WOMAN'S WORLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6132, 19 March 1898, Page 3

WOMAN'S WORLD.

Miss Marie Corelli desires that it should be tnown that the critical operation which ha 3 saved her life was undertaken by a lady surgeon, Mrs Mary Scharlieb, M.D., M.S.

The celebrated Italian aotrees, Eleonora Duse, cannot possibly give the name of her place of birth, for she first saw the light in a railway carriage between Padua and Venice.

Miss Goraldino Hodgson has just been appointed Assistant-Professor in English Language and Literature to Dr Herford, at University College, Aberystwith, in succession to Dr Moorman. Miss Hodgson has had a brilliant scholastic career.

Princess Marie of Boumania, wife of the Crown Prince, has an unusual hobby — the collection of perfumery bottles. In this she resembles her grandmother, the late Empress of Russia, •who left a collection of beautiful perfumery bottles Talued at ! .£7OOO. | I

Lady Sybil Primrose, Lord Eosebery's eldest child, is her father's constant companion ; indeed, it is said it was by his special request that the Queen includes the young girl when sending the ex-Prime Minister a formal " dine and sleep " invitation to Windsor Castle.

The Queen of Eoumania, more poetically I known as " Carmen Sylva," is probably the ' only living author who lias written books : in four languages. She can write fluently I and correctly in Roumanian, French, Ger- i man and Swedish, and has an adequate knowledge of English and Italian.

The usual way in which Madame Hen- J riette Ronner, the f ainoxis oat painter, works • is by placing a cat in a glass case made for the purpose, with cushions which invite the animal to assume a natural position. ) Madame Boimer has a collection of handsome cats, all of whom are favourite pets of the great artist.

I Last June two teams of lady footballers, ! one representing the University of Cali- j fornia and the other Stanford University, played a match at San Francisco, nine on each side. The costume of the Stanford ! team consisted of a cardinal sweater, worn j without stays or a belt ; brown bloomers, a j cardinal polo cap with a tassel, black j stockings and shoes. The Californian ' team wore white sweaters, blue bloomers, j black stockings and shoes.

The Empress Eugenic is one of the richest women in Europe, for Napoleon 111. ! lefb her all his savings, which are said to ' have amounted to ten million pounds, in- j vested in American and English securities. Till after her son's death the Empress , never cared to-dispose of the finest of her |

jewels, lor she looked forward to seeing them ono day worn by his wife. Now, how-' ever, 1 they are nearly all disposed of, with, the exception of thoße presented to her by tho late" Emperor and by the Prince Imperial himself.

Lady Henry Somerset evidently considers discretion the better part of valour. In spite of the position she took up on the , Indian cantonment question, she was reelected president of the British Women's Temperance Association. A " call to doty" was subsequently issued to the Association, calling on members not to re-elect her at the next election. But before tho call was published the newspapers gave out that Lady Henry had been obligedto relinquish all her public work owing to the advice of her physician. She has also resigned her presidency of the Association, and is at present resting quietly at Eastnor Castle.

Miss Meresia Neville, the untiring-secre-tary of the Ladies' Grand Council of the Primrose League, has now given fifteen years of her life to political work. She boasts that she has canvassed in every district in London, and she has spoken at over two thousand public meetings,. Among her most valued treasures is a diamond brooch and a grand star set in brilliants, presented to her by the Grand Council of the League as a small recognition of all she has done for the Conservative cause. As a child Miss Neville was a great pet of Lord Beaconsfield's, and she is said to possess the beat-collection of Disraeli relics in existence.

A curious Dutch institution is the marriage at a distance, or glove marriage. A wedding of this kind took place recently, when Mr Van Trotsenburg, of Pretoria, was married to Miss E. H. Worseman in Amsterdam. The bridegroom sent his glove and a power of attorney to act for him at the ceremony to his best man in Amsterdam. The glove was held by the . bride and the best man during the marriage service, and the marriage vow is considered just as binding as if the bridgegroom had been present in person. The reason for the institution of this custom among Dutch people is toenable the bride of a colonist to travel as Mrs, not MiBS.