WORDS OF WISDOM.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 248, 18 October 1924, Page 22

WORDS OF WISDOM.

<By EOSALIKE RICOKX.i

SPORT. Arc New Zealand women fond of sport , .' Arc they sports? These two questions look very similar, in fact the unohservant. may think them synonymous; but in reality they are diametrically opposite. The. remarkable difference may not be shown in the dictionary, but that does but prove, once again, how frequently riDp's faith may be shaken in and by the dictionary. And when one considers the lamentable want of plot and continuity in these works, one wonders how they ever get past the publisher; and marvels i hat, having done this, they are bought and read by the public. You see the dictionary hag little regard for facts of life; it takes a word and gives the meaning that word possessed when first it was launched upon life's turbulent sea. As the years drift past, each frail littlo craft gathers barnacle of habit and usage; and, by the lime it reaches port, its shape, significance and general cargo have changed heyond recognition. Consider the word "sport." The dictionary tells you that it is a pastime or amusement in which a person engages. There is no reference to the meaning of the word in the phrase, "Be a Sport," a plirase which has ruined many a banking account and been the cause of the downfall of numerous well-intentioned women as well as men. In fact, it would he within the realms of veracity to state that this phrase has done more damage in the world thau either drink or gamhling. Be a sport. Literally that means net against your principles and your conscience for the sake of fun and good fellowship; and unless the person addressed possesses a strong will and grim determination, she becomes a "sport," there being but two courses open to her; either to be a sport or be regarded as a wet blanket. But she is well advised if she holds out, for we all know ho\r

easy it is to elide down the slope, and a very large percentage of those who are "down and under" could trace their ruin to that phrase, "Be a Sport." It has tnudo the writer what she is, and that is a very grave statement. Sport: Those pastimes and amusements alluded to in the dictionary. These, of course, have a widely different meaning, and the women of New Zealand have eagerly taken them up. Golftennis, cricket, hockey, tramping, swimming, and in some cases football—all have their feminine devotees in New Zealand. It would be interesting to know whether neurasthenia is as prevalent among the women of New Zealand as it is among women of countries where sport for women is forbidden. It seems to the writer that open-air sport should be not only a preventive, but a cure for neurasthenia and hysteria. For sports afford exercise in the dpen air, keen intereet, and a healthy outlook on life. Of course, sport may easily be overdone, and this is why many of the stay-at-homes are down on it. , Wo hear of women cavorting off to golf tournaments and leaving their homes, their husbands, and their families in a state of pernicious neglect. But this is certainly the exception rather than the rule. Some women, again, have a rooted objection to golf, of all things. Why I cannot say. To mc golf appears to be an ideal sport for women as well as men. It ia not as strenuous as hockey or football, and many pleasant and healthgiving hours may be devoted to it. These words, overheard by the writer, may give some indication regarding the objections some women have against it: "No," she said, "my hands and feet are quite large enough, and my face quite ugly enough, without playing golfl" That would seem to indicate that women expect golf to turn a pretty woman into a plain one. Surely it cannot possess that power, especially when we remember that nothing on earth will "turn a plain woman into a pretty one. Certainly most women golfers are dreadfully sunburnt, but many regard •unburn not as a disfigurement, but as k. *a added beauty. I do not think that

golf, although it may have its faults, can be regarded as so •"■unwomanly" a *port as football and hockey, but I may, of course, be wrong, and am quite open to conviction. Tennis is a pretty game to watch, but many find it too strenuous to play. It seems to bo a fine game for the flapper, but for the stout, middle-aped matron hardly a game, sport or pastime to be recommended. Possibly if the matrons of Xciiv Zealand embraced tennis, as it were, they would cease to be stout; certainly they would if they played it as Mdlle. Lenglen does, if magazine pictures of her are to be believed. In the days of long skirts and tight corse!s and gloves tennis was considered quite a ladylike game. One wonders if the matrons of those days would consider it ladylike now. If a woman wants a really gentle sport, what is the matter with croquet? Tramping and swimming afford plenty of exercise, and many New Zealand women indulge in both forms of sport, one in the winter and one in the summer—it is scarcely necessary to state which. Cricket ? Yes, there are women cricketers in New Zealand, but up to the time of writing I have not come across them in very large numbers. Not that tho writer would ever consider cricket as a form of pastime or amusement for herself. It may be exciting, it may be a cure for mumps and measles, and it may afford healthful exercise, but as long as the ball exhibits all the characteristics of a stone or a rounded flatiron cricket must, be a sealed book to her. There may be, and I believe there are, women in New Zealand who "dote"' on cricket—these are the brave, the courageous one-s of our sex—but I am not, and never shall \c one of them. In fact, I am, where cricket is concerned, an arrant coward. That, Tod assures mc, is what makes mc so lovable. Hockey I cannot say truthfully that I recommend for women—not for women over twenty, and not even for those under that age. It is too much like a fight. Thef& are New Zealand 'women

who, in spite of this assertion, and' in some cases because of it, enjoy a good rousing game of hockey in the winter months. Well, they are welcome to it. Far be it from mc to throw cold water upon their hockey, their taste, or themselves. Racing I have purposely left out of my list of sports in which New Zealand women indulge. In the first place, I caunot regard racing either as an amusement or a pastime in the ordinary acceptance of those words. It is a business. It is conducted in the open air and amidst beautiful surroundings. . It is not, considered as a sport, aa strenuous as hockey, cricket, or football, afd is really less fatiguing even than croquet. Yes, I suppose it is a sport, and one that most women love with a love passing the love of woman! That does look a little startling in print, but every woman will know what it means. ■Racing is the sport of kings. That, of course, is the last word on it. Football for women? No, I cannot discuss that—it is a sore subject, very sore; and, besides, I' do not like the costume 1

WHEN DRESSING WOUNDS.

In the case of serious injuries, the dressing of them will be in the hands of a nurse, or they will at least be carried out under the direct instructions of the doctor. But there are many more trivial occasions when housewife or mother is faced with the tending of a small injury. A wound that has a certain amount of discharge must be given an absorbent dressing, and this is arranged by covering with gauze or lint, and above that a substantial layer of absorbent wool, and then the bandage. JLint, it will be noticed, has a smooth and a fluffy side. It is the former that should go next to the wound, or the fluff will adhere to the bad place and cause a lot of pain when it is removed. Ordinary lint may .be soaked in an antiseptic lotion or used with ointment. Boracic lint is used dry or moistened with water only.