WOMAN’S WORLD

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 163, 28 March 1923, Page 2

WOMAN’S WORLD

MATTERS t .OF INTEREST FROM FAR .AND NEAR.

(By

Imogen.)

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL * Jliss Sheila Mackenzie (New Plymouth Hospital staff) is visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Mackenzie, at Karori. Mr. and Mrs. P. S. McLean, Napier, are in town for the Easter holidays, and are staying at the Royal Oak Hotel.

Miss Leslie 'Williams. Napier, is staying with her sister, Mrs. Hugh Rochfort, at Khaudallgh. ,

Mrs. S. Saunders has returned from a visit to Dunedin.

Mr. .and Mrs. G. Brown and Mfts Brown, of Brisbane, and Mr. H. R. Lysaght. and his niece. Mrs. Parbury, were passengers for Sydney by the Ulimaroa from Auckland, after having spent six weeks in the Dominion.

Miss Jean Mackenzie will leave shortly for New Plymouth.

The engagement is announced of Miss Oiroa Batley, of Moaivhango, to Mr.. AV. H. Glimmer, of Auckland.

Mrs. -Easson is visiting Auckland and leaves shortly for a visit to Sydney.

That the child’s conception of God is not in the least that which the par. ent would instil is known to all who have studied children, and one ha? heard scores of stories bearing upon the point. Here is one that as far as is known has never been published A mother hearing her little boy say his prayers was. surprised by “And oh! God! Bless Thv dear little pig” “Pig!” said the mother, “what do yoiYmoan? What pig?” “Me, mummie.l’ said the boy, “Use tired of being a little lamb, so I thought I would bo a pig to-night. And I’m going to bo a lion to-morrow.”

The first daily newspaper published in Jerusalem in’ English is the enterprise of an. American woman, Mrs. Gatling, who is both proprietor nnef editor." Her newspaper makes no pretence at being a feminist organ; it is an independent daily, with an Arabic and Hebrew edition as well. All the printing presses for this venture wore brought- over spooiallv from America. and the title, of the journal is “New Jerusalem.” Mrs, Gatling was formerly an American suffrage worker, and regards the vote as the necessary political machinery for spiritual progress.

A well-known art-ist recently made some interesting comments on _ the question of standardisation. Tn. ilhtefrat’on ho said: “Bobbed hair ‘is. a splendid tle'ng if it suits the particular face. It may enhance the beauty of some women, and accentuate the nlainooss of another. What, women Imre Vo mass production. They s’louhl lohye that to Mr, Henry Ford. Women are —or -should be—a different, story. 'Men look for the charm of v.nr’ety. whereas women too frequently insist- on standardisattep. The more individual women appearance, and in their personalities, the greater the attraction.”

j\mo"<rst, the nassenixerß who returned hv the Mannkn yesterday from Sydnev was Mrs.. I. I. Bourke, of Belmont Road. Lower Hutt. Mrs. Bourke visi J e-I +hc principal towns of Victoria end Tasmania, as well as New South Wales.

Miss 'Louise Alack, tho authoress, who has been lecturing in New Zealand for tho last couple of years under the education boards, has just achieved a remarkable feat. All her manuscript of a book she had just finished was destroyed by fire in Auckland over a year ago-. Now she has written the book all over again, and after a year’s persistent work she has completed her task, a hook of over 100.000 words dealino- with life in New Vesjland and Furone entitled “Let the Rest of the World Go By.”

The cost of the Duke of York s wedding will not bo defrayed out of the public funds: The only Royal weddings for which the Treasury is called upon to pay are those of the Sovereign, the Heir 'Apparent, and the Princess Royal (states a London correspondent). In all other cases the expense is borne jointly by the parent® of the bride and bridegroom. Even in connection with the three exceptions made, the full cost has - not always been charged to the State. The Bowes-Lyon family is imt a wealthy one, even as great families go in these days. Lord Strathmore has four sons and three daughters, and a great ’deal of the Bowes’ wealth passed to another branch of the family. The Duke’s income comes from the King. There has been much speculation as to the rank and order of precedence which will be conferred on Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon by her marriage, and if is now understood that she will be made a Royal Highness on this ocen-i sion. Before the proclamation on July 17 1917, the Sovereign’s sons', daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters (being issue of sons), brothers, sisters, and uncles and aunts on the father .« side were all styled “Royal Highne.te,’ as also were the children of the eldest son of any Prince of Wales, while grandchildren, being issues of daughters were usually granted by Royal Warrant the title of “Highness.” But certain restrictions were made at that date ' the-'effect of which'was to make -the titles -of Prince and Princess to be confined to children of. any-Sover-eign? and to the children of the sons oYa’ny Sovereign.

