CHIT CHAT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1121, 25 August 1893, Page 14

CHIT CHAT.

I have to thank a Blenheim correspondent, ‘ Adeline,’ for her nice little account of the Rugby Union Social which appears in another column. I hope ‘ Adeline ’ will often send me a few notes as to Blenheim socialties. My thanks are also due to a Westport lady for sending me a cutting from the local paper, giving particulars of the opening of the Female Foresters’ Court in the the West Coast town. A correspondent ‘W. G. ’ is also thanked for her account of a wedding at Gladstone. If the lady readers will only copy the good example set by the correspondents to whom I refer, and send in any little items of social news that may come under their personal notice, I shall be able to make ‘ Chit Chat ’ a still more interesting feature of the Mail. >L ' WA fashionable wedding took place in St Stephen’s Church, Marton, on Thursday last week, when Mr Graham H. Shannon, eldest son of Mr G. V. Shannon, and well known throughout the Rangitikei, was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Maggie Mcßeth, eldest daughter of Mr Alex Y. Mcßeth, of Grove Lea, one of the most popular of Rangitikei settlers. The bride, who was given away by her father, was attended by four bridesmaids, namely, Miss M. Mcßech, sister of the bride, Miss Mabel Mcßeth, cousin of the bride, and the Misses M. and Kathleen Shannon, sisters of the bridegroom. Mr F. Welford acted as best man. The Rev A. Towgood conducted the service in a most impressive manner, and there was a very large attendance of friends of the happy pair. The Rev Mr and Mrs Laishley celebrated their golden wedding last Thursday evening in the Congregational Church, Devonport, Auckland. A large number of people were present. Mr Laishley was presented with a illuminated address and a purse of sovereigns. A wedding took place at Gladstone, near Carterton, on Tuesday last week, in which much interest was taken. It was that of Miss Amelia Rowe, who was married at the residence of her father, Mr Robert Rowe, to Mr William Strang. Miss Renall was the bridesmaid, and Mr F. Rowe, best man. The ceremony was conducted by the Rev Charles Murray. After a sumptuous wedding breakfast the happy pair left for Napier where they will spend their honeymoon. A dance was held in the evening at the Gladstone Town Hall and was largely attended by friends of the pair. Since the above was written I have received a few additional notes from a a correspondent ‘H. G.’ The bride, says my correspondent, wore an exceedingly handsome white gown trimmed with Honiton lace caught up here and there with ribbon bows and spray of flowers. She wore a wreath of orange blossom and a tulle veil and a handsome gold bracelet the gift of the bridegroom. The bridesmaids wore white dresses with rose sashes. The bride’s travelling dress was of black velvet, trimmed with feathers, and a sealette cloak, black hat and feathers,

Mr Clayton, accountant to the well known firm of Philips and Pike, went up to Auckland last week. He is to be married next Monday to Miss Ella Cameron, daughter of Mr Cameron, manager of the Auckland Savings Bank. Mr Snodgrass of the Gear Company, is to be Mr Clayton’s best man.

‘ Aunt Ellen ’ is naturally very much interested in the woman’s franchise question, and so on Friday last she spent an hour or so listening to some of the speeches made in the council when our ‘ lords ’ were discussing the Electoral Bill.

That dear old gentleman, the Hon Mr Scotland, was very strong in his opposition on Friday last to the Woman’s Franchise. In Mr Scotland’s opinion, ‘ woman as a politician would be a lamentable failure.’ Certainly, thinks ‘ Aunt Ellen,’ if she were a politician of the Scotland stamp. Poor dear old man, he is a fair type of the fossil politicians who stupidly oppose a much needed reform.

Sir George Whitmore had a little sneer I notice, at the ‘ tailoresses and the working women in the towns,’ and considered that they had practically ‘ no stake in the country.’ That wretched bad old argument—no stake in the country —when are we to hear the last of it ?

I can tell Sir George, who, I believe poses as a ‘ Liberal,’ that the tailoresses and working women in the towns are industrious, sober, virtuous women, that they are just as capable and perhaps more capable of forming a common sense opinion that many of the so called 1 society ladies ’ are. They will laugh at the sneers of such a man as Sir George- Whitmore, and what is more, when the women get the vote, the Fishes and Whitmores will stand but a very poor chance of ‘ legislating.’ heaven save the mark, for the men —-and women —of New Zealand.

Mr McCullough, one of the new 1 lords,’ spoke very sensibly and I hope that my readers will look up the report of his speech, which appears in another column of the Mail. He put the whole case for woman’s franchise in a nutshell. ‘He held that it was the right of women to have a voice in the making of the laws under which they lived,’ and I was very pleased to hear the applause with which this very proper and just sentiment was received.

The Napier'Evening News draws attention to the number of cases of Cruelty to animals which are to be noticed in the Hawke’s Bay Capital. Why do not the Napier people form a local branch of the society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Rev T. L. Tudor, who for many years has been incumbent of Christchurch Wanganui, has resigned, and will be succeeded by the Yen. Archdeacon McLean, curate of Greytown. Mr Tudor’s cheery face and good natured manner will not be absent from Wanganui as the old gentleman will, I hear, continue to reside there with his family.

Mrs Longshore Potts is lecturing in Sydney and is drawing crowded houses at one of the theatres. She strongly recommends the Sydney ladies to go in more for riding and tells them to ride in the masculine manner.

■tyf The Maoris at Lake Waikaremona, inland from Wairoa, on the East Coast, are at present suffering from the universal measles. The Hauhau cure for measles is immersion in cold water, and as the thermometer registers somewhat low at this part of the year, the Maori children are not having a very happy time of it.

Bishop Cowie, speaking at the presentation of diplomas at the Auckland University College on Wednesday last week, said to give a general idea of the ignorance of the Greek language, he related that he was travelling recently by train to Te Aroha, and they came to a station named Eureka, an old Greek word. One gentleman, who appeared to give himself airs of superiority, said that Eureka was the ancient name for a shirt. (Laughter). Bishop Cowie’s fellow passenger was no doubt a Londoner, for ‘ Ford’s Eureka Shirt ’isto be seen stuck up at every London railway station. ‘ Eureka ’ is really the Greek for ‘ I have it.’

ladies, so I notice, got their diplomas. Among those receiving the B.A. were Misses Constance Ellen Frost,

Murray.- Miss Annie Hamilton Currie, who got the M.A. degree had obtained third class honours in language and literature, and in Latin and English. The ladies were enthusiastically cheered by the students.

.kfThe divorce proceedings brought by Mrs Freeman Kitchen against her husband, are to come before the Court at Wellington on the 28th inst.

Mr W. Crosbie Hamilton, of Christchurch, and well known in Wellington, who is now at Edinburgh studying medicine, has passed the entire final examination for Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery. Vile represented the Colony at the Varsity sports where he ran third in the quarter mile. Our New Zealand boys always appear to do well at Home and I am always pleased to hear of their success.

It is always pleasant to notice the progress made in the country towns in musical matters. Palmerston North now includes in its population several musical enthusiasts of high qualifications, and as an outcome' of their energy the local musical union is, I see, to produce Cowen’s cantata ‘ The Rose Maiden,’ on the 24th inst. The Messiah is also to be given on the 27th, it being expected that with the orchestra there will be quite a hundred performers. The chorus, which is under the command of Mr J. Grace, is said to be very strong, and Mr Prouse, the well known Wellington singer is also to take part. Madame Louise Thompson is to sing ‘ Rejoice ye greatly,’ and a Nelson gentleman, Mr A. P. Lucas, is to take the tenor solos. I trust that both performances will be a complete success.

*TA wedding took place at Makino last week on which a good deal of interest was taken. Those who embarked upon the ‘double life’, were Mr J. E. Taylor, fourth son of Captain Taylor, of Tawa Flat, and Miss Ada Margaret Adams, fourth daughter of G. Adams of Makino. The bridesmaids were Misses Annie Adams and Flora Taylor, Mr John Taylor being 'tlie best man. The bride wore a handsome travelling dress. of maroon trimmed with beaver and silk. The bridesmaids wore cream and maroon. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. G. .Clements, at the residence of the bride’s parents.

