LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2202, 14 May 1896, Page 43

LADIES' GOSSIP.

■ . ■ Miss Ella Graham-Simpson, a daughte* of the late Mr William Graham-Simpson, of Newcastle- on-Tyne, has come rapidly before^ the public as a successful writer of children's operettas, in which she has achieved a success, says St. Paul's, not only by her originality, but also by her methods of production. ' For " The Demon Spider,'" which was lately performed at Newcastle, she trained the little amateurs entirely in every look, tone, and gesture, inventing the ohorus, ' dances, and tableaux,, designing the costumes, Btagemanagißg at every performance, besides composing several of the melodies. A more ambitious effort was her very clever and smart satire on the woman of the day, " The Apple of Disoord," in which she herself has played. We hear that this yonng lady contemplates going on the stage for the Bake of the dramatic experience which she oonsidera necessary to Buccess as a playwright. • . • In Paris the ladies insist npon having a special perfume entirely to themselves, which pitrfame they require extended' to their own' exclusive hotopaper. These ladies nsea shade corresponding if possible to the perfume, and we are told do not indulge in the vagaries of fashion, bufc for once In their lives are unvarying in their tastes. Though oolonred sheets' are still favoured by all, the very dark shades are at present in ill' odour, as the effect of a pretty handwriting thereon is lost. Corn blue, lavender, pearl grey, light' pink, salmon brown, &.-A grass green are all extremely fashionable. The paper ia strong and nearly -always of English make, either very* large or very small in size, and usually ornamented either with the proud device of an ancestral line, the facsimile of* the lady's handwriting, or some fanciful and delicate de»ign in gold, self colour, or any other shade which commends itself' to the owner, ' '.'. ' Princess Christian has baen co shockod at the bsd manners displayed by the wive? of foreign Ministers, of newly-ortatsd peers and baronets; and of civic dignitaries attend" ing a drawing room or "commanded" to Windsor for the first; timo, that it Ib- said she has undertaken to write a book on' etiquette " for ladies who attend royal and- imperial courts." ■ . * The latest" idea in stuffs comes from Paris, and is a revival of tho spun-glass material, literally woven from glass thread/). It is exquisite, more like Oinderolla'sfalry robe, while the price, several pounds 'the bare yard, requires a fairy godmother to allow of 1 iti purchase. * . ■ Lady Warwick took a Leamington penny-concert audience ihto her confidence the other evening. Lord Warwick was not there ; he was staying %t homo to entertain a party of friends, and he reminded her as she left the castle- that "it was quite the acknowledged thing nowadays for the wife to go out and take the chair, and for the husband to keep the house." • . ■ A leap year danoe was gives by the ladies of the Eagle Cycle Club in Baltimore the other night. Gentlemen were escorted to the hall by the ladies and shown all the attention usually bestowed on- the opposite sex. A novelty at the dance was the programmes bearing the legend, " This is the year for good " the remainder of the sentence being completed by a bint conveyed in a small bundle of matches attaohed to the card by the club coloura. Another featura was the set of rules posted everywhere, in order to remind those present of the necessity of a strict adherence to tho inverted' .privileges of the year, of which the following formed' a part : — 11 Ladylike deportment is requested of the gentlemen. " Ot-ly upon the invitation of a lady can liquid refreshments be obtained by tbegenfclemen. > " Engagements will always be promptly kept by- the ladies. "Special consideration paid to wall-, flowers. , v "Ladies will not leave their psrtnera standing in the centre of the hall, as- it is extremely awkward: " A dignified modesty being expected; a gfnllemao wilt not invite a lady to dance." , ■ . * The Queen is a very simple dveseer c ' according- to Happy Home, and does not • trouble herself very much about changes in fashion, but her Majesty is very particular indeed tbat everything which she wears shall beof the very finest quality that money can buy. Silk» that oan "stand alone" are specially manufactured for th« Queen, and even the- flannel; of which the Queen, wears a good deal, is of a special make, as soft and nearly as smooth as satin. Her Majesty is also very-particular about the soft, pretty white frills with which the sombrones9 of her dress iir relieved, and 1 also about the material of her caps. The cambric, as with the Queen's handkerchiefs also, is bo exclusively soft that it deserves the aignifi.cant name given to the fairy-like fabrics of Eastern looms — "woven wind." •«• The Cz*rGwitch continues to gain'strength; A Paris correspondent' learns that he is kept as much in the open air as hia state admits. Extraordinary care is taken to prevent particles- of woollen dnst from; irritating his throat. There is- not' a- blan ketj carpet, nor a curtain in his House; The badcovers are quilted and of eider-down, hiaj; coats have no nap, and he wears an- overcoat' or linen. Every kind of knitted' wrap ia excluded from- the house. The floors wo/ waxed daily, and the rooms he sitß and' sleeps in are often swept by a- strong draught. ••• It la not unlikely, says Home Ohat/ that the wedding of -the Duke of SaxeOoburg and Edinburgh's daughter at Coburg will be made the occasion for the selection] of the future Princess Alfred, for it is quite time that the heir to the throne of the Duchy should be thinking of settling down and; making the auocassion secure. Prinoesa Foodbra, of Saxe-3flfeiningcn, who is excJa^aa

by the Salic law from ascending the throne of her parent?, is spoken of as a likely wife for the prince. • . • Miss Florence Pullman, daughter of Mr George>M. Pullman, is said to be one of the beat paid workicg women in America. She draws a salarj of £2000 per annum from the Pullman Company for naming cars. Miss Pullman evinces a preference for names which sound euphoniously. Many of the names of the cars are of Spanish origin. They ar« the namei of countries, river*, historic towes, battlefield*, and flowers. Such names as Guatemala, Broail, Peru, Ohili, Mexico, and other Central American States are frequently seen. There is a fine discrimination displayed la the naming of Cars for special service. For example, dining car? are in most instances named after celebrated cooks, as Siyarin, and the cooks of famous men and women. Smoking cars are given names which suggest luxury, as Sultan, Khedive, and Mussulman. • . • '; Hebe," in the Gentlewoman, tells as of a new photograph of the Prince of Wales, showing him as those at home, see him, and r very amiable .and, domestic gentleman he appears. On the writing table where he sits are arranged innumerable photographs of the Princesifof Wales and his daughters. A bust of the Duke of Clarence stands on a shelf above. By his elbow a photograph of sweet Princess Alice, the Prince's favourite eistcr, of whom he was wont to speak as "the best of as all." * . * The second son of the Duke and Duchess of York was christened on Monday, . February 17, at SarHHngham Church. The invitations were limned to members of the Royal Family and k. ftw others, The cereißorjy was performed by the Bishop of Norwich, and the infant Prince received the names of Albert Frederick Arthur George. ■ . ■ When the Empress of Austria is hunting, and the meet happens to ba far from her residence, she generally drlveß to within a short distance of it in her brougham, wearing ordinary carriage attire. With her Majesty are two ladies-in-waiting, whose dnty it is to ccc that everything required for the Empress's wear on horseback is brought by the dressers, who follow in another carriage. The ooachman has orders to drive up to any gentleman's house which happens to be in the neighbourhood of the meet, when the footman alights and requests that a room may be placed at her Majesty's disposal to dress in. • . ■ " Probably the most extraordinary dwelling in the civilised world is tbe erection known as ' The Spite House ' in New York. It stands in Lexiogtkm Avenue, near Eightysecond street, and has been buiif by the vindictive owner of the narrow strip of ground on which it stands in order to gratify his rancour against his next-door neighbour. The house, which is solidly and handsomely ■ built, has a frontage of exactly 66i0, from outer edge to outer edge ; the inside space i width being junt 42in ; and it has a depth of 100 ft, and is four storeys high. This curious temple of vengeance can only be rendered habitable by every possible device for economisirg space, so tbe staircase is spiral, - and the halls are so narrow that the tenants have to walk sideways. The sleeping-rooms of this veritable doll's houße can only admit of single-cot bedsteads, and the furniture consists almost entirely of fitments mad« to line the walla. Notwithstanding the inconvenience of jllving in a home not much wider than an average coffin, " The Spite House " is inhabited, and will probably stand for centuries as a monument to the vindictive nature of its designer, who, with it, has managed successfully to block oat his neighbour's light. ■ . ' All the Queen's daughters are accomplished women. The Empress Frederick is a portrait and landscape painter. The late Princess Alice was deeply versed in classical lore and a mathematical expert. The third daughter, Princess Helena, wife of Prince Christian of Schleswig-flolatein, is a frequent contributor to current magazines and weeklies, and a brilliant pianist. Princess Louise of Lome is a sculptor and painter ; and Princess Beatrice of Battenbarg is a composer of clever music, as well as a fine performer on several instruments. • . • Mrs Amelie Riveß Ohanler, the Amerioan authoress, has married Prince Troabetzkoi. She was married ia 1888 to Mr John Armstrong Ohanler. Her best-known novel, is " Tbe Quick or the Dead "—a work which caused a sensation by its realistic descriptions of love scenes.' Mr and Mrs Ohauler, after some years of married life, agreed to separate, and last year " Aaielie Rives " procured a divorce from him, Bhe declared there was nothing sensational in the evidence, and added : "Mr Ohanler and I are the best ef friends, but we have seen very little of eaoh other for years. He owns a place adjoining Oastle Hill, and spend* a great deal of time on it, but I have never lived there." • . • In America the modern woman hat taken to burnirg incense at her own shrine. The latest thing in jewelled smellicg-bottleß is a veritable censer tbat swings from milady's chatelaine, and, when lighted, diffuses a delicate perfume and a tiny cloud of incense. At an operatic matinee the other day, a very elegant young woman, in a tailormade gown and a fetching millinery get-up, produced her whilom smelling-salts at the moat affecting moment of the performance. As she snapped open the cover, and a fine streak of circumambient vapour curled softly op and stole athwart the footlights, there was a craning of necks in her neighbourhood for two whole minutes, while the women tried to investigate this latest idea ia elegance. This new perfume burner, as it is called, has displaced the vioaigrette and tiny bottles of aromatic salts, so dear to the heart of the swooning maidens of half a century sgo. The perfume burner i», in reality, a tiny lamp, burning in lieu of a wick a prepared stick of incensa as fragrant as the frankiccense and myrrh of Biblical days. Eastern perfumes, such as the pungent, aromatic sweet grasses of India at>d Ceylon, are favourites for this use. In a shun time "* the woman who formerly aff^oted mu&k and attar of roses will flo,-,tioto drawing room?, theatre boxes, and chutch pews in a cloud of Oriental incsnse; and she of the violet sachets in silken interliniugs of every frock will burn violet essence in olouds of spring odorousnesfl. Wrinkles. Onr wrinkles and how we make them 1 _- STes, we mak« them or grow them in many

small waya. We frown aad we frefc, we meet troubles half way, and avoid looking on the sunny side of life, at least, so do many of no. But we also laugh and cry, and these every^ day actions bring wrinkles, especially ronnd the eyes aud mouth. Fashionable women whose foremost daily thought is the preservation of their beaur.y, such, for example, a 9 a noted beautiful marquise at Paris descended from a modest Yorkshireman, do not allow themselves to go to the theatre when there is some aide-splitting comedy being played for fear of laughing too much and thus forming lines in their faces ; or to see a heart-rending tragedy produced on the stage for fear of experiencing too much emotion ; but which, let us remark, while it may- slightly spoil a severely beautiful face produces a contradistinction its own style of beauty, for what is a soulless or emotional face worth to intelligent, high-minded people ? Thou, again, getting cross continually, showing oar tempers, spoils the natural beauty. Madame Patti, who can still lay claim to beauty and is so young looking, has told us that one of the means she baa need to preserve heryouthful appearance was her determination never to allow herself to get cross. If she felt the bad temper coming over her, and that it was the presence or conversation of someone near her who provoked it, she always made a point of rising and leaving the roomlundl this feeling had passed. Another way is the manner in which we wash and wipe our faces and dry our eyes after a good cry. We lather our faces and rub them in all directions with rough towels, thus stretching the skin. We should wipe them carefully with a very soft towel, and never mb them from the corners of the eyes near the nose towards the ears, but vioe versa, or else we would only accentuate the crow's feet we have already stored up. This same remark applies to cryiDg. Good soap, pure water, fresh air, moderate and simple diet are the best cosmetics ; powder onl/ fills up the pores and prevents the healthy action of perspiration through them, and in rilling up the wrinkles only makes them more prominent. The best thing to fill them up with and tend to smooth them oat a trifle would be to smear slightly a little oil of sweet almonds ovor them on going to bed, passing the finger, dipped in the oil, from the outer corners of the ejen toward the noso. Never rub the eyes on waking in the morning, but sponge them with fre*h water, not forgetting to do the same to the little ones. The Nioois and foreign colony did cot think her Majesty of Great Britain very stylish — au contraire, but they were all of opinion ' that for a lady of her years she had scarcely any wrinkles, and a face whose skin was very soft and smooth. Thi°, we cold our friends, was the result of froch water and soap and an I entire absence of cosmetics.