FOR THE LADIES.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 29, 22 December 1883, Page 5

FOR THE LADIE S.

"One-half tlio world don't know how the other half lives !" exclaimed a gossiping woman a f ey days ago, "Oh, well," said her neighbour, "don't worry about it; 'tisn't your fault if they don't know." A Philadelphia lady has recently been figuring as the "Diamond Queen " at the Grand Union Hotel, Saratoga. At a recent garden party at the hotel she wore diamonds to the- value of 105,000d015., and lace to the value of 30,000d015. moie. Two detectives in evening dress waited closely upon her as a precaution, so the company must have been rather mixed. — ''Echo." I wonder, says a writer in " Life," if this rage for ornaments in the shape of crawling things will soon die out? I saw a girl on Thursday whom I have known to scream with horror at a real blackbeetle, with the cape of her white dress fastened in about ton different places near her throat with ten hideously real-looking blackbeeties. She wore a perfect horde of them in her hat. I don't call that consistency ; do you * The Queen of Italy is very fond of children, and seldom takes a walk without stopping to chat with ono or two of her youthful subjects, especially little girls. In former days she would often ask a pioti'ge; "And what is youv father, my dear ?" But since the haughty reply of a mite of seven — " My fatlior is' a Republican "—Her Majesty studiously avoids this question. "Madge" describes in "Truth" the costumes of two children she knows. The boy's new suit, she says, is ruby velvet trimmed with ruby plush, and slashed with oaidinal silk. A Henry VIII. hat ol similar materials makes his lovely gold-brown curls look more golden than ever. He is a picturesque little being thus clad, but a sailor suit would be more sensible for every reason. The tiny girl — a year younger — is also a victim to millinery, but, small as she is, she takes to it more kindly than the boy. Her boots cost a small fortune, being made expressly for her, and provided with any number of buttons. Her short skirts have a sort of jaunty air that means selfconsciousness ; but she is a dear little thing, and very pretty. Her very newest frock is of peacock green plush, on which a rich design is worked in thick silk cord. The buttons are enamelled and very costly. Some yards of real Mechlin make a hulaj/cuse, an appendage rather out of place on a garment so short, but still dainty enough to make one forget its inapplicability. She caught somo of the meshes of this lace on the corner of a chair the other day, and tore it a little. Her cry, "Oh, mother dear, my Mechlin !" sounded less like the age of six than that of six-and-twenty. Those ladies who like to have a fashion of their own that cannot be copied by anyone will be glad to hear of a new style that is full of beauty and attraction, and a curiosity withal, namely, Bulgarian handembroidered robes. These 'dresses are most exquisite, and are in cream white and a black material, embroidered in gold, silver, iand soft silks of lovely colours. The patterns are most graceful and elegant, consisting of scrolls, arabesque patterns and garlands or sprays of flowers. Some of the robings are finished off with a bell fringe knotted into the stuff itself, so that they cannot come away as even the most costly fringes do sometimes. These dresses seem suitable for almost any hour of the day, from the simple morning dress to the brilliant evening toilette, and they have the advantage of being moderate in price. At a recent aquatic f6te in Scotland, many of the ladies wore very exquisite costumes. Among the prettiest, says a Society journal, we noticed a cream flannel with a waterfall back, and the novelty of the lower part was lined with ruby turned upwards and fastened with gold anchors instead of buttons. The front had two flounces, each edged with several rows of ruby and gold braid, and the waistcoat matched, the buttons being small anchors ; a cream Btraw hat, with a ruche of frayed out ruby silk and a gold anchor in front. A broad " fishwife " striped blue and while skirt was worn with a dark blue serge tunic and ! bodice, with waistcoat of the stripes, and a red kerchief tying up the tunic to one side of the bodice, and another coming out from the waistcoat and looped back to the other hip. A very pretty costume consisted of Turkish embroidery on pale blue nun's cloth, with loops of ribbon of the colour of the embroidery j over it for warmth, was worn a dolman cloak of brown brocade, lined with blue satin and edged with similar embroidery ; the hat was entirely of the embroidery, with a blue aigrette. At the ball most of the loveliest dresses were white ; one consisted of lace and satin, looped up gracefully with artificial purple and white heather, and a few silver thistles. An uncommon dress consisted of a bodice and tunic of cream lace, looped over a plain tartan satin skirt, short and full, the tunic being caught up on one side with a twisted scarf of the same tartan, and allowed to drop very low on the other : the petticoat was draped at distances, showing cascades of lace. Barege dresseB over silk of another colour are also made, navy, blue barfcge over grenat silk being an effective combination. The pleated akirt is edged with lace, a'nd the silk corsage has an over-casoquin of barege gauged at the neck and woJBt, and terminating in large Camargo paniere. A belt of grenat velvet enoircles the waist. The Lesdiguiereb hafc is of blue straw, interplaitedwith grenat ohenille, and trimmed with blue ana red feathers, fastened by a golden avrow,

