WOMEN'S FORUM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 19, 24 January 1933, Page 11

WOMEN'S FORUM.

A SIGN OF RANK. The ancient Egyptians, in the case of young children, were wont to shave the head, leaving only a few locks on the front, sides and back, as an emblem of youth. In the case of royal children, the locks on the sides were covered and enclosed in a bag, which hung down conspicuously as a badge of princely rank. The Egyptians used also to tie upon the chin a false beard made of plaited hair, and of a peculiar form, according to the person by whom it was worn. That of a king was of considerable length, square at the bottom; while private individuals had small beards, scarcely two inches long. The Parthians and ancient Persians of high rank wore long, flowing hair. Homer speaks of "the long-haired Greeks" by way of honourable distinction. Subsequently the Athenian cavalry wore long hair, and all Lacedaemonian soldiers did the same. The Gauls considered long hair a notable honour, for which reason Julius Caesar obliged them to cut off their hair in token of submission. The Franks and ancient Germans considered long hair a mark of noble birth. Hence Clodion the Frank was called "The Long-Haired." The Goth regarded long hair as a mark of honour, and short hair as a symbol of thraldom. For many centuries long hair was the distinctive mark of the royal family of France, the kings and the princes of the blood having to wear "long hair artfully dressed and curled."

WHAT'S IN A NAME. Dora is ceasing to be used as a Christian name for English girls. Perhaps it is true that Dora has not been entirely happy as a name. For some reason or other the early Victorians linked it with tragedy. Dora Spenlow was not one of the happiest of Dickens' women, and seven years before the publication of "David Copperfield" Tennyson had produced that not very cheerful idyll, the last line of which is "But Dora lived unmarried till her death." At the same time it is somewhat rash to forecast the fate of names. It was asserted quite confidently in the early years of the war that no English boy would again be saddled with William for a name, but it may be guessed that the registers would show that this mood was a passing one. People may not select Dora as a name for a child if there is no family association with it, but the chances are that 20 years hence quite a number of Doras will be found in the lists of engagements and the marriage register.

HAT TRICKS. In connection with the proposed change of pattern, for the postman's hat in England someone has 'been asking when the carpenters of England gave up the square paper cap familiar in the illustrations to "Alice." This, in turn, may suggest a doubt whether distinctive headgear is to be found anywhere in the England of to-day, reflects a correspondent in an English paper. The Lancashire "mill girl" was once always shown with her shawlused as a head covering, but that custom is now far from universal. Among charwomen and others in the East End of London paper haircurlers used almost to be a form of headgear, but that is no longer the case, nor do the cricket caps which sat so curiously on the heads of another tribe of char- ! women survive. The "yachting cap," I which used, when we were young, to be [ worn at the seaside by those intrepid | mariners who never left the promenade | seems to have disappeared. The lowcrowned "topper" of the horsey man is rare nowadays. Even the example of the Prince of Wales has not persuaded boating men to resume "boaters," and it may be doubted whether cooks wear those very high white caps unless likely to be seen by the public. Do millers wear their white caps still? Probably not. Bankers have given up silk hats, and the chief among them wears one which would not be thought odd in Spain. WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT. Political feminists have received a shock from Lord Stanley of Alderley, the young Liberal peer who married Lady Audrey Chetwynd-Talbot, sister of the Earl of Shrewsbury. "I have no intention of allowing my wife to enter Parliament, because I disapprove very much of women in politics," Lord Stanley told the Manchester '85 Club at a dinner, when, the chairman suggested that Lady Stanley should stand for the House of Commons. Lord Stanley added: "I prefer, speaking metaphorically, to have my slippers put by the fire, and I do not want to work in Parliament either in co-opera-tion with my wife or in opposition to her." This stern attitude may drive ultrafeminists to scornful rage, but it has won the sympathy of Miss Thelma Cazalet, Conservative M.P., who said to a "Daily Mail" reporter: "I think that I understand perfectly Lord Stanley's edict about his wife. The work in Parliament is too hard and tiring for any young woman who has to run a home and look after her husband as he should be looked after.

"But on the general question of women in polities, I disagree with Lord Stanley. "Woman's point of view is essential nowadays, when most important questions are being discussed. But it .must be her own point of view, not just a mere copying of man's outlook, put into feminine speech." On the other hand, Mr. Herbert G. Williams, Conservative M.P. for Croydon, South, would be only too happy if his wife were in Parliament:

"It would be splendid," he said, "because we should be able to go home together every night. This would be a boon to many an unfortunate wife whose husband has to keep the late hours of the House of Commons, and who never quite knows when he will be arriving home.

"But speaking seriously, the logical consequences of women becoming politically responsible must not be ignored. If they cannot be M.P.'s, they cannot be magistrates, they cannot vote. Woman has her place in Parliament, and I think she is filling it."