LADIES’ PAGE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 753, 6 August 1886, Page 4

LADIES’ PAGE.

Having appointed a lady to conduct this page, we have to request that all communications upon domestic matters, dress, cuisine, dec. dec., he addressed to Madame Elise, of the New Zealand Mail. CHARITIE. The beams of morning are renewed. The Valley laughs their light to see ; And earth is bight with gratitude, And heaven with Charitie. Oh, dew of heaven ; oh, light of earth ! Fain would our hearts be filled with thee : Because no darkness comes, nor dearth, About the homes of Charitie. God guides the stars their wandering way, He seems to cast their courses free ; But binds unto himself for aye ; And all their claims are Charitie. "When first he stretch’d the signed zone, And heap'd the hills and barr’d the sea, Then Wisdom sat beside His throne, But His own word was Charitie. And still, through every age and hour. Of things that were and things that be, Are breathed the presence and the power Of everlasting Charitie. By noon and night, by snn and shower, By dews that fall and winds that fiee ; On grove and field, on fold and flower, Is shed the peace of Charitie. The violet’s light the lonely hill. The fruitful furrows load the lea; Man’s heart alone is sterile still, For lack of lowly Charitie. He walks a weary vale within— No lamp of love in heart hath he , His steps are death, his thoughts are siD, For lack of gentle Charatie. Daughter of heaven 1 we dare not lift The dimness of our eyes to thee ; Oh ! pure and God-descended gift 1 Oh ! spotless, perfect Charitie! Yet forasmuch thy brow is cro3t With blood-drops from the deathful tree, We take thee for our only ttust. Oh 1 dying Charitie !. Ah ! Hope, Endurance, Faith—ye fail like death, But Love an everlasting crown receiveth ; For she is Hope, and and Fortitude and Faith, Who all things hopeth, beareth and believeth. John Ru3kin.

2*>H! WAS IT I, OR WAS IT YOU? Oh, was it I, or was it you That broke the subtle chain that ran Between us two, between us two ? Oh, was it I, or was it you ?

Not very strong the chain at best, Not quite complete from span to span : I never thought .twould stand the teßt Of settled common-place, at best.

But oh ’ how sweet, how sweet you were. When things were at their first and best, And we were friends without demur, Shut out from all the sound and stir 1

The little, petty, worldly race ! "Why couldn’t wo have stood the test— The of common-place— And kept the glory and the grace

Of that sweet time when first we met ? Oh, was it I, or was It you ? That dropped the golden links and let The little rift, and doubt, and fret.

Creep in and break that subtle chain ? Oh ! was it I, or was it you 2 Still ever yet and yet again Old parted friends will ask with pain.

FASHIONS OF THE DAY.

The light fabrics worn by young ladies are unusually pretty this season, canvas, in new and varied form, taking the precedence. In the evening white is general, but yellow follows closely in popular favor, and delicate shades of pink, blue, grey, and mauve are much affected and prove becoming. Heliotrope is a color of the season, but not in the shade formerly designated as such, but in most delicate tints of peach, mauve, and dark violet.

