WOMEN’S COLUMN

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 1075, 23 July 1924, Page 2

WOMEN’S COLUMN

Mrs S. M. Parkinson, who passed away in Aucklund, last week, aged 83 years, was a prominent worker in social, temperance and political movements.

A pionccar of New Zealand in the person of Mrs IV. Sharp, died at Gordonton, near Te Arolia, last week at the age of 90 years. She had been a resident of New Zealand since 1858.

Under the will ol the late Mrs Barbara Lynn, of 'Wellington, who died on June 19. 1924, the Public Trustee is appointed executor and trustee. Under the will a gift of £IOO is made to the general funds of St. Peters’ Mission in the city of Wellington.

A somewhat unusual occurrence was a triple wedding which was celebrated at Young, a New South Wales country town, Two sisters and a brother of one family married two brothers and a. sister of another family. The respective brides and bridegrooms were Mr George T. Wells and Miss Eliza Friend, Mr Horace O. Wells and Miss Coral Friend, Mr William Friend and Miss Margaret Wells. Both families are well known in the Young district.'

A pretty wedding took place in the Manakau Methodist Church, when Miss Ruby Keats, second daughter of Mr and Mrs Joseph Keats, of Manakau, and Mr Harry Richard Gore, of Otewa, Otorohanga, were united in holy bonds of matrimony. The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a nigger brown costume, trimmed with fur, and hat to match. She carried a prayer book with ribbon streamers and orange blossoms attached, the gift of the bridegroom.

“The smartest wedding of the London season” was the pronouncement after the marriage at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, of the Hon. Monica Grenfell, Lord and Lady Desborough’s elder daughter, to AirMarshal Sir John Salmond, K.C.8., C.M.G., C.Y.0., D.S.O. Tile bride wore none of the wonderful jewellery sent her as. wedding presents. For her wedding Miss Grenfell chose a plain dress of ivorycoloured liinon, . embroidered with small pearls. The train was of gold and white soft tissue.

On Thursday, Mr and Mrs Joseph Collins, of Auckland, celebrated their diamond wedding. They arrived in New Zca’land from County Antrim, nearly 60 years ago, and have spent the years since then m Auckland. Both Mr Collins and his wife have interesting memories of many of the leading men of the early days, including Sir Georgs Grey, Bishop Selwyn, and Bishop Pompallier. Mr Collins is now 87 years of age, and Mrs Collins four years his senior. Neither Mr nor Mrs Collins has slept a night out of their own house —their present home —for over 40 years,

There is a veritable craze at the moment, it- would seem, for the shingled head. It is but a few months since a Christchurch resident returned from the Old Country minus lior pretty tresses, but nevertheless looking remarkably smart with her hair and a la shingle. Since then, maids and matrons alike have been busy trimming up their locks to the correct style, quite regardless that but one head in ten is possessed of tho dainty shape and perfect poise indispensable to this mode of coiffure (state, tho Christchurch Bun). At a recent smart gathering at the Caledonian Ilall a mail admitted that he had been counting tiie. shingled heads present, “and out ol half a hundred,” he exclaimed, “I saw only three women it suited.” And he was not far out in his estimate.

A very remarkable old lady recently died in her homo in Belfast—Mrs Morrow, the mother of seven artist sons, of whom “E.A.” and George, of “Punch” fame, and Albert, the poster artist, are best known to Londoners. Norman, whoso untimely death was a greater loss to art than was generally realised, for lie hud more than a touch of genius, was the youngest. All have coiisiderable literary ability and a sense of humour which they inherited from their mother. She was a handsome old lady, who had from husband and sons her duo share of admiration. Once, walking along a road in the County Down, she stopped under a tall tree and smiled. “When I was a young girl.” she told me, “my husband used to climb to the top of that tree so that ho could see me coming along tho road one minute the sooner.” WEDDINGS. BROOKIE—BROWN. A wedding was solemnised recently at St. James’ Church, Wanganui East, when Amy Irene, second daughter of Mrs J. Brown, Takapuna, and the late Mr J. Brown, was married to Roy William, second son of Mrs Brookie, of Palmerston North. The Rev. C. A. Kennedy was the officiating minister, and Mrs Kay presided at the organ. The bride, who was given away by Mr T. McGregor, Marton, was attired in a graceful frock of ivory brocaded crepe-de-chene. The orange blossoms and the veil, which was hand-embroidered by a friend of the bride, completed tho bride’s toilette. She carried a bouquet of white flowers and maiden-hair fern. '1 lie bride was attended by two bridesmaids, Misses Jessie and Rita Brown, sisters of the bride, and Miss Dorothy Steven as flower-girl. Miss Jessie Brown wore a frock of palo lemon crepe-de-chene, and Miss Rita Brown was dressed in pale lavender crepe-de-chene. Both wore black lace hats, and carried bouquets of lemon and lavender flowers. The little flower-girl, Miss' Dorothy Steven, was attired in a frock of ivory crepe-de-chene with shoes and socks to match, and carried a basket of rose petals. The bridegroom was attended by Mr Vaud Brookie as best man. The church was tastefully decorated with flowers and ferns by friends of the bride, the chief feature of the decorations being a prettilydecorated “wedding bell.”

THE DECLINE OF CHIVALRY. Many folk, of course, would say that companionship between the sexes does not necessarily mean the decline of chivalry. Dut that, according to Katharine Tynan, the clever and rather old-world novelist, is exactly what it does seem to imply to-day. The war, of course, is to blame for the first symptoms of the decline of chivalry. When the boys came home on leave the whole world conspired to spoil them. Older men might still observe the ceremonies toward women, might open doors for them, wait on them, fetch and carry for them, all the observances which were a commonplace to the happy pre-war women. These the boys were absolved from.

The older men kept their manners, having assumed them as second nature. The boys’ manners went by the board.

But, since manners are of the heart and anything less an empty husk, the boys’ manners would have returned given normal conditions. They have not come back in the main. The capacity for them threatens to become atrophied. The girls’ manners have suffered from reflex action.

Perhaps even before the end of the war the natural attraction of young girls for young men had begun to wane.

But what of the cruelty, the suffering, that may be caused by the disappearance of the protecting instinct in men toward women P

Girls are now unchaperoned. They go to their dances and return from them with some man of whom they know very little. It is a distressing and disquieting thing for the mother whose cliaperonage is out of date. She may console herself with that other new, strange happening, that a girl and a young man may dance together a whole season and be no more than dancing partners—and that is what we have got out of phe war—that young men and young women can be dancing partners to eacli other. Superannuation for nurses found a ‘

champion in the Hon G. J. Garland in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (says the N.Z. Times). “There is no class of the community that deserves so well of us as the nurses,” said the Hon. Mr Garland. “The doctor may do his best; but our lives are in the hands of'the nurses, and these great women must grow old. Some of them marry.; the greater number do not.” The case for superannuation was clear, he said, but the question was how it was to be arrived at. There were several ways. In one case the nurses themselves would have to contribute to the superannuation fund, in tho same manner as Government servants. In another case it was questionable whether hospital boards should not have special power to strike a rate for this purpose. A rate of 1-250th in tho pound would never be felt by tho taxpayer, and would provide ample funds for the scheme.