LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2203, 21 May 1896, Page 43

LADIES' GOSSIP.

• . • It was fully intended, says a gossip, to give little Prinoe Albert Frederick of York the name of Henry after that of Albert, but at the last minuto it was pointed out that he

1 factory tit; Radditbh, and represents the Ttm jan Column in miniature. Scenes from thg Queen's life are depleted on the needle, so finely cut that they are only discernible through a microscope. i ••• Rossetfci'a wife, Etizjbafch Siddall, was I a girl employed in a bonnet shop in Leicea* tar Square. She was only 17 when they were ; engaged, and it was 11 years before they were married. She was a beautiful woman, with greenish- blue eyes, coppery golden hair, and red lips— the type Eossettt loved td paint— and in addition had much talent as a painter, acquiring such skill under Rossetti'a instruction that Raskin allowed her £150 a year to help him. ■ . • The Sultan of Turkey has a mania for collecting carriages. He has nearly 500 of Idem, and often loses half an hour before deciding in which oae he will ride. j '". ' According to Truth the Queen contera1 plates conferring a dukedom on the Princess ! Beatrice wifch the remainder to her aon?, and i that the title will be Duchess of Sent. This was, 'of course, the title of her Majesty's mother, and it wculd bo appropriately bestowed on her favourite daughter. I • . • Tha ever-youthful . Sarah Betnhardt : has a new hobby. It is pottery, and she describes her handiwork— from the fashioning of the clay to bho firing in tbe oven— with the enthusiastic delight, of a girl. Saulp- • tare is the. one thing of which the has made a serious study, and yet her pictures have frequently been hang in the Balon— where, of course, they have been the observed of all observers. Sarah can shoot well enough to bring down a lion, and bas even taken a noon observation for the captain of a steamKhip. • . • In the mattei of flowers the Prinoe of Wales affects tbe waxy gardenia, with its heavy fragrance, and invariably wears one in his buttonhole. Wh«n he is invited to a dinner, the hostess always lay* the Sower of his predilection beside his plate. • . • At one time it was common in some parts of China for the parents to precede the weddiDgs of their daughters by three days of mourning, as a sign that tbej weie dead to each other, and the young friends of the intended bride sat and wept with her before she left her parental homo for that of a stranger. Formerly, at a Moslem wedding the bride rode with a veil over her face and . an umbrella over her head, and she saluted all whom she met by bowing. She was accompanied by her servant* and nurses, who made a great lamentation over her, • . • Balmoral, Osborne, Windsor, and Buckingham paltces— in fact, all her Majesty's residences— are literally crammed with statues, statusttee, and pictures of her favourite dogs and of her favourite domestics. John Brown is represented in bronze, in marble, and In silver while at every point in the grounds of these palaces one may see i tree* adorned with a blue and white enamel tag, stating that it has been planted in memory of some valued servant or fourfooted friend ■ . ■ From the earlieet period the Icelandic woman has enjoyed distinct individuality. Tbe wife has held the place of an equal with her husband in matters pertaining to the home. - In the old days she wore a bracelet, from which hung the insignia of office, hex „ keys, and pone. Now that she has laid aside the gold wrist-band, th&se significant household accoutrements are carried in the dress pocket. Icelandic women vote in all church and parish matters, and as the church and State are combined, this is in reality a civic privilege. They also have full municipal suffrage, bat as yet cannot vote upon matters pertaining to commerce or for members of Parliament, though there is a strong sentiment abroad in favour of giving them these additional advantages. Women take part in many political meetings, and talk upon all political subjects. Daring the Althing sessions great numbers of the most intelligent women of the capital city are in constant attendance. For tome years there bas existed a political eocioty of women, and when momentous questions affecting their interests are before tha legislative body large meetings are oalled and addressed by' women, setting forth their claims. "There is a man in New York, writes the correspondent of a Homa paper, "who, though not a cook by profession, yet manages to materially increase his income by cooking rumpsteaks so inimitably well that . clubs are actually organised for the purpose of enjoying suppers of this succulent meat prepared by his magic fingers. These rampstoak orgies, whioh In • winter keep the artist busy most nights in the week, take place in an up- town ball, where he keeps his specially- constructed stove and other implements. The ceremony , observed by the various club gatherings ia . very scant, the participants of the feast sitting round the stove on nptnrned empty I boxes, and using neither knives nor fork?. [ The ateaks are very thick and juicy, and • hung for several weeks la a. regular temperature, and after being cooked over a flra of hickory wood, are almost as tender as tbe huge slices of new bread between which they are served to tbe appreciative customers, who, accustomed at he me and at their clubs to every fin-de-siecle luxury, seem to specially enjoy this temporary secession from oivilisation and the monotony of their daily life." ■ . • " The great stores on Broadway and on Fourteenth and Twenty-third streets are already," says a correspondent in an English paper" puttiog forward their gorguono exhibitions of spring noveltiep,and one bouse has introduced a feature which is attracting crowds in front of its big French plate windows. It is nothing less than tbe employment of living hiodels in place of the waxen dummies upon which frocks, mantles, and millinery are l usually displayed. Of course, the young women on exhibition are selected for theh beauty and grace, and must possess tbe art ■ of moving about and showing off their costumes.to tbe best advantage, and results prove that while only one pedestrian may throw a passing glance at a wax figure, even when it may be invested in the most elegant apparel, at least a dozen will pause to gaze upon a really pretty girl, whose natural charms are enhanced by tbe latest thing in wraps or the eweetest duck of a bonnet fresh from the deft fingers of a fashionable modiste, and a profitable sale will often be the upshot 6£ these interviews a travers les vitrines. The innovation is proving so successful that another firm, determined to go one bettor €O

the popular novelty, has turned one of its windows into a charming modern boudoir, and made it the scene of an afternoon 'At home.' A fair-headed young matron, attired in a chic tea-gown, receives her friends in groups of two and threes ; all the ladies and children of various ages boirg "arrayed in beautifnl costumes, cloaks, and hats of the latest fashion. Before dispensing tea and other dainties, wbich arc actually served in orthodox style, she assists some of her visitors to remove their outer garments, judiciously expressing, in pantomime, her admiration of their elegance and good tatte, and the little comedy repeats Itself with variations throughout the basiness hours of the day. It is said that minor actresses and theatrical figurantes, who are often doomed to haunt the New York Rialto for many weary weeks together, are qaite jubilant over this new field for their talents ; and, perhaps, these little window plays will, in time, become so elaborate that wo shall hardly need to seek our amusement at the theatre 1 "