WOMAN IN PRINT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 147, 18 December 1913, Page 9

WOMAN IN PRINT.

The world is satisfied with words— few appreciate the things beneath.— Paßcal.

Mies Fraser accompanies the Hon. W. Fraser to Auckland on Monday. Later on they leave for the West Coast for the jubilee celebrations. Mrs. R. L. Abraham, of Palmerston North, is visiting Wellington. A wedding wa-s solemnised at Otaki yesterday, when Mr. Charle« Knight, third son of Mr. J. J. Knight,, of England, was married to Miss Enid Rogers, also of England. The Bey. G. Petrie (Anglican clergyman) performed the ceremony. Mrs. R. Maunsell, of Tenui. and Mrs. Nelson, of Alfredton, have been visiting Wellington. Miss Gretchen Kennedy, daughter of the late Mr. Frank Kennedy, and of Mrs. Kennedy, is engaged to Mr. Scott, of Glasgow. Mrs. and Miss Kennedy returned from England in the Ruahine, and are now in Gisborne. Mrs. Buddie and Miss Una Buddlft are guests ot Mis. Harry Crawford. They leave for England in March. Mrs. Hern, of Palmerston North, is staying at the Grand Hotel. Miss Coull, who has been visiting Rotorua, has returned, and is staying at the Windsor. At the same hotel are Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Campbell (Hastings), Mr. and Mrs. Balmer, Miss Campbell (Dunedin), Mrs. Glendining (Napier), Mrs. Taggart (Wanganui), and her sister, ajid Miss Laurenßon. Mrs. and Miss Tullock (Pahiatua), Miss Harban (England), Miss Reston (Masterton), Mr. and Mrs. Kilpatvick (Chicago), and Miss Greig (Napier) are at the Empire Hotel. Mrs. Mandel and Miss Mandel, who arrived aft Auckland from England, via Sydney, yesterday, are expected in Wellington to-morrow. Mr. and Mrs. Hare, who have been at the Occidental, returned yesterday to the Wairarapa. Mr. and Mrs. Broadhurst-Hill, of England, are at tho Hotel Cecil. Mr. and Mrs. Ledingham, of Melbourne, are in Auckland. Miss May Fowlds will accompany her father, the Hon. G. Fowlds, to England next month. The Hon. R. H. Rhodes and Mrs. Rhodes left on Tuesday for Christchurch. " Mrs. S. Brown and her son, Mr. Stanley Brown, are due back from their trip to the_ Old Country by the Manuka, which is due at Auckland from Sydney to-morrow. Mrs. Routh gave a tea party yesterday afternoon at Mies Tendall's Rooms to her senior music pupils and ex-pupils. Pale pink sweet peas decorated the tables. Much amusement was afforded by two competitions. Routh, at the' close of the party, received a hearty vote of thanks for her hospitality and I the interest she has alway* taken in her pupils. v j The newest style in "ethical weddings" wns witnessed at Chicago recently, when Miss Gertrude Wakeneld Hassler and Mr. Frederick A. Carpenter, a rich manufacturer, instead of exchanging religious' vows at the altar, signed and exchanged contracts. - The bride- first signed and handed to tho bridegroom the following : "I, Gertrude Wakefield Heesler, do by the signing of this contract give myself to Fredrick A. Carpenter, to be his lawful wife, to have, to hold, and to love. I promise to be faithful co long as he prove* true, and I will strive to fill with a vast measure of contentment each day our lives are thus joined." In exchange for this the bride received the following :—"I,: — "I, Frederick A. Carpenter, by this contract take as lawful wife Gertrude W. Hassler, and solemnly promise to agree to be faithful in words, thoughts, and deeds, to protect, love, and devote my life to her, to bring her the happiness and contentment she so well deserves." After the contracts had been read, Miss Haesler's mother placed her daughter's hands in Mr". Carpenter's and said, "May all the good and truth in the universe combine to keep your hearts bright."One of Wisconsin's new iftws passed by the last Legislature, commonly known as the " gossip law." was first applied (says the Telegraph s New York correspondent) when a. warrant was issued for the arrest of Mr. Peter Kesoski, of Niagara. The law provides that gossip shall be subject to legal penalties under the same conditions as slander, though with milder punishment, the amount of malice in the conversation being the distinguishing point between slander and gossip. The arrest follows the charge that Kesoski called Rosa Burney, of Niagara, an unsavoury name in conversation with friend 3in a bar-room. A new mode has lately been started in- Paris for decorating the inside of closed motor-cars with tiny but exquisite oil-paintings, which, mounted in suitable frames, are hung round the inside of the car (writes a Paris correspondent) A well-known Paris painter states that lie has had within the last few weeks a largo number of orders for little can. vases of tjiis kind. There is, in fact, a marked tendency in Paris at present to evolve what may be called the drawing room car. A walk in the Bois any 'fine afternoon is enough to show one a dozen cars, many of them painted in such unusual shades as heliotrope or lilac, of which tho interior has been fitted to resemble as much as possible a tiny boudoir. This fashion, which began with one or two well-known actresses, is spreading through society. The windows of the cars are draped with little silk curtains and dainty lace blind*. Instead of the ordinary leather seats there are gilded arm chairs of silk tapestry and brackets for scent bottles, dainty powder boxes, and lip pencils. There are inlaid writing tables that draw out from the wall. Flower baskets are everywhere and a tiny bookcase holds a miniature set of leather-bound volumes of light novels to beguile odd moments of waiting outside shops. There are fool stools to match the chair and a hassock and cushions for tho pet Pekingese of the car's mistress. Oil paintings are only the latest fad for helping to chahge the Parisian's automobile from a motor-car into a boudoir on wheels. A Melbourne girl, who for some time has lived in New York, writes to a Melbourne paper as follows : "By the time this reaches you preparations for Christmas will be set out on every side. The same will be in evidence here, but under such different conditions : snow, sleet, and dark days, instead of hot weather and sunshine. However, what 1 want to tell you of is tho S.P.U.G. Theso letters stand for ' The Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving,' and the members are called ' Spugs,' and each wears an enamelled button, with the word ' Spug ' surrounded by a holly wreath. The idea of the society is not to abolish the %entiment of Christmas, which finds its outlet in present-giving, but to systematise generosity. For ex-

ample, in mos' of the places of business, both large and small, in New York, there is a custom of making collective presents by the employees to the heads of departments, and the ' hands ' are asked how much they will contribute towards these Christmas gifts. The tax is bo general that no one dares to refuse. Then, again, there exists what is called the exchange system, among the employees, who give to a large extent presents to one another. While I am not sure whether Melbourne shop assistant* are taxed in this way, still I do know that hundreds of people give presents simply because they were recipients themselves the years before, and so thsy wearily seek to buy gifts of equal value, for fear of being stingy. It is against this useless waste that the ' Spugs ' are campaigning. They advocate giving, and generous giving, but they say, ' Don't make a business of it ; make it an art.' At present there are signs of the deterioration of Christmas, because the pendulum of present-giving has swung to the other extreme, and the season has become a burden to thousands of wage-earning people. I went to a, meeting of the society last week, and no fewer than 800 people were enrolled as ' Spugs,' and, as such, ,they will hold themselves free from the everlasting demand on their pur«es."