My Hunterville correspondent writes: We do not often have a marriage here but one took place last week, Mr F. Friston, of Hunterville, being married to Miss L. Frampton, daughter of Mr Frampton, of the Manchester Block. The bridesmaids were the Misses Frampton and Rutherford, the ceremony being performed at Mr Cawood’s 'house by the Rev Mr Gordon, of Marton. Mr A. Watt of Marton was best man. Tha newly married couple left for Hawera where they will live on a farm Mr Friston has bought from Mr Sidney Smith, of Marton. A large number of friends assembled at the station to see them off and many good wishes for their future happiness were expressed.

Palmerston correspondent writes : Dear Aunt Ellen,—On Tuesday a very interesting wedding took place here, of which I am rather surprised to see you had no account in last week’s Chit Chat. It was that of Miss Norah Linton, daughter of one of our oldest settlers, Mr James Linton. ' Miss Linton was married at All Saints Church to Mr Victor Alexander Brooke, fourth son of the late Sir Edward Brooke, of Norton Priory, Cheshire. The Rev Mr Harvey officiated and there was a very large number of friends present at the ceremony. Mr Linton gave away his daughter who wore a white merveilleux dress trimmed with myrtle and orangeblossom and edged with lace, with Empire sash and silk net veil to match. The bride’s train was carried by Master W. Linton, dressed in .a suit of black velvet trimmed with white satin. The bridesmaids were Misses Linton, and A. Mowlem and Isabel Smith, all of whom wore very handsome dresses. Mr H. S. Robinson of Christchurch was the bestman. The bridal chorus from ‘ Lohengrin ’ was played on the organ, by Mr Drew, as the bride and bridegroom entered the church, and on the pair leaving the church Mendelsshon’s grand Wedding March was played by the same gentleman. After the wedding a reception was held at the Theatre Royal which was very tastefully decorated, and at the breakfast which followed the health of the bride and bridegroom was drunk in bumpers. The happy pair left by the evening train for Welling-

will reside. Great interest was taken in the wedding and the bride took with her the good wishes of a very large number of our citizens.

I am much obliged to my correspondent for the above and I wish many other readers would follow the good example set and send me brief accounts of weddings and other functions of interest of SVhich they have seen no reports appear in the Mail. -

By the way, referring to Miss Linton’s wedding, it is interesting to notice, says the Palmerston Standard, that Mr V. A. Brooke the bridegroom, is a cousin of the Duke of Fife.

One sees some funny things in some,of the wills, details of which are published in the Home papers. The other day a Miss Bouverie solemnly left instructions in her will that her dog, Dick, was to be ‘ endowed ’ with an annuity of £4. Whether the money is to be spent upon his keep is not stated, I suppose that is what the lady meant. Miss Bouverie was evidently very fond of animals, for she left J3OO to the Home for lost dogs and £IOO to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mrs R. J. and Miss Loughnan of Christchurch have arrived in London. Miss Loughnan will consult a London specialist as to her throat which has given k her a good deal of trouble.

A lady writes me from Auckland to say that the concerts given by the Misses Albu were a great success. The two ladies gave a reception at the Grand Hotel which was very well attended. The same lady mentions the engagement of Miss Mary White to Mr ‘Jim’ Stephenson. They are, it is said, to be married at the end of this year.

Captain Baldwin’s clever son, Gerald, has been distinguishing himself at Home lately. He has won two medical prizes of importance and has been appointed House Surgeon at St George’s Hospital. ’ The London correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says that Mr Baldwin is very highly thought of in medical circles at Home.

The officers of the Austrian warship, the Saida, have been very liberally entertained in Auckland. They have made themselves very popular in Society and I should be glad to hear that the vessel is coming to Wellington, so that we may compare the Austrian ‘ boys ’ with the little Spaniards who were so popular here.

I read in the English papers that ’many of the presents given to the Princess May and Prince George were awful trash, and that the amount of begging for subscriptions which went on in some places disgusted a great many people. The wedding gifts filled twenty-two vans, and were to be shown to the public at the Imperial Institute for the benefit of the Victoria sufferers’ relief fund. A good idea l ■'<

A correspondent asks ‘ Aunt Ellen ’ to give her a good recipe for making ‘ brilliantine, such as is sold by the hairdressers.’ I regret that I am not able to comply with the request, but perhaps some reader of the Ladies’ Pages of the Mail can supply the desired information. Pinaud’s Brilliantine is the best that can be : had and I do not think any privately made imitation of it would come much cheaper. Messrs Wahren and Staub, Ladies’ Ilairdressers, Lambton Quay, would supply Pinaud’s Brilliantine.

