LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 1901, 10 July 1890, Page 38

LADIES' GOSSIP.

' — People speak of the wilfulness and roughness of William II ; it is a marvel to me (says a writer in a Home paper) that, seeing and bearing what he did, he is not a thousand times more rough and wilful ; that he owes what is best in his nature to the training of his mother is beyond all question, for, although he might despise all other women, he could hardly despise her. But Bismarck and the old Kaiser got the lad into their power in a great measure, anl it naturally flattered his pride to hear two such great men as his grandfather and the Iron Chancellor assure him that the Fatherland looked to him, and to him alone, since his father had, by his submission to feminine influence, plainly proved himself unworthy of so glorious a mission as that of ruling over the German Empire. Hino Wee laorym®. Believe me, you need seek no further. But morbid influence has nov passed away, the Empress Frederick has in a great measure regained over her son the influence she had in his days of childhood, and the old Blood and Iron Bogey has been definitely shunted. The present Emperor himself is the most oharming youth, no matter what people may say to the contrary, and has much of the Gamin de Paris about him, being full of fun, and quite free from absurd stiffness and vulgar buckram, which is considered the correct thing in Berlin. That he is remarkably well educated and clever goes without saying, for he is the son of his mother, but what is not generally known is that he is possessed — much to the disgust of the Man of Blood and Iron— of the tenderness of heart of a child. He is fond of pleasure, but then he has always preferred the servants' hall to the boudoir of the grande dame. That he will ever be a great sovereign I doubt, for I am afraid he will not live long to develop into such ; but that he has the stuff in him of a great man, no one who has the honour of knowing his Majesty personally can doubt for a minute. The Empress is neither pretty nor clever, and has a bad temper, which, as she does not dare exhibit it to her husband, finds vent in rather odd ways. —Something really new in advertising has been hit upon by a Parisian milliner. In a saloon carriage on the line to Fontainebleau she produced from a bag all the materials necessary for the fabrication of " a love of a bonnet," which she put together with equal taste and celerity. On reaching the last station but one she threw the bonnet she had been wearing out of the window and donned the new one, which captivated her fellow passengers who had been watching its rapid and dexterous construction with great interest, and before the train had stopped at the terminus she had placed one of her cards in the hands of every person in the carriage. — One often sees in the streets of Athens a pleasant looking couple walking arm-in-arm. They are not past middle age, and have the air of people whose debts are paid, whose consciences are clear, and who3e digestions are always good, They are dressed in ordinary garb. Inside the collar of his coat is the trade mark of a famous London tailor, and the bill for her quiet but stylish walkinggown bears the imprint of a Paris dressmaker. They always seem to be sight-seeing, gazing into shop windows, looking into new buildings, observing the throngs of passersby, or, when all else fails, admiring the blue skies and bright sunshine of the City of the Violet Crown. No regalia glitters on their bosom; no liveried guard attend them. They make their way through the crowd, jostling and being jostled with unfailing good humour. Sometimes they may be seen standing on the curb or on some house step, waiting to see a procession pass by, or watching an illumination or other public pageant. Again, the gentleman may be seen riding on horseback alone or with a companion, but in civilian dress ; or the lady may be seen on the promenade, escorting or being escorted by a huge Danish dog. But one notices that a great many people and all the officers and soldiers salute them with a precise courtesy, and from this circumstance the conclusion is at last reached that they must be people of considerable importance. They are in fact the King and the Queen of Greece.

— The late Empress Augusta provided very liberally in her will for the members of her household and for all her old servants. Fraulein yon Neindorff, who has been First Woman of the Bedchamber for nearly 50 years, gets her full salary for life and a legacy of £2500. The three other Women of the Bedchamber are lefc their respective salaries for their lives and legacies of £1500, £1000 and £500 each.

