LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2317, 28 July 1898, Page 52

LADIES' GOSSIP.

Hlsifs uiiti gnggestioHs.

One of the most successful modistes of the present day owes her prosperity very lar"(M'.- to a scheme so simple that it is strange that Vi , one had ever thought of it before. It is sis follows : —The milliner's establishment is in a double house — that is to say, •with rooms on either side of its hallway in the middle. One side is dedicated to one sort of customers, the fat ; the other to another sort, the lean. No " plump " .■woman was ever known to pass beyond the portals leading to the side not intended for her, and no " sylph " has ever yet been per-

mitfced to acquaint herself with the mysteries of the apartments consecrated to | those of the adipose figure. Of course, it is a question of mirrors. Nearly every dressj maker has ihem of two sorts, but not every ; dressmaker has been shrewd enough to keep ' the two so distinct and separate. The stout customer at this particular establishment sees herself on all sides in glasses that mako her look like the sylph she isn't, while the living skeleton herself would present rounded contours if reflected by the magic mirrors lining the waJs of ■ the thin rooms. The audience room into which a new patron is ushered for the first time is without mirrors of any kind, and as she ib received the milliner decide? which side of the house to take her.

— A iiretly and artistic addition to a flowsr-pofr with fern ov palm for the table is

j a vs ruught-iron sti'iid of light and grace'' til i design. These may bo had in sixes to si.it all t.be usual l«ble pots. — " The Swedish ladies," writes a correspondent from Sweden, " like those of all other nations, are very fond of following the Parisian fashions. In appearance they are tall, and have hair of the ash-coloured or blonde cendree tint. The town ladies dress , with taste, anct as they are generally slight jin build, they look very elegant. The form of the face, shows the characteristic Norman type, and although one cannot cyll them exactly pretty, yet they ore very attractive. The skin is white, the lips red, and their blue eyes are deep, soft, and innocenl -looking. Most of the ladies wear no corsets, as they say they do nor like wasp Avaists, and weur, even at' balls, their drecses high at the neck. A lady from among the higher circle of Stockholm society remarked to me : ' Our young girls, like the American?, enjoy perfect freedom in their intercourse Avith young men. Until their eighteenth year they study at school with boys, and play with them during recess, and they often choose their future husbands from among their schoolfellows. Moreover, their independence gives them a great feeling of the responsibility of their position, and marriage for them is not the freedom of which Ibsen speaks. They can easily get themselves situations in the Government offices or in business, and, as a wife, the Swede can dispose of hei earnings as f.-lic likes. They possess exactly the same civil rights as the :->eii, and even politically they will sooa bo ou the same level.'" — Why is it thai, the average girl when she becomes a wife, with a house of her own to look after, almost always rushes to pull down the blinds at the first appearance of the sunlight streaming into her rooms? I am sure in her old home she loved the warm rays to work in, and never found her parents eager to shut out the sun, and yet when herself placed at the head of a little establishment she at once., discover* the fact that in time the genial sunlight fades the carpets, but it takes her quite a long time to find out that the same sunphinc is as necessary to health as food and clothing. This curious failing seems da-minif, in every woman, and perhaps it is due to h«r natural antipathy to seeing anything belonging to her " spoilt " by losing it* iir«t freshness, which as she grows older she lo«es somewhat, for, as I have already said, it is the young wives who are the greatest transgressors. lint with all our care ful law > of s miration and hygienic teacliing it is more than a wonder that the girl of to-day still thinks of her precious carpet rather than of the liealthf illness, of the sunbeams, nature's perfect microbe-killers, for it is high time that one and all should understand the gospel of good health according to the sunlight. — Both Signora Duse's father and grandfather were comedians. The latter especially was great in his profession, and left surii a name that even to-day a lane in the pictuiesque little town of Chioggia, his native j place, is called Calle Duse. The great actress was born in 1859, during a visit the mother was paying with her husband to Venice. To convey the infant to church for bajitism she was put in a crystal basket and the procession started, headed by the p'iest. The Austrian soldiers then occupying Venice, thinking it was a procession with

