GOSSIP FOR THE LADIES,

Otago Witness, Issue 1489, 29 May 1880, Page 26

GOSSIP FOR THE LADIES,

Queen Victoria is the owner of a silvergilt casket in -which are lockets containing locks of hair of thirteen officers who fell at Isandula. Each looket is engraved with an " In Memoriam" and the name of the officer, together with the date of his death, The souvenir was ordered by the Queen.

The finest diamonds are clear and transparent aB a drop of pure water. Ladies are now wearing scented petticoats, with the perfume (in solid) quilted on. The effect is peculiar ; one moment the nose is assailed by a fair charmer exuding rondeletia, whilst a moment later one might think it was autumn from the overpowering flavour of new- mown hay. Where the fashion sprung from is not known, but the practice is becoming universal. Mrs Abbott, residing at Smyrna, Delaware, aged eighty-seven years, died recently. She was the widow of seven husbands.

Heliotrope is the new colour, and is exactly the lovely pinkish purple of the newly-blown flower from which it takss its name.

In the present day the finest diamonds are held by Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English families in the order named ; and the best market for them is in the United States.

It is reported from Baden Baden that since the invalidity of the marriage of the daughter of the Duchess of Hamilton with the Hereditary Prince of Monaco has been confirmed by the Pope, the princess has become engaged to Count Tassilo Festitis, a Hungarian hussar officer, and that the marriage will shortly be solemnised at Baden Baden.

With a view to in some measure secure ladies against accident Mr F. Lovell, writing to the times, suggests that riding-skirts should be as short as possible; that the bottoms should be cut clean as a man's frock coat, and left so, without any hem or binding whatever; that the skirt should swell somewhat at the bottom like the orifice of a bell ; that the seams from the knees down wards should be held together by buttons, sin. or more apart, loosely sewn to the underlining of very thin cloth, and that especial care should be taken to test whether they can be torn off with the greatest ease.

According to Dr Beaumont, mothers give themselves unnecessary anxiety as to "waking baby ;" he asserts, once Morpheus has Beized the brain, no noise around the cot can affect the olive branch.

At some fashionable balls given in England lately, the dresses were very short, in many instances quite clearing the ankle, but this was done in order to show the ornaments of gold worn thereon, after the fashion of the antique pictures, and the Indian women of the present day. The new-fashioned anklets are made to follow as closely as possible the Ancient form, indeed the rage for antique jewellery is quite a mania. The richest bridal dresses worn recently have been made of white satin, trimmed with laoe. Cut in the princess style, the overdress of lace, or lace arranged as scarfs, forms the entire drapery. The garniture consists of flowers in masses and trailing fringes. The Salfc Lake Tribune is moved to remark that the nineteen sad and sorrowing widows cf the beloved Brigham don't make much progress toward beautifying his long-neg-looted grave. A happy idea in bracelets is expressed by having four golden wires spread out on ihe lower side of the arm meeting on the top, and at their joint forming the setting of a diamond, which looks to be entirely unsupported, as the thin wire is almost invisible. Queen Victoria has just presented £50 to Private George Dodd of the British army, in recognition of his gallantry in saving a child from death under the wheels of a tram-car in Dublin. The car was going down a Bteep inoline and oould not be stopped. Dodd sprang forward to snatch the child, and would have paid for his bravery with his life had not the pole struck him and knocked

him, with the little one in his arms, clear of the rails.

Mua Rogers, a cousin of Richard Cobden, was the prodigy in the last examinations at Oxford University, England, outstripping all the other students, male and female, in Greek and Latin. Her knowledge in other branches is quite as wonderful. After passing her examination Miss Rogers was at once appointed lecturer in Soinerville Hall, one of the Oxford buildings for female students. An American belle lately created a sensation at a ball in a cream satin dress painted with trailing sprays of ivy leaves and bouquets of forget-me-nots ; very long cream kid gloves, with satin shoes, and an immense white satin fan, were each similarly ornamented ; and as the design was planned and executed by her own hands, la belle Americame felt not a little elated at the undisguised expressions of admiration that rewarded her artistic efforts.

The effect ' of Breton lace is particularly soft and foamy, much more becoming to youthful brides than heavy point lace. If you are apt to feel chilly dress warmly at home. A wadded coat will enable the chilly man to sit and work anywhere in doors, and so will an extra thin flannel worn during the whole of the active day. You are not strengthened for outdoor work by shivering indoors, but rather weakened ; habitual warmth, if not too great, being one of the best preservatives of constitutional strength. Always try to remain moderately and healthfully warm. New photograph albums are very large, and made to rest upon an easel. The cover is painted to represent a cabinet picture. There is a new kind of fringe, made of untwisted silk, that is very pretty. The strands look like thick floss.

The Bokhara bride wears a rose-coloured veil, the Greek and Persian are arrayed in red, and the Turkish maiden hides her blushes beneath a thick covering of rich brocade shot with silver.

Madame Adelina Patti, writing of her experience in singing, says that when her name is on the poster for appearance she is all the morning preoccupied, nervous, and agitated; as the hour of the representation approaches she grows more and more fevered, and at the last moment, when leaving the dressingroom for the stage, one feeling dominates her — a terrible fear.

Artificial flowers are not now considered distingue as a garniture for bridal dresses. It is no secret that Princess Louise returned to Canada with great reluotance. She complains of her utter isolation there. The princess will pay another visit to England in the autumn.

A young English lady at Diman, France, who had been cleaning her gloves with petroleum, held her gloved hand near a candle to burn an end of cotton, when the glove caught fire, and, on her instinctively trying to extinguish the flame with the other, that also took fire. Both hands were so frightfully burned that amputation would have been necessary, ibut the unfortunate victim expired prior to the operation. The Princess Blanche d'Orleans is going to marry the Prince de Ligne, who, although not of royal birth, is alliad to several reigning families. Princess Blanche is the second daughter of the Due de iNemours, and is the frequent companion of her father in Paris society. She is the only remaining unmarried grand-daughter of Louis Philippe. The daughter of Spotted Tail, a young woman of eighteen, is studying in the Government School for Indians, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. She has lately married the half-breed interpreter employed at the barracks, and when sent to do some scrubbing, the other day, her lordly husband interfered. His wife was of royal blood, he remarked— the daughter of a chief— and he wanted her to learn only what the white ladies do.

The Sultan has ten servants whose speoial duty is to unfold the carpets, for him when he is going to pray ; ten to take care of his pipes and cigarettes ; two to dress his royal hair ; and twenty to attend to his most noble clean shirts. There are a multitude of other attendants about the palace ; indeed, it is stated that 800 families and about 4000 persons live at his Majesty's expense. He is an extravagant housekeeper} the annual expenditures of the palace are mentioned as nearly $14,000,000. Bridesmaids adopt the English fashion of weariDg large quaint hats or bonnets. At a recent wedding the bridesmaids wore princess dresses of pale pink, a combination of silk and brecade, and large hats of the Gainesborough shape, trimmed with Breton lace and immense crushed roses.

The leaders of the Salvation Army having determined to extend the field of their operations to the United States of America, a meeting has been held at the head-quarters in Whitechapel JRoad, London, in order that the officers who are going out might receive encouragement, and be invested with their regimental colours at the hands of Mrs Booth, wife of the founder and general superintendent of the movement. The emigrants are eight in number, including Mr Kailton, the "General Commanding the Foreign Forces," six "captains," and one nrivate. These 'captains are simply young female converts, attired in no more martial uniform than a black dress and a black straw hat, with a red ribbon having " Salvation Army" inscribed upon it. The flags were two in number, bearing each in conspicuous characters the device of " Blood and Fire." In bestowing these upon the captains, Mrs Booth delivered an impassioned address, setting forth the objects of the undertaking, after which the youne; women themselves spoke a few words in the same strain. Mr Booth displayed great activity during the proceedings, offering up prayers and deliverIng discourses while powerfully arousiDg throughout the enthusiasm of his hearers, who would give utterance wifch intense fervour and energy to pious exclamations, suoh as "Hallelujih" and "Glory be to God." The whole proceeding* presented a Boene of almost frenzied excitement, the generalissimo being at times, and especially while certain hymns were being sung, unable to direct the ardour of his rank and file.