Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

13 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

LONDON LETTER.

Advertising

HARRY SEYMOUR; OR Incidents…

-MR W. H. GLADSTONE ON THE…

OLDEST AND YOUNGEST MEN OF…

-AN UNLICENSED LONDON THEATRE.

Advertising

I YANKEE YARNS.

Advertising

FACTS AND FANCIES.

I GIRLS' GOSSIP.I

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

I GIRLS' GOSSIP. I IFROM TO-DAY'S "TRUTH."] Dearest Amy,—Wo derived the usual after- noon's amusement from the private view at the Grosvenor on Wednesday. It is one of the. func- tions I would not miss for the world, The crowd of celebrities by no means diminishes year by year; yet I missed a few wonted faces on this occasion. However, there were plenty of interest- ing people left, and not a few amusing ones. Among the latter may be placed the empty- headed geese who went about sighing to each other: "The worst of it is that one knows all the pictures by heart." The exhibition, as you are pro- bably aware, consists of a loan collection of Gains- borough's pictures, and among them are some of his masterpieces, the engravings from which have made them in a manner familiar enough. But it is not every day that one can see the originals, and it made me feel quite cross to hear the above observation repeated again and again. I quite longed to tell the speakers that instead of dis- playing any special knowledge, as they doubtless intended, they were exhibiting a very special shallowness, and even ignorance. I am not going to tell you anything of the pictures, as the notices have filled columns of the daily papers, which you must have seen. But I should like to bring before your mind's eye some of the people. First, and tallest, comes Gladys, Lady Lonsdale, looking superbly beautiful in her dark dress, short sealskin dolman trimmed with sable-tails, and small brown hat. Then, Lady Archibald Campbell, the Rosalind of the open-air performance of As You Like It," given at Coombe Lodge last season. She wore a long coat of some velvety material in mouse-colour, which was edged with wide bands of fur, and had a deep and high collar of the same, which came up to her ears. On her head, with its short, curled hair, was quite the most extraordinary headgear I have ever seen. It was a kind of long bag, of dark silk, rather resembling a man's old-fashioned nightcap, such as one sees in old pictures, with a sort of jelly-bag point hanging down. This point drooped till it rested upon Lady Archibald's left shoulder. She, too, is more than common tall, so that this very original head-dress was well in view of all observers. Now, here is another little sketch for you. Imagine a small, plump woman clothed in a pehsse of olive-green plush, with a Watteau pleat at the back. Above a round and homely face. rather like a russet apple, and with eyes of bead- like brightness and as restless as a. sparrow's, place a bonnet, also of olive plush,.crinkled in and out in a wild and waving outline that a painter might easily take for the bold sky-line of a dis- tant range of hills. There was something bright- coloured on this bonnet, but I do not remember what; still, it harmonised with the restlessness of the wearer's eyes. Another petite personne was all sleeves. These remarkable provisions for keeping the arms warm were, to put it mildly, startlingly adequate to the intention. They were made by doubling the stuff up from the feet, to which the garment reached, and carrying it to the shoulders, thus making a sort of long bag, lined with red plush, the mantle-itself consisting of dark blue, rough cloth. Does this mean that we are again to have an era of sleeves ? A surprising person had a scarf of a peculiarly aggressive description. The colours were more absolutely depressing than anything I remember to have seen in the very height of the soi-disant aesthetic period of dress. A melancholy mauve formed the ground, and on this was strewn a wan- dering, stark, and staring design of dingy gold. To make matters worse, this mad scarf was worn over a dress of spinach-green, so you may imagine the lively effect of th whole. A very charming women had had the evil inspiration of trimming the top of her very tall hat with a group of majestic, downward- drooping plumes, pretty enough in themselves, but quite hearse-like in their exalted position. Some one else wore a bonnet that was ridicu- lously like a bread basket—you know the boat shaped ones ?-turned upsido down. A girl who looked as though she had been that moment raised from the dead, had pinned a voluminous handkerchief of a glaring red colour over her shoulders and chest, thereby increasing the livid- ness of her appearance. Two other unhealthy- looking girls wore gowns of sickliest sadness. It was pleasant to turn to the bright faces present, and they were certainly in the majority, though most of the quests appeared to be looking tor some one they had lost in the crowd. Some of the men still make themselves look dreadful geese. One of those, bold of design, being tall and broad, was guilty of the effeminacy of a redundant tie of softest sky-blue silk, run through an antique ring. I loved the ring, but disap proved of the wearer. I liked a mantle of grey plush worn by a hand- some brunette, though the shade of grey was rather cold. Another, of brocaded grey plush, warmer in tone, and more elaborately