— It is rather surprising that the most susceptible converts to the anti-corset reform are the women whose beauty of figure forms one of the most important elements of their stock in trade :— " It is perfectly astonishing," said a New York costumier the other day, " how fast the craze is spreading, and how many actresses will not have a costume even fitted over a corset, much to our disgust ; for if there is one thing more perplexing tban another it is to fit a plump woman without a corset. It is like fitting a dress waist on a down pillow ; you cannot tell anything about it. You get it nice in one place, and it bulges out somewhere else. You take in that place and make it smooth, and you will find a lump and a hump waiting on the other side. You see, they get accustomed to going withont the corset by wearing some of the old Shakespeare costumes, and nothing will induce them to put it on again." Madame Modjeska is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the anti-corset theories. She insists that it is simply impossible to be graceful in a corset, and that she never wears one in any part she plays. An ingenious little invention of her own combines all the excellencies, and does away with all the disadvantages, of the ordinary corset. It is a tightly fitting bodice of buckskin coming up well under the armpits and down over the hips, and so readily yielding to every motion that whatever pose she assumes it preserves the contour of the body without in the least restricting it. The idea was suggested to her while wearing the outer garment of buckskin in ' Rosalind,' in which she experienced a most delightful freedom of motion, yet comfortable security of support and firmness."

—Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales is at home in every country in Europe, but her favourite house in Sandringham. Here for at least four or five months in the year the Princess follows those simple habits which are so dear to her. The hall is in all thiDgs the model of an elegant country house. The bedrooms are brightly draped with the whitest of curtains and of hangings. The boudoir contains a hundred signs of simple domesticity ; the tea room is a pretty little chamber overflowing with knick-knacks. When the Princess has no visitors she spends the morning with her daughters, who work hard at needlework, painting, and music. —Chamois sheets as soft and fine as kid are a healthful luxury indulged in by the robust as well as the invalid traveller. These are much affected by the tourists abroad, who find them a sure protection against the ills of flesh that so certainly result from sleeping in damp linen. — Indianapolis News.

— The new Princess of Monaco, although a Jewess, is (writes one who has recently seen her) gaining favourable opinions in her Bmall principality, and looks younger than ever, making one feel inclined to doubt the veracity of the Almanach de Gotha that Alice Heine was born in 1858, and that she is the mother of the big boy of 14 (son of her fust husband, the Due de Richelieu), who continually keeps her in a state of anxiety, as his greatest pleasure is to play with firearms and gunpowder. His sister Odille, has the golden hair and blue eyes of her mother, and is always dressed with the greatest simplicity, as the Princess tells her she must spare all she can from her wardrobe to give to the poor. The Princess, now a Serene Highness, has established her little court arourd her in Monaco, and receives every day with the exquisite tact of la (/raiide dame. She speaks nearly^every European lacguage with facility, is a brilliant pianoforte player, and paints with most artistic effect. Since the Princess has been at Monaoo her delicate health has been much strengthened by the delicious climate, and she proposes remaining there until May. The Prince on his side had the reputation of being averyseiious man, much given to studies, and it was feared that he would do his utmost to close the play-rooms at the Casino. He used to be very fond of shutting himself up in his study, remaining there days and nights with his books, poring over a bit of mud brought up from the bottom of the sea, and the Prince's researches on this subject are well known to scientific men ; perhaps this may account for his great aversion to look alter the affairs of his principality, and this indifference to business greatly annoyed the late Prince, his father. His marriage with the Duchess of Richelieu roused him out of this apathy to things in general, the scientific man has entirely disappeared, and only the happy husband remains, and who occupies himself with State affairs and passes entire days with the Governor-general, the Baron de Farmcourt. Monte Carlo itself is gayer than ever, balls and concerts succeed each other, and the gaming tables are always crowded ; ajwapos of the Casino, 'it has been said that when the Duchess of Richelieu married Prince Albert of Monaco she asked him to close the famous (or infamous) hells, but this is not true. The Princess knew things better than to make such a request, as the contract made between the Casino Society and the Prince does not expire until the year 1913. So there is time to think what will be done then, and until then the Princess will, with her infinite French grace, add a fresh charm to that most seductive of earthly paradises, Monte Carlo.