THE LADIES.

By Alice.

The world war gad— the garden was a wild ; And man, the JfeYimt, sighed— till woman smiled. — CAHPBBLIi.

TO CORRESPONDENTS,

[Alick will be pleased to receive Fetters from lady correspondents on any matter of fnSeresli to them, and to reply through the medium oi this page, the norn de plume only of the corrasyondents being published. Letters to be addressed "Alice," care of the Editor.]

Will correspondents kindly make their requests for character reading on one piece of paper.and their questions for the Ladies' page on another marked for •' Ladies' page," as this will save mo a great deal of trouble. I may also add that it is scarcely worth while for young people of 16 or 17 years to send photos or handwriting, as their character is not fully developed.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Dove. — (1) You cannot learn to waltz from written instructions. It is little use telling you the steps unless you have somn one to teach you how to dance them. (2; Unless you are on friendly terms with those you are inviting you should send a note of invitation to each one separately, but if you are on friendly terms the family may be invited in one note. If to brother a»d sisters it should be addressed " Misses and Mr." (3) To receive the guests a maid answers the door, and the host receives them in the hall ; then they are shown into the cloakroom, and after divesting th«rnselves of their cloaks the hostess re 'eives them in the drawing room (4) The dress you mention would not he out of place, but un'ess you have it by you, a eoffee-eolour dress with blue i-lbbon i^rennVrs, or a blue dress trimmed with coffee-colour lace would lo"k far prettier. Gipsy wishes 1o thank " Millie " for kindly sending the words of the song asked for. Alice means noble The definition of noblp is not of high degr'-e, but, as Tennyson lias it, '• 'Tis only noble to be gf<od." True'h arts are indeed of more value than coronets. Your idea of a noble roan or woman is perfectly correct . Character in due course. Srftox. — I will endeavour to comply with your request. If the pappr does not reach you you will know it could not be obtained. Lonely. — My dear girl, lam very glad you wrote to me. None need apologise for telling me their trouble It never wearies or annoys me. lam only anxious to help. I know in your position th^re are many difficulties and trials, but you must not let them overcome you and be cast down Live above your litp. so to speak. Do jusfc what every day "gives you to do to the best of your ability. Tins is fitting you for whatever comes after. How many think and say that under different circumstances they could do so much better. Well, the question is, Are they. UDder unfavourable circumstances, doing their best? If so, they could do better, and the better will come. Nearly every life has its trial and sorrow. Some lives— those which to outsiders may seem blessed— have borne a heavier burden than observers imagine; and my experience oi life and human nature is that the gentlest, kindest, and strongest hearts are thoae who have fought a hard tignt on life's battlefield. Nothing teaches pity like knowledge of pain ; nothing teaches sympathy like suffering. So bear up. Do nothing so foolish as you propose. Never marry a man simply for the sake of his home. - What is the good of a home without love in it ? It will soon be a prison house to you. If your cage was of gold it would be a cnge still if your heart were not there. .r> o. ro. Lift up your head and look your future in the face and say: lam a woman, not a thing. While God gives me strength I will work to-day — to-morrow I will lpave. We can only live one day at a t me. Often the early hours are foggy, and'w cannot see before us ; but little by little the tnist clears away, and at noontide there is sunshine and the singing of birds. You will win love if you wish.- It is the easiest thing in the world to win love. Get your looking-gliisß and look coldly at it. It reflects you back a cold glance. Frown, and it frowns at you ; make impatient gestures, it throws them all back. Then smile, and it smiles »t you. Be gentle, kind, and you see it all returned. So with love and affection. The old world Sis full of it, and if it seems unwilling to yield it, treat it like an unwilling pump. It is no use banging and smashing away at the handle. All you receive is a clanking noise. But just pour a little water in, and back it comes a bright stream. A woman said to ran one <Imv " f rever had a true woman friend in all my life." " Have you ever been a true friend to any woman ?" I asked. "Ah ! " she replied, " I never

