LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 1942, 7 February 1889, Page 33

LADIES' GOSSIP.

—The latest method of earning a living in New York is decidedly an ingenious one. It is pursued by a slight, rather fragile girl who came to the city two or three years to study art. She took sketching lessons here, joined a life class there, and had instruction in oil from some one else. She was indefatigable, she had some talent undoubtedly, but the supplies from home failed. Something went wrong on the farm ; she must leave the city or foot her own board bills. At the crisis of her fate came her inspiration, evoked by the very commonplace question, " How shall I do my hair ?" It was a pretty blonde belonging to the sketching class who was going to a ball. Pencil and paper were handy, aud in 15 minutes there was the yellow head in an arch pose with the curly locks knotted most bewitchingly. " Take that to your hairdresser. Tell him to get you up in that fashion, and if you hear of any other girls who want a study of their good points send j them to me." This was some' little time ago, j and the little artist's business is now flourishing. She had something of a genius for hair, and practice has helped her to tell just what arrangement will best set off the im of bei customer, Wben she has studied

the expression, the shape, the poise upon the neck, she make 3 her drawing for hairdresser or lady's maid or the lady herself to follow. She has. advertised in theatre programmes, and women go to her on all manner of everyday and gala occasions. • ■ ' —The proposed match between the Prince of Naples and the Princess Clementine— on which Maria Pia's (Queen of Portugal) heart appears to be set — is far from popular among the rigid Catholics. The Austrian' court, especially, desirous to atone for its- political alliance with Italy, has brought much pressure to bear on the Queen of the Belgians. in order to thwart the proposed union. Queen Henrietta finds herself on the horns of a difficulty. Of course she. wants her favourite daughter to marry well (arid not a word can be said against the morals of the Prince of Naples), but she has to consider the future of her daughter when, married ; and it would certainly be very annoying to incur the* 'opposition of the Archducal clique at Vienna. The Hapsburgs have always been noted for the closeness with which they hold together; and the Archdukes, who bear in mind the palmy days when Modena, Tuscany, Venice, Parma, and Lombardy were theirs, look upon any alliance of a member of their family with the hated House of Savoy as an outrage upon the most sacred of their family traditions. Thus it appears that the task of " match-making " voluntarily undertaken by the Queen of Portugal must fail. The Haps burgs refuse to be persuaded ; the Queen is determined that the marriage shall' take place, coute que coute ; but those who read between the lines are convinced that the combination will prove too strong for Maria Pia, resolute and strong-minded though she undoubtedly is. . • • — The Empress Frederick took to. England some touching souvenirs of her husband — one for her royal mother, her ownbrothe'rs and sisters, and nephews and nieces severally —all of whom had unbounded regard for the noble Fritz. Prince Albert Victor gets the chronometer the late Kaiser was using to the last. The Queen receives the small ebony desk on which the dying Emperor penned those historical " slips of paper " when his voice failed him, on one of which was written the famous advice to his son — "Learn to suffer without complaining." Few of us I fear are heroic enough to follow it. It is currently said the Empress is delighted at being once more in her native land, and though memories of past years may recall recent trials.her Majesty feels sheis'no longer surrounded by a hostile court, but among affectionate and reverencing English men and women. — Ether