LADIES' GOSSIP. Their Mother. HOME INTERESTS .

Otago Witness, Issue 1958, 30 May 1889, Page 33

LADIES' GOSSIP.

Their Mother.

HOME INTERESTS .

,— We are constantly "hearings anecdotes about the Emperor, of- Germany,- , and 1 the latest is worth repeating. Busy in his own room one day, a violent disturbance in the . nur3ery caused the- -Imperial^father to proceed thither. When he entered the Grown Prince'ahd his brother, Prince Ethel, drew" themselves -up and saluted in military fashion as \ their wont. "What is all- this?" sai<| ttie Emperqr. v A-slight dispute, sire," replied the elder child * r *\ and I was obliged io let my brother know who is Crown .Prihde in thi4 establishment."^.*' Good," .said' his Majesty. "I see what? yon mean.;, and --now I t|inkit will be.well 'to-let yo.it know who isßpmperor in this particular family^ j whereupon he proceeded to a 'p^hisji; ment which impressed itsejf on the mind and body of the. young autocrat so early- endowed -with a sense of his"'importance. ■■»-.- :'.--,' : ':' -^A lady correspondent writes in a'fiome, paper t-*-" Apropoi of. : your^remarks 'Istet' week on the luxurious -habits^of IJew/York women, I may be able'fo give a few derails , of interest to your lady, readers, haying- just t returned from a six months' tour in the States,; . The *, supplementary ' maid . is. now an'^ in»; I stitution itfthe best houses, 5 and she receivestVeryhigh'semunerationforan hour or -two's" ! attendance once' or twice a week, haying I many * clients; and 'frequentlydriving in a