fashioned, was worn by a blonde. I admired a brown cloth one, made in an indescribable way, with little .sudden pleatings, and unexpected gussets and headings in tints of garnet, gold, and brown. When beads are very fine indeed, I like them, and also when they are cut into many facets. But there is a sort of coarse, middle-sized beadwork that always appears to me to be odiously vulgar. I saw on Saturday a lovely dress that has just been completed for a hunt ball in Herefordshire. The colours ara delicious, but the difficulty is to describe them with ordinary black ink, and a poor, dear, spavined little J" nib, such as the one with which I am struggling through this letter. Will no one ever invent a good, indus- trious, patient, and faithful little pen ? But the gown's the thing." Well, dear, the bodice and train are of very soft, brocaded silk, the colour being a lovely shade, partly terra-cotta and partly a warm, rosy, salmon tint. The front of the skirt is of dead-leaf satin, in rather a smiling phase of feuilie-viorte, with plenty of yellow in it, just like the fading leaf of an apple tree in early October. This front is covered with a long tabher of pearl embroidery on white net, with little musical bars (as it were) of embroidered satin let in at intervals, repeating the colours of the satin and of the brocade. This lovely tablier ends in a deep and rich fringe of pearls, which falls over and among the folds of a pleated flounce, that edges the skirt. The train is lined with the dead-leaf gatin, and is folded over at the sides in zigzags (what a horrid word to write !) so as to show the lining. A bit of embroidered net over satin is let in down the front of the bodice, all the edges of which are outlined with pearls. The basque falls over a short, double frill of the satin, winch is about one of the best devices for setting off a pretty waist that I have ever seen. The fan, gloves, and shoes all match the terra-cotta bro- cade, and on the fan, as well as ,tudded over the dress, are groups of feathers, shaded from dead leaf, through citron and paie gold, to a warm amber, and eve" orange. Now, what do you think of it ? lieve the happy woman who it to wear it has the loveliest diamonds, too. Some people have every- thing, have they not ? We saw a pretty wedding on Saturday, at ot. George's, Hanover-square. The bride looked charming in her wedding gown, and her four bridesmaids, two of whom were tmy children, wore dresses of pale blue surah, trimmed with grey feathers and ca.ps to match. The wedding- party looked so happy and fresh and bright as to make one realise that the world is not all the hor- rid place ore might imagine it to be from study- ing the daiiy papers; and that there are what our cultivated friend, Mr Inaspirate, calls waysides (oases) in the wilderness." I suppose he pictures to himse'.f, when he says this, a nice little sophis- ticated, banked-up footpath, safe to tread and well- flattened, with a green, protective beilge on either wide. ladmiredthe seasonable, sensible,and pretty frocks described as having been worn by tha bridesmaids of Lady Margaret Comptou who was married to Mr Henry Graham last week. They were polonaises of fawn :oured cloth draped over brown velvet skirts trimmed with beaver. Their hats and muffs were of brown velvet trimmed with beaver to matctI the skirt3. And what a charming harmony in gold and white must have been achieved by the bridesmaids of Lord Auckland's daughter, the Hon. Dulcibella Eden, who was married last week. They wore Gainsborough dresses of soft white silk, with pointed bodices and fichus of the same, large caps, yellow shoes and stockings, and bouquets of yellow chrysanthemums. The two little pages, the bride's half brothers, wore Gainsborough costumes of cream coloured serge, three-cornered white hats, and cloaks lined with yellow silk. Even better was the bride's going-away dress, of white flannel, with cuffs, collar, and waistcoat of yellow embroidery, hat of golden brown velvet, trimmed with quails, and long black velvet coat trimmed with wide band of sable. I saw a girl the other day with ivory earrings and necklet. Poor, misguided creature thing more hopelessly unbecoming can scarcely conceived. I have always thought ivory unsuitable to the decoration of any the elephant and other tusky animals, violence of the contrast between that necklet and the black satin boat on whichnt reposed would have been sufficient me of the fact if I had never given it a thought before. I A walking costume, belonging to a trousseau I have just seen, is well suited to the present cold weather. It is of very dark blue velvet, the skirt being round and pleated. A long redingote, edged everywhere with a very deep sable border, falls over this skirt; the cuffs, cap, and muff are of the same fur, and of precisely the same hue. Tlo trimming ought to be pretty, for it cost tiirtaeo hundred pounds! I An evening dress (part of the same trousseau.) consists of a faille skirt the colour of a pink rose, Flounces of exquisite Valenciennes border tbØ silk flounces, which are cut into the shape of rose, leaves. There is a crevette tunic and bodice, embroidered with pink» flowers, a Valencienn^ waistcoat, and on the side a most complicated a no graceful cascade of pink-coloured satin-ribbon.- Your loving cousin, JMADGK.

CHURCH EXTENSION AT CAR' DIFF.

Advertising