WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 73, 21 March 1908, Page 3

WOMAN'S WORLD.

THE YAXDERBILT WEDDING. ill-i t'iadj's Yuuderbilt, possessor :u. her on a right oi t-,4iiO,UOU, on January Alth became the wife 0 { Count lai-zio Ji-u.i Maria Heurik Simon Szecheoyi, ii-uiu ,un of Count Emerit-h, chief of the oiiritui Hungarian house of Szec.i----i-u.. i. American papers lo baud state that the wedding was oiii- of the most exciii-i.v. must expensive, and, most maguiticent ever held in America. 1; Ma- conducted \.ith a iwjmp befitting a royal marriage in "ellele. king-ridden Europe." i!ui the scene amid widen this pomp was unfolded was. one eminently di-linclivc oi the New World and itt supreme consciousness of its iinmen-e and unparalleled wealth. A* one of the ;JSO guests admiringly observed, they eould together, if such a thing were for sale, buy up a good-sized European kingdom. Uf this thought in the power of riches Americana never tire.

Though only the cream of New York soviet;'«» privileged to witness the ceremony, thousand.-, took part in it in imagination. From an early hour in the morning they assembled outside the VaudenuTt mansion, braving a. bitterly cold wind, in order to catch a mere glimpse of the plutocratic participant?. It was little they got for their paiu=. The carnages of tue guests drove past swiftly and deposited tneir occupants at the pur tals ol the great mansion, which immediately swallowed them up. The borne of the Vauderbilts, both in its interior and exterior, is symbolical oi veaila. -Mussiic, ostentatious, and oppressive, it is turuisbed in splendid taste. But more wonderful, if possible, than its permaneut beauties were the floral decorations of the various rooms. It is estimated that JCIO.WU were expended on these ephemeral embellishments.

The guest* were received by ilrs. Yandcrbilt in the drawing-room, which it in the style of loais XIV., and as they arrived they were greeted with the seductive strains of Tschaikovsky's >juiphouie I'attictiuue. the love music from the second act of Wagner", "Tristram and Isolde," and the andante from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. | These were played with excellent effect by an orche-tra of sUty-iive instruments concealed behind flower* and palms in one of the large receptionrooms off the ballroom. The wedding gifts, exceeding in splendour any previous collection, were displayed on the second floor of the Vanilerbilt mansion. Their estimated value is .ttiJOyWO, Imt it is explained that many more presents await the bride in London and Hungary. The Yanderbilt mansion was ruthless-

It invaded at night by a host of Cuitoms inspectors, who, acting on intelligence conveyed by an anonymous informer, insisted on ransacking the j treasure-room, and (Janiin' n K minutely the gorgeous dresses of the bride au.l her relatives. It was in vain that Mr-.. Yanderbilt. supported by the indignant remonstiances of her sods, inveighed against this preposterous intrusion. The inspectors examined the texture of all the dresses of the trousseau, questioned the members of the family as to the prices paid for them, and for varioas gifts, and finally returned to the Customs house to compare the data thus supplied with those contained in the official records. In regard to the trousseau, the officials ultimately discoverd the duty had been properly levied. But the incident greatly incensed the Vanderbilt family, reminding them once more of the "disadvantages of living in a •democratic' country.