drinking (writes the Paris correspondent of the World) is a comparatively new vice, to which Frenchwomen have recently become addicted, and it is sad to learn that it is making terrible progress among the unfortunate victims of this deadly form of dram drinking. When morphine and cocaine are found to be losing their power, ether is adopted as an alternative soporific, and its sale in Paris is increasing to an alarming extent. The effect, of these horrible drugs is infinitely worse than that of spirituous liquors upon the wretched women who giye way to their use, and it seems a pity that some stringent measures are not at once taken to prevent their sale to females. I have been recently told by a friend resident in Paris, that ttie hypodermic syringes used for injecting morphine are openly sold in dainty .oases of the most fascinating exterior, and that women actually carry these into the , ballrooms for use between .the danoes. -I know that they are obtainable at many West End chemists, but I most sincerely trust 'that the exposure of the horrible practice will deter Englishwomen from degrading themselves as so many of their -French sisters have by the use of this pernicious drug. — Very grave reports are current (and they arc, unfortunately, but too well founded) concerning the state of the health of the Kaiser. The young Sovereign, it appears, suffers from violent headaches, and requires daily injections of morphine. Men like Sir Morell Mackenzie and Dr Hovell, who know the condition of the lato Emperor's blood and the fatal legacy of special illness which he left to his son, will be surprised to hear this. Morphine infusions to a man in the condition of the young Emperor are about as advisable as damp sheets would be to a man sickening from typhoid fever. But apart from the very special reason why in this case morphine should aever have been given to the young Emperor, the drenching of his Majesty's system with this terrible drug is is dangerous on general* principles, for the habit once contracted can hardly ever be left off — and we already know that the young Emperor has a rather headstrong temperament — and has a very decided tendency to undermine the morale, making it impossible for a man to discern between good and evil. This is a cheerful look-out for the German people ! It is a well-known fact that the man who is in the habit of using the morphine subcutaneous syringe too frequently ends by being absolutely unable to discern between good and ill, or, at the best, if he should still retain some appreciation of the good, he will not have the moral strength to resist the temptation to choose the evil. — Mrs Kendal is the patentee of several small and pretty articles of household utility. Her latest invention is a new shade for lamps and candles. This shade is particularly elegant, of thin brass beautifully perforated, and lined with pale pink. Being metal, there is no danger of it catching fire ; it is a very pretty ornament by daylight, and a very useful and effective one by lamplight. It is named the " Egdam," which is Mrs Kendal's Christian name — "Madge" — reversed. This clever little design brings in quite a handsome inoome in royalties to the actresspatentee. — The fortieth anniversary of the accession of the Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria was celebrated in a manner which tends to make him, if possible, more popular than ever. It was the Emperor's wish that all moneys subscribed to honour the event should be devoted to charity, and this noble desire was fulfilled to the letter. Fifteen millions of florins were presented in cash, and as much has been given in the form of bequests. Hospitals, churches, and schools will be erected and endowed in commemoration. An Emperor's character will endear him to all tender-hearted persons. The cruel death of his brother, the Emperor of Mexico, was a terr&lo stroke. ffor 10 years after the

