LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 1976, 3 October 1889, Page 33

LADIES' GOSSIP.

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— The Duke and Duchess of Portland seem to be making a sor,t of triumphal march from one to another of . their, possessions. .They have been staying in Welbeck ; as soon tas entertainments in connection with Goodwood were over, they went to Fullartou, the family place in Ayrshire. From Fullarton they pass on to Lang well, the Duke's shooting lodge, in Caithness. Langwell and Braemore Forest both .belong to ,the Duke of Portland, and contain 1 some '50,000 acres; which are not only "„ heavily stocked with deer,' but, also .afford. some of the best .grouse shooting ,in Scotland. The : ' r Duke ; and Duchess will return to Welbqok.'in, time, to' entertain a party for the Doncaster September meet-—-There is a very pretty, story being- told that the Princess Louise had bought. a birthday present for Lord Fife. every year ,for the last five years, but, being too shy to give them to him, she locked them away carefully; and the drawer was .only opened, and the story told, when she knew that it was all right and that the wish of her heart was about to be realised. — " L'Eternnl Feminine ", in Vanity Fair says that among artificial flowers nasturtiums are queening it just now. They- are to be seen on the tubular hats, which look so much better with climbing flowers and foliage than with any other kind, and are also painted on' hlack fans, .-which have clusters, of similar, nasturtiums attached to them. They are the old-fashioned and somewhat strag-_ gling blosscms, rather than the new, cor*pact, and brighter hued ropceoJums, Other fans, and very new ones, have tiny frills of pleated' lisse on each stick. They are said to give more air, and , certainly look very full and, pretty. —The Empress Frederick is entirely rebuilding the house on her recently, purchased ,esfcajte.at Kronburg, in the Tauniis,.. which js ,, within a drive of Hoinbiyg, and a new wing is .to be fitted up ■ for (he exclusive use of Queen Victoria, who has promised, all being well, to pay her daughter an. annual visit,, — The Duke of Portland has forwarded .£l5O to be, spent inate^and treat to the children of,Worksop in ) celebration' of his marriage. This, is the second donation] the .people pf'Worksop have received from his , Grace, the former being a cheque for £100, which was sppnt on the poor of Worksop on .the Duke's wedding' day. , ( " —The most elaborate dress in which the Shah of Persja arrays, himself on. State occasions is said to be worth' about £200,090 ; the principal value being, in'the precious ston.es and other ornaments, with which it is deckes. English papers' observe with interest that the Sbah^s manners.'have greatly improved since his former visjtf tp • that country in, ,1873. He is over 60 years old. < , _ — The. Mikado of Japan and., his, wife give ,twp garden parties annually, one in the season .of cherry blosom, the other, in that.pf the chrysanthemums,' This is surely .a very charming conceit, and worthy oi so artistic a rtatipn. Recently the cherry blossom fete of the year was held. As the Mikado was indisposed, the Empress received the guests, attired in a dress and] bonnet, and carrying a , parasol to rpatch the bloom of tlie_ season. When all, the guests arrived she belted the .procession, some 500, strong, as it solemnly marched round and round £he garden7,its membergadmiring the profusion of jtnagnificent bloom. To complete the scene,,, the Empress , was accompanied^ by a string of poets, chanting the praises of the trees ..with their bnrdens of flowers.. ... — Madame Christine Nilsson has, a hobby. It is fan collecting." The great singer has one' of the finest collections, pi;, fans in the world, the dainty things ranging in date frojn the mediaeval fan to the latest silk and tbrtoiseshell product of the Parisian workshop's. Among the treasures, and the chief of them, perhaps, is the fan which Queen Marie Antoinette used in her . last days, and another valued fan is one which originally belonged to Madame dv Barry. It is said Madame Nilsson has paid as much as £500 for a rare specimen,' for she 13 determined to have the premier collection' of fans extant. - , —In Paris the great change from stripes jto bars is, becphiing quite common. Walking dresses have the little flounce .round the j bottom which was worn in 1825 and three I bars above, and then the frill again and j, three bars above that, the topmost one being I' not very far from .the waist. The fichu of !, falling, lace, is put on to the bodiq'e just as lour great grandmothers used to wear it,' and .the hat, worn with the dress migb.f have been I copied out, of any Book q£ Beaiity, or worn at Bath in the old days of its glory. . A milliner has only to keep the skirts narrow instead of allowing for hoops, and the whole thing is easily accomplished. The number of women who enter the ministry in the United States is rapidly increasing. One of the most popular, .of the women clergy is the Key. Carrie J. Bartlet, who has been pastor of a church in Southern Dakota .for several years, and, is now enthusiastically called to another important charge in Michigan. The reverend lady began her career as a newspaper reporter. , — " Flower o' the May " in London World has this to say about dress improvers:-;-" The subject H of fournureis really' very amusing. Anybody fresh from Paris is horrified afc'the sight of a J bustle,' .being already quitje used, to the' • flatness behind '- whic^, characterised t)ie : .weU'Clress£d ri xomen,- a* .the Mailborough House garden party, apparently

