Vanity £nd Vexation.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 2760, 30 June 1894, Page 4

Vanity £nd Vexation.

. BxPHtitoa. ■ t Tulle is an old fancy reviveS/fpr millinery ■ purposes, and -'its adapiiibility is its chief recommendation, for a* necktie fashion requires that a touokle paste or otherwise ', should be added. This has a dressy effect, but if these bows ere not arranged with great taste they incline to the genteel or ladylike • two adjectives in themselves condemnatory. - ' A white moire bow is a handsome trimming " to enliven a dark dress. Tulle ruches are -. very becoming and very much the fashion. Some of the greatest novelties are to be ' accordion-pleated, such as bodices, capes, collarettes. Glacs silk is coming into use again, but it 3 glassy, glazy effect is not, I think, a prei',y one. A vale pink cloth dress, handsomely trimmed with black moire antique, sounds more unique than useful -, of ' course even this is to be trimmed with the inevitable coffee lace, and that of the coarsest description.

Those possessed of an artistic taste and talent are vow to be allowed to paint their ball dresses once more, the one stipulation being that the foilage or pattern painted shall he of a large and bold design. Stripes are again to be worn. This season, however, they are to run horizontally, but woe betide the inexperienced or home dressmaker, who, if not very careful, will find their efforts a failure. Cherry colored velvet collars and hows are a somewhat new idea for enlivening black or dark afternoon dresses. As a rule no liberties are allowable when introduced into the masculine dress. The white tie will always remain sacred in its simplicity- Men's dress seems to offer little scope for elaboration. The waistcoats can be more or less charmingly feminine. The Empire sash can be of greater or less width, the socks and the dear little shoes of the dandy may become prettier, but the swallowtail will ever remain rigid in out and shape. A revival of a modified stook has been tried, with the result that a man's hand lacks the deftness required in its manipulation. Shirts can be more or less the horsey or Christy Minstrel type,

If we have somewhat' lost sight of the ceremonials gone through at the banquets of our great-grandfathers we have somewhat improved in cooking. In tbe medieval days the want of culinary skill was made up for by the many bowings and scrapings of the many attendants. It must have somewhat imperilled the safety of the many dishes to execute a sort of ceremonious step-dance whilst serving them. We read of " Sweet milk of Eyne," which is surely a poetical name for oar common and every day cow's milk. We lose somewhat of the poetry of culinary expressions when we read that meat or fish in those days was " hewed in goblets," or '« ground all to doust." We still season our food with the many spices used in those days, though we do not recognise the necessity of dyeing our food as they did with saffron, sandal wood, and other vegetable dyes. There may be something in the fact that in these advanced days a great many artioleß of diet are procurable already dyed.

Again we" read that the pastry of to-dsy was then called "coffyn," and a pudding, "trap." These names seem painfully suggestive. White-pots was their elegant name for the milk puddinga of to-day. Their socalled suet " traps " were without doubt made like tbe plum puddings of this day, with the slight difference that solidity was title great aim in the preparing of them.

New Zealand is forging ahead with its woman's franchise. Only the desire for originality oversteps the bounds of commonsense when vie read of a wedding where the bride and her attendants wore the^ — ahem ! Surely if at any time a woman needs her most feminine attributes it is when she is taking upon herself the duty of wife and future mother. I think, too, that a wreath and veil seem rather incongruous with the divided skirt, and a more rational head-gear seems advisable. If things are to advance at this rapid rate the words of the marriage ceremony will shortly fail to meet the emergencies of the case.

Alliteration is surely brought to perfection when we hear of the " Fortuitous furtherance of female franchise." Mrs rates is doing much to remove the ridicule hitherto showered upon woman and her rights. It is an undeniable fact that the women who have come to the front and made themselves publicly prominent are possessed of powerful intellects, whilst the opposition and ridicule they daily mees with is offered not by her equal clever ard deep-thinking brother, but by the shallow minded indolently, conservative ignoramus, who forgets that women of his calibre never have and never will desire to shine publicly. The enfranchised women must Boon realise, however, that .whilst obtaining her rights she cannot hope to retain all privileges. Strangely enough it is the woman who most strongly insirts that all education shall he purely secular. She strangely enough denies the softening influence of religion to the young scholar.

Professor J. E, Hyslop, speaking upon the subject, says that " Sectarian religion will never, answer." He says further that "Moral eduoation must be a will-moving force, not a logic-chopping process, or a mind-stuffing process. . Moral education can be effected only in three ways. Example, Humanity and discipline." He says also that " Morality is a social product, it is not the result of intellectual and scientific teaching." If we regard the Bible simply as a Book of Instruction, surely it must be a mistake to exclude it from our studies.