OUR CHRISTCHURCH LETTER.

Observer, Volume 4, Issue 82, 8 April 1882, Page 56

OUR CHRISTCHURCH LETTER.

Chbistchtjbch, 1 March 15, 18i82. ' .: I am afraid I must seem very lazy, Mr Editor, \ •; this month ; but really : it has been press of ;oc-/ j cupation, &c. However, now. I have begun, -I . must tell you first of all the hews that tviU interest everybody most — the residence: of the • (Governor and Lady Gordon. amongst us.; : Sir^- ' Arthur has taken Mr Studhojme's, house at Merivale, a very pretty arid picturesque sort of place. Tho whole of Christchurch ia'flat, 'but what we want in view we make up in greenery ; - so you turn down Merivalo-lane . out, of the > Papanui-road to get to the lodge gates or .the Governor's temporary house. Merivale^larie'is a paradise of green hedges, shrubis and trees, with several pretty villas and cottages peeping ;f torn ■■ amongst the foliage. This pretty, lane leads to the lodge gates, and a nice drive, partly through meadow-land and partly through shrubbery, leads to the house. It is very pretty, artistic, •> and nice — a trifle aesthetic and high art, which reigns very perceptibly in Christchurch in spite of the sarcasm of "The Colonel." Mrs Studholme, however, has removed a lot of her "pretty things," noticeably some beautifully painted ; plates and a gigantic and very costly vase. Lady Gordon has, however, plenty of treasures of her own, and her rooms look as unostentatious and , refined as she does herself, and that is high well-deserved praise. Your paper on " Moneyocracy" says, with great truth, that it will take generations of wealth and culture to raise women., like Lady Gordon from a Colonial stock. Ex» cept when dressed for the evening, Lady Gordon is studiously quiet and unostentatious in her dress, which is generally black. Miss Gordon, the Governor's niece, also dresses very quietly. I have seldom seen her in any walking costume but a most unpretentious pompadour dress, with a hood. Her reception and evening dresses are of course more dressy, but still studiously quiet. People go into raptures over her appear- . ance on horseback, and wibh justice ; as a horsewoman she just looks perfection. The Governor's carriage is small, and one of those sort with a hood, &c, but no" door. lam not sufficiently " up " on the subject of carriages to know thfe name of that sort of carriage, but it is rather " ; small, and thero is not another like it in Christchurch. You may always know it in a moment, as a footman iuvariably sits beaide the coachman. There is no carriage door to open, but I suppose he is waei ul for taking parcels from the shops, etc., and he seems quiet and simple. Lady Gordon, I believe, has never been used to be without a footman in her life. The old days in the Colony would have taught her many of our . simple ways, and she is a woman one can fancy taking as naturally to carrying her own " Maori kit " up Shortland-street as Mrs Gore Browne used to be. Many a time have I met that noble and worthy lady trudging up Grafton-road with a kit of books, pictures, or perhaps fruit for the people in the Hospital, with "Mabel" by her side. And you can quite fancy the ladies of our . present Governor's family doing the same kirid-of things ; tbey are just the same kind of people exactly only everything has grown so much stiller and formal since then. One little bit of English stiffness they have brought with them seems to amuse everyone. The Governor's little son, a boy of about eleven, wears a silk hat such as one is quite accustomed to see on young gentlemen at Eton, Rugby, or indeed any school in England. Here, under the euphonious names of • " long-sleevers," " stove-pipes," " belltoppers," etc., these hats are not generally worn by men, and never by any chance by little boys ; and the fact that Master Gordon wears one, and a hussar jacket, aeems highly entertaining. At Lady Gordon's reception I saw Mrs T. .S. Weston (Miss Hill, of Auckland). She looked; vory quiet in a violet dress and black bonnet. Ex-Judge "Weston seems very well liked here. He is a very kindly little man, who takes great . interest in all matters likely to be of public benefit. I saw Mrs Arthur Heather when she was down here. She has of course altered much since I first remember her as Miss Browne, but she looks wonderfully well and young-looking. I noticed Mrs Mills (Miss Burt) at the theatre one evening when I went to see " The Colonel." She wore a black velvet dress, with long-pointed collar and cuffs of white lace ; it looked very nice indeed. By-the-way, did you like " The Colonel " in Auckland ? We did here, but it won't correct our Ecsthetieism, I assure you. " Old Mother Hubbard" doesn't, go to the cupboaivl in Christchurch, but she may constantly be seen going to the shop — not to buy a bone, but a bonnet, or some other ultra-scathetic article worthy of Lady Tompkins' wardrobe. I am afraid, however, Mother Hubbard does go to the cupboard, on the sly, and the result is not satisfactory. A great number of ladies, fearing they are too stout for shirred dresses, content themselves with drawn cuffs and collars on plain dresses, and look with green eyes on smart young things with figures like whipping-posts, who can afford to bulge themselves out whenever they ' have a mind to. The ladies are all calling on Mrs Broham, who promises to be an acquisition to society. How well Inspector Broham has got on since that lucky morning when he captured Cyrus Haley. „ Well, he is a fine, plucky fellow, and a good ' officer, and he has honestly earned his good for- ' . tune. . - •'•■■ ■ I see you think well of our new paper, Society. It is in the hands of very respectable men, who I believe are honestly anxious to make it a really good journal. I see they are assisted by a whole " staff of lady contributors, and that is just what . is wanted for a society paper. The social sphere is so essentially woman's sphere that, given some, \ ability, she is much more likely to write interest- . ingly on dress and gossip than most; men can, I remember" my dear father, a clever man. iji his. ; own way, had a rooted conviction that all trimming on ladies' dresses -was called ";gimp J " aifi& my husband would sometimes be suddenly strudk^ with an idea that I had ona new dress,- when he ) had seen me in that very costume for nearly three months. No!< Mr; Editor.; Every ;man : thinks he can farm^ and every man; thinks -he loln^ tell all about a lady's dress ; bufriLe canftij&rtixj^ coses tout ofj.ten^do eitherioneuor the otEer|i;aHS|t| so •■ the editor of a society paper must :J%dk€'S

, female aid if'hewaftts to* score a success.— [\^e '/only wish we coul<l get more of it. But the fact is there is either a sad lack of literary taste among Auckland ladies, or they look down on • literary pursuits as infra dig. — Ed. Observer.] The cotfre'spondence column of Society, called v Outside Voices,"* is growing very interesting. All sorts of sdcial topics, unsuited to the columns of the daily papers, and yet of immense interest to ladies', are therein discussed. » But I will write you another letter soon, and at Exhibition time I hope to have all sorts of news of great interest to send. Countess Kate.