Among the little adjuncts to fashionable dress, the lace boas may be mentioned as being popular for morning wear, and also for smarter afternoon wraps. Over pretty zephyrs, or with foulard, lace, canvas or velvet, they look equally well. With the high bonnets (many of them without strings), the large, picturesque hats now coming into vogue, and the turned-up hair, something full round the throat is required to take the place of the becoming winter fur boas, and so these dainty lace ones have been introduced and warmly taken up. They consist of a very full, plaited ruche round the throat, composed of two lengths of edging lace joined together in the middle ; and ends depending in front, varying in length, but all reaching to the knees, and terminating with bows of ribbon. These ends are generally composed of a close cascade of lace, laid on to a narrow band of black net, although some of them are ruched, the same as round the throat. A bow of ribbon fastens them at the throat, and sometimes the ends are long, falling loosely over the lace cascade, and finished off with another bow at the waist, generally to one side. As a rule, however, the boas hang down loose and long, A few in cream lace have been seen at fetes and weddings (the bridesmaids at a recent wedding wearing them, fastened with an ostrich tip, and sprays of real maidenhair fern), and in grey and brown lace, matching the costume. Yak lace, Jalthough in vogue on mantles of all kinds, and also on canvas dresses, is not used for these boas, as it is too thick. It is much the fashion to tie ribbon on the parasol handles in two sets of loops or bows, one high up the stick, and the other low on the handle, connected by two loose straps of ribbon. The ribbon used need not necessarily match the parasol. A few fanciful followers of fashion are using the longhandled eye glasses that Parisian elegantes affect, attached to their wrists by a chain or loop of ribbon. Fancy-headed pins are more varied than ever, one kind being used for keeping the bonnet on the head, and another for running through the coils of hair. Coral-headed pin 3 are becoming popular. Those seen on Chinese and Japanese women’-e coiffures are also patronised. Single or odd buttons are used as a single stud in the centre of the waistcoats of women’s gowns. Waistcoats are extremely popular this sea- I

son. Some of them are finely tucked like a man's shirt, with one or three studs ; others are either drawn across in folds or made quite plain. Striped flannel drawn slantwise is inserted into many bodices, especially blue and white in dark blue gowns, black and white into black ones, or red and white into white flannel tennis or boating costumes. Some waistcoats have the upper part full, rising from out of a deep-pointed band, made plain. In full dress this is sometimes arranged in lace, and‘the point being marked and edged with a gem bracelet sewn on, or a twist of pearls. White waistcoats for morning gowns are general, and they will be even more so by-and-by when the seaside and yachting costumes begin to attract attention. At present they are nearly always sent home by dressmakers and tailors with black or grey half mourning gowns, to fit into the bodice and alternate with the one matching the fabric. Neat little ties usually accompany them. Grey is a most favorite color, in every shade from light to dark, and it is often braided with black. The skirt is not usually braided, but the cuffs and front of bodice are ornamented in military style or in some fanciful device.

Dark blue is to be much braided with white for seaside wear, the outer jacket having straight loose open fronts,but close-fitting backs. A white sailor skirt with the large collar will be worn with the dark skirt, and beneath the jacket, when a bodice is too hot and tight. The cheap printed Madras muslins aie useful for quiet home dinner wear, and look well, with the addition of a little lace at the throat and wrists. They are in good designs and colors, such as navy blue, pale blue, and buff stripes, brown or deep cream, and resemble in texture a soft India muslin. They are to be had at less than fourpence a yard, at most of the large shops, so that, if they can be made up at home, nothing cheaper or cooler can be adopted for the summer evenings. They require to be made up tolerably full, as they are somewhat limp, and, in some eyes, flimsy. A length of thin Indian silk, now obtainable at a low price, could form a fichu, or a lace-edged kerchief of white muslin could do duty for one.

Bonnets seem to be growing steadily in height, and some of those lately imported from Paris are so wonderful in appearance that few Englishwomen would dare to wear them till perhaps Ascot and Goodwood afford a fair field for eccentric display. Expectation is always on tiptoe as to something quite new and out of the common at these gatherings, and there are always found some people who never disappoint. For young girls, the net bonnets, made on light foundations, with net strings, a wreath of beaded butterflies or a smart ribbon or feather aigrette, are suitable, and also becoming. They are made principally in black, but also in all colors to match particular costumes, and often manufactured by the deft hands of the wearers. Black ones with what are called ‘magpie bows,’ i.e., black and white loops arranged together, and strings of the two ribbons in narrow width, are much worn for slight mourning. Lace hats are coming in, and very soft looking and pretty they are. The shapes are many and varied, chosen to suit the face of the wearer, but the newest are those taken in idea from Bartolozzi’s engravings. At many shop 3 are now sold penny hats of thin woven chip, which are lined with colored sateen covered or trimmed with muslin, and worn as garden hats. White yatching caps with peaks are to be worn by children and young girls for boating, and also fishermen’s caps made of two colors, with the end turned over to one side, and fixed by a fancy brooch. The cap is made in two pieces joined, so that one side of it and the under part of the overlapping end is of one shade and the rest of the other.

