ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14525, 12 November 1910, Page 6 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

[from: the society paters.] The Duke of Connaught is to pay a visit to St. Helena either 011 bis way to South j Africa or on his return voyage. H.R.H. v lias been commissioned by the Government to make an inquiry into the present circumV ' stances of the island and its inhabitants. > The withdrawal of the? garrison from St. Helena has caused much distress among the people. v Once again the rumour has been revived >£ an intended marriage between the King of Portugal and Princes Alexandra of r' Fife, eldest daughter of the Princess Royal and the Duke of Fife. It is, of course, well known that the proposed bride of the King of Portugal is either an Austrian Archduchess who has a very large fortune or Princess Margaret of Denmark, only daughter of Prince Waldemar, whose mother was a daughter of the Due and Duchess de Chaxtres, anu therefore a first cousin of Queen Amelia of Portugal. - ' Colonel Sir Ivor Herbert, of Llanarth, K;. . -who is just now greatly interested in the KK l -establishment of a national "Valhalla" for 0- . - commemorating Welsh heroes, is a elsh- j : : man of thi Welsh. Ho is a chief of the j • ancient arid distinguished house of Her- j ! bert. founded by Herbert FitzHerbert, j Chamberlain to Henry 1., from whom the pi Earls of Pembroke, Carnarvon, and Powis * race a common ancestry. Sir Ivor, whoentered the Grenadier Guards at the closo '?■of the sixties, has filled many import-ant commands at home, besides gaining distinction in the field during the Egyptian, South African, and other campaigns; in addition to which part of his career has . been passed in the Diplomatic Service. In

' 1906 he was elected M.P. for South Mon- »- • mouthshire, where his ancient seat, Llanarth Court, is situate, aid in the rear fol--lowing he received his baronetcy. A popular personality, a capable soldier, and an accomplished linguist, Sir Ivor Herbert is ?!'•' a familiar habitue of clubland. A staunch • Koman Catholic, he takes a prominent part •§!"; in all activities that concern the interests of his Church. He married a daughter of S-; . ' the late Lord Londesbosroogb, and has one P . " son and on© daughter. ij- When in residence at Whittinghame, his 5 ' Haddingtonshire home, Mr. A. J. Balfour likes to lead the life of a Scottish laird of the good old days. To the courtly master ; ; L . • of Whittinghame it needs scarcely an effort p to unbend, and gentle and simple amongst v; the ex-Premier's neighbours are his friends. The venerable custom which • - united all members of the household at v~ raver is still observed at Whittinghame. After dinner on Sundays the whole house1/ hold, including - the servants, assemble for i'. prayers, which are recited by the ex-Pre-mier, who also roads a of Scrip- ; ture. If by any chance Mr. Balfour is un- - able to preside" his place is taken by Miss C ~. Balfour in a scene that might have been v ' lifted bodily out of the pages of Waverlev. zi j£r t Balfour is, however, hardly a sportsman in the ordinary sense, being lv rarely teen out with, a gun. Nor is the philosopher-statesman an early riser. FoltS' lowing breakfast he may enjoy a shoit V stroll, after which he is at work amongst g' - his books and papers until luncheon. The v< v - afternoon finds him on the golf links. He it 1 then 'works again'until dinner-time, and , ?£/ ~ after dinner a rubber of bridge fills in the ;if, : '•-•v ■' interval until it is time to retire.

