WOMAN'S WORLD.

Mataura Ensign, 25 January 1911, Page 7

WOMAN'S WORLD.

A BROKEN FRIENDSHIP. If this be friendship—that one broken hour '(O fragile link in all the loving years!) Can cast our hearts asund-jr, Time appears Frightful indeed, since all our vaunted power (Wherewith we build high hope like some strong tower Crumbles to dust where earthly passion leers. "What of our laughter? Aye, what of our tears That should have only watered Friendship's flowers! If this be friendship I can never know Again the magic faith I boasted of: One deed of mine has crushed the House of Love, And every stone to its old place must go. Shame be to our endurance if we killed The sinews that can help us to lebuild. —Charles Hansen Towne in 'Harper's Bazaar.' IF I SHOULD DIE TO-NICHT. If I .difcaild die to-night My friends would look upon my quiet face Before thev laid it in its resting-place, And deem that death had left it almost fair; And. laying snow-white flowers against my hair, .Would smooth it down with tearful tenderness. And fold my hands with lingering caress— Poor hands, so empty and so cold tonight ! If I should die to-night My friends would call to mind with loving thought Some kindly deed the icy hand had wrought; Some gentle word the frozen lips had said; Errands on which the willing feet had sped. The mem'ry of my selfishness and pride, My hasty words, would all be put aside, So should I be well loved and mourned to-night. j If I should die to-night. E'en hearts estranged would turn once more to me, Recalling other days remorsefully. The eyes that chill'd me with averted glance Would look upon me as of yore, perchance, And soften in the old familiar way— For who would war with dumb, unconscious clay? So might I rest forgiven of all to-night. Oh! friends, I pray to-night, Keep not thy kisses for my pale, cold brow. The way is lonely ; let me feel them now. Think gently of me; I am travel-worn, My faltering feet are pierced by many a thorn. Forgive, O heart estranged; forgive, I plead! .When dreamless rest is mine I shall not need The tenderness fon. which L long tonight. —Anonymous. NEW THOUGHTS. "Believe in your children and teach them to believe in themselves. It is better than giving them an inheritance j of houses and lands," writes Ella W. Wilcox in her new book, "New Thought Common-sense." "Children can be educated in the finer things of life, and given high standards without knowing they are being taught, if the parents possess tact and forethought. "It lies in the power of the mother to make her children what she desires them to be if she begins early enough and keeps at the task day after day. "A child's brain is being built the first fourteen years of life, and it is the mother's privilege to direct the structure and awaken the noblest and most admirable qualities by giving them thought exercises. "Each thought which passes through a child's mind is leaving its physical impress on the brain and making that thought easily to occur again." The following are some points from the book: "We are all a little better or a little worse than we were this time last year; a little stronger or a little weaker; a little wiser or a little duller. "Begin your mornings with a resolve to find the beautiful and good things in the day, in the weather, in the work you have to do, in the people you meet. "If the weather greets you with bluster and wind and rain and snow and fog, light it up with your own spirit of sunshine. "I have known some people so radiant that they made everyone who approached them forget the weather. "If you encounter people who are disagreeable Be so agreeable that you force them into a pleasant mood. Bring out the best in everybody by giving them the best that is in yourself. "It was 'Madeline Bridges' that gifted poet who said so many beautiful things, who put this great truth into simple words:— 'Give to the world the best you have, And the best will come back to you.' Just so sure as you live these lines, so sure shall be your reward. But to do all this you must live." HOMELY HINTS AND REMEDIES. Here are a few homely hints and remedies that some good housewife may be glad to make use of: —It is not generally known that sugar is an excellent thing to brighten a dead fire. A pinch or two thrown on the red embers will kindle a flame instantly, and with a little coaxing a very cosy-looking grate will repay one for the trouble taken in quite a few minutes. It is so easy for the housewife with her never-ending duties to scald or burn, her fingers by handling hot kettles or attending to the oven. Often she is too busy to fly to oil and cotton but she has at least two remedies ready to hand in the kitchen itself. Flour, shaken from a dredger, upon the part affected, will give considerable relief ; and carbonate of soda put on dry, or, better still, mixed into a paste with a little water, will allay the pain at once. This should be renewed again j and again, as soon as the pain reasserts j itself. This will also prevent blistering. Nothing is more objectionable than the odor from boiling cabbage, for the .scent from greens of any kind pervading the house suggests faults in the .sanitary arrangements, and all kinds j>£ things. A crust of bread j

