THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12077, 22 September 1902, Page 3

THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

A HINT WORTH ACTING UPON. Spring house-cleaning would be robbed of many of its terrors were there no lumberroom where is stored that dreary accumulation of things too good to throw away and not good enough to keep. The modern housekeeper tries to be generous when she looks over each season's wardrobe. But gown, hat, or shoes, unless someone is actually suffering for them, are too often packed away in the vain hope of getting a little more wear out of them. There they stay to collect moths and burden the housekeeper's judgment and conscience. A city mission iu Boston and a church in a manufacturing city have recently contrived a plan for relieving this situation, and for making the best of what would otherwise be lost. The mission provides stout canvas bags, holding a bushel, which are properly tagged and left at private houses with a card of explanation. Into them may go almost any article of household useclothing, hats, shoes, ties, ribbons, collars and cuffs, toys, pictures, mottoes, books, curtains, cushions, rugs. Thus filled they are sent to the factory city. There they are turned over to a corps of skilled workers who put them in order. Milliner, dressmaker, seamstress, cobbler, and tailor experienced in their art —transform the contents of the bag into their best possible state. This done, the articles are sold to the employees of the mills, and report says that the demand for them at reasonable prices far exceeds the supply. The profit is shared between the mission which has procured and collected them, and the church which has repaired and distributed them. In addition to this very considerable gain there is the advantage of giving employment to several kinds of workers, and cf providing the final owner with garments so skilfully renovated as to be much better than' those to be bought elsewhere for the same monev.

MODERN CARE OF THE FEET. OsR of the good effects of the somewhat exaggerated care of the person that has become fashionable of late is the honouring of the feet, which, although intended by nature to be as beautiful (as they certainly are as useful) as the hands, have been positively degraded by long centuries of abuse. As they are no longer fit to be seen it is considered quite improper that they should ever be uncovered. A pretty foot in its naked loveliness is quite as beautiful an object as a white, shapely hand, but it is probably not extravagant to say that not one fashionable woman in ft thousand could afford to show her feet. All of this, however, is to be changed in the new dispensation—feet are to have the same care as the hands; carefully made shoes will keep them straight, and corns and bunions will be unknown, while toenails will be as beautifully shaped and cared for as those belonging to the fingers. It is said that the Parisian women have effected such a reform in this direction that sandals are coming in vogue for neglige toilets.

THE HAT PIN. Apropos of that ugliest appendage of a woman's dress, the hat pin, "A Thoughtful Girl" writes to an English paper: —Of course, tidy women can even wear those barbarous fasteners without having "the business points protruding at different angles " in the dangerous and ridiculous way described. A most effectual plan for keeping a hat secure is a piece of narrow elastic sewn neatly to either side of it. The elastic is: almost entirely hidden by the hair, and can be made very charming by covering it with a piece of velvet ribbon. I have always found this a most comfortable and tidy way of securing my hats. THE DUTY OF MOTHERS TO THEMSELVES. One of the sins of omission most frequently indulged in by the members of our sex (says a lady writer; is surely the neglect of our duty towards ourselves. We all fail this ■way, rich and poor, good and bad alike; indeed, the good have often more reason to reproach themselves in this respect than have the bad, for that very unselfishness which makes up so large a part of their character, if not practised very judiciously, leads to this fault. It is such a common, everyday occurrence to find a mother out of whose life all colour, all character has gone, because " she lives for her children." One asks her whether she still keeps up her music, knowing that she was quite a good performer in the days of her girlhood, and receives for answer, "Ohno ! I've scarcely touched the piano for years; I have no time now, yousee." Or one reminds her of the painting or fine needlework or special hobby in which she excelled in bygone times, but finds that the particular art is almost now forgotten in the multifarious duties of home. One's first idea on seeing such women, on coming in contact with such sacrifice, is perhaps best expressed by the word "noble," and we think it is indeed fine of people to forget their own welfare in that of other folk. A moment's reflection, however, makes one wonder whether it is not rather misspent nobility. Has a mother any right to utterly neglect any gifts she» may possess for the sake of doing services for others which it is quite possible they might as well do for themselves. During the earlier years of married life, when children are small and incomes perhaps not too large, a wife must, of course, devote the greater part of ber time to the care of husband and little ones, but afterwards— There is no reason why great girls and boys should be thought for and lived for all their days. That they will need sympathy, that "they will need help, of course, goes without saying, but that overwhelming care which many women give, that utter i sacrifice to domesticity is perhaps a little ; mistaken. Homes are worthy objects of ! solicitude we must all agree, indeed one scarcely dares contemplate our national life without those houses which are proverbially ; our casting. At the same time there is no i doubt that; it is our duty to cultivate our ! minds and ourselves as far as in us lies, without absolutely neglecting the duties which are at oui door. USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE SICK ROOM. Nkver keep or leave food in the sick room. Old medicines should not be kept. They deteriorate. .Sulphur disinfectant should never be used in a room where a patient is lying. Curtains and bed-valances harbour dust, and should be dispensed with in time of illness. Keep a. pair of old gloves handy to put coal on the fire during the night without the use of tongs. A good preventive to noise when feeding the fire is to keep the co» in a basket or piece of sacking. When feeding a child measure out the exact amount it is to have, or it may want more thai* is good for it. The best position for the bed is a few inches away from the partition wall, and with the foot towards the fireplace. Castor oil in black coffee is almost undistinguishable. If a little pure coffee is taken j first the castor oil is absolutely untasted.

A substitute for a feeding cup can always be found in. the teapot belonging to a child's tea-set, or a small china afternoon teapot. Feather beds should not be used in cases of illness, A mattress three and a-half feet in width allows the nurse to rsaeh across.

Pictures collect dust behind them, and should he replaced by coloured prints pinned 01* the wall so that they can be removed often.

When pouring out medicine hold the bottle with the. label uppermost in order that the drops that run down the bottle may not stain the label.

If the doctor says the patient is to be fed at regular intervals have no scruples about waking out of sleep, as the latter is often caused by exhaustion and want of food.