The Ladies' Column.

Bruce Herald, Volume VII, Issue 653, 27 November 1874, Page 3

The Ladies' Column.

. AA NEAT TASTE. A lady writes as follows, and as she probably belongs to one of the two classes of women she last mentions, she perhaps knows whereof she speaks : " It appears in this age that an exquisitely neat taste is ' acquired.' Girls under twenty are rarely tidy. They may desire to look neat, but they do not attain to exquisite freshness. Old maids and women happily married are the ones who learn the refinement and quintessence of neatness. The former naturally incline that way, and the latter have the incentive to excite and retain the husband's admiration." BAO TEMPER. There are few things more productive of evil in domestic life than & thoroughly bad temper. It doeg not matter what form that temper may assume — whether it is of a sulky kind that maintains perfect silence, or the madly passionate, which vents itself in absolute violence. 111-temper at any age is a bad thing l it never does anybody any good, and those who indulge in it feel na better for it After the passion has passed away, one sees, that he has been very foolish., and knows that others see $t, too. Bad temper in the aged is, perhaps, the most trying of all j it is, indeed, a pitiable sight to see the wrinkled cheek of an old person aflame with the fires of anger and passion. Since anger is useless, and an unspeakable misery to its victim, wb^f \ should it be indulged in at all ? TAKING- CQLB, ! ; If a cold set^es, on the outer covering of tfc^e, lungs it becomes pneumonia, in-

flammation of the lungs, or lung fever, which in many canes carries the strongest man to hia grave within a week. If a cold falls upon the inner covering of the lungs it is pleurisy, with its knife-like j>aius, and its slow, very slow recoveries. If a cold settles in the joints, there is rheumatism in its various forms ; inflammatory rheumatism with its agonies of pain, and rheumatism of the heart, which in an instant sometimes snaps the cords of life with no friendly warning. It is of the utmost practical importance, then, in the wintry weather, to know not so much how to cure a cold as to avoid it. Golds always come from one cause — some part of the body being colder than natural for a time. If a man will keep his feet warm always and never allow himself to be chilled, he never will take cold in a lifetime, and this can only be accomplished by due care in warm clothing and the avoidance of draughts and undue exposure. While multitudes of colds come from cold feet, perhaps the majority arise from persons cooling off too quickly after becoming a little warmer than is natural from exposure or work, or from confinement to a warm apartment. SOCIETY. Of all empty, vain, and worthless efforts, that of " cultivating society " merely for tbe sake of having certain wellknown names upon one's visiting-list, is the most ridiculous. It is a waste of time, patience and money. Domestic bappiuess and friendly hospitality are thereby cast aside, and life is spent in tbe dreariest sort of acting, for which one receives neither the applause of others, nor of his or her own conscience. ' Many a family, collectively and individually, work for this false end. They give entertainments that nearly ruin them to people they care nothing for, with whom they have no sympathy, and who have no earthly sympathy with them ; while congenial persons, who really have some liking for them, are quite neglected, because there is nothing to be gained by knowing plain Mrs Brown or Mr Smith. Oh, dreary evenings; given to tbe reception of a formal circie of somebodies! Ob, woeful banquets, at which our somebodies nibble a little at thecostlp dainties provided by their ambitious entertainers! Oh, what ashes lie at the heart of this Dead Sea fruit ! If you wish to be happy, you must opeu the doors of your home to those whom you esteem or love. You must take for your friends those who suit you ; you must, however rich, make your entertainments opportunities for social meetings, and not occasions for display. And it is far better to have beneath your roof those who are honored and comforted by ycur hospitality than those who condescend to visit you because you court him. Purse-proud ignorance is always the likeliest to fancy itself every poor person's superior ; and you probably would uot recognise real superiority by anything in its manner or bearing: