WOMAN’S WORLD

Evening Star, Issue 19127, 19 December 1925, Page 20

WOMAN’S WORLD

[By DIANA.]

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “ M.P.”—The directions for making pot-pourri will bo given next Saturday, SOCIAL AND PERSONAL. Mrs Falla has come for the holidays, and will stay with her mother (Mrs Stock). Mr and Mrs Eastgate and Mrs Bullough have left town lor a short holiday. Mrs Davison, of England, is the guest of Mrs Sargood.

Scotland; while the primitive large wheel, still found quite frequently in Ireland and Wales, needs only tho hands, the disadvantage being its slowness. The wool is now ready for the actual weaving, and it is here that the artist has full scope in making designs and color schemes. The hand loom that Mias Spencer uses is a Swedish model, which can quite well be copied out here. In comparison with other hand work, spinning and weaving are quick, and the wools, cottons, and silks made up last infinitely longer than the machinemade article. are usually every afternoon and evening. CHRISTMAS RECIPES. , CHRISTMAS CAKE. One pound butter, ono and a-ha!f non mis flour, ball' a pound brawn sugar, half a pound white sugar, three pounds mixed fruit and almonds, two tablespoons thick cream, two tablespoons golden syrup, two teaspoons vinegar, one teaspoon baking soda, ten eggs. Cream tho butter and sugar, and add the eggs, two at a time. Then add the cream and syrup, then flour and fruit. Now dissolve the soda in the vinegar and stir this well in tho other mixture. Gook for about five hours in a steady oven. CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING ..SAUCES. (a) Put ono small wineglass of rum or brandy, two eggs, l\ox lino sugar, and about one-half largo cup of water m a small saucepan. Stand this pan in another one of boiling water, and stir the ('(intents briskly till the sauce is thick and frothy. Do not let the sauce, boil. (b) Mix to a smooth paste one-quar-ter pint of rail);, one teaspoon of arrowroot or cornflour, add one teaspoonfu! of sugar, and cool; till it thickens. Put it aside to cool slightly, then mix in gently tho yolk of one egg, which lias been beaten in one dessertspoon of brandy. Stir well, and servo hot. CHRISTMAS PUDDING (PLAIN). Wanted; ’,lb flour, -jib breadcrumbs, one teaspoon baking powder, lb chopped nr shredded suet, fib each of sultanas and stoned raisins, .jib each of minced candied pool ami sugar, one lemon rind and juice, two eggs, and milk to mix. Method: Mix together the dry ingredients, add tho beaten eggs, and enough milk to make a fairly moist mixture. Boil in greased basins or floured cloths for about four hours. CHRISTMAS PUDDING (RICH). fllb raisins, 3(lh currants, 21b sultanas, Rb moist sugar, dll) breadcrumbs, 41b chopped suet., thirty eggs, four lemon rinds grated, 2oz ground nutmeg, 2oz ground cinnamon, to/, pounded butter almonds, ono largo cup of brandy. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs till light and (hick, then mix them in with tho dry ingredients. Add the brandy, and give a final good mixing. Fill buttered Basins with the mixture, or roll the. size wanted in floured cloths. Boil twelve hours, in plenty of water (the washhouse coop, r is generally tho most convenient for such a large quantity). When cooked this will keep for at lead, a year, and .many people prefer to me last, year’s puddings, as these will have a more mature flavor. COCOANUT KISSES.

Mir Hainsworth would feel amply repaid for his permission to take a party ot hospital children through the Exhibition grounds it ho saw their unbounded delight in everything. The poor mites were not able to walk about, but from the motors they made good use of their eyes, and tongues wagged long and furiously for many an hour alter. The committee of the Otago Women’s Club has moved wisely and well with regard to the use of the room at the Exhibition. Ino longer is husband, brother, or friend to be rigidly excluded. On Fridays and Saturdays, at any time of day, the mere male—properly escorted, of course—will bo able to rejoice and recoup in a largo airy room, with plenty of armchairs and the possibility of a refreshing cup of tea. Further welcome news is that members who have paid their 10s (id for the use of the room can in future, bring two friends, who may bo local residents, but not dub members. It is thus hoped to increase the membership of the room am! so help to defray some of the heavy expenses that have been incurred for the comfort of the members. The Otago Women's Club room at the Exhibition has just about transformed itself. Many members havo been apprehensive of the heat there, but now they may give their fears a decent burial, for two large windows capable of opening and shutting, and therefore suitable for our unstable climate., are now lltled into the walls, so that ono can have a good view of Mr Tannock’s gardens and watch the thronging crowds in peace. Not only that, but ceiling alterations make for oven more ventilation, so that what with the amended regulations for its use and its general comfort and beauty, this room should prove most popular. WOMEN AT THE EXHIBITION: f 3) THE SPINSTER. I give this title because it is a good and true old English word, indicating what at ono time was the staple industry of women all over the world, nigh born and low born. A spinster was simply a noman who worked with spindle and distaff preparing the materials to bo made into garments for the family or articles for household use; the suggestion of non-marriago crept into the term much later.