A speciality of the season are the bouquets composed of leaves ; delicate streaked and tinted leaves, beautifully put together, posy form, and tied with a bow and long streamers of velvet or ribbon, contrasting or harmonis ing well with them. At the last drawing room these bouquets were quite a feature. In some a few feathered or jewelled butterflies, mounted on quivering wire, areinserted, and allowed to flutter above and beyond the foliage. Other bouquets are composed of ferns. However, flowers, with their sweetness and color, will never be out of favor, and as many of these as the leaf ones are to be seen in ballrooms. One epaulet of real flowers is worn sometimes on the left arm, and a flat little bouquet, in buttonhole style, is often fastened to the side of a fan. A new shaped fan has recently made its appearance, but it is more quaint than pretty. It is half octagonal, with a design round the edge. One seen lately was in black gauze, with a row of bats in neutral tints, the outspread wings forming the edge. Gauze fans have taken the place of all others, and the pale pink ones, on pale pink tinted ivory, are novel and lovely. Just at present, white and mauve lilac, and branches of laburnum, and copper beech are filling the tall vases and large white china swans in fashionable drawing rooms, while on dinner tables, roses, particularly yellow ones, or azaleas, in exquisite tints, are the favorite real flowers of the day. Leaf decoration is being attended to by florists, and many tables at recent large dinners have been ornamented entirely wfth exotic leaves. Cut crystal boats, or low stands, mounted on ruby plush, are novel and bright in appearance. Only delicate blooms, fern or leaves, are put into them. Gardenias, stephanotis, and tea rose buds are most worn as buttonholes. FORTY-SEVEN YEARS IN A MAD HOUSE. Jean Mistral at length, after forty-seven years of imprisonment in a madhouse, is at liberty, and master of sixty-five millions of francs, which represent his inherited fortune and accumulated compound interest. He now wants to find out what became of his wife, who, because she refused, in return for an annuity offered her of 500 francs a year, to acknowledge herself a woman of improper character, was turned out of France on the charge of vagabondage. This was in 1837, when railways did not exist at Paris. She was placed under police escort and marched from gendarmerie to gendarmerie all the way to the Rhine opposite Kehl, where she was put into a ferry and sent across. For some years she wrote to friends at Tarascon and spoke of a child, a little girl. Then she

ceased writing, and nothing more was heard of her. Mistral is a first cousin of the poet. He is now an old man, very much bent, and has a beaten-down and frightened mauner. His madhouse experiences at different times were more dreadful than those which befell a leading character in one of Charles Reade’s novels. He did not believe that he was going to be taken before a tribunal to plead his own case until he was actually there, when he burst into tears, and was too much affected for a considerable time to speak, but on being gently reassured by the President he told his story in a trembling voice, but in a perfectly lucid manner, and answered a number of test questions put to him. Only one person in Tarascon, his native town, whom he knew before he was incarcerated, is now alive. The story of Mistral is as follows :—He was sent on leaving college to act as a travelling agent to his father, who wa3 a rich manufacturer. There he fell in love with a Polish operatic siDger named Dombrowska, whom he married at Posen. He wrote to his apprising, him of his intention, and received an answer to the effect that the paternal consent which French law demands would be given if there was fortune, but not unless. Jean Mistral’s supplies were stopped when he apprised his parents of his marriage, and he and his wife lived on the proceeds of her lyrical engagements. Her voice after they came to France failed her. They got on as well as they could to Tarascon, where the door of the paternal house was shut in their faces. He and she then went about the country as wandering musicians. Measures were taken by the father to set aside the marriage, but as the son refused to benefit by them there were many hitches. At last the poor wife agreed to temporary separation, in the hope that if her husband went back to Tarascon without her he would be relieved, and that he would by patience and his mother’s help bring his family to receive her. It was when he was away from her that he was arrested as a furious lunatic and taken to the madhouse, where he has been fortyseven years. A cousin of his, named Fournier, took up his cause a great many years ago, but the combination against the sequestrated millionaire was so strong that nothing could be done for him. It was not until the Voltaire took the matter up three years ago that the Administration could be got to stir in the affair. The noise caused by the Mistral case will probably lead to a repeal of the lunacy law of 1833, which for family reasons Louis Philippe caused to be hurried through the Chamber.—Daily News. A WONDERFUL PAIR. Ex King Theebaw’s famous hairy family, which he long kept jealously at Mandalay, are coming to Europe for exhibition. The Graphic says the family have been renowned in Burmese history for many years, and the present members, a mother and son, form the fourth generation known. The mother Maphon —is 63, quite blind and usually sits motionless on a platform, occasionally fanning herself and speaking in a low, sweet voice. She was seen and described by Col. Yule when on a mission to the Court of Ava in 1855. Save her hands and feet she is covered with long, soft hair, like her son, Mo po sin, who is covered even to the drums of his ears, the hair ia some places being five inches long. Mo-po sin is of medium height, with pale brown skin, and is fairly friendly, having been partly educated, and married to a maid of honour. Neither he nor his mother has either canine teeth or grinders.

THE SPANISH KING’S NURSE. As important Question That Now Dis

TRESSES THE SPANISH COURT.

The great question of the hour at the court of Madrid is the choice of a nurse for the royal infant. Formerly, and down even to the reign of Ferdinand VII, a high court functionary, accompanied by a physician and a numerous suite, travelled through the provinces of Galice and Santander in quest of the nurse who was to be chosen for the Royal babe. It is the province of Santander, especially that part known as ‘ the mountain,’ that has furnished the greatest contingent of Royal nurses. It was once regarded as one of the industries of the place. The royal delegate visited Santander first, and his arrival was solemnly announced in all the towns and villages. The Mayor presented the candidates to him and the doctor put them through a public examination. To-day it is the nurses who come to Madrid. They are presented to the major-domo who takes dawn their names and passes them on to the physician. The work of choosing is no small affair, for the number who aspire to the position of royal nurse is enormous and the applications and recommendatione pour in from all sides This is not surprising, as the position is a very agreeable one. The occupation of royal nurse is very dignified, to begin with. The wages are also very high. The nurse is treated as one of the ladies of the palace, her magnificent costumes are frequently renewed,°and as they become her own property her wardrobe is soon varied and luxurious. The nurse is never asked to attend the toilet of the Royal infant ; a femme de chambre is specially appointed for that duty. The infant remains with the nurse at night, however. Apart from the promenades which she makes with the baby, the nurse may go out when she pleases, but she is always accompanied by two ladies of the palace. When the Royal infant is weaned the nurse receives a large money gift, ail the members of the Royal family give her rich presents, and the Sovereign bestows on her a pension from the privy pnrse. It will be readily understood then that the number of applicants for the position is large. A few days ago Dr Sanchez Ocana of the Royal Faculty of Medicine examined twentytwo robust young women, a few of whom evidentally did not belong to the peasant class. They had already nursed the children of some of the highest of the Madrilene aristocracy. Among the applicants one attracted the special attention of everybody. She was decked out in a splendid costume of red and black velvet, trimmed with gold lace, and wore diamond earrings and a dentele mantilla. She was Raimonda, who has recently been nurse to the baby Prince of Bavaria. A repose of nine months in her charming cottage of Revilla allows her to resume her former functions. All the women

