OVER THE TEACUTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2237, 14 January 1897, Page 43

OVER THE TEACUTS.

Dbak Readebs, — As long as we retain one trace of the original Eve we shall be interested in "how we look." Talk about th« " old Adam I " That seems to me a very weak influence in comparison with the original Eve. I am very certain Adam would never have allowed Eve to " boss " him as men are gradually allowing women to do, so bis descendants must be a degenerate lot. On ug, however, the influence of our mother Eve still lies strongly, and not all the rantings of " strong-minded females " will render the majority of us insensible to the claims of personal. appearance. To live long, to live fox ever, has always been man's ambition ; to keep young, young for ever, has been woman's. No woman would care to prolong her life inordinately unless youth went hand ia hand with life. With what envy we always think of Ninon tfe l'Euclos and Diane do Poietierr, thoee marvellous women whom contemporary history declares to have been lovely, at 70.

Now and then at long intervals one hears of some famous toilet recipe, some magic cosmetic or complexion wash, which was the secret of their perennial youth. Of course they are quack nostrums, but peopls buy them, and paj priceß which they would grudge for bookß or pictures. So what mm

| you give me, fair sisters, for the real nos- , trum — the secret, of perpetual youth ? It is | nothiDg more complicated than much quiet, I peaceful sleep — just an innocent little nap ! now and thee, and nima hours' quiet slumber for the regular allowance. This is the recent j dictum o£ a noted physician, who declares { that nothing so preserves youth and fresh- ; ness ef appearance as this simple regimea. In glancing through the current magazines I always feel interested in the scraps of musical information ; they seem more precious to us, living, as we do, so removed from all the great musical events and celebrities of our time. Did yon know, for example, that our own Queen and the late Prince Consort were amoDg the veiy first to recognise the meiits of Wagner's music 1 We all know that, when " Tannhauser " was first produced in Dresden, it was practically a failure. It seems strange toremsmber this now that the wave of the "-Wagner craze" has so swept the world that not to know and admire hie ' wierd music is to be a soulless outer Philia- ' tine. By the way, before we leave our Queen's vnusical tastes too far behind, did you know that those sweet little songs by " Dolores " | which were so popular in their day were ' composed by the Qaesn ? I conf en's it was only last year that I knew whose identity wa<) concealed baneath the simple , " Dolores." So an English prima donna has at last sung ia the great opera house of L\ Scala at Milan 1 It was indeed a great triumph for Miss Margiret Maclntyre, who, though generally referred te> sis " English " by tho continental press, is, I think, a young lady of Scotch birth. " Tho first English woman to sing at h-3. Scala," a distinction which, whether her career as a whole proves brilliant or coJ, w:ll always crown her.

I'Muiouigt! IJjiveoity ia frankly doing justice to the claimß of women for educational equality with men, and I am delighted to see that all Senate-controlled scholarships of that university' are now thrown open to women. Wo frequently read of the beautiful Countess of: Warwick in connection with dainty originalities of dress and decoration, and as the central star of brilliant social functions, but there is also a philanthropic and practical Bide to the life of this lovely lady. About seven years ago the Countess founded a school of needlework as a means of providing a village industry for the young girls near her home at Easton Lodge. The pupils are girls from 10 years upwards, and at the present time there are about 26 pupils in the school, working under the supervision of a specially skilled mistress. The work done consists principally of lingerie teagownß, matinees, evening blouses, and the most exquisite underlinen. The shop for the disposal of these dainty wares is situated ia Bond street, and bears the name of the Countess of Warwick in gold letters upon tbe dazzling white paint of the decorations. Orders are plentiful, as may be expected when the founder of the enterprise is a beautiful and popular peeress; but all orders, even those coming direct from the Countess, must be sent to the Bond street shop, and from there are transmitted to the sohool. Sara Bernhardt is a woman whose intense originality continually rises to the surface in some aspect of her life. Just now she is being quoted as that unique woman, she who disclaims the fascination of wearing diamonds. The greatest tragedienne of our time decides that the hard, imperious glitter of these regal gems "dims the fire of the eyes and makes the teeth look like chalk." However, diamonds are not absolutely essential to an imperial magnificence of toilette, and " the divine Sara " has just had a costume prepared which is entirely enriched with turquoises, the train being lined with ermine, and the cose of this truly r«gal garment is estimated at £1500. Talking of turquoises reminds me to ask if you have soon thcae pretty stones set in the Russian

stj le ? A friend of mine who lived for some time in Russia has some pplendid stones set in this fashion, which, though curious to our j eye?, is most effective. j Silver is usually used for the setting, and j the turquoises are set so oloscly together that ' they make a beautiful mas 9of forget-me-not i blue, between which the tiny points of the silver setting are almost invisible. I remember reading in that fasoinating book of Knight's, "Where Three Empires Meet," of the enormous turquoises which the Ladaki women wear studded over the peculiar leather head-dresß whioh they affect on festive occasions. Leather and turquoise sounds a curious combination ia Western ears. Knowing how warmly I always advocate the pleasures and interests of gardening, yon will understand what pleasure the following paragraph from an English paper gave me :— " In 1891 a branch of the Horticultural 001-, Jege, Svvanly, K?nt, was opened for the purpose of extending to women all the Benefits (already enjoyed by men) of a thorough' and j practical knowledge of the latest, most i scientific, and most profitable system of I horticulture, thus fitting them to become , prosperous cultivators or lecturers." ! On reading further I found that there ,is a house of residence for the ' women attached to the oollege ; that i the fees are moderate; the list of sub- ' jeots taught a most varied and liberal one, embracing all studies bearing in any degree on horticulture, landscape, or market gardening, bee-keeping, and poultry-raising. Now this is indeed a step in the light direction, and cannot fail to prove beneficial in relieving the rush of women towards all those sedentary occupations which they n<.w contest to keenly with men. We colonial women j who play with the inexorable problems of 11ft-

and lauour, having, '.hank God 1 no bitter personal experience in them, can acarcely realise the terrible demand for employment: among our sisters in older countries. "A ; New Employment for WomeD," " A Suggesj tion for Women's Work," " A New Way of ' Earning a Living," — these are tbe headings to columns which reveal to us what a large number of women at Home are denied a liv- , ing unless they can earn it. It is not long ago since I told yon, first of the professional "dust9rs" who gain their living by dusting ourios, bric-a-brac, &c. ; ! then of the women who go out by the hour to coach up stupid people in the passing topics, ; books, pictures— events which it is necessary to know about and be able to converse about ; then of the women who earn their living by mending valuable china for connoisseurs, curio-dealers, and collectors. These are all methods which are certainly ! interesting, as showing the demand for i employment for women, but they are all entirely outside the demands of our life. Here, however, is a homely enough and feasible enough method of earning a little money, whicu might well serve to eke out the earnings of some poor women in our own large towns. It is the mending of bachelors' j underlinen, doing all the weekly darning, I *ewing on of buttons, and little repairs which I are continually needed. The plan preferred is to undertake the work for a small sum weekly, say 6d or Is, as that would be less trouble to the average client than a detailed list of items, and if there was not much to be done one week, there would be a, great deal to do another, bo the average sum would be fair. The prices quoted for the I work are small enough, goodness knows — | darning socks Id per pair, repairing shirts j (i c., sewing on buttons) two for Id, and otber j things in proportion. Still, if the "mender" j had a number of clients, each paying a j small mm weekly, she might earn a comfortable addition to a slender purse, and escape tbe humiliation of oharitable aid. I Now, before we say good-bye, perhaps you will like to have the names of a few new songs, though between ourselves, my dean, I j 1 don't think you deserve that I should bother '

about getting them for yoti ; you have nevrr even said If the plan was either welcome or useful. There is very little new music to be haci juet now, bat if you want a bright pretty trifle for the piano, I shall commend to yotli "La Monsur6, Mazourke JapDnaise," b^ Louis Ganne." A new terio- comic song ia "A broken heart," music by Gerard Cobb,' words by R. S. Hickens ; and a now song* quite in the style of " I don't want to play iv your yard," is «• Won't you oome to my tea party?" by H.^Fitz. For a really fine bass song — if you want to give your brother or your lover Bomethiag quite new — I recommend yon to gel "Vulcan," words by Carter, .music by Bond Andrews. An effective number for a baritone is " Thou of the almond eyes," -by the ' same composers^ Are there any of you who have not yet heard^ Sir William Robinson's lovely "Remember me no more "1 It ia a beautiful song, and finest, I think, in its setting in the key of D for mezzo-soprano or baritone. And bo,i sweet friends, let us say goodbye. Bj^meline,