ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13307, 13 October 1906, Page 6 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

[from THE SOCIETY PATERS.] THE Tsar of Russia is said to possess such a splendid memory that he never forgets a * face. ~ v, ' . There are in all fifteen ladies in personal attendance upon Queen Alexandra, the first being mistress of the robes, then the ladies of the bedchamber and maids-of-honour. The Tsar and Tsarina, in their private intercourse, speak English and German, French and Italian .being but seldom spoken by their Majesties when alone. The Tsarina did not learn Russian till after her betrothal; but though, she still speaks it very slowly, it is with a good accent and great distinctness. Though he came into a fortune of about £200,000 lately John Crosby, who is 17 vears of age, is working as a labourer on a farm near Ripon, Wis. He believes every one, no matter how wealthy, should learn to work. He took up golf, but that became too tame, so he took up farming. He intends to make it his life work. Father Vaughan diatribes against the " smart set" are not likely to be without practical effect. It is reported that a movement has been set on foot, headed by a distinguished duchess, to exclude from the houses of all the really great families those ,whose antecedents cannot bear the closest scrutiny. When Count Tolstoi vs.: carried he held none of the views concern'- g life that he !does : now; and when he clanged his opinions his wife did not follow him. The countess' has no faith vnatever in her husband's ideas in so far as they relate to the duties of mankind. She is rich, and refuses to cut herself off from the fashionable society of Moscow. Yet Count and Countess Tolstoi are on good terms with each other. ' ' • Sir Robert Turing, Bart., who is in his ' 80th vear, was married at St. * George's, Hanover Square, recently to Mrs. Herbert Ramus, widow of the late Rev. Herbert i Ramus, of Plavdon, Sussex, and a niece of •I Lord Congleton. The bride wore a beautiful dress of mauve crepe de chine, with a large white hat, trimmed with a long droop- ~ ing mauve feather. She was attended by her daughter, Miss Audrey Ramus, who was dressed in white. The House of Teck is a branch of the Royal House of Wurtemburg. In 1835 a certain Alexander, of Wurtemberg married morganatically, and his chance of succession to the throne vanished. He had one .son, Francis, who began his career in the Austrian armv, in which his father was a, cavalry general. The young officer proved an efficient soldier, and in 1871 received the title of Duke of Teck. \'V — , • • Sir Henry Ewart, who has just celebrated his birthday, has been attached to the 1 Royal Household for more than twenty years. He wart appointed Equerry to Queen Victoria in 18C*, and in 1894 he became Crown Equerrv, a position which he has held ever since" Sir Henry commanded the r ."Second Life Guards for some time, and led * , the Household Cavalry during the Egyptian ,-campaign of 1882, and the whole cavalry brigade in the Soudan, fighting three years later. , . Regarding honeymoon ballooning a gallant and adventurous young Guardsman with , ' whom I had the pleasure of being acquainted (writes Mr. J. Ashby-Sterry in the Graphic) was quietly married one morning, and in place of the ordinary wearisome wedding breakfast or reception, quietly took his bride down to the Crystal Palace. Here was a balloon 'in which they had taken places. It was a beautiful day. They' ' made the ascent, had a pleasant voyage, came down somewhere about Dorking, I believe, and returned to town by train the same evening. , Mr. Rufus Isaacs, K.C., M.P., whose work on the Commission to inquire into police methods has proved so . excellent, is an example of the advantage of a specialty tt in life. Not since the days of Lord Russell- ' has a counsel so completely captured the forensic world as has Mr. Isaacs. He is today the name to conjure with at the Bar. Three-figure "retainers" and "refreshers" rain on him, yet the trim, pale-faced, thin :• featured K.C., with his deadly bright eyes, - > and his quiet, put-you-off-your-guard voice,, rises to cross-examine in some intricate case as if it was the only one he had been briefed '- .'• in for six months. That is the man secret, a gigantic power of coHcentratio*, i, for he is not a great orator, but for marshalling evidence he is second to none. Ho is still young. Mrs. Roosevelt* wife of the American President, is as industrious a housewife as the German Empress, and at her weekly ■: b<sudoir conferences with prominent wo--1 men she works on a piece of lace. This % habit of the President's wife has set the -f fashion in Washington, whose leading ladies are taking to needlework as a diversion. She has one well-developed hobby, and that is the collection of old china. Under tier supervision one of the mo6t valuable collections in the country has been placed on - v exhibition in the basement of the White . House, and it is a proud day when she can • add something of historic worth to the trea- ' -* sures. The exhibit is made up entirely of •ii remnants of the dinner sets which formerly rf served the Presidential families. It begins ' with some rare gold-trimmed plates and cups and saucers, which were the pride of v s - Martha Washington's heart, and continues down to the era of Mrs. McKinley. Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton is a man who has been the pioneer of his own fortune, and he is as well known in the land - of sport as. in the land of commerce. He 1 is an Irishman, though he first saw the •' light in Glasgow in 1850, and started trad- ' ing there, in a modest way when about 20 • years of age.''; His business steadily grew 1 'in importance and magnitude, and about 1890 he transferred his headquarters to London. In 1898 he floated the company that new bears bis name with a share and ■*. debenture capital of £2,500,000, which was - subscribed 20 times over. Outside his busi- " ness Sir Thomas has not taken a prominent ] part in public life except as a philanthropist and a sportsman. We all know his en- "" thusiasm i for yachting and his gallant en- ' deavours to recapture the America Cup for ' Great Britain, and his handsome donation of £25,000 to what was called the Princess :■ of Wales' Jubilee Dinner Fund in London \ in 1897; is a good index to the measure of J bis private benefactions. i':i -m . ' • - r . • • • . • . •"* MpiTOf® •''' ' S - 4 The birth of a Royal baby is an event ■ a which never; fails to arouse interest, par- [• il- ticularly when the parents are as popular as" Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck * "" have always been. Six months and- more , < ' have passed since a bulletin from Claremont announced the birth, of a daughter, but, ever since,'every,.scrap,of news has been " eagerly, welcomed which'speaks of the "new baby, who is already affectionately known as " Princess May,". a', pet name originally f belonging to her aunt, the Princess of Wales. •, Princess Alexander , herself was born at Claremont, near Esher, the home of her - parents, the Duke and Duchess of 'Albany, and here her early years were spent in a -' very quiet and homely way. Her mother / r and father were both devoted to their little y. laughter, and were often to be seen playing with her .in the grounds. When Princess % Alice was rather more than a year old her l' Sy father died, and the bereaved mother be- -£• even more devoted to her cluldreo. ,-. " ' vf..... - : ■