who have presented themselves are remarkably beautiful, but no choice has yet been made. The most minute investigation takes place before final acceptance concerning the family, the children, and especially the moral character of the nurse. The choice is regarded as quite an event in Spain.—Madrid Corr. Paris Figaro. EXHIBITIONS. Not to be behind other capitals, the St. James’ Gazette remarks, Berlin, too, has at present an exhibition—of the art of hairdressing. Not only are the finished products shown of the art of the perruquier and the coiffeur, but the exhibition of the raw material on which his skill is exercised is most remarkable and complete. The great mass of hair used, it appears, comes either from China or Japan. This is plentiful and cheap, costing only some 4 5-s. per pound for tresses upwards of a yard in length. It is, however, hard and coarse ; the Japanese supply even more so than the Chinese- - Better qualities come chiefly from Italy and in Germany itself from the country districts of Thuringia and the Black Forest. The highest price in the market —as much as 20 guineas per pound—is obtained for blonde hair, which is imported almost entirely from Norway and Sweden. White hair is not a natural product at all, but has> been subjected to an artificial bleaching process. Large quantities of bufFalo-hair-and Angora goats’ wool are also shown. From the former material there are manufactured those wliigs which are intended for powder ; from the latter, clowns’ wigsand theatrical beards. A DREADFUL" AFFLICTION. Waiting for death, the World says, in alittle back parlor in Brooklyn lies Dr Charles F. Reed, 56 years old, who has not been able to move hand or foot or turn in his bed since he was 34. He lives only in his head, for every joint is fast bound, and his body and limbs are wasted to the bone. His eyes are sightless, his neck stiff, his jaws set so close as to prevent him from taking any food unless it be in very soft or liquid form, and shoulder joints, elbows, wrists, finger joints, hips, knees, and toes are immovable. The knees are drawn up, the left knee joint is almost thrown from its socket, the right foot is turned outward so much as to be almost turned backward. A white mustache and beared that Rip Van Winkle would have envied, cover the lower part of a face strong in outline and full of character. Around this sufferer’s bed, where so heavy a cross has been laid, gather almost daily people who come to get consolation in trouble. Dr Reed is a philosopher, and his cheerful disposition, in spite of the extreme hardness of his lot has made him the wonder of everybody who knows him. Those who have lost friends call there to learn lessons in fortitude, and all who meet the doctor say they go away with new ideas of life and its; purposes. He is well read in every branch' of literature.

CIVILISATION AND EYESIGHT. Mr Brudenell Carter is an authority on< this subject, and lately he has produced some excellent papers on it. His leading: canon is that the functional perfection and activity of human organs are dependant onthe manner and degree in which those organs are exercised' Their efficient exercise not only produces improvement in the individual, but in his offspring also ; and in like manner an imperfect exercise deteriorates the race. We have before called attention to his views in regard to the flat eye and shortsightedness, the two most common defects. The former is a modern defect, and now effects one-tenth of the population ; the latter is a malformation, a return to a less perfect and earlier type of eye. It may be accompanied with acuteness ofi vision such as is found amongst savages. Thedifference between a shortsighted and a flat eye Dr Carter puts thus : An eye which is shortsighted in a high degree, if not actually diseased, is at least always on the threshold l of disease. The elongation of its shape has been arrived at by the gradual stretching outof this deeper heimisphere ; and, in thisi stretching, the parts essential to sight can seldom escape injury. The flat eye, on the other hand, has no useful vision at any distance, except as a result of an alteration in the shape of it 3 own lens, produced by muscular effort; and this effort which increases in degree a 9 the object approaches nearer, and which becomes more difficultof accomplishment every year, renders many possessors of flat eyes incapableof following occupations for which they would otherwise be eligible, and places a most serious impediment in the way of success in any sedentary occupation. Children’s eyesight should be tested, hethinks, as soon as they know the alphabet, and he strongly urges a better type for school books ; their type should be at least twice the size. It was stated that there has; been a deterioration of eyesight during thepast 50 years. COURT LIFE IN RUSSIA. The court festivities at St Petersburg have been more brilliant during the reign of the present Emperor than they have been for some years past under Alexander 11. says the Russian correspondent of the Kolnische Zeitung. This is chiefly due to the Empress. Czar Alexander 11. was fond of pomp and show, but his wife was broken down by ill-health and troubles and had been brought up in strict orthodoxy. The present Empress, on the other hand, is, both in her appearance and in all her ideas, the highest type of a bright, lovely woman, adored by all who know her, and even exempt from the gossip of calumniators. In Nihilistic papers she has sometimes been called the Russian Marie Antoinette, and has indeed many charaetistics which invite a comparison between her and that unhappy Princess, but she is without the great female weaknesses of the martyr of the French Revolution. The Empress is the inspiriting centre of the court festivities, than which nothing can be conceived more gay and brilliant. The first court ball of the season, to which some three thousand invitations were issued, surprised everybody attending it by its great splendor. There are few princely residences in Europe which could be compared to the winter palace for spaciousness and beauty, and the impression

