LADIES' COLUMN.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12516, 26 March 1904, Page 6

LADIES' COLUMN.

♦ '. Boyalty is always getting presents. No one has any idea of the number of Christinas presents sent to the Queen by what might be called unexpected people, in addition to those naturally given by other Royalties. Miss Alice Ho lander, the young Australia! contralto, has recently become engaged to an Oxford undergraduate. The young man, who is reading for the B.A. degree, is the son of a very wealthy merchant at Leeds. Miss Hollander is not likely to give up her musical career altogether, as she is making capital pro-gret-s at Home. The late Princess Mathilde Bonaparte has left her fortune of £80,000 to Prince Louis Napoleon, the brightest and cleverest member of his family, and thought highly of by who know him. The Prince, ie te now said, will take unto himself a wife, and a Montenegrin Princess is even mentioned in this connection — a sister of Queen Elena of Italy. [ Ghost parties (bays the " World,") dl'e a notion of the moments. Each guest comes prepared with some inci-l dents connected with a ghost story One guest opens the tale, th« hostess calls upon every one in turn to follow oh. The result is often surprisingly' good and thrilling.. More of Ct i n it is surprisingly funny, and the "ghost^ party* is generally a very hilarious gathering. Sooner or later man finds out the '• man's woman " and quits her. That is her punishment and the other women's vindication. One by one tho taen that hang about her have their eyes opened. Sometimes this opera tion is painful to them ; sometimes ie is a trilling incident in their lives, f hey go their several ways, wiser, and marry tho girls that the 4< man n woman " has snubbed and derided. *' Playing at Russian " may be described as society s little game, :it chis moment, dining on Russian' dishes, and giving each other Russian trinkets and Russian tea parties. The [aUer, by the way, are distinctly good. | Hostesses are vicing with each other ' in the quality of the tea they use and ! the beauty ot the pierced silver holders tor the quaint glasses wherein the tea;, - with its sliced lemon, is served. ' ' ; • ; Queen Alexandra's latest present is a scintillating specimen of radium enclosed in a gold-mounted tube', similar in size and shape to those which are being brought into Use in hospitals. It is one of the <k correct '* things in society to be deeply interested in the new discovery, and as it t has now been definitely brought under the nooice of Royalty, the amateur scientists of Mayfair will be more numerous than ever; A drawing-room exhibition of radium has been given after a dinner party by one prominent host, and his example will no doubt .be followed by many others. 1 Miss Ayrton, Mrs Zangwill as she .now is, is the daughter of Professoi Ayrton, the 9miaent electrician. He held a position in Japan, where she

was born. Her m other jvas.one of the earliest pioneers in the medical pro-k fession tor women. Mrs Zangwills! stepmother man-ied , Professpi-, T A^r-, top some years after be- had Returned ■ tcr J3ng!and a widower, she is fiCfircely les« famous than her husband i«r in elpctrical science ; is a member of tbe Iretitute of Electrical Engineers, and, in rtcoguxtioa of a brilliant; paper rea,d| before the Boyai Society, was proposed lor membership, but; debarred on a, technicality, owing to her sex. Her work on " The 'Electric ,'"Arc,\ known to scientists throughout the civilised world, wa* voted the most remarkable contribution to be sdb^ mitted to the International Science Congress in Paris. ] \ Mrs Kane is an American who has taken up dishwashing as a profession, and now no fashionable dinner is complete witkout her. fche takes charge a*J far as the china itself is concerned. The costliest and most fragile Sevres is said to be as safe. in her. hands as unbreakable ironware. She is the autocrat of the dishwashing ceremonies, if by some mishap a piece of rare china is broken, this official stands ready to refund its full value . Mrs Kate ha« seen many, social leaders come and go. Her charge is £4 a night, and she is .busy; all the. .season, and it i* said r that £WA night jrould not induce her to go in and Buper T intend 'the;; washing of pp. ordinary | china set 'belonging' to some* nobody i outside the charmed circle of Newp6ro'i^four>hund^d.. is, m''fact, a woman who I?as^piio|)^d|an|origi|i-| ally humble professidtil " lX ' "■" '*' - * The recent birth of the baby thejrst child of^the Prince, afiaWiin : cess of Denmark", was "received- with rejoiciDgs. parents haye made themselves 'exceedingly * popular both in England and Denmark. Thisns not surprising, for the Princess has always been noted for the great interest .she' takes in a'l current events. She ,enters with great spirit into every womanly amusement. Quifa early in life she learned how to pull an oar -properly, and how to skate.; . fehe has a splendid seat in the saddle, and' is a graceful and spirited rider. She is elso an enthusiastic cyclist. At one time she took a great interest in the model dairy at . fcJandringham, and learned the art of butter-making and all .^hejpther duties of a dairymaid. Her husband is one of a, "family of four boys and four girJs. -Like our own Royal Family, the Danish Jfrinces and Princesses were broaghfj up in .ths simplest fashion. ' ; ■