ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5396, 13 July 1878, Page 1 (Supplement)

ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

WHAT THE “ WORLD” SAYS.

The Prince of Wales is doing his work at Paris right >vcll. He is the only royal personage who has been heartily cheered aud well received. When he drove out from the Hotel Bristol with' the Crown,Pxdnce'of Denmark on the Ist May to go to the opening ceremony, one might have wallced on the people’s heads in tbe Place Vcnddme, and he was repeatedly cheered/* : 1 MacMahon was, shamefully greeted; at every corner with cries of “Vive la Rdpublique !” and “ Vive I’amnestie 1? and scarcely a hat was raised for him,Unless by some gentleman lost in the crowd. He appeared in a great hurry to have done with the whob thing, of .which he seemed heartily ashamed ; whore.as the Prince of Wales played his part as to the manner born, amiably, smilingly, without hurry or apparenfc'dislike. A promised case in the Divorce Court of the most terrible character, whiclrwas thought to be.scttled, is by.ho means over. It was -heard in rtmem the other.day, and it will eventually bring to light a wide-spreading scandal. Despatch-boxes and dressing-cases were eagerly sought for by the light-fingered gentry on the arrival of the crowds of foreign, to 1 Paris lately • at tho Stations du ■Nord and St. Lazare.- Lord Northbrook lost some valuable jewels, and, worse than all, his: Star of India, the 'intrinsic value of which must be considerably over five hundred pounds. A little while since a rumor was spread, and even printed; that the 90th Regiment, now ou active service at the Cape, was cut to pieces with its Colonel, Evelyn Wood, at its head. HiR.Hi the Oommander-in-Ohief, whose heart Is ever in the right place—i.e., with his soldiers. —took prompt measures'to test the accuracy of the report, and—would you be snrpx’ised to hear ?—is said to have traced it to the Stock Exchange, where * colonel and regiment had been “ butchered,” in imagination only, to make a speculator’s holiday.- • ; Once upon a time, many years ago, .there, was an Indian Prince who visited those shores iu search of adventures.- Amongst others he made the acquaintance of an English lady, to whom ho became devoted. At last ho was forced to leave for his native laud, and on parting—like .other princes ixv fairy stories —gave : his “lady friend ” a ring,, saying, “ Whatever the bearer of that ring bids me to do, I will do.” Years rolled on, and the ring lay unused in the lady’s jewel-box until the Indian Mutiny broke out. And then—the aforesaid Indian potentate having joined the rebels—it became ; a matter ,of .great moment to .thei English Government of ; tho; day . .to recover; his allegiance. Somehow the romantic gift of the ring leaked out; and a Cabinet Minister (so runs this wonderful tale) set off in a great hurry from Dowmng-ptreet to seek our.heroine’s residence in Grosyenor-squai'o,. let.ua,say. The ring was obtained ; the promise was kept, aud. the English troops aavedjat fa most critical juncture: .Now/it is said, the lady -by whose.-means the desirable conversation was brought about claims the new* Order of the Crown of India as her reward. . - ■ ' Tbe last words of Count, Schouvaloff -to Lord Salisbury,, as , the former was bidding adieu to tho latter, previous to his departure for Russia, wore, “Now remember, if any good is to come out.of my journey, not another sol-; dier fromTndia till I return 1” / . Drawing-rooms are over now for the season. It was universally admitted: that the,: last one was not merely, the di\awing x*ooi!n of this season, but it stands out as the best for many years Rarely or never have so many beautiful women aud lovely toilettes passed muster iu one day. ./Her Majesty herself, who ought now to bo a pretty good judge ; in that. respect, made a-remark, voxy much* to this .effect. . It is,difficult aud,ipvidious .perhaps 1 to say/who was 'fairest.;in such a galaxy; but, apaougat the married ladies, one could not but remark Lady Walter Campbell, Laxly Seymour (ivbo r certainly admirably fulfils her role* as wjto of the master of. the ceremonies), Lady Henry Nevill, Lady, Dudley, and of course Jlrs/Langtry. It was a sight for tho gods to see’these two Jast. standing together in the. picture gallery after, presentation; the latter possesses imperfect on at present,fa heautc du diahlc, and has . in , a rare degree that gracefulness that age cannot wither nor custom stale. Mrs. Langtry liad a somewhat formid-. able rival lor admiration in tho enormous bouquet of “ Marshal Kiel” roses which she oarled so caressingly in her hand, and .which it was whispered came direct from tho Paris ExhibL. tion. It was a lovely thing, and -filled the[ rooms with its exquisite fragrance. Amongst tho unmanned beauties must be mentioned; Miss Violet Lindsay, tho Hon Miss Gerard, and Miss Baddely.' ‘ Miss Gerard wore a beautiful dress of tho new “ old gold” color studded with arums. It was agreed that the Duchess of Norfolk’s diamonds surpassed those of Lady Rosebery./ ' The ignorance displayed by some ladies at the drawing-room as to tho proper modebf procedure is extraordinary. ‘ Is it owing to the fact wo have no longer got Miss Geary to teach us, that proper deportment at these functions is

the ; exception ? Some ladies bob about ia: front of the royal presence just if they were .bathing; while others keep curtseying and, backing long after they have passe 1 the last remnant of royalty (usually Prince Bdward 'or the Duke of Teck), and only desist when pulled up by the wall at the far end of the-throne-room, or one of the gentlemen-at-arms who stand sentry at its threshold. It would be very easy to have a rehearsal of the ceremony at home before ; coming. Materfamilias would be very glad to take the part of her Majesty/ and the men servants could act the “sticks-in-waiting.” Another thing is, that ladies nevor seem to know what they should do with their trains; and as often as not gather them up like bundles of old clothes in their right arm, instead of folding them gracefully over the left arm, as -should be done. The lighter a train the more easily ,5t is managed, and the better it is for all concerned.

The wrath of the diplomatic .service at Colonel Wellesley’s appointment to Vienna is assuming x phase which miynot be altogether an unmixed misfortune for the public weal. I hear thxt four secretaries have announced their intention of sending in their resignations. I learn from 1 Paris that the Princess of Wales found it even more difficult than it was ia London* to provide suitable dancing-part-ners for her big sister-in-law, thj Crown Princess of Denmark. That august lady is only six feet two inches in'height ; she has almost a mania for dancing; and having a keen sense of the ludicrous, sets her face against partners who offer a strong contrast tuber own 'stalwart proportions. By dint of repeated injunctions to bring up tall men, our own Princess’s exertions to meet the case were successful on this side the Channel, although Mr, Montague Guest did not sacrifice himself on the altar of duty; but sons of Anak are conspicuously rarer in the French capital.- —Atlas.