is still more deepened by the strange uniforms and costumes, half Asiatic, and the rich jewels with which the ladies’ toilets are elaborately adorned. The Empress n passionately fond of all the pleasures ot the •winter season whether they are dancing, skating or sleighiug on the ice-hills, and is as graceful on her skates as she is in the ball-room and on horseback. But all these pleasures have now come to an end. Petersburg has doffed her winter garments, and is attired in a mud-colored frock. Tnf elite of society is busy during these laf weeks of Lent in doing penance for past sir in order to be able to celebrate Easter with clear conscience. CHILDREN AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. Dr Day, in his late work on children, speaks forcibly of the necessity for mothers to remember their duties towards their offsprint ‘ Late hours lead to fatigue, ■excitement, and to stimulating and improper ■diet, which are sure means of causing them •fco have unhealthy offspring. Alcohol, beer, porter, and wine are largely used, under the belief that the lacteal secretion is increased by their influence ; but increase in quantity doe 3 not mean improvement in the nutritive properties of that secretion upon which the child depends. There can be no greater mistake than to imagine because a woman is nursing that she ought, therefore, to live freely, and that porter or fermented liquor should enter into her diet. The milk is rendered irritating to the child ; is no longer the bland, nutritious food it should be ; and the weak, delicate stomach of the nursling suffers from the introduction of a foreign substance.’ . Milk, the ideal food, should be used freely in a nursing woman s diet ; gruel, chocolate, eggs, and vegetables of all kinds may be allowed, but vinegar, tomatoes, and acid fruits are best avoided, unless experience has proved them harmless. Frequently, if there be exhaustion attending nursing, an egg beaten up in a glass of milk will help to tide over the day if taken at lunch time. But, after all, a healthy appetite, brought about by exercise in the open air, followed by a hearty meal of bread, butter, and milk, is the true secret of health in both mother and child.

