A Lady's Letter.

Manawatu Herald, 4 June 1895, Page 3

A Lady's Letter.

Wellington, June 1, 1895. 1 must begin by telling you about Mrs G. Hutchison's theatricals and dance which took place last Thursday night. A short little play entitled "Dearest Mamma" was performed by Miss Ethel Hutchison, Miss M. Bell and Miss Gertrude Rose, the latter taking the principle part of " Mamma " a fussy interfering old lady, and doing it remarkably well. The actors were Master W. Hutchison, Master J. Haseiden, MasterjJJripe and Master D. Menzies ; %\\ tbjPWmng people did their respective parts wonderfully well and gained much applause. The acting took place in the ballroom which waß curtained off, the footlights were fairy lamps set in greenery,

altogether the effect wa3 very pi'etty i^heil the curtain was drawn 1 aside« At dbout 9.30 the room was cleared for daticiiig which y^as freely indulged in until midnight. Our hostess received in a black velvet gown trimmed with white lace ; Miss E. Hutchison wore a pretty spotted muslin frock with silk sash. Among the guests which numbered about sixty; were Lady A cc Boyle, who tyore a soft white gauze gown ; the Hons.' itaek and Allan Boyle; Captain Preston, Mr and Mrs H. D. Bell the latter wearing a handsome white pompadour silk gown trimmed with black lace ; Mr and Mrs Rose, the letter wore 4. iiaudsome black gown ; the Misses Bell white muslin frocks and coloured sashe3 ; Miss Rose, soft white gown with silk sleeves ; the Misses Stafford wore pretty black velvet frooks with old gold silk sashes i the Misses Cooper, white ; Miss Graße jrfetty yellow accordian gown ; the Misses Gore, Reid, White, Butt, Williams, Tolhurst, McLean, Coleridge, Johnston, Haselden, etc. The Birthday Ball is to be on the 18th, I expect it will be a very large affair* About fifty getitlenleti Were efiter"tained at didder by Lord Glasgow on the evening of the 24th. The long table Was spread id the Ballroom (which was splendidly decorated for the occasion) the diningroom not being large enough to accommodate such a number of guests. I believe it was a very imposing sight, as most of the gentlemen present wore full dress uniform. The children's fete which I told you of in my last letter proved a huge success. It was a lovely day add when I tell you that over two thousand children took advantage of the liberal invitations from the ladies, you Will agree With hie Whed 1 say the scheme was most successful, and great credit is due to those ladies Who Worked so hard for it ( prominent among there were Lady Stout, Mesdames T. W. Hislopj Luke, Bandistei-) Cliapple, Wood?, Tudor, Atkinson, Wright, Dudneld, Lockie> Myers and the Misses Hislop, Atkinson, Loekie, Lee, i*innh Bell, Bowles, Myers, Richmond and several others. There was also a gentlemen's committee who had the management of the sports and so on. Mr Lukej the Mayor was presetit most of the day atitt riiaclo a very appropriate speech. The Garrison Band played selections during the day. I don't think I ever saw a more lively and animated seena as thel'6 was on the Basin Beserve on this occasion* and the prigirlatoi' of the seh&me Who id Mrs R\ bannister is much to be congratulated. Mr Smith (Te Aro House) had all his latest evening novelties displayed for the first time last Friday evening id one of the largest Windows. Materials frotti lovely rich velvets to soft shimmering gauae were to he seen, also some very handsome evening and ball gowns* one I liked very much was very pale greenish blue silk, slightly braided atld trimmed round the hem at intervals with tulle butterfly bows, another was of pale pink silk trimitiecl With the palest shade of green crape ; there was also a beautiful dinner gown of lovely black brocade of a large patterd (which are all the fashion now), and prettily trimmed with jet. Another thing I very much coveted was ad opera cloak of thick cream material with a woolly surface and bound round the cape and neck with soft white fur. The cr£pe material was to be seen in all shades, and struck tile as being remarkably cheap for Ids a dress length. I think there is nothing so pretty and simple, especially for a young girl as, say a pale salmon pink crepe gown with a frill of either cream or white lace (broad) round the neck and elbow sleeves. Evening velveteens in pale shades are to be worn I believe, and very pretty they look. I hear that heliotrope is to be the colour this winter, and flowers, lace and ribbons are to be seen on every gown. A very good way of doing-up a last season's ball dress is to cover the bodice (which is all the better for being a tight fitting one) loosely but neatly with either thin lace or tulle, and put some tiny frills or draping caught here and there with rosettes or bows, of the same material round the hem, the bodice also may be finished with a few small rosettes, and a plain belt fastened also with a rosette, the sleeves are still worn very large. Bronze shoes, and open work stockings to match the gown worn are coming in again and are of course far more economical than light shoes. SIGNA.