LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2516, 4 June 1902, Page 61

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— Lady Howard, of Glossop, is regarded as the most. indefatigable lady traveller oi the aristocracy of to-day. She has 'vtravelled over almost every portion of " {he habitable globe, and published a very entertaining account of her travels through Mexico. Nearly 50 years ago- Lady Howard, who was a daughter of Mr Ambrose de Lisle, married the lace ' Lord Howard, as His second wife, and she has a stepson (the present peer) and five stepdaughters, including Lady Bute.

— There are at present three youthful Princes in Germany whose choice as to wives is being very much discussed. The eldest is the Grand Duke of Saxe- Weimar, who is enormously rich and very amiaule. Next is the Grand Duke of MecklenburgSchwerin. who also holds the reins of government in his own hand ; and the youngest is the German Crown Prince, heir to the German Empire and the throne of Prussia. Hi Imperial Highness is certain'.y the most brilliant '"parti" of the three, but for the other two it may be said that they are already reigning Sovereigns well endowed with this world's goods. There are at present not many German princesses of a-

suitable age for marriage, the only ones available being Princess Alice of Albany, Princess Beatrice of Coburg, Duchess Sophie ot Oldenburg, Princess Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Antoinette of Anhault, and the two daughters of the Prince of Wied. There is also the Grand Duke of Hesse, who must be provided with a second wife if the line is to be continued ; and at Darmstadt it is hoped that his Royal Highness may obtain the hand of the Duchess Sophie of Oldenburg. — Lady Maud Warrender, who is *so often included in the house parties to meet Royalties, is an acquisition, not only by reason of her personal charm and good looks, but also: •on account of her musical talents, which are great. Of course, it is her relationship to Lord Shaftesbury, who is chamberlain to the- Princess of Wales, that first brought her musical powers the Roya! notice, aud since then she has visited Sandringham and delighted the Royal ears with the sweetest melody. Lady Maud is the youngest of Lord Shaftesburv's five pretty sisters, and she married Sir George Warrender only some six or seven years ago.

—It is stated that the young Russian It/mpress has by her good example initiated a movement in favour of early rising among the ladies of her Court> When she first arrived in Russia she greatly scandalised her ladies by her habit of always being' up before 7 o'clock. They have now not onlybecome accustomed to / this startling innovation on the part of their Empress ,j -but have naturally ended by following her example. J- . —An English girl, who is now in Yokohama, has sent home an entertaining account of the chrysanthemum party given by the Empress of Japan in one' of the Tokio palaces. "It was a sight, as you may imagine. The Empress gives two parties eacli year — one in the cherry season and the other for the chrysanthemums. I was very much disappointed in the chrysanthemums, for I have known far better shows at home in. London, and I expected to see wonders here in the native land 'of the flower. One bush, at least, was a marvel, for it had 130 blooms on it. The Empress and all her suite were in European dress, beautiful brocades, but to old-fa-shioned. They looked well enough when sitting. buL were funny to a degree when they walked. The Empress was in heliotrope, mn. -nifieent brocade, with toque and parasol to match. Her skirt was too full, and had a pathetic little ruffle round the edge. Not a single Jap was in native diess, and those who did not get their clothes for the party in time were simply raging, ;>.nd stayed .it home."

— me West Knd of London will look quite bright by the tune the Coronation reason begins, for everywhere houses are hemg repainted. Brook House has been taken by rich Americans at an immense rent for the Coronation month ; and it is *" .uimoured that Curzon House has also been. let by Lord and Lady Howe to visitors from across tb-* --. Jantic.

— Piince and Princess Christian will shortly take up their residence for the season at the house bequeathed to the Princess by the late Queen Victoria, -which adjflEU the War Office in Pall Mall. -For many months past this house has been in the hands <-f workmen, and it has been entirely redecorated and newly 'furnished. It was originally intended to call this mansion Pal. Mall House, but Princess Christian has lecently decided, to revert to the name of a former house that stood on the »anu- site at the i^ginning of the eighteenth century. Schomberg Ilouse wil., thejefore. perpetuate the memory of the Dukes of .Schomoerg, after wi.o>e teiuuicy Ihe o. "ina 7 m insion passed into th~ lrr.ids of _.c»-d and Lady Holderne.ss (llie latter being a granddaughter of the first Duke of Schomberg), and later ou it was let toy

— A piivatc cl r -rnon = tration wn= riven 1 recently in London by Mr Doue'as Sturnmn find Mr Frank Par s oi3 of an invention of theirs for magnifying sounds in a telephone transmitter. The apparatus va= especially successful with musical sounds, and it should do much to improve any scr\iee for connecting notch, etc., to the. theatres and concert halls. It is also possible io hear conversation quito clearly some 10 or 12 Feet away from the instrument.

