HAPPENINGS IN THE CAPITAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1786, 18 June 1906, Page 3

HAPPENINGS IN THE CAPITAL.

A MUSICAL WEEK.

(15y Peneloi'e.) Wellington. There has been no dearth of music

in Wellington this past week. On Tuesday and Friday Mr Lemaro gave his two last organ recitals to immense audienres. The enthusiasm that greeted his first appearance has rather increased than abated, and it was with feelings of unfeigned regret we said good-bye to him and his pretty, delicate wife last Saturday when the Kotomahana left for Lyttelton. He is

as charming a companion and as brilliant a conversationalist as he is a magnificent musician,'' and his welltold stories will probably be retailed from less accomplished lips for some time to come. I had the enjoyable experience of forming th 9 sole, but appreciative, audience at one of his rehearsals. There was not another person in the great Town Fall but the organist and myself, and I sat close up to the instrument, in the very storm-centre of the magnificent music. It was marvellous to watch the skill of Mr Lemare, the brilliant passages he played with his I et, his manipulation of the stops, his V6ry turning of his music—which he trusts to no one else. And all was done with such ease and composure that had one not known better, one might have thought it was child’s play. I could hear the great pipes sighiDg as the music swelled with thundrous harmony, Then, after a silence, rose the de lie:

ous, far«oH strains of the vox humana, like the chanting of angels, followed by such a tumult of sound as seemed to shake the very building. Mr Lemare played me a charming melody, using only his feet. I asked him if he was nervous when he faced the great audiences that have filled the Town Hall, but he does not know what the sensation is. He has played in the Albert Hall to a li* tie crowd of twelve thousand. On Friday night the Governor arrived by the express, specially to hear Mr last recital, and he and Captain Braithwaite entered about twenty minutes after the programme had begun. Never has the National Anthem been played so grandly in Wellington, and the vast crowd, some of who n were standing for nearly two hours, actually clapped with delight. An encore of God Bave the King would be unique ■ Miss Pulsford, one of our best-liked singers, had a benefit concert this week, which was largely attended. At it she herself sang charmingly, receiving two baskets of flowers, one from Mrs Howie “Te Rangi Pai ” —who is the chief performer in a sacred concert on Sunday evening. Another vosalist at iMiss Pulsford’s concert was Miss Lilian Irvine, a young singer trained at our convent here. She made a most favorable impression. Still another concert took place last Wednesday, when Mr Parker’s Music.l Union performed to the delight of many subscribers who tilled the galleries, and a smaller number of the public ou the floor of the Town Hall. Mr Parker’s concerts are well-known, and highly appreciated, and he wields a vigorous and skilful baton. We have been deluged with music this past week, and a little change in the shape of living pictures or variety snows will not be unwelcome ; one thing is certain our City Council must bless the day it thought of engaging Mr Lomare j probably when the organist comes back -asit is hoped he will—die will engage the Town Hall himself, and reap the benefit. Ia the meantime, he is puszling over our law that orders him to deposit £ls into the hands of the Commissioner of Customs. The sum is a certain proportion of the j /’350 paid him for his recitals.

PEACOCK FEATHERS,

Many old fashioned people still i refuse to have peacock feathers in i their house; though admitting fully : their decorative powers, they considor i them unlucky, and it is hard to find ' out the reason of this belief, unless it arises from the ancient idea that the bird was sacred to Juno, and, therefore, not'to be treated save with reverenco. But within the last few months, the peacock has become a most prominent design, and its feathers are being largely used iu millinery. A small toque made entirely of the tiny feathers is perhaps rather too bizarre, but an edging to a white fur toque is most effective. In the paperhangers, we see the latest friezes with gorgeous peacocks walking about in vivid sunsets under impossibly green trees. And yet all the tints are so deftly combined that they are only artistic not aggressive. Another wonderful friez9 —to finish off a cream-toned paper - had golden-brown gondolas floating in a misty bluo lagoon, with purple palaces against a creamy sky. An excellent idea for curtains, where the design of the frieze is not too elaborate, is to apply the pattern, painted or applied with different coloured linens, made smaller, if necessary, to plain material for curtains, cushions, or coverlet. I know a girl’s charming white room, where stiff piuk tulips, each sheathed , in a couple of green leaves, form the frieze. The owner of the room has set a row of smaller tulips—in pink and green linGn-=,on her cream linen bedspread, and bordered her curtains, of the same material, with tbe same design. 'Jhe effect is delightfully harmonious and res'ful, and far prettier than any bought draperies, how- : ever costly.

