WOMAN'S WORLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5490, 15 February 1896, Page 3

WOMAN'S WORLD.

Mdlle. Paulina, of Hollands is probably the tiniest woman on thfe- planet, : She is eighteen xears old, weighs less thai 91b, and lacks four inches of , being as.high as.a two-foot rule. ' . : It seems hardly credible, yet it^is said to be, a fact, that Parisian monddines are now decorating black capes with black gelatine lozenges, which have, it is said, exactly the, effect of crape. Miss Lilian Edger, M.A., who is on a lecturing tour through New Zealand on Theosophy, is a most feminine little lady, with a gentle manner, and a low, sweet voice that disarms criticism. There is in London a firm of lady tea merchants who have an estate in Ceylon, and who employ members of, their own sex exclusively as tasters, blenders, packers and agents. This is a new idea, and a very good one. Empress Elizabeth of Austria is the despair of the management of the bathing establishment at Aix-le-Bains. On her account they are compelled to keep it open at night and to provide it with a double j set '■■ of attendants. • i She insists on talking her bath at the unearthly hour of 3.30 in the morning. ' • - • - : • 'Lady Helen- Vincenij is the most beautiful woman' of London society/and comes of a 1 family rehdwried .for its beauiy. Her sister was the Duchess'of Leinster, a very