the relics of some saint, presented arms 1 , whereupon her father exclaimed : " What, an armed force rendering homage to my child ! She will have a glorious future ! " The young Countess, dc Castellane has a lea-gown trimmed with diamonds. Think of it! A negligee robe costing a small fortune. It is a tea-gown as gorgeous as a ball costume, and is the most elaborate negligee gewn evor made by Worth. Anna Gould, since her marriage to Count dc Castellane, has been famous for her marvellous gown*. No expense has been spared, and cai.li coiuunere whom she has employed hai been given carte blanche to carry out his moss, artistic ideas. The tea-gown which Worth has just finished shows many novelties. J'lic robe is made of heliotrope \elwl. innkled according to the latest fashion. The lung straight front is of cream colour luouss'-hnc-de-soic and cascades of cream silk lave. The front J,. bordered with a nn^l f <|\iim(u trimming, consisting of a ilufl'y jab->t of white feathers, caught here ami tlu-ic willi diamond ornaments. The cfl'ect of the diamonds, glistening among (lie leathers is exquisite. The feathery Unnniing reaches from the shoulder right to the hum of the gown. The. crinkled velvet sleeve is small and laid in tucks towards the top. And on each shoulder ;> cluster ol aitificial flowers is fastened. On one shoulder are j, few sprays of velvet purple and white orchich, and on the other is a modest bundi of violets. The gown has a long train and an indescribable air of regal elegance. Thus tcr-gown is remarkable for many reasons in addition to its costliness. It is trimmed with diamonds — an uncommon trimming, to say the least, for a negligee robe. It is made with a clo<«fitting "sleeve instead of the conventional flowing sleeve of the average tea-gown ; and artificial flowers are used to add to lis beauty. A tea-gown trimmed w;th flowers i i? almost as great a novelty as a tea-gown I trimmed with diamonds. | — Boxing is a favourite S2)ort of the i Danish royal family. Prince Valdemar being j the- best boxer among them. When he j-lul-i lenged the late Empernr Alexander 111 of Russia, however, he mci moie than his match. King George ol' Greece Is also ! skilled wiHi the gloves. The presenr Emj peror of Russia on his travel;: around the i world used to have a b.mt with Prince Gtorge of Greece every morning on the bridge of the steamer. — The increasing popularity of small i dances makes it probable, says a Home j paper, that there will soon be a revival of the old-fashioned cotillion figures. With ilit introduction of subscription balls, the j | numbers pai Licipating became so great that i such, pretty figures as "' Puss in the Corner," the " Sedan Chair," the " Mirror." the " Court Ci>rds," and so on. were ncee&senly abandoned, and in their place there were used only modifications of " all hsnda round " and such movements. The favours, too, lave notobJy degenerated, but it is probable tiiat with the increase oi small cotillions i many new and pretty figures will be deviled, j — ' The blouse (says a Home writer) is still J the garment of the day. It is not only fash- j ionablc, it is übiquitous ; everybody wears it ; cotton, liiien,fkinnel and washing silks for clay wear, v.hile for the evenings we have chiffons, laces, and dainty silks. The styles are much less lull than last season's models, there being merely a little fulness in front where it droops over at the centre of the

waist, the back being tight-fitting. The sleeves have some fulness at the top and aie trimmed and be-fiilled on the shoulder. Tailor-made gowns have almost plain coat sleeves. My skelch shows asomewhat drossy blouse of soft chone silk, the vest covered with tucked chiffon and several rows of insertion. There is a fall of soft lace on each side of the vest ; folded collar and full '"rills of silk on the shoulders. — Some lovers, not satisfied with the ring as an outward and visible sign of their eternal love, are now exchanging eye*- — not tliei-' own eyes, of course, but very good Miiialions of them. The engagement ej-e is framed in goiu and painted on ivory, and is set round about with precious stones. Ifc must be an exact reproduction of the human and individual window, not enlarged or beautified, but painted as it is. Every model must give his or her artist at least three sittings before the right shade and the perfect expression can be transferred to the little ivory replica. — TLo Lancashire " pit-brow lasses " form a unique group of women workers. They are employed at the pit brows, stacking,' sifting, sorting, and loading coal, and many of them toil as hard as the men. Thsy wear clogs and short trousers, the latter just covered by a short skirl, and flannel jackets. The work, if rough, is very healthy, .and the girls arc famous for their robust frames a,ud fresh- complcvbiis,

— Baron Albert, Rothschild, of Vienna, has erected in memory of his Avife, tlie late i3rironcss Bettina, a handsome pavilion in the grounds of the Empress Elizabeth Hospital for Women. The late Baroness enjoyed tianscendcntal popularity among the Vicuna, poor, and, notAvithstanding her strict oi'ihodoxy in matters of faith, she extended her chanty to the pour or denomination aliun to her own. Her excellent tact secured her recognition and esteem in some of the must exclusive coteries of the Kaiscrstadt. The Bai\;nc.-s occupied a position altogether peculiar in having been tlie only Jew 'sh woman received in the mgheat urdes on <) looting of social equality. — The stainless " Star of South Africa," or Dudley Duimond, powered by the Coutiievs of Dudley, weighs 46^ caiats, and is win Hi about' £20, C00. The Koh-i-noor huh i.s the property oi' the Queen, weighs oAtT 106 carats.