„NBW ZEALANDERS ABROAD. By the last mail camo from Lady Ward an Italian journal containing, among othor pictures—including the King and Queen of Italy—portraits of Lady Ward and Miss Ward. Judging from the printed programme of entortainmonts, thoy must have had a royal time, though, to tell the truth, tho delegates—thoir portraits aro all given—aro not oxcitingly haudsomo. However, they recognise good looks in others, for tho papers states that all admire tho fascination of Lady Ward, and the elegance and boauty of Miss Ward, whose music has also charmed thorn. It is another case of New Zealand in the van. In Australia our Premier was feted like a prince, and his women folk were sharing his glories. The Bulletin describes Miss May Seddon, who is extremely popular in Wellington, as “a larger, finer Alice Roosevelt.” In the latest Gentlewoman—while wo are on the topic of New Zealanders abroad—occurrs the name of Lady Ranfurly, who, though not a New Zealander, still loves our little country i dearly. She is placed among the leading London hostosses, —a “ dancing ” hostess, as distinguished from a “budge” hostess, .or a “dinner” hostess. The paper adds, with quaint directness, that hardly had Lady Ranfurly entered the lists of ball-giving for her eldest daughter, thau the later married, which interesting event among London hostesses is a signal of success VISITORS TO WELLINGTON. Miss Horton, from Auckland, who has been on an Australian trip, has been staying with Miss Coates, and is now a guest of Mrs Tolhurst. Miss Kissling, of Nelson, came over to stay with Mrs Kennedy. Lady Plunket has been resting, before the gaieties of the session, at Miss Palmer’s hospital, [ and Miss Plunket arrived from the [ South on Saturday. We have several naval men’s wives here at present, Mrs Porritt, wife of the captain of the Pioneer, and Mrs Shepherd, the Sydney girl recently married to the doctor of the same boat, being among them. Mrs Beetham, of Masterton, and Mrs Robert PharazyD, of Napier, are both in town, and Mrs Fred Riddiford, of Palmerston North, ran down for a few days this week. Our Mayoress, Mrs Hislop, has been away in Christchurch visiting her daughter Mrs Cooper, and her pretty youngest daughter has done the entertaining of Mr and Mrs Lemare. THE NUCLEUS OF A ZOO

Wellington is always in such a whirl of business that it has had too little time to think of the wisdom of providing itself wide open spaces where children may play, and grownups can enjoy fresh air, pleasant views, and the beauties of flower and tree.- At Thorndon, which not so long ago was the abiding place of the haut ton—their [spacious gardens are being cut. up into quarter-acre sections—there is no place for children to play, except the reserve, which is sunless and damp, and the esplanade with its stunted tress and its smoky atmosphere from passing trains. There is talk of filling up the Sydney Street gully of the gardens, and transforming it into a recreation ground, but nothing has been settled. The idea of a zoo has possessed some ardent reformers. For some time we have I had an emu who lives a melancholy hermit’s life in a small enclosure in I the gardens There were others, but the boys led them such a life in the field they were put into that death seemed better, and now this is the sole survivor. It must have a tough digestion, for it often has afternoon snacks of stones and pebbles, and has been known to swallow pennies with gusto. Last week a young lion arrived under the care of the Eev. Mr Bates, who is an ardent advocate for a zoo. It has been installed in Newtown Park, and has crowds ol visitors. Its cage is wooden, with iron bars, and nervous Newtownites feel a little uneasy for fear it makes its way out. A ion would be an unpleasant creature o moat on a dark night. An earthquake, too, will have a fresh terror now for Newtown, for it might cause the cage to collapse and set the king of beasts free. It has been suggested in the paper that a dog—one of those captured by the inspector and doomed to the destructor—should bo put into the cage to keep the lion from feeling lonely. The supply is practically unlimited, so it really would not matter —except from the dog’s point of view —if the lion ate the first five or six. EVENING- FROCKS.

About this time dressmakers are generally very busy preparing for the season’s gaieties, but this year, so far, there has been a decided decrease in business. There is no sign of a gay season, and the weather has been so inclement that women have had no inclination to plan smart frocks. We are, however, to have one gay week in July when the Gj-arrison, the Kace, and the Star Boating Club Balls qccnr, and this is another grievance, for each of these functions would have been more enjoyable if separated by an interval of rest, to say nothing of the difficulties of a limited wardrobe that does not contain three smart ball-gowns. The shops are moßt temp ! n» wish their show of eveaing materials of exqu’site textures and oolors. SpaDgled net*, beautifal but all too ephemeral, seem to be popular, and a charming example in ivory was patterned with spirals of varying s'zea in the tiniest crystal beads. A black net bad a deb'cito pattern in ribbonwoik and fine gold, thread in a des'ga of wee roses and foliage. But the plain silks—chiffon taffetas for choice—will be tbat most worn. I saw a charming Sydney frock in palo blue, the skirt, very fall and round, bordored by a thick cord that made it set out in dignifiei folds. Above the deep horn were two lines, two inches apart, of thick white silk, sewn on with bluo.ei'k, n row of large French knots between the lines. Otherwise the skirt was untrimmed. The bodice was full and bordered with a tuoker of ivory net, nit laoe, run with pa'e blue velvet, and little tackers of the arme finished the sleeves, Knife-pleating*, and narrow bias frills are much used to decorate skirls, but if the silk is good it is often mide absolutely plaio, or with a few deep tucks about the foot. By the way the corselet tk:rt—which combines a Swiss belt and skirt is beginning to be worn here, and is a delightful style for anyone tall and slim The little ooatee that just reaohes the edge of the oorselet is the smartest of wraps. This style of Bkirt is more trouble and requires careful fitting, but it eaves mental worry over belts, and assures a trim appearanoe at the waist, a consummation devout’y to be desired but not always attained.