ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15551, 7 March 1914, Page 6 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

[FROM the SOCIETT papers

The engagement of Mr. Harold Smith, tho member for Warrington, to a sister of Mrs. F. E. Smith constitutes a Parliamentary record in one respect, inasmuch as tbey alono of tho pairs of brothers in tho present House of Commons will have a pair of maters for their wives. There is, however, quito a long list of pairs of M.P.'s, not brothers, who are married to nistero. Mr. McKenna and the Hon. Francis Walter MacLaren, for instance, ' are married to sisters, and so also are Mr. Rupert Gwynne and Viscount Wolmer, tho Hon. Rupert Guinness and the Hon. Edward Wood, Mr. S. Hill-Wood and Mr. John Wood.

The Duchess of Aosta, sister of Queen Amelia,,was, until ill-health loft its mark upon her, one of tho most beautiful Princesses in tho world. All her young life wj,s spent in England, where she was the intimate friend of King Edward and Queen Alexandra's sons and daughters. Queen Alexandra is greatly "attached to her. She was married at Kingston-on-Thames, and the present King -of Italy, then Prince of Naples, was best man to hi* cousin, the Duke of Aosta. Her Royal Highness hag two sons, Prince Amedee, Duke of Pouilles, who will be sixteen in October, and Prince Aymon, Duke of Spolele, who will be fourteen this month.

The latest craze in the United States arft " hobby-parties." Each guest brings something that is distinctly associated with his or her pet hobby, "and cameras, stuffed birds, cooking utensils, and fancy work figure among the contributions. Everyone present, in addition to bearing tokens of their favourite "hobby," will be expected to give a short talk on the subject nearest his heart, while the musicians can help to amuse the company, or the amateur of the cuisine can exert his or her cooking talents to swell the menu. Dal pas is effectually banned, and the ■ 'hobby-party" is said to the liveliest form of entertainment going.

Princess Pleas and the Duchess of Westminster were among amateur " stars " who took part in re-cent dramatic performances in aid of charity. Princess Pleas and her sister are in the foremost rank of amateur actresses, and in old days used to form part of the famous "Chatiworth Troupe," that so often performed before the late King and Queen Alexandra, when Their Majesties visited the late Duke and Duchess of Devonshire at the "Palace of the Peak." Miss Muriel Wilson, Lady Ahngton, and Lady Susan Fitaclarence, are others who have distinguished themselves behind the footlights. Mrs. 'Brmton, still better remembered as Mrs. wflham James, who has not acted for some time past, is, perhaps, the most brilliant of this talented group.

Very shorty, now. the King will make known formally his intentions with regard to the future of the Prince of Wales. His Royal Highness, as at present arranged, will complete his studies at Oxford at the conclusion of the Trinity tern in July next. It is expected that the Tenth (Prince of Wales's Own) Hussars will bs brought home from South Africa next autumn m order to form part of the First Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot, when his i<oyal Highness may be given a commission in the regiment, in order that he a -Y.,S ala his first practical experience of Me in , th aim In due course his Royal Highness is to make a tour of the principal self-governing • colonies of the Empire, but. it is highly improbable that India will be included in this tour. His Royal Highness is to pass the greater part of his summer vacation on the Continent once more, when he will pay a short visit to the veteran Emperor of Auntria-Hun-Tyrol afc conntl 7 seat of Igcil in th©

The fact, that liord Canict has been, appearing oh the "halls " in the interests of charity draws attention to the increasing number of titled persons who have been lured to the -stage. Viscount Dangan, the eldest son and heir of Earl Cowiey, who has recently become engaged to that charming actress, Miss Pearl AuIrere, is a member of " The Girl on the Film" cast at the Gaiety Theatre. He does not figure on the programme under his title, but uses his family name, ArtHur Wellesley, for stage purposes. Quito recently Captain Arthur Wood, son of FieldMarshal Sir Evelyn Wood, renounced the army to take up the career of a musichall artist in conjunction with his brother officer, Captain Henry Green, D.8.0. When asked why they had done so, they ■candidly admitted that it was in order to earn a living. A very similar reason drove the Duke of Argyll's godson, the Machine of Loch bu if), to the " halls," where ho is billed as' Douglas Lome,, his real name.

There is no doubt at all that the minuet will be the dance of the coming season _ (says an _ English writer). The Queen is a connoisseur in the art of dancing, and after seeing a minuet performed At Sandringham, Her Majesty eaicl the sooner it could be included in Court ball programmes the better. Everyone is learning the stately and fascinating- measure. Teachers who were doing well with the tango are now turning their attention to the minuet, which will probably fee accompanied by the gavotte and the pavanne. The revival of these measures will cause a change in fashion, the rich brocades and satins and silks of an earlier time will be reproduced for to-day in leas stiff and formal, but equally rich fabric. Crinolines, hoops, distended paniers, will not revisit the glimpses of the electric light, but fish-tails will once again be relegated to mermaids. 0£ course this ballroom revolution will not be accomplished without opposition. There are well-known ladies and a few men, not so ireH known, who decline to forgo the tango, the maxixe, and who hold the minuet in contempt as deadly uninteresting. There are girls who say that without the new dances life is hardly worth contemplating, and there are hostesses who intend to give tango balls. The season, therefore, will present something of that attitude of strife which is so evident in other things just now. There will be two factions in entertaining, and for a little while at least there is likely to be two factions in fashions, the one retaining the clinging drapings, slit skirts, and fish-tail trains suitable to the tango the other exploiting tho modernised Louis and Georgian modes, which tire to be called Georges Cinq, The latter are most likely to triumph because a complete change in fashion is long overdue.