A LADY'S LETTER FROM LONDON. London, February 8.

Te Aroha News, Volume 1, Issue 45, 12 April 1884, Page 6

A LADY'S LETTER FROM LONDON. London, February 8.

Dear Mr Editor, — The death of Lord Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster's eldest son, has been a sad shock for ug Lancashire folk. Considering the atmosphere of wealth and rank in which he had been brought up, he was the pleasantest, kindliest, most unaffected of men, devoted to country pursuits, but fully conscious of the responsibilities of his high position. At Rugby, Stafford, and the principal railway stations on the London and Northwestern line, few faces were better known than Lord Grosvenor's. He had a craze for practical engineering, and was never so happy as when pottering in the Company's works at Crowe, or driving the locomotive of a great mail train at sixty miles an hour. Latterly he lived very quietly at his home in Cheshire, seldom leaving Eaton save to go to N&wmarket or some other big meeting for a week's racing. Lord Grosvenor was only thirty, and looked younger than his age. His infant son, Lord Belgrave, will be "rich beyond the dreams of avarice," for every day old leases in London are falling in,and tho,Duke of Westminster grows wealthier and wealthier. As regards chiffons, novelties seem quite out of the question this month ; in fact, everything in the way of dress or fashion appears at a standstill. Drapers are having their clearance sales, and we women are on the look-out for bargains. Preparations are already on foot for the spring season, which, should the weather continue mild, will commence much earlier than usual. Black costumes of lace and satin are much favoured just at present. The skirts are in almost every case short, but for middle-aged ladies are cut with very small train at the back. The skirts for young girls consist of a series of lace flounces (narrow), or arranged alternately with those of satin ; the back, in [place of the usual drapery, has three flounces or skirts, one falling over the other in fashionable ballet-skirt style. In coloured tulles and nets covered with pompons this is also a favourite style of making, the front of the skirt arranged in bouillon^s to meet short panniers near the waist. The bodices are usually satin, with short round basque, orpointed back and front. Light colours, such as white or crGme, pale blue and pink, are worn only by quite young girls. In tulles or nets a darker shade of sateen or satin is used for foundation. Narrow satin ribbons are profusely used on dresses of nun's veiling for young girls ; with the long kilts several rows are placed round the edge to simulate satin tucks, or the drapery is raised high on one side, with a bunch of bows composed of flots of these narrow ribbons. The fashionable gloves for evening wear are white with white dresses, pearl grey and almond-coloured kids with pale yellow suede. These shades can be worn with almost any dress ; at other times the trimmings of the dress are matched, and are usually of silk with ruches at the top. With short sleeves the gloves should come well over the elbow. Very pretty ruches of lace are worn round the throat with athome dresses. They are made of white, black, and coloured laces, either to match or in contrast with the dress. They are easily made, and to appear more dressy the pleats are caught together with small pearl, jet, or steel beads, as fancy may dictate. My old friend Mrs Leach says, in her "Family Dressmaker," that the most fashionable colour for ordinary day dresses, either in cloth, cashmere, or velveteen, is red. This shade is used for walking dresses and capes, long paletots and the fashionable pelisse. Fur has been and is still extensively used for these outdoor garments, and when this is not the case the Marabout feather trimming in black and the natural shade takes its place. The costume, to be complete, should have both muff and bonnet composed of the same feather trimming ; in any case, it is now considered correct for the muff to match the bonnet instead of the dress as heretofore. Tailor-made dresses of cloth have still their deserved popularity ; the skirts have been varied a little for coldweather wear ; instead of being kilted the skirt has been plain, and at the foot a deep border of fur or several narrow bands [ placed at equal distances all round. Over this style of skirt is worn a polonaise with fringe of the same kind of fur at the edge, draped high at one side, and the back arranged in the long waterfall drapery. The short habit bodices are worn with skirts more fully trimmed, and to these is added a braided waistcoat. Quite a convenient fashion for renovating last season's j dresses are the short jackets of plain [material or cloth. This style was first adopted for making up Paisley shawls into bodices. The Paris correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph" sends that journal some remarks anent wedding costumes which, I think, are worth copying. '♦The whole science of the dressmaker," he says, "is unable to invent anything very new or striking in the matter of bridal raiment. Many who bring big dowries to their husbands choose simplicity, while others less well endowed resort to every means to rob the wedding gown of its immaculate coldness and severity. The French code of rules is a strict one. If the lace has a creamy-tint about it, still the material must be white— though there are degrees even in pure white, as milk and snow differ— and so the difficulty is increased. One bridal flower alone here stands pre-eminent, and the heavy, waxen, orange-blossom may not be relieved by the starry-white and deep-green of the myrtle, or the pallid delicacy of the jasmine ; even its own foliage is reduced to a few small leaflets. Strictly speaking, diamonds are not permitted to a bride on the wedding-

