SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2497, 25 June 1915, Page 2

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

Opening of Parliament. i The opening of Parliament by Commission .yesterday afternoon was a very quiet and colourless ceremony—and for tjiat reason all the more in keeping with the feelings of the times we are living m. l'here was a scanty gathering of spectators waiting around the main entrance of Parliament House, but whether it was to watch the scattered aiv ff val , of t , he men 'hers or whether tliev thought there was to be a certain amount of pomp ajid ceremony it was nard to say. At any rate, t'liev were not destined to escape the ladies with the collection-boxes who nowadays loso 110 chance of gathering in stray coins for the St. John Ambulance work for the soldiers. In the House itself members and their wives were greeting each other with much heartiness, and almost the truest comparison that cau be made to the opening day of Parliament is that of the reassembling of a school after the holidays. There is distinctly the same feeling aud atmosphere, the same chaste cued hilarity that, makes the most of the few moments of freedom and ease before the wheel of circumstance gathers in its victims, that is so observable 111 school days. Tlio most interesting feature of yestoday's proceedings was the sweavingm of members and the opportunity it gave of distinguishing the new ones, in whom, naturally, much interest was taken. It is rather a coincidence that there are three pairs of members at least who bear the same names, a fact which possibly might lead to curious complications wore thoy to be found in any other but such a well-regulated assembly as that which meets in Parliament. Another ceremony, and without these ceremonies which hark back so many centuries in English history, Parliament would be robbed of many interesting customs, was the conducting of the newly-elected Speaker, Mr. Lang, to'his throne, .from the steps of which he made his speech in reply to those that had been made in regard to his election. Among those who were present in the Chamber were: Airs. W. F. Massey and Miss Massey, Lady Ward, Mrs. Pomare, Mrs. Statham, Mrs. Ijec, Mrs. and Miss Buick, Mrs. Coat<K, Mrs. and Miss Hine, Mrs. Henare Tau, Mrs. Scott, Mrs. S;dey. Mrs. Pomare afterwards gave a tea in the Ministerial looms upstairs, at which most of those already mentioned wero present. It was rather amusing to find, on leaving the Buildings, a group of rather hilari-ous-looking policemen, in other respects quite a good imitation of the genuine ones, waiting in the porch for tlio departure of unwary politicians, whom they intended to seize and haul off to tlio mock court for trial oil various frivolous charges. They were rather at a disadvantage, howovor, in not knowing all the ways of exit with which members are so familiar, and quite a number of victims were lost that way. A Feminine Invasion. Even Oxford, under the shock of war, is slightly abating its conservative distrust of women. Somerville, the largest of the women's colleges, and one of the finest modern buildings in Oxford, has been takeu over as a war hospital. This measure left the students homeless, so hospitality was,.offered to them by the Provost of Oriel. .' .They now occupy part of the buildingß of that college, and the change, which would have seemed the ending of all things to many Oxford dons a year ago, has taken place as a matter of course without exciting any comment. _ This is a seribus blow to the _ monastic traditions which still linger in Oxford, and its consequences will last long after the woman students have. returned to their own collego buildings.

A Devastated Land. A few days ago Madame Melba related the dreadful plight of Edouard de Roszke in war-stricken Poland. The two de Reszke, Jeau and Edouard, both so famous in opera, are to Poland what the Asters are to New York, their whole wealth being in real estate. The chief estates of tlio brothers ore south of Warsaw, in a land that is "fabled in song, and illumined in glory." Across their_ fields have marched patriots like Kosciusko before the final partition of the country took pkce. The country, in normal times, is a vast garden of E<]eii, The most beautiful flowers bloom, fruit grows to remarkable perfection, with trees as tall and massive as those of California. The nearest town is Czenstockowa. The river Warta its way through the several estates, making pasture land of the richest kind, diversified with proverbial forests, prairie lands over which roam, herds of cattle, while the lakes and ponds swarm with fish. The preserves afford game of all I'inds, such as" deer, wild turkey, birds, rabbits, wolves, and wild boars. Paderewski, also, has many broad acres of land in this beautiful country, now cruelly devastated by war. The Perfect Husband. A writer in the "Manchester Guardian" tells the story of an officer at the base who was surprised cue day, when searching the letters of his detachment to read in one of them a passago that was something like this: "We have just got out of shell-fire for the first time for two months. It has been a hard time. The Germans were determined to take our field bakery, but, by gee! we would not let t'hem. We killed t'hem in thousands." This was a letter from one of the bakers to his wife. "None of the detachment," he goes on to Telate, "had been a mile from the base, and they had never seen a German except as a prisoner. My. friend knew the writer well, and could not help (although it was none of his business) asking him why he told such terrible lies to his poor wife. The soldier said: 'It's quite true what you say, but it's like this, sir. Wheij my. wife and the wives of the other men in the place where I live are talking it all over in the morning I couldn't think to let her have nothing to say and the others all bragging about what their men had done with the Germans. That's the way of it, sir.' " "Alexandria Day." Many Australian ladies assisted in the sale of roses in London on "Alexandria Day," in aid of the hospitals.-* Press Association.

