LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 15 May 1890, Page 37

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— The first drawing room on March 5 was the smallest and shortest remembered (says London Vanity Fair) even by that ancient courtier Sir S. Ponsonby Fane, the Comptroller in the Lord Chamberlain's department, and the general manager of all court functions. The Queen, who wore the blue ribbon of the Garter and many orders, walked with difficulty, and using a strong, gold-mounted black cane, entered the Throne Room at seven minutes past 3, She appeared to be in good health and spirits, though her hair has become distinctly whiter since last season. The Piincess of Wales, looking charming as ever, wore round her neck aud shoulders a long white fur boa, and stood on the Queen's left hand ; Princess Beatrice stood next "The Princess ; " then came the Duchess of Albany and the Princesses Victoria and Maud of Wales, each in a plain white dress, looking, as they always do, " English, quite English." On his youngest daughter's left stood " The Prince," in the uniform of the Blues. With him was the Duke of Edinburgh, wearing his uniform as full admiral, who has put on

flesh considerably since last year. The belle of the first drawing room was the Lady Sarah Spencer Churchill, who accompanied her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough. Her commanding figure was seen to advantage arrayed in a symphony in primrose yellow, train and bouquet en suite.

— The latest addition to the house of Portland put in her appearance some days before she was expected, and mamma was unable to apprise the guests, who were invited for that very evening, that she would be unable to entertain them. The " lucky " duke is pleased, of course, but he does not conceal the fact that he had hoped for a son and heir, and is disappointed that the young gentleman did not arrive.

— Every year the late Lady Dunmore gave to all the schools in the island of Harris sufficient meal and treacle to provide dinner for every child on the island during the winter. The late countess' daughter is most kindly continuing this custom. It is much appreciated by the poor but hardy fisher population.

— A great scandal has been created in North Germany, owing to a youthful member of one of the principal mediatised families having been privately married by the prince's domestic chaplain to a wealthy middle-aged Jewess, the widow of a Hamburg merchant. The reverend chaplain is said to have received £1000 as a present for his services, and the prince, who is the head of the bridegroom's family, has commenced proceedings in the Coblenz High Court, with the object, of having the marriage declared invalid, as there is an ancient ecclesiastical law in the Rhine Piovince which prohibits mercenary unions.

— Ihe movement for the recreation of hospital nurses is becoming as popular in some of the piovincial cities as it is in London An influential ladies' commitlee usually takes the matter up and arranges pleasant evenings with tea, music, and so ,n. Half of the nurses in a hospital are invited for one evening and the others for an evening or two later.

— A new industry has made its appearance in New York, which has a certain amount of sentiment in it, for out of thin

sheet gold the artist manufactures pretty lace pins, the design of which is a signature of any fair one to whom his customer desires to present his offering. The signature, which, singularly enough, is almost without exception the first name of the maiden, is clipped from the end of a letter and handed to the artist. After looking at it closely through a magnifying glass, he gets a thorough idea of the proportion of its shading and of all its characteristics. Then with the thin sheet of gold in his fingers and a delicate pair of finely tempered scissors and a hair file lie reproduces the signature in the precious metal in an incredibly short time. The work of soldering a pin to the signature and packing it in a box filled with tinted and perfumed cotton is a matter of [a. few moments. It is said that bridegrooms are this man's chief patrons.

—The foster mother of the little King of Spain Js Maximina Pedraja, a handsome brunetto from the province of Santander. When chosen from among the thousands who competed for the post, she was so poor that the neighbours at Heras, her native place, had to subscribe lOdol for her journey to Madrid. She i 3 now worth a fortune, presented to her by the Royal Family. — The colours just being worn, and to be worn for the coming season, observes a London society paper are pale mauve, the tint of pale Parma violets, Diesden blue, and the true dark blue now known as Orleans.

— A plnsh-covered piano has been sent from Paris to America as a forerunner of a fad that may be expected later.

—There's likely to bea plague of butterflies this season, says Miss Mantalini, in the Pall Mall Budget. They are hovering about every newhatand every new bonnet. There are great, gaudy, golden butterflies, lace butterflies, and natural-looking butterflies with pretty plumage. The lace butterflies are the newest ; they will be the rage presently. The hat sketched this week is of ivy leaves and green velvet with ablacklace butterfly restinglightly on the foliage. Some pretty Parisian bonnets are made entirely of foliage. One bonnet made of small green leaves and a few loops of velvet of the same shade was ornamented with white lace butterflies. Among the flower bonnets the more natural-looking butterflies can be seen, and very pretty they look, nestling among the forget-me-nots, lilies of the valley, lilac, and heather.

