ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16561, 9 June 1917, Page 4 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

<Thi Tsarevitch, ~on behalf '. his father has renounced his succession to' the throne, is intensely Russian, ,and, though not robust, is one. of the handomest boys in all Russia. Little Alexis has been the most carefully-guarded personage in Russia since the day he was born in August, 1904. His bodyguard has been'a (riant Russian soldier, who has instilled in tho lad's mind much of the Russian folklore he loves.

It was at Wallon-on-Thames that the exTsar of Russia wooed and won the wife who, so it seem.*, has cost- him his throne. Here, amidst somo of the loveliest scenery in England, tho young people spent halcyon days together, paddling in little wherries, pulling up backwaters, spending overy'possiblo moment in cafli other's company. So happy was the future ruler of a hundred millions in this rustic retreat that ho rejected all offer* to amuse him. He went to no races, fled oil dissipations, and generally surrendered himself to his happiness.

Very many people arc now entitled to' wear foreign orders, tho King having been most indulgent in allowing recipients to display them. This relaxation of a stringent Court regulation has been further extended. British subjects decorated by rulers of the Allied Powors are readily granted permission to wear them without irksome ;eatrictions. Things wore very different in the past. Queen Victoria nearly always refused permission to recipients of foreign orders to display them, acting on the principle of Queen Elizabeth who laid down the law bluntly and flatly : " My dogs shall wear none but my. own collars!"

Mrs. Lloyd George and her husband are keeping rigidly to the Devonport rations; there is no difference made between the diningroom and the servants' hall, either at the Walton Heath house or at " Number 11." Servants who will not conform must go. A cook, who imagined that the house of a Prime Minister would' be a happy .hunting-ground for extravagance, soon discovered her mistake, and he* reign was short. . There is very little Mrs. Lloyd George does not know about domestic matters, and Miss Olwen is an excellent cook/ She boasts that she once, at short notice, cooked a dinner for six,' joining the guests in its 'enjoymentswhen brought to the diningroom by the little Welsh.maid.

; Lady Fitzwaiiamimay 'well bo proud of the practical way in which her husband i 8 dealing with a national crisis. Although he has eejving at the,front for the past two years, Lord Fitzwilliam has not forgotten his • responsibilities as a great landlord. He has placed at the disposal of the miners on his Yorkshire estates plots for growing potatoes and other vegetables, The outlying parts,' ; too, of Wentworth Park are being ploughed, and no rent is charged.- Lady Fitzwilliam has a great reputation as ,a * sportswoman. A daughter of the first Marquess of Zetland, she is I fond of hunting/ is a . clever amateur actress, and an exquisite dancer. She interests herself * specially in the welfare of school children, and has of late done a great deal to mitigate the lot of the) Yorkshire pit,ponjes. /, .'' .-,,' ■,;

The ; Tsar's , Palace ■- at ' .Tsarskoe-Selo,, where' the Tsarina ■ is* declared to be in ".perfect safety," is the Versailles of the Russian"capital; It was there that Nicholas 11.,, panic-stricken, fled when his uncle dragooned the people on the' fateful January 22, 1905. I It is not so much a single palace,as a congeries of palaces, all decorated within and without with a. dazzling splendour verging on the barbaric. Statues and ornaments 1 are richly, gilded. Walls are covered with lapis lazuli. Ceilings are studded with pure. amber, and the ebony floors are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. * "In. the Imperial park is a great lake,. with islands, waterfalls, (and fountains, also an extraordinary number of . statues, largely made of brass. The park is spacious enough 'to contain . several-churches, an arsenal, barracks, -and a' theatre.

The marriage of Major Richard Lloyd George, the Premier's, son, and Miss Robert* McAlpine, •wag a very quiet affair. It took place at Bath. Miss McAlpine is a very pretty girl, and a/ keen sportswoman. She is fond of .all open-air exercises, and enjoys nothing better than ft brisk motor ride. Major Lloyd George is only twenty-seven, but it didn't take him long to win promotion in the army. He had a distinguished career at Cambridge, where he passed in the Engineering Tripos. Shortly after th© outbreak of the war fie enlisted in the Portmadoc Battalion of the Carnarvonshire Territorials. On obtaining a commission he waR transferred to the London Welsh, Mid subsequently obtained a captaincy in the lfllh Welsh Regiment.

The record of the late Major William Congreve, who won the Military Cross, the Distinguished Service Order, and the Victoria Cross in succession, is likely to stand unequalled, but there is a handful of heroes who have gained three decorations during the campaign. To this group there is added a Canadian officer, Major Harold William Alexander Foster, who is one of the D.S.O.'s announced recently. His achievement is the more notable because he is not a professional soldier, but belongs to the legal profession. When the Dominion Expeditionary Force was raised, Major Foster was one of the first to,come forward, abandoning hi 8 practice. It,was not Ions; after his arrival in France that he proved his • gallantry and initiative. Last June he was given the Military Cross, and in November he was awarded a bar to this decoration for his courageous work in command of the front line.' Major Foster has now gained the D.S.O. for the coolness and resource with which, although wounded, he directed his assaulting company. ' '

If there is any truth in the old proverb, "Happy the wooing that's not long adoing," Sir Douglas Haie and his wife ought to be very hapny. • Our brave general had done lm wooing and married his lady-love within a few weeks 'of their first meeting. It was a case of love at first sight. Hair's future wife, ' the Hon. Dorothy Vivian, was at that time a maidof'honour to Queen Alexandra, and her twin-sister, Violet, occupied the 'same position. The Queen took the greatest interest in them both. Dorothy happened to be on duty during the Ascot race meeting in 1905, and so the mitn who is leading us to victory met his fate. Sir Douglas Haig and his bride had the very special distinction of being married at the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, and King . Edward and Queen Alexandra gave the wedding breakfast. Sir Douglas Haig is known in the army as "Lucky 'Haig," and there is no firme/ believer in hjs luck than his wife. He is a descendant of a Scottish clan noted for its fighting men, and nearly six hundred years ago one of them, named Thomas the "Rhymer," prophesied :— \ Betide what may betide, Haig shall be Haig of Bemerlyde. The words of Thomas came true. ' The barony of Haig has descended from Haig to Haig for over six centuries.. Lady Haig is quite as great a favourite with' Queen Mary as she is with the Queen-Mother, and whenever our present Queen visits Aldershot Lady Haig is to be seen with hew There are two little daughters by this romantic marriage, and, they seem-as 'keen war-workers as ', their gentle; unobi jbmstTe mother. ."-.;;-j..j ; A'..,-<«.' '■ ■. " * ' ■ ,V:i.v-v -V■■'"*;"** - . >.