fooße^atJt'.lu,'that[light." Sow the seed's* ' Ana flowers' will grow. ■ Bouvbie.— (l) The fi&st Saverjtlsingpa'per inHokitika 1 is the West Coast Times. (2) The course for you to a,doptls to go out riding with" a proficient horseman. It is impossible to give directions* for learnr ing, riding, in this column. The temper tt the / animal, the nature of the country, Ac, all have t6 be taken Jnto consideration. (3) A tailor will aupply yoa'wJth the pattern of a habit. You must excuse ftl6 an^rtDg'jfeheauefltion as to whethor I ama marrjedor^inlfle Uxl/.' My.private Hljo and I my work have no connection wifll each other. I . am glad you areso interested in the L^h'ef Page. ■A Constant Headbb kindly sends thn instruction? , to knita gentleman's jersey, which have been in- , quired for several times. I have to lhank her j also for tjie recipe for shortbread, which appears i elsewhere :— lf preferred, two pins can be used, ftut the following directions ate for four: Bone pins, ITp. 0, and lib 4 or 6 thread white fleecy wool. Cas( oft 130 stitches on one needle ; knit a plain row. 2nd: fow— Knit 2,, pearl 1, nutll you have 66 stitches, tntffi divide the test on the other pins, and knit 6 ribbed rbtfndo. 7th round— Pearl 1, knit 3. Bepeat. Bth routfd— Knl;t 1, * pearl 1, knit 3. Bepeat from *. 9th round I—Knit1 — Knit 2, * pearl 1, knit 3. Repeat from *. 10th round—Knit 3, *, pearl 1, knit> 3. Bepeat from *. 11— &6 1 back to 7th round until 25 are done. 26th round— Peart. 27th round— Plain knitting for 72 rows 100 th round— Knit 72. Leave the remaining stitches for the front and work only on theae 72 stitches. 101 st row (not round) -Turn back, pearl 1. knit 3, pearl 64, knit 3, pearl 1. 102 nd row— Kuit. Bepeat these rows alternately 56 times, 28 times each. This finishes the back ; now go on with the front. Cast off 3 stitches to go under the arm, *, knit 35, turn back, pearl 2, knit 3. pearl 26, knit 3, pearl 1. Bepeat from *, reducing every 10th row at the 7th stitch- from the opening at the chest until the front is as long as the back, then knit the half of front together with the same portion of the back, which must be 24 stitches ; now'cast off from the back the next 24 stitches to form the back of the neck. Go on now •with the other half of front, cast off the 2 centre stitches, and knit the remainder to match the other side. Pick up 81 stitches for the sleeves on 3 pins ; make the first i«titch a seam-stitch (knit it in one row, pearl it in the next). Knit 9 inches. Beduce every 4th row on each side of the seam, which, of course, must be .the stitch exactly under the arm. When 82 row* are done, knit 1, pearl 1 for 108 rows ; there ounht not to be less than 42 stitches. Doa second sleeve aud the jersey is finished. Gunboat.— Thank you very much for the offer of the bird. 1 think I should prefer a tui. lam sorry I cannot oblige regarding the handwriting, but it is not that of one old enough to have lost the school hand. Alpha. — Am glad you like the stories. No; the

"t " in Huguenot is not sounded. Pansy.— l cannot tell you of anything to preserve your teet.h, but a very good and safe tooth powder is sulphur. Thanks for congratulations. Little Welsh Lass —I was obliged to let Mary die in •' Chalk " because if she had got well again neither she nor Charles would have been punished for their wrongdoing, and in real life. ev6ry mistake, every sin, carries with it its punishment. I am sorry you grieved so over h*r death. I also grieved, but had she not died I should have been teaching the false lesson of " All's well that ends well," while really all is not well when it is wrong. Neither " Grandmother's Story " nor " Mother and Daughter" can be got in book form, but if any of my readers could obtain " Mother and Daughter " for me I should be much obliged as I have lost the run of it. It appeared in Mr Moßley's Christmas Annual, four years ago, I think. As it came her« some one of my friends may by chance have an old copy. M. B. L.— (l) A few years ago it was very fashionable to mark house linen with both the initials of husband and wife, but now it Is generally the husband s initials that are used, though both are correct. (2) If the tray cloths are white and the tea stains am not where the silks are, turn a hot tin plate upside down aud lay the stained part upon it. On this put some salts of lemon, and ponr upon it a very tiny drop of boiling water ; leave it to stand for a time, then add a drop more. This will remove the stains, but it will also remove colour, and if the,y are not white there is no way of cleaning them. (3) You mußt use the ordinary shop or fishing twine. A mesh l£in is the best size. For this you would require about 40 stitches. Do not alter them ; there should be no increasings or deoreaslngs i^ the netting of it. The length should be about 7sft, Jean.— l am glad to know I was correct. Your photo will come under consideration in due course, but bo many applications are received that it is impossible to do them all in one week Correspondents must, therefore, wait patiently, as the answers will appear in due course. A Female Lover.— Your letter is very flattering, and' l am afraid lam getting in a fair way of being spoilt by all these affectionate letters. As you appeal to me so earnestly to tell you if I am young and pretty, I have a good mind to say that I am whether such is the case or not. It amuses me very much to see how indignantly my correspondents refuse to accept the sharp nose and goggles. Think of me as " Alice," and if you will love me, Jove me as Alice, it is a great pleasure to me to feel that I have won the affection of my lady readers, but whether I write from pleasure or necessity, whether I am old or young, pretty or plain, happy or sad, this is the part of my life that belongs to myself. Belfeve alwayß that I associate myself with my readers, am proud of their confidence, and only too willing to advise or help in any way I can. Inexperiexce.— I think you could not do better than have a Leamington if you want a Home range. They cook well, and are not extravagant with the fuel. There is one thing you must always be particular to observe, and that is keeping the range clean. It is more than half the battle. With proper brushes for the flues this 5s an easy matter to do. Have the flues well cleaned out once a week, and over the oven every time you want to use it. The colonial ranges are, however, quite supplanting Home ranges in Otago, whatever may be the case in other parts of the colony. Before you decide finally call on or communicate with Mr Shacklock and Messrs Barningham and Co. Maud B. — I have already dwelt fully upon the sub- . jects you write of in this page. This week I shall, as I have been requested, have something to Bay about unmarried women. You opinions on the subject are in a great measure the result of inexperience. lam not of opinion that the unmarried state has n'lvnntnges that predominate over those of the married state.