For untold ages this occupation—and with it weaving, loo—has been held supremely womanly; so much so, indeed, Unit we still uso the expression “the distaff side of the family,” though distaffs are nowadays few and far between. .Is it not written in Proverbs, chapter xxxi.; “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price i.s above rubies. . . . She seeketh wool and llax, and 'worketh willingly with her hands. . . . She lajeth her bands to the spindle, and her hands hold tho distaff. . . . She innketh herself coverings of tapestry, her clothing in silk and purp'e. . . . She raakelh fine linen and s edict h it and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. . . The Greeks, too. held spinning and weaving in groat estimation. Penelope. the typo cf womanly virtue, spent muen of her time this way while waiting for the return of Ulysses; and the Three Fates were women spinning the web of life. To come nearer home, wo can trace tho intimacy of spinning and weaving in British national life by some of the proper names that exist, such as “ Webster ” and “ Webb ; ” “ Burling ” (a process used in finishing a piece of cloth), “ Walker ” (from waulking or treading cloth daring washing). Besides this we still retain expressions in daily use. For instance, “on tenterhooks ” comes from tho small hooks used to keep ;ho cloth stretched out, and “spinning a yarn,” which explains itself, as well as the earlier ono mentioned. Within tho last few years there has boon a revival in England of all peasant crafts, and included is spinning and weaving. Miss Spence (in the women’s section) in 1919 was in London, and took the opportunity of learning the whole process from beginning to end at tho Peasant Arts Guild, and on her return to Hawke’s Bay she established herself as an artist-craftsman, so (hat now she has quite a largo connection. But perhaps of more utilitarian merit is her work of starting women’s institutes, of which there are seven idready in the district. Exhibits are frequently scat to and much appreciated by the A. and P. show’s in Hawke’s Bay.

.lib of sugar, 4 ox of desiccated cocoanut, three-quarters of a gill of water, raspberry essence, vanilla, cochineal. Put tbo sugar and water into a pan by the fire, and lot the sugar slowly dissolve. Cover the pan and bring the syrup quickly to boiling point; then uncover it, and boil until when some of tho syrup is dropped iiiloAcold water, left for a tew seconds, and then rolled between the thumb and finger, it. forms hi ball like putty. Take tho pan off the fire, and pour half off into a basin, and color it prettily with cochineal and flavor with raspberry essence. Leave the oilier half white and flavor it with vanilla. Stir tho two basins briskly until the syrup begins to look cloudy, when add half Lite cocoa nut to each basin. Mix well, and as it begins in set make it into small, rough heaps with a fork, and put it on clean, dry tins or plates, and leave until cold. ALMOND HARDBAKE. 11b of Dcmevara sugar, Aox oMunter, 6oz of sweet almonds, one gill of water, a small pinch of cream of tartar. Shell tho almonds, put them on a baking-tin, and bake them in a mode-rately-hob oven until they become a light fawn color. Melt the butter in a clean steel pan, add the sugar and water, and let the pan stand by the side of the fire until the sugar is dissolved. Add tho cream