to the surprise of some visitors. In Paris the flatness is universal, all the dresses worn in the streets being made without tournure ; here even ladies of high degree cling to a 'little, just a little, pad' in their tailormade and walking dresses. It shows very well the difference in character between the two nations.- When a fashion comes or goes in Paris it is so sudden and complete a change that the English women cannot quite follow, and remain surprised awhile, like a slow player at cards."

—The daughters of the Empress Victoria have each a fortune of £130,000, and are considered, in addition, to have " expectations" from their mother, who is very wealthy, and from their paternal grandmother, the Empress Augusta, who has an immense fortune at her own disposal.

—Apropos of the royal wedding, hear Mr Labouchere: "There are moments that make all the world akin, and one of those is when a young girl, arrayed in white and bedecked with orange blossoms, takes the first step on the road she is destined to travel as long as she lives. The humblest and the most obscure of the daughters of Eve attracts sympathy on such an occasion, and it is only in human nature that the sympathy should be more pronounced when the girl is one whose name has already become a household word."

—The toilets worn at the Grand Prix races are always an index of what will be worn for a limited lime to come. Many of She dresses were of crepe de Chine and similar soft materials, plain or flowered. Laces and lace fabrics, black and white, were profusely worn. White and cream : col6ur were frequently combined with straw-colour in a fabric, passementerie, ribbons, or embroidery. Another favourite colour was lilac, which has suddenly been restored to its old-time favour ; it was used in various combinations, with sulphur, with moss green, and with lace." Pink, as well as pearl grey, had steel or 6ilver braiding. The majority of the corsages were of the Recamier variety— that is, crossed at the front. The newest are plain'about the neck, with darts in the lining only, and the outside material gathered at the waist ac the middle of the front and back ; the curved side forms of the back are omitted, and the back is connected with the fronts by narrow straight side forms only; the corsage is laced or buttoned at the middle of the back.

—The Court Journal says :— " Under a very thin veil of anonymity a report is published that the Princess Victoria of Wales will shortly be formally engaged to Viscount Chelsea, eldest son of Lord Oadogan and proximate candidate for the borough the name of which he bears, and which to a large extent forms part of the hereditary property of his family. The rumour has no sanction such as to make it at all accepted. But for a guess, if there is to be another marriage with a noble and a subject of the Crown, it is one of the very best that could be made. The statement that Lord Chelsea came of age last month is in itself sufficient to show that the report is somewhat careless. He is really 23 years old, and as a godson of the Prince of Wales bears the name of Albert Edward."

—Green still continues greatly in vogue, says a London paper, and many of the new bonnet trimmings are of pale green flowers and leaves made in the tenderest and most delicate shades ; there are also lovely tints of cream, yellow, and red, for those who cannot adopt green, which is most trying to" many complexions, but suits to perfection a few blondes with very brilliant skins.

