LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 1905, 25 May 1888, Page 33

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— A new industry has been created in Bostpn— that of the " artistic caller." A Boston lady finding herself uuable to cope with her daily tale of visits, fell back upon a deputy, who went the rounds, leaving cards and. making the usual inquiries. Now the custom has become quite . prevalent in Boston, and most great ladies employ an " artist" to do their formal visiting for- them. The artistic caller must be a young lady of elegant mien, good address,, and social tact. t — All the eijjh'fc bridesmaids of tlje Princess of Wales are aliye, and all married. They gave the Princess for hefsilver wedding their autographs, boipid up 'jn a. silver book and, e'nshr^rie^'in a silver oasket of ; Danish work. There was great strife whether they or the 300 diamond tiara ladies should take prece- :- dence, but in tlhe end the' bridesmaids were accorded ,ii,' sailed in, showed their autographs, and were allowed to 1 look at, the silver - wedding gifts, «whilst Lady t Ailesbury and her 300 were left waiting . in the next room, crowded up like herrings a, barrel., ' , — Thanks to the revival pi the Fftst Empire style of dress,' w&sp-waVts are out of fashion, Wj{ia.t dfictors and preaohers could npt 40, fashion has achieved. Natural-sized waists Bre ribwrwoven. The bust also'Tsjio longer ithrust forward or ,up ward, but is "to be' in its natural place and shape. . In materials and trimmings, however, the corset has become a most expensive,' nay, extravagant, article of a lady' dress. ' It is made of white, b^k, or coloured. wate,refl silk, trimmed with

rich Valenciennes lace at the simplest The most^ eiegii&t' l afer .of 'pSle pink; satiftf embroidered vvitii silver. and trimmed; with. the - richest old Venetian" pbihff ( jace^ , ' Some corV ■ sets are also trimmed round, .with' marabouts,,* and ostrich feathers. Corsets' have .also a - short skirt attached to their edge," which fekirtis made of the same material as the cpiset.'and is trimmed to match. I — French and German women are, as a rule, acknowledged to be better housewives than English. They take a greater, interest ' jn domestic concerns. They, waste nothing, and V'eb as a people they live betjter than we . do,' and, spending less, are able to put by their hard-earned savings^ with greater facility and less hard self -sacrifice. — Saturday . Review. ' , { ' ... — The practice of exposing the dead to the public view still obtains in Naples. Recently, in of the small streets, a baker, lost his only ; daughter — a very beautiful girl 6£ 16 U I , saw her (says a writer in the > Referee) .after khe was dead, because the baker had .plear^d all the bread from his ,shop window, and had , put his pretty dead daughter there^ instead! And for a whole day she lay there, surrounded , Svith beautiful camelias and lovely; flowers until it was time for her to placed on the, bier and carried off to Campo Santo. ! ,— ln India, on March 12, 10*79, a peer of England and his three .brothers were, ( all . tnarried to Indian ladies converted to the phristian religion. The peer himself and hia ■ youngest brother married princesses of 'the pelhi family, and the v other two brothers native ladies'. , It must have been curious to pee the four bridegrooms with their, dusky ,' brides all together at the ceremony. k' — Mr and Mrs M.B. Merrill, who live near eadville, Pennsylvania, have, Just celebrated their diamond wedding.- Mr Merrill is 97 years of age, and,his wife is 89. They jcvere married in the year 1813, wien the wife was but 14 years old. The' aged couple have 15 children living, 94 grandchildren, • pnd 35 great-grandchildren, all ,of whom ivere present at the celebration. , — When the new Emperor came back to ,• Berlin he found his rooms filled witfy yiolets, and since then every morning the Empress , Victoria, with her own hands,, replenishes the Vases from the baskets of violets sent to the Emperor by his new subjects. I —The Queen's " personal servant," a pure- * bred Highlander, who was raised on Deeside, always stands, arrayed in Celtic garb, behind , her Majesty's chair when she dines in company in the oak room at Windsor. ; — Princess Wilhelmine, the little heiress of. , the throne of the Netherlands, ,was out ■ sledge-riding recently with her mother, when they came upon a party of children snowballing. The Princess asked to be allowed to , pin them, and the Queen gave her consent! The royal pledge waited while., the future Queen of the Netherlands took part in the , combat. ! — A most painful interview has just iaken place between the insane King- of -Bavaria and his mother, the Dowager" Queen, ait' the Castle of ' Furstenreid, where the King, is confined. When