ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8538, 11 April 1891, Page 3 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

[FROM the society papers.] Me, Raises, the Postmaster-General, has hardly gob the difficulty with the Savings Bank clerks well out of hand before another little trouble has cropped up. While letter-carriers are allowed to ask for Christmas boxes, the men who deliver parcels are prohibited from doing so by the terms of their engagement. Last Christmas a number of the Parcel Post men were tempted to break through this rule, and as a result a number of them have been dismissed the service.

" Canonicus," writing to the Spectator, tells the following amazing story : —A shorb time since a letter reached the Lincoln Post Office addressed as follows : " A sa Grandeur Monseigneur l'Eveque de Lincoln." The whole of the staff being apparently destitute of an elementary knowledge of the French language, the letter was returned to the Post Office in London with the endorsement: " Cannot be found in Lincoln." The education at St. Martin's-le-Grand being rather more advanced, the letter was re-endorsed, " This is for the Bishop of Lincoln," and so eventually reached his lordship's hands. -

Rukmabai, the young Indian lady whose refusal to carry out a marriage contract) made in her childhood caused a sensation in Parliament a few sessions ago, was presented to the Lord- Mayor a few days ago. She is now one of the students of the London School of Medicine for Women. Her intention is to practise the healing art in her native country, and she is said to be an exceedingly apt student. Mr. Balfour met with an enthusiastic reception at Trinity College, Dublin, when he attended to receive the honorary degree of LL.D. conferred upon him by the Senate. On leaving for the castle the students took the horses out of his carriage, and were preparing to draw the chief secretary through the streets, but the college authorities interfered. Mr. Balfour was prevailed upon to say a few words by way of thanks to the students before he left. To be really fashionable just at present you must possess some piece of jewellery in the shape of a heart. Beautiful heartshaped pins and rings are shown composed of a turquoise surrounded by pearls or diamonds. If you don't care for jewellery you must have a heart-shaped frame for the picture of your dearest friend, and place it on your dressing table. Tables and mirrors oi this shape also find favour. Mrs. Ashton Dilke is shortly to be married to Mr. Russell Cook, a solicitor in London, and prominent in the Home Rule cause. He has plenty of money, and is looked upon as a rising man. Mrs. Dilke is the sister-in-law of Sir Charles Dilke, and a sister of the famous divorcee, Mrs. Crawford. She has been a widow for seven years, and has three children. She will not accept a re-election as a- member of the School Board, and intends retiring into private life. Among the messages which Mr. Fitzgerald is taking back to Australia with him are wax cylinders containing words by Burns, Tillett, and Mann. Mr. Fitzgerald had an interview the other day with Mr. Parnell, whose (new born) zeal for the labourcause struck the Australian delegate. Bub what impressed Mr. Fitzgerald most was the awe which the Discrowned King still inspires in the remnant of his followers. "We Australians," said Mr. Fitzgerald, " are no respecters of persons. »We are not wont to shake in our shoes in the presence even of the greatest men. Bub one or two of Mr. Parnell's friends who i happened to enter the room while I was with him seemed quite afraid of him. He must be a man of iron, I saw." At a recent meeting of the Royal Botanic Society in London the attention of the chairman was called to a fruiting branch of Similax aspera, the wild sarsaparilla of the Mediterranean coasts, a notable planb on account of its brilliant red berries, heartshaped leaves, and sharp clinging thorns, covering not only the stems but also the backs of the leaves, and has given risethe belief that it furnished the crown *of thorns of Scripture. | Mr. Gladstone has addressed a very warm letter of thanks to Mr. Gerald Massey, who has just published a volume of Home Rule lyrics through the medium of the National Press Agency. Mr. Gladstone declares that the "obscuration" of Home Rule is purely temporary, though he admits, with characteristic modesty, that he "stands as a biassed observer." It is a singular circumstance that in & Roman Catholic country like Ireland the second Levee and Drawing-room are always held in the second week in Lent. To-night (Wednesday)— at Dublin the Drawingrooms are always held in the evening—the Earl of Zetland will have the pleasurable duty of kissing the debutantes. Bub does this osculatory exercise extend to married ladies? If it does nob, the famous story oi a Mrs. Brown saying to a former Viceroy when he was about to give her the regulation kiss, "That privilege is exclusively reserved for Mr. Brown," must be apocryphal.

Mrs. . Arthur Wilson, the principal defendant in Sir William Gordpn-Cumming's action for slander, is the wife' of one of the partners in the great shipping firm of Wilson. His wealth is very great; some indeed Bay that his income cannot be much less than £100,000 a year. The member for Hull is his brother. Mrs. Arthur Wilson is a great entertainer, and " the Prince of Wales' set" frequently "honours" her parties—both in Grosvenor Place and in the country for the Doucaster races and other occasions. Mrs. Lycett Green, another of the defendants in the action, is a married daughter of Mrs. Wilson.

* In view of the scandal which has been agitating one of the highest circles of society, the discussions of convocation about gambling are interesting. The Bishop of London "found ib quite impossible, "we see, "to say to people every time they played for small sums or made small wagers that they were committing sins. He could not see that there; was anything sinful in a small wager, or in playing for very small sums of money." So " the quiet rubber" is saved !

The fact that Easter falls on a very early date this year (March 29) has caused a " friend of facts and figures" to collect some curious statistics. In 1883, he says, Easter fell on March 25, and ib will only once again this century, namely, 1894, fall on so early a date. In the three following centuries ib will occur only eight times on the same date—namely, in 1951, 2035, 2046, 2057, 2103,2114, 2125, and 2198.