and a tablespoonful of vinegar, however, thrown in the water* will very greatly help to allay the odor. And after the greens have been served care should be taken to see that the water in which they have been boiled is poured either on the garden or down the outside drain. The kitchen sink, which is only too often the receptacle for such liquor, nvijtst on no account be used or one's trouble will have been hopelessly futile. Salt is useful in a number of ways, but everyone is not aware that in the unpleasant event of a chimney taking fire the best thing to do is to sprinkle the coal in the grate with plenty of salt. This will deaden the flame, and extinguish the fire in the chimney quite *s effectually and with far less mess than douching it with unlimited supplies of water. For stained hands a slice of raw potato is invaluable. To remove grease spots from clothes, a little ammonia and water will generally be found efficacious, but should the spots be very stubborn, a few drops of spirits of turpentine will remove them instantly. To remove candle-wax from a blouse. —Make a small poker red hot. Then place a sheet of soft paper on the top of the fabric and hold the poker steadily over it for a few minutes. If carefully done, this will be found to eradicate the marks effectually, without leaving the slightest trace behind. THE WOMEN MEN LIKE. Man seeks Tor that refinement in a woman which he does not possess himself, perhaps, or does not meet with in his daily business life. He wants his home life to be filled with love and paece, a hallowed shrine where he can worship. He wants a wife who will lean on his strength, but whose goodness is his reliance. Men prefer modest women; often, in fact, the woman who is the direct opposite of his male friend. He may laugh at the young woman who apes the boys and talks all the latest slang, but "he laughs and rides away," as the old song has it; he has no idea of putting an unfeminine creature at the head of his household. The ideas of womanhood are ever changing, for there was a time when men thought that higher education was going to do away with the, eternal feminine, and that it would mean a crowd of "blue stockings." But proofs show that men have discovered that development along educational lines has improved, and not detracted from womanhood. Men really prefer modest, icopa'ble women for wives, though they | may, for the amusement there is in it, i like to flirt with the slangy i irresponj sible ones. If the girls would study how to bring out the best that was in them, the finest side of their woman 'nature, and drop slang, loud voices, and still louder behaviour, there would not be so many wailings for husbands, and sighing for homes of their own. It is reported that the famous French actress, Madame Cecile Sci el, has received a proposal of marriage from a member of the English nobility. This remarkable woman has the reputation of being able to make and unmake Ministries with a wave of hor dainty hand. The Council of Ministers, it is said, meets frequently in her sumptuous salon, and there the word of the "wo- : mon Premier" is law. Her fame as an actress and a member of the Cornedie Francaise is subsidiary to her distinction as the most beautiful and extravagant "wearer of clothes" in the whole of France. Hers is the most sought-after ■person by the great costumiers for the exhibition of their latest creations. Her arrival, divinely dressed, at any of the great Parisian race meetings has in it something of a royal procession. H<ir attire off the stage costs a matter of £BOOO a year. An idea of the lady's taste may bo gathered from the fact that her yearly expenditure on furs is £IOOO, on dinner dresses £IOOO, halldresses £I6OO, coats £SOO, morning dresses and blouses £6OO, walking dresses £6OO, motor costumes £4OO, dressing gowns £l6O, linen £3OO, hats £240, travelling costumes and wraps, £154, boots and shoes £l6O, stockings £IOO, fans and laces £SOO, gloves £9O, handkerchiefs £l*2o, cleaning, ets., £2O. A Home correspondent suggests that the divided skirt will be "the style" liefore, long. When the lady is sitting the skirt looks exactly like an ordinary one, but when walking it will resemble a miniature pair of trousers, merging into a skirt in front of the knees. The sample worn in public consisted of a coat and skirt of rose pink cloth, the skirt being cut on straight and narrow lines with the "divided" piece at the end of the skirt and continuing almost halfway up.