day, as they are never worn by young girls j but an accommodation is made with etiquette in this case, and the fiance l^ whose marriage contract was signed yesterday, may to-day hang these glittering stones in her ears. But to mix brilliants with the chaplet of orange-blossom is an innovation that foreigners only care to make. The i daughter of the Spanish Ambassador, married the other day, wore, out of compliment to the bridegroom— Prince Kotchoutey — a silver coronet studded with diamonds, resting on a garland of bridal flowers, and the veil, fastened to the chignon, floating behind. This fashion of wearing the veil is also an innovation gaining ground. Save a pair of solitaires, no other gems marred the relative simplicity of the bride's attire— an exquisite gown of white silk brocade interwoven with silver, the necklet composed of pendant orange flowers, and the throat and front of the dress ornamented with plain net, similar to the veil. Another bride of a few days since wore a gown composed of a separate train of white satin, and a slip of the same material, covered with a tulle bouillonne, a a Marie Antoinette fischu of net simply hemmed at the edge, and a plain veil secured by a bandeau of orangeblossom. A third had chosen the same style of dress, emphasising the effect by substituting a train of chiselled velvet for that of satin, ruchings of point a Vaiguille for the bouillonne of tulle, and a veil of the same exquisite lace for that of net, superadding a bouquet of orange-blossom on the left shoulder, from which a garland descended, crossing the bodice, and draping the train at the side. Of an equally handsome description is the bridal robe of white satin brocado, the back of the bodice cut in one with the train, and the front shaped in sharp points. The petticoat, also in brocade, is looped up a little on tho right, and open on the left to the waist, so as to show a fan pleating and kilted flounce. A wedding dress worn nightly by a stage bride, and modified so as to be more becoming, may stand as a model for a society less rigid in its notions in this particular. Tho satin foundation is pure white, it is true, but the lac© with which it is entirely covered — front breadths as well as train — has so mellow a tinge as to be almost 6cru. At regular distances this lace is fastened to the undorlying silk by tassels of orangeblossom, mixed with silver wheat-ears. The bodice, too, is of lace, gathered upon a satin lining, and secured at the waist by a narrow satin belt tied on one side with a knot of long loops and streamers." Mind, by-the-bye, you always Tead my confrdre "Madge's" letters in "Truth." They aro written by a lady who, unlike most fashion scribblers, really has the run of "society," and can give hints of the most valuable description. Her recipes especially should invariably be tried. I know for a fact that they come from the chef (a veritable cordon bleu) of one of the greatest gourmands in London, and are often culinary high-art. Talking of cooking, I wonder whether the South Kensington Professor who is going to lecture you on pastry and puddings has reached New Zealand yet. He certainly should be somewhere about the colonies. We have been to quite a number of new plays since I last wrote, but your regular correspondents will have told you about most of them. Little Mimi Anderson continues to do an enormous business at the Lyceum. This house holds nearly £400, and it is invariably crammed from floor to ceiling long before. the performance commences, I met Mrs Kendal out at supper one evening last week, and she told me that Gilbert showed her husband a sketch of "Comedy and Tragedy" some time ago, and offered it to them for tho St. James's Theatre. "To tell the truth," she added, "I didn't fancy the piece much in the rough, nor am I very sorry we missed it. If I had to play Clarice every night, I should be nt for the hospital in a fortnight. Miss Anderson can't feel her parts very deeply, or she wouldn't be able to bear it either." Tom took us to see the new burlesque at the Gaiety on Friday last. Mr Burnand has selected the legend of ' ' Camaralzaman" for travestie this time, but has not achieved a striking success. The book is far too long ; the songs few and poorly selected, and the chorus weak. The best features of the piece are a quack doctor's song to the time of the old "Post Horn Galop ;" a new setting of Chirgwin's " It Never Could Happen Here;" and Nellies Farren's "Engaged Ones Lament," with the refrain, "Well, I Don't Know So Much About That." Here is a verse of the lastnamed — I'm off to be married— oh ! isn't it fun? Well, 1 don't know so much about that ! My bachelor life is all over and done, "Well, I don'c know so much about that ! I've plenty of coin as a bachelor who Can do what he likes, and likes nothing to do ; They say what for one is enough does for two, But— l'm not quite so sure about that. Chorus. M. Planquette's new comic opera, "Nell Gwynne," was produced at the Avenue Theatre last night— too late, of course, for • me to be able to tell you much about it in this letter. Pretty Florence St. John, by far the cleverest of all opera bouffe prima donnas, undertakes the title role, and the company engaged to support her includes Lionel Brough, Arthur Roberts, and Miss Julia Warwick. The scenery and mounting are said to be exceptionally fine. "In the Ranks," a melodrama by Sims and Pettit, which I remember praising to you when it first came out, was performed at the Adelphi for the one hundredth time last Tuesday; and " Confusion," the popular farcical comedy, at the Vaudeville, will reach its 250 th night next Thursday. Maud: " Isn't it strange, dear, all the fellows who flirt with me are married men ? I cannot think what has become of all the bachelors." Gertrude (who is not envious —oh, dear, no) : "Possibly flirting with the wives of your admirers !"

lexlensLou blocks now being opouei! a]i nro ready to be operated on, the expectation^ of ernn the most sanguine shareholders will be ful l y realisei i.

Ooqukttk. — Tim sinking of the winze is still being continued, and the gold, whic'i for a few frpt had almost sprpn out, is aa^ain' beginning to show in encouraging qnanfityv A<s somi «i«t if, ha« boon triced to n Hppth ?n*tiH nyi t to justify the nntu'ns? in of a Jovv level, driving will bo cnmmem'p.! fort switii.

Eubeka. — Within tin 1 in.sr few (by* tliere lias been a manual improvement in the appearance of the roof in flu* low tavel. For so.ne distance past tne ri^o it was of \nrgo sisso uti'l rather poor, but tSie stone £ot ont recently is of inuc'.i hotter qn ility, atvl the show in the l'nce is at present very satisfactory. In the intermediate level southward the lo le, which had been slightly disturbed by a sli le or cross course, is attain ss?n»nini>its usual form and yielding crushing stuff of fair quality-.

Inveuness. — Tue me from the low level is up 24 foot. There is now in liaivl a fine Vein of quartz, varvino { n 'width from I<S to 24 inei.es, somewhat "similar in appearance to that q-ot in the upper level. Gold in i\ r \<e come across at any moment ;