11 And do yon really do the dyeing nnt here for your yarns?" I asked. “ Yes," replied Miss Spence. “ And f am still anxious to find more native plants that will give distinctive shades. Meanwhile I find that beard lichen that grows on trees and old posts gives a beautiful auburn color, while other lichens produce fawns and wine shades. The bark of many plants of the coprosma group (to which the madder belongs, giving that splendid madder rod) supply me with yellows, scarlets, and rose and brown shades. Flax gives black and warm farm, and the bark of certain bush trees, such as rinm and matai, supply more wine shades. 1 shall be very glad if you can let me know of other plants that may help mo in this important branch of clothmaking.” Dyeing is a fairly long process, but full of interest, specially in the experimental stage, when one can hardly know what to expect. The plant is first boiled to extract the color. The raw wool is then scoured, and after that it is boiled with a mordant, such as alum, to make it take the dye. Finally it is put in the dye vat and boiled till it assumes the desired color. Now comes ttie carding, for the wool is still in a tangled mass. The wool is teased with wire brushes until the fibres are made straight and even. forming into “ rolags,” or small rolls, which are then spun into the thread. There are throe methods of spinning-—all of which Miss Spencer shows in her pretty little niche in the women’s section. The first, oldest and slowest, is by the spindle, which can bo used with the distaff (the part that carries the supply of wool). There are two models of this distaff—the Greek one with a loop at the end, and the one used in Western Europe; and here it may be of interest to mention the two pictures in the Exhibition Art Gallery, ‘ A Woman of Greece ’ (C. 30), and ‘La Fileuse’ (1.21), which show the different distaffs. The usual method now adopted is the spjnning wheel, of which the small spinning jenny, worked by feet and bands, is the one commonly used inEnglancl .and

Exports of social functions will be welcomed for this column. “Diana” will also answer ah reasonable questions relating to tbo home, cookery, domestic science, and any topic of interest to her sex. But each letter or report must bear the writer’s name and address as a guarantee of genuineness, and questions ( that do not permit of a. public reply cannot bo ©nsroorctL Questions should be concisely put &nd tho writer s nom dc plume dearly written.

of tartar and boil the syrup, without a lid on the pan, until when a little of it is dropped into cold water it forms a soft ball like putty when it is taken out of the water and rolled between the thumb and finger. Add the almonds, and boil again until when some is dropped into cold water, left for a minute, and bitten it is found to be hard and brittle—not in the least sticky. When this point is reached, pour the hardbake into a tin brushed over very slightly with salad oil. Leave it until cold, when it should bo cracked into convenient-sized bits. Any other nuts can be used instead of almonds. CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR MEM, To find something useful and yet novel that will appeal to the man of to-day is a problem uppermost in many minds at the moment, for to the careful donor the question of Christmas gifts is a perplexing one. A good rule is to consider a man’s taste and inclinations and then choose something under the heading of sport or apparel that will appeal, states a writer in an, exchange. Leather goods and furnishings suitable for the male dressing table, articles that take up little spaco, such as cloth and hat brushes, coat hangers, letter and cigarette cases, are always welcomed. A leather novelty which is certain to be appreciated by the regular weekender is a small flat leather case containing a fino linen towel and compartments ”for soap, powder, face cloth, and a comb, as well as a mirror and a very small fiat brush.

Light, thinly-folding dressing gowns made from foulard, crepe do chine, or the more inexpensive cot,ion materials aro always safe, while golf stockings and perhaps a jumper to match come under the heading of more elaborate gifts. Knitted wear is playing such an important part in male attire that any

article, no matter what form it taxes, is sure of appreciation. The all-important question, however, is what are you going to give “ him, the man you love for the moment or will love for ever? They prefer something to use, and nearly all men seem, to have a liking for leather. The usual man loves his own aneroid barometer and likes to see what the weather is going to bo, and takes a curious pride in “setting” it every morning. A. letter case is a good idea, and if_ he already has one ii will he worn out. Men go on using these things for ever unless you replace them. FATEFUL SEVENTH YEAR, There are some who think that the first year is the most difficult in married life, for then it is that each partner discovers the other’s little shortcomings and habits, trilling but irritating, while intimacy dissipates virtues that were so magnified during courtship. But the trials of the first year arc all in a minor key and dissolve like April showers in the sunshine of unselfishness and good temper. _ The really fateful period, so the divoice cases prove, is somewhere about the seventh year. It is then that the seeds of dissolution, often dormant for years, usually find receptive ground. Why should tins period be so critical ? The source of the trouble is usually financial, however indirect the effect may seem. When bills come in at the door love flics out of the wdndow. The income which at first seemed so ample for two seems dismally inadequate seven years later to meet the claims of a growing family. Doctors, dentists, and repairs all have to ho reckoned with—in fact, there are bigger bills all round.

