AT A STATE BALL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1539, 7 September 1912, Page 11

AT A STATE BALL.

At the court ball given by the King and Queen recently, states the Manchester "Guardian," the new feature was that tho state quadrillo was danced the full length of the ballroom, instead of, as in former times, in. two quadrilles. The effect w.as much more stately, but the Queen had quite a journey to make to do her figure. Old observers noticed that the line nowadays between'dinner dresses and ball dresses, even at Court, is not very sharply draisn, .and that many of the dresses really appeared Cat least to men) like dinner dresses. Other noticeable points were that the plainest dresses went with the grandest jewels, arid that there, was a great deal of brocade, obviously English, probably the outcome of the Queen's well-known views on the suV ject. There was a very remarkable display of family jewels, but in that matter tho jewels that were most talked about were the earrings worn by the Countess Jean de Castillane, formerly Princess £chwartzenbur<». They wore' of extraordinary length and dazzlingly brilliant.

The carriages which took people to the ball showed a further decline in brilliance. Several taxis were seen in the line in the Mall,.but they did not penetrate beyond the outer court, where their fares had to descend and finish . their journey on foot.