the Queen entered her son's rcom he was standing by the window, looking out on the frost-covered grounds. His t jnothef called him by name several times, but he took no notice whatever, tand did not seem to recognise her voice at all. Then he turned suddenly round, and taking up a cigarette, asked for a match ; and on this being handed to him he lit it and began smoking, quite regardless of his -visitors. Before the Queen left, another attempt was made, to make him understand who she was, but to no purpose. It would, appear, therelore, that the King is, becoming worse, as formerly he had lucid intervals. | — Most of us thought that the days were . past when refined men and women and Sovereigns inflicted personal blows on. the attendants who chance to offend, and "yet, scarcely to be believed as it is, report a'ffirms^the" Crown Prince of Austria will lash with his cane the faces of any of his peop> who happen to annoy him. Worse stories tjian this are related, but so outrageous that common sense refuses to" credit them. ' Could anyone short of, a madman dare, to stop a funeral procession and test his own skill as an. e questrain and his horse's capacity for, leap* ing by essaying a jump over the backs of the steeds harnessed to the death carriage ? The Prince is not popular, and he and his wife are seldom together, sinister remoars as to their domestic happiness" being too well founded. —Another flower has suddenly blossomed into favour. The oorn flower— so long known tjo milliners as the " bluey "'—has been, by recent events, rechristened "the Emperor's flower." The demand -for them is phenomenal, and at present European manufacturers 1 are unable, to supply them fasfc enough. —The veneration entertained by the late Kaiser for his mother was so great that re-> port said he never undertook an important enterprise without first spending some hours praying at her tomb. History tells howterrible were the reverses suffered by this heroio woman ;. and report affirms that in flying from her enemies, the carriage of Queen Louisa and her three children— of whom the dead Emperor was one— was over--f turned, and her Majesty and her children had to sit by the roadside whilst the vehicle was 5 set right. In the hurry of flight »p food had been put. up,, and, children .were crying with_ hunger, To. divert their minds; the heroic wom&n gent them into a cornfield near to gather the blue flowers, which she made I into wreaths, and so turned the little ones* thoughts in another direction., 1$ is said the late Emperor had a reverential regaid for the blue flowers as associated with this touchingepisode in his life's history, and, in memory of his brave mother's fortitude and courage. Napoleon said Queea Louisa, was the pnly man in the family* , , ' . ' ,' —A ma£a.*lne of fashion published in 17S0 tells a strange story, which, while giving a curious illustration of "husband hunting," affords likewise an idea of the value 6i human • hair at a period when ladies '.wore such huge head-dresses and false curls. An .Oxfordshire lass was on the eve of marpage,toa young" man of the same countyv when the bride-groom-elect would not consent to name the . day unless her friends could advance £sjDfor her dowry. Her friends being too poor" to comply with; this)., demand, the lass, who evidently thought a mercenary husband • better than no .husband .at ' 8# f went to London and , sold her hair (which vfas \ delicately long and, , light) to a Qhapiuan in '

the Strand for £3 per ounce. As it weighed j 20o'z she returned' with joy to Oxfordshire with Wfficient ' cash to buy her exacting husband, and with £10 to boot. — There are a round dozen things that you can never get a lady to plead guilty of, be # she old or young : That she laces tight ; that' her shoes are too small; that she is tired at a ball ; that she uses anything but powder ; that it takes her long to dress ; that she has kept you waiting; that she blushed when you mentioned a particular gentlemen's, name ; that she says what she doesn't mean ; that she is fond of scandal ; that she ever flirted ; that she cannot keep a secret ; that she is in love. — Philadelphia Times. —Says the Boston Globe: Boston will again have the honour of sending the most beautiful married woman to Newport this season in the person of Mrs Gordon M'Kay. Judges of beauty declare that no married woman has been in Newport for 10 years who can compare with Mrs M'Kay. — We have had lots of balls since last I (Fans correspondent) wrote to you, and our new president, M. Oarnot, has given several receptions, much to the delight of Parisians. M. and Madame Carnot's receptions are much better attended than M. Grevy's were, and Madame Carnot has much better taste, both in the' decoration of her rooms and in her dress, than