LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 1956, 20 August 1891, Page 38

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— The favourite wife of the Sultan was once a poor girl, living in the coal mines of France. She was a beautiful girl, as she is now a beautiful woman, and some charitable person found her occupation in a famous dressmaking establishment in France, where her superior intelligence soon made her the madame's most valuable assistant, and she was sent to Constantinople with dresses ordered by the Sultan's mother. Nothing more was heard of her for many years, until a little inheritance was left her by a relative, and notices were published asking for her whereabouts. In answer to these notices a wonderful equipage, escorted by mounted eunuch's, stopped at the door cf the Embassy, and the Sultan's wife stepped down to declare herself the once Flora Oollin and renounce the legacy in favour of her kindred

who are still poor. It was the old story of love at first sight between the Sultan and the beautiful modiste.

— The arrival in Berlin of Miss Field, who accompanied Mies Kate Marsden as far as Omsk on her journey in search of a plant which is said to cure leprosy, has created considerable sensation. The two ladies met with many difficulties, but thanks to the personal protection extended to them by the Czarina, who also assisted them with money to the extent of 1000 roubles, were, as a rule, courteously received. Both Misses Marsden and Field reached Omsk, after a long and tedious sledge drive, completely exhausted and very ill. Miss Field's object in returning is to collect funds for the enterprise. Miss Marsden is by this time probably in Jakutaland, and will then continue her journey by ship down the Lena. Miss Field is staying for a short time with her countrywoman, Miss Willard, in Berlin, and will poEsibly deliver a lecture there, giving further accounts of her journey.

To Miss Ellen Terry belongs the secret of perpetual youth. She is a widow with a son and daughter taller than berself. But her children still call her " mamma," and the nearer you get to her the younger she looks. She is still the most fascinating woman in London. Her manners are exquisitely soft and gentle. She seems as though she could not say a harsh or an unkind thing. Always working, never tired ; always in society, the brightest, merriest woman in the room. There are those who say that she bears a very strong resemblance to the heroine in William Black's novel, " Macleod of Dare." She is one of the few women in the world on whom sorrows seem to leave no impress.

A new and decidedly novel idea, which will probably develop into a separate branch of the jeweller's industry, consists of signatures in gold. Handsome lace pins are made out of thin sheet gold, the design of which is the signature of the fair one by whom the brooch is worn. The originator is fairly well employed, and his patrons are chiefly bridegrooms. « Maids of honour " seem destined (says a Home paper) to take tbe place of tbe tiny bridesmaids which have been de rigueur for

swagger weddings. At a late fashionable marriage a pretty little girl appeared costumed in a short-waisted frock of white faille, cut in Puritan fashion. Tbe plain bodice terminated close under the arms, the skirt falling in long straight gathers nearly to the ground. The head of golden hair was enclosed in a close Puritan cap, from which several rebellious curls had escaped ; shoes with enormous silver buckles were worn, and in her mitfcened hands the little maid carried a big rush basket full of ox-ejed daisies and ferns.

—One of the most marvellous pincushions belongs to Mrs Langfcry. It is a silver framing that in years gone by, when Ireland claimed kings, held the wooden bowl in whioh the steaming hot potatoes were brought on the table to delight royalty. It was found, tarnished and dark, in an old shop in Dublin, bought for a small sum, cleaned up, and now the centre is filled with a fat blue velvet cushion, in which are stuck pins, little and big, black and white, and of all sizes and sharpnesses.

— The art of table decorating has, in England, developed in an extraordinary manner, and many ladies cf refined taste and natural ability in arranging flowers by its means make good incomes. The first to take up the idea and act on it in Victoria is Miss Loughnan, who has excellent taste and a nice eye for effect, besides being well up in the latest ideas and devices from Home, All her work is done entirely by herself.

— 'The announcement in a Vienna paper that a match " has been arranged " between the Ozarewitch and Princess Helen of Montenegro is decidedly premature. No such arrangement has been concluded ; but it is not improbable that the union in question may be officially announced before long. There are many things to be said in its favour. To begin with, the Princess is

"eligible " in every way, being beautiful, rioh — as princesses go nowadays — and a member of the orthodox church. The Czar would never permit his son to marry a Roman Catholic, and there would be nearly as mncb opposition to a Protestant bride, especially were she of German origin.

— I have to reiterate the fact (writes a Home correspondent) that plain skirts are gradually goicg out of fashion. Tabbed edges and flounced edges are very general. Three very narrow frills also. Then dress skirts are slashed in front and at the sides to show tbe under-dress ; or there are panels of velvet, brocade, or silk let in. Again, the skirt proper is cut in front considerably longer than the foundation skirt and is lifted and arranged festoon fashion near the bottom of the skirt, the festoons being caught up by jet ornaments. Lace flounces are put on in this undulating fashion — one, by the way, that was general some 25 years ago. •\\ — The proportions of the human figure are six times the length of the right foot. The face, from the highest point of the forehead, where tbe bair begins, to tbe end of the chin, is one-tenth of the whole stature. The hand, from the wrist to tbe end of the middle finger, is also one-tenth of tbe total height. From the crown to the nape of tbe neck i 3 one-twelfth of tbe stature.

— Says the Troy Times : — " Years do not wither nor repetition stale the infinite charm of the Bernhardt fall. That fall still remains unique, unparalleled and inimitable. It will take its place among the imperishable traditions of the stage, together with M'Oullough's glare, Edwin Booth's soulful pensivensss, nnd Henry Irving's gait. It is a misnomer to call it a fall, not because it isn't a fall, but because it is so different from the conventional toppling over of the Eng-lish-speaking tragedienne. The Bernhardt fall is more properly a symphony in votary collapse. She does not insipidly sink down. Neither does she hurl herself at full length toward the footlights. She melts away from an upright posture with a graceful swirl which Brings into bold relief the sinewy outline of her form, and as she passes downward it seems as if invisible influences cushion the floor and muffle the sound,

When she reaches a quiet state you perceive that one knee is delicately poised above its fellow, while the Frenchwoman, in the brief period of her descent, has made an almost complete revolution. Just as Bernhardt in action is a bundle of electricity and nerves, so Bernhardt in repose is a poem of bewitch-

ing beauties. The change is so swift, though, that ib imperils the observer's breath." -^ — The Bayeux tapestry is supposed to have been worked by Matilda, Queen of William the Conqueror, and to have been presented by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, to the cathedral of Bayeux. Its length is 214 ft, breadth 20in. The scenes depicted on it give a pictorial history of the invasion and conquest of England by the Normans, beginning with Harold's visit to the Norman Court, and ending with his death at Hastings. — In the window of a certain ingenious dyer's shop in London a golden hen watches over a brood of six pink and green goslings, which splash about in a small tank to the great alarm of their foster-mother. The interesting collection is separated from a rabbit by a board partition, not because the rabbit would be at all likely to injure them, but because a crimson rabbit with a peagreen nose would be likely to give a wellregulated hen with an eye for colour a fit of hysterics. People entering the shop are still more dismayed at finding themselves confronted by a lavender-coloured cat and a purple kitten. The odd-coloured specimens are not freaks of nature, but living examples of the efficacy of a new kind of dye thus advertised.

— It is'good to be an Indian prince, and a story comes from Paris that a unique bed has been despatched to India for the use of one of these potentates. As described, its canopy is supported by four automatic female figures that wave fans to cool the air, while' the mattress is a huge musical box, which plays operatic airs and selections when laid upon.

— By the way (says a Home society pa per), the advent of Queen Victoria's latest greatgranddaughter is an immense event in some respects, one which carries historicallyminded persons back some hundreds of years when they think about it ; for here we have I a baby girl who does not count as a real i princess, who could not succeed to her father's title unless by special licence, yet who might become Queen of England any day, if about nve accidents happened. Lady Jane Grey, daughter of a Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Arabella Stuart, Henry Darnley's niece, once occupied a somewhat similar position, much to their subsequent disadvantage ; for sanguinary Queen Mary soon disposed of the first — her gentle, goodygoody, and dangerous competitor; and a life-long imprisonment was awarded poor Arabella by her lubberly, suspicious cousin, King Jamie— one of the ugliest and most ungainly princes ever owned by a beautiful mother. Lady Victoria Alexandra Louise Maud Mary Helena Beatrice Dagmar Duff is born to no such frightful prospect, and is pretty certain to enjoy her right; as long as her life shall last. True, there may be a little awkwardness in years to come respecting precedence when encountering other duke's daughters; but with an august relative as the fountain of honour, a pass to pass first could easily be negotiated.

— A writer in a ladies' journal has a word of encouragement for girls who lament having red hair. The Catherines who made Russia great had red hair ; so had Maria Theresa, who saved Austria and made it the empire that it is ; so had Anne of Austria, who ruled France for so long ; so had Elizabeth of England and Catherine Borgua, as well as Marie Antoinette, whose brown tresses had in them a glint of gold.

—The D,uke and Duchess of Teck (Princess Mary of Cambridge) were, on the 12th June, tbe recipients of a number of presents, including a, grand piano, a horse, a piece of jewellery, and an album containing the names of about 1400 of the inhabitants of Richmond, Kingston, and neighbourhood, who had subscribed thereto, in commemoration of their silver wedding, and "in acknowledgment of the sincere interest and sympathy they evince in all undertakings calculated to advance the welfare of the district in which they reside." At midday the Duke and Duchess, with the Princess Victoria May, and Princes Adolphus, Francis, and Alexander, attended a special service at Kew parish church, where her Royal Highness bad been confirmed and married. After the service the royal party proceeded to Cambridge House, close by, and here, upon tbe lawn, in the presence of a select company, tbe Duke and Duchess were presented with a handsome illuminated address from the inhabitants, wbich was read by the vicar. In acknowledging the address, her Royal Highness made a most grateful and touching speech. The Duke and Duchess then returned with their family to White Lodge, Richmond Park, where, later on in the afternoon, a garden party was held. The Queen sent tbe Princess a valuable watch ' bracelet set with diamonds, and to the Duke of Teck a costly ring.

— The late Marchioness of Waterford was one of the. greatest beauties of her day. When she was about to be presented her mother, Lady Stewart de Rothesay took her to the court painter, Mr Hayter, who was greatly strack with her refined girlish beauty, her divinely tall figure, and the golden hair rippling on her forehead. On his expressing his admiration Lady de Stewart de Rothesay quietly untied the confining bonnet and let her daughter's magnificent hair stream over her figure. The sun was shining into the studio, and Mr Hayter used to tell bow he was dazzled by the vision of loveliness before him, in a vesture of gold. The hair reached far below her knees. Some years afterwards, when the wife of the handsome Marquis of Waterford, she lay at death's door in fever. Tbe doctor condemned her magnificent hair to tbe shears, and Lord Waterford allowed no band but his own to execute the sentence. Those locks were buried with him, twined around his neck. A Paragraph to lie Kept by Every Lady.

An artist's rule as to colour in clothes is : Choose carefully only those tints of which a duplicate may be found in the hair, the eyes, or the complexion.

A woman with blue-grey eyes and a thin, neutral- tinted complexion is never more becomingly dressed than in the blue shades in which grey is mixed, for in these com*

plexions there is a certain delicate blueness. A brunette is never so exquisite as in cream colour, for she has reproduced the tintinj? of her skin in her dress. Put the same dress on a colourless blonde and she will be far trom charming, while in grey she would be quite the reverse. The reason is plain. In the blonde's gallo^pesß there are tints of grey, and in the dark Roman's pallor there are always yellowish tones, the same as predominate in the cream-coloured dress.

Women who have rather florid complexions look well in Various shades of plum and heliotrope, also an certain shades of dovegrey, for to a trailed eye this colour has a tinge of pink, whicib, harmonises 'with the flesh of the face. \ Blondes look fairer and younger in dead blaok like that of wool gooos or velvet, while brunettes require the sbeenN)f satin or gloss of silk in order to wear blaok to advantage. A Romance of Royalty : HoW the Prince of Wales Fell in Lot*.

Two stories are related, on authority, of the manner in which th«, heir apparent to the throne of England first h't^rd of the charms of the Prince of Denmark's daughter; and both of them form pretty incidents in the prologue of what is regarded as the most charming royal romance in modern times. H.R.H. Albert Edward chanced, so it is said, to be whiling away part of a long summer^ afternoon with two or three congenial spirits, young men of rank and position near enough to his own to make even discussions on domestic questions possible, and the matrimonial outlook for one;of the party was brought up. Colonel ■ drew from his pocket the photograph, as he supposed, of his fiancee, to show it proudly to his companions. But instead of Lady 's likeness there appeared a rather poorly taken carte de visite of tha most charming girl the prince's eyes had ever rested upon — A GIBL WEABING A SIMPLE LITTLE WHITH

GOVTN and loose white jacket, with a black velvet ribbon circling her throat, and her hair smoothed back from her brow, leaving the beautiful young face to be admired for itself alone. The eyes and lips seemed to be smiling at the prince, who gazed at the picture, demanding to know who in the world this lovely •• country girl " might be. " The daughter of the Prince of Denmark," was the answer, and, naturally enough, the carte de visite changed owners. H.R.H. showed it that evening to a confidential friend — one who knew of the matrimonial designs of the Queen for^the Prince of Wales, a bride from one of the well-known German houses having been selected.

THE QUAINT LITTLE PHOTOGBAPH had not left the prince's keeping when a few days later he again, and quite by chance, encountered at the house of a certain duchess the same noble young face, this time exquisitely painted in miniature, the property of a lady who had just returned from Denmark. However the matter was contrived I cannot say, but certain it is that the German alliance was frowned down, and the prince's confidential friend was despatched to Denmark to report truly on the prince's daughter. The confidential messenger had his credentials for the court of Denmark, but there was nothing about him to suggest his peculiar and romantic mission. He found at, Copenhagen the simplest sort of a royal family — a prince who lived in a very plain sort pf dwelling, on an income whioh was less than that of many country gentlemen in England. On being invited to dine at the modest little " palace," the English courtier was presented to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIBL IN HUBOPE, who wore her gown of simple white muslin and a wreath of flowers as royally as, though they were the velvet and the qrow4 which later would be hers, yet who was as simple in manner as though she had indeed been the little " country girl " for whom the prince had at first taken her.