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Evening Star, Issue 4045, 12 February 1876, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE QUEEN OF HOLLAND

One of the most amiable and excellent women of the day, the Queen of Holland, | is seriously ill, to the great regret of q,ll who know her. Highly educated, sensible, kind, and unpretending, she is greatly beloved not only by all her husband's subjects, but by the extensive circle of friends she has made, and values, in various oountries, and of all raaks. Her Dutch Majesty, who has never quito got over the disappointment of her son's rejection by our Princess Alice, on whom she had set her heart as daughter-in-law, has been one of the most steady and valuable supporters of the Sanitary Association for the succoring of the wounded on the field of battle. All charitable efforts have had an efficient patroness in this truly royal lady, whose simplicity is most remarkable in one of her exalted position. ROMANCE OF AN OPAL NECKLACE. Mariette Remy, a beautiful girl, who had led rather a gay life, died in Paris the other day. She was known among her friendß as Opal, from the fact that she always wore a very handsome opal necklace. This necklace was given her by her first love, who at the time said, "You know that opals are gems which live. My fate is inseparable from these. When you see them become dull and die, I, too, shall be at the point of death." One day they thought they were weary of each other, and they separated. But, after he had gone, Mariette found that her love for him was still ardent, and she sought to recall him. It was too late ; he had left the country. She consoled herself, however, by looking at her necklace and saying, "The opal still lives. I shall see him again." But about a month since the opals began to grow dull. Then, one by one they lost all their lustre and became dead. A few days ago but one remained, and that gave only a faint reflection: "He is about to die," thought Marietta. She fell into profound melancholy, and said, "Then I, too, must die."' And when one evening the last opal gave its last-gleam,

> she took poison and died. The same day i this telegram from Luchon reached Paris " Paul Borday, ill here for some time back, ' died yesterday." Paul Borday was Mariettas i lover. THE OUTFIT OF AN IMPERIAL BABY. While awaiting the arrival of events still hidden behind the veil of futurity, the lovers of the elegancies that are usually found to flourish most luxuriantly in the neighborhood of a Court are conning over the items composing the layette recently furnished to the Princess Imperial of Brazil, the birth of whose son has just caused rejoicing throughout the great Western Em--1 pire over which he may be expected to reign lin course of time. The outfit prepared for the Imperial baby consisted of a dozen tiny shirts of the finest French batis e, delicately scalloped all round with fine embroidery only ; three other dozens, progressively larger and more richly trimmed, with embroidery and Valenciennes lace, for the successive stages of baby growth; and a fifth dozen, made after a new English pattern, large enough for a child who is beginning to toddle, and still more richly ornamented than the preceding sets. The little flannels and caps were chef d'oeuvres in their way ; the former embroidered all round with white floss silk, the latter delicate "creations" of embroidery and lace, after the English style, with rosettes of narrow satin ribbons of various colors. The little cloaks, with hoods, were of the softest cachmere, some white, some colored, and all finely embroidered. There were a couple of dozen robes, all exquisite in their way ; the one for State occasions was composed of muslin, with alternate insertions of embroidery, valenciennes, and narrow bands of very fine tucks, with double tablier, in the same style, looped up with rosettes of narrow white satin ribbon, and similar rosettes on the sleeves. As for the baptismal robe, entirely of the most costly Alengon point' over a lining of white taffeta, it was a curiosity worthy of figuring in a museum. The cap that goes with this sumptuous robe is also of Alengon point, with an ornament of the same lace and satin ribbon, ingeniously imitating a crown. Tae little sheets, pillowcases, blankets, counterpanes, &c, are splendidly embroided with wreaths of flowers, the cipher of the Imperial baby, the Brazilian arms, and the Imperial crown. Altogether, the outfit was the finest affair of the kind turned out in Europe since the layette prepared by Felicie for the advent of the baby who is now the hope of the French Imperialists. ENGLISH LITER AJtY LADIES. Rhoda Broughton is the daughter of an English clergyman, and is said to be " nicelooking." And still, as a rule, the gentlemen do not admire her. She has too, sharp a tongue, and dares to be peculiar. She is a niece of the late Sheridan Lefanu, author of " Uncle Silas," and other striking novels. Genius is a heritage of the Sheridans. Lady Dufferin, a granddaughter of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, has produced some meritorious poems. Her son, Lord Dufferin, Governor of Canada, has added honor to the title he has inherited by his brilliant writings. Jean Ingelow war born in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1830, and has resided most of her life in London. Her first volume of poetry was published in 1863 and immediately gave her a high rank among the poets of England. Her books, which include novel and juvenile, as well as poems have had an extensive sale, which was set down some time ago at 125,000 copies.

Christina G. Eossetti, a poetess of much less fame, is of the same age as Miss Ingelow. Her father was an exile from Italy, and her brother, Gabriel Dante Rosetti, is distinguished both as a poet and a painter. Beside her books of poetry, Miss Rossetti has published a volume of prose stories for children. Her residence is in London. Miss Dora Greenwell was bcrn at Greenwell Ford, county of Durham, in 1821. She has published several volumes of poems—the first in 1848—and various prose works. Mrs Muloch Craik was married in 1865, at the age of thirty-nine, to Dr. George Lillie Craik, Professor of English History and Literature in Queen's College, Belfast, and the author of a standard "History of English Literature and Language," Mrs Craik inherited her literary taste and talents from her father, Mr Thomas. Muloch, an eccentric but intellectual man., who followed literature for a profession. Efts daughter was chiefly setf-educated, being greatly neglected by her erratic parent. At seventeen she was entirely deserted by him, and, being then motherless, Mrs S. C. Hail took pity upon her forlorn condition, and secured the publication in * Chambers' Edinburgh Journal' of some short stories she had written. Before she was twenty she had produced several capital juvenile books. *]The Ogilvies," her earliest novel, was published anonymously in 1849, being denounced by some readers as immoral (on account of its leading incident, the lapse fr»m virtue of a married woman), and being as strongly upheld by others who enjoyed the evident power in its pages. It was several times voted out of " The Portico " Library at Manchester, and as many times voted in again. This contest over the book gave it notoriety and a wider circulation. The first use Miss Muloch made of her literary gains was in providing for her brother's education. At her expense be passed through London University, and was trained for the profession of a civil engineer. He displayed much ability in his vocation, and found profitable ' employment in Australia. Prior to her marriage, Miss Muloch lived, }n a quiet and inexpensive manner in Camden Town, near London. She was at that time described as amiable and benevolent in character, lively and original in conversation, and decidedly odd in dress and manners. Her figure was slight and graceful, her features commonplace, and her eyes large, grey, and prominently set. She was fond of dancing, and, like many another literary woman, was more pleased with a compliment for her good looks than for her good writing. Although her father was a Dissenter and a lay preacher, she is a member of the Church of England, and is deeply religious.