LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2436, 21 November 1900, Page 59

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— One of the most marked characteristics of the late Duke of Coburg in his relations with those about him was, it is said, his consideration for others. He hated ceremonies of all kinds ; Court balls and Court functions were irksome to him. He was never comfortable when present at them, and longed the whole time for the moment when he could withdraw with a few friends from the din and crush .into some retired chamber for a quiet talk and smoke. During the -last clays of his life his physician was in constant attendance upon him. Prince Alfred, as a child, was the stoutest and healthiest of the Royal children. Lady Canning tells bow proud the then young Queen was to find % that Prince Alfred was much larger and heavier than the keeper's boy at Balmoral, of precisely the same age; and Lord John Russell, writing in 1848 to his wife, said : 'T do not envy the Queen anything she has except the rosy cheeks of Prince Alfred ; our poor boy is so different. " — Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands is cultivating and cherishing a myrtle which, it is surmised, is to yield sprays for her wedding costume. Her Majesty has lately taken a fancy to the rhododendron, and is anxious to grow it to perfection in her- gardens. — Queen Victoria's conservative fondness for the things she is used to is shown in the fact that the little ivory paper knife with which, to this day, she cuts the pages of her new books was in her possession when she was a little Princess. The cabins of her Majesty's royal yacht are jtill brightened with the same old-fashioned rosebud chintz which the Prince Consort loved. — Lord Russell of Killowen possessed in his wife not only a model of every domestic virtue and a hostess of considerable charm, but also an invaluable business ally. People wondered how he could get through all his work, political and legal. It was sometimes a miracle ; but it was a miracle he could never have performed if Lady Russell had not relieved him of many of the labours that usually fall upon the male head of a household. She was his account-keeper, his banker, the manager of hi.s investments, his adviser in all business affairs. ■ —Of all the, late Duke of Argyll's daughters, one only married a man of title — Lady Edith, who is now Duchess of Northumberland. Four married plain country gentlemen, one is wife to the Bishop of Peterborough, and Lady Victoria is unmarried. — -Lady Mary Saurin, who has just passed away in her hundredth year, was the last of that remarkable quartette of sisterswhich included, besides herself, Lady Louisa Fortescue, Lady Wharncliffe, and Lady Charles Hervey. Lady Georgiana Grey was also born in 1801 ; Miss Perceval, Avho recently died at her residence at Ealing, in 1805 ; whilst the Baroness BurdettCoutts did not see the light until nine years later. - — One of the most beautiful women in England is Lady Neylor-Leyland, who was Miss Jennie Chamberlain, of Cleveland* Ohio. Until this year Hyde Park House was always one of the most delightful houses in London, and Lady Na-ylor-Ley-land one of the best hostesses. But since the death of Sir Haylor-Leyland, the great house has been silent and sombre. Lady Naylor-Leyland has attained the rare position of acting as hostess to Royalty on more than one occasion. Her health of late has been anything but good. Lady NaylorLeyland's chief delight nowadays are her little sons, the eldest of whom has reached the important age of nine. His godfather, the Prince of Wales, takes much interest in him. — Royal interest and practical help for the sufferers from the South African war are unbounded, and the latest plan afoot is a home for invalided officers. The Prince and Princess of Wales have fitted up a