Madame Grevy had. At her last reception the rooms were laid' out like a beautiful flower garden, in which pretty bowers were arranged for those who wished to be tete a tUe or in petit comite — I must also mention a new dance that has made its appearance in society here. It is called "La Parane," and. has been resuscitated from the court of Catherine of Medici, where it was in great favour, and where it was called the "King's Dance." It is danced en costvme — that is, all the dancers are dressed in the costumes worn at the court of Catherine of Medici. The dance itself consists of graceful attitudes, curtseys, steps. The last figure consists of all the gentlemen raising and crossing their swords high above the ladies' heads, whilst the ladies pass through the arch thus made. — Splendid woman as she is in her womanly qualities, the Empress Victoria has never been popular in Berlin, and she has had to bear to a certain extent the jealousy that Germans, and especially Prussians, chow to foreign birth and tendencies. She won the admiration of Germany during the Franco-Prussian war, when she showed a splendid example by her work for the Bed Cross and the wounded. There is a story told of her which is worth repeating. On one of her visits to the hospital in Berlin a wounded soldier, not knowing her rank, asked her : " Have you any relatives in the war? " • 41 Yes," she replied, " my father and my husband." "What are their names?" asked the sol* dier. "My father is called Wilhelm," replied the Princess, " but people call my husband Unser Fritz." The wounded man did not require further information. The Empress, like her husband, is not inclined to military matters, but in this respect she does her duty as a daughter of Prussia. She is Honorary Colonel Commander of a regiment, the celebrated Death's Head Hussars, and as such is frequently present during the annual manoeuvres. In the manoeuvres in Silesia in August 1875, during the march past the Imperial stand, before the regiment approached the tribune she was seen to leave her place in the suite, and mounted on a superb horse, and accompanied by her husband as escort, dash away to meet it. She rode gently up the course, then took her position at the head of the splendid body of troops, and Bitting her steed admirably, gracefully passed the reviewing stand at a canter. After leading the regiment past she rode back to the late Emperor, slightly flushed from the exertion, but looking very charming in her uniform. The Kaiser seemed to be unusually delighted, while the spectators were wild with enthusiasm. Lover's Names, If your lover'anarae is Harry, 'Twon'fc be long until you marry. If he's the man on whom you're gone, You'll run no risk to trust in John. If Rich«d i 3 your Bweetheart'B name, He'll Hkejy bring you wealth and fame. Should you wed a man named Cnarley, Expect, a temper sharp and snatly. If patient husband you nxpect, Joseph'a the name you must select. There is no other name can rank For loving loyally like Frank. H to domesticity you incline, To some sweet William take a shine. If you seek the fond and true, Albert is the name for you. Don'fc espect a steady head If yourfaney runs to Ned. If unruffled life you'd know, ]Pick out faitnfql, honest Joe. —Old Album. Autumn Fashions. Many Empire" dresses are now worn in London. Two were seen at the last drawing room. This is Sara Bernhardt's doing. Parisian gossip says that she looks so exquisitely graceful in her tosca gowns that all feminine Paris wants to wear them ; and Worth is devoting himself to them. They are modified and adapted to modern tastes, and do not look conspicuous when they are what the milliners call "well-worn." The little Figaro jackets that are so rapidly coming in are simply sweet, and suit a slim figure to perfection. A charming little gown in fawn-coloured cloth of a peculiarly bright golden tinge is made and worn with a Figaro jacket of velvet in a slightly deeper tone of colour, with large cut steel buttons ; the front of the dress to be filled in with cream-coloured crepe gathered in one large tuck up the centre. Black silk is to be largely worn ; and with a Figaro jacket of velvet or brocade, whether black or coloured, a black silk looks distinguished. Libertys have introduced some lovely black silks of the purest quality, so (that the old fear of getting a silk that will not wear, or will wear " shiny," is done away with. Tailor-made gowns last for years and always look well, and they are the most fashionable, and the most becoming kind of dresses. Tailor-made jackets have the same advantages and are hard to' wear out. Tea' jackets are much 'in favour at present;. They are- useful because they can be ! worn with a variety of skirts, and are sufficiently j dressy for home dinner wear, ' ' '