—The Duke and Duchess of Fife are installed in their new town house in Portman square, and have been entertaining the Prince and Princess of Wales and other friends. The Queen called on her granddaughter after the last drawing room, and afterwards the Duchess and her husband dined with her Majesty. The house in Portman square is furnished with the most exquisite taste. The walls are hung with silk, and the furniture is all en suite. The young duchess is frequently at the theatres with her husband, and seems to be a very happy ■wife.

—Mrs Henry Kingsley delivered a series of lectures at Cambridge in February to young women in connection with the Church of England Temperance Society. In an address on " The Causes and Effects of Intemperance," at the meeting of the women's branch of the society in March, Mrs Kingsley stated.thatin her opinion the chief causes of intemperance, in addition to the hereditary taste for liquors, were the longing for a feeling of excitement, the overcrowding of houses, bad and insufficient food, grocers' licenses and a wank of innocent recreation as a means of spending leisure time. Amongst the higher classes of society they were late hours, constant excitement, lack of proper employment, a false knowledge, or none at all of,, the effects of alcohol upon the human body, and last, but not least, the indifference of those who did know. In conclusion, the speaker urged upon her audience the importance of personal example.

— Polite Americans are always astonished on finding themselves in the centre of a fashionable throng at a smart English wedding, a fashionable concert, or a grand garden f6te. "At any of these functions," saya an American lady who has visited England, 11 ladies of high degree may be seen elbowing their way, just like the rude crowd at a country fair, and the dismayed Yankees find themselves bruised and trampled by the vigorous arms and ruthless feet of dowager duchesses, who, with the lottiest and most distinguished air, will rend in shreds a dozen mantles or assault as many of their less energetic sex in the wild endeavour to get the best for their money. It is likewise characteristic of a fashionable London assembly that, however much its individual members may jostle and scramble and kick and elbow, no word of apology or regret is ever heard. Each one assumes that the other is doing likewise. All are making a supreme effort to get foremost, and they perfectly understand the manners of their set. The calm, imperturbable qniet which is popularly supposed to pervade the actions and habits of well-bred people is most decidedly not in evidence here. My lord is fighting, as if for liberty, for bottles of champagne, and my lady intercepts passing plates of lobster salad and oyster patties. Patrician voices may be heard shrilly clamouiing for some special dainty that is fast vanishing before the sight, acd there are few subterfuges that a smart crowd will not practise to secure a first attack on the comestibles. No, no; we may take our clothes from Paris, but for goodness 1 sake do not let us imitate London politeness."

— Ono of the most forcible examples of the power of the nineteenth-century woman to thrust herself into fame is the life of Harriet Martinoau. Poor, deaf, without the senses of taste or smell, and from the first feeble in body, and a suffcier from sevoie and prolonged fainting fits, she went to London at the age of 28 years "to .seek a living in the literary woild. Publisher after publisher refused her work, and she frequently walked from 9 in the morning till 8 at night in search of a bookseller who would take up her M.S. At last one Fox undertook to issue a story in a feeble way. The success was enoimous. Fiom that moment her future was fcecuie. She was invited to write by all the leading Paternoster How houses. After contributing to many reviews she entered the field of journalism, and in nine years wrote 1600 leading articles for the Daily News in her spare time. Short of statuie, ugly, and. infirm, she had ever} personal

difficulty possible with which to contend, but she faced every difficulty bravely. When she died, in 1876, a statue was erected by American admirers in Boston. Her nephew was recently mayor of Birmingham.

Home Fashions.

The fashion writer in London Truth says : " A dress with which no woman could help falling in love is in a poetio mixture of soft blue and the gentle shade of pink known as vieux rose. The blue material is crSpon, which is to be very largely used this season. It has a little crinkle like a pug's nose seen through the small end of an opera glass. The pink is merveilleux. It is rather difficult to describe how they are combined, for the style is as unique as it is effective. The skirt is all in the crSpon, and the bodice has the appearance of being blue underneath with a pink satin one partly over it. Wherever the two colours meet a line of beautiful embroidery defines the boundary of both. The sleeves are in the merveilleaux, and are much puffed on the shoulders. An indescribably delicious and coquettish little jacket goes with this. Equally pretty in its own way is a grey crSpon opening up the left side of the skirt to show an under-skirt of reddish plum-coloured silk brocade. The contrast of colour if beautiful, the shade of grey being pure and cold, that of the brocade warm and rich. The pointed bodice is defined at the waist with a band of gold and silver embroidery. The sleeves are in the brocade, and the cachet of the gown lies in the way in which the grey crepon is drawn in softest folds over the silk and tied in two dainty little ends on the bust, where they are held by two small loops of the silver galon. The galon makes a considerable feature of the bodice at the back, where it ascends in a point to the shoulders. A scarlet surah, flounced in slender lines of white, is made with a gathered skirt flounced round the edge. Over the gathered bodice is a bolero jacket of fine cream-coloured embroidery. This is a brilliant gown, to be ventured upon only by the young, the blithe, the beautiful 1 "

The Elizabethan ruff, I am told (writes the Home correspondent of South Australian Chronicle), is to be a feature of future dress fashions. Whether it will be of the stiff, uncompromising character of those worn by the Queen from whom the ruff derives its name I know not. It is hardly likely, I think, to attain the exaggerated dimension which it once reached, when it became neces sary to in c titute a law to prevent people wearing ruffs wider than a certain number of inches. At the Tudor Exhibition now open one sees portraits of any number of celebrities, both male and female, in these starched ruffs. Next to being pilloried I can imagine nothing more uncomfortable than having one's neck so fixed, the collar advancing far beyond the chin, and by reason of its inflexibility keepino- the head fixed as if in a vice. With the Tudor ruff it is not improbable farthingales or hoops will reappear. I am told a few steels are being put in the back of new dress skirts. I hope these are not the avant couriers of the crinoline.

An attempt is being make to introduce very long veils. Whether it will be successful in establishing the fashion is uncertain. Long veils are graceful, but the short or mask veil is more convenient, and is still popular. Sage-green is always a favourite colour, and is becoming to persons who cannot adopt other shades of green, pale, sallow women, for example, who have brown hair and grey eyes. Among other new colours is a bluish pink called hydrangea.

Bordered materials are still worn in Paris, but are much less popular in England. The combination of two or more materials will.be prominent in the best made dresses. Sleeves made entirely of velvet, silk let in in the back and front of the bodice and introduced in the panels. Braiding is carried to excess, and some gowns are masses of this form of decoration. I saw a grey dress with thesleeves literally covered by a network of black braid, vest similarly embroidered, and the skirt the braided to match to the depth of a quarter of a yard or more.

Useful and dressy are tailor-made gowns fitted with several vests, one for very smart occasions, say white silk braided with gold or silver braid, another is some good contrasting colour with a third vest matching the gown braided or otherwise.

Combinations of blue and green that at one time would have affected us as being the climax of bad taste are now becoming general. I have seen a dark blue foulard stamped with a design of primroses in pale green, and dotted over beside with minute flakes of the same colour. The sleeves belonging to this dress and the high collar are of bright green silk covered with handsome black embroidery. The effect is not distressing as may be supposed, but artistic enough and likely to reconcile artistic taste to this very unusual colour combination. Grey combined with white is always stylish and suitable, whether for spring or autumn gowns. Blue - greys are more fashionable than stone-greys, but the former are less generally becoming and combine with white less advantageously.

A Dear Little Maid of Two. I'll sing you a song to a nursery tune, Of a dear little maid of two, Who has peachen cheeks and rosebud lips, And eyes of a soft sea-blue ; With charms of a gleeful innocence, That are ripe at the pge of two. She is not an angel, no, no, nol And heaven be praised for that ; She is fairly human from top to toe, With limbs that are daintily fat, And where she trots, be it high or low, There is wealth of surprising chat. Somebody's heart is strong and brave, And Somebody's love is true, By day, by night, they are amply tried By this little maid of two ; But Somebody's love would never tire, Had it ten times more to do. Wlr>t reward does Somebody got, Dear dreamer with eyes of blue ? A kiss, a smile, from the roguish pet, A tender caress or two. Why, each of these is a heaven of bliss, From a Bweet little maid like you. Come, happy maid, with the sea-bright eyes, And prattle about my kneo. Then lay that soft round cheek to miue, Aud ltiugh in innocent glee ; That childish talk and downy touch Give joy and strength to me, Then grow, my sweet, as v\ ell as you may, And be like Somebody, true, For high-born dames of noblest heart Have been as tiny bs you — And in the maiden of twenty-one May we find the maid of two 1 —Henry Johhston, in Good Word*,

HOME INXEEESTS.

