WOMEN IN PRINT.

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 132, 5 June 1923, Page 9

WOMEN IN PRINT.

. TO CORRESPONDENTS. All accounts of weddings or other functions intended for this column must be legibly written in ink. Marriages and engagements must be certified by the people concerned or by responsible relatives.

The■ weather did .its worst for the Royal Birthday, and-was not in mood to "honour the King," co that the holiday passed but dismally. In going through the streets a line or two from one of the modern comic operas came to mind, in allusion to "The Flying Dutchman," who arrived in London "on a Lenten Sunday, No wonder the Dutchman flew." Yesterday the prospect was dismal enough to make anyone fly to warmer climes, if such a thing were possible to the individual, and the mind followed those lucky ones who have left for Sydney within the last few months. Wellington people should find it quite within reason to "originate a special set of winter costumes of brilliant shades of crimson, pink, green, blue, and" so on, to'make a bright appearance in-the winter months —such would certainly be a relief to the eye. However, according to the "Pollyanna" theory one should look on the bright side, and remember the stones of the English/ climate during a. thoroughly dull season, and think that things might be mjich worse, but no one could contemplate the prospect of a small home and large number of children therein yesterday without wiehing heartily that holidays might be fine for the sakes of both -mothers arid children; v - ■

Mr. and Mrs. B. P. Lethbridge, of Turakina, are visiting Wellington.

Miss C. W. Christie is visiting Palmerston North.

Miss E. Hayes, Wellington terrace, has left for a' visit to Dunedin.

Mrs. Hay ward, Lower Hutt, is visiting Mrs. Vallance, at Kahumingi, Masterton. .

Mrs. A. Benjamin, who has been for some months in Wellington, lias returned to Weslport.

A'sale of work will be held at St. Mary's new Parish Hall to-morrow and Thursday." The sale will be opened by Mrs. Sprott, •at 3 p.m. A large and varied assortment of useful and valuable articles will be offered. The proceeds are in aid of the building fund.

The members, of the District W.C.T.U. are inviting young people over sin teen years to a social evening in the Constable street rooms to-morrow, 6th June, at 7.30. All members of the "V" Branch and friends will be welcome.

The committee of St. James's Club, Lower Hutt, arranged a most successful dance, held recently, many going from Wellington for the event. Some very pretty frocks were worn, there was & delicious home cupper, and the musio was delightful. :

The National Council of Women in Chrktchurch has passed remits for the approaching conference, recommending that all illegitimate children should become wards of the State, as is .the caee in South Australia,, thus ensuring that every child is' kept in. view. Another remit, is, in regard to the large number of thefts and burglaries committed. by young boys, and recommending that there should bo more strict supervision of literature,-dud that-the dissemination of ..pernicious literature .amo.ng thu youn? people should be prohibited.

.. Few, people..-,, imagine- that they, are continually quoting Milton, a poet who, however deeply appreciated by his readers, cannot be said to be exactly "popular" in the sense of being universally read. A writer in an exchange gives some of the quotations which aro most commonly, used from Milton. Here are a few of them:—"Hide their diminished heads; all is not lost; to'be weak is miserable; fallen on evil days; the' light fantastic toe,; the cricket on the hearth; A bevy of fair women; tears such as angels weep; all hell broke loose; where more is meant than meets the ear; fresh woods and pastures- new; a heaven on- earth $>■ temper justice with mercy ; dim religious light; to sport with Amaryllis in the'shade; as children gathering pebbles on the shore; not to know me argues yourself unknown; food of the mind." This brings to mind the story of the old lady who was, not a theatre patroniser all her life, but .was persuadod to go and" see "Hamlet." Her remark at the end oi the play was that she did not think much of it—just a lot of old quotations strung together that she had known all her life. Perliaps a new reader of .Milton might feel the same. At all events, it is interesting to find that the great people livo in the daily lives of the people, whether they will or no.

Some plain common-sense is dealt out by the Paris correspondent of an exchange, and is well worth consideration. It is as follows:—"I want a new gown— 1 want a new hat. .. . ."—Do thoughts like these run through your mind? Count the things .you have, instead. Have you health?—Youth?—Energy?—Ambition? You need a little more. The new gown and the new hat will be found easily enough, but a real energy, a will to achieve, that is .too valuable to be bought with money, though anything may spring from it. Is your hair straight? Don't 5 curl it. Let it remain the way Nature ■wanted it to be. Every day I see thousands of artificial frizzes on heads that -were meant for straight hair. Straight hair immaculately clean and tastefully arranged is Usually more attractive, fai; more attractive, than "made" waves. Faces meant for waved hair are usually accompanied by features meant for straight hair. Give your natural beauty a chance, before applying the curling iron. Cold creams, powders, lotions, and rouges are godsends to women, but they cannot do everything. But givo them the benefit of scrupulous cleanliness of skin, and perfect health, and what wonders they will work! There is nothing in the world that works more swiftly towards a clear, glowing, fine-textured complexion than a simple, wholesome diet, at least three pints of water, regular exercise, deep breathing, a daily bath, and eight hours of sleep every night in a well-ventilated room. Count your blessings, then. We don't make life what it is. We are like guests invited to a dinner. It would be ungrateful to criticise our fare.