The cat of bodices is still the elegant tailor-cut distinguished by the extreme delicacy of the backs at the waist, and the bias cat of the front under the arm, a cut [ secured by removing a larger portion of material in the second breast seam than dressmakers usually allow. Elephant grey is in immense favour ; also a delicate shade of fawn ' almost ecru, trimmed with collar and vest of myrtle green velvet. ; Telling Stories to Children. One word upon the character of stories told to children. They should never be of a depressing or terrifying character. Make the story of Little Bed Biding Hood end happily, no matter how it " turns out " in the book. There is good authority for. believing that in the earliest versions of this story the wolf, after devouring the heroine | and her grandmother each at one enormous bite, was secured by the sportsman, who performed a slight surgical operation upon it, took out the two ladies, who were not in the <least hurt, and grateful for this .timely service, and filled the wolf up with stones, which made it rather difficult for him to get about. The author of this classic has certainly treated his subject in an original and able manner. What is needed now is that some antiquary should rise and prove that the fate of the babies in the wood was equally satisfactory. Children are full of pity and tenderness — they are not like vs — and their innocent spirits should not be harrowed up with tales of woe. Neilher should they be told ghost stories, or " bear stories." There are grown women who habitually skip into bed with a quick, nervous step, not because they think there are bears under the bed, but because for several years of their life they fancied that such might be , the case, and the force of habit is hard to overcome. *' Nagging " as an Art. The female nagger is the exact counterpart of the male bully. The household bully of the ordinary variety may be described as one who is maniacally intolerant of household defects in small things, who has a ludicrously inflated notion of what is due to him as the breadwinner and central pillar of the establishment, and who has never seriously attempted the discipline of controlling his more disagreeable humours. Mean and contemptible as, from the point of view of the social moralist, this creature is, he is not^probably the cause of as much, positive discomfort, and even misery, as his equivalent, or superior, in petticoats. Men worry and fidget, occasionally rap out violent words with ill-conditioned vehemence, and, in the judgment of feminine' critics, generally demean themselves as brutes. But if nagging, as a fine art, is to be studied, women alone can illustrate it in its perfection. The first thing to be said about this delightful little feminine idiosyncrasy is that it is not so much a momentary failing of temper as an inborn trait of disposition. The lady who nags in the most accomplished and the most aggressive fashion never gives way to violence, and is famous for the ease and evenness of her spirit. She is tranquility and dignity personified. If her manner is ever criticised she remarks with perfect truth that she has done nothing, said nothing, and that she only wishes to be left alone. But articulate speech is quitevunnecessary for the most trying attacks which the nagger can make. A certain little laugh, the slightest of noises which accompanies the process of clearing the throat, a look, or persistent silence, may be quite enough. To nag effectually there must be a distinct kind of " raw " .established, and when this has been done it will depend almost exclusively upon 1 the artistic aptitude of the nagger whether enough cayenne pepper is rubbed into the sensitive part. Nagging, in other words, must be relative. The lady who nags must know when and whether she can render the existence of her victim a temporary burden by speech or silence.—" Harper's Bazaar." A Remarkable Toilet. At a very fashionable reception given in this city recently, one of the most charming toilets worn was remarked at the first glance for the great beauty of the delicate silver embroidery that covered the front. It closely resembled the inimitable silver work brought occasionally from India, both ' in tint and design, and was of a most uncommon and striking description. The skirt itself was of plain yellow satin, with a court train of black velvet lined with the satin. The bodice was also of the black velvet, this also decorated with the silver embroidery, which here and there showed glints of gold. A poetic toilet was of milk-white faille embroidered down the entire front with ' silver marguerites. Above this was a bodice and train of tulle, with a low necked under-corsage of the silk. The tulle bodice was trimmed with lace and silver marguerites. A notable gown