It will not be the fault of the Countess of Aberdeen if Irish stuffs do not become fashionable. The Countess gave Princess May a unique Irish cloak, made of white Galway flannel, and lined with white poplin. The mantle is fastened with a gold clasp, the exact reproduction of an old Celtic brooch in the museum at Trinity College, Dublin. Lady Aberdeen organised the fine show of Irish poplins and other stuffs which have attracted much attention at the Chicago Exhibition.

Amongst the presents to Princess May were several sets of earrings, and if Prince George’s young bride takes to wearing them, the fashion for earrings may be revived. Foi the last five or six years however earrings have been unconsidered unfashionable, and I am told that very few English young ladies their ears pierced nowadays.

One of the sights of London during the season has been the company of Ama* zonians from Dahomey, who have, been giving native war dances, etc., at the Crystal Police. They came to London from Paris, where no less than 900,000 people visited their performances during the three months they were in the ‘ Gay City,’ and return to their African, homes this month. Some of these ‘lady warriors ’ actually took part in the fighting against the French, and three or four still bear traces of the wounds they then received. There are 48 of them in all under the command of a tall young negre3s, Goomma, whose orders, it is said they obey with military precesion. Whatever may be thought of their performances in the way of good taste and delicacy it is certain they are a complete novelty in the world of amusements, and one of the biggest' draws ’ the Sydenham Palace has ever had. The Queen once entirely plaited a straw

cago. Everything odd and out of the way in the whole world seems to have been sent to the World’ Fair.

A quiet little wedding took place at St James’ Church, Lower Hutt, on Saturday last, the bride being Miss Amy Florence Edwards, of London, and the bridegroom Mr Alfred Suckling-Baron, the manager of the' New Zealand Electrical Sychcate. The bride came out by the Ruahine the other day. The wedding ceremony was conducted by the Rev Joshuah Jones. There were, I understand, no less than 120 wedding presents.

A good musical joke is going the rounds in London Society. It appears that a lady of great wealth, but with a pronounced gift for Malapropisms, was enlarging upon the excellence of her daughter’s piano playing—* Yes dear, I assure you I could sit for hours and hear her playing those lovely bits from Beethoven and Mozart and Schopenhauer I’ The great German pessimist would no doubt "have taken a yet more dreary view of life than he did could he have heard the above. And oh for the memory of Chopin!

Miss Florence Nightingale, the heroine of the'Crimea, and one of the truest friends the British soldier has had, celebrated her 78rd birthday the other day. Although formany years confined to her home by ill-health, she is ceaselessly at work for the / welfare of her fellow creatures. It was mainly owing to Miss Nightingale that Tommy Atkins is now so well looked after When he is ill. She has revolutionised the ofd system of military hospitals. .

The Japs' are funny little folks. An American artist who has recently been on a sketching tour through the * Land of the Chrysanthemum ’ says that: —* It is customary, in Japan, for children to be named after the first article on which the father’s eye alights after the children are born. Some, therefore, bear the names of flowers, and others the names of furniture or kitchen utensils, as Lily, Chair, Frying Pan, &c.

; -The little fishing village of Beer, Devonshire, is-celebrated for its lacemakers, and it is not astonishing that they should hava sent a' special lace present to Princess May on her wedding. It is a satin sofa cushion covered with lace made in the "4o*{B of a star, and containing symbolical allusions,. The arms of the Royal pair occupy the’-centre, supported by Time and Eternity, while the dove, winging its message of peace, hovers over all. The “ five points of the star exhibit the National symbols of the rose, thistle, shamrock, ' — find leok, and an oak spray representing old England’s wooden walls. Bees and silkworms furnish emblems of Industry, and wheat and barley of Plenty. The Royal initials are further added, overshadowed by oak and may. All these various objects are united together by y honeycomb work, described as * unity sweetening life.’ Vine leaves link the star from point to pofint, to signify the fruitfulness and blessing emanating from the • Star of Jacob,’ which is.believed by some \ to be continued in the throne of Queen ' TVigtoria. Bolls of flax are also introduced to represent the lace industry itself. This beautiful gift of these humble lace makers has been valued at 50 guineas. It may be interesting" to add the local tradition respecting this industry. It is said that one qf the vessels of the Spanish Armada was wrecked off this part of the 1 coast, the survivors' of which, settling here, intro- . duced lace making as practised in Spain.

