Miscellaneous.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1926, 8 November 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellaneous.

It is now highly unfashionable in London to speak or write the word in its English form, " waltz." The cotillon reigns, especially in the houses of those hostesses who like to find themselves some modicum of fame by the beauty and costliness of their cotillon gifts. Such a height has this sort of advertisement of one's wealth and generosity now reached that an unwritten law has come into force in the best circles, by which it is enacted that only flowers may be given in the cotillon, and that costly gifts shall come under the category of " vulgar show." In the same way it is now considered the best style to be married in the morning, as the nouveaux riches always make it a point to be wedded by special license, which is the only mode of. having the ceremony performed in the afternoon.

Electric Girls. The introduction of illuminated ballet girls , has greatly added to ' the attractions of the spectacular stage. Girls with electric lights on their foreheads and batteries concealed in the recesses of their clothing first made their appearance a year ago, but as yet the use of illuminated girls has not spread beyond the , stage. There is, however, a great future awaiting the grand idea of incandescent girls, and there is reason to believe that in a very short time private houses will be lighted by girls instead of stationary electric lights. The formation of the Electric Girt Lightning Company is an event second in importance only to the invention of electric lights. The company proposes to supply girls of fifty candle power each in quantities to suit householders. The girls are to be fed and clothed by the company, and customers will, of course, be permitted to select at the company's warehouse whatever style of girl may please their fancy. A very beautiful design for a front hall girl is now on exhibition at the company's office, No. 409 Gold Street. The present system of lighting the" front hall of a dwelling house has the disadvantage that the light — whether it be a gas light or an electric light — m. I h* kept burning all the evening, and that a sex i vant must be employed to answer the bell. Thus there is a double expense — the cost of the light and the cost of the servant. The Eleotric Girl Lighting Company will f urpish a beautiful girl of fifty or a hundred candle power, who will be on duty from dusk till midnight — or as much later as may be desired. This girl will remain seated in the hall until some one rings the front door bell. She will then turn on her electric light, open the door admit the visitor, and. light him into the reception room. One girl thus performs the duties of lighting the front hall and answering the bell, and her annual cost is much less than that of a servant and a gas light. If, however, any householder should desire to keep the electric girl constantly burning and* to employ another servant to answer the bell, there can be no doubt that 'the electric girl, posing in a picturesque attitude, will add much to the decoration of the house. Under the present system electric lamps or gas burners are fixtures, and cannot be moved from place to place. The electric girls, on the

contrary, are movable. One girl can be matle to give »8 much light as a large sized drawing room chandelier, and she can be moved from one room to another, leading the way to supper, for example, and placed wherever she cau do the most good. There cau be no comparison between a beautifully designed and chastely- executed electrio girl and a massive chandelier that constantly threatens to f " ~n somebody's head; and every househoi .uL (esthetic instincts will be glad to exchange his chandeliers for girls. An inexpensive electric girl of one or two candle power will be of great use when a person desires to go from one room to another in a dark house. Instead of having to carry a candle in his hand and incur the risk of dropping it or of having it blown out by a draught of air, the happy possessor of an electric girl can turn her on and send her before him to light the way. The student who is now troubled by the flicker of his gas light, or his inability to move the electric light from one part of his desk to another, can be made perfectly happy by an electrio girl with a ground glass shade, who will take any position that the student may desire in order to throw light on his book or paper. No one who becomes accustomed to such a girl will think of returning to old-fashioned methods of lighting. The new company propose to furnish the new light at a little less than the charge made by the Edi3on and Brush Companies, and promise that in a short time their light will be decidedly cheaper than gas. Their plant already comprises 2500 girls, and both electric boys and footmen will be at the command of the public as soon as certain experiments as to the possibility of enabling electric boys to give a bhady light are completed. — N. Y.° Times.