THE SOCIAL WORLD

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1260, 11 June 1914, Page 26

THE SOCIAL WORLD

Mrs. J. McKail Geddes, whose portrait appears on this page, is well known in Auckland for her activities in social and philanthropic movements. She is particularly interested in matters pertaining to the welfare of women, and as president of the Auckland branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association her influence has been greatly felt for good.

Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Myers and family have returned to Auckland after an eight months’ trip to England and America.

The Hon. O. Samuel, M.L.C., and Mrs. Samuel, of New Plymouth, returned to Auckland by the Niagara last week.

The engagement has been announced of Miss Ruby Wellwood, a popular Hawke’s Bay tennis player, to Mr. Frank Poynter, of Hastings.

Archdeacon York, of Grey mouth, and Mrs. York, intend leaving New Zealand in August on a trip to Italy and England.

At St. Augustine’s Church, Napier, on May 27, the marriage took place of Miss Ada Hollis, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Hollis, of Greenmeadows, to Mr. J. Mcllroy, of Napier.

Mr. F. W. Furby, assistant private secretary to the Primo Minister, was recently married in Sydney to Miss Olga Andersen, of that city, and wellknown in Auckland. They have been spending their honeymoon at the Jenolan Caves and the Blue Mountains. Mr. and Mrs. Furby will reside in Wellington, having taken Mr. Charles Matthews’ house in Grant Road.

The loss of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Bloomfield and their only child, Miss Hilda Bloomfield, through the Empress of Ireland disaster, has caused sorrowful regret in Auckland, where they were so popularly known, while all through New Zealand they had numerous friends who have lamented their tragic fate. Mr. Bloomfield was colonel in the Third (Auckland) Mounted Rifles, and was one of the most popular officers in the district. Prior to his departure he was farewelled by his regimental band. Mrs. Bloomfield was president of the Auckland Ladies’ Golf Club, of which she was one of the founders. She was also president of the Hospitality Committee of the Victoria League, and any humanitarian movement had her warm-hearted co-operation. Miss Hilda Bloomfield was a keen golfer and tennis player, and with her mother was entertained at numerous farewell parties. Wide-spread sympathy has been extended to their sorrowing relatives.

Amongst the saved on the ill-fated Empress of Ireland was Miss Tiria Townshend, the only daughter of Hon. E. Townshend, of Blenheim. In company with her aunt, Mrs. H. Wynn Price, of Auckland, she was making a round trip of America and Europe. Mrs. Price was drowned, but Miss Townshend swam alongside Clinton Burt, a motor car manufacturer, until he caught a suit case and held her up unttil the Storstad picked them up. After having been rescued, Miss Townshend, who is 17 years of age, busied herself amongst the rescued, heroically aiding the most stricken. Miss Townshend is expected to leave Vancouver on her return to Blenheim on June 10, her trip, of course, being abandoned.

“Your country,’ said General lan Hamilton, to a Wellington interviewer,” seems to me like Scotland, with a finer climate. You have a splendid climate, with just sufficient of the southerly buster element to toughen the national fibre. I admire the physique and spirit of your people. They are full of go, and so on. Your lovely girls I have had rather too small opportunities of seeing. I mention this, because you can’t pretend to know anything about a people until you know the better half of them.

The Musical Society in connection with the Auckland University College gave its first monthly concert on Friday week. Under Mr. S, K. Phillips’ conductorship several part songs were tastefully sung, and vocal solos were given by Misses Blackwood Sewell, Heather Bews, M. Lloyd, and Messrs. Dellow, Ayling, and G'uy Hessell. Miss Cleveland and Miss Stretton contributed pianoforte solos.

Fears for the safety of Mr. Leslie Lilley, of Christchurch, who it was thought was a passenger in the Empress of Ireland, have been set at rest by the receipt of a cable message sent by him from Montreal. He was prevented by business arrangements from joining the steamer as he had intended.

Capt. H. T. J. Marshall, commander of H.M.S. Psyche, and Mrs. Marshall returned to Auckland last week after a trip to Rotorua.

An interesting wedding took place at Dannevirke on May 27, when Miss Arabella Smith, youngest daughter of the late Mr. William Gilmore Smith, of Westland, was married to "Mr. Alexander Urquhart, J.P. The bride was given away by her brother. The bridesmaid was Miss Lily Cheetham, of Bunnythorpe, and Mr. James Naughton was best man.

