is. regarded as & daughter's right. It is often used for establishing the husband in his business. For instance, if he has •qualified as a doctor, he is probably hard up, his fortune, having, been spent ■on his education. Perhaps it will buy a practice, or furnish the house. It must, do something, and the selfSespectingV4Frenchm expects some help from his bride's family. • •• • * * * ; ''bride'Mso expects such help. From her earliest years she lias seen her mother collecting linen and silver &nd'treasures for a fortune when Marie iwill have her own home and husband. . happeins when there aire, say,' sfix girls'in. the,; family? ; Are ; there six / chests! of 'linen,' etc.,' anilsix separate •collections made?" yours truly asked. Six!'' the Frenchwoman exclaimed horror. r " Mon Dieu I "■ Such folly. iNe|ver 1 In France,, there are three •Children, no more, and one—-he is the son." ■ . ■ ■ . . «•* * * j vlllie writer told her French friend that here iri. New Zealand every selffather puts some of her forVtime inside her daughter's head. If lie! is wise he also insures her at

birth. For a trifling annual payment he can make sure that at 19, 20, or 21 or ..later she will .have ..a. little sum whic{i may be used as seehieth best. At 23, if she has taken advantage of her opportunities, she should be well educated; s Furthermore, a . girl's face ■. really is ; her fortune, fpr it is' the in- - dex to lier mind,■ , and in New;' Zealand, young men have a foolish though:;, human habit of falling in love regardless of dots, fathers', mothers, ? religion time or place, and in the humble opinion of 'the writer; so they will continue. . to' do, • world , without end. " Droley".; was the adjective applied by the Frenchwoman—but to whom, she did not say. •* -if * bespeaking of education- reminds one that Sergeant Reynolds, an Auckland man, runner-up for the Rhodes Scholarship in 1916, has been granted an Oxford Scholarship, tenable for three years, and carrying £250 per annum. * * * * Colonel Powles is, expected back, m the near future. . He went away with the Main Body and has been on active service ever since, chiefly on Gallipoli and in Palestine. His youngest child, a boy!, was just' a baby when he went away. * * * * There is delightful, excitement in the air for troopship : after troopship is arriving, and among the men on the Hororata are ever so many Main Body soldiers and other men who belonged to other early reinforcements and are returning fit and sound. Their Wellcome will be a warm one, but what form it is to take has not yet been decided. One proposal is that special trams shall take the public to Seatoun and that cheering crowds shall greet the ship, as she . comes through the Heads. During their time of quarantine it is proposed that bands and chorus shall serenade them from a boat or boats which" will circle-round the troopship. There is a very _ strong feeling that Town Hall receptions are not the thing. The men who have relatives and friends desire to be off dnd away as soon as the ship lands. * * +:. . «• It is over four years since a woman journalist first suggested that, when the troops came home again all the schools should have holidays, and all tlie schoolgirls, dressed in white, should strew flowers before the soldiers, and sing, and do glad, mad things to sliow their joy. Councillor Barber shows an understanding a,nd

sympathy which not every public man possesses. He has realised that nothing so cheers tired warriors as the eight of happy children, and that returning soldiers don't want speeches, or civic receptions. They merely desire to get away with their friends. * - -X- # * . Heard the other day of a happy, lucky mother whose four soldier sons •all went away in the "very early days, and. all are returning un wounded. She is in a quandary because some of them are in the boat which is arriving in Auckland, and one is on the Hororata, and the dates may be so close together that it may be impossible for her to get down from Auckland in time to see the Wellington men arrive. -x- ■» * * The shops are making hay while the sun shines. It appears that people are so wildly excited that they are indulging in all sorts of luxuriesi, which they have denied themselves. during the war, and many women are buying the imported dinner frocks which every ship is bringing out now. The panel effect is very noticeable in many of them, and some of the daintiest frocks are of black georgette, over black satin or silk' or .white, georgette with black panels. The embroidery on all is exquisite. Not evieri in pre-historic (before the war) times were the imported frocks more elaborate and dainty, but never, never were they so expensive. * * ■ ' * ■ * With all due deference to the artists who created them, one ventures to remark that hats are no prettier than they have been for a very long time. You practically never see a hat which softens the face. The outline of many hats is hard and horrid. This is not the opinion of one person, but. is the verdict of most people who take an interest in clothes. * •» «• * It is rumoured that short sleeves are coming in again, and that a society lady who recently returned from England and has been staying at one of the leading hotels, has been observed wearing long gloves with short sleeves in the daytime. It is also rumoured that many sensible women who have learnt something from thei war have definitely made up their minds that in future they will wear what they like, or rather what they can afford ' (which is not always the same thing, though we cheerfuly pretend it is), regardless of fashion. If the price of boots goes up much higher they propose to do something desperate—like clogs, or