—A baby's smile, says a distinguished American female physician, is the most misunderstood thing in infancy :— ' " A real smile must have an idea behind it, but the expression resembling a smile, which is so often seen on a very young baby's face, is without an idea and is due to the easy condition of the stomach or to some other physical satisfaction . The smile with an idea does not appear earlier than the fourth week. So, too, with the crying of a baby. The contortion of the features is due to physical causes. The baby sheds no tears, because the lachrymal glands are not developed for several weeks after birth.

"A baby tests everything by its mouth, its sense of taste being the surest and most reliable guide it has. The attention of all young children is difficult to attract, and they must attain considerable age before they begin to notice. Theb colours and sounds are most potential. Fear has been know to be manifested by a baby only three weeks old, and in all cases the sensation is produced by sound more than by sight. Children of luxurious and carefully guarded homes are almost wholly without fear, but the children of poor and exposed parents always manifest it. Jealousy and sympathy begin to manifest themselves in the second year. Curiosity also begins to develop then, and proves to be a self-feeder throughout childhood.

" A little later the ego begins to appear, and the baby has the first consciousness of itself. The ego first appears as a muscular sense, and the infant gradually learns to distinguish itself from surrounding objects. It is first the hand that is distinguished, and then the foot, and finally the whole body. Memory does not appear before fche child is two years of age. All the reasoning of children is primitive and elementary, and develops slowly. Darwin noticed an association of ideas in the mind of his child when it was only five months of age. The experiences of babies with the first view of mirrors plainly- show that their aotions under the new conditions are similar to those of anthropoid apes and dogs under like conditions."

*~A genial and hospitable, but eccentric, gentleman in New York has hit upon a novel device for nipping in the bud any topis' of conversation likely to become unpleasant to the feelings of any of his guests. An artificial mocking bird is concealed among the flowers upon the table, which flutters and chirps at the pressure of an electric wire by the host's foot. This immediately diverts attention, and amuses the company.

— According to the native Chinese journals the barbarous practice of suttee, now unlawful and well nigh extinct in India, Btill flourishes in China in the district of Lien-Kiang Hien, Foochow prefecture. When the husband dies his relations, it is said, insist upon his widow committing suicide by hanging, a course which is euphemistically described as ," following the de-

ceased, into another world." The details of the ceremony, according' to the " Stien-Pao,'* are as follows :— The unfortunate victim, having been persuaded, or rather constrained; to -consent, is placed in a sedan chair, and carried in procession through the streets, ! amidst the noise of gongs, to a high platform. Here she is seated in a chair of honour, while friends and members of the family approach her with formal salutations. A rope is then suspended from a beam, the widow places it round her own neck, and one of her brothers pulls the ends with all his strength and strangles her. This done, she is buried, and application is made to the Emperor for. some mark of honour to commemorate her supposed sacrifice. It is said that there is scarcely a family in Lien-Kiang which cannot boast of a " virtuous widow," and the whole country is studded with fallow erected in 'their honour. "This," adds the native journal, w,ith much trnth, "ii a hateful custom, and has been the cause of many a death." Some years ago, according to the same authority, a, now prefect, who happened to be present at one of these revoltiug ceremonies, was satisfied by the tears and struggles of the woman that she was no willing victim, and thereupon ordered her release. Further, it is related that, moved to indignation at the sight, the good prefect arrested her elder relations, neighbours, and the tipao, and administered several hundred blows with the bamboo to each, the husband's father being cangued in addition, and the mother being beaten on the mouth. Thereupon, it it is added, the good prefect issued a proclamation stringently forbidding such enforced suttees for the future ; but the proclamation, we are told, was ocly obeyed in the immediate neighbourhood of the city, and produced no reformation in the country a little removed.

