Ladies' Column.

Otago Witness, Issue 1585, 8 April 1882, Page 28

Ladies' Column.

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Wedding-Fasnions.

I have never met, and never expect to meet (saw London Truth), the woman who can hear of a .wedding quite unmoved. It is a rite that interests the whole sex, young and old, pretty and plain, rich and poor, gentle and simple. No matter how many t weddings they may have seen, they never tire of them, but will go to one after the other with unflagging interest and attention, as absorbed during the ceremony as if it were an utter novelty. The bride is, of course, the centre of attraction. Even those who knew her quite intimately etare at her as though they had never seen her before, devouring each detail of her dress with eager glances. As a rule, the bride who feels least looks best. Emotion of the intense kind has often a becoming effect, and in this age of •nerves,' agitation is, apt to produce pallor, a tendency to, tears, or an unbecoming flush. Tears -seldom beautify. Poets and painters glorify beauty in tears, but that is theory. In practice; their first effect is to redden the eyes; their -second 1 to incarnadine the nose; their third •to develope a tendency toward sniffs, Someyearsago allbrideswept. It was the correct thing. ■ We! had not quite emerged from the Bentunental era. Mrs Hemans' poetry was muchiread, and we all know how her brides ; behaved,- weeping on their fathers shoulders and their mother's bosom, and reciting regretful parting verses, so that one wondered that the bridegroom waß not offended at so much grief,' and did not jump into the 'chariot and leave herlthere. We are more practical nowadays." The bride always smiles when she leaves theyestry, and occasionally is seen to do so as she comes up the church. This last may be * coming in,' but is rather a venturesome thing to dc just yet. She, ought, strictly speaking, to hang her head down a little bit, not so much as brides 'did twenty years ago, but still quite perceptibly. l ■ There , js no .earthly reason why brides,! as a rule, should hang their heads,^but fashion decrees that they shall. They are, going to marry' a man of their choice. They are probably leaning on the arm of a father, of whom they are proud. Why should they hang their heads? Perhaps fashion provides, the. custom in order to meet the case of the bribes who 'really ought to hang their, heads ; those who are selling, themselves for a title, for, an establishment, for landed estates— even for a home. " However this may be, ten years hence drooping heads will have quite gone out.

The Model Guest There cornea to our .homes sometimes a friend whom we" might caliche' model' guest. He always, writes in advance in tune for us to reply. He always comes on the day set, in time for the regular tea-hour. He enters at once' into the life of the family,- for the absent members of which he never fails to inquire. If the house-mother has had a tired day he seems it, and knows how to toss the baby or help to entertain two different sets of callers at once, ' or even if there is a hiatus in the kitchen, to' lift a 'coal-hod. He 1 has' a pleasant word (neither patronising nor- familiar) for the servants, whom he remembers if he has seen them before/ and- I who looked pleased ,when his coming is announced. His sympathy in the work and life of the family is so genuine and hearty that his visits are counted on as a part of { the' yearly cheer, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the morning when he leaves he does it deliberately, taking time for breakfast and prayers with the family. He conducts the worship as if it was an important part of the day's living, leaving his earnest prayer for a' blessing on the house as the last remembrance of his stay. In sherfc, as guest or host, he is full of the same thoughtful courtesy displayed by his kinsman in secretly blackening the boots of a distinguished English guest who never imagined there was no servant in the house to perform that duty.

Gossipy Paragraphs.

England, says the London World,' is more prolific of beautiful and pretty women than any other country in the world. The bonfire kindled on Epsom .downs in honor of the birth of a son and heir to Lord Rosebery was visible for fifty or sixty miles. In 1 France nowadays, brides have very few dresses in their trousseau, the current modes being so variable, but they have more material in the piece than formerly. When two women are talking together it is safe to predict that they are saying evil of a third ; when two men, they are saying good of themselves. Many skirts are now trimmed in a style seen over 20 years ago, with robings on each side, which form a border to the tablier in addition to the other draperies. A Parisian elegante has created quite a sensation by having her toilet, sheath pattern, kept fastened and caught down with clasps' in the form of small monkeys. The Prince of Wales is regarded by the ariists and actors and middling-class people > of London as ' the prince of good fellows.' > There is nothing of the snob about him, and his popularity is greater than ever. '* >'■'