— Moscow is successfully working a new method of purifying the city's water. The plan is to sterilise the water by the introduction of ozonised air. It is !■. d that the bacteria 111 the are thus destroyed, and at a comparatively small cost the product is rendered absolutely safe for drinking. Potatoes form the world's gieatest single crop, 4,000,000.000 bu»hek being produced annually, equal in bulk to tho enure jvheat and sota ciaa. v

the Duke of Cumberland, the uncle of George HI.

— During the last few months the Princess Alice of Albany has been betrothed by the home and foreign press successively to U-e Hereditary Grand Duke Michael of Russia, the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg- Schwerin, and the German Crown Prince. These announcements (says the World) have been entirely speculative. The Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar is the best Royal match in Europe. He has immense wealth and a great position, without the " gene " of all kinds *>f puuiic duties and responsibilities. His early marriage is much desired by his subjects for dj'nastic reasons ; and the Dutch are also anxious on the subject, as the Grand Duke is at present next heir to the throne of the Netherlands. It is believed at the German Courts that the marriage of the Grand Duke William and the Princess Alice is much desired at Stuttgart, and the Queen of \v urtemberg is very clever at match-making.

— Princess Victoria is a skilled fencer. She is noted for her perseverance in all work that she takes up. and in character is said to be in not a few respects much like Queen Victoria.

— Dowager Lady Dufferin has a jointure of £2500 a year under her marriage settlement, which is charged on the family estates. Lord Dufferin also left his widow a legacy of £5000.

—At last the camera has invaded the harem, and the amateur photography craze is spreading in Turkish households. It is said that tbe women, whose enforced seclusion makes them seize upon diversion with enthusiasm, have taken to the pastime, and are photographing everything in sight. One of the Turkish correspondents of a French newspaper tells an interesting bit of gossip in regard to one Turkish Household which has been undergoing most violent disturbances, all because the other women saw their chance of getting even with tbe favourite of their lord and master. They got snapshots of her in her bad tempers and her unbecoming clothes, and part of the collection having chanced to fall into tne hands of the vain beauty, there were storms that made one haughty Turk wish he had never been born.

— Science at present shows a tendency to turn back to some of the beliefs of the ancients regarding scents. Centuries ago seems were accounted more than luxuries. Plinj- records 85 remedies derived from odorous rue. 41 whose base was mint, 32 balms from roses, 21 from lilies, bulb and bloom, and 17 medicaments strong in the virtue of violets. Thus it appears that the violet cure for cancer is among the very new things that surface science scorned because they were so very old. Now, say various experts, one must choose and use perfumes with an eye, or rather a nose, to health. So it is worth while to set down the pi-operties attributed to various perfumes.

Pure violet essence is said to be especially suitable to nervous people. But it must be obtained from the flowers themselves, not the chemical imitations. Chemically-de-rived perfumes are irritant, poisonous even, to persons of especially sensitive constitution.

True flower scents are obtained in three ways. First by spreading fresh blossoms upon "glass thickly smeared with pure gien«e, letting them stand in the sun, and, as they wither, replacing them until the grease X as fragrant as the flowers. Second, by repeatedly infusing fresh petals in ojl ; and third, by infusing tuem in ether, which is then distilled to a dry solid. After all the scent possible has been extracted from the grease it is still fragrant enough to make the very finest perfumed soan.

All the citrene scents — berpramot. neroli, orange-flower water — are refreshing, and in a de';ii»e stimulating, if properly prepared. To make a lasting perfume some animal base is e«sentinl — musk, civet, or ambergri«. If the base is too strong, it makes the flowei -scent curiously irritant. People who ieo\ themselves faint in a crowded room are often the victims of several scents simultaneously attacking their nerves. A single odour, no matter how strong, after a while deadens the olfactory nerves, whereas a combination keeps them active.

-ay fever, which, it is believed by some, arises from the irritant properties of fine odoious pollen yielded by grass and weed fielcL, is in a way a type of perfume action. Scent particles in general are not strong enough or acrid enough to set up violent ills. None the less, they have their effect. Witness the refreshment of lavender water wnen one is faint from heat or crowding.

Lavender is peculiarly suited to highstrung temperaments. It is soothing as well as refreshing, without being unduly stimulating. Jasmine should always be used pure. Alone it tones and braces the whole system, but in almost all of its compounds is singularly depressing. Neroli is the exception. Jasmine and neroli together in faint essence make the scent of scents for all who have hysterical tendencies.