JOTTINGS FOR WOMEN.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9338, 12 February 1896, Page 4

JOTTINGS FOR WOMEN.

WOMEN SMOKERS. iNot so long ago it was.considered a risky and frisky thing for a woman to smoke a - cigarette in the seclusion of the family circle (says a writer in the Queen), while today well-brought-up married ladies, without the least approach to fastness in'behaviour, smoke their three or four cigarettes a day, with the approval of their husbands, and in the presence of their servants. The ladies in Russian society, one and all, smoke cigarettes as a matter of course, ia private and in public. At an afternoon call in St. Peterabnrg, at three o'olook in the '■ day, a Rnaeian lady offers a cigarette case ':' and a matchb.x. in tho most-, natural ...* mauner to her visitors, and without- '• any demur cigarettes are accepted and smoked. In the principal Russian hotels _~," the ladies smoke their cigarettes after dinner '•" ; in the i-reMeiJCU.pf the assembled company, .+ even to a burning end on tbe point of »'A;;

penknifo. In London such a custom would not be allowed, and a fair smoker would bo at once requested uot tn smoke. American ladies appc.r. fi nm all that i* said, to bs going side l>y si-.ls villi i-hiir Knelt*-.;! sister- —some smoking con ar.iore, others lor the fun of the thir.g. '':i.l !'■ ia apparent to all in society that hikking among iadiea is immensely on the iucrens**. Husbands, men friends, and even brothers fay tothing ag'-in-- the practice, and, ofiener than not. encourage it, uiilp«B extravagant indulgence in there-ill-; t> , * ( ''< they put a limit to the numbs-r of c;.-; j .ri t: _s to b- smoke 1 by tho wife duriiH' the '.Ay, if _li."<i:i~ •."<*. .uJii-ient etrt-»t-tl- of in : .i--l to «-0 so for herself; and, inileeVi, most lady smokers make a point of liniting th.inselv.. to three cig-rette. a day on an averag*.

A NOT!' OF WARNING.

It comes ft'--m Sou li Africa, from a lady who has settled th.re a.3 a governess. She write? : *'Joiianne.hui'g i_ a wicked city. The vabt nwj'>ii'y of * : *- inhabitants are men—and such men 1 Tiie temptations to » young woman alone are terrible ; aud I am" afraid m-uy who would h-ve remained aood and pure "at h.->mo are unable to pass thrcu"h such a tire aa this sc-thele.s. 'J'hi-K* i;ttVe " ow c:,!, ' t ' *'' si:c '' *" a '' l ta&t a lespec'ahie wciii-n c-iimot g**> to any h.t.l or boarding h.-iiivi t'> 'u-k IV n room without Hliuos-r for ci.'i-.aiii br.u:g ifcfu»-d admission. Ne-rly all tiie nice f,!a„__ to iivo iv art* for men on If, and in ordinary boarding houses ♦ hey wiU nev«.r take a woman if they can set a man. I must go and stay somewhere in my Ciifistma** holidiiys. anu I positively dread a_kii>g wiy"«« to take mc id. Ail this is largely the fault of womou here, for tbey are very last. But oh, how hard it is for the quiet ones who want to earn an honest liviDg."

THE BEAUTIKd OF WORK,

Mrs HoJg.ou Burnett waxed very eloquent recently at the Vagabond Club upon the beauties of work. She said— •* The most beautiful thing iv the worldall of you know il—all human b.iugs who are workers know it—the happiest tiling in the world is to feel that, alter all, oue s woik was worthy of the doing. It is a very close and dear thing this work one is born to do It is never quite like ones dreams of it,'but «ue does hope s"/ th.t it will never quite dishonour them. *v.tuetim.9 I think i_ seems like a fiver swe --jing b-tween the banks oi" om't ii/. and b.aring to the great *e_ the thieg- tho passers-by e_B. to it— beautiful things, ugiy ones, aado.s.e., dreams, tn.i-e.ii-s. Si.mc.inie_ it is full and at hig.iwat.r uiark, sometimes it runs low ; but even when there .3 only a. poor little stream rippling over stones one does want its waters to be clear and always respeots and loves it. So when you seem to tell tne that my river has sometimes been at full tide aud has borne sumo burdens worth ihe bearing to the great sea, I am grateful to fate. I am grateful to you, and I thank you very much indeed."'