11 In this lord's casfclo dwelt for many ft year A well-beloved servant; ho could sing Carols for Shrovetide ov for Candlemas, Songs for tho wassail; and when the boars head, Crowned with gay garlands aud with rolemary, Smoked or the Christmas board." —SouOiey's "Joun of Arc" Carols— which are said to be derived from the Latin eantare, to sing, and wla, an interjection of joy —are as old as Christianity ; the first one, according to Bishop Taylor,' being the well-known hymn stfng by the angels to the shepherds at t\\Q Nativity ~ Gloria in excelm ! ~ since the production of which Christmas carols in great variety have been composed, more especially in' the early ages^ of the Church. And a curious composition this first carol is as sung by the peasantry long ago. Here is a specimen, from' which the reader will observe' that its poetical merits are on a par with' the tragical ballad of " Who failed Cock Robin ?"— "The cock croweth, Christus Natus eat { (Christ, is born!) The raven asked, Quidnas ? (When 1) The crow replied, Heec nocto. (This night.) Tho ox cried out, Übi, Übil (whoi©, where D Tho sheep bleated forth, Bethlehem. A voice from heaven sonnded, saying. * Gloria in excclsis V " (Glory be on high t). Probably through this carol arose the custom of the Calabriun shepherds on Christmas Eve. They descend from the mountains to Naples and Rome, saluting the shrine of the Virgin with their wild music, under the poetic notion of cheering her until the birth of the infant. Very different is the practice in our own country. In the city of Durham, for instance, and in many other northern towns, when the chimes are ushering in the great Christian festival, an old woman carries figures of the Virgin and Child from house to house, exhibiting them, \thile she sings the old, old carol-— " God reat you. merry gentlcmon, let nothing you dißmay. Remember Christ our Saviour wo? born on Christmas Day. To Bave our souls from Satan's fold, which long had gone astray. And 'tin tidings of comfort and joy. " We do not come to your houso to bog nor to borrow, But we <lo conic to your ho-uso to fafugf away all sorrow j Tlio merry time of Clu'istraas is drawing very near, And 'tis tidings of comfort and joy. " We do not come to your house to beg for bread and cheese, But we do come to your house to give us what you please ; The merry time of Christina* is drawing very near. And 'tia tidings of comfort and joy. "God bless the master of (his house, tho mistress also, And all the littlu children that round tho table go; And all their kith and kindred that travel far and near. And wo wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." Who hath not felt his heart stirred to its inmost depths by the sound of the Christmas carol ? Wh.it song so truly full ot peaco, of love, nnd joy as that ? And what would merry old Christinas be without these glad carols ringing out in the clear frosty air, while the silvery chimes are borne in aocompaniment over the meadow and the housetop alike ? "And all the bells on earth shall ring On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day." It is natural for us to sing when we are glad, and carol-singing once formed a principal feature at all the great feasts and banquets ; these carols, which were of a lively description, being known as wassail songs, and well adapted to the revel and the feast ' where the Lord of Misrule had potent sway. Nay, it was a rule among the Anglo-Norman originators of these convivial lyrics, that all guests should take part in the singing. "The antientiest master of the revel is, after dinner and supper, to sing a carol, or song, and to command the other gentlemen present to sing with him and the companie." No song no supper, was the motto strictly adhered to, and the bluff English squire, at his hospitable board, protests thai— Not a man here shall taste my March beer, Till a Curistnms carol he docs sing ; Then all clapped their hands, and shouted and sang, Till tho hall and tho parlour did ring. But in later times the carol seems to have been devoted to Christmas alone ; and when the Yulelog was blazing brightly upon the wide hearth, and the green mistletoe boughs hung from the walls and decorated windows and doors, the wassail- bowl was filled to overflowing, and true friends pledged each other with a joyful Christmas song ; and the young people joined hands in the old-fashioned dance, chanting a blythe carol, to which their feet kept time. Carol-singing was maintained in England iv all its vigour to the close of the last century ; but since that time it has gradually declined, except in the schools and churches of today, till it is scarcely heard except around the home fireside, trolled forth by sweet young voices ;' or it may be some solitary veteran who has not forgotten the merry customs of his earlier years, in plaintive accents, doles out " God res*; you, merry gentlemen," already quoted. Here is one which used to be a great favourite with the younger members of the community, and which is not yet forgotten ; — ; " I saw three ships come sailing in, ! On Christmas l>ay, on Christmas Day ; I saw three ships come sailing in. On Christmas Day in the ntornrag. " And what was in those ships all three, On Christmas Day ? &c. " Our Saviour Christ, and his ladye, On Christmas Day, &o. " Pray, whither sail those ships all three, On Christmas Day 1 &c. " Oh, they sailed unto Bethlehom, On Christmas Day, &c. " And all the bells on earth shall ring On Christmas Day, <fee. " And all tho angels in Heaven shall sing On Christmas Day, &«. " Then let us all rejoice amain, On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day ; Then let us all rejoice amain, On Christmas Day in the morning." In Shakespeare's time carols were sung in the streets at nights during Christmas by the waits, who expected to receive a gift for their singing. The derivation of this word "waits" is not really known, but it seems to be the same as u watch." The Anglo-Saxon waei&m means to " watch ;" so does the German wachten. The Gothio wahts also means "watch." Waits were formerly minstrels, or musical watchmen, who attended on great men," and sounded the watch at night. Afterwards the word came to be used for musicians who go round in the night and wake the neighbour' hood with their music. Many a writer of old times and customs refers to the "wakeful sketches of Christmas Eve. " According to ~Dc. Busby, the word waits is a corruption of wayghtes'(ha,utbQy&h a word which has no singular number. The word,, he says, lias been transferred from the instrument to the performers, who are in the habit of* parading the streets at night during Christmostide. It was formerly the I auty of musical watchmen to " pipe the' watch " nightly in the king's- court four times from Michaelmas to Shrove Tuesday, and three times in the summer-; and they had also to make " the bon gate " at every door; to secure them against ;" but they tormed a distinct class from both the watch and the minstrels.