Omaha daily bee., 1899-02-26
OLD WORLD SOCIAL GOSSIP
GIndstonc's Grnndchild Visits the
Queen-LondoD smart Set Has
New Gambling Game.

Copyright, 1899, by Press publishing Col
LONDON Feb. 25.-CNew York World
| Cablegram.- .-Sp iTelegram Oscar Wilde
/ has written { = modern comedy which
| Horace Sedg : ends to produce here in
May The ; Viii be anonymous, but it
is so chars : Tic its authorship could not
possibly tealed. Wilde is stIll living
in Par' T5ut in rather straitened
circums ~.
DorQ rev. Mr. Gladstone's favorite
| grand has written an entertaining ac-
couu er reception by Queen Victoria at
| VII castle. Having lunched," Dorothy
saA grand servant, all in red, cane to
say tfls queen was waiting. The Indian man
| whom the queen likes very much, was at the
| door, and the next moment ! stood before
the great queen herself, whom grandpapa
had served for sixty years. She was just
like grandmamma, with a white cap on her
head l curtesied and she kissed me. told
| her my name was Dorsie, that we all had pet
| names at Hawarden and the queen told me
| the pet names of her family. The queen
! put on glasses and asked me to go to the
| other side of the room so she could see me
| better and then took little jewel case and
| said, this is for you l opened It and saw
| darling little brooch with a diamond ",
diamond R. and a turquoise l, and little
| crown at the top made of real enamel. l
curtesied kissed her hand and said Thank
you very much She looked very nice and
kind and liked her very much. Then the
| queen kissed me again and mother and /
returned to town
London is in the throes of its tenth annual
grip epidemic. Last week seventy-four
| deaths were directly attributed to that COM
| plant. Owing to the outbreak the American
society was obliged to abandon its reception
| in celebration of Washington's birthday.
I'VE had made all arrangements" said
| Secretary Van Duzer, but in a great ma
| iority of cases the only reply received to
| the invitations was a letter expressing in
ability to attend the reception on account Of
| the grip, which seems to victimize our
countrymen in a special manner. Whole
| families are laid low. So we were reluctantly
| compelled to abandon the reception, the
| first time such thing has happened to any
! of our celebrations"
| Mrs White, wife of the first secretary Of
| the embassy, is recovering from a rather
| severe attack of the epidemic Mrs. Padel
| ford has also been among the victims, but
is now about again
The gambling mania is once more rampant
in London society, which has recovered from
! The severe lesson it received over the South
| African and Hooley booms. The gambling in
has reached its summit, and when the Stock
| exchange closed society continued its specu-
| lation over newly introduced card game
| called bridge" This game has become
| quite the rage. 1t resembles whist some
| what. with the additional attraction that It
gives opportunity for heavy ,5ets q'ick'y de-
cided. The prince of Wales has abandoned
! baccaret for it and at party given in his
| honor this week by Miss Keyser there were
| heavy winnings and losngs. In their
anxiety to be in the movement society
| women with more money than brains and
more vanity than either are paying as high
as SIS to 500 for a course of six lessons
from professors in the art of bridge" play
| ing, as skill enters into the game to con-
siderable extent. The expert players who in
troduced it have been reaping golden
harvest from learners. Losses already have
been heavy in the cases of some smart young
| married women and the rage cannot fail
| to end in scandal.
Lilly, duchess of Marlborough, has sailed
for the states TO see her mother, who is an
! nounced to be dangerously i'll. The duchess
is not taking her daughter with her, as she
is too delicate to face the possible stormy
voyage. Lord William Beresford will stay
at Brighton during the duchess absence
under solemn promise not to leave the
precious infant out OF his sight.
In society it is insisted the marriage of
two young dukes, Roxburghe and Man
| chester, is being arranged. The duke of
Roxburghes affanced, by report, is not to
be Miss Astor, but Lady Mary Hamilton,
only child and heiress of the late duke OF
Hamilton. and the granddaughter of the
duchess of Devonshire.
The health of Lady Victoria Montague
daughter Ia dnrhaSS pF Manchester ic an
indifferent the duchess has let her house on
Portman square to Duchess Roxburghe. as
she cannot return to England until June
from St Moritz, where, thanks to the large
American contingent, they having
particularly gay season. A grand fancy
ball was given at the Palace hotel, of which
the great feature was a cotillon, led by
Townsend, American minister to Lisbon, who
danced with Mrs. John Jacob Astor, dressed
as star. The duke of Manchester wore
white Canadian skating dress The duchess
appeared in a beautiful and most becoming
empire costume as Josephine, while the
prettiest dress in the room was that of an
other American woman. Lester Kaye, rep
resenting Salamboo. The prettiest figure
cotillon was also carried off by an American,
Mrs. Frederick Hartman, as a shepherdess,
in an exquisite floral car from which she
handed around presents.
Inquiries elicit the fact that there will
be no defense in the divorce suit entered
by Henry lie Breton brother of Mrs. Lang
try, against Lord Grantly, a young sprig of
aristocracy who compromised himself with
lie Bretons pretty wife. lie Breton has
considerable divorce court practice, and is
regarded as a clever lawyer.
Great preparations are already progressing
for the reception Of representative women,
chiefly American, who are coming TO attend
the conference of the international Council
OF Women TO be held in London this sum-
mer. The fashionable, intellectual women
Of London society, Lady Battersea nee
Rothschld, Countess Warwick duchess of
Sutherland. duchess of Bedford, Lady
Tweedmouth, Lady Jeune and many others
are arranging each 10 take in and look
after certain number Of delegates from
abroad. Their stay will be made pleasant
in every way and the conference is ex-
pected 20 give a great impetus to the move
ment for the advancement of women as
every country on the globe will be repre-
sented
Searching ohice Of League of Patriots.
PARIS, Feb. 25.-Deputies Deroulede and
Habert We're taken today from the prison De
la Sante to the office OF the League of Pa
tTiots, where further police searches were
made in their presence.