FEMININE INTERESTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18616, 11 July 1930, Page 4

FEMININE INTERESTS

PERSONAL AND FASHION NOTES. Festival of Women: In Budapest, recently, there was celebrated the festival of the women, in connection with the commemoration of the 900th anniversary of the death of Prince Emery, the son of Stephen, Hungary’s first King, St. Emery, who was canonised with his father in 1083, has always been reversed as the patron saint of Hungarian youth. Thousands of women pligrims in Danube steamships and by special train left Budapest for Esztergom (where St. Emery was born), the seat of the Prince Primate of Hungary, Cardinal Seredi, and the treasure city of Catholic Hungary. The arrival of the white pilgrim ships was watched by dense crowds who lined the banks on the Hungarian side of the Danube at Esztergom. Processions of women, bearing crucifixes and pictures of the saint, marched into Esztergom from the surrounding districts. All the women marched from the river bank to the Basilica, which dominates town and river. The democratic character of the pilgrimage was perhaps its most striking feature .As the procession wound its way up the steep incline, one sow hatless girls, with black kerchiefs tied beneath the chin and the blue stockings and white skirts of the peasant in Sunday dress march abreast of fashionably dressed pilgrims from Budapest. Girls in national costumes bore an open scarlet palanquin containing a vessel holding the leg bones of St. Emery, lent by the Cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle. The great bell of the Basilica had tolled throughout the morning. When it had ceased, the pilgrims had taken their appointed places, the Cathedral—one of the largest in Hungary—was dlled to the uttermost limits of its marble walls. Hundreds of pilgrims who were unable to obtain entrance •anked themselves in the adjacent gardens or knelt devoutly on the wide

‘"teps before the church. Cardinal Seredi. in full robes, conducted the cathedral service, and the enthems were chanted by choirs of women. At the most .solemn part of the celebration, when the sacred elements are upheld before the altar, the bells announce the transubstantiation and complete silence reigns, a ray of sunUght from the stained glass windows illuminated the white and gold banners before the chancel.

The concluding anthems, more impressive for the silence that preceded f hem, were sung with fervour and religious zeal.

In ttie evening the Primate addressed a crowd of many hundreds of pilgrims on the Primas Square. Windows and balconies and all available vantage "oints were thronged with listeners. Vt. Charles Huszar. former Prime Minister of Hungarv. then made a speech in which he dwelt on the social and civic obligations of Catholic women.

Shoes in London Shops: Mushroom and geranium are favourite tints for shoes in London at present. But there are smart exceptions.

iather unusu.U are shoes of Lido blue ;r crimson prirted silk covered with a

’esign of tiny putty-coloured spots. As to material, moire silk is as much to he fore as crepe de chene.

A novelty this season for shoes to be worn with light frocks is fine knitted silk. In a parchment shade, with i wide strap of plaited cream, putty and fawn ribbons over the instep, rre distinctly unusual and rather effective.

Chain-stitch embroidery is being used more and more for evening shoes. Some have merely, a decorative motif on the vamp, others are literally covered with chain-stitch. Most attractive are those with chain-stitch designs in gold, silver, and gay colours, which look as though they are made of the lovely Chinese embroidery used for the gorgeous mandarins’ coats.

Only buckles are worn on the vamp. Diamante ornaments are now placed quite tc the outer side of shoes. Sometimes a line of small brilliants commences half-way round, surrounds the back of the heel, and finishes again without meeting in the front. On the golf course we are to wear coloured brogues; red, green and blut dyed lizard skins. For tennis the white buck-skins are decorated with straps and insertions of tinted kid and lizard. One Bond Street shop displayed footwear of white and rose, and white and eau de nil. *

Very effective are black brocade mules decorated with huge sprays of velvet nasturtiums in lovely natural shades of orange and red.

Royalty’s Dogs: Major Harding Cox, writing in an overseas paper says:—“A liking for dogs is one of the marked characterisations of our Royal family. In fact, throughout history it is remarkable that kings and emperors, almost without exception, have been devoted to some particular breed of dog, which they have jealously guarded. “Our King and Queen are not keen on dog shows, though King George from time to time has exhibited some high-class Labradors. “King Edward cherished a succession of tykes of doubtful quality ana of scarcely recognisable breed; but when he was Prince of Wales he owned a remarkably good Clumber spaniel named Sandringham Ranger, with which he established a sporting rivalry with my champion Bailie Friar. Each had beaten the other at leading shows, whereupon H.R.H. suggested a playful wager on the rubber; but also, poor Bailie was suffocated in his travelling box on the way to the show. “Our present Prince of Wales is devoted to a Cairn companion. He also owns and exhibits an Alsatian of good class, Claus of Seale. The Duke and Duchess of York affect Cairns aim golden Labradors. “Queen Alexandra was an enthusiastic dog lover, her specialities being Borzois and Bassets, of which she exhibited many outstanding specimens. Queen Victoria was always surrounded by dogs. It has been said that her dachshunds were the first of the breed to set foot on British soil, but I owned the couple which my father (the late Mr Sergeant Cox) brought me from Wiesbaden in 1861, and which preceded the Royal importations.”

Queen Visits Ladies’ Guild: The Queen spent some time one morning recently at the headquarters of the working Ladies’ Guild, at 251, Brompton Road. Her Majesty is the patroness of the guild, which does * aluable work in assisting gentlewomen in difficult circumstances, and holds a yearly sale of beautiful needlework and other craft work done by them. The Queen bought a child’s frock, a set of glass bowls painted with a floral design in which deep blue dephiniums predominated, and a quantity of small embroidered articles. The Queen, who wore a blue toque with a long grey cloak with a Chinchilla collar, was accompanied by Lady Elizabeth Motion.

Princess Beatrice, with whom was Lady Bertha Dawkins and Lady Ada Rovd, received the Queen, and after the handwork had been inspected they soent some time looking at a very fine loan collection of Tunbridge Ware and old English boxes.

Old Indian Jewellery: Since the arrest of Gandhi, a new leader of his campaign has risen. This is Mrs Naidu, the poetess, who is a cultured and artistic lover of Indian art. Among her very wonderful collection of native jewellery, Mrs Naidu has one long necklace of carved turquoise, each stone a marked piece of exquisite carving. Another necklace is of ancient ivory beads, each bead a perfect figure or animal, enclosed in a tiny open-work casing of the most delicate tracery.

Mexican Women “Waking lip’*: Mexican women have been slow to move, but, like so many others, they seem to make up for this when once they “get going” (says an English writer). A University Women’s Association has been formed, and has about sixty members, but, as was perhaps to be expected, the urge for advancement deals largely with matters purely feminine. Thus, to a woman has been due the establishment of Juvenile Courts, while, very appropriate to the country, is the Association of Godmothers, formed to assist young people in reformatories, and to promote among them what is referred to ah “moral support and sane amusement.” Such modern touches, again, as the story hour for children in libraries are due to the women. From all we have heard, it is very probable that the average Mexican woman, confined much to the home, had considerable domestic power, and now that she is, as is said, “waking up,” she will transfer that influence to a wider sphere.