LADY'S LETTER FROM LONDON. PRECIS.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 217, 27 August 1887, Page 6

LADY'S LETTER FROM LONDON. PRECIS.

Tun Jubilee Her Majesty's Ie \rs-Cock-ney Humour—" Why Didn't Yeu Grow ?"— Loud Lome's Accident - Some Line 13 TIIKREOX— SI'RANGFIt Til AN FICTION—IJURXixg Bank Notes Worth .£36,0-o— Where the Diamonds Wkhm- Mary Andkiw^n's Enoagkmknt— Thk Nk>v Pkeub-Tiik Best Accounts ok the Juiuli<:k— Tiiukk I'j ai.ian OrKRAS - PAlTl'es PvE-API'IiARANCK IN OI'KUA ! —End or Two Long Runs -Xkw Salads Fashionable — Russian Salad — Massa chusktts Chicken Salad— Juuilek Clar&t Cur— Princes Cup-An Enticing Sand--svicii — ridl.r iiaqgawn's new book — "Dawn" ])ramatised— New Books and Editions.

London*, July 1, ISS7. Dear Mr Editor, - You will have heard so much about tho Jubilee by the time this letter gets to New Zealand that I scarcely like to bore you with my experiences and fcensatioii". We had a capital window commanding Trafalgar Square, and consequently saw tho procession both going to and icturning from the Abbey. The (,jucen beemed to be much moved by her magnificent reception ; indeed, she tuied so that I am told her eyes and none were unbecomingly red (hiring the ceremonial at Westminster. I confess I doi ived quite as much amusement from the crowd below us as fiom the pageant. Short men in the Square were of course at a great disadvantage. One little fellow --a true 'Arry, pimply, bilious, and generally unw holesome - began (after the iirst procession parsed) to abu=e those who obstructed his, view. Whereupon a lankey Cockney turned upon him and amid roars of Hnghter from the bystanders exclaimed, " Well, Guvnor, why didn't ycr grow ? You know'd the Jubilee were a-comin' on. Why did'nt ycr grow '.'" It is generally -nippohud that Lord Lome, after being thrown from hi,s horse on Constitution Hill, remounted and went on with tho procession. A< a matter of fact, he did nothing of the kind. The Prince of Wales, whilst congratulating his relative on his escape, said angrily and quite loud enough foi those near to hear, " You must get another horse, or you'll make us all ridiculous" Hi* Lordship had consequently to retreat on "Shanks's mare," and ultimately went to Westminster by a short cut. A}>ropo< of thn eata-tiophe Geo. R. Sims has perpetrated tho following jcu<Ve*prit : — • " When the Marquis of Lome (the account jou have read) Fai'cd to curb his new goo-gee, so kerbcel his own head, Our Prince went at once to his aid. He stopped till his kinsman had opened his eyes. Ho gave him his hand and he helped him to riie, And remained till all fcara were allayed. The newspapers lovingly dwelt on tho deed ; That the action was friendly we all are agreed, But the Prince with his mother alone Explained as her heir on the Jubilee Day Ho felt, that he should be the fust, to display How friendly he was to the thrown." Nottingham is all agog just now over one of the queerest incidents ever heard of outside of a three- voiumo ikaol. An old couple, Mr and Mrs C, lived in the suburbs of that town for several years. They were very close and very rich, Mrs C. more especially posseting several sets of priceless jewels. Kocently they have died, and their heirs (a young husband and wife) took possession of the property. To the latter's intense surprise, neither money nor jewels could be found. A search was instituted, in the course of which the heir's wife (whom I shall call Mrs D.) came upon an old trunk hid away in the lutnbor room. She opened it full of excitement, but to her disgust found the contents simply tilthy — old pairs of stays, dirty curl papers, and a quantity of old hair combings. So nasty was it all that Mrs D. gave orders to have the stuff turned out in the court-yard and at once burnt. She was idly watching the operation when to her horror the heat unfolded one of the dirty curl papers and revealed to her astonished gazo a fiftypound note. About L9OO was saved. Subsequently a memorandum turned up disclosing that the notes in the trunk amounted to L'.ts,oQO, so that L36,00Q must have been destroyed. Tho jewels, however, still remained, and the search continued. In the meantime Mrs D., to remove from her husband's sight the unpleasant hoap of cinders and naif -burned stays, hair, etc, called in the aid of the local dustman, who carted them off without delay. At length an old woman who had been in Mrs C.*s service was discovered and questioned about the jewels. She at once said "Oh ! yes, Mrs C. had some raro fine di unonds, but much good were they to her, for she sewed them up in her stays." Mrs 1). fainted. Over L 60,000 is said to have thus been burnt and thrown away. Theatrical folk were last week surprised by the announcement that the heart of icy Mary Anderson had at last been stormed, and that the lucky man was her jeune premier, Forbes Robertson. The story had, however, hardly been published bofore it was authoritatively contradicted by Dr. Griffin, the lady's step-father and manager. That gentleman is (for excellent reasons) anything but anxious that the fair Mimi should marry. Miss Anderson used to say (I do not know if she does now) that she would enter a convent when her theatrical career came to an end. Sir James McGarel Hogg has not— as propriety would have suggested— decided to ascend to the Upper House as Lord Bacon. He prefers, sad to say, the outlandish cognomen of Magheramore, which is the name of an estate he owns somewhere in Ireland. Sir St. John Aubyn, the Cornish magnet, will henceforth be known as Lord St. Levan, and Mr E. Followes becomes Baron Ramsey, of Ramsey, though there is a Lord Ranlsey already. Quite the best account of the Jubilee is contained in the "Pall Mall Budget" for June 23. The "Daily News "of the 22nd published a 16-sheet issue full of interesting matter, and the "Illustrated London Ifews " was first in the field (on. June 25th) with views of the pageant, v &c. Three days later, however, tho " Graphic " brought out a special number, which gives a really faithful notion of the pageant. Notwithstanding the hot weather, most of the London theatres are crowded. But then I don't suppose there havo ever before been so many tourists and sightseers in town at once. Only fancy, we have three Italian Operas going together. Tho best is at Drury Lane, where Augustus Harris ' is outdoing himself with splendid mount-