The latest recruit to the ranks of house decorators and furnishers is Lady Henderson, widow of General Sir David Henderson and sister to Lady Islington. Both Lady Henderson and her sister have always been very, knowledgeable about house decoration. .They went in for colour' schemes long before the idea became the craze that it now is, and one is glad to think that Lady Henderson is applying herself seriously to the task of making other people's homes as beautiful as she has always managed to make her own, wherever it might be jt the moment. After the Peace Conference, which Sir David Henderson attended as representative of the Air Force, he was appointed head of the International Council of the Red Cross, with a beautiful residence at ..Geneva, but unfortunataly his health failed and he died soon *fUi'w*rd»

A pleasant social afternoon, with music and tea, took place at the annual meeting of the Victoria League of Wanganui. Mrs. Hay-Campbell read the annual report and balance-sheet, both being of a satisfactory nature. The election of officers.took place, the following being elected:—Mrs. Robertson (wife of Dr. Robertson), president; vice-presi-dents, Mrs. D'Arcy, Mrs. Pattle-izett, Mr. H. Wilson; Mrs. Hay-Campbell was again elected hon. secretary; hon. treasurer, Mr. G. Harden; council, Mesdames Howard Christie, Hales, Ziesler, Hine, W. C. Wall, Adams, Walker, Wotton, Hazzard, T. B. Williams, P. Jones, C. Jones, and Misses Harrison, Jardine, Morton-Jones, and Messrs. Packer, Cross, and Russeil Stevenson.

The Wellington Ladies' ,Christian Association extends hearty thanks to the Two Garment Society for some parcels of useful clothing for distribution.

"Waiting on the subject of children's libraries, an Australian woman says:— 1 often wonder why the pubiic does not show much more enthusiasm over adopting measures that are obviously good, and why people who have i-ane ideas are not encouraged. 'There is a vague, feelJng at work that things in general could be improved considerably, but beyond vague, general talk no real incentive to move is ever given, and willing workers have their enthusiasm damped so o/'cen that they end up by doing only a very small part of what they originally intended to do. Some very good movements make haste extremely slowly, ■• owing to an indefinable prejudice or else lack of interest shown by those who would benefit most and by those whose help would count so much. Those who do any work in suburban districts are quickly appalled by the enormous number of children who have nothing to do in their spare time, and have nowhere to go. They spend much of this time in the streets, and a favourite occupation is to race across "the road in front of a motor-car, thus providing situations for serious accidents. A certain amount of open-air life is, of course, necessary, and special playgrounds have been built, but many more will have to be provided before they will be able to cope with the need for them. The libraries,' filled with suitable books for* boys and girls of all ages, and ranges of interest, would work in side by side with the playgrounds, and many a boy and girl would be given a better chance for after-life.

An interesting event is mentioned in an English paper, the opening of the Magisterial Bench to women for the first time in India. In February of this year Mrs. H. E. Cousins, India's first woman Magistrate, took her seat on the Bench at Saridapet Honorary Magistrate's Court, Madras. There was quite a ceremonial on the occasion, and a number of visitors from all parts prosent. . It is also mentioned that the Delhi Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed a motion giving women the right to enter and practise in/the legal profession.

•The brief words which accompany the cable announcement; of the death of Lady Constance Lytton just touch on a tragedy. She was one of the leaders of the Women's Suffrage Party in England, and was imprisoned several times for taking part in processiotis and various other suffragette demonstrations* but finding that her social position made a difference to the treatment given her in prison, she disguised herself as a working woman, and received the treatment of forcible feeding, etc. ' After all her experiences, her health was seriously impaired, and' her death has occurred in early middle age, as ages of women are reckoned nowadays.

At the annual meeting of the Christchurch branch of the National Council of Women, the election of officers resulted as follows: —President. Miss Henderson, B.A. ; vice-presidents Mesdames Sheppard, Fraer, and Roberts; hon. secretary and treasurer, "Miss H. K. LovellSmith: assistant secretary, Miss I. .^M. Howlett; deleaates to tlia National Committee. Mrs. Fraer, Mrs. Roberts, and Miss Jamieson.

It might be supposed that universities are concerned only with the insides of the heads of students. But in Melbourne they keep an eye on the outsides of the 'Varsity girlfi, says a writer in an Australian exchange. It appears that they are not supposed to bob their hair. It is hard to understand why any girl with a reasonable quantity and quality of hair should bob it unless it is to save trouble in doing it. Still it has be-, come rather a- fashion in some circles, and better be dead than out "of fafihion. And there does not seem to be any ri-nson why a university should interfere in the matter.

One well-known London hostess recently introduced the novel idea of Delia Robbia decorations into her hall icom. Circular-wreaths of oranges and lemons interspersed with plenty of ioliago, myrtle especially, surrounded mirrors, pictures, and mantelpieces. Jive idea will be widely copied, a-s there Ir-.a recently been an increased revival in the cult .of genuine Delia Robbia T^&ques. One of these occupies an original position in the outside wall of a house near London, where the Bambino smiles down across a sunny garden.

Miss Prudence Vanbrugh, the c".uchter of Violet Vanbrugh. has made her stage debut. She is probably the only girl who has made her social debut at -jourt in the same year that she makes i.3i- stage debut. She.was presented in jiJ22 by her aunt, Lady Barnes. Mis 6 Prudence is unmistakably a Vanbrugh, and will probably become as famous as her mother and her Aunt Irene. It is common knowledge that Mrs. Asquith inspired E. F. Benson to write Dodo," so it wouldn't surprise me (says a London writer) to learn that Mrs. Asquith's stepdaughter, Lady Bonharn Carter, inspired A. S. M. Hutchinson to write "This Freedom." At any rate, Lady Bonham Carter has very decided opinions about mothers and careers. Sheis a brilliant speaker, and knows an M.P.'s job inside out, and yet for the sake of her young children she refused to stand for Parliament. I was struck by the statement of the Rev. F. O. Spur^ at the National Free Church Council, that young men were easier to "convert" than young v,-omen, says a writer in "The Sunday Pictorial. "■' One of the reasons for this is, I imagine, that it is easier for a young man than for a young woman to embark on a new career after his conversion and actively disseminate the doctrines which' he had enthusiastically embraced.