jy is g«j»uoi. uum^ Ann Eliza Young says : ' ' The women of 'Utah ate like the women of Illinois, just as sincere, jusfc as pious, just as faithful, according to their light. Entangled in the meshes of polygamy are thousands of intelligent, sensitive, and devout women.' In ancient times, young ladies before their marriage used to wear their hair uncovered and untied, flowing 1 loose over their shoulders, but when they entered the wedded state they cut it off and assumed a sort of headgear. Muffs made of long ostrich feathers are a novelty, an important one showing nothing but three long plumes placed side oy side and &-acefully held together on the outer side by a rd 1 holding the three slender quills of each f either in his bill. One of the famous dinners at Delmomcos, was the ' Grand Swan ' dinner. A lake was built upon the centre of the table, in which five live swans swam. The desert was served in a .van's egg-shells, cut out of marble. The table was a bed of roses. , The Episcopal Church at Hughenden, which the Hebrew Disraeli usually attended, has been magnificently decorated in his memory. Two beautiful stained windows have been ereibed, and the chancel wall has been covered with rich paintings of evangelists, prophets, and angel? # custom of shaking hands when antro-

duced is going out, and, instead, ladies are practising the art of making a delicate, graceful courtesy, such as their great-grandmothers dropped when they were young and charming. The courtesy is not a particularly cordial expression, but it is quaint and pretty in quaint and pretty women. A Model Love Letter. —Editor Ramsdell of the Washington Gazette offered $5 for thebest written letter accepting an offer of marriage, Gertrude Nelson pocketed the half eagle by this effusion : *My Dear Donald,— Fresh with the breath of the morning came your loving missive. I have turned over every leaf of my heart during the day, and on each page I find the same written, namely ? gratitude for the love of a noble man, humility in finding myself its object, and ambitition to render myself worthy of that which you offer. T will try. Yours henceforth,' •You must love Miss Lawrence very much, 1 said Jack to Miss Dashie, as they left that lady, whom they had just met in the street. You gave her a most rapturous kiss on the cheek.' And Miss Dashie replied, 'I despise her!' ' Then, why such a kiss ? 'Why, don't you see, she was terribly painted, and I made a spot on her 'cheek with that kiss that will let everybody who sees her into the secret of' her elegant complexion.' Women are queer creatures. At a stall in a bazaar for a deserving charity held at Brighton there was, we are told, a charming illustration of ' Goody Two Shoes '—a mite of a child sitting in an enormous shoe, selling dolls not much bigger than herself. * And why don't you sell your little self ?' asked the Duke of Oonnaught *How much would it cost to; buy you?' 'Ten thousand pounds,' was the precocious reply. 'I am sure you are quite worth ten thousand pounds,' laughed the duke, •but my difficulty would be to know what to do' with you after I had bought you ?' In London society the dancers appear to be divided into classes known as 'rockaways,' • hoppers,' • chandelier-crawlers ' and the > disciples of the trois-temps. The distinction is in the step affected. The disciples of the trois* temps are the most rapid dancers, and, as a rule, are to be seen gyrating on the outskirts of the ' crowd. The ' rockaways ' are lurching dancers, and hoppers ' are known everywhere, arid the ' chandeliers ' derive their name from the fact that their step is slow and their atf so languid that in order to be safe from the jostling of more active dancers they generally remain under the chandeliers or near the centre of the

hall/ <•■'••-. i - ' Short Hair. —Short hair is again in fashion, in spite' of all that can be or has been said' to the contrary, ladies are sacrificing all_ that remains of their ' crowning glory ' which is left from the ravages of bandoline, heated slate pencils, and crimping pins, to the Moloch of the" present' fashion. These short, rippling locks are to the last degree charming on some heads, but to many ladies it ia far from becoming, as it gives them a masculine appearance not at all prepossessing ; and even the pretty, round, rosy -faced girls who' turn • themselves into bewitching little Cupids by this style of cdiffure must remember that they will be obliged to resort to the inevitable Derby hat for a' head covering^ as bonnets, hats, and the stylish little French toques ' cannot very well be kept secure without some foundation to which they may be fastened.