Of the presents a* displayed to en- 1 chanted guests, one of the most atrik- ] ing was from the Duchess of Slarlborough, cousin of the bride. It was a ro|>e of pearls with diamond tassels. A pendant of sapphires and diamonds was from Mrs. Aliureic Paget, of London. But the moat splendid of all was from the mother of the bride—a diamond tiara and collar, the gems being of magnificent size, and matched with the utmost accuracy. ANOTHER COLOSSAL WASTE OF MONET. The daaKng ball recently given, at Philadelphia in honor of the social debut of Miss Mary Astor Paul, which cost £25,000, and at which gorgeous butterflies brought from the tropics were released in the ballroom, has been completely eclipsed by a still more gorgeous function at Philadelphia for the purpose of introducing Mis* Mary Randolph into the exclusive set of the Quaker City. The affair, which actually cost CsWWO. was held at the Bellctme Stratford Hotel, which for the occasion was transformed into a woodland scene, with rustic bridges spanning bubbling streams and lake*. A marrelloua arrangement of mirror* caused the room to look twice its real size. There were no butterflies, but there *-_* a miniature forest peopled with rare songbirds which. deceived by the brilliant lights into the belief that it was day, sang among the plants, trees, and flowera, trilling with joy si> that they were heard over the music. Iu the ponds and streams swaM innumerable goldfish of the most valuable varieties, which the gueste, numbering 1,200, caught with nets or bait properly hooked. These fish were not killed, but thrown back by the dainty hands into the water. Late in the evening co-tly favours were distributed among the dancers, who acclaimed the ball the greatest and most sensational ever given.

LEAf-yEaH WIVES. Willi leap year ahead of tlicui, young inaids and bachelor, will view with mingled feeling* the leap-year advice given by Dr. EniU Keieh. Dr. Reich thinks that maidens should nut fail to csercise. this year their privilege of choosing husbands. In fact, he declare?, ladies should always do the wooing ami winning. "Women should select their mates," said Dr. Keich to a newspaper representative. "The natural instincts oi woman are not so interfered with athose of man. In civilised countries niau loot} his natural instinct by the license he takes. Being less interfered with, woman's natural instinct is the stronger and its dircctne-s more clearly accentuated. Therefore, if in the strength of her unbroken natural instinct a woman chooses a special man. it is ten to one that her choice is cornel. Man. by his life, has lost the certainty of judgment, whereas a woman know instinctively the man who will make her the best huslund.

"Tlii- applies'to all European women, but not to Americans. Owing to the system of co-education in the States, women are sick of men lwfore they are twenty. It certainly cannot be denied that the American woman takes little or no interest in men. Not only are divorces in the States twenty-one times more frequent than in any European country, but, although there are several million more men iu the States than women, the number of unmarried w •■ men i- larger than in any other wiretry." Tin-: i"N.MAr.Rii-:i> woman. 'I he unmarried woman of to day (write- " Pearl" in the I/uidon Header" i« not an old maid. Her occupation. whatever it may lie. keeps her from having any of the traditional (pialiti-; «ugge-ted bv that phrase. Her nature is ju-t as ea-ily developed in the direction <>f width and depth bv her work atlie nature of the wife and mother i- b.i tier domestic dutie-. Sweetnc-.- and gentleness now come to wono-n alone; many road'. If a girl does not man.' her life is not spoilt: her energies may be u-ed in any one of a thousand way--, she i- not soured by inactivity, and h-T anomaloin position in the household of her nearest mile relative. Sh H has her life in her own hands: -ho lives it independently. If one wants to fuel a typical "H maid nowaday-, one must >'•• to the country, or small towns and vilbijies. where the ,mroarri"d daughter is still the slave of her parents until their death, and then i- left, u-ually with insufficient means to face a life. from which all purpose and healthy stimulant have Ix'en removed. Tl- | tragedy of the unmarried daughter still exist* in country places in England: it 'i* a very real one, and will hardly di-- ! | ippear until it is a matter of our-' j that every Kngli-h girl shuTt be taught t •ome substantial occupation. Old maid- ! have alwaj-> lieen abused and di-liked. j -which i« not at all -urpri-ing. but w.> I Sare now getting «iifu<-ientlv far ■!■'■<;' jfrom them to pin- them. f..r -n.' eui [ss*e tliat their aro-e from tieieonditions in which they were for-ed t- 1 j live, and it would take alnm.-t an angel ; to show no sigtis of incipient vinegar I iwken one livin? on the charity of I i» married brother: or. still worse, a | reluctant brother-in-law.