SOCIETY AND FASHION GOSSIP.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3183, 10 September 1881, Page 3

SOCIETY AND FASHION GOSSIP.

Ouida : the loveliest love is thnfc which dreams high above all storms, unsoiled by all burdens ; but perhaps the strongest love is that -which, while it adores, drags its feet through mire, and burns its brow in heat, for the thing beloved. Mrs Austen's munificent gift of £8000 to the Hospital for incurables has been further strengthened by another handsome donation of £500 from Mrs W. J. Clarke, and also various other large sums. The married ladies this season in London carried away the palm of beauty. Lady Lonsdale, Lady Mandevill, T ady Castlereagh Lady Dalhousie, Lady Claude Hamilton, Mrs Masters, and Mrs Arkwright, are the acknowledged sovereigns in loveliness. 'My wife,' remarked a prominent manufacturer, ' never attends auctions. She went once, just before we were married, and seeing a friend on the opposite side, nodded politely, whereupon the auctioneer knocked down a patent cradle, and asked her where she wished it delivered.' Dr. Johnson : A woman of fortune, being used to the handling of money, spends it judiciously; but a woman who gets the command of money for the first time upon her marriage, has such a gust of spending it, that she throws it away with great profusion. Heavy fabrics will not be in in such favor as last spring. Satin will still be fashionable, but it will be the new soft flexible satin. Entire costumes will be made of it, and it will also be used for trimmings on cashmere and other comparatively inexpensive materials. It was stated in some of the home papers that Prince Leopold wanted to marry Miss Gladstone. That young lady, however, as has been publicly announced, is " otherwise engaged." The sole foundation for the report is the undoubted fact that they are both fond of music, and have been seen " practising " together. GHoves and stockings are partaking largely in the fashion of steel embroidery, and, so far as> the long gloves are concerned, a charming result is obtained; but with regard to the stockings one can hardly help thinking that this result is obtained at the price of comfort. Included in the trousseau of Miss Maynard, who has just been married to Lord Brooke, heir to the historic earldom of Warwick, were dresses which are really unique. One has a train covered all over with gold and silver shells, and is worthy of being worn by the Q.ueen of the Naiads. As to coiffure*, certain styles of arranging the hair are now becoming so marked that to depart altogether from them is inadvisable. Low broad styles are generally seen, and whether braids, loops, or coils, are preferred, they are so disposed as to extend out towards either side, and not to rise to a height upon the head. Victoria Goukhovakaia, who, when arrested at Odessa, in 1879, for a political offence, was but 14 years old, was, after 14 months' imprisonment before trialj finally condemned to banishment to Siberia. Driven to despair by her sufferings, the unfortunate girl hae now committed suicide by hanging herself. Brussels lace is whitened with a preparation of lead, and gets discoloured under the influence of gas and other sulphurous fumes, emanating from burning coals, &c. Keep the lace well wrapped up in a room where no gas is burned or fire lighted, and it will preserve its colour, which once lost cannot be restored. The number of bridal bouquets presented to the Princess Stephanie just prior to her departure from Brussels filled four waggons. As it was not practicable to bring all the gifts to Vienna, one flower only was plucked from each bouquet, and this minimum selected alone made a bouquet that filled a large basket. Royal beauty. At a state ball given by Her Majesty in Buckingham Palace in May, the Princess of Wales is said to have looked most charming, and considering the youthful face and dainty figure, the onlookers found it hard to remember that she is the mother of a young man of seventeen. The latest fashionable craze at home is to have the hands and feet photographed. Beautiful hands and feet are taken in a dozen different positions ; also many hands and feet that are not beautiful. A pretty hand, taken on a dark background, looks very nice, and a pair of pretty feet, in embroidered slippers and silk stockings, is something in a picture two awfully sweet for anything. The sensible fashion of short dresses continues to be popular, and there is a capital plin now in vogue of bufctoniug on a train below the flounce at the back, by which they can be converted into an evening dress with little trouble. Both dresses and sleeves are becoming fuller, and the c tiebacks ' are receding into the mists of the past. The Princess Carolath, who eloped with. Count Herbert de Bismarck, has proved that the way of the transgressor is hard, as she is sick in an Italian town, and would have suffered for the necessities of life but for royal generosity, Count Herbert having returned to Berlin. The present generation is unwilling to go back to the orinoline puro and simple, but the back draperies are now so full that something is necessary to keep them in place. We noticed a trained petticoat made quite plain in front, with drawing strings at the back to form a succession of puffs, which, when well starched, would admirably take the place of the tournure. H.R.H. the Princess of Wales remained in St. Petersburg some time after her royal husband. The strong affection which exists between the present Empress of Ruseia and her sister—the Princess of Wales—is well known, and naturally these illustrious ladies would like to be together at such a trying time. H.R.H. returned with the Duchess of Edinburgh. A handsome memorial stone is being erected over the grave of the late Mrs Cross (Q-eorge Eliot) in Highgate cemetei'y. It is in the form of an obelisk, and is a beautiful epecimen of the blue or Aberdeen granite. The pedestal bears the following inscription in gold letters : — " Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence." •Here lies the body of "George Eliot, ,, M&jy Ann Cross Bovn %qy, 22,1819, Dfort PW, 83, ISBP,'