WHAT I SAW AT THE LEAP TEAR BALL.

Wairoa Bell, Volume IV, Issue 145, 13 May 1892, Page 2

W HAT I SAW AT THE LEAP TEAR BALL.

The long talked of and ardently hoped for, leap Year Ball was held in the Aratapu Hall on 'Wednesday evening, May 4th. A Leap Year p.gi a jjo-yd affair in more ways than one and j-jY Vt .. ip . ;jo exception in respect to novelty. The evenin'*' was novel —it being' a Wednesday—so also "were the decorations, drosses, dancing, and style of the ladies in general. About eighty couples were present, and though the floor had been rendered more roomy by the removal of a part.oz the stage, it was at times very crowded I a m informed that it was not so smooth as that possessed by the Arapohue Hall, but delightful to dance upon all the same. _ The hall was tastefully decorated with flag's kindly placed at the disposal of the Committee by the Captains of the "Wf p V Vi ixoinann and Camille, also with flowers and evergreens, procured from opt immediate neighbourhood. The work of decoration was a so , nowhat tedious one—the efforts to make noveity were marvellous —hut at last an amicable arramreiTent was made, and l' lo trace unfolded in a position where < 'U might he benefited by it. The music for the ban was by Messrs French (piano) and .Lindsay x v . J and was all that could be desired. The duties of M.C., were ably discharged by Misses Niddrie and Scott, and it is only fair to the ladies to say that if there were any ‘ wall-flowers ’ they were more from choice than neglect. About 9 p.m. the dancing commenced, and was kept going with great vigour till about 3.30 a.m. And. now begins the ‘touching’ part of my narrative. if y<-u -ire of the - turner sex, and have any eye for tlie appreciation of beauty, you will mine)stand, the feeling that thrills all your nerves

when a soft white hand is laid on tout arm, an d a. voice, more si!very-sweet with the attempt t° hide its suppressed emotion, claims you a s 1 partner’ in the dance. Well, had you seen that array’’ of female lovliness, and heard that, inspiring music, I have not the slightest doubt that, with all your cynical attempts at censure swept away, you would have been forced to acknowledge that ‘life has still its pleasures for you.’ But I must digress to describe the dresses, (as well as I can) of those who gave the ball. To begin with they-- were all tasteful, and many of them pretty. The followingladies were the most noticeable:—Mesdames j. Brown, black cashmere dress, cap to match ; Lindsay-, black dress, white cap ; J. Nield, navy’ blue silk with gold trimmings ; Mead, blank cashmere dress, evening bodice ; Donaldson, crushed strawberry cashmere dress; W. Bassett, black evening dress; T. Webb, black lace dress with trimmings ; E. Brown, blue satin, skirt of fish net ; .T. Black, cream satin, evening bodice ; A. Niddrie, black evening dress, cardinal trimmings; J. Harrison, electric blue silk, cream vest ; J. Fletcher, white evering dress, lace trwmnings ; Ford, black evening dress ; Hammond, cream cashmere, evening bodice : T. Bassett, J. Kidd . Among the young ladies, it was hard to find anything but pretty costumes. Space however, will but permit of the following ;—Misses Bassett, pink nun’s veiling ; Niddrie, cream satin, skirt of fish net, evening bodice; Scott, cream skirt red satin evening bodice ; Brown, white muslin dress, green ribbons ; Hough am, heliotrope silk, evening' bodice ; K. Barker, green pongee silk, cream trimmings ; Bradley, black train gown, cardinal trimmings : M. Bassett, heliotrope silk, evening bodice ; Morgan, pretty white dress ; Masefield, pretty white net dress ; Day-, prettywhite dress ; Stehr, white dress, lace trimmings ; E. Bradley-, blue dress, evening bodice ; Woollam, white dress sash to'match : Dargaville, black dress, wreath of poppies ; Houlihan, pretty pink® dress ; Hoyle, cream lace dress with salmon pink sash ; E Gorki]], black dress with pink wreath ; A,Niddrie, white satin dress overskirt of white lace, evening bodice ; Stansfield, red silk with cream trimmings ; Webb, orange coloured train gown, with ribbons ;

Really to do the dresses justice is quite beyond me, but I hope the above will suffice. As the dance wore on I began to move around to pick up whatever might be in my way. Refreshments were included amongst rav list of articles so I contrived to pick them up too. It was really touching to see the assiduity with which the ladies escorted the gentlemen to the refreshment room, and there waited upon them in some cases, a very long time. And to see those gentlemen eat ! Why a sparrow- would scorn to take such a little crumb as some sawfit to convey to their capacious mouths ! But it was their turn to be modest and they took go@d care to carry- out their part well. During' the evening the committee met in solemn conclave to consider the question of ‘ beau ’ and honour their choice accordingly-. As there were but four gentlemen present in full evening dress the selection was not very difficult, and Mr J. Rhodes was chosen as the fit and proper person on whom to bestow- the dignity. Nor was this long in being done ; for during an extra kindly played by Mr Hayles, the beau was gracefully led forth by Miss Scott and as gracefully adorned with a pretty bow by Miss Niddrie. Mr Rhodes acknowledged the honour in the usual way, for "which he was heartily applauded. You should have seen the envious looks bestowed on that same beau during the remainder of the evening ; also the able manner in which he tried to sustain *be honour ; and lastly, have heard the amount of criticism on all sides. It was, if not instructive, at least amusing. While wandering round I chanced to overhear a lady- politely ask a gentleman to dance. He graciously refused, pleading fatigue, and ‘ did not intend dancing- it.’ Of course the lady was satisfied, but judge of her surprise and mine, when we saw- the same gentleman get up in that self same dance a few minutes after, with another lady. There were several other little items of a similar nature w-bicb came under my notice, but I will not enumerate them here. This however, I may say in conclusion, —It might have been of extreme benefit to some had the ‘ Rules for Leap Tear Balls ’ been published a week earlier; but in spite of this th o w-hole affair passed off most pleasantly: