LADIES’ GOSSIP.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIX, Issue 11540, 29 March 1898, Page 6

LADIES’ GOSSIP.

“ Canterbury Times.”] The salaries paid here to lady companions are by no means munificent ; they are not even adequate for ordinary wants. In England, it seems, matters are even worse, for there the companion, so far from being paid, is sometimes expected to pay for the privilege of being permitted to fetch and carry at the bidding of her employer. The above is apropos of the following advertisement, which appeared recently in a London paper of good standing .—“ A. blind lad}' would be glad to meet with another lady who would kindly read to her, go out walking with her, &c., and pay .£4O a year for a superior, refined home.” In other words, the blind lady wishes for a servant who will actually provide her with an income also. She must think that superior refined homes are rare in the land, since she charges such a price for admission to it, while the honour of her own company is evidently expected to compensate for much, Could egotism go further than this F I think not. The' North . ‘ Canterbury Educational Institute has done well to take up the question of “ canvassing ” in such a way as to bring it prominently before tile public. The won'der is that they did not do so long a"0. For years teachers have writhed under the'humiliation of having to use personal influence in order to obtain an appointment. To those of a retiring nature the ordeal is one of torture, and there are many teachers who lose opportunity after opportunity of promotion, simply because they' cannot bring themselves to use the methods commonly adopted. Hence their written applicationap are passed over again and again. ' If a personal interview with a committeeman was able to bring to light the true teaching capacity of the candidate, none would be better pleased than the teachers themselves. But what is the fact of the matter ? The teacher who succeeds in making the best: impression by means of his personal address may not be the best adapted to educate children, yet he is the one who gets the appointment. And we all know that the lady teacher possessed of good looks puts her plainer but more skilful rival completely in the shade. That teachers have refrained so long from complaining of an evil which has grown to be a necessity, is one more instance of their, patience and long-suffering. I wpnder how we should like to see nattily-dressed young women doing dut-y as drivers of hansom cabs in the "streets of our town. Londoners, it seems, are shortly to be startled by some such sight in their city. The Woman’s Signal says that no fewer than twenty-five girls are to burst upon the public gaze before long in the role of Jehus from the vantage point of hansom cabs. These enterprising youngpersons are to wear wide-fitting top overcoats, which will do service alike in dry weather and on rainy days. Driving gloves of the gayest shade of red, and a small felt hat and veil will complete this picturesque uniform. It is needless to say that the debut of the feminine cabdriver is being looked forward to with no small amount of interest. There can no longer be any doubt that the women of Victoria will before -long rejoice in the possession of the parliamentary franchise, Ibis much is evident from the tone of a large public meeting held only a few weeks ago, under the auspices of the Victorian Women’s Franchise League, in the Melbourne Athenaeum Hall. A large number of prominent men were-present, and the chair was taken by the, Attorney-General, who declared him-r 1 sdlf- to be fully in accord with the suffrage, movement, and announced his-intention of re-introducing ;the.question into Parliament at the earliest possible moment. He hoped, moreover, - that before many months had passed the : “glaring -and; manifest tin; justice ” would be removed, and the adult suffrage law adopted. Dr C. C. Cookburn, the clever and progressive Minister of Education of South Australia, was present, and he pointed out that the effects of' the women’s suffrage in New Zealand and iu South Australia were eminently good, and that South Australia had falsified every prediction that the opposers of the movement had brought forward. With his own colony he could with perfect truth have coupled that of New Zealand also in this eulognnn, for our women havo shown in a remarkable degree how well able they were to handle their newly-found privilege. The Colonial Treasurer of South Australia had something to say on this question also. When the women of South Australia entered the booths on polling day, no one, he said, thought of touting for their votes, so plainly did their faces show that their minds were made up. Better still, the woman’s vote had resulted in the question of private character becoming a greater factor than ever in the

