ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10037, 25 January 1896, Page 3 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

[FROM TIIK SOCIETY PATERS.] Willi the return of tho duko and his American bride, there will bo 110 fewer than four duchesses of Marlborough in England, exclusive of the marchioness of Blandford. who divorced hor husband, tho lato duke, before he succeeded to his full honours. The three dowagers are the now wife of Lord William Boresford; Lord Randolphs mother, the aotive Primrose Leaguer; and the "Duchess Jane," wife of tho sixtsb duke.

Tho Queen has recorded hor first impressions of Balmoral: "A pretty littlo castle in the old Scottish stylo. There is a picturesque towor, and in front of the garden a high wooded hill, At tho back there is wood down to tho Dee; and the hills rise all round. , . . The view from tho woodod hill opposite our windows is charming. . . . The place was so cola and so solitary it did one good as one gazed around, and the pure mountain air wai most refreshing, -till seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils."

At Windsor the Queen has a most) interesting aviary of valuable birds, while at one of the Windsor Park lodges two grand eagles are kept. At Her Majesty's Home Farm is a fine young buffalo, a sheep of black colour, and having half a dozen crooked horns, and a zebra. Tho Prince of Wales at Sandringham frequently keeps specimens of the smaller wild animals, a which, when they get troublesome, are sent to tho Zoological Society's Gardens at Regent's Park. Lord Sudeley has a celebrated collection of rare fnroign birds, and Lord Alington's Albino Zoo, at Crichel, is a place of much note. Every animal and bird in this collection is perfectly white.

Is there a red diamond? Mr. Edwin Streeter, tho well-known expert, says there is one—and only one. It weighs about three grains, and is valued at £800. The finest green diamond in the world is in the hands of a West End merchant. Of blue diamonds the finest known is in the Hope collection; its value is 110 less than £30,000. Only four or five blue diamonds are knowr to exist,

By tho entrance of Lord Warkwortli into the House of Commons the unusual circumstance is brought about of father, son, and grandson sitting at one and the same time, in Parliament. Tho Duke of Northumberland, Lord Warkworth's grandfather, is now in his 85th year, and still capable of going to tho House to vote. Earl Percy, Lord Warkworth's father, sits in tho House of Lords in his father's Barony of Lovaine. Both the Duke and Earl Percy have passed through the House of Commons, as Lord Warkworth is now doing. Tho Duke sab in the unreformed Parliament of 1830-32, and Earl Percy represented North Northumberland for nearly 'JO years. Lord Warkwortli has a reputation for cleverness and bonhomie, and some of his speeches during the Northumberland contest have led to the belief that he will be a distinct acquisition to the debating strength of his party in tho Commons.

Herbert Spencer, who lives quietly in Regent's Park among his books and with the society of a few old friends, is a singularly modest man, with gentle voice and almost feminine grace. He dines away from home often, haunts the Athenaeum Club, and occasionally visits a place oi amusement. Comic opera is his delight. Ho finds in it an offset to his lucubrations upon tho data of ethics. Life is very pleasant to him, Fancy a man about five feet nine inches, tall, wearing groy trousers, a black frock-coat, a low-cut whito waistcoat, highly polished shoes, with creamcoloured over-gaiters, an old-fashioned stand-up collar and a black cravat—eyes grey and soft, mouth firm, cheeks pinkywhite, bushy iron-grey whiskers encircling the neck—and there you have Herbero Spencer, the modern philosopher. No matter how fine tho day, he carries an umbrella.

During the month of August (says a writer in Woman at Home) my footsteps strayed to the north-west coast of Norfolk; and one fine morning a bright idea occurred to me. I would go to Sandriughatn ; and to Sandringham J went—a drive of fifteen milea from the house where I was staying. Tha Princo and Princess of Wales and the members of all their family wero, of course, absent but permission was given to me from headquarter* to run about and around, and generally enjoy self. And what did I carry away with mo ? The memory of an afternoon very delightfully spentin the horn? of our favourite Piinco and Princess of a long pile of red buildings picked out with white; of rows of windows looking on to one of the loveliest gardens I ever sob eyea upon ; of smooth lawns and winding pathways leading on to more remote greeneries. Everywhere I noticed evidences that tha Princo and Princess know " how to live" in the best sense of the word. How well-cared for are the cottages on their estate I How neatly and prettily • dressed (the school children in whom they take'so great an interest 1 The Prince as a landlord is said to " spoil" his tenants. Well, one likes him all the better tor that. The Princess makes herself at home in every house in the neighbourhood. It is such a pleasant trait in her character that she will enjoy (pending an hour here, an hour there, in 6omo° simple, unpretending house; tha. she likes to become the friend of men and women for what they are, and not for what) they have, At Sandringham there is a model dairy - a placo to dream of on a hot sunny day at Marlborotjgh House, let us say. The Princess has a quaint little tea-room of her own in the dairy, and often invites hoi' guests there. The stables, hamoss rooms, and kennels are in themselves worth a visit, there is such a com fortable, unpretentious, home-like air about them. Before taking leavo of Sandringhain I walked through a pretty avenue of firs. Every tree had been planted by a personal friend of either Prince or Princess, and bore the names of the planter; among others wore names of tho members of the Danish Royal Family, the Duchesses of Sutherland, Manchester, and St, Albans.

The German Emperor knows how to turn a compliment. At a recent Courb concert His Majesty was much pleased with the playing of a young Danish violinist, Mile. Frieda Scatta/'- " You play most beautifully, mademoiselle," said the Emperor to her at the conclusion of the concert. " When I closo •my ; eyes, I imagine I am hearing Saraaate. But, mademoiselle, I peeler to keep them open." - ' ' .