JOTTINGS FOR WOMEN.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9862, 11 March 1896, Page 4

JOTTINGS FOR WOMEN.

PREDOMINANCE OF WOMEN IN ENGLAND. ( One of the curious revelations of' the recent British census is the extraordinary preponderance of the female over the mati sex among the grown inhabitants of Eng land. The figures ahow that the' excess o! the former over the latter amounts to exactly 899,000. Another remarkable thing in connection with this excess of women is the fact that more than five-aixths of the total number are widows.

A LADY RIDING-MISTRESS.

Miss Eva Christy, of West Hampstead, fills a unique position iv the world. She is a lady teaoher of horseriding—and the only one. Miss Christy tells a representative of Home Chat: —" I aim at something entirelj different from the ordinary minage. Mj original idea was, to offer myself more at a companion to lady rider?. I used often to pity the poor creatures -I met riding— and often riding very badly—»n solitary state in the Row, or along lonely suburban roads, with a groom perhaps fifty yards in the roar; and the thought struck mc how much nicer it would be if they had a-com-panion, who, besides bains able to converse with them and.intorssb them, could give them points in equitation."

LADIES' GLOVES.

" You want some statistics of ladies gloves?" said a well-known manufacturer to the representative of an English contemporary. "Well, I cau assure you that over 56,000.000 pahs are used in this couutry every year, and of these fully threequarters are ' worn by ladies. The money spent by them in these articles amounts annually to no less than £1,500,000. One | manufacturing iirm alone finds employment, , directly and indirectly, for 50,000 people. i Why, at Worcester alone, nearly nve I miles are covered, by glove faotories. Ladies are extravagant in their gloves, they Bpend very large sums in this way. Thirty pounds is a very modest sum, while in many instances £100 is laid out in the course of a year. At one retail house in the West-end a lady who was'going on a tour took £40 worth with' her, but half-a-dozen pairs wero worth over £2 a-piece. To give you some idea as to the number of pairs a lady will have by her at one time, it is only necessary to state that over 400 pairs were sold receutly at a house sale ; while this number was exceeded at the sale of the Duchess of Somerset's effeotß, when over 2000 pairs were disposed of."

ROYAL LADY DOCTORS. l

A P«\ris correspondent writes :— "A French lady who has jiißt returned from Lisbon tells mo that the Queen of Portugal, to wh'ase intimate cirole she belongs, is setting an example of serious study and usefulness. The Queen said that she was quite wretched wheu her late father was her , guest at Bolem. He was an invalid, but did not like to have a doctor near him. What would she not have done to be able to . treat him ! She saw that a certain prescribed regimen -ought to be modified, but did not venture to interfere. When her own children were ailing, her ignorance was also very painful. What must be' the situation of women without knowledge and without means to obtain medical assistance for those near and ■ dear to them ? This idea, and what she had herself suffered, emboldened her to study as a doctor. Women in Portugal were practically excluded from the medical profession. The Queen would open ie to them. She felt that Bhe ought to work like the most obaoare student, and to be no more fastidious than a Bister of charity. The -. Queen passed the entrance examination, another examination ab the end of the first year. She is now in her second year, and and through her third examination. Her medical library is the best of the kind in Portugal. As she knows French, English, . Spanish and Italian, she takes in the medioal reviews published in these languages, and corresponds with eminent phynicians on special subjects. She teaches Uer eldest son botany, and is familiarising _. him with the wonders of the microscope. The interests of her life, she says, have been vastly widened einoe she took, to scientific study to extend her sphere of usefulness. . .-' . The Armenian Princess Beglanon, one of the most "interesting " new women " of the hour, with wealth and-social position to tempt her into idleness, has begun to achieve fame in the East as a doctor. On Sundays she has as many as seventy Satients. She was recently in Vienna, vying the furnishings for a hospital she intends to ' erect. on her father's .estate. The Princess is only twenty-six years old. ' pretty, black-eyed and graceful.

A TRUST FOR WOMEN. . ?

A number of English ladies, representing .; Liberal and other Associations connected with the movements for the promotion of women's franchise and women's rights, recently presented Sir James Stansfeld (late ? M.P. for Halifax) and Lady Stansfeld with a testimonial in recognition of the right hon. gentleman's efforts during his Piarhamentary life for the benefit of women, *»<j of Lady Stansfeld'a active sympathies and assistance in the work. The presentation consisted of a large and handsome silver bowl, being the personal part of a larger testimonial, the main portion of which J«, by Sir James Btansfeld's express desire, to be devoted to a trust for the, benefit - of women. The subscription wjb nearly £800, and over £700 remains for the trust, which is to be applied to the, appointment of a scrutineer who will examine measnres presented to Parliament, and report upon them by means of lectures ana otherwise to the various Women's Associations interested as to how far women are likely to be thereby affected. There were 405 signatories to the subscription, but many of them represented Women's Liberal and other Associations, and therefore the actual number of subscribers was considerably larger.,

SIR JAMES STANSFELD ON ;; WOMEN'S RIGHTS.

• Sir James Stansfeld, in acknowledging t&e testimonial, said he held that, whatever.

countries in the future, n wcrfl *omeu, the g««» ">«>. had T '*? ca3 e. based making were i.resistib.e heir on the principle of women- eg £ man, must uluma ely P^^l'Parliamentary hod obtained •dmjjonto the Pari. franchise they would then, w of have put the keystone to * Uon cou , d constructive «BorM. womeQ 's compare ir. , eat won id be question. 1" U ' J ", rtvo lßtion tho world the greatest peaceful re° »« q{ has Tver seen. £f delay through women>n|h»h»J«« lA of both politic*! the actio" or atUW wouW . parties its mj-nplw Meaat ,me. P roVe L° Lumw" clear. They must women a cours* "* , mugt organise dep .„d "l-S^^npTmen. 8 Let their i'Sif n thS w&; bat worn*. *« men help lf L t,iey J n , ff '♦. Men must be not state thejr own «ff«ts. "£ltVmS them understand, that in dtffioult tom»«" countf y they would have th 4 l0t "»« women w political life » • way l f C TS „ot eCct some years ago. For they did not e-p. ci * the subject reh^°m L.hey , , were and no effort of his named ac aw/ *•• d to promot e be .anting. (Applause). . UVe shall be glad to receive m this column r rief contributions, both from the New w 111 " and also from her sisters who IZ lay data to "advanced" ideas. Contributions must not exceed sixty lines m lengtb, and may be either original or .elected. In the latter owe tue source ,bould hi stated.]