thick soles with strong leather tops. They will not buy long gloves. Like Mr Asquith, we shall wait and see. ■s * * Mrs Dean, formerly of Grant Road, is returning to New Zealand by the Niagara. * -» . * Mrs King (nee Esme 3>ean) is still in England with her husband: * * * * A cooler spell of weather induced a few people to go out in search of winter clothes. The promised gilet has arrived —such a. comfy-looking garment, fleecy and warm—with collar attached of the same material. For the thousands who cannot afford furs, the gilet is a godsend. Some of the shops are showing the most exquisite linen samples—tray cloths, supper cloths, and tea cloths. One shop in particular has quite a collection of the kind of stuff we used to see before the war, real linen with Irish lace and Irish embroidery, and Madeira work and English embroidery. The handiwork is exquisite. In these days when house linen is so very expensive, wedding presents from that department will be much appreciated by brides. x ■* *' * . * Every year Miss Dorothy Saunders has _ a break-up party for her dancing pupils, and it takes the form of a recital, proceeds of which go to some charitable object. Last year's affair was to have been in' November, but the epidemic upset all arrangements, and Miss Saunders most wisely put her recital off indefinitely, though the day and hour were fixed; P?hat trouble being well out of the way, Miss Saunders set to work again, and last Friday night, ill the Concert Chamber, her pupils showed their paces and delighted the many friends. who spent a happy hour or two watching them. An excellent orchestra created a good impression before the curtain went up, and without doubt : gave the children some of the confidence when they faced the audience. * * * * The stage was prettily arranged for the first half of the programme, but it was a bower of beauty later, for when the curtain went up, a scene from the Australian bush was disclosed, and there, under the gum trees, the gum nut babies and blossoms and iruts played happily. The pretty fancy was cleverly carried out, browny eucalyptus leaves adding a realistic touch and incidentally giving a feeling of security against microbes. The dresses in the scene were extremely pretty and becoming, and the children in the audience were quite enchanted, for Gum-blosom Babies and they are old friends now ,though never before have the little people from Gum Tree Land appeared on a Wellington stage, and Miss _ Saunders has earned the congratulations she is receiving.

The idea was carried out in detail. All sorts of fancies were introduced, including a spider (Miss Sinclair Breen), wlio was quite clever. Roma Bitossi, as a moth, fluttered, but not in the limelight, which was the weak spot in the entertainment and would have been more effective if it had been possible to subdue the footlights. Not that it mattered, for the recital was simple and unpretentious. The children's dancing was the attraction, and though the frocks were pretty and artistic there was no lavish expenditure there or on the scenery. Miss Helen and Miss Bettie Saunders were charming as the Dustman and Dream, in moonlight revels, where the. children were dressed in pyjamas. * *• ■» * The solo dances : throughout were well received, but no encores were allowed, and the programme was not unduly prolonged. The dances in comic costume were very amusing. One of the best items on the programme was the Lancashire clog dance (Miss Jean Mackenzie). Miss Lola Saunders was an attractive and bright figure in a waltz solo. Other soloists were the Misses Jean Bradley, Clarice Read, Clara Nicholls, Eila Xiiardet, Rene Johnson, Ngaire, Dewsbuhy ,M. McLay, and Mr Knowsley. Proceeds from the pretty little entertainment go to the Fresh Air Fund and the Spinsters War Work Fund. * ' . * *• On the programme Miss Saunders drew attention to the fact that her pupils use no block-toe ballet shoes. The Russian exercises with which her programme opened were accurately

performed and neatly finished, and enjoyed as much by the audience as they were by the pupils, whose faces shone with happiness. * * # * Candidates for Mayoral honours are coming thick and fast. Mr T. S. Weston and Mr W. H. P. Barber and one or two others are in the field, and a possibility of a Red Fed candidate. There, will be gay doings in „the sweet by and by. The man elected will probably be Mayor when the Prinee of Wales arrives. Judging from his pictures H.R.H. can get amusement. out of any situation, and is thus happily equipped for facing new surroundings. Happily, too, we who look on find much to smile about. * * * * Surgeon-General and Mrs Skerman have been in town for a few days. The general has been trying his _ 'prentice hand at the' art of governing, _ and while in Samoa was for a. time his Excellency. * * * s 3>r. Alice Gow (Miramar) has heard that her husband, medical officer with the Mounted Rifles in Palestine, has sailed for New Zealand. •» •» . ■» «• Mrs James Mackintosh Bell and her two little sons, who have all been staying with Mr Harold _ Beauchamp for some time, are returning to Canada by the Makura. Dr. Ross, of Gisborne, formerly of Wairoa and Waipawa, is engaged to be married to Miss Grant, who at - one time was matron of the hospital shjp Maheno.

Mrs T. E. Corkill (Oriental Bay} hopes to return to New Zealand soon after the: marriage of her son. Major Erie Corkill, in England. * . * , #. ■■■ * There was a party at the Pioneer Club last Saturday, for Mrs James Mackenzie, of Karori, who is leaving for a trip to England. Xady Stout, president of the club, has returned from the South Island, and received the guests. Mabel.

. Miss J>orothy Saunders left this week on a visit to Dunedin, where she is going to train the dancers in the ballets, etc., in "Snowwhite," a fantasy being produced by Mrs Helen Gard'ner and her pupils. # ■X* Mrs S. Lennox, of Wellington, has been advised that her son, Corporal Jack Lennox, of the Second Battalion New Zealand Rifle Brigade, is returning with the Hororata draft. Corporal Lennox went to Samoa with the Party and later left with the Rifle Brigade in October j 1915. In his last letters he mentioned that he was fit and well. -7- * * * Mrs Moncrief and her daughter, Miss Moncrieff, are at present staying at Whakatane, fhere they have gone for a change after. Miss MoncriefE's long illness. * # * * Lieut. Ferguson, of Westport, recently from France, is visiting his aunt, Mrs Cradock, Brougham street.