OVER THE TEA-CUPS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 293, 10 December 1910, Page 16

OVER THE TEA-CUPS.

THE SINKING SEASON. ■.A London paper expresses the opinion thsit roller skating is again "asserting itself as a fashionable amusement, ( and that it bids fair to become a cult amongst those -who regard exercise from the hygienic , standpoint. Both its sporting and social aspects have undergone considerable development during the past season. .The fear entertained iby some people that the pastime would become demode seems to have been entirely dispelled. "Doubtless,; the paSt history of previous rinking rages and the dwindling of the vogue of the pastime in America were the causes of the misgiving. Hut now that weather conditions are.nidre favourably conducive to indoor exercises; the really well-conducted rinks are enjoying the patronage of the wejl-tb-do &asses to as large an extent as ever. FATE OF THE "HOBBLE." . ■ The "hobble" skirt is dead in Paris. It has been killed by a succession of accidents. During the last few weeks ladies wearing this peculiar costume have fallen so, often and so awkwardly that several arim and legs have been broken, and the Parisienne (the "Express" states) has now definitely decided against the "hobble" skirt. Her decision has brought with it a curious little crisis in the second-hand clothes trade. At the old clothes market in the Temple thousands of ''hobble" skirts are on sale at prices varying from 4/ upwards—but there are no buyers. The "midinefctes"—or dressmakers' and milliners , . assistants—who are the usual customers, are just as careful of their limbs as other persons, and the probable fate of bales of "hobble" skirts will before long be export to the colonies. —Thue the "Telegraph," ,but we in the Dominion don't buy second-hand clothes. Who does, by the way? TRADESMAN'S JOKE. A certain tradesman in a Northern city fixed a half-sovereign on the under j side of a glass case which stood on the 'counter. The idea has not even the merit of being original, and the cpn- ; sequences (of his little joke may be ; found expensive. But he had his fun, for it was ludicrous to see the attempts made by various persons to possess themselves of the little coin. Some would claim it;, boldly asserting it had dropped from their purse, but would draw back in dismay when they became aware of the trick. Others ac soon ac they caught sight, of it would sidle lip and make the most cunning efforts to conceal their purpose of pocketing it, throwing gloves or other article carlesely tin to the top, and ninder pretence of looking into the case slip their'fingers under the covering, and their confusion on -riot being able to lay hold of ■it was 1 comical. Some of his regular customers, however, who had been'thus baffled kept away from his shop, and he considered it prudent to remove the coin. ■ ■ - ■ "TWENTY MINUTES AFTER MEALS." Here is a little story culled from an American paper which will be welcomed by all women anxious to keep their figures from the onslaught of fat. ' This tale set forth how a little summer colony had amongst it a gushing woman very proud of having met on? of the many Mrs. Vanderliilts at luncheon, and shecould never let the fact,alone. In"sea-' son and out she quoted ilrs. V., but. one fact she always, harped pa particularly, and, this, was that the. lady never sat down after a meal until 20 minutes had elapsed. By doctor's orders she stood, walked, and moved about, never eat, till the stated, interval passed, as thus she hoped to retain.her figure and youthful appearance; and -the admiring lady had then said: "Oh, Mrs. Vanderbilt, any one with your perfect figure doesn't need such precautions. 1. Repeated things often assumed a joking appearance never intended at first. M*s V.'s perfect figure became a laughing stock, but it also began' to set a fashion. Begun in joke the (>lah was soon carried out in earnest day by day. And the 20 minutes were, whiled away On the feet, no rest was permitted, especially as it waa found, after a month's trial, how miich good there was in the plan, and how it aid away with the full and etodjry-leering so many had experienced after the rule of resting when a meal was over instead of going about. I pise on the hint, although I. do not think the plan would reduce the fleeh materially, yet it seems to prevent people growing" unduly stout, at any rate if with this they use due discretion as regards their food; PERFUMES. Recent experiments by the well-known French physiologist, Fere, have shown that odours, whether agreeable orl disagreeable, have a marked fatiguing effect upon normal human beings, and if continuously applied can in certain cases even produce such chronic pathological conditions as neurasthenia. M. Fere even assigns to the ever-present perfumes of tile East an equal rank' with narcotics its' causing the languor and drowsiness characteristic of. tile natives 6f those countries. That Professor Fere Ms trovertible evidence ttf suppoif t these conclusions i 3 indicated by the results of his experiments.

For his purpose he used the cfgograbh, an instrument for determining under different bodily conditions tho eflicieficy of a particular musde oil- set of muscles, and thus Obtaining an index Of the ehergy of the entire body. Hie apparatus cdnsisted of a flat base; t,o which the forearm is immovably fastened by bands, ahd then tbe finger iS; placed in a leather pocket attached to a weight by a 60rd playihg over a pulley at thfc end of the base. When the fihger is bent ih contraction a record is automatically made of_ the height/to,, which the Weight iis raised, and the sum of these heights made by each contraction before the muscles are exhausted is a record of the total work possible by the muscle and ah .indication of the energy of the entire body. In the present experiments a record was made without previous excitation of the olfactory sense, in order to determine the normal efficiency of the muscles of the finger. Then many different kinds of odours and perfumes were breathed. Though in most cases there was at first a transitory stimulating effect, in- general the final result was a distinctly fatiguing one. In the professor's own words, "they did not maintain the fire which they had kindled." According to the strength of the Odour and ldhgth ot time it was applied, the amount Of work possible was reduced to even less than onethird of the normal.

These results are undoubtedly reliable, not only on. account of JProfCssor Fere's reputation, but because the ergojjraph is in extensive use, and is one of the mo3t exact instruments that psychologists and physiologists have for investigating such conditions. Other .experiments performed With the same instrument by the same investigator showed that practically oil sorts of sensory stimulations, whether of sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell, produce the same preliminary exciting effect.