LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 43

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— Madame Dieulaf oy, one of tlie most distinguished of living archaeologists, and one of the most popular women in French society, has long had the privilege of wearing male attire as a reward for distinguished sei vices to the State. It was she who discovered the ruins of the Temple of Darius— • _an achievement for which she received the' decoration of the Legion of Honour. She partonises the same tailor as her husband, and vies with him in the fit and fashionable cut of 'her clothes. Tsut, in spite of her masculine exterior, she is essentially womanly and graceful. Her salon, which is the rendezvous of all the great savants of Europe, is one of the most brilliant of the gay capital. —On the silver dollar of the United •States there is a head of Liberty that is an actual portrait. Some 20 years ago an artist was commissioned to supply a design for a new coinage. His ideal heads, how* ever, failed to hit exactly the right thing ; and he therefore resolved to discover some lovely American girl whose features he would accurately copy. After a long search he found such a beautiful young lady teaching in a school in Philadelphia, but he had still considerable trouble in getting her to sit. ,, — Every girl is iond of collecting some oddment in the way of personal adornmerit from Tier more or less numerous male friends, thus .showing that there is, a strain of the old savage inherent in us yet — for the "initialled coins and tiny gold or' silver trinkets dangling at the wrist or on the watch chain, are they not just somewhat equivalent to the scalps worn so proudly by our uncivilised forefathers? The chief difference, it seems to me, lies in the fact that in the latter case these trophies represent the conquest of so many enemies, whereas nowadays the pretty gewgaws displayed by the fair sex are symbols of the capture of the hearts of friends. Here is a new idea for the girl who wishes to leave the beaten track and be original as a collector of trifles dear to the heart of womankind. The handkerchief is the chosen object this time, and certainly gives plenty of scope for daintiness and variety, as the gossamer and lace creations or beautifully embroidered cambrics seem endless in design. The initials of the giver nrast either be worked in small letters above the owner's name, or, what is a more charming and artistic plan, some flower with a pretty meaning attached to it embroidered in the corner to tell the message of the donor. Of ccrarse this is a fad, and one which will gain the sneers of many of the male persuasion, but the lords of creation themselves are not above being bitten by such a collecting mania, though, to be sure, their pride mostly lies in the accumulation of pipes of all sorts and sizes, the majority of which have only been once or twice in use. But -woman will have her fads and ioibles until the end of time in spite of all masculine jeers ; and why not? These give an innocent zest to life, and arc, after all, very harmless foims of amusement. — The Duchess of York adopts deeper mourning than almost any other royal perTTe athletes, all who bike or run, Or row or box, or may have done, Know that of all the human ills You're Bubject-most to colds and chills. - But both will disappear, be sure, By taking. "Woods'a Great Peppermint Ouwfc

f onage, and her black costumes display much crape. —In certain districts in Japan, in houses jwherein reside one or more daughters of a {marriageable age, an empty flower pot, of an ornamental character, is encircled by & ■ring and suspended from the window or '{verandah by three light chains. This is no jnere common or garden flower pot, but is used as an important symbol in matrimonial affairs. The Juliets of Japan are of course attractive, and the Romeos as anxious as jfchose of other lands. But instead of sereinades.by moonlight and other delicate ways , !<>f> making an- impression, it Is etiquette for [the Japanese lover' to approach the dwelling jof his lady bearing some choice plant in his which he boldly', and let us hope .reverently, proceeds to plant in the empty jVase. This takes place at a time when he is fully assured that both mother and daughter We at home, neither of whom of course is kt all conscious that the young man is taking 'such a liberty with the flower pot outside their window. This act of placing a pretty , plant in the empty flower pot is equivalent 'to a'formal^proposal to the young lady who I flw"ells"wifehjn. The youthful gardener, haying settled his plant toliis mirid.'retires^'arid is free to act as she pleases. If i tie" is the right' man she takes every care 'of j (his .gift— waters Jlit and' -tends it carefully \ iwith her' own hands, that all the. world may &cc the donor is accepted as a suitor. But af.he'fs'-not -a favourite, or if stern 'parents - tobject, the poor plant is torn from the vase. [ and the" next morning lies limp and withered \>n the verandah or on the path below. — Spanish and French women of the higher class are usually expert swords,\vomen. Thej'- are taught to fence as carefully as their brothers, and there are iruinerous schools in the two countries where young women are taught to handle not only ,the foils, but the broadswords. It is considered one of the best forms of exercise. — iliss Alice de Rothschild, who is a member of the celebrated family of financiers, lias the reputation of possessing the finest collection of old lace of any private individual. It will bear comparison with the possessions of royalty, for it is certainly one of the most perfect existing at present. •Her iondness for the lace is exemplified by the fact that as soon as she arrives in any .Continental city she always receives the lace dealers, from whose stores her great wealth naturally enables her to make considerable - . _ Says a fashionable costume-builder : — " To properly lace a corset three laces should be employed. With the first you should lace .from 'the-top. down ,to~;the ,two eyelet -holes ' at the waist:- -With the' second lace from : '.fche.'lower.end to within_tw6 aoles of the two : ■qlready left. .With, the third lace/ secure the * •ev.ele'fc tholes you' have- omitted. 'In this way 'jfche corset! is "separately adjusted- to fit the bust, waist,. ahd-hips." 1 . , -/. . . - ; .- 5— In Greeceitis considered an everlasting- - disgrace to.be an'-bld^maidr ,'Gfirls are very-, often betrothed during .infancy. .Marriages of- love are absolutely' unknown. - Parents are most particular that the intended husband must have ample provision to support .'a wife and family. For the bride a dowry is not as important as it is in France, but a certajn amount of linen and household furniture is indispensable.' The entire training "and education of a Greek girl is simply a preparation to render her brilliant in the society of the great w^orld. Her toilet is a 'subject of constant anxiety. Although the .v generality of Greek girls are extremely pretty, they begin to paint and powder from "a very early age — cheeks bright red, eyebrows and lashes jet black, and veins delicately blue — the_result being that at 40 they sre withered old women ; indeed, nowhere are uglier women to be seen than beneath 'the blue skies of lovely Greece. Next in importance to beauty comes languages. Every Greek family that can afford to do so keeps a foreign nurse or maid, especially a French one. Music and painting are not considered essential, but girls are carefully taught to dance, to enter a room, and to sit down with elegance. They are also educated in household duties, and are taught how to make rose jam, Turkish coffee, and various delicate sweetmeats. — In an American academy of deportment young ladies carry- vases • filled <-with water balanced on their heads. The exercise ■is said to expand the chest and strengthen the )baek." , , ' — The muff chain (says a writer in the "Weekly," Citizen)- still holds, sway over the ' hearts of up-to-date women. The plain gold 'is less worn, than the elaborate jewelled . chain, and tlie pendant heart of a few months ago must now give place to a tiny miniature surrounded by brilliants ; small watches covered with stones and pinned to the bodice, and jewelled hat-pins are also worn, and lively little chain purses studded with jewels are seen in the best shops ; there seems to be no end to these jewelled accessories. The latest and most unique addition hails from Paris, where small, living tortoises are studded with precious stones and fastened to the dress by slende: gold chains. This barbarity seems barely creditable, but is essentially Parisian. The British woman's fashions may. often be absurd, but they at leass often stop short of cruelty. ■ In -'America gold chains are also worn, but there the heart or pendant is replaced by a hideous ' little living monkey, whose function is to amuse his blase mistress with his antics of £un. and mischief. — When in the country the Princess of Wales delights in making little expeditions incognito. An amusing and true afcory has - jast leaked out about one of these impromptu «xcarsionß at Sandringham. Her Royal Highness, with the two processes, had . driven a long distance from home in her javourite pony cart, and as lunch drew near f they were glad to pub up at a picturesque' < village inn.* The landlord had his suspicions BB to who his guests were, and after lunch \ bad been served brought the visitors' book. Wheraup'on the Princeß?, not to be outdone, . made the following- en'trj : " Mrs Wales and two daughters." — Describing dress at the fashionable Bkating rinks in Londoo, a writer in the Qaeen says :-=-" At present no dress seems all that it ehonld be üblesß it has a pretty lace tie at the throat, or, newer stil!, a large cravat made of kilted black lisse. Toques, we k/iQw^ axfcnniversall;? worn, bufc there are. a*