A hint for those getting up bazaars and at their wits end for a novelty—try a ‘ Ghost Room.’ A correspondent of the Queen gives the following particulars : All Kinds of entertainments and shews seem to'have been done to death, and audiences have been considerably bored by recitations and mediocre singing, but another suggestion has been carried out lately which has'proved a success in clever hands., It is entitled the ‘ Ghost Room.’ A small tent' or room had been arranged in a somewhat lugubrious style for the hearing and telling of ghost stories. No doubt there were some old tales retold, but the teller was a clever man —indeed one in a thousand —and he had collected together most excellent stories, which he poured out so eloquently that he had to diminish the length of his seances in order to accommodate the number of people who 'desired to hear what he had to say. It is only fair to mention that he was a personage well known by many of his audience, and that it was due to the clever way in which he told the stories that half the attraction lay. I have frequently been selling of late at bazaars, where we ransacked our brains for novelties, but they were all of no avail as long as there was any chance of gaining an admission to the inevitable palmist who figures at every fancy sale. Ido not know whether such entertainments are strictly legal, but I do know that they are unmistakeably popular, and that it is a mistake to depend on one palmist only, for she becomes positively tired out by the number of their clients, and it takes a strong woman indeed to be able to unravel the mysteries of fate from three to seven with but little intermission.

My Wanganui correspondent writes : Miss Susan Dickins, eldest daughter of the late Mr George Dickins, of Westport, was united in the holy bonds of matrimony on’ Saturday last, to Mr William Henry, second son of Mr Thos. Tucker, of

'elson. The ceremony was performed at le Anglican church, Putiki, by the Rev .. 0. Williams.

Tlje London correspondent of the Australasian says :—One of the secrets of the Duchess of York’s popularity is that she is a severe moralist and reads her Bible regularly. She used to look rather sharply after her brothers, too. Awhile back a couple of the younger ones took some ladies more or less attached to the theatrical profession up the river in a boat. When the Princess May heard of this act, she was very wroth.

A distinct novelty in the way of friendly societies is the formation of a female Foresters’ Court at Westport. A Westport friend has sent me a lengthy cutting from a local paper, giving a description of the ceremony at the opening of, the new court which is'called the * Fower of the Forest,’ Sister Moller, Past Chief Ranger, presided, acting under authority from the Nelson District of the ikncient Order of Foresters, with which district this newly constituted Court will be connected. Sixteen ladies having been duly proposed and declared admissible, were presented to Sister Moller, who duly initiated them as members of the Court and Order. _ The next pro-, ceeding was the nomination and election of officers for the term ending the 81st December next, which resulted as follows: —Sister M. Buick, Chief Ranger ; Sister A. Richardson, Sub-Chief Ranger; Sister A. Krause, Treasurer; Sister N. Lopag, Elective Secretary; Sister A. Dalkie, Senior Woodward; Sister M. Spragg, Junior Woodward; Sister J. Wheatley, Senior Beadle; Sister A. Moore, Junior Beadle. The Trustees of Court Royal Oak, Bros. Peterson, Champion and Cumming were appointed Trustees. The newly-elected officers were installed in their offices by Sister Moller with due formality. This having been accomplished Sister Moller delivered a most interesting address upon the institution of female Courts of Foresters, and the many benefits to be obtained by women joining the Order, and stated that female Courts were about being established in several towns in New Zealand, and also in the Old Country. She also returned thanks to the ladies and brethren of the Order for the courtesy and kindness extended to her by them during her visit to Westport, and sincerely hoped that the * Flower. pjE the Forest’ would flourish and prosper.—l wish the. new Court every success.