A meeting of the Wellington Girls’ College Preparatory School was held in 'St Andrew’s schoolroom yesterday afternoon. Mr. Holmes was in the chair, and there were also present Miss McLean, Mrs. Darling, Mrs. Ward (principal of the school), Mr. Mitchell, and Jffie Rev. Robertson Orr. Tho principal’s (Mrs. Ward) report was read to the-meeting and was considered very satisfactory. The school was progressing in every way and the roll now stood at 49 pupils. It was decided that) Miss Morrison’s offer to conduct a Montessori class be accepted, provided that a sufficient number of pupils camo forward. Miss Morrison holds a Montessori diplomaand trained under Dr. Montessori in London. Matters in connection with Miss Hoby’s special class in music were discussed, and various details of tho school constitution were dealt with at some length by the committee.

Mrs. Palmer (Wellington) is visiting Mrs. W. Kidston (Christchurch).

Mrs. George Holford and her two children (Christchurch) are visiting Mrs. McKuight (Palmerston North).

Miss Gwitha Shand has been visiting friends in Auckland and returns this week to Christchurch.

Mr and Mrs. Herbert E. Gutterson. of Boston, Mass., U.S.A., have been, touring the Sautli Island, and intend leaving to spend Easter in Wellington.

Miss Bimente, of King George A Hospital, Rotorua, is visiting AAellmgton.

The marriage took place in St. John’s Church, Latimer Square, Christchurch, of Miss Eveline Buttle, seventh daughter of Mrs. Buttle, of Christchurch, and Mr. John Buttle, of Enniscorthy, Ireland, to Mr. Abraham John Finnegan, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan, of Cork, Ireland. ’The Rev. Nelson AVright officiated. Two nieces of the bride, Misses Elin, and ,Marjorie Armstrong, attended as bridesmaids, and Mr. H. J. Buttle was best' mail.

Petals as a form of trimming are very popular just now with designers, writes Isabel Ramsay. Paris correspondent of the “Sydney Sunday Tinies.” These may be made of the same material as the dress or coat they are intended to trim, or else they made be made of different material, and, if necessary, of a different colour. Frequently, petals are rendered still more fanciful and decorative by being studded with sparkling beads. The whole of a bodice will be trimmed with petals and worn with a plain skirt. Another idea is to add a couple of panels covered with petals and ally this l to a perfectly plain bodice. Extra large petals can even form tho entire skirt.

The marriage took place at Knox Church, Masterton, last week of Miss Ruby Burling, daughter of Mrs. A. A. Burling, of Masterton, to Mr. Frederick Collis, son of Mr. Ernest Collis, of Te Ore. The Rev. J. Davie officiated. The Misses Esther and Ethel Collis were bridesmaids', and little Vera Collis was flower girl. Mr. F. L. Cross was best man, and Mr. George Henson groomsman.

The New Zealand Croquet Council will open the North Island championship tournament at the Mannwatii Chib’s lawns, Palmerston North, on Saturday. ,

A wedding of much interest took place at the Church of the Nativity, Blenheim, on Alarch 23, 'tho Vt?n Archdeacon York officiating, when Air. Geoffrey Adrian Revell, only son of Air. and Airs. T. A. Revell of Hawkshaw Street, Blenheim, was married to Aliss Margaret Helen de Castro, youngest (uuigliter of Air. and Airs. W. AV. de -Castro, of Al'onro Street. ' Alany •friends of. tho bride and bridegroom wore at the church porch waiting the arrival of the bride. She wore ivory souplc satin over old ivory lace, a narrow train was held in place; and finished with sprays of orange blossom. The v»il was worn cap-fashion—sprays of orange blossom forming a circlet wreath, making a charming ■ finish. Sho carried a bouquet of pink rosebuds; white flowers, and maidenhair fern. The chief bridesmaid was Aliss Dorothy Revell, sister of the bridegroom, who wqre soft apricot satin with girdle, with rosettes of brown, and turquoise blue georgette. Her veil was of old ivory tulle, finished with a circlet wreath of small gold leaves. - Her bouquet was of gold chrysanthemums and autumn leaves. The two flowers girls 4 Valarie Revell (sister of the bridegroom), and Jean Grace, eldest daughter of Air. Al. Grace, wore frocks of spotted ivory net over cream silk. Girdles were formed of silver and turquoise blue velvet, and their tulle veils were caught and held in place with a wreath of blue and silver rosebuds. / They carried baskets of blue, bronze, and gold flowers. Mr. Keith de Castro (Invercargill) was best man. A reception was afterwards held at Air. and Airs, de Castro’s residence, in Alonro Street. Airs. H. Deucher (Dunedin), aunt of tho bride, and Airs. Black (Scatoun), were among the guests. Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Revell left for the Polorus Sounds, where part of their honeymoon is to be spent. Their future home will be in Greymouth.