many varieties in them as in their wearers. White satin blouses, made perfectly plain, like a shirt, are a mode which has found many patrons, the cuffs tamed back, the collar turned down, and both fastened with the new monogram diamond studs. Most of the lookers on and the skaters carry their purses hanging from the waist, either made of gilt rii)g3 like chain armour or with a bottle top that expands, and there is hardly anybody to be Been without a muff chain to which a heart is attached, and these are growing in size ; some of them far larger than a crown piece. Many short jacket?, ending at the waist, tnrn back with oblong r«.vers,of white satin, veiled with lace or embroidery, opening over -a whi^e satiti vest. The handsomest sable borders capes and jackets alike, and many .b£ the spectators wear violet; velvet and fawn cloth RusuaL! blouse?, the i velvet trimmed with chinchilla, and the rest ] with sable of the daikesfc and bsst kind, always supplemented by lace." — One of the most influential posts in the immediate circle of the Qseen is held by | Hair Maurice Mutber, whoae existence even 1 is scarcely .kpown to the public. Heir Mather is known as the Queen's German secretary, and all her relations with the Continent come within his province. He writes many of her | Majesty's private letters, makes extracts j from various continental papers, aud knpws j probably more Oour.fc secrets than any man | in the Qneea's personal retinue. S r — The Kicg of Wnrtemburg may certainly -be said to be the only Knight- of the Garter who is an hotelkeeper as well as a monarch, lhis has long beea a tradiiioa in his family, I but not till lately was it discovered by the rulera of the beautiful little German kingdom how profitable innkeepirg can become. When Peter the Great waß travelling incognito through Europß he refused to stop anyt where but at an inn. To circumvent this J whim the then King of Wurtemburg put a tavern sign outside one of the royal palaces, and, dressed as an innkeeper, himself welcomed the Czar. This royal personage's descendant now owns two large hotels, from which he is said to derive a revenue of £12,000 a year. | — Next to Madame Modjetka, Mr Forbes | Robartson declares Mrs Patrick Campbell to j be the mo*>t inspiring actress he knows of. j Few players have ever come to the front so speedily a3 this lady. A little amateur acting, a brief sojourn in the provinces, and Mrs Tatrick Campbell was leadiDg lady at the Adelphi Theatre. — It is reported that emeralds are steadily I disappearing. In the fifties and sixties .emeralds were the favourite jewels, and were worn strung on a thread like pearls. Now ,emeraldsare po locger polished into a round -lofm, Tsutare,polish6d' like, diamonds. Faultless stones of a deep colour have alwayabeen as valuable as diamonds. -The raason of the scarcity of emeraJcts 5s the decrease in' production in the Ural Mountains. -Emeralds were first discovered on the right bariK of the,Tokowoier, near Eatharineburg, In 1830;; aria in the first years the harvest was a rich one. "' — Madame Crispi, the wife of the Italian statesman, is creating some sensation at Palermo by being accompanied in all her | walks by a pretty, little calf, which seems to ] take the place of the fashionable woman's j tiny pat dog. The cattle tax, which has to j i be paid at Palermo, was demanded of the ! I lady, but she escaped by proving that her pet ] calf- was " not for consumption," but merely i her travelling companion. j — Oae of life's great mysteries to a msre ; man is the inevitable hat pin with which ! every woman skewers on her headgear. > Where the point goes when it enters, the straw or felt seems beyond 'the comprehension of the masculine mind, and we see a man watch in quite a fascinated manner some girl apparently sticking pin after pin placidly into her brain. ' No, the use of the hat pin is an art, into the secrets of which Dame Nature has only admitted woman i — so far, at least. But there is a right and a wrong use of this particular product of j civilisation, "and I, for one, heartily agree j with the man who makes a crusade