TO-DAY'S DINNER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 76, 23 December 1907, Page 3

TO-DAY'S DINNER.

[PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS 'BY AN • '•'■"■ EXPERT. '.' . '(Specially Written for Tns Dominion.) . ' ' MONDAY. Tomato Soup, Cold Beef, Salad, Potatoes, _" • Butter Beans, Banana Fritters. ... . BANANA FRITTERS. Method.—Slice 2 or' 3 bananas and sprinkle lemon juice audvsugar over them. Put J cup of flour into a basin, and add to it the yolk of an egg and a little milk. Beat these together for 5 minutes, ana add a little salt/The consistency of this batter should be thick enough to nicely coat a spoon. Then beat tho white of the egg to a very stiff froth, and, just before frying, add the bananas and white of egg, and a pinch of baking podwer to tho mixture. Fry tho fritters in a saucepan containing at least four inches of fat, and then'drain them,on-paper, and sprinkle them with sugar before dishing ' them. ' FOR TO-MORROW. Ingredients.—Vegetables for soup, cauliflower, 2} pints of milk, cutlets, fruit for stewing. THE LAND OF CLEVER TOYS, j "A visit to tho French toyshops which oater moro especially for children between the ages of four and ten years Has set me | wpndoring what toys, if any, will he left for the blaso dotard of twelve. ; ' On the other side of the Channel there is an imdisputed fashion, in the of toy 3 through which; our children pass willy-nilly as thoy grow older. 'As soon as the rattle ceases to. amuse, .''our children are provided with-littlo toys on wheels; when these- arc all broken tho littlo girls will sigh for dolls, and; the boys-will begin'to recruit regiments of lead soldiers.; tho next, and last, stage is "I the doll's-housc-cum-real-steam-engine epoch. In France this . well-ordered . scquenco; of pastimes is not adhered to. ' Age has littlo to do'with' tho selection .of- toys';'the purse of:tho parent is the only determining factor. Buthow some of tho little-mites I saw being, regaled "with'tho most complicated toy's, can,get.real'Wluo for their parents' money' .-passes.my understanding. i ' '■. For Youthful Scientists. . The two latest (and need I say most expensive?) of thesq toy's that are now displayed, in shop .windows consist of a complete wireless'telegraphy , apparatus and a miniature telephone' installation, -In both cases a complete set of tho" necessary chemicals is provided with'tho box, and, so far as I could gather from perusing the somewhat lengthy pamphlets of instructions to purchasers, a knowledge of elementary chemistry and electricity is a sine qua. non. Yet the wireless apparatus was the trifle chosen by a boy of about seven, who had been given carte-blanche'-to select his -"toy," and ono i wonders what; he will do with it when ho gets it home. 'Of course-tho nursery carpet is already doomed, and his: 'fond _ papa might as well resign himself to tho inevitable at once and go in for a course of electrical science.' Now,' when _ that boy reaches tho advanced ; ago of-,ten it is hardly likely that he will be content to revert to the normal toys'of; th'o-ten-year-old. Ho will be sighing for aeroplanes '• and motor-cars. ■ '• •. ,'The French boy does not paro for soldiers — perhaps ;ho-feels that he will have more than enough of them when ho grows up; anyway, in the shop windows there are very few of theui, and those that aro displayed are of inferior make and'prohibitive price.' France;, of.course, is the country of dollsdolls' of every size and description; wax dolls, china dolls, rag-bag dolls, and mechanical dolls,,.and,, liko;tho. women of Franco whom? they-aro I 'supposed to represent, they are all beautifully .clothed.-' '.. In a, little.girl-.who.takes any prido in -her doll's wardrobo (can .quite easily sponcl a, .elty clerk's*'salary-if-she> wishes -to. keep the' poupee trousseau up-to : date. Not onlymust'she have dresses and hats the exacti replicas of models to ■be seen ; about tho boulevards, but also-tho "lingerie" is a big - item.-and ono>. in which no nicely brought up French girl would wish to stint her play- - thing;) .■:'•■-,•■■ No French-toy-box is complete without-a varied assortment of- demoniac puzzles in which twisted wire' and ivory rings form the pieces do-'resistancq.-. and puzzles of cho pigs-in-clover, type am riot .unknown. The most, \amusing. of theso consists in rolling coloured glass:,marbles over a painted tin surface until, one has succeeded in supplying a jovial-looking gentleman with, a row of immaculate teeth, pink eyes, etc. _ The ; Home.'o f: the Mechanical Toy. Paris is tho homo of the mechanical toy as opposed to tho working model toy such as locomotives, steamboats, and other types of engines... • .'.-.- A -There .the . toys on , wheels worked by clockwork, such as trains, motors, omnibuses, etc., are, beautifully upholstered on the same lines as .'their realprototypes. But it is. perhaps in .the .zoological department that tho .'mechanical, toy finds its most congenial application. ' A the wellfilled, shelves of an up-tb-dato toyshop will disclose to the covetous eye of the littloono .an assortment of creatures which Noali himself.. might well envy,. they aro all so well behaved—the bear with a rabbit-skin coat and a mechanical hug, tho lizard who is at the. mercy of a, wagging tail, the elephant with a .pliable trunk, . and . hosts of other creatures great and. small. , -.The manufacturer is, luckily for himself, unhampered by any laws of proportion;'thus you will seo a hopping frog who is big enough to swallow at a gulp the distinguished-looking ostrich who, by means of a clockwork interior, walks sedately along tho counter. Thero is also tho military gentleman, whose rank, to judge from his uniform, is anything between a corporal and a field-marshal, who draws and sheathes a tiny sword with much dexterity, and during tho interval that tho sword is ■exposed to view he goes through a wonderful and awe-inspiring sword exercise of his own'invontion, whilo ho never moves a muscle of his face—he cannot, for his hcadpieco is of china. The more sedentary games have always been popular in France—all kinds and conditions of card games, draughts, dominoes, and bagatelle. One may even add roulettd and'-"petits chevaux," but "loto" is still a strong;favourite. - This partakes somewhat ' of tho naturo •of a lottery, and is much beloved by French children; who squabblo incessantly over the littlo'wooden counters with tho'numbers on them—it is so easy by turning,the counter round to make, the 0 look like a 6, or vico versa. But despite tho splendid advantages afforded to tho French v child •by tho largo variety of well-assorted- toys at his disposal, I do not think that as a rulo'French children are so fond of toys as our English children. The littlo French girl'will gladly desert even her newest and most beautiful doll to go out for a drive with "maman" in the Bois, while tho boy's chief delight in his nursery possessions consists in comparing thein favourably with thoso of his less lucky comrade. —A. H. TRAPMANN, in the "Daily Mail."

Tho very wido tucks still decorate tho hems of our gowns, but'they, aro on a much larger scale than they/were, and aro not used, in consequenco, in" very thick materials. For a thin gown a rather novel idea comes from Paris, a couplo of wide, flat tucks placed together, one pointing downwards, tho other up (if a tuck can he said to point), united in the centre by-a group of very small tucks -or a flat rucho. Graduated bands like this trim tho skirt up to.tho kneo. Relationships (says a melancholy English writer) aro.fast disappearing; that is, as onco outwardly marked by deference of manner and deferenco of address. Cousinships of all degrees can only bo. remotely suspected at tho present day; one hears little of aunts and uncles, and it is only in tho nursery that they.receive any titular respect from their nieces and nephows. Grandmammas and grandpapas havo a rooted objection to being veneTatod at the expenso of their, perpetual youth, while great-grand-parents _ enjoy the frivolities of their greatgrandcbiMran,