and witty kinswomen of hers was Lady Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, at one time England's " Queen of Beauty." In Persia a woman increases in value every time she loses a husband. When she begins married life her husband pays .£6O for her, but she costs her second husband. J3IOO it being considered that she is constantly becoming a better housekeeper. The money goes to her parents. Queen Victoria is simple in her tastes. For instance, a kind of natural soup very, often finds its way on to the menu; The • wdneseryed withjtis: aherry,; which her Majesty generally drints: from a ; beau-:. tiful gold cup forjnerly .belonging -to Queeri" Anne. ,- Bojjed beef .and .pickled . — a favourite dish 'with-ißrince^jUbert-^ invariably.fojllow.the' soup, while a, baronbf beef is likewisVa constant feature. . .. . ' '.• . The family to which Lady Londonderry, belongs is famous for its beauty. Lady Londonderry's own loveliness of person is famous, and her mother, Lady Shrewsbury, . is still one of- the finest-looking. women in Great Britain, while her daughter, 'Lady Helen Stuart, is a surpassingly pretty girL These three women stood together at. a ■ recent reception in Londonderry House, and formed a trio of "loveliness such as the guests had probably- never looked' upon before. . . , . : , A few Eussd-Parisian ladies, apparently more burdened with money than . sense, have just presented the little, Eussiari Grand Duchess with a gold baby basket. It is in the 'shape of an ordinary, rush basket, with a garland of golden lilies around it, and a big Imperial Crown at one side thickly studded with jewels. It is lined with rose-coloured velvet arid contains the daintiest .possible collection' of infant toilette requisites, backed with gold and jewels. ..' „" ; The Baroness, de Worms is a daughter of the late Sir Beiijariiin Phillips, and atone period- of her life- was considered not only the handsomest, '"bufcf the i wittiest arid cleverest 1 woman -in Europe. 'Her &st marriage to; Mr ■ Barhet proving unforlu^ riatej she resuiried her maiden name, with the matronly prefix of Mrs, and .as Mrs Sarah Phillips she'jvas the belle of London, and of the Emperor Napoleon 111/s Court. Indeed, her splendid type of fair beauty was not unlike that of the Empress. §he has held a charming salon in London for many years, and as a hostess is unrivalled.; Mrs Gully, the English Speaker's wife, -is a very charming woman, who is of the old school temperament, with nothing o£ the New' Woman sabout her. She is bringing, up her daughters — shy> and pretty English girls — according to the rules which .prevailed in her youth. In fact, the Guily family is distinctly old-fashioned. , The musical evenings at Mr Gully's house are famous. It is even said that no less distinguished a person than Lord Herschell, High Chancellor of England, has been known to play the violoncello at one of these little family concerts. .... Miss J.. A. Gray, of the Eoyal Bed Cross, who went out with ' the Ashantee Expedition, first saw active service sixteen years ago in the Zulu War. She also- went through the Egyptian War in . 1882, and after that ascended the Nile to , JVaidi Haifa with the Gordon Eelief party.;.. She it was who nursed the soldiers through the cholera epidemic which did so much .havoc on that expedition. Miss Gray has lived for twelve months together in a tent, and does not remember having been ill once in her life. With her sisters she has sole charge of the nursing service in Ashantee, having under her command a number of male .nurses. . \ Among Lady Marcus Beresford'S' treasures are an army of cats. According to the correspondent of the New York 2tfaii her ladyship possesses no • fewer ■ than , one hundred and fifty of theseanimals. " Each of her one hundred and fifty cats has its 'own name, 'and she knows each one, arid they come at her call like' dogs. Every afternoon Lady. Marcus Beresford holds a sort of reception of cats in one of the rooms specially devoted to their use. Here she sits in a chair, while the cats form' in a circle about her. As she calls each one by name, its owner comes up to her ; she pate it and speaks to it; and then it makes room for the next, and so on." , The Archduchess Maria Theresa, fragile as she looks, is one of the strongest women in Europe. There is certainly no living princess who can compete with her in point of physique. This "she 1 owes in a great measure to her early training. Her father, ' Don Miguel, who, with all his faults, was devoted to his children> had views of his own on the subject of their, education, and he insisted on their spending the greater part of their time in the open air.* Soon after the Archduchess was married she rode from Eeichnau to Guns and back, a distance 1 of more 'than 200 kilometres, without stopping, •' except to change horses. . . • People have a way of liking to . know what things cost. Miss Olga Nethersole's, red and emerald bespangled gown in the Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith is priced at Mrs Campbell's black and gold frock in the same part was three times that sum. Mdme iAlbaiii's dresses in- Lohengrin are worth >^6300 i and Mrs Tree's 5 in the Pomtpadoitr .exceeded even this large amount. , Sarah IBernhardf s dresses "are the perfection, of : " man-milliners' "- genius. ; One gowri is of ivory satin; - profusely decorateji with diamonds and'turquoises. No fewer than two hundred animals were needed to procure the ermine to line the train. Qn the skirt is a band of 1800 turquoises, the f rook being worth some .£I2OO or .£ISOO. The Countess Wachtmeister, who arrived in Christchurch on Friday, last, is as being like Mrs Besant> a woman with a strong individuality and thoughtful and attractive cast of countenance. ' Although she was .born in Sweden she speaks English perfectly. Her personal magnetism and her intellectual advocacy of the - doctrine she wishes to inculcate impress one, and her quiet and yet forcible voice indicates mental energy and-*deep thought. Her husband was at . one time the Swedish and Norwegian Minister at the Court of St James in England, having been a member of the Diplomatic Corps. Afterwards he became Minister for Foreign Affairs at Stockholm,, where he lived several years. ■ • : .. One of the most beautiful .women in Borne is half English- and half French, the Countess Ba^ Superior of the'Noble ;Ortier of the'^ Dames de Marie Eeparatriee/'^ These' 'nuns .have, been called by the friVoloils "les coquettes dv ; Bon Dieu," on accouht'of. their peautiful dress of pale blue and white, with a golden heart embroidered , on .ttie breasij... They- are a teaishihg order, but" are so strictly oloistered that they even draw a white veil over their faces in chapel when outsiders are present. In Eome they have the entire charge of the' Papal wardrobe, making and mending everything, worn. by his Holiness, and keeping; his furs, &c., during the summer. . ■ .■■... Women (says a London paper) who wear brooches made of the portraits of departed friends, set in narrow bands of goM, will', rejoice to hear that the same affectionate style of adornment is affected by Queen Victoria. The number of miniatures'with which she testifies to her family affection is no fewer than thirty-thrde. These are 1 pvctures of her grandchildren, which were taken in infancy or early youth, arid mounted in three bracelets. Each picture is set in a narrow frame oft gold, and in one bracelet, set in pearls and coral, the size of. the settings varies from one-half.\tb^three-quarters....of -an inch. ... These.^hirtyrthree 1 royal infants look delightfully, like any other thirty-three weU-oared-fpr' .babies; jt l s i Wang : tfif . note that 'caps 'prevail as headgear^.instead of '■ crowns,, arid probably the royal hands whicli are hidden, gi-asp nothing more .awer'mspirin.g than ratiiles. Iney are asliarnriess-and inhocent-iookirig aset o£ children as coold fee gathered Wge-, |nex «ia J *oj Ul jjry vi^bge.