Fish Baked in Milk.— Remove the skin from 41b of thick fish, put it in a bakingpan, and season with butter, salt, and pepper. Pour in enough milk to come up lin ia the pan ; bake one hour. When sufficiently done, open and take out the backbone. Serve with butter sauce.

Barley Water for Invalids.— Put a quart of cold water into a saucepan, throw into it a teacupf ul of pearl barley ; let it come slowly to a boil, and then boil it gently for 10 minutes. Pour it, barley and all, into a jug. When cold it is fit for use. Leave the barley in the water until it is all drunk. Barley water may be flavoured according to taste.

Warmth in Bbown Paper. — Where economy is carried to an extreme, and blankets cannot be purchased, warmth in bed may be obtained by lining a sheet or other calico articles, no matter how old, with brown paper, first well crumpled and rubbed to render it soft. The warmth this produces is almost incredible, because it does not allow the heat of the body to escape.

Vegetable Mabrow Marmalade. — Peel the marrow, and cut it into pieces about fin square. Have ready a syrup of brown sugar and water (21b sugar to five pints water), and let the marrow steep in this for two days, and then strain it off. Have another syrup of loaf sugar, thinly pared lemon rind and juice, cayenne, and well bruised ginger (taking lib sugar, loz ginger, lgr cayenne, and two lemons to each pound of vegetable marrow.) Lay the marrow in this, and set it over a clear fire. When it begins to clear add a little brandy, and when it is quite transparent the preserve is made.

Hot Buttered Toast.— The art of making really good toast is little understood, and this is largely the reason why it is so often denounced as unwholesome. A slice of bread burnt on the two outer sufaces, with its interior in a moist, waxy condition, has no right to be called toast, but is rather a compound of charcoal and tough, heavy, sodden dough, in which condition it is certainly and seriously unwholesome. But a slice of bread, not too thick, just browned on the outside but thoroughly baked through, is wholesome and pleasant food, which may be fearlessly eaten. The way to toast bread thus is to keep it at the right distance from the fire, so that it may be toasted throughout before the oater surface is overdone — in other words, not to toast it too fast. An ill-toasted slice of bread does not absorb the butter, but allows it to remain in a mass on the surface. A slice of properly toasted bread allows the butter to permeate every part of it and to all parts equally. Butter in the one case becomes too heavy for the stomach ; but when thus intimately associated with the whole mass of the food in finely-divided and proper proportions, its character is entirely changed, and it becomes wholesomely nutritious.

A sponge is excellent for washing windows, and newspapers will polish them without leaving dust and streaks. Use a pine stick to cleanse the accumulations of dust from the corners of the sash. Ammonia will give the glass a clearer look ttan soap.

Never put away food in tin plates. Fully one-ha]f of the cases of poison from the use of canned goods is because the article was left or put back into the can after using. China, earthenware, or glass is the only safe receptacle for " left over."

Borax water is excellent for sponging either silk or wool goods that are not soiled enough to need washing. In washing cashmere or wool goods put a little borax in the water. This will cleanse them much more easily and better, without injury to the colours. Do not rub them on a board, but use the hands, and throw on a line without ringing, Press them on the wrong side, and they will look almost new. — Good Housekeeping.

Iff A TRANCE. A DOCTOR'S STORY. When I was a young doctor I fell very much in love with a Miss Constance Harlay, a rich young lady in the town where I commenced to practice. While my attentions were warmly received by the young lady, her guardian, Mr Barton, opposed me from the start. Her father in his will had given the guardian full control of her money, and he had the privilege of cutting her off without a penny if she choose to marry against his wishes.

Mr Barton had a nephew, Gideon Walmseley, whom he wanted Miss Harlay to marry, so you may believe that my chances were very slight of winning her.

One night a lady, heavily veiled, called on me at my office. After I had closed the shutters and lit the gas I saw it was Miss Harlay. What passed between us I will mention later on. I was shocked not many days afterwards to hear that this young lady had been found dead in her room.

