Vanity and Vexation.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 2754, 23 June 1894, Page 4

Vanity and Vexation.

.^■VyintWt is, thestime^heix :there 4s a'grests is& upon oar invepjfcive powers in the ;w&£.,oi ftffissV- OmJmjlHnjro, .efo^,' is required j-|p fltand the test of air weathers^ '"* It v ifl indeed the ".winter of ""our discontent/'' aplr it behoves vs to enliven.the sombre seasonJby Wearing feight arid pretty colors! It is now permirfsable '.to wear our :sMrt^ sensibly Bhort, qutngo&betide those who endeavoring to shorten a gored, skirt, find to their dismay that the back will dip into the mud Ihat'njow. forms our roads. I halve heard people Bigh for the kitiies of old days, and certainly they were useful, consisting as they did ofCa clamp hanging ' from a' girdle. Slack and. green is still the favorite mixture. Olive green especially looks>;well made , up with velveteen. A change upon the hitherto very plain skirts comes to us with the suggestion that one side of the skirt should be opened to •how a panel, or underskirt, of~a contrasting color or material. Tabao has always held its own as a favorite color, and looks especially -well when mixed, with black, and remember everything in bur days is to be mixed. with black.' ' lam glad, however, that the' gruesome idea of making any and all flowers in black materials has died out. A maison de. deiul may hail the idea, but as we are not all plunged into deep mourning, we may be excused for .preferring, our roses, lilies, etc., in their natural 'colors. One extraordinary idea is to trim a hat with two wreaths of flowers, alike in shape, one in natural tints, the fac-simile in black. I once heard ia dress condemned aa being trimmed unmeaningly. Does not this adjective describe this, .new fad in millinery? The very sensible 1 ' and becoming Alpine hat is with us again,- and may it remain till the sun,- shines upon ns once more. We are also told that ostrioh feathers are to be worn a great deal. Anyone seeing bow bedraggled they look, even after a small shower, will at once' condemn them as irrational in this very variable climate. ■ ' Men-milliners pre the rage now. • I think. the. deft fingers of a woman are far better able to manipulate and arrange all the dainty fripperies and delicate fineries of millinery. 1

