The Duchess of Fife at Mar Lodge.

Otago Witness, Issue 2436, 21 November 1900, Page 60

The Duchess of Fife at Mar Lodge.

The Duchess of Fife (says M.A.P.) is a ihappy but unappreciated Princess. Shy, silent, with the drawback of delicate health, ehe cares little for social life in London, or for country house visits. Nowhere -=is she seen to greater advantage than in Scotland, iwith husband, children, and a few intimate friends. She has a great love for sport and outdoor life, and the charm of her gentle nature shows to advantage in the Jiome circle. Princess Louise, Duchess of 'Argyll, prefers to retain her Royal rank, but Princess Louise of Wales desires to be designated < Duchess of Fife. When she married the Duke of Fife, she identified herself with hei new surroundings, and although, of coursei addressed as "Royal

I Highness" by friends and- dependents, yet resigned her right to a lady-in-waiting, and receives ni allowance from Government. The Marquise cFHautepoule, once Miss Julie Stonor, a girl friend of the Duchess's unmarried days, acts as an unofficial lady-in-waiting, and Miss Blanche Forbes, sister of Sir Claude Forbes, of Newe, plays the part of an amateur maid-of-honour. Mar Lodge, Aberdeenshire, has been built quite recently to replace the old abode of the Duffs, which was burnt to the ground a few years ago. Tho house is built of pink granite, and -is a low, building gabled and turreted. A charming feature is the verandah of rustic woodwork running round the house. All the wood and stone used in the building came from the Fife property, even the pink granite being "^quarried from a neighbouring hill. The hall and staircase are very fine, and all the fireplaces are distinctive, each being designed by the Duchess herself. The hall fireplace is constructed with a view to burning huge logs of pinewood. The Duchehs also interests herself in the decoration of the dinner table, shoAving a preference foi wild flowers and ferns.