carriage from one to the other. - - She takes s charge of :her. patrons' hair/ hands; 5 - f eetj rftfd 1 skin; Hhe hair she cleans, olips, : and^cdnibs, ' preparing it v for the work of the^cdiffetii 1 , 1 ' " The nails she cuts; polishes," and 1 • elongates *f* by disencouraging the growth of^he'outiole 7 kt.the base thereof, while the hands fire •'car'a^i fully * treated.' with unguents c ; that' render- 5 them white and soft; i^Th^ feet'^nndergo^ careful manipulation j£oz of -late the fasriidtt' of photographing the pedal become the xage, and more than one <sooieiy-' belle displays on the table of'herbbtfdbira ( delicate cast of her little 'tootsicunls.' ! . This artist has improved : sbmewhat- orf thY massagebafch, Into the bath, which la fiHSd • with warm -.water, grated- -soap, Morris - ; id6fc,| and almond • meal are thrown; which renders^ th« .-.water .soft and fragrant. : Tti&BV&PW rubbed with a similar compound^ and r tli& r lather so produced leaves tn6^urfa'c% I wori 11 r r ' i derfully. soft and smooth. . Rubbing kn^ad*. ' ing, tec, follow in due course, and it is the - boast o£. the'profession' 1 ;tbat\in an^in- ; credibly short space of time they can tratis- ' f forma coarse,' rough/ discoloured sifin.intb • • a thing; .tof beauty and! of joy "—if not* l *?of ' ever,' at least for a 1 very long time;' provided the-itreatment be coritinued. The° relgfular lady's maids are by no tnearis' aveifccr to the innovation. 5 It lessens^ their dutyjiC giVes them c more time to attend to the mererbutine i( work, of' the -wardrobe and the toilefj,;and,\ it relieves them from attendance on their' employers at times when these ladies Btey A naturally be expected to be capricious' and eceigeante." ' ' : . ' ' '\' ft " t —^Mrs Southern,' who has done much to ' promote the welfare of the ! Conneiriara!' peasantry in the wild parish of Oarna, spates' • '. there are now 800 women aßd'girlo,:Wb.O were lately on the verge of starvation, e&tri- * ing from 3s to 'Bs per week by their knitting,. '' crochet,' and other work. '"'Miss' S6jihia 4 Struge, of Birmingham; and Miss ' Southern'" are now introducing the basket-making.indu-stry among the people' fIV '°" " "". —^The following is adescription of the dreSs J worn by Mrs Harrisbn at the inaagaral cere-] 7r mony :— " The material was a, costly blaok I , silk velvet, and the dress was' 'made with'a '] very, long- train. The petticoat Was, blaoK \ L satin, draped with beautiful Hce, '', gathered, quite full, and draped a littl^'d'crOS3|. ' the -front. The train and'" bodice were off.', velvet, the latter cut low,' but still at ' a" very modestline. Theblabk was slightly pointed, ; but the front was shaped square) an&thiere' ' were folds of back lace about it, with a bit of white lisse lying next the skin. MrsHarri- i son. has still a very nice throat arid pair'' of* shoulders. Around her throat were a broad,., black velvet band clasped with a diamond , .star, and a necklace hung below .this, ifef '■ sleeves reached just below the "elbows", . finished with lace and lisse. Drawn up to ' meet these were a pair of yelloW tan' Snede ' gloves, 15 buttons in length. ( The slipper^' were of black satin, beaded with jet uppn^he, toes, and th 9 fan was of black .ostrich, , feathers, with sticks of shell." Mrs Harrison's'. , thick, handsome grey hair was worn r high in.,', -puffs, wifch-a few crimps upon the forehead, .l. l and a little aigrette of black and white heron ,'; plumes set amid the puffs. She looked a handsome and imposing figure." v; ,*""' —Many Parisian families where theje'are children have lately given juvenile! ranb^/;, balls ; but the best of the season was cer^ f tainly the one at which a baohel6r-^M;'Oeif- f , nuschi — was the host. He has a splendid mansion, the large hall- of which.is qujte, a' j ". , Japanese museum, with an enormous gilt - ! Buddha's at 'the end. There were 300 1 gh&ts " between tw'd and 14 years old.';' Sniall" clowns, shepherdesses,- peasants, jripsiesj. . Chinese, pierrettes,' Egyptians, all dancedto ', their hearts' content. One little girl made' a '"• . sensational ' entrance, dressed ih Oriental postume, arid carrfed ink p4ian<jtiiri;by 'fpur,. '. njegroes brothers). There 1 wereJ spvepcal ' ' intefludes,'ih one of which 'tHe four seasons', were represented, showers of flowers thfowri „ f^om'the upper galleries rbi"springi imitfa- ',' tion fruit and' whe^tt'ears for' Bummer and' .[ autumn; and^for winter a snbw storm, ( the . . .'snow imitated with flakes 'of cbtfcbn wool 1 . A, ..,. c6tlllon, T and then a farandole' in which eaclj," , •onild ''c(arried' si basque tambourine. 1 = ter^ niinatedthyiJfetty/^. ' '"".:';}, ', J . -V," ; -i-The'Qilßen'h"as generously presented, po '.' r tl?e; Eoyal' -'College of .Music the valuable^. , library of the " Concer6s : of Antient ,Music.'! ' f( • This collection -is particularly rich in works.' ; of the older masters. ' George 111 used , ; fijequently to attend these coricertSt'and th^ey were also much patronised by her. prjeselit Majesty, and- by the Prince, Consort, .wh^yas", one of the directors. When the pipneerts r were finally abandoned, about 40 years agjp, ■ the library was removed to Buckingham .t. t Palace, whence it has now been transferred td the Royal College of Music, to' keep cdmpiny with the Sacred Harmonic 'library, , wj^ich was presented to the institution a few • ' } y^arssihee. '"..;, I—Here1 — Here is another incident; said to have' , taken place at the last State drawing room ;where, as I recorded in my last letter, the Queen's headdress disappeared for some seponds owing to untoward mischanqe. A , young lady attending her first drawing room, , despite the official training she.had previously . * undergone, rushed up to heir Majesty,, ana imprinted a hearty kiss on the royal cheek 1 The 'officials of the court Were of course,^ hqrrified; but the Queen, with well-bred corn/ .pqsure, took no apparent notice of ihls flaigrant breach of etiquette. Doubtless when stie had • left the presence' chamber the , . debutante realised how grievously, she had offended against the traditions of the drawing „ robm. This function is always productive of. some ludicrous incidents . owing to the t . nervousness of lack of experience of .some , unfor'tuhate debutante. „. '', ' , , " Jt , : —^The Queen, during her residence on the. Continent, visited the convent, of^niiris^ belonging to the Bernardine oirder'rat.'a , ■pillage called 'Anglet, between Biarritz arjiji Bayonne." The niins of the ; order are not allowed to converse, even among themselves, ifor do they ever appear, before strangers , unveiled: Although they all defiled past, the ' Queen, no exception "was made, to ''this rule, . but the visit none the less interested the illustrious visitor very much. i( , v " . ; •- • -r-In concluding a lecture 'delivered in rDdndee on" Physiology in Hygienej" Miss Penelope Mooii appealed to, the people of $cptland to remember porridge in their "daily bill of fare, for the children especially. "We . liaye been calied," she said, "anationof bajpk- ; , bone"— and she was riot riowreferri^gfto^ihe .. epinaji 1 column; u let us 8?e that,we. ns% , fl