against j the wearer of two or three murderous-looking j spikes protruding several inches from the { crown of her hat to the detriment of the j eyes and faces of fellow-passengers by train ! and tram. Worn thus they are only an j abuse, and we lose entirely the idea of their ■ utility. While on the subject of hatpins, it j is well worth noticing the fact that even" in ■ such a small' accessory of the toilet as this we must; have daintiness and uniformity. The ten /:ceable old black or white headed pin is a thing of the past in tbe fashionable world, and in its placa we find diinty jewellsd contrivances, the different coloured stones matching or contrasting with the hat worn. And this is but one more evidence of the ultra-fastidiousness ot the times in which we .live. — The Grosvenor family (Dakes of Westminster) trace their pedigree in this country back to 1066, having come over with William the Conqueror, while the family in Normandy from which they are directly descended flourished there for afc least a century and a-half before the Conquest, so that the family pedigree goes back for close upon a thousand years. The most ancient family in Great Britain is that of the Earl of Mar, in Scotland. Lord Hailes, speaking of the title, says: "It, existed before our records and before the era of genuine history, being an earldom whose origin is lost in its antiquity." The Campbells, to whom belongs the present Dnke of Argyll, began in 1190. Out of the 400 barons in the British peerage only about a dozen actually date back 600 years. — Single-sbeet note paper is one of the latest fancies in the way of women's stationery. — Smart racing ladies are, according to a London paper, adopting entire costumes of fur, coat and skirt complete. Mrs Harry M'Oalmont, of Cheveley, has one of black caracul, and Mrs Langtry of sealskin. Tbe jacket is made with a high collar, lined with another fur, say ermine, and around the I wai&t is a jewelled' belt. — That, lucky young woman the Grand Dachesa Olga, the elder daughter of the Czar, received from President Faure, during his visit to St, Petersburg, three superb dolls. One of them whs actually able to apeak, and piped forth this address to the astonished Princess: "Good morning, my dear little mother 1 Have you slept well 1 For my ows. Pajfc I k&Vfl kad & fowl* dream, J.

dreamt that somebody had given me a beautiful doll that could laugh and talk and sing, just as Ido I " Another of the dolls was a peasant, with four complete sets of clothing, representative of four of the most picturesque country costumes of France ; and to hold the toilettes of the three puppats there was a magnificent chest, emblazoned with tbe armß of their little Imperial owner. — A certain well-known and beautiful actress has very remarkable eyes, which are elongated like those of a Circassian girl. The story is that the Tady owes their unusual form to artificial means indulged in by her parents in her childhood. It is said that it is a common custom practised amoßg the Turks, who considsr that long eyes add to woman's beauty, to lengthen them by_cutting the corners of the lids. ' This is done very early — at the age of two or three years — the outer corner being deftly alifc with a lancet about the twelfth part of an iach. While tha wound is healing the lids are drawn outward every day, and when it is quite cured the lid is still submitted daily to the drawing process for a time. We are told that the father of the actress in question had been in Turkey ,and had, seen the- practice. He determined to- try it on his little gir), who was then a pretty baby of three years, with bright brown eyes and yellow carls, and already taking part in,a psrforcaaEce. A New »ance~"Tlie Royal Record.'-' "The Royal Record" is. likely to become a favourite dance this winter. This dance, invented by a leading West End professor, has a very catchy tune of its own, in rnezurka time (to be had of Mitchell, Old Bond street), and ia so graceful that it cannot fail to be appreciated. The couples take each other by the bands, crossed (as if to skate), make two slidiDg steps in advance, then two mazurka steps, raising tbeir right hknds until formiDg an arch over their heads, and finish the measure ■yith two turns of valso in the ordinary position. The confciEuous movement of the arms, always becoming to a girl, gives an ease and grace to the dance which remind one vaguely of the charm of the minuets danced I by our great-grandmothers. I Poor, dear ladies ! how horrified would they be could they revisit the scenes of their old triumphs, and gee the insults offered nowa- | days to Terpsichore ! j Certainty this is the prettiest and most