WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 96, 1 August 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD.

! MR. HERBERT'S SOCIAL. A charming scene was presented at the Brougham-street Hall on Thursday eveuing last, when Mr. Herbert (of Herbert's "Up-to-date") entertained his staff and friends at a social. The hall was artistically decorated, the decorative scheme being carried out in a delicate shade of green art muslin entwined with silk and bunches of arum lillies and bunting being artistically intermingled in the drapings. The "cosy corners," with their clinging drapings attracted much attention. Excellent music was supplied by Mrs. Woods' orchestra, while Messrs Ham, Martin, Hoskin and Asher carried out their duties as MjC.'s in a most efficient | manner. The supper room was a scene j of beauty. The long -table in the centre ! of the room was beautifully arranged. | The decorations were carried out in yeij low and white silk, with quantities ol ' jonquils and snowflakes. The table was j simply laden with every toothsome j dainty mentionable, and was thoroughly j appreciated by all. Among those present i iwere:—

Mrs. Herbert, handsomely gowned black chiffon taffeta, trimmed with ..... old lace, relieved with touches of white. She added a cream cloak. Miss Stewart, becomingly attired in a

Princess gown of black chiffon voile over glace, with sequin trimmings on corsage. .Miss McKeown, stylish gown of black chiffon taffeta,' with jet trimmings. Mrs. Davey, dainty gown of reseda silk voile, vest and sleeves of tucked net, finished with black ribbon velvet.

Mrs. Asher, blue silk taffeta, trimmed with silver sequins and Paris lace. Mrs. Olliver, black merv, with biacii Chantilly lace and net trimming. Miss L. 'Stewart looked remarkably well in a fishwife gown of cream silk delaine, with furnishings of Paris lace and insertion.

Miss Lilly (Stratford), gown of cream velvet, with garnishing of pale blue and gold. •Miss Stoddart, well fitting gown of black chiffon taffeta, relieved with crimson roses on the corsage. Miss I. Martin, dainty cream crystaline, trimmed on corsage with rich lace and finished with bands of silver.

Miss Howell, heliotrope silk, prettily trimmed with tucked chiffon and pearl trimming. Miss G. Howell, pretty frock of pale green silk, with pearly insertion and band's of black silk velvet.

'Miss 'Martin, smart frock of cream crepe-de-chine, with yoke of lovely Brussels lace.

Miss Collis, cream silk voile, trimmed with guipure lace and insertion.

•Miss N. ColliS, cream eharmeuse, trim med with Paris lace and insertion.

Miss Hurle, white silk muslin, yoke of net, and finished with Maltese lace edging.

THE COST OF FASHION. "In no country do women spend so much money on their personal adornment as in America." This is the opinion of a woman who writes in an American magazine, and her statement is supported by a collection of facts which to the unitiated are nothing short of astounding. Not so very long ago an American society woman cornld dress on £BO a year, and bear a reputation for smartness; now sue spends ten times that amount and yet looks no smarter, and holds the same relative position as formerly. She spends in most cases a quarter of her husband's income on such unconsidered trifles as two hundred and sixty dollar hats, sixty dollar shoes, fifteen dollar parasols, to say nothing of five hundred dollar "creations," commonly termed gowns, in the face of which the American husband is charged, with being unduly absorbed in his business. The fault does not lie entirely with her. To the woman with moderate means there are but two alternatives—she must either spend more than she ought, or "line Up with the frumps." Who is to blame? A fair tourist iSees a Parision mannequin exploiting some absurd "modell" gown. She does not notice that that extreme of fashion has never been worn by French ladies, ibut she buys a similar model and returns to America with "the latest thing ■they are wearing in Paris!" That it is not in keeping with her surroundings does not trouble her. "A dress of gold embroidered gauze that should trail over a 5000-dollar Chinese rug is dragged over a carpet one." She had not the sense of harmony possessed to such a great extent by the French woman, and the ■result of this is that she over-dresses and. the money goes—-to the French milliners. They, and no one else, can convert "a handful of straw, a 'wisp of tulle, and a spray of feathers into a hundred and sixty dollar hat!"

