LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2201, 7 May 1896, Page 43

LADIES' GOSSIP.

••• The "Dnoheßß" is the novelty of the hour in the line of jewellery. It has been manufactured for a member' of New York's one hundred and fifty. It ooasists of a band of gold wifti an opal showing blue lights in a clear setting, surrounded by diamonds. Two tiny scrolls of gold projeot On either side, and a huge shield, formed of' many scrolls, is studded with diamonds, and reaches beyond the 1 knuckle. It is worn only on the middle finger and in the evening.

* . * The Queen of Denmark, after 53 years of married life, retains, says the Woman at Home, an almost girlish affection for her husband. Those most In the presence of the illustrious couple declare that it is a charming sight to watch these two ; he, all attention and gallantry, and she accepting his allegiance with so pretty and queenly a grace. Together they discuss affairs of State, play with tbeir grandchildren, and when evening sets in bring out their chess and cards, and thoroughly enjoy a good game together. The Qaeen, liko her daughters after her has the gift of perpetual youth. At the age' cf 78— for she is only a few months younger than her husband — you might still call her a pretty woman, "if grandmothers want to keep young," she will say, " they must have young people about them." And acting on this prinoiple, the Queen has always a host of youthful. friends, and her grandchildren, If possible, staying in the honse* Lite the King, she is fond of going about unhindered, and, when feeling well enough in health, she will put In an appearance at the riding echool unattended, to see how her grandsons are progressing with their lessons. " When lam not grandmother, I am aunt to all Enroue," remarked the Queen to a friend at Court. And hardly a day passes that her Majesty does not write in reply to some question put to her about the health er well-being generally of some one of her youthful subjects. A distressed mother wrote to ask* her good advice as to how she should treat an attack of influenza, from which her little ion was suffering, IbJa was the reply:— "lte&r

M , I grieve to hear that little 1 1 Buffering from influenza. Let; me tell you what I have found the best remedy in such a case. Here is the prescription. . . . , Give him a tablespoonful before each meal, and tell him his loving grandmother will give him a nice present if he gets well at i once." ••• Good material for a novel might ba found in an occurrence which lately took place in Texas, where jthe daughter of a local magnate and a prosperous young farmer were hopelessly attached to one another, and the parents of the former showed most bitter and unreasonable opposition to the young lover's suit. The maiden was, lasb month, suddenly seized with a dangerous illness; ominous symptoms appeared, and the doctors attending her pronounced her dead. After the customary period had elapsed the funeral took place, the body being laid in a vault belonging to her parents. The bereaved lover, unable to keep away from the resfciog : plaoe of the, one so. dear to him, came secretly to the vault a. few houri later, and, gaining admission, removed thi lid of the coffin to have' one- loot look at thfi beloved faoe. He was startled to see tha boiom of the supposed corpse rise and fall in a spasmodic way, as though the girl were gasping for breatb, and after assuring himself he was not the victim of imagination, be quickly procured a blanket, and in the twilight' carried the rigid form of his love to his own house uDobierved. There his sister and a doctor, hastily, summoned and pledged to secrecy, worked for hour* over the poor girl, as it soon became apparent i that Bhe was in a.deep trance, and that life still existed. She remained dangerously ill and delirious for some weeks, but finally became convalescent, when all was explained to her. Towards the end of December sh« was spirited away into another State, where, after recovering her health aad spirits, she became the bride of her faithful lover, who then only apprised her parents of her hwing alive. In their joy at the amazing news, the old people forgot their unreasonable objection to their son-in-law, and warmly welcomed the young couple, killing the fatted calf— and many other farm animals besides— in their honour. After such a romantic prologue to their married life, it is to be hoped they will live happy ever after !

■.* Princess Li, the wife of the Viceroy Li Hung Chang, is 50 years old, bat lookg only about 30. Her feet have been tortured to such smallness that she cannot walk, but has to be carried abont in a chair — a magnificent one, of course— yet she owns 1000 pairs of shoes. Her husband's wealth enables her to have nearly 1000 tilk dresses, and she can select from 500 furs iv winter time. -

• . ■ Mary Anderson has » slipper which belonged to Mary, Queen of. Scott. When that ill-fated monarch was beheaded, she wore bootwear as dainty and beautiful as a bride— that is, so history and Mary Anderson say.

* . ■ Count Mirafiore, grandson of the late) King Victor Emmanuel, has just died from the effects of a bad f All from his horse, which took plaoo some months 'ago. Hia death is very much regretted' by King Humbert and the Dae d'Aosta, with both of whom he was a great favourite. His father was th« son of Victor Emmanuel and the famous Rosina Vercellone, daughter of a drummer in the army, later his morganatic wife. This beautiful and clever woman was created Oomtesse di Mirafiore and Di JETontenafredda, April 11, 1859, by royal decree. Sha bore the king, two children— a daughter (who afterwards married the Marquise Spinola. of G-enoa) and ason(irbo married the Oomtess* Biaaca de Larderel de Oonti di Montecerboli, of Leghorn). When Victor Emmanuel lay ill, in 1868, at his hunting lodge of San Rossare, noarPisa, and knowing that his end was nigb, he repaired the wrong he had dons Rosina by marrying her. She, in her turn, died in 1886, leaving a fortune of 14,000,000 lira (£560,000 in English money).

*.' The grounds round Madam Oalve'a castle in the south of Franoe are very exten* sive. A schedule of the virtues and accomplishments of the famous songstress exhibit* her as kind to the poor, devoutly religious, fond of dogs and animals generally, a- good horsewoman devoted to fox-hunting, a clever amateur photographer, and yet preferring solitude and study to. all other things. ■ . ■ The Paris Figaro, iv remukiug oa the perfect figure of the Qaeen of Servia, and of her exquisite and stately carriage, of her head, attributes it. to the fact that her Majesty baa never used a pillow, and that the was trained. from girlhood to sleep upon a nariow, hard mattress.

• . President Cleveland's little four-year* old daughter Ruth is probably the youngest of distinguished cyclists. One of the sights of Washington is the spectacle of the little girl wheeling along the asphalt pavements of the White Bouse laws.

• . • It may perhaps be*in the recollection of the reader that the young Maharajah of Kapurthala, who is a Christian, paid a visit to England as a representative of the great feudatories of the British Indian empire at the opening of the Imperial Institute* Ho has lately given his impressions of the country and the people in a book, in which the allusions to her Most Graoious Majesty are couched in loyal, affectionate terms. It was at Florence that Kapurthala was first introduced to the Queen- Empress, and he afterwards cime several times in contact with Her Majesty and the members of the Royal Family. The' description given by the Maharajah of the opening of the Imperial Institute possesses a peculiar Interest for hex Majesty's Indian subject!:

"With the. kind thought which distinguishes her, the Qaeen, on rising at the end of the ceremony; shook, hands with the .Indian Princes who were present and said ft few words to each. Her escort was com* posed of eight dnffadars selected from the Indian, Oavalry, and specially deputed for FtoßiLiNE !— For the Teeth and Breath— A few drops of the liquid "Floriline" sprinkled on a wet' toothbrush produces a pleasant lather which thoroughly cleanses the teeth from all parasites or impurities, hardens the sums, pro vents tartar, stops decay, gives to the teeth ft peculiar pearly whiteness, and ft delightful fragrance to the breath. It removes all unpleasant odour arising from decayed teeth or tobacco smoke. "The Fragrant Floriline," being composed in part of honey and sweet herbs, is de« Uclous to the taste, and the greatest toilat discovery of the age. Price 2s 6d of all chemists ancl perfumers. Wholesale depot, 83 FarriaodO road, London.— Advt.

lifts occasion. They are all fine men and good riders, and I was glad to see this splendid branch of the Indian army so well represented. Her Majesty's real affection for her Indian subjects has done much to encourage them in feelit.^ <->f loyalty to the throne. She studies our lin uuuot', watchea over our welfare, and give- :ha British nation an incentive in takirg a deep Interest in the prosperity yf her Eastern empire."

.'. "Should marriage be regulated by f»w?" aeks a Transatlantic contemporary. " Instead of attempting to alleviate the unttappiness of married life by divorce and lUvorce laws, should the State go directly to Ike root of all the evil and dictate who shall md- who shall not marry ? One plan suggested . provides for the appointment of a State marriage commission. A couple desiring to marry should appear before this com)nusion, or its authorised deputies, whom it ihould satisfy/ first, that the man is able io support a wire, or that the joint wages or tecome of man and woman and their prospects are such that neither they nor their children, barring unforeseen misfortunes, will become public charges ; second, that both' parlies are not the" victims of hereditary mental or physical proclivities that would be reproduced in their offspring; third, that their acquaintance is of eucb duration that they thorongbly understand each other's disposition and that the marriage is not a hasty one, and no deception can be practised by either party." • . • There are only two people to whom the following can apply— Mr Astor and Lady Randolph Ohm chill : — " A well-informed correspondent writes that ' whispers, are being heard in high social circles of the possibility that an interesting engagement may at any time be announced. Though both the parties to the exptoted covenant are Americans, they are permanently domiciled in England. If the marriage does take place, it will unite, under the aegis of an English dukedom, the ■two oldest and wealthiest families of the United States. The bridegroom is himself a millionaire, who baa interested himself with conspicuous success in English journalism, and' with marked ability in the higher fl'ghts of literature. Of the prospective bride it would not, perhaps, be fair to speak as yet. Her Identity may be hinted at by suggesting that by the contemplated union the future millionaire husband would etand in the relation of uncle to an English dok«. It i« fair to say that as the whisper goes round it is received with profound amazement, even in royal circles, where the lady chiefly interested is a great favourite. "

• : • Every actress has her own partioalar fade about her clothes, and every woman will agree that that i« only natural. Madame Barah Bomhardt, the doyenne of the stage, when very thin, adopted the long white gloves that have since become indissolubly connected with her for a very good purpose—namely, to clothe her arms well and to make them look their plumpest, white having that effect. Since she became more plump she, has, while not discarding the gloves, kept them more for playing with than for wear, and has devoted her attention to the beauMfication of her fingers, the tips of which she causes to be delicately, stained With rose-colour, and the nails artificially tinted in*the same way. She is very frequently her own designer for clothes, ju^t as Mrs Patriok Campbell is: Bignora Eleonora ©use, the Italian actress, on the other hand, plainly «aye* and shows that she oares nothing for dre#s. Miss 'Ellen Terry and her charming «i»ter, Misa Marion Terry, are always delightfully garbed. Miss Marion pats her faith in a certain West Bod dressmaker, who makes for half tho fashionable World of Loadon,' with the result that she is always up-to-date and thoroughly well dressed. Miss Mary Moore, also, is a fashion-plate that most women would give worlds to copy. Women often sigh when they see the completely fascinating pictures these actresses present, and wonder how it Is doae. The answer is most simple. Oare is given to every little detail to ensure the proper putting on of the gown, and nothing Is worn that Is not made to suit the actresses. If every - woman was thoughtful over her clothe*, even on the smallest income a good effect could be gained.

• . • ft may not be generally known, gaya a writer in an English paper, that ex Queen Lilfuokalani of Hawaii is possessed of a chateau in Northern Italy, and of a ichloss and considerable landed estate in the Austrian province of Istria. The Qaeen and her daughter intend passing the summer months at their romantic and ivy- clad Istrian retreat, which is now undergoing extensive repairs. They were expected at Oasfcello Wailea, the Queen's Italian country Beat, towards the end of March. The castello was then the scene of nuptial revelries, as, on Easter Monday, the marriage was to be solemnised therebetween Princess Kaeluaolani, of Kails, and ■ Qsn Tomrriaso Passuelo de San Felice.

* . * This is a perfectly true story, and has never before been in print ; but, as showing tbe true kindness of the Qaeen, we are sure many of oar readers will appreciate it :— Her Majesty Is very fond of matters artistic, and particularly keeps a warm corner in her heart for the theatrical profession, as the many " commands " to Windsor testify. A short time ago she summoned the veteran Mrs Keeley to Buckingham Palace, not that she might act, but for a good chat ; and the old lady, who was 90 the other day, and, as all the world knows, received an immenseovation from the stage of tbe Lyceum Theatre in London, obeyed her Sovereign's behest. Upon entering the Queen's presence , Mrs Keeley, according to Oonrt etiquette, phonld have cartseyed to the ground, but j even so sprightly and loyal a young lady as she is found herself unable to do so. Doing her best, therefore, she ventured to excuse herself to the Queen with these words, " I cannot curtsey, your Majesty I " " Neither can I, Mrs Keeley," was tbe Queen's quick response, and then the two elderly ladies sat down to talk over old timea and old performances, in all of which the Queen took an immense interest, plying the aged aotress with' questions, and thoroughly enjoying the isbat. •• . ' Most people would imagine that Jtfadame Sarah Bernhnrdt possessed more than the average amount of self-confidence, . bpt a correspondent, long resident In Paris, Avert that even the " divine Sarah " is * vlotim to fftage fright. Her teeth chatter on tbe nljjht ibe or«at«i as important pwt,

She walks feverishly np and down her room, and answers only with monosyllables to qaef tions put to her by other persons than her manager or the author. Another celebrated French actress, Madame Bartet, ioses weight during the days that preoede her great "first nights," which is explained by the fact that emotion obliges her to fast almost completely. She eats nothing, even at breakfast time, on the day when she has to play a part that seems to hsr redoubtable. On tbe other hand, Ooquelin the elder, boasts of appearing before the footlights without the slightest tremor. .

••• The old Duchess of Oldenbnrg, who died the other day, and who was sister of the old Qaeen of Hanover, was the widow of one of tbe most remarkable philanthropists Russia ever produced. Old Prince Peter spent the, greater part of his vast wealth in charity and in promoting his favourite hobby, which was universal peace. He was considered an intolerable bore by moßt of the sovereigns of Europe, all of whom he used to visit in turn every year, and talk very earnestly to about disbanding their armies and giving up their fleets. But though a faddist, he was a good man.

•.' Emperor .Franz Josef of Austria is much attached to his Premier, Oaesimer Felix Bideni, who begau life as tbe son of a cook. His" extraordinary luck began two years before he was born, when bis father, who was a chef to one of the last kiegs .of Poland, was created a count, more in jest than in earnest, as he had not the money to support the dignity. For a time it looked as if the count's sons would have to return to the pots and pans. But a relative of their mother, Anna Wieren, the' celebrated German actress, became ao attached to tbe two Badeni boys that when death rang the curtain down upon the last aot of her life's drama she bequeathed them her entire fortune, amounting to over £400,000, Young Badeni procured an excellent education, was graduated as a doctor of philosophy, and entered tbe Austrian Oivil Service.

• . • In Poland princesies and peasants wear round their throats several rows of coral j beads, and so loth to part with these supposed bringers of good luck are they that when a grmnd dame is arrayed for a ball, and is obliged to put on pearls and diamonds, she j carries her coral beads in her pocket. In the plains of Provence and In parts of Normandy the wealthiest still oling to their laoe caps, the intrinsic value of whioh Is sometimes inestimable, as they are often adorned with rare point laoe, fastened down with quaintly chased golden pins— beirloonaß in families. The Eussian " kakochnik " is one of the most charming artioles of adornment in Europe. It originated among the Muscovite peasant women, but has been adopted during this century by the ladies of the oourt, who have elaborated it into a red velvet cap embroidered in precious stones. In AustriaHungary is found the greatest divergence in the matter of costume. Tbe garb of bhe Hungarian peasant is so attractive that the wealthy ladies copy it when on their estates. It oonsistß of a short, puffy skirt of crimson and yellow, a small, sleeveless velvet bodice imprisoning a snowy ebiri, stiffly starched and embroidered in contrasting colours, aad an artistically knotted head-scarf, from under whioh esoapes a thick braid of bair entwined with coloured ribbons. The Spanish mantilla is well known, and has been somewhat vulgarised on tbe comic stage. The national dress of Roumania has escaped that fate. It I oonsists of a white linen sleeveless garment, made with as few folds as possible, thickly ; embroidered in arabesque in bright red, sky j | blue, orange, yellow and blaok silk, intermingled with gold and silver threads, a band of similar embroidery encircling the waist, with streamers of coloured ribbon falling therefrom in a cascade. The hair is braided in four plaits loosely tied, and the feet are encased in crimson kid slippers. ] '• . • Her Majesty has detested black satin i ever since the tirre that a Mrs Manning was j i banged (with her husband) in a blaok satin 1 dress. Tbe style of the present Koyal mourn- j Ing dresses is very simple. The fkirts are ! shaped with nine gores and opened at the left, the skirte being provided with extra gores under the draped arrangement ; the ! bodices are tight-fitting, being'cut all round I at the waistline, and finished with a band of silk ribbon knotted in a large bow at the left i side. The sleeves consist of full drooping poufs, terminating at tbe elbow, and a folded fichu of fine crape Is draped- about the corsage, frills of graduated" lace outlining the fichH, the cuffs from the elbows being of ) crapa lace. The young Princesses' mourning 6kirts are in small seams, which hang in comely fulnees at the bottdto, but Princess" Sna's best mourning skirt has been made plain with wide hems that reach just below the knee. There are tucks above the hems an inch wide edged with narrow crape lace, slightly fulled with the dress material, and the bodice is tucked from neck to belt, and edged with black lace. The new mourning cape that the Qaeen wears when out driving has been made from a French model of i beautiful design, ornamented with rich Bilk ! trimmings .outlined with jet, extending over both the mantle and collar. The interior is lined with quilted satin. Home Fashions. THE BATTLE OP THE SLEEVES is raging fiercely. Paris gowns almost invariably (except in the case of evening dross) have flat sleeves. I do not mean that they are tight yet — certainly not ; but the underlining that produced the " balloon " effect in which we gloried till quite lately has disappeared, and the superfluous material hange round the arm in natural (and it must be confessed rather mournfully limp) folds. To i make up for tain, tbe skirt is certainly not becoming limpar. Not It 1 The very flounces now coming into use are frequently lined with alpaca or silkette or linenette, the stiffness of , this being still further increased by. the addition of rows of fine stiff cord. Dresses still come home from the dressmakers with .TWO BODICES, i and very useful the fashion is. j I saw an extremely pretty extra bodice i lately. It was a lovely brocaded silk on a cream ground; the actual bodice, the puffed- j out elbow sleeves, and the small basques beiDg of the brocade, whilst a large Marie Antoinette fich'n of point d'esprit net and a lace border covered, the bodioe, the ends being deftly twisted into a kind of jabot that covered the front j a doable row ol tho Mmi lace,