Mrs. P. A. D. Mickle, Hamua, was hostess at a Red Cross tea oil Tuesday, afternoon, and although it- was very wet, a good number ot ladies and several gentlemen were oresent. Mrs. Foss, of Hukanui, will be the hostess on Wednesday of next week. These teas have been originated in Hamua by Mrs. Micklo for the ,purpose ofrais« ing funds for the wounded soldiers. Mr. Scott, M.P., and Mrs. Scott arrived in Wellington yesterday from ihti south for the session. Mr. Hine, M.P., Mrs. Hine, and fanw ily are staying for the session, at Kelt burn, 97 Upland Road. Mrs. Lees (Oamaru) has come to .Wei* lington for tie session. Mr. Gordon Coates, M.P. (Kaipar&J and Mrs. Goates are staying at the New. Occidental Hotel. (Continued on next page.)

St. John Ambulance Carnival Committee Conccrt. This evening, in Miss Tendnll's Tea Rooms, at 8 o'clock, the St. John- Ambulance Carnival Committee will hold a concert in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund. Ail admirable programme will be present and for this special occasion the abovo committee have been fortunate in securing tlie services of fho London character actor, Mr. Gilbert Emery, who will give some of his clever monologues. In addition to this Misses Carrins, Cooney, and Turner will play selections oil the mandoline. Miss Rona Chapman, the irresistible little child dancer, will also perform, and quartets will be given by members of Mr. Turner's string orchestra. These are only some of the attractions. During the evening the committee will draw the winning, numbers of the art unions for the Royal Sevres China, the diamond ring, the topaz brooch, the bicycle, the •am ohair, and many other prizes. X request for comforts for the' men of the Philomel has been made by the -commander, Captain Hall-Thompson, rand the Auckland Women's Navy Rejliof Fund Committee, working under h-fche auspices of the Auckland branch of 1 the Navy League, has made itself responsible for the supply of socks and .mufflers and other desired articles .(states the Auckland "Herald"). _ Already the committee has practically arranged for the supply of the whole of the required comforts. I Mr. W. J. Hill, resident officer, Rotoprua, accompanied by Mrs. Hill and Mrs. : lAdams, of Auckland, have arrived from ;,the north, and are staying at the VjWindsor Hotel. Dr. A. S. Herbert, Government baljieologist at Rotorua, and Mrs. Herbert 'aire visiting' Auckland. . The Wellington South Nursing Division met at the Newtown Library Hall jon Tuesday evening last for the fortmightly meeting. There was a fair attendance, presided over by - Mrs. Pres-i-ton. After the business of the meeting the evening was spent in roller /bandage work, under the guidance of JMiss Redmond. , Nurse Abbott, of the Kensington Pri'vate Hospital, Wellington left last Evening by the s.s. Maori for the south :to say good-bye to her relatives before joining the- Hospital Ship. Our Greytown correspondent writes a meeting of the Ladies' Patriotic Committee was 'held on' Wednesday afternoon. Mrs. A. B. Balfour was ap•pointed manager and delegate, and Mrs. •i\V. A. Tate secretary and treasurer. It Svas decided to split up into different Circles. The following were appointed •managers of these • Mesdames Duff and 'Trotman, A. B. Balfour, W. A. Tate, fj. Hodge, and Bas. Burch. .i Mr. and Mrs. Ralph A. Bygum, of iWairoa, who have been in England for ■two years, during which time they twice visited the Continent and Scot'land, have left by the Anchises, via Cape Town, on June 7. They intend spending some months in Australia beifoje crossing .to New Zealand. < A euchre party and dance, organised [by the Wellington South supporters of Dr. Platts-Mills's candidature for Carinival Queen was held at Newtown last .evening. Excellent arrangements had Jjjjen made by the committee to secure a successful result and a very pleasant 'and' profitable evening was spent by everyone. ( 'A misprint occurred in the list of contributions - whidh was published on Thursday in regard to the Hospital /'Ship. Seventeen Heretaunga Golf Girls : presented, per Miss Agnes Pearca, 6 pairs bed socks, 17 bed jackets, and 28 jiglpless jackets id the fund. i This evening a concert'organised by iftliss Ruby M'Donald, in aid of the .(Wounded Soldiers' Fund, is to ba given. ;in the Grand Opera House under Viceregal patronage. Her Excellency the ■Countess of Liverpool and the Mayor and Mayoress will be present. An ex- - cellent programme has been prepared, and among those contributing to it are: Mr. Hamilton Hodges, Miss Nellie Simpson (flute solo), Misses Teresa M'Enroe, A. M. Siegrief R. Siegrief, Shakespearean Trio, Miss M'Dcmald solo), Miss Agnes Siegrief f(son"), Mr. Culford Bell, and Miss ■Betty Purdom (comedy scene). The'acjcompanists will be Miss Heinmann and ©Ir. Charles W. Kerry. ' It is nearly two years since Madame "Louie Meyrat, of Auckland, left New i Zealand, writes a London correspondlent. She went first to America, and -for jus'u ,a year she has been in J.on»don studying singing with Mr. Aliston iWebb, the principal tenor of the Bromp:>ton Otatory. Latterly, she has been taking a course of limema acting with! 'Mr. Ross, who is a well-known producer. 'Madame Meyrat hopes to be in Auckland some time in August, at <the conclusion of a stay in Australia.