A Lady's better.

Manawatu Herald, 13 October 1894, Page 3

A Lady's better.

Wellington, Oct. llfch, 1894. The long looked for musical festival .is. now a thing of the past. Well; .1} lot title; atiall.n'ot grumble, for it Has given Mo and a great tiiatf* others; ihe keenest pleasure. But Tfdr thjeso organisations, wealiould jietet Hate ft fehatipo of hearing tHe larger arid more important musical works out in New Zealand, and they although; of course, not perfectly I'enuereqi pan] be niadc most interesting and instructive. The musicloving people of Wellington have certainly risen to the occasion in a way that they have never done before, and have supported the moveJiletit right io'yalljf ;— thus shewing a keen appreciation o£ the .fca,st; It was a venture that required Much determination; forethditght and energy to carry through, and I can |af^ly pay.that it lias r been in OTgery way — in spite even of the inlperfections — a huge success. The Earl and Countess of Glasgow were present on several occasions with large parties from Government Houae, and crowded houses greeted the performers up to their Very last appearance. On Monday bight tile Countess of Glasgow gave a riiost enjoyable " At Home " at Government Hpuse, as a farewell to Captain, and. Mrs John : afcoh-Stewart-, who left for England two days afterwards. There must have been fully 40 couples present, and dancing was kept up in the larger ballroom from 0 till 12 o'clock, when the t)arty assembled ih the drawing-room to wish Captain and Mrs Stewart " Good-bye." King's band was in attendance, and played for the dancers, and the lovely decorations weie quite a feature and were greatly admired in all the rooms and also upon the supper table. The Earl and Countess received together, the latter wearing a beautiful gown of white silk with i deep ruby velvet trimmings and diamond ornaments. Lady Augusta Boyle wore white silk and laoe, Mrs Stewart a lovely silver grey brocaded satin gown with pink chiffon, and Miss Thuraton white sift and lace. Lord Kelburne was also of the house party, and Captain Stewart, Major Elliott, Captain Clayton and Captain Preston. The guests were Mrs Emp* p son, of Wanganui, Miss Neville, daughter of Bishop Neville, of Dmiedin, Mr and Mrs Loughnan, Mr and Mrs Werry, Mr and Mrs A. Pearce, Misa Amy Hadfield, of Rangitikei, Mrs H. D. Bell and the Misses Douglas, Coleridge, Duller, Duncan, Stowe, Williams, Tuckey, Johnston, Gore, Medley, Cooper and Grace. On the following night Mrs John Duncan gave a small dance, also as a farewell to Captain and Mrs Stewart, and there were about sixty guests. It was quite a pleasant affair, and all were quite sorry when 12 o'clock came, and the party broke up. The rooms were appropriately decorated, and the music and supper of the best. Mrs Duncan wore a handsome black velvet trained gown, and Miss Duncan wore pale pink and green gauze. Besides Captain and Mrs Stewart there were present Lord Kelburne, Lady Augusta Boyle, Mrs Newman, Mr and Mrs C. Izard, Mr and Mrs G. Hutchison, Mrs and the Misses Johnston, Mies Pearce, the Misses Williams, Miss Acland, of Canterbury, and many others. Mrs Izard, of Hobson-street, is to give an "At Home " to-night. A very large number of invitations have been issued by Mr and Mrs Walter Johnston for the wedding of their eldest daughter and Mr Percy Baldwin, the date arranged being the Ist of November. I hear that Mrs Johnston is also to give a large ball the same night. The Dramatic Students are giving a performance on Friday and Saturday in aid of the Harmonic Society and the Garrison Band. They are very good indeed, and I think are pretty sure of crowded houses. Lord Glasgow and party have promised to be present one night. Signa.