In the old days all strong-ininded women were unfashionable, and to he a blue-stocking was to be a-frump; "nous avons ohange tout celfl" and the woman of this advanced age flresaeß m a manner beyond reproach.. Here again we have slightly the beßt of onr grandmothers. The advanced woman of to-day is the young woman, not the more than middleaged spinster of historic renown. Our B.A. of to-day is a particularly stylish young person, and even when strong minded enough to^wear the rational dress, disguises it under accordion-pleatea draperies, generally of a : costly material. ■ Pope' understood women when he wrote " Woman's at best a contradiction still.", It is a well-known fact' that a woman commands more attention and deference' if she is well and becomingly dressed. In the journalistic world a woman is' heavily handicapped. That w, without? doubts why oun worge Elliotts, etc, have taken to < themselves : masculine noms de plume. '< .' Anonymity iis almost the only chance with new . authoresses. I think women in our days are somewhat inconsistent: whilst usurping to themselves all the rights, of ihe other Hei', they still, desire to retain the'privileges of tlleir own. If women' persist in *elbowing men from 'their accustomed places, they must content to stand shoulderto shoulder, and even to bear the inevitable rubs with fortitude, unless, indeed, they aspire in every case to he far ahead. I think we are rather tired of our grandmothers and their good old days. They forget the' difference in age, and presume - upon the fact that we were not in existenoe to X know exactly how they carried on. ■Whilst , protesting against tobacco, they forget .their snuff-boxes of old, and if our dress of to-day somewhat pronounced, theirs was preposterous, and not always quite co correct as ours. We do not wear snort sleeves and low neoks on all occasions. They did; and it ;may be admitted that the literature of their day* is almost tabooed now. Though we do flirt and enjoy ourselves, Gretna Green is a tiling of the past. With as a runaway marriage is, the exception, not theiule I .'^^ V /, ' ."..,. , ; Jltb Millicent ' Garrett Fawcett, in a Iwttire giveitlsome years ago, called attention io : iithe faot that the heaviest brain ever weighed" was that of a famous naturalist ana the,nezt heaviest that of a washerwoman. The natural inference is that there is n well-established relation between brain weight and brain power. Women,, practice medicine largely in Canada. „ Zenana work, like ,all other exceedingly . coble works, zb. always being brought into prominent notice, though its mißßiontiß nok alwayfl nnaerstooa.,'' ' A lady, upon bevng'aakei-ii 'Bae'tnougU Bhe would like zenana work, said she " did not know the stitch." ; .. ' r Paint drums oan be made into handsome umbrella ..stands, or .into, pots for ferns, ferns, grasses rushes, etc,' by being painted with enamel paints. They can then be ornamented with" .large foliage and flat flowers rcade in putty, painted in natural colors, and laid^on with trailing effect. It is a good planjto press the leaves to' be copied on the putty, as tbe impress of the veins and stalks in that case -will be true to nature. A good effect can be obtained by pasting on a trailing pattern of, foliage put from a handsome luyiru'sta of 'embossMjpapen A stand for a floVer-pot'or ornament is made by placing a wooden pedestal top and bottom to' the drum. Borax,. ;we,, are' told, is, invaluable for household purposes. Silver spoons left in. borax-water (boiling) become very bright. A teaspoonful put in rinsing water readers things ffhite., Borax-water is an.exoellent hair-lotion. It is .excellent for washing flannels- and woollen goods. Silk or woollen material, when soiled, can be sponged with borax-water, and it does not injure the color. Midhirst was in a pleasing State* .of excitement on Friday, Jnne 15th, a ball being given by the^Huiroa bachelors. Large parties from Stratford, New Plymouth, and Icglewood drove over. The room was, beautifully decorated with-tree ferns, and the floor was all that could be desired. Amongst many pretty dresses, I especially noticed the following : — Mrs Glare, white and pale pink ; Miss Clark, pale pink and lace; Miss Clemow, pink; Miss Fookes, pale green, black velvet and lace ; Miss E. Fookes, pink and black ; Miss Hamerton, green satin and

Spanish, lace ; Mies C. Hamerton, white net) Blisa Maokay, '-'white mpire; Miss Malone, crushed strawberry; Miss A. Malone, pale pale blue ; Miss ; Valentine,, pale, pink orepon and moBB-green velvet ; Miss Vicary, pale green. The whole 'affair was arranged with muoh attention to. detail, and spoke well' of the splendid managements! the Bachelors. -

A owloub incident is reported from New' Plymouth. Mr E. M. Smith, at the harbor board meeting, slang-whanged: some persons, wbo.jdm^nded an apology, failing whioh •• legal proceedings " were to follow. , Legal proceedings did follow, for % contributor to the News explains: — " But the fanny part of the affair is that instead of giving one of the persona an ipology he sent him to gaol for a month. This was Mr Smith's first judicial act, too ! Eow Beldom are onr enemies delivered into our hands as Mr Smith, had his. Vm told be greatly enjoyed it, anS robbed lis hands' with glee over the apology he iaa gi*en: v , , . '„'..'' ,","', BEAD THIS CASE. Mr George Hawker, Terry road, Christolmrcb, N.Z., -who .writes on April llfch, 1893 :—My wife has ' been a dreadful sufferer from palpitation of the heart for a long time, alsofgeperal. weakness and apoor and fickle appetite, so much, that she was not able to get about. She has tried nany remedies, but to no avail; she had t great v pajb in her aide. - Having got one \ ot ypur^iooks and read it, Bhe determined to- jfive your Clements Tonic a trial, and ] thdtj|rst) dose along with Fletcher's Pills BUiae a great improvement in her health, j She' got. another bottle, and the, second )ottle h«s -made a completely new woman >! , : heß*;iihet»tn^i#^^eU^T^B : trnly, 'QMrge^Mwert wpnpy4paa^> vlhrist>