WOMEN BOOKKEi_P_.RS IN FRANCE. The Paris corre-pandent of Truth, writing In praise of tho metric system, says :— *' I should begin by pointiug out to English ladies tbe great advantages their French sisters have derived from tb. de.imal system. Read every notebook of tours made iv Fiance before the Revolution, aud you will not find a word about feminine accountants. There was then no such thiog as a lady bookkeeper. The brains of English women are not more refractory than the brains of Freuch wom.u to arithmetic, if they had a ratioual system. When the latter bad to deal with Troy and avoirdupois weights, wi*.b livres, tournois, francs, crowns, denier., sols, Hards, Sec, they were not famous accouutants. Tnore are now thousands of feminine bookkeepers in Paris. One finds them also in the Bank of France. Women have practically a book keeping monopoly in restaurants and cafe's, and as the world goes the dame dv comptoir is really well olf. cihe has few expenses, a good salary, %nd three luxurious meals a day. A plain neat black stulf dress is all tho toilette her employer requires. If she has a small independent income, she saves all her saiary and is sure of being thoroughly indepoudent against v., middle age. For three or four hours a day, she has little to do, and amuses herself with fancy work. I have been told by dames dv comptoir that the salary is gene, rally over £100 a year, and often gets up to £150. It may bo considerably higher in a very busy place. ALteution and punctuality, aud quicknesi iv adding up figures, are the needful qualities. Tha quickness is due to the decimal system, which in a Board school I should call the Tens-system."

THE QUEEN'S MEALS.

The Queen usually begins her day with a oup of cocoa. Tea and c.ff.o are likewise brought to ber bedside by a maid, but her choice seldom varies. A thin German rusk is eaten with tho bpveiv.ge. According to a writer in the Woman at Home, afc about 11.30 her Majeaty partakes of either soup or an egg beaten up iv wine. The morning is occupied with official matters ; paper, are brought for signature, und State affairs generally discussed. The Times is read to the Queen by one of her ladies, and in summer time all business is transacted out of doors. Luncheon at two o'clock is always the meal of the day with ber Majesty. The dishes are many and elaborate. Dinner is served at a quarter to nine o'clock. This meal, like luncheon, ib exquisitely prepared, and the Queen drinks during the repast olaret and water or dry champagne.

CHRISTENING A ROYAL BABY.

The curious forms and ceremonies which ■urrouud tha christoniog of a Royal infant in Russia would fill a respectably bulky pamphlet, from the time it is borne in state, on a cl.th-of-gold covered cushion, to the baptismal font, down to the fanfare of trumpets whioh proolaims its departure in the uowly-acquired character of Christian. The Royal babies loudly protest at the triple dipping in holy water, and have to be consoled occasionally, like more ordinary mortals, with a sugary finger-tip. Two ourious customs are the presentations of a white shirt by the godmother, and a golden cross by the godfather. Tiie former is put On the child at baptism as an emblem of purity, and the cross lays its small owner under obligations to wear it during life. '*If this cross is not found on the child at death," says tha officiating priest, "he shall not have Christian burial, were he the son of a hundred kings." So much for baptism in •' Holy Russia."

A NURSE AND HEROINE.

The nursiug sisters who went out to •Ashantee were in charge of Miss Gray, the Jady Superintendent of tho Hospital of the Coldstream Guards in London. Miss J. H. Gray has had a long and active career in the Wrvtce. In 1879 came her first experience *"f war, as she theu went out to Zululand sad seived throughout the campaign. Her next experience of the kind was in Egypt in 1882. This time Miss Gray was away nearly four years, as after the Egyptian War she accompanied the Gordon Relief Expedition up the Nile, and later nursed the men during the cholera epidemic. Since ber return she has served at Woolwich and Portsmouth, and subsequently at the Guards' Hospital until she received the pre.ent appointment. She is decorated with the Zulu and Egyptian War medals, the Egyptian Cross, aud—placed by itself— the Royal Red Cross, which was con .erred npon her for her heroic services in Egypt.

A QUEEN AS A DOCTOR.

The Queen of the Belgiaus is a clever nurse, and quite as good as a doctor in emergencies. When one of her servants Was suddenly taken with a fit of apoplexy {•ays TFoman'- Life, the latest specimen of purely domestic journalism), she applied the correct remedies so promptly and effectually At to secure his recovery in a very short time. This kind of active service has become quite fashionable lately, happily owing to the ambulance classes whioh have been so much giveu in England during the past few years. The Duchess of Albany obtained the certificate from one of these, and tbe Duchess of Portland matriculated in a similar school.

[We shall be glad to receive in this column b_ief contributions, both from the ** New Woman," and also from her sisters who do not lay claim to "advanced" ideas. Contributions must not exceed sixty lines in length, and may be either original or seleotod. In the latter case the source should be stated].