— The meeting between the Queen and Shah was very funny, and the conversation was carried on through the Persian Minister. The Queen stood for a moment admiring the large emerald and diamond buckles the Shad wore on his waistband and coat, and, having sat down, ahe motioned him to a seat beside her, which he accepted, looking round for. the Princess of Wales, who was immediately behind him, and whom he signalled to sit on a chair on the other side of him. The pantomime which expresses his wishes was irresistibly funny, and taxed the Princess greatly, for she bit her lips hard to keep from laughing. However, she must ha?e got well accustomed to it now, for during his stay here it has been evident on several occasions that she could hardly keep or look serious.— World.

— According to a Home paper the Princess of Wales is very superstitious, and in this respect, as in so very many others, she is the exact opposite of her genial husband, who is only superstitious in matters connected with the card table. One of the most curious fancies of the Princess of Wales is her dislike to, or rather perhaps we had , better say fear of, Saturday. The exact cause of this fear we are ignorant of, although it is notorious that for nearly two centuries Saturday has been a day of ill omen to English Princes. William of Orange died on Saturday, March 18, 1702 ; Anne, died Saturday, August 1, 1704 ; George I died Saturday, June 10, 1727 ; George II died on Saturday, October 25, 1760 ; George 111 died on Saturday, January 30, 1820 ; and George IV died on Saturday, June 26, 1830. But speaking of superstitions there is said to be a tradition of Norman monkish origin that the number 3 is stamped on- the royal line of England so that there shall not be more than three Princes in succession without a revolution. Thus— William I, William 11, Henry I; then followed the revolution of Stephen. Henry 11, Richard I, John; invasion of Louis Dauphin of France who, claimed the throne. Henry 111, Edward I, Edward 11, who was dethroned and put to death. Edward 111, Richard 11, who was dethroned. Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI ; the Grown passed to the house of York. Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III ; the Crown claimed and won by Henry Tudor. Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI ; usurpation of Lady Jane Grey. Mary I, Elizabeth ; the Crown passed to the House of Stuaet. James I, Charles I ; Revolution. Charles 11, James II; invasion of William of Orange, William of Orange and Mary 11, Anne; arrival of the House of Brunswick. George I, George 11, George 111, George IV, William IV, Victoria. The law has proved faulty in the last case, but there certainly was a crisis in the reign of

George IV. — The Royal Caledonian ball, held annually in London, has quite lost its speoial characteristic as a fancy dress gathering, although the strict rule that no gentleman shall appear in evening dress is still rigidly .enforced. At the ball held in July none of the ladies wore fancy costume, and most of the gentlemen were in Highland dress or in uniform. The ball commenced at 11 o'clock with a reel. The ladies who took part in this wore white dresses with the tartan scarf of their respective clans fastened on the left shoulder, the badge of the clan being also worn by many ladies; the gentlemen, of course, ; wore Highland dress. The usual fancy dress quadrille was this year replaced by "Sir Roger de Coverley." The ladies who danced wore dresses of white tulle over satin, with a garland of flowers across the bodice, a fringe of the same at the foot of the skirt in front, and bouquet to match tied with ribbons of the colour of the flowers. The flowers chosen — each of which was worn by two ladies — were mignonette, red roses, pink roses, sweet peas, yellow marguerites, pansies, lilies of the valley, heath, poppies, and carnations. The gentlemen wore kneebreeches, silk stockings, pumps with silver buckles, and dress-coats faced with colours to match the flowers worn by their partners.

—New York society has the yellow fever. Not the scourge, but an insatiable taste for the colour. The fancy has been raging for some time, and still the cry is more. Palms are displayed in windows, corners, and hallways, and in nothing but a yellow jardiniere is the beauty of colour and foliage so effectively brought out. No cabinet is considered relieved without a bit of yellow porcelain, and a drop lamp or pedestal burner of orange china, with, trimmings of blackened iron, is the very acme of artistic taste. Then there is the king's blue candlestick, with the candle of gilded yellow wax ; and how can you imagine a bunch of mignonette more poetic than when displayed in a smooth bowl of underglazed yellow 1 These craze

colouriflts, who are a.,.l&yf.xaitp a themselves, go s6 far as ! to worship the" mangold;; " that molten thing of "beauty," which theflorists were obliged to 'force; and which brings as good returns 'as * the' ''queen of flowers, the rose. Bat think' of putting yellow marigolds in a yellow bowl, and then say who dictates in chromatics !

—"Dorothy apartments," in New York, designates the , feminine of bachelor apartments. .The custom of living alone, unchaperoned and unsuspected, • is increasing to a surprising extent among youngish women in that city. An English paper mentioning the innovation expresses the opinion that as by far the vast majority of American women aie quite as well able to take care of themselves as any one is to take care of them, it is only justice . to give them their freedom.

—The mother of Frascuelo, one' of the most famous espadas in Spain, after a life of incessant anxiety about her son, died recently during a bull fight in which he was engaged. She was buried with great pomp ; her coffin, ornamented with, gold, was carried to the bier by four of the most celebrated matadors. Frascuelo and other members of his profession followed her remains to the grave, and there was, besides, a cortege of 160 carriages.

—In Russia the kaftan of the Boyars, a long mantle made of gorgeous materials, studded with precious stones, and trimmed with rare furs — sable and beaver — is still worn on festive occasions by the nobility, and the ladies appear even at,,,couf fc in the ancient headdress called " kokoschnik " composed of priceless pearls and glittering stones, with earrings, necklaces, and pendants to match. f

— Did you see the other day that a Miss Goldsmith married a Key. Mr Brown Gold 1 It must have been very difficult' for her to have remembered, in signing her letters afterwards, that instead of having altered her name she had only dropped the end.

A Queer London Sight.

A London correspondent in an American paper tells the following rather extraordinary yam :—

The strangest sight I haye 1 come across in London is one that I don't think could be duplicated anywhere in the world, and you will see it every fair evening in 1 nearly all parts of London, from Rag IPair to Regent's Park, and in fact in almost every street. About sundown, as the stores and business houses begin to close, the hand organs aTe out in full force, and no policeman hustles them along or otherwise ill treats them, "and they stand along by the smoothest stretch of pavement they can find and begin to play. They all play one tune. It is a sort of jig tune or country dance and quite catching. Hardly will the man start the crank when you will see the nearest four persons stop and begin to dance a rather pretty and quite complicated step, and then they will take hold of hands by twos, advance, retreat, crose over and balance, all in perfect time and with evident enjoyment. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the people who dance are utter strangers to each other, and they are for the most part respectable people, clerks, shop girls, milliners, &c, and often have I seen women dancing with little babies in their arms. Sometimes there will be three or four " sets " dancing together, but more often only one. Few stop to look, as the sight is so common. It appears as if this was a recognised custom, and that it was quite proper, for it excited no comment, and as soon as the four had danced out their figure they went their way with scant ceremony in the way of leavetaking. It was a bit of harmless amusement, and nft one thought it in any way wrong, neither dancers nor spectators, and no one presumed upon the fact of dancing as a vis-a-vis to try to force a further acquaintance.

I know lady H , who is well known in America, and she and her pretty daughter danced four or five " figures," as they called them, with a couple of shop girls right in Oxford street one evening, after which they entered their carriage and drove away. Another time I saw a jolly-faced old Englishman, a real type of the English gentleman as we read of him, take his place and dance with pleasure within a stone's throw of the British Museum.

Afterward I saw him in Westminster, where he was pointed out to me as a prominent member of Parliament. I should not be a bit astonished to know that his Royal Highness joined in one of those innocent sidewalk dances, and in fact I feel sure that his Royal Highness has. But imagine, will you, a Fifth avenue girl dancing on the sidewalk with the first person she meets to the music of a hand organ I The skies might fall, but that would never happen ; and yet it is a harmless amusement and a little pleasure in ugly London.