displayed a corsage and train of green and gald-shot satin, brocaded with large silver rosebuds. The train was decorated with pale green and yellow feathers. The petticoat was of white satin embroidered in pearl and gold beads. A rare and lovely gown was worn by a slender, stately blonde, with a complexion as delicately tinted as a' tea rose. The dress made of pale dove-coloured silk of lustrous silver sheen. The sole trimming, and all that was needed on a fabric so rich, consisted of elaborate corsage ornaments and epaulets in silver passementerie. — New York Post. Current Fashions, 1 Bridal Dkesses. — Weddings are always in season, and all young ladies will, no doubt, be interested to learn the newest fashions for bridal dresses. They are made with high bodices, long trains, and richly trimmed with flowers. Ivory white satin is mostly chosen, but for tall slim figures the rich looking moire. Pekin is often' prepared. At a wedding in one of the highest aristocratic circles in Vienna' the bride wore' a dress of the richest satin with a very long rounded train. The front breadth of 'this magnificent bridal robe was covered with pleated flounces edged with pretty silver' grejots, while the finest tulle embroidered in silver in a beautiful pattern in rennaissance style went round the bottom of the flounces. The same sort of embroidery trimmed the high-pointed bodice. In addition to the lovely bouquet,' the bridal wreath, the long trails of flowers for adorning the train' were of orange blossoms and 4 tea roses, 1 which is quite the newest combination used for bridal' fldwe'rs. '■ ' ( ' ;,. " ' ,'''' ''Bridesmaid's* Dbess'.— The description 5 of an unusually smart and original bridesmaid's dress may possibly be of some use to

! some puzzled bride-elect who cannot decide upon the dresses of her maids. The gown in question has. a classical appearance, is | princess shape in front, and falls in straight folds behind, with a well upheld pouf at the top. The material is cream-cloth edged with gold braid or folds of gold.silk. The looping is done by means of a belt and baldric of gold; the .sleeves are tight to the wrist and are laced with gold. , Over the tight sleeves are •long hanging .ones that almost reach the, hem of the gown. Ttie bodice is cut square and is bordered] with gold braid, and the high collar is braided .with gold. The square , is filled in with soft net. The. white and gold bonnet, is stringless and finished with bows and an aigrette. ' The draping of this gown is effected on, the hips, the 'girdle acting as a means of forming the looping over a perfectly plain underskirt. Everyday Gowns. — The most general styles in everyday gowns at the present moment is an adaptation of the style, which, by general accord,' is called the riding habit style. ' The skirts' in these dresses are not very simple, but are arranged in this manner : The back width' falls from the puffed drapery jusfbelow the waist. At either side is placed a treble or, it may be, a double-box pleat, which looks like panels but which are really parts of the skirt. ' Now is added the plain width in front, cut a few inches larger than the skirt, to permit of- it being put into the pleat, or panel, with a few pleats up near the waist. About four pleats are the general number, the effect being a few folds across the front. With these skirts are worn a variety of bodices, the popular one being of the style called Empire. This bodice is of the usual cut and tight-fitting, and it has a V of velvet arranged just below the throat, from the shoulders comes down a series of folds, the one from the left crossing that of the right and finishing below the right' arm. The folds of the material hide the edges of the velvet V, and the effect is quaint and pretty. ' The predominant colour is red, either used as trimming or whole costumes. Yellow and heliotrope will be popular colours, and there is to be a revival of blue. Blue has been strangely neglected of late years, but it promises to be fashionable again before long. All blue evening dresses used to be in the majority some years ago, but now they are seldom seen. Novelists do not'dress their heroines to any great extent in blue as they once did. White is now the favourite garb for the female lay figures of the romance writers. ■ Redingotes are all the rage now ; the rich winter materials suit their style so well that they are being made up at all the dressmakers for thin and stout, tall and short figures, indiscriminately. In the fashionable but expensive material of this winter, velvet, the redingote is found to be the most attractive form of using the costly material. The underskirt is indifferently of silk,> woollens, or satin. Sometimes striped velvet is used, but this makes a costume too heavy.— Exchange.