A letter from Miss Ruth Inncoin, who is coming with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, expresses that popular artist’s pleasure at her approaching return to Australia. Miss Lincoln had a lengthy engagement with the Clarke and Meynell Comic Opera Company, appearing in a varied range of parts in such pieces as “Miss Hook of Holland,” “The Belle of Mayfair,” “The Girl Behind the Counter,” and others, subsequently enacting the rcle of principal girl in the recordbreaking pantomime of “Cinderella,” which ran for seventeen consecutive weeks. “I have always had a warm place in my memory for Australia ever since I left,” wrote Miss Lincoln.

Their Excellencies the Governor and Countess of Liverpool are due to return to Wellington by the Moana on June 18th. They will then go int< residence in Wellington for the Parliamentary session.

The Auckland Grand Hotel lounge teas are growing in popularity, and hostesses have to speak early for tables. Last Thursday Mrs. Adkins entertained twenty-seven guests, while other hostesses with more or less large parties were Mrs. J. A. Millar, Mrs. Thorne George, Mrs. Stride, Mrs. Friedlander (Ashburton),. Mrs. D. Davis, Mrs. Newton, Mrs. Rainger, Mrs. Caldwell, Mrs. Gorton, Mrs. Arnold, Mrs. Ashley Hunter, Mrs. Taylor, Miss Caro. An orchestra stationed in the winter garden played charmingly.

Mr. Chas. C. Reade, organiser of the Australasian Town Planning tour under the auspices of the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association of Great Britain, arrived in Christchurch, last week to make preparations for the New Zealand lecture season.

At a certain Social Club, in Annandale, the tango and similar dances were rigorously exluded last winter, but a strong demand was made this season to put the tango on the list. After much discussion among the members, it was resolved to hold a ballot to decide the matter. There are 8 5 members in the club, and of these 74 voted, the result being that the tangu was barred from the Club by 5 4 votes to 19. One vote was informal.

Mr. Robert Parr, directoi’ of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, tells a quaint story of a little girl who was taken to a drawing-room meeting of a branch of the Society.

The child was extremely bored by the succession cf speeches, and at last asked plaintively: “Mamma, when is the cruelty going to begin?”

Mrs. and Miss Ware have returned to Auckland after a visit to Wanganui.

Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Vaughan (Canterbury) returned to New Zealand last week from a two years’ visit to England.

The engagement is announced in Australian papers of Miss Jennie Keays, daughter of Mr. Thomas Keays, Fitzroy, Melbourne, to Mr. Percy L. Cairns, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Cairns, of Ponsonby, Auckland.

A London message states that Mr. Harold Gorst, the well-known journalist and author, is establishing a mock parliament for the purpose of training women in the procedure of discussing social and political questions.

There is nothing of the long-haired and velvet-coated artist about Mischa Elman, the gifted violinist who is now on his Australasian tour. Elman, though only 22 years of age, declared himself proud that he was free from this eccentricity. “I believe a man can be great without wearing long hair and a flowing tie.”

Mr. and Mrs. J. Brown of New Plymouth, who recently celebrated their silver wedding, were presented by the Taranaki County Council and staff with a silver tea-pot in commemoration of the event. Mr. Brown has been chairman of the Council for some years.

Captain C. R. McDonald, of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, who is succeeding Lieut.-Colonel Braithwaite as general staff officer at Auckland arrived from London last week. He was accompanied by Mrs McDonald and family.