tragedy Francis Joseph could not be per-! suaded to'sign a death warrant, and when be finally' did so the tears fell from his eyes and blurred the signatuie. The Emperor called to his Minister, and said, "Tears cancel every crime. This signature is not valid. I will let the poor wretch live." It is certain if some very great atrocities had not been perpetrated later that capital punishment would have been abolished in Austria. —American society is usually stirred to its very depths when, a real prince, or, failing royalty, somebody in the ducal line, visits • the States, and affords ardent Republicans the chance of observing the manners and customs of the great. A princess is a much rarer sight, and the wife of Professor Esmarch, whose next title to fame is that she is aunt to the latest German Empress, attracted the. . gaze of all beholders at a recent banquet of • the Medical Society in Washington. Out of .compliment to the memory of her niece's -, father-in-law, the Princess wore mourning of that light affliction type which permits any amount of glitter provided the groundwork be black. Her trained dress was of rich black silk, relieved with jet trimmings, and its low corsage and scant sleeves allowed the company present to see what sort of figure can be retained by a 55-year-old lady. —The aged Duchess of Cambridge, who has been very unwell for some time, rallied somewhat in November, but the constant fainting fits from which she suffers cause much alarm. It is understood that the Duchess intends to bequeath her savings, which are large, as well as a good part of her income, to the Duchc3S of Teck—Princess Mary of Cambridge— and her children, the other members of the family being already well off. — The plucky behaviour of Queen Christina during the recent disturbances in Spain has •excited general admiration; on the days when the populace were most excited she drove out withthelittle King with the utmost composure, and her resolute bearing was rewarded by warm expressions of goodwill from the crowds as she passed along. The next morning she set off accompanied by only one lady-in-waiting and walked from the Royal Palace to the residence of the Infanta Donna Eulalia. Here she remained for an hour, chatting to the young mother and admiring the baby, as all good matrons, be they queens or peasants, will do ; and then returned home as she came, enchanting her subjects with this fresh proof of her confidence in their loyalty. — Very opportunely we find the whitehaired M. Jules Simon expressing his views • about women in France. French women, if we believe this veteran, are the saving salt of the nation to-day, " Whatsoever faith and whatsoever veneration we still have in France to-day," he says, " we owe to our women If they were to leave us men alone, we should have nothing but civic marriages and civic funerals; our women insist that religion should have part in both, and we obey their wish. Often they stop blasphemy on the lips of the blasphemer. They it is who tell children about God, and they are the first to advise the dying to think of Him Men dare not go too far in their opposition to religion, because when they return they find themselves in fche presence of their wives." As in France so in England, women are the bulwark against Radicalism, Materialism, and Anarchy. —The Duchess of Cambridge, although she is a confirmed invalid, and unable to •move about, still takes a lively interest in all social' matters, andenjoys the visits which|her many friends pay her. She is bent almost double from age, and is quite bald, yet will never wear a cap, so that her appearance is most curious. She is devotedly fond of music, and pays £800 a year to a well-known Italian vocalist to sing to her daily during his stay in London. —Mrs Joseph Chamberlain took with her to England a fortune in diamonds, judging from the list of presents printed in the newspapers. This shows that the "Puritan maiden " of the present day is not like the Puritan maiden of the days of John Endicott, observes the Boston Globe. There has been a good deal of evolution at work with the Puritan maiden. — The most remarkable member of the Russian Imperial family is without doubt the Grand Duchess Vladimir Marie Paulovna, born a princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She has all the addiction to trivial points of etiquette generally to be found in princesses reared in petty German courts, coupled, however, with a shrewdness, an audacity, and an ambition which certainly no other princess in Europe may be ci edited with. She has not the capabilities of a Catherine the Great, but that Empress is nevertheless the heroine from whomMariejPaulvona would like to copy. Of course she absolutely governs her husband, the Grand Duke Vladimir, who is in reality afraid of her, and she is a power in St. Petersburg society. The Grand Duchess is certainly one of the most notable women in Europe, and she would like to take even very much more active part in things political than she does, were she not restrained by a well-founded terror of the Czar's antiGerman sentiments. In the event of the Czar's death, Marie Paulovna might become a very dangerous factor in European politics, for the poor little Empress is afraid of her sister-in-law, and would be wholly in her power were the Czar to die. — When • our Queen went to meet her newly-widowed daughter on her arrival in England it was observed that her Majesty for the first time since her coronation gave up the seat of honour in her carriage. This is a touching proof of the Queen's tender solicitude and loving sympathy with the sorrowing Empress. Trifling and natural as the act may appear to people in a lower station of life, coming from her Majesty, always accustomed to be first, she might, had not her feelings been very warm, have easily omitted this proof of love and respect, or otherwise forgotten to give expression to it. — A letter from a Russian lady of rank to a friend in London states that the escape of the Empress and her family in the reccntrailway accident, was due to the Emperor, who, with great courage and presence of mind, kept the roof of the carriage from falling upon them by supporting it for some minutes above their heads with his powerful arms. —Mrs Vict oria Woodhull (the once famous candidate for the United States Presidency^ has resolved to take up her residence in Paris. She is said by the New York Herald

