LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 73

LADIES' GOSSIP.

■ — To few women has it been given to make s*uch sensational discoveries as those just brought to light by Slifs Martindale, the lady inspectress of factories, who, in the " Rsporl ,on Factories and Work-s-h-ops" juit L-sue<l by the British Governin .^nt. has proved heredf a very champion of hir ?ex. In pursuing one case alone p?id no liif-s than seventy-two visits f«-r Ibe puipose of collecting * the needed e\idej;ce, and she often had the public feeling of the place entirely against her. Now, however, her revelations will proide ioeial reformers with ensational data foi foma time to come. — ■ Mrs Henry de la Pasture, whose clover play, " Peter's Mother,"' was revived at the Havmarket Theatre the other cliy, L> <-jie of the cloverest of our lady dramatists. She is aL-o that somewhat rare tiling — a woman with a gift of humour, and her books have been as suc-te'.-ful as her plays. Born in Naples, Mrs (]>_■ la Pasture's father and grandlathcr were both in the Consular Service, and lifer huoband u> a son of the late M..rquU de la Pasture. Mrs de la Pasture i-3 an amateur aetro.'s of great ability, and, ciinou.-ly enough, the is keenly interested m the particularly manly gam,9 of cricket. — Miss Blanche Vulliamy, "who produced her morality play entil/led "Give Heed," at the Court Theatre recently, is '

T a lady of versatile gifts :Trho has chali . langed criticism in more than one de< parunent of the arts. At one time sh^ j was an expert in the arts and crafts ; sh< ' paints exquisitely on porcelain; she i* ; also an accomplished dancer, and of late j years has "entered the realm of the drama, I and has -tackled that somewhat difficult [ genre, the morality play In _ spite of many rivals in that exacting field, Miss Vulliamy is most sanguine, and hopes to impress on a frivolous public the lessons embodied in " Give Heed." — Princess . Henry of Battenberg, "whor appeared with such success as •> composer at the concert given at the Imperial Colonial Club, revealing thereby that she had a musical gift of no mean order, is not the first royalty who has entered-the lisfr of musical composition. The Queenmother Christina of Spain is known to ba an able, musical writer, especially ot church music, and some of her composi- _ trons have "been performed at the Chapel Royal at Madrid with, much success. Though several members ■df - thi Royal Family- are expert executants, Princess - Henry of Battenberg is the first of them who nae "written song§* '^ • — Priijoesarßoinain-e, the 'seven-year-old bride of the heir to tin© Abyssinian throne, Prince Ling. Jeaasu, may ,be .said to havl© fairly broken the record, as far as youth- ' fnl royal brides go. The little lady 'S the grand-daughtei of the late Emperor John of Abyssinia and. nieoe to the Empress Taitou^ and is only six years younger than her bridegroom, who is thirteen. He iff a grandson of the famous Emporor Menelik, who still rules his semi-civilised subjects. There is every reason to suppose that Abyssinia's . future monarch will ba an up-to-date and progressive personage by the time he tabes Ms hereditary place ; meantime, bride and bridegroom can pursue their education together. — Mrs Charles Lygon _Cocks, who presented a grey riding cloalf to the Duke of Cornwall, had the satisfaction of accomplishing the unusual. In 1086 Roger the Harpist presented s grey cloak worth sixteenpence to the King In payment for Pengelfy lands, and the first Duke of? Cornwall — the Black Prince— received the gift three centuries later, but no man since until June last. Mrs Cocks, who , naturally valued her privilege keenly, is the widow of Colonel Charles Lvgon Cocks, of the Coldstream Guards, and her. residence, Treverlyn Yean, although interesting and a perfect treasure-house of carved oak, stone chimney-pieces, stained glass, and ancient tapestries, is considerably newer than her manorial rights^ It was, in <act, designed by Colonel Cocks himself, and is decidedly original — Miss Ellen Terry, *iser in her genera--tion than the majority of modern women, has permitted herseJf to grow old- gracefully. " Ewtfgone knows- 1 have seen my, sixtieth birthday, and wherefore golden curls?" sha says. Her hair; that waff one* fair— sandy, Charles Reade called it — is a beautiful silver grey, and she ha* acquired * a stateliness of carriage amd definite handsomeness that make up fo* some of the lost/ charms of youth. And her lissome 'grace and incomparable smils are hers still— they were shown at tha Coronet Theatre the other evening when she sat in a box with her husband to see Mr Shaw's "Widowers' Houses," and tha crowded audience recognised* her, and shouted Tvith rapture. G. 8.5., in- the opposite box, led ths applause with what for him was wonderful, singleness -of purpose. In. the street, the crowd rendered the honours of a queen to the actress as she stepped into her raotor-car r — Mrs RuesellSage has, according to a; statement published, in New York, bee* dying away her fortune during the last three years at the. write of £5000 daily fo« the benefit of mankind. It is being expended, the Telegraph -says, in education and various excellent schemes for helping the deserving. It took Mr Sage 50 years to eet £13,000,000, representing £'0J a day for the lifetime of the astute finan-* dsv. , , , .. — SpeaTdng a few weeks ago at the breaking-up ceremony of a girls coJlege at Baltimore, Mark Twain said:— Tnere are three things, young ladies, 1 want to advise you not to do. The first is, dan't smoke; that* is, don t smo ke to excess. The second is, don't drink ; that is don't drink to excess. The third is, don't marry— l mean to excess It was was fully five minutes before the audienc* families of Europe few are quite so wealthy as the members of the House of Braganza, and among the most striking of their possesao ns is a collection of famous jewels, which includes many ropes of priceless psarls. On !>tate oceaLira at Lisbon the Queen-Mother wear* sometimes a rope of pearls that m valued at £200,000. Her Ma 3 esty is fond of these jewels and as in her estimation plarb rank above all other jewels, when } gift is made to her it takes the shape not anusuaUy of a few additions to her already marvellous collection The existence these jewels has attracted considerable attention in Portugal during the St few months, for the attempt haa been made by the leaders of the Republican. party to claim the Bragansa jewels a« League has been jEsa - pSTof H^en^r^: Sevefto marry a woman who follows any, Queen Margberit* of Italy has shown a great interest in flying machines (says M. A. P), and some time a^o Se witneied one of Mr Wilbur Wrights flights. She was much impressed by what, she saw, and complimented Mr Wright very warmly. "I thank your Majesty, replied the famous aviator. "Would your Majesty care to take a seat beside me in the airship?" "Oh/ replied tfie Queen with a smile, "it is very tempting, but, unfortunately, there are too many people about." —It is believed that strong perfumes have power to intoxicate and benumb, and workers ir the perfume laboratories are ooasdonally so much affected as _*• ' need medical aid. ▲ German physick*