graceful dance that has been produced for a long time. ' Mrs Ayer. A New XVxrk woman remarked to me when I the death of Mrs Ayer.was announced that ; at one time, regularly every spring, the entire- [ population of America ,was dosed with, j " Ayer's Sarsaparilla." -And even* yet it mu&fc be one of the standard medicines, judging from the income and outlay of the .late proprietress^ AlFsorfcs of improvable stories were circulated in. regard to what this lady spent upon • her drese. - Indeed ifc niuafc have been a' fabulous amount,' judging, from ...the only times I- ever saw her. Oh. one oecssion, tybile calling on friends at the Savoy, she came in the reception room to wait for her carriage. It, was in the late summer, and the day was excessively warm. Her dress wa« or pale lemon-coloured silk, covered in tissue i of the game shade, the bottom of the Bkirt [ finished ia a b umber of tiny ruffles edged in Valenciennes lace. A fichn of the tiasns was trimmed in voluminous refflss of Valen- j ciennes lace, and fastened by a huge sapphire i set in diamonds. The Bmall bonnet of yellow j roses was pinned on by (sapphire and diamond j bonnet pins, and her parasol was of Valen- | ciennes lace with a jewelled handle. Shortly j after this I gat by her at a supper party, and j she wast dressed in pale pink satin and antique Venetian roaa point, a most costly and expensive lace, as lavishly put on as though it. were an imitation lace. The dress was trimmed in bunches of roses, shaded from the palest pink to the deepest black-red, and her j jewele wers turquoise and diamonds, a tiara | dog collar, and a long chain of enormous turquoises surrounded and alternated with dia- : monds. But the most astonishing thing about her toilet was .her wig. It was the most beautiful, the most artful, and the most impudent wig I ever saw. It had a parting, j and that parting required the closest examination to seethat it was not real skin with real hair growing out of ifc. The simple male eye, indeed, would never hays discovered the difference. It required the envious feminine one to see its artificiality. The hair was a • soft, shining, lightish browc, naturally wavy, and exquisitely arranged. She was said to have dczans of these wigs, which travelled back and forth to Paris to the famous perruqnier who made them. Of course, she was much flattered, and many proposals of marriage wera made to her, which she had the good sense te> rtf use. At this supper a young man sat down by her, and exclaimed at the beauty of her toilette. "Do you like me better in blue or in pink ? " she asked. He paused, and looked admiringly, replying, ' "You are lovely in, blue, but adorable in pink." Now, an ordinary old lady asking this of an ordinary young gentleman would probably have received the answer, " I like black on most women." Bat the wealth of Monte Cristo makes all women, even the oldest, adorable to some men. By women who knew her well, Mrs Ayer was said to be, good-natured, kind, and lovable, and her little vanities ware qaite forgivable. Her early economical habits never quifce deserted her, for when she went south each winter ifc was her rule to dismiss her staff of servants, and engage others again on her return. Her son, who inherits her vast fortune, is efcill unmarried. A Polite Par. So many quotations have kept cropping up in regard to good manners that a partial list of them has been made. It is worthy of your attention. Good manners are more serviceable than a passport; a bank account, or a lineage. They make friends for us. They are more potent than eloquence or genius without them. They spring from a kind heart, and are the dictates of good humour They are not something to be learned from fashion neAvs and books of etiquette, and they are not imported or borrowed. Ts Due de Morny's definition of a polite man was, " One who listens to things he knows all about when they are told by a i person who knows nothing about them." ■The £oqd-Hiann.ered. jgerson does not tell