Miss Ethel Warwick met with an unpleasant adventure while on her way from Sydney to appear in “Sealed Orders” at Her Majesty’s, Melbourne. While throwing a discarded chocolate box out of the window of the train a diamond ring, which she valued at £5O, slipped from her finger and disappeared into the darkness. It was not recovered. * * * # The beautiful hands of the Ellen Terry that you saw at the Lyceum Theatre in London (says a writer in Sydney “Sun”) when she and Irving bowed in acknowledgment of the thunderous noise of the crowds, are still the beautiful hands of tc-day. They compel you. They fascinate. Ellen Terry almost sinuously uses arms and hands to emphasise her speech and acting, holding them out at length, and pointing a finger in denunciation, clasping to her breast with graceful sweep some imaginary friend, throwing aside some enemy. She has lost none of the old power of mannerism of her marvellous hands. They are as pretty as a girl’s still, dimpled and fascinating. General and Mrs., Godley gave a reception in Wellington to enable the officers of the headquarters staffs and the heads of units of the Territorial Forces, with their wives, to meet General Sir lan Hamilton. Among the guests were Colonel Heard, Colonel and Mrs. Johnston, Colonel the Hon. and Mrs. Henri-Collins, the Bishop of Wellington, Major and Mrs. Laidlow, Colonel and Miss Robin, Major and Mrs. Browne, Major J. G. Hughes and Mrs. Hughes, Colonel and Mrs. Campbell, Colonel and Mrs. R. J. Collins, Colonel and Mrs. Porter, Colonel Newell, Colonel and Mrs. Hiley, Colonel and Mrs. Purdv, and Miss Tighe, Colonel and Mrs. Pegg, Colonel and Mrs. Reakes, Colonel Courtney, Colonel and Mrs, Harcourt-Turner, Major and Mrs. Menzies, Major and Mrs. Hume, Major and Mrs. Corrigan, Major and Mrs. Petherick, Captain and Mrs. A. Roberts, Captain and Mrs. Richardson, Captain and Mrs. Mabin, Captain and Mrs. Hudson, Major and Mrs. Pilkington. Major Mrs. and M’ss O’Sullivan, Captain and Mrs. Symon, Captain and Mrs. Powles, Captain Edwards, R.E.

During Miss Ellen Terry’s last recent visit to America, when she gave her Shakesperian discourses to enormous houses in all the chief cities of the United States, she was the recipient of many tributes to her genius. Painters, poets, authors, vied with each other in laying their contributions at her feet. At the Hudson Theatre, which was packed to its utmost capacity, she was given a testimonial in the form of a beautiful book on behalf of the members of her own profession, men and women in art, literature, education, society, philanthropy, finance, and firmly told that she must never read aloud from it, that it was aimed, designed and executed for her personal comfort and vision. On the title page of this volume was the following greeting, written by the famous American authoress, Kate Douglas Wiggin:—“The names in this book are interlined throughout with radiant memories and happy anticipations. They will be visible to no one but yourself, as they are in sympathetic ink of a peculiarly confidential tint. This little volume is a book of welcome from certain loyal admirers to that incarnation of poetic harmony we call Ellen Terry, the enchanting, the inapproachable, the imperishable beloved of the English-speaking stage. Since that star danced under which you were born up to the present moment, dear Ellen Terry, each of us could have said, as Portia to Bassanio, ‘One half of me is yours, the other half yours—and so all yours.’ ” Miss Terry will give discourses at the Auckland Town Hall on June 11 and 13.

The Repertory Theatre ball recently held in Melbourne was a most brilliant affair, and had an additionally interesting touch owing to the presence of Miss Ellen Terry. At a little Jjefore 12 o’clock Miss Terry appeared in the limelight on the little stage, while Mr. Bert. Bailey presented her with an address signed by every theatrical artist appearing in Melbourne. The leading ladies from the various theatres presented the erstwhile leading lady of Irving’s company with flowers, each lady making a separate offering. Miss Muriel Starr, Miss Ada Reeve, Miss Daisy Jerome, Miss Elwyn Harvey, Miss Isabelle Handley, and Miss Gladys Arnold were the bearers of this tribute. Miss Terry, in reply to Mr. Bailey’s little speech, said: “At this time of night I have no words to thank you, except —you wrote it” — the great actress pointed to Mr. Gregan MacMahon, Shakespeare, “My blood speaks to you in ray veins.” England’s great actress is now on her New Zealand tour, and will be heard at the Auckland Town Hall on June 11 and 13.

A Southern paper announces the engagement of Miss Marjorie Hindmarsh second, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hindmarsh, Bank of New Zealand, Timaru, to Mr. Sidney Dixon, of Hastings.

The modiste was discussing the extravagances of women whose husbands could not afford them: “One of my customers,” she said, “wearing for the first time the other day an imported robe trimmed with skunk, said to her husband, with whom she was walking, ‘How people stare at my new dress. I suppose they wonder if I’ve been shopping in Paris.’ ‘More likely,’ her husband replied, sourly, ‘they wonder if I’ve been embezzling.’ ” — London “Opinion.”