to have purchased a house for 2,000,000fr in which to found and establishment for the gratuitous education of women. Parisians are looking forward with curiosity to making the acquaintance of the lady who was put up for election as President of the United States. —The bedroom and the two dressing rooms *n the Empress .Frederick's suite of apartments in the Lancaster Tower, at Windsor Castle, are simply decorated with white and gold. The dressing rooms are hung with family portraits, and the sitting room with old tapestry. This suite, which was appropriated for several years to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, is one of the best in the castle, and adjoins the rooms occupied by the Queen. The Empress is looking very worn and aged, and is a good deal thinner, than when she was last in England ; but the quiet and rest of Windsor will undoubtedly do much to strengthen and reinvigorate her. . „ A , —A curious idiosyncrasy is said to have possessed Miss Elizabeth Peabody, of Boston, the last of a circle of eminent men and women, which once included Emerson, Alcott, Charlotte Cushman, and Margaret Fuller. She is 86 years old, and although surrounded by intellectual friends of both sexes, she devotes herself exclusively to Sarah Winnemucoa, an Indian woman, even sharing her room with her. The most practical lover has been dis-, covered at Bristol. In one of his letters to hie sweetheart he wrote: "1 wish, my darling, that you would not write me such long letters. If you were to bring an action for breach of promise against me, the lawyers would copy the correspondence between us, and oharge 4d for 'every folio of 72 words, The "shorter the letter, the more we save from the lawyers." : —The Empress Frederick, at her visit to the Royal Tapestry Works at Old- Windsor, selected four silk panels representing the elements, a set of gilt Louis XVI furniture covered with tapestry in the same style, and various other smaller panels, with flowers, foliage, &c, and a large panel illustrating the marriage scene in "Much Ado About Nothing," woven at the works from a cartoon by Herbert A. Bone. —Said a dying man to his wife, whom he was leaving with three half-grown boys to bring 'up: "Cultivate in them a fondness for ladies' society; it will be their greatest safeguard. On this one statement,' he added, impressively, " hangs all I could say to you for their guidance." And in proportion as a man is at ease in ladies' society is he fond of it, and in proportion is he at ease when he is not forced to be painfully conscious of awkwardness or uncertainty concerning the little grooved wheels upon which social life decorously and pleasantly moves. Thus the question of manners, using the word m its broadest sense, may beccme a moral agent. The distinction between a man of good manners and a mere carpet knight should never be obliterated. The inanity of some of the lalt-r is unspeakable. I remember encountering one not long ago who interspersed his conversation with continuous and needless "I beg your pardons." He varied the plain form by frequently begging "a hundred," "a thousand," and once in a fit of extra abjectness, "a million pardons." I soon lost sight of what specific lapse of manner he was deploring 1 , but I became greatly interested in the arithmetical progression of his excuses. I think if the evening had been longer he would have got into the quintillions. The fellow was all froth and flourish and his manners in lieu of being, as he evidently thought, the acme of elegance, were detestable. To acquire the polish of good society it is not necessary' that any degree of robust manhood should be doffed. —The one brother of the Empress Augusta Victoria has been " found " in a castle and respectable income by the Prussian Government, in consideration for the territories taken from his father. There are three sisters of her Majesty now waiting to be provided with castles and incomes as well ; Princess Caroline Matilda, Princess Louisa Sophia, and a younger one whose names must be given in fall— Princess Feodora Adelaide Helena Louisa Caroline Gustave Pauline Alice Jenny. This all reads imperiallike till one reaches the last; which gives a shock as though some of our'own royalties had been christened Beatrice Jane, or Albert Moses. For many a year the court of Berlin has been partly ruled by princesses who were born of high degree, and counted as personages of some consequence before marriage. The present Empress, having been a comparative nobody, might reasonably be expected to outshine her predecessors in general show and expenditure, for who can launch out so grandly as the nmtveaux riolics 1 It is reported, hovever, that Augusta Victoria is of a saving turn of mind, addicted to small economies, and resembling her queenly great-aunt of Great Britain in paying more attention to her children's frocks than her own. — The Grand Duchess Sergius of Russia, daughter of the late Princess Alice of England, whose matrimonial squabbles at one time seemed about to end in divorce, has been making a tour through Palestine and other countries, and would have come to England had the Queen invited the pair — —but Princess Elizabeth is not a favourite of her royal grandmother. She is a very clever young lady, and sarcastic to a degree, and not only did she publish many domestic events in a book of which she is the author, she also supported, in opposition to her Majesty, the claims of Madame de Kalomene, the lady whom the Grand Duke of Hesse married secretly on the same day as his eldest daughter espoused Prince Louis of Battenburg, her Majesty Queen Victoria being in Darmstadt at the time. Everybody nearly is aware how bitterly she resented, the strp taken by her son-in-law. Indeed the Queen brought all her influence to bear to procure a separation, and a divorce was ultimately obtained. The scandal was very grave, and many of her Majesty's most loyal subjects fel v . t» at the course taken by the Qur m \vs. unwise and cruel to the morganatic wife. She seems to have gained nnt only ihc affections of the Grand Duke, but of his daughters also. Princess Louis of Battenburg and Princess Elizabeth were both cognisant of the match, and the Grand Duchess S'-rghis after her own marriage did not hesitate, as she hod done before, to declare herself on the Bide of the ill-used wife—for wife