ings and perfect <, ensemble. In; Jeanvde Resfce, too, he has the most .glorious tenor the world has heard for years." We' wit- 1 nessed a performance of "Aida" there such as I imagine" has seldom, been equalled. The orchestra numbered 70 picked musicians, and there were a ballet and chorus of 500. At Covent Garden, Albani is prima donna av-iohita, supported by such continental stars aa Mdlle. Sandra, Mdlle. Ella Russell, ,-md tSignor Gnynrre. The latter has a fine 'tonor voice, but ib will not compare with Doßoske's. At Her Majesty's, Mr Mapleson has hitherto been far from fortunate, but toI night ho plays a great card in Adelina Patti, who appears for the first, last, and only time this season as the fair and frail heroine of the " Traviata." We have gob stalls, and 1 anticipate a delightful treat. Patti's jewel* (done are worth going a longway to see, and in this opera she wears all her finest, The long runs of " The Harbour Lights " and " Sophia "' came to an end lajt Saturday. I see the former was performed 512 and the latter 305 times. The Adelphi will re-open in August with anew melodrama by lucky Cieo. R. Sims, who is realising a large fortune out of the royalties for his plays. . New' salads are very much " tho thing to have at lunch this season, consequently one meets w ibh all sorts of queer mixtures. Myself, 1 think there is nothing to equal salad made out of the white hearts (only) of "cos" lettuce and flavoured with a suggestion of Hue-chopped spring onions. Thai, however, is far too simple for most I people nowadays. Both the following socalled " Russian " salads are nice :- Boil asparagus-, new potatoes, French beans, haricot beans (previously soaked 24 hours), beetroot and young carrot?. Place on ice to cool. Have raw tomatocn finely sliced. Chop all line, pour into salad bowl and dress according to ta^te. Number 2 is more elaborate : To a., mixture of vegetables (as above) add the ilosh of a model ately -sized lobster cut in cubes, thicken with mayonnaise and set in anpic jelly. Fill a mould and place on the ice to cool. An hour later dip the mould in hot water and turn out the shapely salad on a cli-.li and serve. What the menu card- call Massachusetts Chicken Salad is nlM> very popular, and when nrtfully-dressedi-s a most enticing dish. Boil a tender young chicken, and when cold cut up into very small strips. Add the heaits of some "cos" lettuce (broken up with the lingers ; never touch lettuce with a knife) a little endive, find) chopped spring onions, and some cubes of tender | celery (if available). Do not pour the dre-sing on till the last moment. Incomparably tho best recipe for salad dieting is the following : — i To every t\\ o tablespoonfuls of oil (must be- ! the finest Lucca. N.B. -Barto Valle, of the Tiaymarkot, London, sells the best) add ! a small de,s->erE-spoonful of white wine or i tarragon vinegar, a tea -spoonful of mustard, plenty of pepper, a little .salt, and a couple of pinches ot bugar. Mix thoroughly. We tried a new Jubilee cup on Jubilee Day, which was made thus-.— A bottle of ■ sound claret (St. Julien would do), a pint of dry champagne (say Moet's Brut Imperial), a glass ot Wiown sherry or Madeira, ' the thin rind of a lemon, the juice of a rip© orange, two-and-a-half table-spoonfuls of pounded sugar. When the sugar has dissolved add a few slices of cucumber and a i liberal lump of ice. If you think this too heavy, a bottle of seltzer or appolcnair may be added at the last moment. Tom prefers tho simpler ' ' Prince's Cup," the recipe for which I think I g.we you once before. It is certainly more w holesome than the Jubilee mixture : 1 bottle of dry champagne ; I wine-glass white Curuco, 1 wine glass Heunessy 3 star Brandy ; rind of a lemon ; a little sugar ; and 2 bottles of ttchwelppo's soda- water, with ice ad UK | Whilst lam on the subject of recipes let ! me tell you that a most delicious sandwich ! for afternoon tea oi supper can be made with thin shaves of cold chicken, mustard 1 and cress, and hard boiled egg, sprinkled with red pepper. Its success depends, how- ! ever, altogether on the skill with which the maker " fixes up" the three different layers* Mr Rider Haggard's new story, "Aliens Quatermain'' (the sequel to "King Solomon's, Mines '") is co be published to-moirow. I see from the papers that the London booksellers alone have subscribed for 10,000 copies* ' and that this is the largest number of a j six shilling novel the trade have ever taken ' up. No doubt the book will sell well, but I shall be greatly surprised if it is not universally pronounced a sad falling off on " She " and " Tho Witch's Head." Mention of Mr Haggard reminds me of Mr Haddon Chambers, a clever young Australian journalist, and the London correspondent of the Sydney "Bulletin." who has- \ been making his mark as a storyteller in the " Argosy " and other magazines of late. Mr Chambers not long .ago wrote a graceful little comedietta called "The Open (iate," which was accepted by the management of the Comedy Thentro and played 1 with some success there. Its reception emboldened him to fly at higher game, and last week, in conjunction with Mr Stanley Little, ho produced a dramatic version of Rider Haggard's sombro novel, " Dawn." The original title had already been appropriated for another play, consequently Mr Chambers was obliged to select another one. He chose the ugly one of •'Devil Caresfoot," which possibly had not a little to do with the failure of the play, for a failure I am sorry to say it proved to be. Mr Chambers seems more successful as a novelist than a dramatist. His story " She and I/ now running through " Cassell's Saturday Journal," is much above the average. If you have not read Marie Corelli's "Vendetta," do so now. It is just out in> " Bentley's Favourite Series," to which Miss Fothergill's " Borderland " and Rhoda Broughton's "Dr. Cupid" are also about to be'added. Mr Baring Goulds new novel, "Tho ßed Spider," though not such a powerfnl work as ''Mehalah" or evens II Court Royal," will be widely read and appreciated. The scene is laid in an out-of-the-way nook of Devonshire fifty years ago, and tho story deals with many interesting Old World legends, customs and traditions. Mr Clark Russell begins a new nautical romance called "The Frozen Pirate" in "Belgravia" for July, and next month " Longman's" promises the opening chapters of "One Traveller Returns," by David Christie Murray and Henry Hermann.

A Vienna correspondent telegraphsthnsto a London paper: — "The first performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's opera of ' Patience' in the Carl Theacre on June 4 was a decided success, and it is probable that this piece will bo as popular as • The Mikado.' The Vienna public has a fine ear for delicate music, and unceasing applause followed each melodious motive. The duel between Patience and Grosvenor, and the septet, without musical accompaniment, pleased the audience most. Of course the dialogue was not understood, and all the witty points Avere lost to the audience, which, however, fully appreciated tho comic action. The papers all praise the English Operatic Company, and hold up tho perfect manner in which tho performers played together as a model to the. theatres of Vienna. :