GOSSIPY PARAGRAPHS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1805, 25 June 1886, Page 26

GOSSIPY PARAGRAPHS.

— The Prince of Wales is a wonderful favourite in Paris. I think (writes a ladies' correspondent) the French would even tolerate a Icing if they could have the Prince of Wales for that king. He has his apartments byjtbe year at the Hotel Bristol, and aspecial cook is retained exclusively for him. He is, therefore, as much at home here as in London. When he lunched at Baron Rothschild's, Mademoiselle Rejane — one of the prettiest actresses in Paris — recited an apropos in verse which a friend of Baron Rothschild wrote expressly for the occasion, and this pleased the Prince immense!}'.

— A coloured railroad porter says of travelling brides -.- 'Sperience teaches me dat dey is tickled mightily ef you mistakes dere husbands for bruddert>. 1 does? it ebery time, now, an' hits 'em go' a dollar, shuah.

-- Buttons grow larger and larger, aud sets of buttons now come in three separate and distinct sizes — the largest size for the skirt draperies, the second for ornamental purposes on tho waist, with the smallest size used as fastenings.

-Already busy rumour ih selecting a wife for Prince Albert Yiclor, the bright pleasant Lid whom &o many coloni&ls remember with pleasure during hi> visit, to the colonies in the IJacohanLe: the Priw-ev. (Jleinantinc,daughter nf the King, um~l Queen of the Belgians.:* young lady of t'onriec)!, being, announced by some of the newspapers as the future bride. Truth, however, which is generally to be relied on in questions of this kind, describes the rumour as " speculative flim-flam."

— A social oracle says :—": — " All women should aim at being bright conversationalists, not startling or wonderful, but amusing, relined, and especially light of touch. Long stories are usually intolerable bores, and a serious, slow, heavy way of looking at matters in general is an infliction. Grievancies of any sort are best kept hidden ; a sprightly acquaintance with the affairs of the day, a flattering anxiety as to others' opinions, absence of slang or mannerisms, of boastful egotisms, or self -depreciation, tact — above all tact — these make the agreeable hostess, the woman one wishes to find at home in one's round of calls."

— The daughter of the Chinese Minister in Paris arrived from the Flowery Land lately, and was so very amusingly and prettily dressed in what was rucnt for European costume that her arrival at the railway terminus made quite a sensation. Fancy a gown — a travelling gown - of pink silk and white satin embroidered with birds and (lowers in all the colours of tho rainbow !

— Our new sunshades are all of large size ; vary many are made of lace, and so are quite transparent, the ribs being frequently gilded. Others a large majority, are made of cream lace or cream coloured net, with handsome ribbon bows tied in a full butterfly bow just above that part of the stick clutched by the lingers. For morning use en tout cas are in favour. The covers of these are mostly shot silk, and selected with a view to the^ costume they are intended to acompany. The han dies art far too grotesque to please me. Dogs heads, rabbits' heads, monkeys' heads, asses heads, exaggerated out of all pleasing resemblance, fashionably terminating the handles of our en tout etis. All are large ; many are made to telescope, and thus can be lengthened or shortened at will. The ladies frequently use their fit, tout cas as walking sticks. One manufacturer has patented a new arrangement. Two springs arc fixed in the handle, a flat canopy is

raised at the first elevation, and the pagoda shape is assumed when the higher spring is tised.

— Do you know, dear, that there is a kind of cowardice in money matters that is really very general ? It is considered " mean " to find fault with the prices charged, or to " discuss" the matter, and it is quite a depth of ignominy to take your milliner's bill and object seriatim to the items in it. But at the same time, it is not at all disgraceful to owe the money for months, and even years. In fact, it is partly the long-credit system that makes tradespeople charge such enormous prices. The honest, ready-money payers actually pay for the dishonest, who pay, if ever, only when they are made to do so by considerable pressure being brought to bear upon them. But surely it is better to arrange beforehand what the price of a dress or a mantle is to be than to iind, ultimately, that it is charged ever so much more than you had thought it would be. and at a price that prevents your paying the account at once when it is sent in. But the contrary is the reigning system. If you order a dress, and ask how much it will cost, the reply is : " Oh, we cannot tell until the order is completed." This is an uncomfortable state of things for the conscientious mind that hates to owe anybody anything. — " Madge," in Truth. — Toilet masks are the latest invention of the original American. They are composed of a pliable cloth, saturated with a peculiar cosdent, and are designed to be worn during bedtime in order to benefit the complexion. Within a week 2000 of these masks were sold in Philadelphia alone.

— On Holy Innocents' Day in Antwerp, boys and girls are dressed up like men and women, and for that day allowed to be the masters of the house.

— A novel " rose dress " has just been made in Paris for an American belle, who wished for a toilet composed entirely of flowers. The skirt is made of 800 roses of different hues, and rosebuds compose the bodice, while a veil of tulle, spotted with crystal drops, is thrown over the dress to imitate jnorning dew.