HOW NEATNESS SCORES. If the girls could'realise how strongiy neatness scores in the game of love—they would! never let themselves be bedraggled, asserts a correspondent to the Daily Chronicle. No matter how charming a girl may be, though she in her ball gown can fascinate a man almost into tfontimo; her the one girl for him, she has a poor chance of holding him in his more lucid moments should he happen to know that she is a slattern at home. A man must be very young or very foolish who knowingly chooses for a wife a girl wtio does not care how she looks, save' on swcial occasions. It augurs badly for ,M- comfort when the first glamor of the ::cv-vmcon has waned. There is nothing iro-e torturing than for a man with a strong sense of order to be tied for life to a woman who can keep neither herselt nor her house looking neat. It is a pathetic sight to see a husband trying to pick up debris from a cluttered room or attempting to wield a much duster. Usually friction, not pathos, is the result of such an ill-assorted union. The iieat one storms, and the sloven weeps or answers back, yet refuses to be reformed on orderly lines. A man who had been engaged to a much-admired beauty confided to his sister, under the deepest pledge of secrecy, the reason of the broken engagement. "Mollie never look-

Ed quite well groomed," he said; "I was always tying her shoe-laces, or helping 'her cut off an end of skirt braid; her hair was generally streaming on her neck, and her hands never looked well kept. You may think me a cad, ibut I knew it would be a case of wrappers, curl papers, and a dusty house for the rest of my life, so I cooled off, and she threw me over." The girl who would be truly attractive to sensible men must not neglect neatness and trimness. She may be a beauty, but lot her indulge in blouses that are never hooked, belts that ride up to show waistbands that do not make connection, snoes that are rarely troubled with polish, and gloves that are soiled and holey, and she will often wonder why "lie" seemed so attentive, then sheered away to a less attractive girl. Usually it will be founu that the rival is neat to a fault. True, the wooer may live to suffer from that neatness worked over time, if the girl be not blessed with judgment, as well as a bump of order; but his sufferings will be infinitely less than if yoked to a sloven—iand :he generally is clever enougL to know it. Be particular about your appearance down to the smallest detail. If you will make no effort to be neat for the sake of your good looks, do so in the interests of your matrimonial chances. Exquisite neatness is a trump card in the game of love that lasts.

A PRIMA DONNA'S* ENGAGEMENT,

'■' You can be certain I have not lost Imy "head. I am not sentimentally in love with him. I like him and hope that ours will 'be a happy union. I believe that love is unneccsary in marriage. Although I am not marrying with the idea of divorce, I would not marry in Italy, where there is no divorce lawl' It is comforting to feel that there is an open door." So Madame Cavalieri, as reported in a cable message from Paris to the New York Sun, discusses her engagement to Robert Chanler, of Duchess County. ' No, Madame Cavalieri has not lost her head. She is walking into the matrimonial noose with her eyes wide open, as- becomes a lady of experience, and she wants the noose to have every modern improvemert, including the reversible knot, comments Life. But isn't she just a grain over-cautious ? Perhaps . she remembers that Sheriff Bob's recent civil employment was .keeping a gaol, but there never was a pleasianter or more home-like gaol nor a sheriff on more affectionate terms with his inmates. It does not seem properly attering to the ex-sheriff that the lady should take comfort in the thought of the open door. It sounds not ominous (exactly, but alimonious. My, my! Are there many marriages making in. these days with this timely consideration of the open door? "La Belle Cavalieri," as she is called, has had a romantic career. She was born in Rome, and as a child used to sing and dance- in a< cafe chantant. From Rome she went to the Folies-Bergeres in Paris, ■and afterwards appeared at the Empire in London. But her ambition was to shine in grand opera, and since her debut' as Fedora she has' had a series of triumphs. , , Madame Cavalieri is said to possess jewels worth £IOO,OOO. She is •famed for her beauty, as well as her voice, and she is the owner of a' "beauty shop" in |iifth Avenue. Her fiance is a great-grandson of William B. Astor, and is a well-known millionaire, interested in sport and politics.