politics of South Australia. Needless to say, this speech was received with great applause. Finally a motion 'in'favour of the removal of the suffrage disqualification was carried almost unanimously, an amendment to the contrary being literally hooted by the men present. After this the speedy triumph of the suffragists is assured, and when it is an accomplished fact, no congratulations that Victoria can receive will be warmer or more hearty than those of New Zealand, the pioneer colony of woman’s freedom in the southern hemisphere. Great things are hoped for from the young Queen of Holland, whose coronation is fixed for Sept. 3 of this year, and there seemsto be abundant reason for the enthusiastic affection in which she is held by the progressive little nation who are so soon to hail her as Queen. Her training and education, conducted on modern and fairly unconventional lines, have been rather those of a ■ young English gentlewoman, in private life than of a Eoyai Princess. The result is that her mind has not been stifled in' the artificial atmosphere/ of palace life, and she is comparatively free from the conventional fetters that hinder freedom of thought and action in royalty.' That the young Queen has learned to think for herself has already been proved by her refusal of the husband provided for her by her statesmen. In her love of outdoor exercise she ia quite up-to-date, and, naturally, is as optimistic and fearless as a modern young queen should be. The Dutch people treasure every little anecdote of her graciousness as well as her out-spokenness, and, above all, they admire her for her originality. She particularly delighted them recently by conversing persistently with the German Emperor in French, a language he naturally detests. ‘‘Why do you not answer me in German, young lady?” asked the Emperor at last. “ Because I prefer to answer you in French,” was the frank rejoinder. She is very fond of children, and takes the greatest interest in those belonging to the'great ladies of the Court. One of these, whose husband’s affairs had necessitated a long residence in England, was commanded on her return to Holland to the palace, her child, a bonny boy. of seven, being included in the command. The young queen was delighted with the pretty child and spoke to him, but was answered in English* instead of in his mother’s tongue. Wilhelmina turned to his mother; “ Madam,” she said, “ take away your son, and bring him back to me only when he can speak in his native tongue.” The young Queen is a patriot before everything else, and her one desire is to become the mother of her people, hence she is looking forward to her coronation with feelings of unmixed joy. The Prince and Princess of Wales will represent Queen Victoria at the festivities, the \ German Emperor and other European sovereigns aswell as a host of minor princes and princesses will also be present to do honour to the young queen, and many merrymakings are in preparation! for the great occasion.

A very quaint idea in house building has just been carried out in Southern Prance by the Crown Princess of Eoumania. It has taken the form of a little home built high up among the branches of a magnificent tree. This human nest was planned and carried out by a Scotch, architect and decorator, under the supervision of the Princess. The notion of living among the birds,'and rustling leaves is a pretty one, and is worthy of a poet’s brightest fancy. One cannot help thinking how Shelley or Keats would have loved such an air-built palace for a study chamber in which to weave their fantasies, and rival the feathered songsters whose kingdom they had invaded. No one can say that wealthy British women are not philanthropic, and it is interesting to learn that the charitable bequests of twenty-five rich ladies during last year reached the sum of something like =£631,000. As their personalty amounted to two and a half millions, they gave away about a fourth of their estate. Whether it is that women are less indulgent to poor relations and are less bound by family ties than men, or have broader sympathies, is not very clear. It would seem, however, that the latter is the case. Two Scotch ladies left large bequests to Scotch hospitals, and with the national love of education they also founded several scholarships and bursaries. A very curious bequest is that of Lady Malcolm of Poltalloch, who left her residuary estate to a school founded in America for the revival of the lost mysteries of antiquity, whatever these may be. ’ Women, or girls even for that matter, whose purses are insufficiently filled and think it an indignity to soil their fingers with honest work, should read Louisa Alcott’s “Life, Letters and Journals,” a book which tells of the bitter struggles of the genius who produced some of the healthiest stories that young people can read. One can only reverence and admire the woman whose diary for years ran somewhat after this fashion:—“lßs3 In January I > started a little school. In May, when my school closed, I went to L ,*as second girl. I needed the change, could do the washing, and was glad to earn my two dollars a week. Home in October with thirty-four dollars for my wages. After two days’ rest started school again. I earned a good deal by sewing in the evening when my day’s work was done. I am grubbing away as usual, trying to get money enough to buy mother a nice warm shawl. I have eleven dollars, all my own earnings—five for a story and four for a pile of sewing I did for the ladies of Dr Gray’s society.” Another extract from her diary is as follows“ E wanted a long story in twenty-four chapters, and I wrote it in a

fortnight—one hundred and eighty-five pa^es—besides work, sewing, nursing and company,” ’It 1 is wonderful’ that, in Spite of all this so-called drudgery, Louisa Alcott was able to write books that t»we made her name a household word in thousands of homes.