VISITORS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 217, 13 September 1930, Page 4 (Supplement)

VISITORS.

USUAL AND UNUSUAL.

THE HAPPY AND THE CRABBY.

(By BARBARA KERR.)

To. country women, tlic expected arrival of a , visitor is of much more importance than is such an , event to our city friends. There is a rush and bustle of baking, cooking and cleaning that would- make a. town woman dizzy. Naturally, visitors do not cause- so much excitement in a city home because they are not so rare, again, the conveniences and labour-saving devices with which every city house is equipped make such bustle of preparation unnecessary. Whether they be mere casual callers or guests who have come for a long stay, they never fail to meet with a real oldfashioned welcome on arriving at any country home. Hospitality is extended with eager hands, for the newcomers will almost certainly bring news—that most desired thing in the country—and they bring, too, a new. outlook to \ the isolated homestead. It.is always 1 interesting to hear other people's views and it prevents one from, getting into a groove of set ways and' ideas.'

Women visitors there are of all types, Young Mrs. J. is an eagerly welcomed guest, she is. a, happy-go-lucky j person whom everybody likes. Herhomeisin the bush and the only access from our side is a brjdle-track. Four miles she rides when she visits: us, four miles up ;and down steep,- slippery clay ■ hills. .Although not a good rider, she insists on

riding a high-spirited horse, with the result that almost : every time Ehe 'arrives it is with: the announcement that (she has had "a bit of a spill" on the way. Being utterly fearless and a trifle reckless,. when ehe is thrown she 'just picks herself up and remounts. If she had lived sixty or seventy years ago <T. would have made a fine pioneer's wife, but there in her outback home she is quite as brave as the women of olden days. Four years ago J. was a town j&irl who detested the country; now the country is her very life. Welcome Caller. Another visitor we" enjoy having to stay with us is' Mrs. F. Her'life has been spent in city ways but when she visits the farm there is nothing she likes better than to be shown all the ins and outs , of dairy farming.' Her visit is usually one long thrill. • .. Trifles, such, as the ear breaking dQwn.in the middle of a two-mile strletch. of deep mud, and £he occupants being forced to wade a mile through yellow 'clay" to the serious detriment of footwear and. coats, dp not upset Mrs. F.'s mental .equilibrium. Some people, when such mishaps occur,: seem, to 'think'that ione had deliberately planned the happeiiing,! because they worCtherej but Mrs. F. :]aughs. and says, "This is, a;new experience for .me. I wouldn't miss it for anything." Do you wonder that she is an- ever-welcome guest?. . There are other visitors who are quite estimable people, but tact is not one of their traits. They give one a toucn of the inferiority complex by incessantly talking of tho beautiful houses they lived in before coining to their present home, the marvellous things they have done, and the wonderful people with whom they have been accustomed to associate in other places. These superior people unconsciously make one, in defiance of all the laws of hospitality, long wearily for the hour of their departure. Fortunately, such visitors are indeed rare in the country, for they find more scope for their accomplishments in city life.

Visits EnjoyeS. A refreshing visitor whose visits are like a tonic to many a country woman, is Mrs. M., with her original ideas and her sane outlook. The conversation turned one day to homes. In the tine outback districts there are very few women whose houses are "dream homes.' Usually all the available money is required for the farm improvements and the house has to be built and maintaind with the minimum of expense. Hence the scarcity of farm homes that are convenient and look prosperous. Some women .do not care how their homes look, some who care are sensitive about inviting people to'vialt them, and others who have minds which rise above the mundane, invite their friends to visit them and not their homes. Mrs. M. is one of the latter type. She has many ideas which some country women would coneider rank heresy. In her youth a teacher in a southern town, she married a farmer and began a totally different life from that to which she had been accustomed, but her happy temperament helped her through many a trying hour. Every farmer's wife ie called upon to bear what seems an extra , share of the bludgeonings of chance. When Mrs. M. married the farmer she told him at the beginning that she was marrying him, but not Ms cows. She considered that a happy, cheerful wife is of more assistance to a farmer than a slave-wife who toils and moils to help her beloved, and only succeeds in wearing herself out. Milking cows, chopping, wood and carrying water—work that country women usually do as a matter of course —were things that Mrs. M. refused to do at the beginning of her farm life, and afterwards it was not expected of her. Women who have half a dozen children or more, have quite enough work indoors to keep them from sitting with folded hands, and it. is too much to expect them to do men's work outside in addition to their never-ending household duties. Mrs. M. is an understanding women, the best kind of neighbour one could desire. If one could choose one's neighbours, they would all be like Mrs. M. But it takes all sorts to make a country community, so -one's visitors are of all types but welcome at all times.