LADIES’ GOSSIP.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10599, 7 March 1895, Page 2

LADIES’ GOSSIP.

(Cnntorhury Times.) A great many of us think we work uncommonly hard at our daily duties, but few of us”could achieve such a performance as Miss Bailey, the Parliamentary Indexer, has just completed. There are 500 pages in the Sessional Index of tho English Hansard for 1593-4, and tha report itself of the session’s proceedings fills fourteen volumes. The whole ect was indexed recently by Mis; Bsiiey without any assistance, in three mouths, and during the game period she arranged ■ the monthly index of Hansard. She worked sixteen hours a day for weeks, bo says a correspondent to a well-known magazine, and this brief account can scarcely enable us to judge of the great strain involved in carrying out tbo week to its conclusion—to say nothing of the patience and cleverness shown by this admirable worker. It is pleasant to note that herlnbourhasbeen recognised und epoksa of in tfce highest possible terras "by the Parliamentary librarians and by the Speaker Himself; indeed, she cannot be too highly praised for having so perfectly accomplished such a gigantic task. lb is with tho greatest pleasure that I note this week the establishment of a tram waiting-room in town. It is a delightfully clean and bright-looking dairy establishment e.t the junction "of Salisbury and Victoria streets, on'tbs Papanui line, and anyone waiting for a tram there will find a comfortable seat free of charge—a true boon for a tired mother on a hot or rainy day. It is a pity that seats for this .purpose are not provided iu Cathedral Square as well, for in wintry weather it is a real hardship to stand and wait, unfiera verandah exDf.sad to the keen wind, if not to tho rain its'elf. Let ua hope that some move will ba made to provide a waiting-room of some sorb before next winter. T:uly ono would imagine that tho absurdity of tbo present fashion in dress cannot be transcended by any further folly or extravagance, Just now there is a craze in Paris for fur, and not satisfied with trimming drosses or lining mantles with ermine, silver fox or sable, the up-to-date Parieienno must have the closefitting bodice of her dress made cf seal, carscnle, or even of leopard ekin. Perhaps there may bo some kind of excuse for this iu the severity of tho cold this winter, but it does not explain another, prevailing eccentricity of la, mode. This ia the combination of tho lightest and most flimsy material with the warmest and heaviest. Thus chiffon is often combined with cloth and fur on a wrap. A boa of sable has an inane decoration of ribboii bows on either shoulder, with perhaps a scrap of lace hanging from each. bow. A fur toque is trimmed with a few rosettes of brightly coloured tulle, while hata often, have their crowns composed of fur with a brim of savin or velvet. In addition to this there is a rage for diamonds, either real or imitation. In hair, too, the fashion is very decided, and on self-respecting lady dares to appear without a head of rod hair. It is simply imperative, and brilliant hair is aoen everywhere, for the demand undoubtedly produces a supply quite as unerringly as political economists would have us believe. It ia not surprising that, disgusted at such wild extravagances in dress, a number of young ladies of ancient French descent have already established among thamtidves’ a “ Guild of Simple Living,” aa a protest against the vulgar display of wealth that ia so marked in certain fashionable circles.

Those wise words of Mrs Burton Kingoland upon a girl’s choice of a husband ought to ba read by every young woman. “A young girl,” says this lady,'“rarely looks beyond the prestige of being engaged, of her trousseau, of the wedding festivities, of being tha mistress of a house. These are her constant theme, and her imagination rarely carries her beyond the first year after marriage, when, having passed through the stage of the novelty of married life, she must fall back upon the character of the man she has chosen to build her happiness upon. . Parents know how fleeting the passions of youth sometimes are, and how they fail in inharmonious conditions. They know that where the girl loves the ideal she creates, rather than tho reality that exists, there will come a timo of awakening, and. her love may die, though the bond remain. Worldly considerations are stronger with the old than

with (lie young, and tha most common parental objections are on tue ground of insufficient means. ‘ All for love, and the world well lost/ has always been the lover’s creed, but the parents foresee that when a man feels the weight of a family upon him, whom he can barely support, depressing influences set in. His health fails, perhaps; care and anxiety rob him of the youthful attractions that won her heart, ho may become querulous and exacting and love itself have a hard struggle for existence. What a good mother looks for in the man of her daughter’s choice are first, high principle—that goes without saying—and next, manliness. It is a protean word, hut needs no explanation, as it conveys to every mind a clear conception of a typo commanding universal approbation. He must be gentlemanly as well ao manly. Social life requires manners as well as principles, and few things kill love more quickly than being ashamed of its object. Good breeding, however, though"it cannot be counterfeited, may be acquired, being not a veneer but a polish. Above all, reverence for sacred things is absolutely necessary, I believe, to true happiness.” Many women are greatly troubled about the treatment of their hair and scalp. It is well to bear in mind always that the very simplest methods are the beet, and .soma hints concerning the hair from T/ie Season seem to bo both simple and sensible. It suggests, as a precaution against dandruff and loose skin, the use of a wash composed of yolk of egg and borax. The powdered borax can be dissolved in rosewater before mixing it with the beaten egg. This should bo applied weekly to the roots of the hair, and well rubbed in where the skm is inclined to dryness. After illness the circulation is apt to become sluggish, and then the action of the blood in the scalp should be stimulated by a gentle massage of the head. It should take the form of a gentle kneading with the fingers, and the bsneflt would undoubtedly be increased if the operator dipped his hand from time to time in rum or* some such spirit. This induces a firm action, and enables the enfeebled roots of the hair to regain vigour. Brain-workers especially efcould have recourse to this means of exciting the pores, as it forms a species of counter-irritation which induces the blood from the over-taxed cerebrum to the surface of the cranium. Wo bear a good deal about women's clubs in America and in England also, indeed one might say that the subject is well nigh exhausted in those countries. Of clubs in the British colonies, however, wo hear but little, yet a very interesting commencement in this way was initiated in Bombay in last .Tune, It is called the “ Mermaid Society,” and is a social ond literary society for girls —Europeans, Hindus and Parsecs. They meet once a fortnight in. rooms kindly lent them by the Anthropological Society; the proceedings at the meeting are varied. At one time they read a play from one of the great dramatists ; at another, they have a small debate ; at a third, they may road and discuss extracts from wellknown authors generally English classics. E very now and again they have an “ At Homo,” when all members take part in entertaining the guest's of the evening. The rules are few, but the most stringent is, that no member shall be a drone, every member must take active part, and may not at any time be merely a spectator. The motto of the Society signifies “ Out of the Depths to the Skythe moral is apparent, and Reams appropriate, because mermaids, so tradition states, live at the bottom of the sea, and only come to the surface to breathe. It intends having a location of its own, where members from the mofuasil (country) may put up when in Bombay, for shopping or other business. In the meantime, while funds are slender, they will hire a flat, ss they do not like trespassing on the kindness of the Anthropologists too often. The flat, for which the owner, a gentleman of the medical profession, is only charging a nominal rent, is to be furnished as an ordinary club, in which members may write letters, see friends, have them to tea, &c.