lus of our failings, does not lecture us. He < does not wear his good manners merely be- J cause they are becoming or polite, but be- ) cause he can no more exist without them than c without air. % -^ ■ Household Mints. [ Apple green is the most trying of all s colours. 1 For mending kid gloves, cotton is better \ I than silk, as it does not show so plainly. Headache may be often be relieved by i bathing the feet in hot water containing a ; little mustard. * ] Two parts of crude oil and one part of tur- { pentine remove white spots from furniture \ and make as good a polish as one can desire. ■< Stains erf the hands and fingers will vanish c if a slice of raw potato be well rubbed into f them. c Tissue paper is 'recommended as the very best polisher for looking-glasses. Nothing i else will impart the same degree of lustre. E Kid gloves lined throughout with soft x flossy silk last a deal longer than the ordinary variety, and they are infinitely more -, easy to get on. ,c, c When selecting a canary, stand at a dis- £ tance -frpni, the cage. Many birds that are ] really* in poor condition will become sleek ] and active when frightened by the presence { of a stranger near them. Never let the 3 dealer " wake the bird up. " - j ' People who have neither time nor,- money -. to spend in having their nails manicured, \ and yet are' desirous' of haying well-kept fin- { ger nails, should arways keep a lemon upon' - their washing stand. The juice of this fruit j is far more efficacious than the tise of Ithe nail brush. j For dressmaking at home the use of , wooden busts, padded for pinning, saves a • deal of trouble and ensures a good fit. These ' are also fitted with expanding skirt frames, , so that a complete costume can be built up j upon them, the frame when not in use folding . up and going into a 6in box. The- bust can \ also be had exactly modelled to the figure ; ] and, acquiring these, some ladies simply \ send the model to the dressmaker *to whom \ they have given an order. For the first month of a child's life it may ', be fed every two s,nd a-half hours during the day, and every four hours during the night, and from this the child should be' fed at regu- ■ lar intervals of four hours. In cases of artir ' ficial feeding it is essential that the bottles ' bs kept perfectly clean, as dirty bottles will give rise to " thrusts " and stomach disorders. After the bottle has been used for a meal it should be scalded with hot water, and afterwards be placed in a basin containing cold, fiesh water, in which are a few drops of Condy's Fluid. Allow the bottle to remain in the water until next required for use. ". Garlic .m&y not have so. delightful a fra- . grance as roses,- but it is the .producer of lovely complexions. The pretty washerwomen of .Paris, one of whom is annually chosen queen of beauty for the. v Mardi Gras, owe their unrj vailed : complexions to 'the damp , air ofthe.washtnbs and a steady, diet of black bread and' garlic..' Madame Ad,am, the, editor of La Nouvelle Revue, remained in the first flush of her young beauty for many years after she had passed the 20 mark. It was not witchcraft which enabled her to defy time, but because she lived temperately and breakfasted on,bla<:k bread and garlic' Sfftthej's, l"lease KememTser— That -your children can never be young again. Therefore, strive to make their child- ! hood one to which they can in after years look back to as the merriest, happiest period 1 of their lives. j That no two children are ca&t in the same , mould. ' Do not fail, consequently, to study separately the individual character of each little one. That you must not look to reap where you have not sown. If you have neglected to win the love and confidence of your sons and daughters in their early impressionable years it is not much use trying to do so when they come to years of discretion. That you should never threaten them with punishment if you do not mean to carry it out. That unnecessary fault should never bo found. Constant nagging has. ruined many a childish disposition which would have otherwise have been beautiful and perfect. Mothers, ixTremeniber this. That in nine cases'out of ten cramped children make cramped men and women, with narrow aims and distorted- views .of human- , ity. The childish creatures must have ( a certain judicious amount of freedom,' both in' thought and action, in which to develop andexj>and themselves. That there is nothing to equal a mother's personal care and guidance. Happy the child that has them, and is not left to the care of others. That it is very disheartening and disappointing to your children to have cold water thrown on their innocent ' plans. Even if you know they will fail encourage them in their efforts. Let them try. The experience will be good for them. That it is absolute torture to a sensitive, highly strung child to wear anything at all out of the common or conspicuous. That it rests mainly with the mother to train up children well, and make them good and brave Englishmen and Englishwomen. i. That the yoimgest child is quick to notice 1 and resent that covert watchfulness of those ' mothers who cannot trust their children. . Have confidence in your children's honoiu*, i and let them know it. That childish perceptions are abnormally • acute. It is therefore no use to preach what I you do not mean to practise.