OVER THE TEA-CUPS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 58, 8 March 1913, Page 15

OVER THE TEA-CUPS.

"THESE LITTLE ONES." A lady, Miss Julia Lathrop, was in Chicago, some little time ago, appointed Chief of the Children's Bureau. This is an institution organised to combat the horrible conditions under which children earned their livings, which now keeps a black list of transgressing employers, and also investigates child labour problems all over the United States. A NEW SPHERE. The Zurich Municipal Council has caused great indignation among the women of that city by throwing out, by 80 votes to 74, a measure allowing women to act as substitutes and secretaries in country courts. As women have the ad- i vantages of the same curriculum in the higher schools of Zurich as are enjoyed by men, they are now claiming equal eligibility for at least some of the minor offi-' cial positions in the canton. They had expected a more favourable result for : their present claim, in view of the concession recently granted to the married women teachers. TARTARS' IDYLLIC LOVE-MAKING. Wooing as done among Burmese-Tartar tribes is as simple as it is idyllic. On the first day of winter the tribe holds a great feast, at which all the marriageable girls gather and listen to the music made by the bachelors, who sit under the "desire tree" and play their favourite instruments. As the maiden he loves passes him a youth will play louder and more feelingly. If she ignores him and passes on he knows she will have none of him. If she steps up to him and lays a flower upon his instrument he jumps up, takes her by the hand, taking care not to drop the flower, and off they wander. WOMEN'S WORLD. The quaint Pembroke village of Langwm and the Gower village of Penclawdd have something in common besides their Flemish connection. In both the women take a leading place. At Langwym when a forthcoming marriage is announced, one often hears the exclamation, "Peggy, can SHE keep a man?" At Penclawdd, when a young woman gets married, the very first thing some of the sourest old maids ask is, "Dear mc! ffordd mac hona'n myn'd i gadw gwr?" (Dear mc! how is that one going to support a husband?")—" Western Mail" (Cardiff). MATRIMONIAL HOLIDAYS. I have often thought that a few welltimed matrimonial holidays may serve to avert an ill-timed matrimonial breakdown. A girl 1 knew told an old lady about her approaching marriage with an officer of the Navy. "But how shall I bear his long absences?" she asked, almost crying at the very thought. There came a twinkle in that old lady's eye, which did not exactly mean sympathy. i"That will be all right, my child," she said. "You will soon get accustomed to it, and your honeymoon will last all the longer." Then she added: "It may even endure through all your married life." —"Madge," in "The Gentlewoman." TURKISH WOMEN". Of late there has been a great advance in the extreme street garb worn by the young generation of Moslem women. Deft dressmaking has converted the oldfashioned black outer garments into a most attractive costume which accentuates rather than hides the natural lines of a good figure. The military correspondent of Constantinople has now issued a significant order forbidding Turkish women to appear in . the streets " in attire which is contrary to the religious law and to national custom." This order does not represent a hope th -1 the Turkish woman will go back to her shapeless clothes. The military commandant knows woman nature too well for that. It is interpreted as a caution against arousing fanaticism in these critical days, which might be harmful to the more advanced members of the Turkish fairer sex. BREVITIES FROM THE TALMUD. Who is rich? He who is content with his lot. The soldier fights, and the kings are heroes. The dog follows thee for the crumbs in thy pocket. Who is the mighty man? He who subdueth his temper. The thief who finds no opportunity to Bteal, considers himself an honest man. The world is saved by the breath of school children. Even to rebuild the temple the schools must not 'be closed. There are three crowns: of the law, the priesthood, and the kingship; but the crown of a good name is greater than them all. ( He who hath more learning than good deeds is like a tree with many branches but weak roots; the first storm will throw it to the ground. He whose good works aTe greater than his knowledge, is like a tree with fewer branches, but with strong and spreading roots, a tree which all tfo.e winds of heaven cannot uproot.—" Great Thoughts." LADY DOCTORS AT SEA. Heretofore it has not been considered that the steamship offers much scope for lady doctors. A case has, however, just ■occurred in which the medical welfare of a vessel conveying to Australia, among other passengers, a number of emigrants, was placed in female liands. The steamship in'question was ready to sail from the Clyde. All that kept her at the Tail of the Bank was the lack of a 6urgeon. A qualified lady doctor, the daughter of a member of the Institute of Marine Engineers, heard of the difficulty, and was disposed) to offer her services. Her father was at first ineHned' to veto the plan, as- the young lady was on holiday, and was not very strong. Finally, however,, he withdrew his objection, and the Board of Trade officer, for -the first time in his life,,certified' that a ship with her surgery in change of other than a male doctor .was duly complying with the law. It is hard work for a ship surgeon if the vessel- cairries any considerable number of emigrants. The lady doctor must, therefore, have had" a busy time. She took the appointment, however, for the outward journey only,.and is possibly now on her way itome, resting agreeably after a decidedly unique experience. Whether this lady doctor's experiment will encourage others to follow her example may, perhaps, he doubted, more particuiarly in long-voyage ships, of the class chosen in •this instance. The case is interesting I (says the "Daily Telegraph"), as showing that under the Merchant Shipping | Act the male doctor has (by no means an j exclusive-Tight- „ shipboard.