ROYAL ARTISTS. Having studied like a student, the Crown Princess'now paints as an artist. The powers of the Princess Royal have long been acknowledged in Germany, upon the art of which country she has had great and lasting influence. In 1860 she was elected a member of the Berlin Academy, where she has constantly exhibited. Painting admirably, as she does, in landscape, portraiture and stilllife, it is perhaps in her portraits that she excels. An artist may be an admirable draughtsman of the figure, he may have the finest technique and a true love of color, he may possess a perfect mastery of carnations (critics always talk a lot about carnations), and yet fail entirely in portraiture. The one essential thing is the instinct for reading character and the power of seizing upon and depicting, without exaggerating or buries, que, the salient points in the expression of his sitter. That the Princess Royal possesses this gift may be seen by referring to our last illustration. Without knowing the lady, one feels sure that this is a ‘ speaking ’ likeness. This may be the result of the careful study of character as expressed in physiognomy, which one expects is a lesson early taught* to Royal children, or one that is •quickly gained in courts, if it be not actually inculcated. There is dignity in the simple treatment of this picture, and the easy pose of the figure has been skilfully caught. We believe that the Princess Royal has Studied under Von Angeli for the figure and under Wilberg for landscape. Her Majesty the Queen is herself an artist. She sketches from nature; and the public has lately had the privilege of seeing reproductions of some of her work. Her drawings from the figure are spirited and forcible, and her animals are full of life and c g Q y The writer is not aware whether the Prince of Wales is himself an artist, but he does know how keen an interest he takes in art in general, and in that of his own country in particular. The time and personal attention which he has devoted on different occasions to our art exhibits at various great international exhibitions would alone be proof of the love he bears for art. Several of the other members of the Royal family practise painting admirably. The late Princess Alice possessed unusual artistic powers ; we all know the Princes* Beatrice’s work; and the Princess Louise, besides being a first-rate landscape-painter, has lately turned her artistic talent in a new direction, and has produced a statue of the Queen for the west front of Lichfield Cathedral, which is full of dignity, and possesses beauty of li ne _Magazine of Art fcr June. GLEANINGS. ' A lady, who was stated to be in possession of property worth £4OO or £SOO a year, appeared before the Kilkenny Board of Guardians last week, and applied for outdoor relief. She stated ’ that she was ashamed to make such an application, but she was really in very extreme circumstances, because her tenants ■would not pay their rents. She only asked for one shilling a week for a few months. The board, whose members are all Nationalists, refused the application, offered an order for admittance to the workhouse. Mrs Shine, a large landed proprietor in Kilkenny, has sold tier Galway property to the tenants at prices varying from fifteen to sixteen years’ purchase, forgiving all arrears of rent. A silver mine, valued at £50,000 at least, has, it is stab-d, been presented by a gentleman, who has just died in Denver, United :States, for Protestant charities in Ireland, to be administered by a well-known Irish •clergyman. A London physician who for six months has tested Dr. Jaeger’s plan of wearing nothing but wool, day or night, says the result has been a complete immunity from colds and marked increase in capacity for work. Instead of alternating feelings of heat and cold there has been a uniform and most agreeable glow of warmth. Nothing but pure wool should enter into either dress ' or bedding. New baths on an elaborate scale have been

opened at Putney. The building has a frontage of 117 ft, and comprises a swimming bath 100 ft. by 3?ft., a Turkish bath, ladies’ and gentlemen’s first and second class private baths, and two very large club rooms. Upon it about £13,000 has been expended. Saturday afternoon the Lord Mayor, accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, Miss Staples, Mr Sheriff Evans, and Mrs Evans, visited Putney, in state, and in the presence of a large company the opening ceremony was performed. Subsequently an c shimming was given by the Glub, including the 1 . of England.

... *_<j. juis great-o- d,UUl!i '' I . ier jived to the age of 133. The m- a 111 question distinctly remembers his grp**t-granafather, and has now living a great-great-niece, so that he has seen sever- generations of his family.—Lancet. Miss Oliveria Prescott’s and Miss Rosalind P. Ellicott’s string quartets attracted attention at the soiree of the Musical Artists’ Society given at Willis’s rooms. Women are beginning to show signs of doing good work in the line of musical composition.

Travelling Bee Farms on the Nile.— In Egypt on the river Nile as well as in Italy, on the Po, the custom of travelling for bee pasturage has been continued from the remotest age 3 to the present time, as there is about seven weeks' difference in the vegetation on the upper and lower Nile. They use large flatboats holding from sixty to one hundred hives of bees, and float slowly along as the vegetation advances. The sinking of the boat to a certain depth in the water indicates when they have filled the hives with honey. Miss Louisa Journeaux, of Jersey, who was rescued from an open boat after drifting for nearly three days, and taken up by a vessel bound for Newfoundland, has been noticed by her Majesty. Her parents have received a letter from the Queen, congratulating them on the safety of their daughter, and enclosing a kind message and a sum of money for her.