Au Australian paper says that the latest dodge of the' Melbourne burglars is to employ a mild, sorrowful looking widow and her little girl. The widow ‘spots’ an apparently deserted house, which has a back entrance. The widow rings, and if not answered the girl investigates the back premises, gets into the house, and admits the widow by the front door. The rest is easy. Should anyone answer the bell the poor widow offers her hand-made lace for sale, and thus disarms suspicion. The police have only just got to understand the widow, who has moved to Sydney. I mention this trick because it may be tried on here in Wellington, and forewarned is forearmed.

Oh those foolish Theosophis'ts. Where will their folly end? I read that Madame Blavatsky’s body was cremated and the ashes divided into three parts, one part each being given to the theOsophical societies in India, in Europe, and in America.

• Sarah Bernhardf, the great French actress, is getting more and more eccentric (‘ cranky ’ Some people would say) as she grows older. I clip the follqyving-'para-graph about her from the European. Mail: ‘ A brass bedstead was standing in a prominent position, with pillow and all complete. Across the room was stretched a sort of clothes-line, on which some things were hanging, and on the other side of the clothes-line the great actress was, with dignified serenity, entertaining a party of friends at tea. The calm way in which she ignored the bedstead was,really great, and as I bowed in answer to her salutation, and glanced from her to the clothesline, I felt that I stood at last in very truth in the presence of absolute genius.’ ‘ Dignified serenity,’ indeed. What rubbish I \

Madame Sterling’s habit of fumbling over the leaves of that ridiculous little book of hers affords scope for satirical writers to exercise their particular talent. A Sydney paper says that Madame’s audiences are ‘ irritated by her hymn book. Even fervid admirers of Antoinette cannot deny that her platform appearance is so out of proportion with the book as to suggest the idea of a whale toying with an oyster shell.’ Somewhat rude, isn’t it, but only too true.

Hunterville is advancing. A Bachelors’ Ball is to be held there early next month, and great preparations are being made to ensure its success.

A sad affair is thus reported by the Christchurch Press:—The funeral of the late Miss Madeline Beamish, daughter of Mrs K. Beamish, of Te One, Chatham Islands, took place at the Linwood cemetery , yesterday afternoon. The young lady, who had won the respect and esteem of the people on the Islands, and had made many friends during her short visit to Christchurch, was attacked with measles about ten days ago, which culminated in inflammation of the lungs and bronchitis.

There was a large attendance of Islanders who are on a visit here, also of friends of the young lady who had known her when visiting the Islands. As there is no telegraphic communication with the Islands, and no steamer before October Ist, it will be impossible to communicate the sad fact to her mother and friends till that date. A painful coincidence occurred about four years ago, when the son of Mrs Beamish was on a visit to New Zealand, and was drowned whilst bathing in one of the rivers; it was nearly two months before she received the sad news of his death.

The wretched weather we have had of late in Wellington, was what did the mischief. Instead of the usual flow of loving language, there was nothing but occasional monosyllables, interspersed with sniff's, until the young lady felt compelled to make enquiries as to this radical change in her lover’s demeanour. 1 Freddy,’ said she, * you don’t love me as you used to do; you are quite another creature to-night.’ ‘Eh?’ (sniff) was the reply. * Yes, I’m sure of it,’ went on the poor girl. ‘I am certain you have seen someone you like better than me.’ ‘ Think so ?’ (sneeze) was all the answer, so the young lady treated her companion to a few tears. Silence reigned a while, and then, utterly overcome, the girl laid her hand on her sweetheart’s arm, exclaiming, ‘ Do, do, darling, tell me why you are like this.’ ‘Well,’ said he, ‘if I must, I must, and the fact is I feel that I have left off my flannel shirts too soon. T’schu 1 T’schu!’ s

We are requested to state that the fancy dress dance that was to be given Government House on Friday next, the 25th instant,, is postponed until Thursday, the 31st instant* on account of the indisposition of Lady Augusta Boyle. Ladies and gentlemen attending are requested to bring and leave in the entrance hall cards on wnich their names and the costumes they wear are written.

Miss Rose Shappere, formerly of Timaru, has passed her final examination in the Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Victoria, and is now a certificated trained surgical and medical nurse. The Timaru Herald believes that Miss R. Shappere is the first Jewess in the colonies who ha 3 taken up nursing as a proession.