LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2719, 25 April 1906, Page 69

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— Tlie rumour that Princess Patricia is to marry the youthful Marquis of Anglesey his made quite a sensation. The head of the Paget family is not yefc of age. He is immensely wealthy — even richer, 'it is pointed out, than «ras the Earl of Fife at the time of his marriage to Princess Louise of Wales. — The individual woman, taken separately, may be a capable and useful ** of society ; but to find seven ,or c : a will act intelligently in concert se nigh impossible, and the masculine it that a ladies' committee "generally resolvesitself inio talk,' temper, tears, and tea, although brutal, is not, after all, 60 very wide of the mark. — Vanity Fair. — The poor people who earn a precarious livelihood by gathering amber on the sbcrcs of the Baltic Sea work only in the roughest weather. W&er the »vind blows in from the sea, as it ofter does with terrific violence, the boulders are tossed and tumbled at the' bottom, and great quantities of sea wrack ai*e washed, up on^the beach. This' is the harvest of the waders, for hidden in tlie roots and branches .of tlie seaweed lumps of the precious" gura may be found. In other \ parts of the coast divers go crawling. •on ' the bottom of ' the sea for the lumos of amber hidden in seaweed and nnder rocks. It is believed that once a great pine forest flourished here where the great billows roll, and that amber- is the gum exuded from the trees, of .which not a vestige remains. The finds are ■ very variable. The largest piece known, weighing 181b, is in the' Royal Museum in Berlin. The usual finds range from lumps as big as a man's head to particle like grains of sand. The larger pieces are found jammed in rocks or in tangles of marine vegetation. Divers work front' four to five hours a day in all seasons,' except when the sea is blocked with ice. • — This year will see the first statue of Queen Alexandra erected in England. I£ is to be placed outside the London Hospital by the governors of that institution as a recognition of her Majesty's care for the poor and suffering. • .The only other statue of the Queen is in Copenhagen,--where it was erected shortly after her

marriage. — Few people remember — indeed, few ever knew — that when Princess Henry "of ■ Battenberg was a young girl she had z, \ secret engagement with the Prince- Im-^ perial, son of its Empress Eugenic. They--were bofyh' very young and very romantic; . and when- their affection was -discovered the Fates, or, rather, the''family, • weiv,' unkind. 1 It was the pangs of love that sent the Prince out to the Zulu "warPrincess Beatrice, when- his :cbffin was brought b&ck to England, placed a porce- " lain wreath upop it, a wreath that should

last "as my love will." She was 37 before she married. The Empress Eugenic has always had the deepest -affection for the Princess who might have been her daughter-in-law. ' —'The fashion of wearing short sleeves am? long elbow gloves has given rise in Paris to a very ugly new vogue, which.' consists in taking a pair of long white kid glove/s and cutting the hand off bodily, so as to leave a kid-covered arm and wrist, with the hand entirely bare. Naturally, i» the >yes of the possessors of bulky and beauteous rings, the idea has a good deal to recommend it.

To ensure publication in the forthcoming issue lettm should reach the Witness office if possible on Saturday nvjht, but on no account later than Monday night, - "• W Descriptions o.t balls, <fee, muxt If endorsed by either the Witness corrrspondent for the district or by the secretary to the ball committee. ■> The MS of any correspondents who do not comply with IMb ride will be sent to Iht secretary for endorsement prior to apptarina. —EM MELIXE DAN.CE AT CIIOOKS'TON'. Dear Emmeline, — On Friday, 6th inst., one, of tKe most enjoyable dances of the season was given by the Kelso Mounted;. Riaes. Owing to the limited space for dancing .the invitations were confined strictly to the members of tho squadron and- their lady friends^ The. "West-wood v/oolehed was gaily decorated with flags and foliage, and all present seemed^dtp thoroughly enjoy themselves. Excellent music waß provided, by Mr Jas., Cooper, the extras being played by Trooper Sim. The" supper supplied by Mr Graham, of Tapanui, was all that could -be desired. Trooper E. K. Sim (assisted by Trooper Munro) made an efficient M.C Sprgeant Jenkins, on behalf of those present, thanked tha Crookston members for the delightful entertainment, and Captain Stewart suitably replied. Amongst the ladies present I noticed Miss Downie Stevjart, Mrs Dunnet, Mrs R. J. Hendrie, Miss Eevie, Mis 3 Ramsay, Mrs Sherbutt. Miss N. Sim. Misa Pullar, Miss M. Fleming, Mrs Cuthbertson, Miss May Barclay, Miss Daisy Dunnet. Miss J. Dickson, Miss Violet Campbell, Mig3 Thomson, Miss Eva Sim, Miss Bellneavcs, Mrs Jenkins, Miss Daisy Sim, Miss Falconer, Mrs Andrew, Miss Scott, Miss Joan Sim, Miss Clouston, Miss Lily Sim, Miss Mary Stewart, Miss Herbert (Heriot), Miss Adams', Miss Lily, Adams, Miss Harris, Miss Nellie Haugh, etc. — Epic.