LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 70

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— Among those who celebrated their Dirthdays on Januaiy 1. is Lndy Crewe, better known still, p.rhap^, by her maiden name of L.rly Pe-gy Primrose. Hei ladyship is ne-er' likely to forget her wedding, viluch ivas the great social event of 1898. Nnt only from a social but from a popular point of view it was the most famous Ceremony of its kind, if we except the wedding' of the Prince and Princess of Wale 5 -, of lecent years. Since then Lady Crewe has developed into one of the bestknown of political hcstosM"S. She is, indeed, easily ilvzl among those of the Liberal camp, and is popular not only for

her father's sake, but tor her ov.n. An .-.musin;: incident, by the way. cecmred not long before her m:\iriage. Lord Crevte- was speaking in Cheshire, and remarked that up to the pie«*-nt he had been somewhat afraid of the ladits of the Prhnrm» League. The audience, taking up the unconscious allusion to 'Primrc-e," btirst into a ro?r of laughter, nnd quite bewildered his Lordship until the situation dawned on him. Then he quietly remarked that he thought he he d said enough on that particular topic. — Mrs Joseph Chamberlain has more actual power to-day in some ways, it was recently remarked, than Queen "Alexandra herself. Chamberlain has taken his wife into paitnership with him. Among those who know it is a matter of course that if anyone wishes to "get at" the great statesman, he must first win the good graces of his wife. Chamberlain consults Mrs Chamberlain about almrfst every political .move he intends to make When he proposed recently going to South Africa, Mrs Chamberlain insisted upon going with him. She exerts over her husband a wide and direct influence, greater, in fact, than that of any of his political advisers. Mrs Chamberlain, the daughter of Judge Endicott, of Boston, has made the closest study of English politics since she came to this country, and her judgment and tact have saved heT husband, it is said, from mony a bad "break."

— When Wilhelmina, the Queen of the Netherlands, was a little child, she was hardly ever seen by her father, owing to his i esentraent that a son had r»at been given him. Her mother, the Queen, planned a ruse to win King William's favour for his little girl. One morning at breakfast, as he bent over to inhale the fragrance from a great bank of roses which tilled the centre of the table, a baby face peeped out and two baby arms crept around his neck, while a tiny voice cried out, "Oh, papa, take me out of the flowers, the thorns hurt me so." From that minute the King's heart sofened, and little Wilhelmina became a great favourite with her father.

— 'According to the New York Herald, polite society in Chicago has been stirred to its depths by the unaccountable action of Mrs Potter-Palmer in striking off the list of patronesses of the annual charity ball the names of several ladies, including that of Mrs Harold M'Cormick. daughter of Mr John D. Rockefeller, the Standard Oil King. Mrs Palmer is the widow of a millionaire, and one of the few foreign women entitled to weai the French decoration of the Legion of Honour. She has lung beei) the acknowledged leader of Chicago society, but now there is talk of a rebellion against her authority, led by Mrs M'Cormick and other aggrieved dames. — Writing o~ Christmas customs, a correspondent in a Home paper says : — It is appalling to think of the amount of gorging and stuffing that is goin? on all over the country at the present time. To many people Christmas means, '"Little Mary," and "Little Mary" only — just that and nothing more ! When one considers ihe quantity of lich, heavy food and confectionery that some "gormandisers" manage tc get through, one is almost inclined to credit them with possessing the digestive apparatus of the ansconda — and the iderls of a restaurant-keeper. The inevitable plum-pudding is, to my mind, one of the most grievous afflictions of the Christmas season. One is compelled to taste it or be outlawed as a heretic ; and there are heaps of people to whom the outrageous and monstrous plum-pudding is anathema. I wonder if you ever heard of the gigantic plum-pudding that was made in 1718 by a Mr Austin for the delectation of his customers'. It was nofc a Christmas pudding, however, as it was made in the month of May. nnd was boiled for 14 days at the Red Lion Inn, by the Mint, in hJouthwark, from whence it was intended that it should be conveyed to the fcwan Tavern, in Fish street Hill, and finally divided in St George's Fields. The pud"ding weighed 10001b, and the smell of it was so enticing and so tantalising that, as it was being carried in a grand procession th" band meanwhile playing an appropriate air entitled, "What lumps of pudding my mother gave me"), the populace made a raid on it, routed its guardians and escort, and devoured every morsel of it before iMr Austin's disappointed customers could <z a b so much r^ a whiff of it fragrance. Too bad, wasn't it?