Madame de Kalomene certainly was — this giving mortal offence to out Queen, her grandmother. —Princess Mary of Teck is said to wear prettier bonnets than other royalty of England, always, of course, excepting the Princess of Wales. —The physicians of ex-Empress Eugenic are endeavouring to induce her to relinquish her secluded mode of life and mingle more with the world. — The lace for the Princess Sophie of of Prussia's wedding dress is being made at the Lace Schools in Silesia. Most of the designs have been chosen from the Berlin Museum of Industry ; but the Empress Frederick herself contributed the devices of the Princess' initials and the Prussian Crown to be woven.

The Bride.

A satin gown All broidered down With pearls fair, pure, and white ; A mist of lace About the face ( Clasped close by diamonds bright ; A dainty glove That creeps above The elbow's dimpled charm ; A enowy throafc, Not far remote, A shoulder soft and warm ; Some lilies pressed Up to her breast; ; A smile tbat hides a tear ; A tiny foot .In glistening boot ; A sea'of laces near. A well-bred crush ; A solemn bush ; A promise to obey ; A golden band, A fluttering hand ; A lifctle wish 'twas nay. An organ's strain, A three-yard train, A fragrant, rose-strewn path ; A fond careßs, Byes that confess The utmost trust one hath ; A Idas, a smileKind words the whileFond friends who cheer her on ; Some good advice, A shower of rice, We look— and she is gone.