with a bouffant of net, finished the sleeves, while from under the narrow brocade bai qo.es fell a full flounce of the creamy lace, Knots of red and cream ribbon, to match the brocade, finished the sleeves and tied together the fichu at the front. This fall of lace on tho hips is very becoming, and has the farther advantage that ib brings a rather demode corsage up to date at the co»t of comparatively little money and less trouble.

I have been much amused lately by the interest women have been displaying in

BABY CLOTHES. A year or bo ago we were all "hygienic" mad, and poorybaby suffered in consequence. No longer were dainty cambrics and delicately embroidered cottons to be worn. A neutraltinted Jaeger material constituted the dmous, whilst outeide was donned an uncompromising flannel gown.

Why hideous colours should be more sanitary than pretty ones I never cau sea ; but the fact remains that the more sanitary materials are, the more certainly are they of a slatey grey, or a neutral, nothing-particular shade. However, a change seems coming over our dream, and we are studying infant toilettes with the best results. The fashion of having the little garments so made that they can all be laid one on the other, and the tiny creature,' indued in its dainty little knitted vest, laid on the top, and the whole buttoned over at once (without the twisting and turning formerly indispensable), seemß gaining ground ; furthermore, it is not now considered requisite to strip off the pretty morning wrapper before putting on the grand robe, bat a long silk petticoat is slipped on and the robe is put on over all, very often being itself merely a skirt without bodice, thus disturbing the little wearer as little as possible.

Every infantile garment, by the way, is worn snorter tban of old, three-quarter length being the outside limit, a boon alike for nurse and baby, for those heavy robes of former days were a trial to both. A dainty little Eastern princess has been supplied with two eatin and one silken slips, with overskirts of alternate finest cambric and lace insertion, for the purpose of walking, or rather carrying, costume. Eyes and Their Colours According t» tlie Poets. No part <j. -no human anatomy is more frequently and fully described by the poets tban the eye, and it is amusing, if not instructive, to collect and compare some of their allusions to it.

Naturally ths first thing a poet notices about the eye is its colour, and here we find many men of many minds, or, as tbe poet Gray put it — Nature in various moulds has beauty cast, And formed the features for each different tasto ; 'I his sighs for golden locks and azure eyes ; That for the gloss of sabta treeses dies. Bat the formation of these varying tastes seems to be influenced by environment, and poets have a happy faculty— due, no doubt, to their impressionable nature— for seeing beauty in the colour of the eye whioh prevails in their neighbourhood.

Tennyson, for instance, living among the fair-haired and blue-eyed Saxons of the South of England, describes many of his heroes and heroines of this type. Margaret, one of his earliest heroines, has blue eyes ; Katie Willows, in "The Brook," has " eyes a bashful azure." "A prince I was, blue-eyed and fair in face," says the adventurous hero in "The Princess." Maud's lover casually mentions to her, " violets blae as your eyes," and Enid, in the " Idylls of the King," has " meek blue eyes." So also Tom Ingoldsby, 'the home of whose legends is almost always in Kent, 6peaks of " the sky, whioh bad been of a dye as bright and as blue as your ladylove's eye."

Eobert Browning, on the other band, lived chiefly in Italy, and in his somewhat rare descriptions of physical charaoteristios certainly speaks of black eyes oftener than any other, as in "The Lost Mistress" we have "each glance of the eye so bright and blaok," and the poor bride, in " The Statue and the Bust," has "eyes of the blackest black."

Tom Moore did not seem particular as to the exact colour so long as the eyes. were dark ; h« had never a word of praiee for any other.— The Hospital.