THE PRESENT-GIVING CUSTOM. London has often smiled at the extravagance of 'New York's marriage festivities, but in one respect —in the giving of wedding presents—there is little or no difference between the custom of English society and that prevailing in America. There is still absurd excess on both sides, in spite r of repeated complaints a;bout its "tyranny" and folly, especially in cases where the recipients of the gifts are enormously wealthy and personally undistiriguished for anything 'but their wealth. The latest illustration of this disproportionate and mechanical fashion of indicating goodwill was seen (writes a London correspondent) at the marriage of Viscount Maidstone with Miss Margaretta Drexel, daughter of the American millionaire banker who 'has settled in Grosvenor-square. There were cartloads of- presents, contributed to by almost every known member of the English aristocracy, The jewellery alone is said to be worth at least £50,000. The miscellaneous pile of pearls, diamonds, enamels, pictures, furniture and other things was in the aggregate so valuable that four plain-clothes policemen had to be employed to watch it at the Grosvenorsquare mansion. What will happen to the bulk of these unneeded treasures when they pass into the hands of the embarassed , bride and bridegroom ? It will scarcely be possible to employ a patrol of polcjcemen permanently. Obviously the convenient course 'will be to turn most of the gifts into cash, and remember the generosity of the donors m future years with the aid of a type-written inventory.

THE STAGE. London has discovered a new tenoi singer with a voice almost as good as Caruso's in both power and range. He is a yojmg American, Mr. Riccardo Martin, wtio has hitherto 'been heard only in his own country, and on a few occasions in Continental Europe. In "Faust," "Madame Butterfly," and similar operas, he has made a great impression here (writes the London correspondent of the Melbourne Age), and will probably be hoard frequently at Covens 3&n!<m in the near future. He gives r>U::er e'.ri* ous account of how he disco rood ms musical powers. A few ye<rs ago Jsis, voice was only of mediocre quality. He| used to sing at amateur concerts in America, and had no hope of achieving any distinction. Once, when his voice failed: through a severe cold, a New York specialist told him, after an examination of his throat, that he ought to do well in opera, as he showed every sign of having exceptional vocal organs. A short rest and a further examination were recommended. "When I went to see him again," Mr. Martin states, "he explained; to me how to make the best use of my voice, and proceeded to play a few notes on the piano to accompany me. The

result was a surprise to both of us. My voice had completely changed for the better, and the doctor who had acted as medical adviser to nearly every famous operatic singer of the present day, told me that my success was assured." The young singer taikes extreme precautions against illness, as lie is haunted by a fear that he might lose his remarkable vocal powers as quickly as he gained them. Hangiuia still seems to be causing quite a sensation among the English aristocracy. The Lady (which speaks of htm as "Rangina," the Maori chief) says that he is singing at many concerts, including one given by the Duchess of Sutherland. The writer goes on to say that the chiei is lord over 14,000 Maori people, and that when he sings he is dressed in the full Maori costume of ti warrior, big spear and all. His songs include one with a dance called "Te Poy," and in this he makes use of a bag of dried un«»ze suspended by a cord, which he whirls about him, striking his body and arms with it in time to the music. His voice (the paper continues) has a strange, melancholy ring in it, and this made his singing of a lament over a dead chief's body very impressive and striking. In another publication Harry Morgan gives an account of an interview with the chief, who is a good linguist, speaking German, Italian and French, and also singing in those languages. His voice has a wide compass, deep in the bass and also very high, •which gives the distinctive character and coloring to the 'Maori songs. His voice has been well trained, he having studied music in Vienna, Milan, Berlin, etc. He also plays his own accompaniments on harp, violin or pianu, as the case may be. In addition to these accomplishments, the chief is a good conversationalist, 'being well read and a great traveller. His songs have created quite a furore in society circles, and he is much in demand. At present he is living in his own house in London, which is hung with photographs of great houses where he had stayed and celebrities whom he counts among his friends.