A Lady's Letter.

Manawatu Herald, 24 September 1895, Page 2

A Lady's Letter.

Wellington, Sept. 21, 1895. I must begin my letter this week by telling you about the ball at Go* vernment House last Thursday night. It is hardly necessary to say that it was a moat enjoyable one, for these dances are always so, Lady Glasgow being a model hostess, going among her guests, chatting and introducing, and making the stranger feel at home at once, and she makes a point of having a majority of dancing men, which, I think, is a great thing, for a dance with numbers of ladies sitting out, is, indeed, a ineloncholy state of affairs. Well, to proceed aboiu the dance in question, the decorations were, as usual, very pretty and effective, flowers and ferns were to be seen everywhere. Lady Glasgow has recovered from her recent; attack of influenza and / was looking very well in most lovely gown of the very palest shade of grey brocade, tbe corsage was trimmed „;•• with soft frills of cream lace and most natural looking yellow roies. Lady Alice Boyle wore white satin, the bodice veiled with delicate lace, the same trimming was employed on> the skirt, being caught here and" there with white roses. Some very handsome gowns were worn byjome of the guests, those I noticed parnedO lady were worn by Mrs Werry, whose gown was of a lovely shade of light violet satin, made with a lodg train, and trimmed with handsome black lace, caught with steel ornaments. Mrs Levin, thick black brocade, trimmed with cut jet and white chiffon ; Mrs Beddard, black satin, with lovely old lace trimming the bodice caught on one shoulder with a cluster of scarlet flowers ; ' Mrs Baldwin wore her pretty pink pompadour silk ; Miss M. Wilson, white* * silk, with bodice of royal blue velvet and butterfly bows of the same trim* ming the skirt; Miss Richardson wore a most becoming gown of black satin, slightly trained and trimmed very effectively on the bodice with, narrow jet embroidery hiding the seams, deep frills of black chiffon composed the sleeves, showing tfep/ arm through ; Miss Izard wort .«( very pretty f roc's (English), it was.of white silk, with a pompadour pattern of pink roses, and the bodice .was trimmed with folds" of bright pink chiffon ; Miss Gore, a very pale shade of blue satin, the bodice was of salmon pink covered with open •cru lace and ruches of pink chiffon on the shoulders, bordering the skirt was a band of wide ecru insertion over pink silk ; her sister wore white brocade trimmed with pretty lace caught here and there with tufts of tiny white tips ; Miss Fairchild looked very well in white silk brightened with a cluster of red flowers on one shoulder. The other gowns worn on this occasion I have already described in previous letters. So I will now go .on to say a few words about Mr Maughan Barnett's last concerf, which took the form, of a Piano Recital. Mr Barnett was heard at hia best on this occasion and played 'beautifully, the audience showing | their appreciation by loud and rapturous applause. His Excellency the Governor was among the. au-, dience, also Lady Alice Boyle, ,^?&p', was wearing a black silk skirt and

preWy pink evening blouse ; Lady Hector, Mesdames Levin, Duncan, Pynsent, Goring, Tuokey, Wilson, Holt, Gourtfieyt Morisob> Beid, Eberle, Tnrnbull, and the Misses Williams, Menzios, Fraser, Turnbull, Gore, Holt, Stowe, Hector, Richardson, Pearce, etc. The hew display of spring and Bummer millinery at Te Aro House was certainly well worth a Tisit. r Borne of the hats and bonnets are reailjMboo lovely and makes one long for We golden coin with which to indjiflft.in these temptingly bits of Parisian and English art, for indeed there fa a lot of art about them, the way in which delicate colours blend with the most brilliant hues being yreatyy wonderful; then of course these are some rather ridioulious constructions, for instance the other day I heard of a lady wearing a hat composed of vived green leaves, trimmed with flowera of these colours, bright yellow, scarlet, brilliant purple, cerise, magenta, and violet. Now, I should hardly think that hat was pleasing to the artistic eye — but I am wandering. I must proceed to tell you about the millinery displayed at Te Aro House. Large white chip hats, seem very: fashionable ; I saw several, prettily and lightly trimmed with huge rosettes or bows of tulle, and nodding white tips fastened with buckles, some of them had bows or loops of broad stiff ribbon generally shot with two colours, such as pale heliotrope and pink. One sweet little bonnet was composed of cream lace, the crown being of this, immediately in front was a large butterfly made of lace and poised as if in the act of flying, on either side were upstanding bows of a crushed strawberry pink ribbon with a white osprey coming out of each ; another pretty little bonnet was of 6eru and gold lace, trimmed in front with pale bine velvet and white ospreys ; a stylish spring toque was of dull green leaves, trimmed on one side of the front, so to speak, with high loops of shot ribbon, and on the other with pale magenta roses. A rather broad and decidedly stylish spring hat was composed of delicate fc- black lace, trimmed on one side with a bunch of lovely rose-buds, and on the other with a spray of white lilac and crushed strawberry ribbon loops. There were numbers of new and pretty;, blouses to be seen, but about these --'l* will tell you in my next letter; as I fear I have already over reached my limited space. ■ ' Sioxa.