charming farmhouse near fc'andringhaiiy where they will entertain ad their guestf) convalescent officers who have no suitably hrme available, colonials having the pre< ference as far from their own country. — During the recent visit to England ol the learned and popular monarch the Kin^ of Sweden, his Majesty was asked by Lord Rosebery what sight or sights he had seen 5 during his stay in our country had \m) pressed bim the most. "My lord," replied the King, "I have seen of the peaks of the Andes, and have been aAve-stricken a*' their grandeur ; I have been on the Alps» which have fascinated me ; I have itood and gazed with delighted eyes on the beautiful Italian lakes: — these eights have been delightful enough ; but nothing has ever impressed me so much as the picturf of a sweet, unaffected Englishwoman. Engi lishmen are rich as regards money, but' they are far richer in the treasures they possess of wives, sisters, and daughters." , — A usually well-informed contemporary! contradicts the report that the authoress of " Elizabeth and her German Garden " is* Princess Henry of Pless (Miss Cornwallis- 1 West). Princess Heniy's talent is for' music, not literature ; and she is naturally' much amused to hear of the people who g» about saying "I told you so! I always' felt that Princess Piess wrote the book." As a matter of fact, the authoress is an English lady married .to a German, and she is the sister of a well-known doctor in South Kensington. The "Man of Wrath" in the book is a gentleman of the mildest and kindest temper in real life. — "Kathleen," in Leeds Mercury. — Here is an interesting item regarding the Empress Eugenic. In her day she was the leader of fashion, and her pin-money for dress was fabulous. Her foot and hand were so small that her maids who had her shoes and gloves as perquisites could find no market for them, so they were presented by the Empress svery yeai to the orphans of the Eugenic Napoleon Asylum, where 50 fatherless and motherless girls were educated at her cost. All the white shoes and white gloves which those girls wore afe their first communion were those which had been worn by the Empress. —To be to her own people what our Queen is to the British Empire is said to be the laudable ambition of the young Queen of the Netherlands, who left her teens behind her on August 31, when sh© completed her twentieth year. "Little I Wilhelmina " she has long been affection- | ateiy called, because she was only 10 when .i?he acceded to the throne, although she was not crowned until she attained her legal majority two years ago. Although so young she has given proof of having astrong will of her own, and if the past may be regarded" as a criterion of the future her reign will be a pleasant one for collec tors of stamps. —Up to date (writes "M. D.," of Edin< burgh) the relative greatness of mind, com* paring a man's and a woman's, has been supposed to be fairly indicated in the fact; that a man's brain weighs more than a, woman's — about 10 per cent, mere, accord-*: »ing tc one estimate ; 12 per cent, more, according to another. In this connection there have appeared a few extenuating facts on behalf of the woman. There is less variability in woman's Drain than in man's. It- lies closer to the average. As it shows less extraordinary development at the one end of the scale, so it shows less abnormal deficiency at the other. There are fewer idiots and. imbeciles among women than among men — in some countries the excess of male incompetents is 50 per cent. In proportion to its body weight, the smaller animal has always the larger brain. The elephant's brain is but a little larger than that of a man. To show of how little significance brain weight is, considered with reference to body weight, it should be noted that, thus estimated, woman ' has an advantage of 6 per cent, over man. — This year, by majorities ranging from 50 to 100, women were elected to all the important offices in the town of Beattie, Kansas. The campaign was a strong on© on both sides, and the result was startling. 1 Mrs Marie Totten, who is now its mayor, j is 40 years of age, and* both clear-headed and capable. Miss O"Neil, the clerk, is 23 I years of age. Neither had served in office j before, nor had any of the other' womer*

elected. All the other women office-holders are ovei 40 years of age, and arranged .with the male officers to put them in the way of attending to the "town's business. Mrs Totten is wealthy, and is said to in-tend-using much of her own money during hei in -repairing the 'town streets. Their" term, of office is two years. A large proportion of the police /will be women. The police judge and city marshal are men, but they have declared their intention to resign and turn over their offices to the*women. The citizens, it is said, believe the women will prove themselves more capable of resisting bribery than the male office-holders. — The cleverest woman rifle shot in the British Isles is Miss Winifred Leale (daughter of Lieutenant-colonel Leale, of the Guernsey Volunteers), who has made a name foi herself of the " Guernsey Rifle Queen-" by the masterly fashion in which she fires her shots. Asked some years ago at a rifle meeting in Guernsey to fire a rifle she did so, and so successful was her "first shot that she was persuaded to pracifcise rifie shooting. After that she practised regularly, and after a year's training took Isome prizes at local meetings. After winning with a score of 63 out of 70 shots fcer father took her to Bisley. Miss Leale shoots at the usual distances, 200 yds, 500 yds, and 600 yds, seven shots at each range. With the Martini rifle lier highest total was 90 out of 100 shots, but when the OLee-Metford came into use she . managed 38 the first season. When H.R.H. the jDuke of Cambridge was Commander-in-bhief, and witnessed her shooting, he asked r»c be introduced to Miss Xeale, who had competed with trained marksmen. He |vyas very complimentary, and was surprised .thai she used a rifle with a heavy recoil tuck de the Martini-Henry.