LADIES' COLUMN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8162, 25 January 1890, Page 4 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

SOCIAL AND FASHION GOSSIP.

It is well understood that the Duke and Duchess of Fife, when they have entered into possession of the new house in Portman Square which the Duke has taken from Sir Andrew Fairbairn, intend to entertain very largely, and that the Duchess intends to assume her place in London society as one of the principal hostesses of the day. This will be a considerable change, for, as a rule, the royal family have been content to be entertained by the nobility, and, with the exception of the State entertainments at Buckingham Palace, and the equally big garden parties at Marlborough House, there has been no attempt at any general entertainment. Of course the Prince and Princess of Wales have dined with and received their own friends; but that, after all, means a very email body. The position, in fact, that the Duke and Duchess of Fife have decided to take up is that of leading members of the English nobility, among whom they ought to be very popular in consequence. I hear that it is by no means unlikely that the Duchess of Albany may marry again. Her choice would be a German prince of equal rank to herself. The Queen would certainly not approve of the match ; but the Duchess is quite a young woman, and it is probable that, if she makes up her mind to it, she will please herself. After all, the alternative is a long life of dreary widowhood spent amid the exceeding dulness of Claremont, and no one could blame her if she has by now got tired of continued retirement. Vanity Fair says the Queen positively delights in snow and ice, and has a most curious objection to fires. To such lengths is this carried that she does not care to see those sitting with her in a room draw near to the fireplace, and indeed she will hardly allow them to do so. Rain and wet, on the other hand, are the Queen's intense aversion. A London West End firm, it is said, is already engaged in preparing part of the trousseau of Princess Alix of Hesse, who is to be married early in the year. Among the dresses already in the hands of the couturiere are two of uncommon beauty —a dress of crushed strawberry silk with a pattern of small satin spots, and a charming gown of cream and pale yellow striped satin, with a small brocade of deeper tone separating the stripes. Not very long ago a lady violinist was regarded as something of a phenomenon ; but at the recent musical concourse at the Paris Conservatoire the female students of the instrument mustered nearly as strong as their competitors of the opposite sex ; and 8 of the 14 prizes awarded fell to their share. Mdlle. Dantin, a girl of 15, so completely distanced all her rivals, male and female, that the jury unanimously awarded her the first prize of the year. A large circle in Ireland — more particularly around its metropolis— is mourning the death of Lady Pluuket, wife of the Archbishop of Dublin. The lamented lady was daughter of the late Sir' Benjamin Guinness, the munificent restorer of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and, consequently, sister of Lord Ardilaun and Sir Edward Guinness. Lady Plunket appears to have been admirably qualified for her position as wife of the metropolitan diocesan, and her death is really a serious loss to society. There are ten commandments hung on the walls of the Hindoo I heological Coliege in Madras. Homeward Mail reproduces them : " 1. Pray to God as soon as you rise from your bed— 5.10 a.m. '2. Wash your body and keep your surrc '"'igs c1ean 5.10,5.30a.m. 3. Prostrate j.orself before your parents or guardians, and take good exercise — 5.30, 6.30 a.m. 4. Prepare well your school lesson — 6.30, 9 a.m. 5. Attend school regularly and punctually, and do the school work properly. 6. Obey and respect your teachers and the teachers of the other classes, and other respectable persons. 7. Read till 8 p.m. at home. 8. Pray to God and go to bed—9 p.m. to 5 a.m. 9. Keep good company, and avoid bad company. 10. Practice righteousness at all times." Miss Helen, daughter of the eightymillionaire, Jay Gould, had a strong inclination two years ago to teach. She felt it to be her mission in life, and was being trained by a proficient college graduate, when her mother's death caused her to take charge of the household. She is not a housekeeper merely in name, but spends the energy which her wealth will not allow her to use for the public in overseeing every detail of her home, and keeping an accurate account of evory penny of expense. Kings, queens, princes, and princesses are fond of music. Some are successful, and others are not, although the courtiers do not dare to tell the truth. The Queen has a lovely voice still, and has a beautiful touch on the piano ; the Princess Beatrice and Princess Louise have brilliant powers of execution and play everything at first sight. The Prince of Wales plays the banjo fairly well. The Princess of Wales is a skilful pianist. The Duke of Connaught amuses himself with the flute. The Duke of Edinburgh is a good violinist. The Czar of all the Russias plays a handsome silver cornet. Queen Marguerite of Italy makes herself happy at the piano. Prince Henry of Prussia is a composer and a performer on the violin and piano. The beautiful Empress of Austria plays splendidly on the zither. The Empress of Japan is proficient on the " koto," the national instrument, which is a kind of big zither. Queen Elizabeth of Roumania plays with equal skill on the harp and piano. King George of Greece can play all kinds of tunes on handbells and wine glasses of different shapes. He can also play the " cymballum," an instrument played only by the Tzeganes of Hungary. The pathetic adventures of a carrier pigeon, lately employed by the Empress of Austria to bear a letter to her daughter, the Archduchess Marie Valerie, may bo noted (says the Vienna correspondent of the Times) by writers of fiction in quest of new incidents. The bird was one of those which are trained for service at the arsenal of Pola, and when the Empress recently sailed from Pola to Corfu she took this pigeon on board her yacht, having arranged to lot it tly with a letter for her daughter at a certain distance from the coast. It was supposed that the pigeon would- return to Pola, and orders woro given to forward the contents of the letter whioh it. carried immediately by telegraph to the young Archduchess. Unfortunately a peasant with a gun saw the bird and shot it. He did not notice the letter, which was no doubt blown off by the shot, and so, whilo lie bore home the Empress' winged messenger for supper, the letter remained on the ground. It was accidentally found a few days afterwards ; and now some loyal newspapers are proposing that, to prevent a recurrence of such mishaps, pigeons should no more be shot at all. It is a wonder that nobody had suggested that carrier pigeons on State service should be put into a showy uniform, like those in which the Austrian Civil servants are shortly going to astonish their fellow subjects. Quito a new fashion in riding habits has been initiated by Lady Brooke, the wife of Lord Brooke, and the sister of Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox. She hunts now in " pink," and as she has an excellent seat, is always splendidly mounted, and rides as straight as a die, she is naturally a very conspicuous figure in the hunting field. She has earned in many a hard run her right to set the fashions for huntswomen, and it is probable that her example will be imitated by many of the daring ladies who ride with the Pytchley, the Quorn, and other leading packs. It is a hotly-disputed question whether ladies ought to hunt at all, and the arguments on both sides are equally convincing to their respective supporters. It must, however, be observed that no lady ought to hunt unless she has an oxcallenb seat and plenty of nerve, and is accustomed to rely on herself solely, and rides straight after the hounds for the pure love of the sport itself. A timid horsewoman is unwarrantably exposing herself to great danger, an unbusiness like huntress is thrusting herself in where her presence can only be a cause of trouble and a spoiling of sport, while those ladies who merely use hunting as an extra means of carrying on a flirtation can plead no excuse for their own presence, and in addition, perhaps, deprive some real sportsman of the best runs of the season.