LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 73

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg, who is affianced to Prince Alfonso of Bourbon, is a familiar figure in London society. Unlike most British princesses, she is a brunette, is gowned in Paris, and has become noted for her exquisite costumes. She goes by the nickname of "Baby," talks well, has a keen sense of humour, and is a first-rate mimic. Princess Beatrice was 23 last April, and has reached a riper age than her sisters, who married at the ages of 17 and 18 respectively. — When poets rave about lovely woman it is invariably her eyes that are selected for praise and detailed description. When novelists tell us how the heroine was stirred by love, fear, or hate, we are told that a " soft look crept into her eyes," that " her eyes were full of terror," or that " they blazed with an evil light." But a physiognomist now assures us that it is to the mouths of men and women we should look when we wish to see the reflection of emotions. — Lady's Pictorial. —So many titled persons have of late years been engaged in business projects that such a practice no longer excites general surprise. One of the many enterprising members of the nobility is the Duchess of Abercorn, who operates a creamery at Baronscourt. her fine home in Ireland, and is making considerable profit by selling its products to certain London hotels and to some of the ocean liners. The Duchess pays a good deal of attention to the affairs of the creamery, and conducts it with sense and skill. She was formerly Queen Alexandra's lady-in-waiting, and Her Majesty acted as godmother to the Duchess's daughter, Lady Alexandra Hamilton. — The perennial youthfulness of Queen Alexandra has often been remarked upon, and many people have pretended to know the §ecres. As a matter of fact, the Queen preserves the freshness of her complexion by the very simplest methods. She lives frugally, and, although she goes late to bed, nas usually a good rest in the afternoon. She has never washed her face except with distilled water for year* past, and employs a masseuse almost daily. This is the simple regime. The Duchess of Portland preserves her won-

* derful complexion with the same absence of expensive cosmetic; she washes her face in boiled rose water. —In connection with the admirable work accomplished by the Theatrical Ladies' Guild, which lends a helping hand to actresses in misfortune, Miss Fanny Brough, the president, said at a recent meeting that she had become a nuisance to her male friends owing to her greed for their cast-off garments. A shurt time ago she overheard two ladies discussing her, and one said, " Does she not go in ■ for an old-clothes 6hop'r" Being told that such was not the case the lady added, " At- any rate, ehe's a funny lot." On the other hand, the cabman who drove her to this particular meeting paid her one of the greatest compliments 6he had ever received, for he asked her to accept her fare on behalf of the guild. As he drove away he added, " Good luck to you, Fanny, and thank you." It is a curious and undoubted fact (remarks a lady writer in an English paper) that the really optimistic and cheery women one meets are usually unmarried. One must attribute this state to the greater freedom which they enjoy, their opportunities for congenial occupations, and also • to- the fact- that the unmarried women's illusions about man are never shattered by reality. To the agreeable spinster, man is usually gallant, courageous, unselfish, and high-minded — at least, in his relations to herself. Her friends' husbands and brothers only show , her their attractive side, and, in short, j she is apt to see the paramount sex through rose-coloured pince-nez. The modern young and middle-aged woman without ties has, indeed, an extraordinarily ,gay and irresponsible life compared Ito her married sister. With her flats and clubs, her profession, her games and her sporta, and her multitudinous opporj tunities for travel and amusement, &ne ; Has nothing to envy the girl who has 1 merely married^ to " have a house of her 1 own." So it- is that such marriages are becoming rarer. — " One, morning of the Jubilee craze," writes Lady Randolph Churchill, in the Century Magazine, " I pretended that I nad received as an advertisement a ' Jubilee bustle ' which would play ' God save the Queen ' the wearer sat down. This, of course, created much curiosity and laughter. Having proI mised to put it on, 1 took my hosts into my confidence. An aide-decamp was pressed into the service, and, armed with a small musical box, was made to hide under a particular armchair. While the company was at luncheon I retired to don the so-called 'Jubilee wonder,' and when they were all assembled I marched in solemnly and slowly sat down on the armchair where the poor aide-de-camp was hiding his cramped limbs. To the delight and astonishment of everyone the National Ant hero was heard gently tinkling forth. Every tfme I rose it stopped ; every time I sat down it began again. I still laugh when I think of it and of the astonished faces about me." I —Of interest to local girls (says "Rita" in the Melbourne Weekly Times) is the i commencement of an English paper on the athletic modern girl. A contrast is drawn between the youth, huddled up, with a contracted chest, smoking and inhaling the fumes of *he interminable j cigarette, and watching a cricket or footI ball match, and his sister. She, during j , all this time, ifi driving a ball from the j I tee at a game of golf, or she is vigorously playing forward in the hockey field. This develops her figure, and broadens her chest, with beneficial effect to her health. I The question has been asked by recent writers : " What wonder that she develops ] into a splendid Atlanta, while he remains pallid and undersized?" This comparison reminds one of the fact that some boys, apparently under 16, and in knickerbockers, can still be seen smoking the baneful cigarettes. I believe that there ' ' is a clause in the apprenticeship agree- j ' ment that prohibits midshipmen smoking | 1 before they are 18. The law prohibits i children under 16. Surely parents should ; show some interest in this matter, more i especially mothers in th© early training j of their children. Some means might be taken to stop this cigarette smoking. 1 — The Prince and Princess of Wales | make as strong a point of visiting Lord ] and Lady Mount Stephen at Brocket j Hall once* a year as the King and Queen I have heretofore made of visiting the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth each January. The friendship between the Princess and Lady Mount Stephen j is of long standing, and dates from the i s days when the latter, as Miss Gian Tufnell, was so constantly about with Prin- | cess Mary Duchess of Teck. It was at , Brocket that Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck passed the early days of , their honeymoon. Lord and Lady Mount I Stephen, to their regret, are only tenants J at Brocket Hall, which is held by Admiral j Lord Walter Kerr and his sons under the I will of the late Lady Amabel Kerr, to whom the Lamb estates in Herts and Derbyshire fell after the death of her < brother. Lord Cowper. Two famous Prime Ministers died at Brocket : Lord Melbourne and his relative by marriace, ' Lord Palmerston. The house, stately ! and splendid, is beautifully situated, and near at hand lies Hatfield. the residence lof yet another dead and gone Premier. | | —A romantic stoiy with a sad ending is recalled by the recent death of Lidy Pearce, within a few weeks of that of her husband, tlie late Sir Willhm Pearce. I It was only thiee years ago that the marriage of this interesting couple tock ! ' place, prior to which Eady Pearce, as Miss Carrie Coote, had established her- I self as ?. footlight favourite on account of ■ her fascinating dancing and spirited act- | , Ing. Miss Carria Coote was a daughter of the late Robert Coote, a well-known musical director, and, like her brothers and sister, adopted the stage as a profession. Her skies: was Miss Lizzie Coote, a very accomplished burlesque and comedy actress, who died some 20 years ago. Mr Bert Coote, the well-known manager and

comedian of to-day, who five years ago produced that highly successful drama, " The Fatal Wedding," often acted with his sister Carrie, and as the Babes in the Wood the two were familiar to playgoers in many towns. Lady Pearce made a great "hit" as the ihild Eva in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and created the role of Irene in the tragedy of " Clito," which the late Wilson Barrett produced some years ago. By her death Trinity College, Cambridge, comes in for £400,000.