And extra expenses, especially illness, upset the average household budfet, writes Lady Ford, in the ‘ Daily fail.’ Economies, potty and tiresome, must bo made. If the effort is made by both, well and good, if not, trouble begins. Derhaps he saves to meet the gas account, while she carelessly fritters away that sum on unwanted trifles. Or lie squanders on w'ine and tobacco what she saves on the laundry account.

He urges economy, but curses cold supper and jibs at second-class travel

and seaside lodgings with the kids. What a rotten contrast to his smart service flat of seven years ago! She is bored with the daily round of everlasting housekeeping. What a horrid grind compared to life before she married! At times such comparisons are dangerous, especially if neglect and want of sympathy force them into personal and perchance too responsive channels. Bad management, which makes any income inadequate, is largely responsible for domestic friction. Unnecessary expenses, especially perpetual little ones, are most trying to purse and patience. Motors, theatres, entertaining, and smart suppers must be the exception. After seven years the romance of marriage is apt to fade before the stern reality of financial facts. Refusal to face these facts and cut according to the cloth means daily grumbling, recriminations, and loss of sympathy, and ultimately the parting of Iho ways. THE HASTINGS WEDDING. Considerable sensation (writes onr London correspondent, November 5) has been caused by an unusual sequel to last week’s surprise London wedding of Viscount Hastings, the Earl of Huntingdon’s twonty-fonr-year-old heir, to Miss Casati, a handsome lady, said to bo the daughter of an Italian count. The happy couple sailed next day for Australia, but they will be followed by an agony advertisement stating that the wedding was without the bridegroom’s parental “knowledge or approval.” The carl is now fifty-seven years old, the fourteenth of a line that claims Plantagenot' blood. The second earl married a daughter of Edward IV.’s brother, and the present carl retains Plantagenot as one of his Christian names. In Queen Elizabeth’s time one fair Hastings lady nearly became Empress of Russia. The carl is an ex-colonel of tho Lcinstcrs, a M.P.H., and married the daughter of a former Portsmouth M.P.

WOMAN'S WORLD IN LONDON ♦ THE ART OF THE MANNEQUIN [Written by Cynthia, for the ‘ Evening Star.’] I may tell you with profit something of the art of the mannequin. This calling has come to be a daily demand, so much so that there are now schools for mannequins to learn the proper way to walk and the best way of showing off tho models. I was at a well-known modiste’s the other day at a parade, and I came to tho conclusion the best were those who possessed personality. The gowns seemed to stand out when they wore thorn, as being most desirable, yet there were others wearing equally charming clothes but giving no effect. It is not easy to find girls with such an individuality, I know; but I think tho successful mannequin seems to have it, in some subtle way or other. Then the groy-hairod mannequin has arrived, and one who can set off matrons’ clothes (more than half a shop*s customers are not debutantes or gay young things with frocks up to their knees). 1 am glad, therefore, to note that dressmakers are making a point of middle-aged requirements, and I have seen some very charming mannequins with white hair—very smart, teo, setting off tho gowns suitable to tho age of hundreds of women, who seem to be forgotten for tho amazing requirements of youth. This is a good move, and likely to ho adopted by all the leading London modistes. ABOUT LORD KITCHENER. The countless admirers of tho late Lord Kitchener will, I am sure, bo interested in the beautiful fountain which is a feature of tho exhibits in the Palace of Industry at Wembley and was entirely designed by tho great soldier. Pew possibly know how deeply lie loved artistic things as well as the profession of the sword. In a chat with Mrs Bonner, tho wife of the late, sculptor, who carried out tho work, 1 learned it was originally designed for Broome Park, his lovely place in Kent, where ho had hoped to spend his declining years in quiet peace. Alas, that wish was never to he gratified, iis wo know. Mr Bon ,er died while carrying out tho decorations at Wembley for the Canadian Parliament Buildings, hut his wife has cherished tho memory of the two men, and is hoping that some millionaire will come forward and purchase the fountain for tho nation. 1 was also interested to hear that the cost of tho fountain was the thing which deterred the great soldier, as when he learned that it would run into thousands, he explained he could only go to hundreds, but hoped that at tho end of the war tho nation might present him, perhaps, with a sum of money which he would use for it, and then present it to the nation! The humble attitude of Kitchener was quite touching, I gathered, and in tho opinion of Mrs Bonner, it was really almost his last personal wish. 1 do think it was a splendid idea hers to invite tho dominion Premiers and others in influential positions to see the fountain, and it ought to bo erected in some public place as a memorial. The cost was something like £IO,OOO, so you may imagine what a splendid piece of work it is. Poor Kitchener, what a sad fate was his, and nobody really knows the truth about the Hampshire. 1 am delighted to see that a memorial is to he erected on the cliffs of the rugged Shetland coast, where tho disaster took place, and about that I will toll you later. It is to he a landmark on that lonely, storm-swept part of these islands. Writing this about him brings to mind a love story which has just been published by Lord Castlcrosse, and which greatly interested me. Many people have wondered why Lord Kitchener never married. Lord Castlerosse tells us that in his earlier Army days in Egypt, Kitchener never had the opportunity of cultivating feminine society, and his rather solitary life made him awkward in the presence of ladies. “Still,” he continues, “I know of one love affair. This was when ho was in England on leave, and attended a dinner party, where he met with a very charming, natural, and intellectual girl of eighteen. So engaging and easy was she that he got on famously, and enjoyed long conversations with her, and after a few more meetings ho became