has made a series of experiments which fully confirm the popular belief. The experiments wore not mad© on human beings, but on frogs, which were put under gla£6 with sponges saturated with various essence*. The effects are similar to those of chloroform. There is a brief stage of excitement, followed by partial or complete paralysis. Although many odours were used, they wer.e found to differ in rapidity of action, and the notoriously heavy and "beady" musk was found to be one of the slowest. Camphor, i peppermint, lavender, and cloves are also slow, while aldehyde, turpentine, elderflower, ylang ylang, "peau d'Espagne," assafoetida, bisulphuret of carbon, mustard, and nicotine act- quickly and energetically. ■ ! — Mrs Glyn, whose reoent novel, "Elizabeth Visits America," >s being discussed over many tea-tables, is a woman with an extraordinary personality. She says, quite frankly, that she is a law unto herself, and is sufficient 'or herself, and proves it in many ways. When she h in Essex ghe lives in s. charming house not far from the ancestral home of her husband, which is let chiefly because Mrs Glyn disliked living in a huge mansion and entertaining Jange week-end parties, j In the grounds of the cottage the authoress has built for herself a pavilion, and it is in this that she spends most of her time, it consists of a bedroom, bath- j l-oom, ante-room, and salon ; the latter embodies Mrs Glyn's of spring, the 'bedroom is summer, and the ante-room, ' a harmony of purple and brown, suggests autumn. Even Mr Glyn only visits the Savilion by invitation, and when Mrs lyn bas a writing fit on no one enter, except her pcf.-onal maid. — Counted Cze-chenyi has achieved trie impossible. Sh° ha-* reconciled Huncraiy to th.c alliance of one of its proudest families to an American girl, rich in anonej. indeed, but pathetically destituteof ancestral quarterings. At" the present moment the hostess mc?t appreciated in Budapest is the lady who \\a.> Mies Gladys Vanderbilt, and she has won her triumph as the result of infinite tac*. Not only has she learned to dance the national dances, but she is now able to speak the national language with fluency, and only the most piquant trace of an American accent, and in other ways she is becoming more Hungrarian than the Hungrarians themselves. American women, more than any others in the world, have that wonderful chameleon gift of identifying themselves wholly with the countries of their husbands, ■with the religion and politics and people among whom they are jailed upon to dwell. The little daughter of Count and Countess Czechenyi i^ to lea;n Magyar as J>pr mother tongue, and will be taught EnglL?fi, with other languages, later on. ' Eleven Rules for a Bride. j Upon hey v. cdclin^ mom the Japane.-e Lride is jriven 11 <"onvnnr.dmt.nts by h;-v mother. These 11 rule* have been handed jfcwn from mothei to daugLt.i: in Japan l

for centuries, and no well-bred girl disregards them. What would an English girl cay if her mother should give her the ' following directions :—: — J The moment you are married you are no longer my daughter. Therefore you must obey your parents-at-law as you once obeyed your father and mother. | When you are married your husband will be your sole master. Be humble and polite. Strict obedience to her husband is the noblest virtue a wife can possess. Always be amiable towards your mother-in-law. Do not be jealous. Jealousy kills your husband's affection for you. Even though your husband be wrong, j do not get angry. Be patient, and when ' he has calmed down, speak to him gently. ! Do not talk too much. Speal* no evil ' of your neighbours. Never cell lies. Consult no fortune teller. Be a good manageress, and especially be economical in your household. j Do not pride yourself on your father's rank or fortune. If he is a rich man ! never allude to his riches before your j husband's relations. j Although you may marry young, do not frequent too youthful .society. j Do not wear bright-coloured garments. ■ Always be neatly but modestly dressed.