THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12280, 26 May 1903, Page 3

THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

" ON BOWING AND LEAVETAKING." The etiquette article in the Lady's Magazine, which is written month by month by "Au Fait," is exceedingly popular. In the March number the subject dealt with is " Bowing and Leave-taking," points on which many people are puzzled. " When to shake hands, and when only to bow, either on being introduced or on first meeting afterwards, perplexes many people. Anxious to do right, not to be either too familiar or too formal, they are not quite sure of their ground, and often, having done the one, wish, on reflection, they had done the other. "I should like to make the why and the wherefore of this matter clear to my readers, as no hard and fast rule of etiquette can be laid down. The exceptions are so many that it cannot be said definitely that this or that should always be done. It greatly depends upon by whom you are introduced, and to whom you are introduced, whether you bow only or shake hands. When, introduced to strangers, or when they are introduced to you by a friend, you should bow without extending your hand, and they should do the same. Supposing but little conversation takes place between you and them, you should merely bow on parting. Should you, however, have got on well together, and have become friendly, you might, if you wished, shake hands, although at a first meeting of this kind to bow only is more usual. To follow up the foregoing example at a second meeting, ' to bow' would be the correct thing to do, unless you had ventured upon shaking hands on tiVking leave on the first occasion, when you must repeat the same or be considered capricious."

SOME USEFUL HINTS. Food is warmed and macerated in the stomach, so that the small intestine is relieved of much of this preparatory work. You cannot be graceful unless every part of your body enjoys perfect freedom of action. The warmth of clothing is dependent to a certain extent upon its colour. No indoor exercise can take the place of activity in the open air. Soap that contains much oil is best for use. The cheap soaps are strong with alkali and will ruin the finest skin. The skin is of the greatest value in eliminating impurities from the body, and therefore, should be kept in perfect condition. If the top of a shoe does not allow the toes to spread forward and outward they will have to turn up. It is easy to see how painful this will be in playing games, or in walking down hill, or in deep bending, or in jumping down from any height. Physical training strengthens the muscles and makes them less liable to fatigue. It also develops a sense of strength and selfconfidence. To remove stains and grime from the hands use a little lemon-juice or pumicestone. Never use any meta.l instrument about the teeth, or you will run the risk of injuring the enamel. Never bite threads nor crack nuts with the teeth. Mutton tallow is very good for the hands. A few drops of camphor in it have a healing effect. Rest is fully as important for the thin girl as diet. Relieve all tension fry closing the eyes and banishing all thought for short intervals. An unpleasant taste in the mouth is a sure sign of some disturbance and of an impure breath. Never neglect your hands, and especially your nails. Keep both scrupulously neat. The stout girl must gain control over her waist and abdominal muscles. She must sit and stand correctly. Drink water early in the morning and late at night. Fruit is, however, a good substitute for the early morning drink. ' HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Breadths of matting may he sewed together like carpet instead of fastening them down with staples, in the more common way. Use a loose stitch of ordinaiy carpet thread. For greasing cake tins, moulds, or waffle irons, a small camel's hair brash is a great improvement over the small piece of cloth so often used for the purpose. A brush is neater and is always at hand. Table linen should not be darned with cotton thread or the darn will be very conspicuous after the cloth is laundered. Skeins of soft flax can bo bought for this work, and if the rent is neatly darned will be scarcely noticeable after it has been laundered.

Paint can be removed from clothing even after it is dry by saturating the spot some three or four times with a mixture of equal parts of turpentine and ammonia. After all the paint has been removed, wash in a little soapy water and press. Porch or floor cushions are better stuffed with very fine excelsior than with feathers. They yield less and keep their shape better. Cover the cook books with thin white oilcloth, stitched smoothly in place. This will prevent their becoming soiled and greasy. Stains on muslin made by sewing machine oil can be removed with liquid ammonia if it is applied before the garment has gone to the wash. CARE OF THE HANDS. Wash your hands always in soft water; it is always possible to get it, either by adding a little ammonia or oatmeal to the water and a good soap. When dry, rub them all over with the juice of a lemon squeezed into a little milk. At night rub your hands all over with glycerine or almond paste, and always sleep in loose kid gloves. For your nails it would be better for you to have them properly manicured ; but if you cannot do this, get a little red pomade, such as is sold for manicuring purposes, and rub a little on each nail; then put a very little manicure powder on a leather and rub the nail briskly for five minutes. If after doing this any accumulation of colouring matter is left on the nail, wash the fingers, dry them, and rub the nails well against the palm of the other hand. THE IDEAL HAND.

The ideal hand is in colour a clean, healthful white, with a tender, firm surface, "as though it were of fine silk or softest cotton;" the hollow beauty of the palms suggest seasbells, rare petals, or whatever else is delicate of tint ; the fingers are flexible and tapering, with nails clear, thin, yet firm; the wrist round, white, and delicately veined. In regard to the shape, the most beautiful hand is one which, held so that the eyes scan the outer edge of the little finger and of the palm, appears wedgeshaped, the thickest end being, of course, at the wrist, and the wedge tapering out to the fingerends. The whole hand should be thin when it shows this wedge-shape, and the effect will be marred if the joints are swollen so as to interrupt the regularity of the slope to the finger-ends.

EXPERIMENTS TO BE AVOIDED. Girls are more often tempted to test the strength of their lovers' affections than men are. If their plans work smoothly, sometimes the knowledge that their fiancees have stood lire is very comforting, but they are apt to go " aft agley," with very disastrous consequences. If the man discovers that he is under test, so to speak, he may not relish the situation at all, find turn the tables by acting in a tot-ally different capacity to that which he would 'have done originally, purposely, of course, to play spy on his lady love.

Some very awkward complications have come about through this means, and the possibility of being discovered should prevent a girl from playing this hazardous and somewhat deceitful game. No man cares to be doubted, and unless there are very grave reasons for probing, the girl should let his actions indicate the tone of his affection. Sham love-making very soon asserts itself, without recourse to trickery. The girl who reciprocates a man's love warmly very rarely requires to prove him, for the simple reason that she has given him her whole heart and has no cause tor suspicion.