low- it. , England is taking up the use of I porridge while Sootland is giving it up. Let ub aeejto it.V , ■• \ ' -r-Among'the.names of the mistresses of the White House have been three Marthas, ' two .Marys, two Abigails, one Eliza; one Elizabeth, one Margaret, one Sarah, one Jane, one Harriet, one. Dorothy, two Julias, one Letitia, one Emily, one' Angelica, one Louisa, one Luay, one Frances, and now there is a Caroline, though she calls it " Carrie." —-A- correspondents writes as follows in a Home ,i paper about -Prince Edward of Walest.*— "The Prince is the very nicest'] young man to. have in a house' that you could imagine*.. -He gives no trouble to anybody; is always reasy to do everything that is proposed; and. seenis. really grateful if -any one takes $ie trouble to try and amuse him. No small compliment in this nineteenth century of ioura, when the general run of young men give themselves such airs, and really, seem to think they are jußt too kind if . they con- 1 descend to spend a few days at a country housp. "His Royal Highness has,promised to go to Belfast to open the Alexandra Graving Dock, phe first sod of which was cut by the Princess of Wales in- 1885, and the Irish Loyalist* will probably seize the opportunity of making a demonstration in his honour." —-A unique chair, made of the horns of Texas cattle, has. been sent from Antonio to the Wh|te House. It is the gift of a San Antonio., banker to President Harrison, and cost its donor ISOOdol. The horns are rivetfced with gold, and there are a number .of gold plates .used in its construction. From one of them glistens ,a very .handsome diamond. - • —When the daughter of a peer is presented! she does not kiss the Queen's hand ; her Majesty kisses her. But the daughters of baronets and the daughters of knights are „ received aa are the daughters of commoners. . - —A well-known dootor advised a lady who was jnsfc beginning bo show those odious wrinkles about, the eyes to wash her face every,,night in boiling-hot water, just as hot as she could bear it, in which is a little bicarbonate of spda. , She must bathe her face. in this thoroughly, and hold her face in thfe jsljewn. for some time. After drying the ukiri itvflhould be well rubbed with olive oil. This prescription, faithfully followed erery night, will, he says, not only prevent wrinkles, but will send away those that have already come. •',. . f-S&ivini recently .presented his compliments to, Bernhardt in the shape of a large silver. vase, enamelled in many colours, and filled with the rarest flowers he could find in Italy. <— The tallest prince in Europe is said to be young., Prince Christian of Denmark, son of the, Danish Grown Prince. In the Cathedral of Roeskilde, near Copenhagen, th^fe'js a column marked with the heights of all the royal personages who have visted th& church. The shortest was Christian lof Denmark;, afterwards follow the names of' Peter the Great, the present Kings of Denmark and Greece, and the Czar, but Prince j Christian's mark is above all his rela- ! tioriV. • , — We have (says a Home paper) a good many princesses in our royal family, but how few of them arereally personages. The j Princess of Wales is much more charming than commanding in style, her eyes and: smile being better adapted for. winning hearts than frightening them. The Duchess of Oonnaugnt began with a "shy" air that has .not quite gone- off; the Duchess of Albany and Princess Christian are good souls who would', be interested in anybody's troubles; Royal Louise of Lome believes in the republic of art, and is stately, but by fits and starts; while the august Beatrice is too absorbed in looking, after the Battenberg and the children to bestow any thought on the effect she and her, clothes produce on the outside world. The Queen's granddaughters, for the. most. , part, seem ,a healthy, honest, harmless, set, and are guiltless of assuming that grand air supposed to come natural to wearers of; the purple. Princess Mary , of. Cambridge. ; has a presence— a considerable one 1 of late years — and her admirers used to make out that thisroyal lady, rather eclipsed the Queen, in . wh&t they termed •' imposing carriage.", Still,the , princess was too beaming to strike awe into, the bosoms of all be-r holders. The real personage among all these royal ladies is the Duohess of Edinburgh. The manners of the Czar's daughter, are the outcome of a childhood and youth passed amid imperial grandeurs of the "no-expense-spftred" type. As little Missy Autocrat, when" borne along in all the majesty of her first bibs and tuckers, Marie Alexandrovna tasted the delights of seeing old and new nobility bending double at her approach ; while commoner sort or folks fairly effaced themselves as infant greatness passed by. Surrounded :by adulation and allowad to do pretty muoh as ahe liked till her marriage, the Imperial Duchess did , not at first take kindly 'to. the English ooujrt, where there was ever so much less homage , on view and too many fprincesses to divide it among. This great lady feels more at home in outlying portions of the British empire, where a turn-out' of soldiers or 6ailors can take place in honour of her, and her alone ; or else in Continental cities where her, arrival and departure'create an extensive stir. —On her arrival in Paris in the autumn of 1869, A'delina Patti was urged by journalists and others to assist at a benefit concert on behalf of an "obscure actress," one Sara Bernhardt, who had, by a. fire, lost all her goods and possession?. After some difficulty in getting the Marquis de Caux to consent,' she sang on November 5 (which we all remember), in the Od,eon Theatre ; and after the performance a female, " clad in a black woollen gown, timidly approached the great singer and offered her a small bouquet ; and being too shy to utter a word of thanks, she kissed her hand." " Who," she adds, " could have guessed that so insignificant a girl j would develop into the famous Sara Bern- i haidt of to : day, and astonish .the world by her acting and her quarrels 1 " — Beautiful Definition. — A dear child called Mary Cooper had read her allotted piece . with such appropriate emphasis and such sympathy of expression that the inspector said to her in his kind, sincere manner; "That was really beautiful, my child I And now," he added, "if you can tell me the meaning of that, word * turf '_ I shall give you my very best mark.", Mean,-, ingsof; fords' are mountains of difficulty to

