WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 199, 20 February 1912, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen"). FRUSTRATED ELOPEMENT. LOVE DRAMA AT SEA.

The newspapers in Rome report a dramatic sequel to the elopement of Queen Margherita's first lady-in-wait-ing, Signorina Livia Malfatti, with Omar Rifaat Bey, late Turkish attache to the Embassy there. ,-r#he flight of the couple, brought about by the present state of hostilities between their respective countries, was hindered by the merest accident, yet in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable. The lovers recently announced | their betrothal, only to hear it ruthlessly condemned in the "high Court circles in which they moved. Despite this, they continued to meet. At the outbreak of war Rifaat Bey, along with the Turkish Ambassador and other high officials, had to arrari;™ to leave Italy without delay, Putting forward some excuse for not travelling io Coiutantinople with his suI periors. the attache met Mile. Malfatti secretly, and travelled with her to Genoa, where the lovers remained a considerable | period waiting for a Turkish vessel up-! on which Omar Bey had booked, in his i own name in order to get the best accommodation. As later events proved, this was his uiiuoing.

As tne vessel with the elopers on j board was making the Straits of MesJ sina, the Italian battleship Doria sighted her, and. in accordance with the rules of the blockade, ordeu-! her to heave to, a pinnace putting off I.) enquire the vessel's passengers. On scanning this 'is'.. <l». ■■ ••«liip's commander, Admiral .\! "m :. »J the name Omar Bey. Thougi; j-m.-i.■..,-_ nf his daughter's elopement, he at on '. decided ■ to board the vessel, as lie was o: course •i aware of her infatuation.' The first pcr!son he was confronted with on mounting the gangway was the attache liim- | j self, who, grievously mistaken as to the 1 cause of the admiral's visit, took it for the game was up, and before a word had been exchanged an- { nouneed that his "wife" was below. For a second the admiral stood aghast; then, realising the position, he demanded to be taken to his daughter. A dramatic scene followed the meeting of father and child. Protestation and exi planations were in vain, and she was ordered to leave the ship at once. Omar Bev. on the other hand, was told that he'would be permitted to proceed to Constantinople.

A REMARKABLE DANCE.

MILLIONAIRE'S SURPRISE FOR HIS FASHIONABLE GUESTS.

The newspaper men who were present at the residence in Boston (Mass.) of Mr. Edward Brandegee, had plenty of opportunity for descriptive writing in a surprise which the host sprang upon his guests. The surprise consisted in turning his house into "Liberty Hall." After the family Christmas dinner, Mr. Brandegee led his guests to a huge barn, magnificently fitted up as a ball-room, and invited them to choose their partners from the servants. -The guests, who included most of the richest ad exclusive of Boston society, quickly entered into the spirit of the affair, and, with millionaires and maids, footmen and heiresses, as partners, the fun waxed fast and furious. The rules of the dance were that no two guests and no two servant* wera to be> seen dancing together, and the rej suit was that many odd couple were detected by the delighted reporters.

Mr. Brandegee led the first dance with his parlormaid, and his butler had for a partner Miss May Durant, one of Boston's wealthiest heiresses, who had only made her debut at an elaborate dance which cost over £3OOO.

An old pensioned servant, named Thomas Murphy, was granted the privilege of sitting out several dances with Miss Eleanor Spragge, said to be the most beautiful girl in Boston society, and a "milkboy" employed on one of Brandegee's farms waltzed with another debutante in Miss Alice Sergeant.

The servants were excused from all domestic duties, and the "gilded youths" of Boston evidently enjoyed themselves thoroughly taking turns at serving refreshments. The dance, which was voted the most successful that had been held for a long time, lasted all night.

NEW FASHIONS

Candlesticks of cut-glass are all the rage; they are all fitted with electric light, and they am all finished with a dainty shade of some color (writes a London correspondent). The cut-glass candlestick decorates the dinner table and the mantelpiece. The showrooms devoted to cut-glass household necessities and ornaments glisten and sparkle jnst ■as much as do the promenade halls of big stores given over to a display of dewspangled scarves, jewelled hair ornaments, jetted and beaded nets, and bead and bugle fringes. Everything seems to scintillate. But there are contrasts — and nowhere do the contrasts seem to bo more marked than in the fancy work section, where the display of things made of black satin is quite lugubrious. It is the most modern craze of the most modern woman to indulge in cushions of black satin in her drawing-room and boudoir, to order black satin pin-cush-ions and hatpin stands, and there are even photo- frames made of the same dull tone. In all cases, however, the black serves as the background for rib-bon-worked flowers of a medley of colors, and people who are known to possess the artistic instinct are eager to introduce the black cushion into the rosecolored sitting-room or boudoir. Covers of dark crimson and green and goldenbrovyn are so exceedingly suited to show off the good points of the ribbon embroideries that one wonders at the preference at the momeiit displayed for black.

GENERAL NOTES. Touching the scandals that have been brought to light during recent years by the publication of the memoirs of Royal princesses and of dames of high degree like the Countess of Cardigan, a lady contributor to the Pall Mall Gazette reminds the reading public that a century ago the appearance of a fashionable woman in the ranks of authors would have been regarded as equivalent to loss of caste. When in 1833 Lady Scott published her novel, "Trevelyan," an acquaintance remarked that "of course nobody from London would call on her again"; and even so liberal-minded a woman as Lady Louisa Stuart quoted Lady Lothian's advtee with approval: "Write and delight us with it, but do not be known as a declared novel writer." Twenty years earlier Lady Hood, on being urged to publish her Indian Journal, was, we are told, staggered. Taking counsel with her friends, she withheld her MS., and in the sequel won a husband in consequence. Dr. Gregory's remark to her when he heard the rumor that she was going to turn authoress was: "Well, we blebeians can have no objection to your putting yourself on a level, becoming one of us—but rto more salaams to the begum." The marriage took place at Pinshfeeck, near Spalding (England), reaefttly of Edward Jamas Cawthorn (7?) and Sarah Kiugstoa (73], both of tkoja bfliog graad-

parents. Being old age pensioners, they thought it-better to share 10s between them than to spend 5s a week separately, so they determined to take each for better or worse. They were conveyed to the local church in a carrier's cart, and were givea a great ovation by the villagers when they emerged from the church.