y\ '" The fact that Mr. Hansell, -who is tutor *1:'; ' <to the young Princes, has been lately offi'fi cially in attendance on the ' King lends -■>; colour to the rumour that when his ser•■3". . vices as tutor are no longer required he • "will become attached to the Royal Houseii". ~ hold in some official capacity. Mr. HanQ': sell stands high in favour with their Ma'l;; - jesties, and is now*quite familiar with the „ " atmosphere of Gourte, for before going to If&S —Marlborough House he was tutor to Prince £;V Arthur of Connaaghfc- The Prince of Wales £' and Prince Albert, of course, left the Royal 'j.y schoolroom some time ago, but during their ~-/~j holidays at Balmoral Mr. Hansel 1 wag their r': '•*' : constant companion, and his former pupils {?? hold him in great esteem. It is interesting to note that great attention has been paid p.®;- to cultivating the oratorical power of C?" the Prince of Wales, which the heir to the i'i Throne wif) later be called -upon to exercise p\ a great deal, A large number of King George's speeches have been collected and l V- jj, bound for us® in the Royal schoolroom, and v. 7 the Prince of Wales used frequently to refeffi cits extracts from these when he -was in p""( - Mr. Hanseil's charge. The young Prince's ]*■'*- powers of oratory are, of couree, at pre- ■*' ■■ ■ sent undeveloped, but he possesses a good ' - delivery and a pleasing intonation, and gives /: v' promise of becoming a good speaker. iyA.- The first weddings, of the autumn season in London make it clear that the brides of Ifcf' V the autumn are going to emulate those of the summer and springtime by introducing »■-, -into their toilettes and those of their V' / bridesmaids at note of novelty. At the wedr ding of 3tiss Carissima, Blood recently, the t", , .bridesmaids were clad in, radiant Indian %-i coats and robes, and wort, pink and white * turbans. The effect was Oriental and , noveL At another weddiing a couple of ,y; r - little boys bore the train of the, bride. ,r.v - The children were dressed in sailor suits : M ;;'r-,-of white duck,' and were unaccompanied .j: -' .by any bridesmaids. The average modern i -bride is proud of proving herself free from fill#;; the trammels of convention. At one time 'y ; the wearing of black at & wedding, even 7"_- by a guest, "would have been considered h'' : . "unlucky." Nowadays it is a common occurrence .to see bridesmaids wearing 7. i black hats, and by no means tin uncommon ' one -.for- the bride herself to wear black ; < ' imillßJeiry. One recent bride ordered a •;/T faint, blush, pink satin Background for her §£' fllmy ivory lace toilette, and another was bold enough to sanction the addition of green embroideries to her wedding robe— v bold because green has ever been held in .--""sinister repute in connection with the wedding gown. The fashion of veiling the ■ - face, at one time universally observed ex- , , cept in the case of royalty, "is being abandoned. ' . , :-l

. " '* G- -„: * - Viscount .Torrington, the young English s nobleman, who -was 24 on his last birthday, •f ■. was married recently at the church of the British Embassy in Paris to Miss Eleanor f"' ; - " Souray, ait actress well known in London, •;: , in the presence of his mother, Lady TorTington, Mr. Tod Sloan, the once famom jockey, and a few intimate friends. The il marriage :is an interesting romance of the {;v • sporting world. Lord Torrington and his bride have been acquainted for a long time Ip; , having a taste in common for borse racing! jit : - Lord Torrington ran horses at Ostend lasl <> year, and subsequently owned a stable ir • Belgium. Miss Souray also ran a few horse* 'jl t last summer at Ostend. A sporting mate! HI - ' between a horse of Lord and £/-,. one of Miss Souray's was arranged, but die 5 Hot take place. A more serious match was "i' : \ iV the sequel. - - Lord Torrington, who sue--6 . ceeded to the tide when he was three years i > r '.'old, ij. a descent of Admiral Sir George '. Eying, the famous naval commander who was created Viscount Torrington in 1721. He was a page of honour to Queen Victoria y< : ~ . and King Edward, and until last year held " a commission in the Rifle Brigade. Since ; he left the army he has devoted considerable attention to racing, and has scored ■many successes in Belgium, with Ablelard v. • . 11.. He has won.races on the flat and two ~ •important steeplechases. Lord Torrington is a keen sportsman, fond of riding and motoring, and possesses more than one rac;s • ing car. .Miss Souray, who is tall and Li; 1 .-' li&ndsome, has a' string of horses in trainMi:.- ln £ with 'Goby at Epsom, and "has won. gf; .*? an raciss. She was formerly with. Mr. ml George Ldwardea, and afterwards played m In comedy with marked success. She is a fca.,l splendid horsewoman, riding astride, and is on a number of sports. Lord Torrinc- : ton's present to his bride was s: magnificent of diamonds. At the wedding Lord r' : V"-- torrington wore a flannel suit, while his feride' woie white • oliarmeu.se with a large •rssset-brown hat. After a short address by V-? & th® clfcrgynpan who performed the ceremony Jfa couple Mt- for St, Ouea races,.