some children, and the tears almost'started to M/ary's eyes because ; she realised that the inspector had chanced' to.'drop" on a word whose meaning she. Kad ftpt lately studied;. Poor child 1 I wonder, how often she had. frolicked and tippled pver Nature's emerald' carpeting. 'Pos3ibl^ l!never.' But Mary had plenty of determiriatio'ri'j "she felj! that her very life almost';'depended giving an answer;, afid she lost no time'in^exeTcising heT little brain to the utmost for s6me kind of a definition, and, fust as the^lnspector, was saying, "Well> nevermind, ohild; I'will jtoss" on, JI she eagerly-.e^efeimed: f':Turf,.sir, is grass and clean dirir stuok' together by God.""A most excellent definitiob," saiii the-in-spector; "infact,"the answer I loftked for' was<nofc nearly tio precise as 1 that/ You have, gained -my'highest mark.9 -^-"Longman's - ' I i

My boy tat looking straight ,ioi*o the coal», From bit itooLat my feet one day, And the, flrelight;b,urniihed the curly head,:; , . , And painted the cheeks wifh a dath o^ red, „■ • And brfghtened tiii very. eyei. a» he bald,' ' , \ Inn raoit ccmfldential way:' ''■■ '.' Mamma, I think, Whe'tiTm'a growri-up mm, '; ' „I»haUMvejnitfcwo;littleboyi^- - ••' : 1 imlled, he was six I but he did not lee, And I laid, " Te», how nice that will be 1 But if one were a girl, it leemi'.to me, • , Ik would, add to your household joy»." "• •'• Tf ell, jet," refleetlvely '•■ that would fie olb», .And' I'll tell you just what I'll do; I'll name one Bobbie, for me, you knovf." • >> ; • Then the bright eye* ihone with a deeper glow, " And there's ju»t the two of vi no.ii;, and to , , . 11l nimo the.girl, Anniej for youl''' 1' But how would-their mother like that ?" I ' • atked. '„,.'■.'!-! '■ " ' ' -• . "Do you think that ehe wculd ftgre* • -' For ua both to have namei while the had none!" ' With the mystified, piiztfted look of one Wholly befogged,,laid my ldgical aon, " Their mother.) Why, who it ihe ?" - ■. r .'. . — Qppd Houiekeeplng.