Relief Only in Tears,

The writer stepped into a candy store at upper Broadway last night at 9 o'clock^ to. buy a. package of candy, and was waiting for the parcel to be tied up when he saw one of the girls.- behind the cashier's desk suddenly place her head upon her hands and begin to shake violently. Her sobs could be heard all through the store. Another girl who was near her placed her arm affectionately and sympathetically over the crying woman's shoulders and spoke to her in a comforting voice. The girl sobbed for a moment more, and then drying her eyes went on with her work after a pitiful but determined fashion. " Has she had some sudden misfortune ?" I asked the girl who was attending to me. " Oh, no," was the answer. " The poor girl is simply weary and ill. The hours are so long, you know, and the rules so strict, that the tension becomes too much at times to stand. Then the girls give way. It is 1 excusable, don't you think so ?" 1"It is indeed. You don't mean to tell me that such scenes are common here 1" " Not only here but everywhere else where women have to serve such long hours. Fourteen hours of consecutive work in a hot shop is enough to ruin the nervous organisation of almost any woman. The most difficult part of ifc all is the necessity to fulfil our instructions, which are:—Never to sit down, to wear becoming gowns, stand erect, and observe uniform politeness toward the succession of women and customers, who seem to think it a part of their duty to insult shop girls. When the strain becomes too much the girls resort to the only relief that is available—tears.—New York Sun. Young Canaries. At about the age of nine or 10 weeks young birds commence to moult, and the time occupied in passing through this sickness lasts about eight or nine weeks. Some moult more freely than others. When a bird is seven or eight weeks old it should bo put in the moulting cage or place assigned for them, and marigold flowers given for them to peck or eat. Perhaps'at the commencement they will refuse to eat the flowers and waste many; this cannot be avoided, and does not matter, so that, by keeping them supplied, and being somewhat spare with the seed, you are teaching them to eat the marigolds. At this period you have no cover over the cage to darken it, but, having one ready, you begin at first to partly suspend it over the cage front; for, were you to place the birds in almost total darkness on the beginning, very possibly they would not be able to find food. As you perceive the birds becoming more fond of the flowers, so increase the covering over of the cage until you place your birds in a state o£ semi-darkness. During the moult supply no other but canary seed, and no green food whatever, or you will counteract the food they will have to partake of—viz., canary seed, marigold flowers, and saffron cake and solution. When the birds have become more familiar to the darkish 3late of the place or cage, draw the cover entirely over the front; for it is necessary that that they be kept in this state during the growing of the feathers; it also keeps the birds more steady, with less liability to damage their new feathers. During this period of feeding in the dark, birds become sufficiently plump and fat. Supply fresh marigold flowers" two or three times daily, and do not omit to continue [them throughout moult, and even after they have done the moulting; and as long as marigold flowers can be obtained, persevere to the utmost by feeding with them. Do not give your birds any of the green leaves of the marigold—nothing but the actual heads of flowers. Give your birds during moulting strong saffron solution and a solution of cochineal only to drink, and so supply it that they cannot wash in it, Worry. Women grow old through fretting more than men. Homo life to many women is a place where the thoughts revolve in an undisturbed routine, wearisome to the last degree. One poor woman said :—" 'Taint work that's wore me out, it's rather sitting with my hands before me and my heart worrying round and round in my inside, like a wild beast in a cage." Troubles and hardships ! are often of our own making. It is wonderful, if we make up om' minds to put up with i a thing, how little there is to put up with.

Worrying in children can be and often is cultivated by parents and friends. A child on a train asked for a drink. The water supply was exhausted. He knew it, and so did his mother. His mother also knew they could not get any until the next station was reached, yet she allowed him to whine and ask for a drink, or to repeat again and again, " Mother, I want a drink," until all the passengers were disturbed by it. If it is not a drink, it is something else which it is impossible for him to have at that time and place. Children are talked to about what is going to happen, and excited for days over it, or they are told that they are such nervous children, when to a disinterested person, they are only very badly trained children. Worry is the cause of more trouble than any other one thing not excepting alcohol. For it leads men to murder, suicide, embezzlement, insanity, drink, family estrangements, quarrels, and business difficulties. Worried people cannot make good bargains; their judgments become so warped or twisted through dwelling too long on the same subject; with those subjects they are no clearer at the end of their thinking than they were at the beginning. There are multitudes of deaths every year attributed to regular specific diseases as typhoid fever, dyspepsia, consumption, and heart disease, which have for their cause worry. Worry induces such a condition of body that it readily receives the germs of disease. To on who was accustomed to worry, a friend said, who avoided worry as much as possible, " What would you do if you stopped every time co consider the possibilities of every act. I knew of a woman who walked carefully across a smooth carpeted floor; she fell, broke her hip joint and died in a few days. I knew of a neighbour who ate bis dinner, and fell dead as he rose from the table. Another went to sleep well and never woke; another rode out and was killed." Thus instance after instance might be mentioned, for every daily act, if we had travelled, or read much, or met many persons. Occasionally we meet people who can truly be called born fretters; they fret at every thing, and seven days and seven nights scarcely give them time enough during the week to do all the worrying they are capable of doing; as for anyone living with them, it is their worst punishment that they have to endure themselves. We daily meet faces that show the results of worry; they are seamed and wrinkled and full of lines. They should be a warning to us. If the time and strength spent in worry could be used for self-improvement and benefiting those near us, there would be many changes in erery community.--Paul-ine Adelaide Hardy,