\i »»•!* !«>»' Wumeu : Tise £Jfe of a,

The duties of it lad-.' flomt (. c ays a writer in tlu 1 Voui'g Woman lor June) are arduous and mulfcil'.iiJuus, and the g'jl wlu> goes in for tin* line must have health, strength, and good temper, as uell as taste and deftness of liogers One gteat source of income is the nouveaux riches. They want to give a reception in style, but are poignantly aware they have everything but the style av herewith to do it. In their distress they appl.y to our lady florist, and shamefacedly ask her to supply Avhal. is deficient, " money being no object," etc., etc. She graciously and SAveetly assents, and sends an employee with everything requisite. Hours arc spent in executing a ravishing symphony in maidefthair fern and bluebells, or a- bizarre arrangement of moss and the glowing orchid. Faint Avitb standing, also faint Avilh hunger (for these good people too often forget that, the exponents of Art require support in the Avay of nourishment,), the employer is sent for to pronounce her opinion. Her countenance i* expressive of dismay. " Well, I did expect, So>i!sTlllN f ; MORE SHOWY,"

she gasps at last ; " just, try again, and bustle ihe flowers up a bit. 1 do Avant to take 11:0 shire out, of my neighbours " What, can the gill do but obey, and dejectedly follow her mistress's behest, though '• bustling them a bit " is a Yam wW'jb ignites explanation. Another bitter experience is when the gentleman of the establishment, takes it into his head tv superintend floral operations. fie ha.s ukr.s. unique ones ci i..\i>:ly, but gijnei ulj iTi, ri*e or less imp. 1 ■>' Liable It js next to iiT-pn.vuble to pu.."i.Kle him that antique pottery and modsm gluss do not look well on the same table trgeiher, that a huge bronze bowl heaped up "with crimson rotes should not be in juxtaposition Avifcli a t.ipcring lera-cotta vase, or thah Rom.ir. delf, however intereCv'i'ig a's o curio, looks barbarously heavy side by side with a Parian vasp. Fie growls, he fumes, hofusse.-', till in sheer desnai? the decorator jiel'ls, only to be told, when his better hill' arrives, that the does not know her work, and ifc has all to be undone, while madame

GEOTYLS AM) VUME3 AND ri'SSK 1 *

in her turn, ifea, patience, good temper, and tact are indispensable in this branch tf the business. A lucrative department for the proprietor is when she has an order from an enamoured swain to send a bouquet daily to his inamorata. Such senders are often foreigner, and they spend a small fortune, v.l.ich one hopes is duly appreciated. I know one (continues the writer) ho paid a guinea for each bouquet, and was constant for nearly two months. Then a cheque cime, with orders to send no more, and \ie often wondered whether they had quarrelled or married.

Some purchasers (male) haggle amusingly over these same love tokens, wanting >Ax bouquets f.ir the price of five, fiovieis a day old, those that are nni, much in demand, hence lower in pi ice, •with vaiious other cheap dodges, which would have opened the young ladi^' eyes could they luive overheard them.

To prevent chapped hands, put a little, borax in the water yuu wrsh in. Good boots pikl good gloves affnrii the surest indication that the v, carer is well dressed.

Useful to Know. — Forty drops are equal to one tepspoonful Fom ter.spoonful-s aie equal to one tablcspooiiful.

A Cuie for Insomnia. — A hot brtb ,*>:' st before going to bed i? snii! to ]>o a oetepicure for insomnia ilum mnny drug.-!. Jjliiek stockings should be linked in wrier to which a leaspooiifnl of vinegar Jm° been added, and befoie hanging to dry ba pulled into shape.

For the Cook. — A saucer oi vinegar placed on the stove while the cabbage is being boiled will prevent ihe odour from spreading over the house.

The latent " muff " chain'? are made not of metal, more or less precious, but of leather. Some are quite plain, others being variously ornamented.

Myrrh and quinine m-ike one of the "fry best tooth powders. The mixture may also be had in solution, but the powder is better for cleaning the teeth. Any chemist will make up either. A pint of boiling water to the handful of sage leaves makes a good hair s-treng-thener. Let the mixture stand a quarter of an hour, bottle, cork up, and apply to i c scalp four times a week. To remove- stains from s Uitf i nko n pio- <■■ ! new flannel and dip it in spirits of wir.e.rub the s-atin lengthwise according to the grain, with this taking cave to change the soiled parts of tlie flannel &o a.s not to rub any cliit on the parts already cleaned. Dry with a clean rag.and if necessary pass a cool iron over the back of the satin.