EOOKOMIOAL GINGEE NUTS.~Mix half a pint'of treacle and abqut lo£ of powdered ginger with lib of flour.-' Stir well together ,to form a stiff dough} roll it out thin, out it into small rounds with a pwtfy cutter, and bake on a buttered tin in a good ovtn for five minutes till crisp: ' ' " : . '. Ginger' Qakk-^-MH 'carefully butter, golden syrup, ioz°grourid ginger, |lb brown sugar, threeeggs,Jand l£lb of flour in which you have previously well mixed-,a J teaspoonful of carbonate of, soda, arid make it to a'dough, 'with a very little milk and water. Bake in a wellgfeased tin. Soones.—Take three cups,of sifted Hour', add to this half, a.t'eaapobnful of Jsalt, one 1 teaspoonful of baking Soda; two teaspoonsful, of oream of tartar,' mix' well, and' form into a dough with about half a,pint of sweet milk (sour milk prevents the scones from rising w«ll). Bake-In a quick oven f6r about 10 minutes. . „ , tSHEBWSBUBT OakeuS.—Mix together £lb eaoh of floui' and castor'sugar, then rub into them £lb fresh butter, and mix with the yolk of an egg, arid,'if necessary; a little milk; roll the r paste out thin, cu,t it'into squares, and bake;' ornament'with carraway sbeds, comfit^, or sliced candied peel. Shrewsbury cakes are simply shortbread rolled out thin.- Good clarified-dripping is, quite' aj» good for nursery use as butter for either.'.. f: " Apple GINOER.^-Take 41b of apples',' weighed after they have been pared and cored, and cut them -into quarters; make a syrup of 21b sugar boiled in one pint of water and pour it over the fruit. Let the apples starid in this two'days, then add 41b' loaf sugar, and'the chopped rind juice of three lemons. Put inlio a inusliri bag 2oz of bruised ginger and' a" little cayenne. Let all simmer until the fruit is soft, bufenot broken; arid the juice clear; pour in a olass ,of gin. ".' ' -• ' a < -■ ■ ■'' ''■ ' Hot Cakes fob Afternoon Tea.— Mix together lib of flour, one teaspoonful baking powder, a pinch of salt, and, if liked, alittle sugar; then rub Into it 2oz of butter,and make it into dough with' about half pint skim or butter: milk; work the dough *as lightly-as possible, roll it Out about threequarters of an inch thickj cut into cake's, with' a! tumbler or a cutter, bake in a moderate' i oven* and when done pull the cakes open 1 with two forks, butter well inside, put them together again, and serve hot: Another Version*'is to .make the .ingredients irito j a batter just stiff enough to frin, and- drop this by spoonfuls on a well-greased baking tin, and finish oS as above. '. . ' '{1 ■ Baden Cakesj—Make some short pastry' with £lb of flour a^d 6ozof butter, andiine; some small tins with it. Then put l^oz ofcastor sugar, £lb of butter, four tablespoonsful of cream,' and the yolks of three eggs in a stewpan, and stir it all till it becomes Of the consistency of cream; then add a "tablespoonful of almonds which - have been previously blanched and finely cut up arid the , whisked whites of the three eggs. Pour the mixture into the tins, and bake for about 20 minutes. When they are cold ice the tops (the icing is "made by mixing one tablespoonful of icing sugar with one white of egg) sprinkle some finely, chqppe.d pistachio nuts over them and serve cold; This made 10 cakes.

-^Flatterers < are ' the cleverest thought readers ; they tell you exactly what ' you think. " "•'•'■' '• ;'"; '"- • . •