SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 152, 21 March 1908, Page 11

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL.

• . This cold snap has hurried us into the very middle of winter,) and we aro' all thinkingwith affeo'ion of ii.ug woollen o' tins, and macintoshes, and furs. ■ Tho pessimistic amongst us are thinking also of winter's ills, rhoumatism, cold feet. and hands, aind. -slushy, roads, while the optimists; of whom -there are. probnbly more, -let their thoughts dwell on (lie .ranifold charms of winter, the ion;:, bright ~ jaings, and the cliocrful fire which lias m.-.fle tho hearth tho symbol of all that is pleasantest in the homo. . Strange how quickly we forget the most ordinary experiences of .life, and with what a -new, delight we welcome.tho firelight and the fire warmth after so many months when no sitting-room has required to bo heated. AVo' had -even forgotten the beauties of the Wellington main streets on 1 a soaking wet night, tile long pathways of light, silver, gold, and amethyst lying across the velvet blackness of the roadway, the yellow lights of tho cars shining out. of the dense, black distance, • throwing reflections on ■ either side of .the way as they come nearer, and all tho'shifting, shining, coloured - lights itself with which a city - bedecks itself,- and- to which tho. rain adds doublo 'charm. It is good to'forget these things for a while, that we may enjoy them the more-when winter brings them back; ; --j' r 1 . ; Miss Stuart- and her two sisters leave on April 3 for a visit to Sydney.. Mrs. Watkins, of'the Ilutt, is accompanying them. Miss Valla'nce, of Masterton, is staying 'n Wellington for a few days, and is the guest of Mi^s 1 Simpson, in Willis Street. Mrs. Reginald Humphries, of Hawke s Bay, is spending a few weeks at Nelson., where she went to b6 present at, the marriago of her brother, Mr. Richmond Fell. • At her home at Lowry Bay pn • Tuesday evening . Miss' Bell gave a farewell dinnerparty for Miss. Flora Brandon, who is leaving for.England on April 3., Among the guests were Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Duncan, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Johnston, Mr. - and Miss Brandon,'Miss Doris; Johnston, and Mr. Gracc. On Wednesday afternoon, at the Cathedral, Nelson, Miss* Phyllis Buchanan, of Takaka, was married to Mr. Richmond ■ Foil, second 'son.of Mr. ,0. Y. Fell, of Nelson. A letter received by one of tho Wellington members of the. Girls' Realm Guild from Miss Jessie Ackermann tells .of her safe arrival m London after •: a - very hotseason m boutli America, - where she". spent , several weeks 'establishing, branches of the Guild, and getting material "for., newspaper articles. Miss Ackermann thoroughly enjoyed her visit to the Argentine, and .Uruguay, but was,. glad- to oscape from the, heat to an English winter.