Preaching in London upon modern extravagance in food and clothing. Dean Ingo expressed the opinion that the ancient Greeks and Romans were, on the whole, very sensible and moderate in their dress. It was simpler and more becoming than ours. They must have saved nearly half an hour a day or more than a year of their lives by having no buttons. But in the Middle Ages, and down to the last century, luxury in dress, among men as much as among women, was rampant. In the reign of James I, the Duke of Buckingham’, at the Court of. France, wore in his costume such quantities of diamonds that they dropped from him as he walked, and the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting scrambled for them on the floor. In the sixteenth century a nobleman sometimes spent a thousand pounds on a suit o£ clothes. It was only in the last hundred years that the male of Homo Europacus had been content with tho dingy garments in which he now appeared, and which were nearly the same for all classes. But the women had not reformed. Some years before the war a newspaper made inquiries of West End milliners and jewellers as to tho average sum which a millionaire’s wife spends on dress. Tho bill worked out at something like .-£4OOO for dress and twice as much for jewellery. The French Court under Napolen 111 was fearfully extravagant. Invitations to Compiegne and Fontainbleu were commonly for eight days ; a lady was expected to change her dress three or four times a. day, and never to wear tho same dress twice. In 1875, under tho Republic, 75 tons of false hair, imported from the East, paid duty at Marseilles alone. Not to pry any further into the ladies’ secrets let us* pass on to another article of extravagance in which the male sex are by far tho worst offenders—gluttony in eating and drinking. We have not’kept up the custom of the ancient Romans, who used to take an emetic in tho middle of a banquet, or of the savages who oil their skins to make them more elastic. But what are wo to say of tho American plutocrat who gave a dinner to a hundred guests at fifty pounds a head? To the subjects of an effete men arc by that sounds undemocratic.

Neurasthenia, or the Scientific Housewife.

Scientific house - management or kitchen neurasthenia—which will you have? "

“I do not know of any occupation that is attended with so, much illhealth and so much disability as the occupation of the mother of a familyKitchen neurasthenia has just as much effect in retarding the progress of the nation as any other, occupational disease,” said Dr. Cumnston. Federal Di-rector-General of Health, at the Public Health Association Conference. In hundreds of thousands of homes women are conscientiously doing their work monotonously, mechanically, wasteful of energy and time, who if they could once realise their work as a business, would train themselves to do it with the maximum of efficiencv and the minimum of fatio-ue (states “F.G.” in the “Sydney Aforning Herald”). They go through their work day after day in the same old way, doing one thing and thinking about the next task or something quite unconnected with their work —the very surest way of growing tired. The domestic woman is always doing two things at once, possibly three Until women are svstematicallv trained for the business of the mother of a family they will find it one of the hardest things in the world to do, and think of one tiling at a time. It can be done. AVith the spectre of neurasthenia and the lunatic asylum it has to bo done. Tliis question -of motion saving is an important one in the business of home-making. How many of us ever sit down and think what an unnecessarv number of steps and motions she might save in a day’s work, and yet do it more efficiently?

AVe could save ourselves an immense amount of fatigue if wo made ourselves do oftr work wtih the least number of steps and the fewest movements, never going -over the same ground twice if wo'can "ossiblv avoid it. Scientific management makes an art of all work. Having disciplined ourselves to the carrying out of a rigid plan of our day’s work, and the scientific use of our tools, it is as important to remember that “to break step” occasionally is quite as, necessary to “keeping fit” as the scientific use of the muscles. AVomen sicken by an overconscientious sense of duty. If something pleasant turns un let the house for an occasional once take care of itself. Let the man rmt his dinner out, and the children fend for themselves. Train them to think that such little breaks in the even tenor of the household way is your just right, and that it is: their duty to help you to get it, even if they have to be uncomfortable. Having shaped the domestic course into a business, ’t to bo remembered that a business gives payment for services rendered. The general failure to remember this nonit is one of the causes of the. kitchen neurasthenia which is helping to fill our mental hospitals. As one writer recently put it, “Alan is a parasite, living on services for which he makes no equivalent return.” The hardest work is sweetened by th" knowledge that it. is bringing in a definite return that is all one’s own to do as one likes', with. Tho woman who works year in and year out without that reward is liable te the hopelessness that results in the kitchen neurasthenia.