Such an occurrence, in a household more humbly circumstanced would douotless have led to calling a coroner's jury. As it was, no inquisitive officials busied themselves to ask questions, and Dr Coluber's statement was everywhere received as quite satisfactory. Indeed, that distinguished practitioner, instead of having the young lady's death laid at his door, received great credit for having kept the so long alive.

The funeral was announced for the following day, and in the course of the afternoon those desiring a last look at the departed were admitted to the second-storey chamber, where she lay in the coffin.

I went and looked with the rest. The face was white as sculptured marble, but in beauty of outline excelled the highest achievement of art.

At last the coffin lid was screwed down, not to be raised again. The spectators retired, and the door of the room was closed on its lonely occupant till the final ceremony on the morrow.

Next day a numerous throng attended the funeral, and when the coffin was lowered to its resting place many advanced to drop flowers upon it, and when the sexton's assistants began to shovel in the clay more than one sympathetic sob re-echoed the saddening sound.

Mr Barton bore his grief with equal fortitude and dignity. As his niece's nearest surviving relative and heir he took possession of her property, and the following Sunday sat with solemn composure throughout an exhaustive discourse of Parson Polytext on the uncertainty of human life, comprised under 16 heads and a lastly. Jasiel Barton no doubt saw, or fancied, he

did, much in the late sad event wherewith to point a moral. He had plotted with infinite pains to gain control of his rebellious niece's property — either indirectly through her marriage with his nephew (over whom he believed his influence unlimited) or by driving her to marry another without his approval, thereby forfeiting her fortune to himself. Now, by a sudden, though melancholy, turn of fortune, all was his own, with no fear of complications from the vagaries of a skittish young nephew. But alas for the vanity of earthly hopes 1 Within a very brief period Mr Barton furnished Parson Polytext with occasion for another solemn discourse ; or rather for a repetition of the same, pieced out with a "head "or two additional; for he, too, was found lying stark and stiff one morning. Coluber was forthwith sent for, and thrust his lancet into the patient's jugular; but the vital current refused to flow. "Apoplexy," was the learned gentleman's decision ; and Jasiel Barton, like the rich man in the parable — I carry the parallel no further — was taken out and buried ; his dutiful nephew, Gideon Walmesley, succeeded to his wealth. He didn't get time to take possession though. The day after his uncle's funeral he received a letter from the leading lawyer of the place, requesting an immediate interview on business of importance. Thinking it was something relating to his newlygotten fortune, he hastened to obey the summons. He was conducted to a private room, where a lady was in waiting. Gideon started as if he had seen a ghost. Most likely he thought he did see one ; for it was Constance Harlay he saw before him I

It's time now to tell what passed at Miss Harlay's visit to my office, which I said would come in presently :

For some time she had believed herself the victim oC abase conspiracy between her guardian and Coluber. The symptoms she detailed and the examination I made convinced me she was being slowly murdered by a subtle vegetable poison. To openly accuse the miscreants would be unavailing, for we were without proof, and the venomous decoction was such as would elude discovery, even to dissection after death.

If Miss Harlay, who was still under age, and subjecb to guardian's control, sought refuge in flight, she would be pursued and brought again within the power of her persecutors. The best plan was to make them believe their nefarious scheme had sue ceeded.

With an older and cooler head I might hesitate to do what I then did — furniih her a substitute for Coluber's potions, which for four-and-twenty hours would produce a perfect semblance of death, leaving no injurious consequences.

The effect produced by this drug the conspirators mistook for the natural result anticipated from their own. And the night after Miss Harlay's supposed death a friend who had been taken into our confidence accompanied me to Jasiel Barton's house, where by means of a ladder we readily gained access to the room where the coffin lay, which we opened quietly and then removed the inmate, carefully supplying the vacancy with material of equal weight.

Fastening down the lid again we lost no time in escaping with our prize — first removing the ladder and taking pains to leave no trace of our work.

A single antidote brought Miss Harlay out of her trance, and before morning she was in a place of safety where 3he could remain till the time of her majority, when she might defy her enemies.

Dr Coluber and Gideon Walmesley both decamped without waiting to hear the explanation of her resurrection.

The coroner got suspicious and had Jasiel Barton's body disinterred and examined. Enough arsenic was found in the stomach to kill a dozen men. Whether it was a case of suicide, prompted by a guilty conscience, or murder, in which the nephew and the doctor — one or both — were implicated, always remained a mooted question.