THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11535, 21 November 1900, Page 3

THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

THE TOO-SUSCEPTIBLE. MAN. "'" "Clever girls, dull girls! •; • I've loved ad-inflnitnm. •■ Pretty girls, with golden curls: What would life bo without 'em?" The foregoing lines accurately describe the state of mind of the too-susceptible man. As the old proverb stays: " All is fish that comes to his net;" and whereas one week will find him the ardent votary of dark-eyed Chloe, the next will see him in all the throes of a mad passion for golden-haired Evangeline. To give him his due, he does not wreak much mischief with his unfortunate facility for falling in love—(he calls it " falling in love")—so easily and so often. Generally speaking, he is quite willing to worship at a distance; meanwhile relieving his overcharged heart into the callous bosom of some cold-blooded confident. "This time ft is really serious," he is in the habit of saying. "Upon my word! she quite bowled me over ; did you ever see such eyes in your life?" etc. After all, it is a great pity for a man to be born with such a disposition as this; he becomes not only a laughing-stock to his friends, but for him real true love is an impossibility, because he has frittered it all away in imaginary passions. GIRLS WHO NEVER HAVE LOVERS. Who are the women who thus go sweetheartless through life? Are they the plain, the foolish, the dowdy, the insignificant? By no means. It is only necessary to glance round the circle of engaged and married women to disprove this, for is it not patent to everyone that these ladies are largely recruited from the ranks of the unintelligent, the incapable, the silly, and the homely-featured? And is it not equally clear that some of the best-looking, refined, clever, and managing women are neglected and overlooked by men? Why is this? Well, there are several reasons to account for it, one being a want of a certain " something" in them, which " something" is none the less powerful in attracting men, because it is difficult to define. For instance, I know a very good-looking woman who openly acknowledges that she has never had a lover, and who, upon being asked " Why?" replied, " I really don't know, only somehow men never did care for me!" Again, there are other women equally swainless simply because of an excess of " grandmotherliness" -in their natures. Stricken youths go to them with their little tales of love for another, stalwart men loudly claim their sympathy for their hopeless passion for Miss Flirt; but it never occurs to either youths or men that " grandmamma" is anything but " grandmamma," and therefore to be treated as such. WHAT SORT OF MEN DO WOMEN ADMIRE? It is probable that a good many men with nothing important on their minds have asked themselves this question.

A man admires those qualities that are lacking in him. A woman admires those qualities that she lacks.

If you see walking along Regent-street a lady six feet high, with, a fierce expression and powerful arms, you may be quite sure that at homo in Brixton she has a quiet, timid, shrinking husband. Similarly, a thin, diaphanous woman, afraid of mice and beetles and ghosts, wants to marry the most savage man she can find. This, we are sure, is part of nature's general plan to develop some particular, well-rounded type of individuals. In other words, to bring the human race up to a certain point of perfection, at which we have been aiming since the beginning, and at the same time to prevent the race from splitting up into radically distinct types. The wisdom of nature in making a tall man marry a short woman, a fat woman marry a lean man, and so on, has been pointed out. If all the fat married the fat, the tall the tall, the short the short, we should be as varied in our types as the dogs at a bench show, ranging from human St. Bernards to human toy terriers. By causing opposites to attract each other, mentally as well as morally, nature prevents this disastrous splitting up of the race into classes. The bravest man marries the mosttimid woman and the most timid man marries the bravest woman ; both couples hand down a good average amount of courage to their descendants.

THE TABLE. Cauliflower au Gratin : Take a moderatesized cauliflower, cut off the stalk and outside leaves. Put it head down into a saucepan of boiling water (it will turn over, but must be turned back, for any scum rising will ' discolour the iiower) slightly salted. Boil gently till tender ; it will take from 20 to 30 minutes. Take up carefully and drain; put on a clean . cloth and "gently squeeze. Place it on a hot dish. Melt £oz of butter in a saucepan, remove from the fire, and stir smoothly in J>oz of flour, add one gill (one teacup) of milk, return to the fire, and stir continually till it thickens and is quite smooth; add a pinch of salt and cayenne, and loz of grated cheese. Pomtins sauce gently over all the cauliflower, sprinkle over of grated cheese mixed with half a teaspoonfuj of browned breadcrumbs. Put in a hotoven for 15 minutes. Serve very hot. Gascony Butter: Take 3oz of chopped parsley which has beeji parboiled, 3oz of anchovies, washed, boned, and pounded, also 3oz of fresh butter; mix the ingredients well together,'add cayenne, and pass all through a hair sieve ; shape into little balls, and garnish with parsley. A Capital Savoury: Well beat two eggs with half a teacupful of cream. Add a little salt and cayenne, and half a teacupful of rich grated cheese. Mix well together, scatter with breadcrumbs, and bake till a delicate brown. This is a capital savoury. Devilled Eggs: For devilled eggs, put 6 new-laid eggs into cold water, and boil for 20 minutes, then plunge at once into cold water. When quite cold remove the sheHs, aud cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks, pound, and season with butter, salt, and mustard and a very little mayonnaise sauce. Return this creamy mixture to the eggs, and arrange daintily on a bed of crisp young lettuce leaves. It makes an excellent dish for supper. Delicious Teacakes : One pound of flour, one teaspoonful of baking-powder, pinch of salt, sufficient milk to mix to a dough; divide into six, and bake in a moderate oven. When nearly done, take out, and brush over with sweetened milk; replace in oven till done. GENERAL NOTES. To Remove Decanter Stoppers: A common household annoyance is to find a stopper in decanter or scent bottle.that sticks and will not come out. A cloth wetted in hot water wrapped round the neck sometimes is sufficient to remove it; but, if this fails, remember that the principle is to expand the neck of the bottle by heat and not the stopper. With hot water the latter is often heated equally with the neck, and thus the desired effect is not produced. By holding the neck of the bottle about half an inch above the flame of a lamp or candle, however, in a few seconds the most obstinate stopper will generally come out. Care, however, must be taken to turn the bottle rapidly, and not allow the flame to touch the glass, as it might crack it.

Restoring Colour: To restore colour removed by acids drop ammonia or sal-volatile on the spots.

Paperhangers' Paste: Add a teaspoonful of powdered alum to every pound of flour, and then mix in the usual manner.

Door Hinges: Squeaking door hinges may be cured by applying to them the least drop of oil, or by rubbing them with the tin of a lead pencil.

Electric Bells : If the electric bell will not ring, it probably •is because moisture is needed. Shake up the electric jars, and if that does not work a cure put more water into them.

Decanters: Decanters may be easily cleaned thus: Take a handful of tea leaves and a couple of tablespoonfuls of vinegar; put these into the decanter and shake about. Afterwards rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Oil Stains: Oil stains may be removed from carpets and woollen materials with fuller's earth. Make a paste of fuller's earth and soft water, and spread it over the stain. Allow it to dry thoroughly, and then brush off. If necessary, this process should be repeated..