aware that her presence brought with it contentment, happiness, and P eace j Shyness and nervousness, however, held him back, with the result that he spoke to a mutual friend on the matter, who promised to use his good offices, i m he did with the young lady, and pointed out what a really great man her lover was. ‘Lover!’ she cried. Has ho been making love to me? Ho has been doing his best ’ was the answer. The girl seemed rather awed and surprised, and owned to being rather frightened. Kitchener anxiously awaited the news from his friend, who explained the lady had said nothing;. is that good news?’ he was asked: but his friend could not toll him. Almost at the same time her engagement was announced to another man ! Thus ended Kitchener’s romance. Lord Lastlerosso adds: “ I wonder what was in her mind at the time. She is now a great and well-known society lady in Loi don.” THE BLESSINGS OF DIET. We are on the era of a new cult which tells us to eat less and mo longer. This is, 1 am sure, wortiij of note, for in spite of the dieting and thinning process that m. y women undergo to-day, r ] cvcl . ■ , there been so many healthy bnghheyed women to be seen about town, and seldom have women s lives been so strenuous as to-day, when a dred-aud-one interests are theirs, iam afraid I could not count the friends who tell mo the week is rot long enough. There is no doubt the held of woman’s interests grow larger yearly. Dinners, club lunches, chanty appeals, bazaars, social reform activities, not to mention business enterprises! All these have encroached on the onc-timo leisure for social activities. Thus it show's that the dieting business has had no evil result, lor u wo eat less and can obviously do more ami look well on it, it is a blessing and a boon. Fashion lias brought it all about, and the “one meal a day cult, which a few years back would have been laughed at ami relegated to the realms of the faddists and cranks, is being adopted wholesale. According to experts on the subject the heavy breakfasts in which the Victorians and Edwardians delighted arc really bad; and 1 know' it, too. For if I want my brain to work quickly I only take a'very light breakfast, a cup or so of tea, a lightly-boiled egg, or small piece of fish and a little toast. Doctors tell one everybody’s digestive system should be given at least sixteen hours’ rest in twenty-four. Boar this in mind you who would aspire to keep your youth and good looks. Nothing mars a woman’s charm like unnecessary fat; and, believe me, those big> heavy meals dull the intellect at a time when it should be at its best (in the morning). Now, 1 just want to mention one or two very successful people who do not indulge in the big breakfast as advocated by so many of our forefathers, who would tell you that the good foundation at the beginning ot the day was essential. First and foremost comes our King. His work begins early, for ho is an early riser, and his breakfast is a very light one. His own particular brand of China tea, which I may tell you is always taken about with him wherever ho goes by his valet, is what ho drinks —eggs or lightly-cooked bacon, and (when in Scotland) fish is sparingly partaken of. Then the Koval Family never indulge in lug, heavy luncheons cither. Possibly their “one meal a day” is dinner. Not so in King Edward’s time. Ho adored elaborate meals, and always had wonderful teas, with any amount of marvellous cakes and chocolates, and enjoyed the latter, which wore probably the very worst things for him. People study their health and diet far more in these days than ever they did, and 1 really believe it is one great reason why they keep their youth so much longer—especially women. Old ladies one never secs as one used to. True, there arc some Early Victorian grandmothers here and there, but they are the exception far more than the rule.