— Says an American lad}' living in Japan : "I do not visit my kitchen once a month, never give an order outside of a spoken wish, yet the domestic machinery moves with an ease and perfection unattainable at home by almost any effort on the part of the mistress. The manners of the servants are amusing, not say startling. Every night at bedtime our five retainers appear prostrating themselves in succession to the earth, and retire. This is to wish me good-night and to renew their testimony of profound respect and pleasure over the privilege of serving me."

— The turban, which was so much in favour with our great-grandmothers as a fasionable head-dress, is being resuscitated in Paris. At present it is only a small edifice of tulle or gauze, with a plume of feathers at the side, but it threatens to become as large as its predecessor, which crowned the heads of the belles early in the century. — An important change in hairdressing is announced as imminent by Parisian fashion readers. The style that has held its ground so long ; the coiffure ala chicn — as Parisians term the fringe — is to be abandoned, and without any transition period, the coiffure a la Chinoise is to take its place. Plainly put, the hair is to be brushed back from the face and fastened tightly at the top of the head.

— The present style of dress depends greatly upon the draping. No second-rate dressmakers can drape a gown successfully. Many ladies know this, and study to acquire some knowledge of the art ; indeed, it is well worth study. The stage in England has during recent years furnished our dressmakers with some of their best models ; and if not copied exactly, with certain modifications the style serves for elegant women and leaders of fashion, without being considered at all bizarre or exceptional. It is said Miss Ellen Terry composes all exquisite gowns lierself. She stands before a long mirror when evolving a costume, and surrounded by kneeling handmaidens with their mouths full of pins lias her dress folds pinned and unpinned until she is satisfied with the result. No easy matter that, as the great actress' maids know -to their cost : but then dressing is a part of the business of the stage and Miss Terry's life. Many la-lies cannot give njuch time to the study of stj'le, and not all are gifted with the correct eye which sees at, a glance if one fold contradicts another or is not oC harmony with the graceful lines of the natural figure. Besides Ellen Terry we have Mrs Bernard Beere and Miss Fortescue, who are severally accounted exquisite dressers and whose histrionic talents are greatly aided and abetted by the perfect toilettes in which these celebrated women "dress their parts." One of our fashion journals this week offers aj prize of £2 for the best essay on national dress, whether for or against. A subject so interesting to all women will doubtless meet with a large response, and the widely varied opinions expressed on the subject will probably make amus*^ reading. — 5* Parisian millionaire, M. Lang, lias recently had made for him a wonderful bed, which is certainly one of the most luxurious pieces of furniture we have yet heard of. If only it could become universal what a boon it would be to early risers ! The description makes one envy the fortunate possessor. The bed itself is a model of comfort ; and the following devices have been adopted to render rising from it as little unpleasant as possible. When it is time so get up, a chime of bells rings. The occupant continues to sleep. Suddenly a candle is lit by a clever mechanical arrangement. The sleeper rubs his eyes, and an invisible hand proceeds to divest him of his night-cap. By means of electricity a spirit-lamp with coffee-roasting apparatus affixed next begins to burn. The water soon boils, and the smell of coffee fills the room with a delicious fragrance. Luxuriously revelling in a crowd of agreeable sensations, the occupant now, just beginning to wake, is soothed by sounds proceeding from a costly musical-box. At length the bells ring out another merry peal, and at the foot of the bed a card with " Levez vow" ("Get up") inscribed on it appears. If this invitation is without effect a powerful mechanism lifts the occu-

pant bodily from his bed and deposits him on the floor. — Pall Mall Gazette.

— Lady Aberdeen's efforts to favour the home products of Irish looms and stimulate the industries of the country are meeting trith great success, and are much approved. The " Lady- Lieutenant," as she is called by the Dublin people, paid an official visit recently to Mrs Ernest Hart, at the Shelbourne Hotel, to inspect the beautiful Kells embroideries, laces, dresses, and Irish tweeds of the Donegal Industrial Fund, better known in England than in Dublin itself. The rank-and-lile of Irish fashion followed this excellent example. Mrs Ernest Hart and Mrs Power Lalor, who were on a visit for the purpose, received, besides Lady Aberdeen, the Princess Saxe- Weimar, Lady Guinness, Lady Martin and Mrs Naish, Lady Hamilton, the Lady Mayoress, and other visitors; and great admiration was expressed and substantially proved of the really lovely homespun hand-embroidered fabrics shown. The whole of the things on view were sold ; and the Dublin shopkeepers, who are much inclined to look askance at native product, and dub all their wares "Parisian," have learned from the enterprise, artistic, taste, and selfdevotion of an English lady that Ireland possesses " resources " in her own irudustries and materials, and in the skill and intelligence of her workers, which may be turned to good account for the welfare of the destitute and unemployed. The dresses worked with sprays of apple-blossoms on polished linen, the drawn thread-work, and the tweeds and hosiery were enthusiastically admired, and all were carried off and more ordered.