THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12301, 19 June 1903, Page 3

THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Before we passionately desire anything which another enjoys, we should examine as to the happiness of its possessor.— Rochefoucauld.

The present, the present-, is all thou hast for thy sure possessing: like the patriarch's angel, hold it fast till it gives its blessing.—Whittier. Style in the mantle of greatness; ar.d say that the greatness is beyond our reach, we may at. least pray to have the mantle. —George Meredith. When suffering has broken up the soil, and made the furrows soft, then can be implanted the hardy virtues which outbrave the storm.Puushon.

Truth is so great a perfection, that if God would render Himself visible to men. He would choose light for His body and truth for His soul.—Pythagoras. The man is the spirit he woiks in, not what he does; with self-renunciation begins true life.Carlv'e. Every good and every evil deed have had their origin in the same soil, that of the human heart; it is how they have been nourished that makes the difference. SOME NOTIONS OF BEAUTY. " Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," says the old proverb, and a truer one was never uttered. Tamerlane's wife, who had no nose, was considered a belle by her contemporaries, and Mrs. Hypocrates, who flourished 'a. few generations later, was the type of all that was lovely because she had a. long upper lip. But " nous avorts change tout eela," and now prefer short upper lips and noses. About two hundred years after the decease of Mrs. Hypo crates, we read that the curved bade was the only true ideal of grace and comeliness, upon the principle, 1 suppose, that " Curved is the line of beauty." Again, about the fifteenth century, an old sage gravely declares that "the-negro is the perfect man, only cut in ebony instead of ivory." And so it goes on, each generation and each nation having its own particular type or ideal of beauty. When the Chinaman, goes -wooing does he not believe that Miss Chin-Chin's oblique orbs are "Sweetest eyes that e'er were seen?" He is a queer lover if he does not. When Hiawatha clasps Minnehaha to his bosom, idie is not to him a dusky, copper-coloured Indian girl, but a type of all that is loveliest and fairest among women.

Of course, to us, Mrs. Hiawatha is merely a rather repel 1 ant and strong-featured maiden. To hark back to our own country, what different notions of beauty are rife here ; Mr. Jones can see no loveliness in any woman who is not a. blonde; on the other hand, I know a, gentleman who yields homage only to brunettes. So far does he carry this fancy of his that even, his servants have to be dark. He saysfair women look washed out.

There are some people who admire red hair; and, again, there are others who think it hideous. Diversity of opinion on this question of beauty rages fiercely, and always will rage. But I must say the maternal notion of what constitutes love- ] liness is one that would send a searcher after the best type all astray. At this | point I must stop. " For this way madness lies." HOW TO DRESS THE HAIR. There is no fashion so desirable to rollow as the fashion of suiting oneself, and there is no point in all the toilet more telling in effect , than hairdressing. A beautiful face may be marred, as equally as plain features may be improved, by an unbecoming mode of hairdressing, and the contrary. There .are so many shapes ot face and head that it is impossible to lay down; set rules, for the features and one's own personal stylo must be taken into consideration. The only reliable way is to find out by constant trial the most becoming mode, altering it as little as possible. Of course, if one possesses a recognised type, a suitable result is soon attained, but ib is bet-weens and betwixts" that are a I source of trouble to the designerthose j who need an individual style all to themselves, and to whom the fixed fashion for hairdressing spells failure. A few proJ nounced types afford a possibility of definite advice, 'as, for instance, we all know that a short face, round and plump, needs a high coiffure, and a very thin face requires much puffing and fluffing at. the sides and about the brow. Hut there are the " mediums" to be considered, and they j are certainly more numerous than the pronounced type. An oval face, somewhat inclining to thinness, is perfectly stilted by a low hairdressing, even to resting right down on the neck, while the sides should be softly, and lightly puffedout, not in set hard rolls, but with a naI tural effect, graceful and pretty. Of course, where the face is very broad and full-looking, the puffings should be very slight, if worn at all but in this case the hair is much more becoming dressed quite high, and with the strands slightly waved l , and brushed back at the sides. The Greek mode is difficult, and only perfectly suits, in few cases, say, for instance, the ideal oval, and occasionally a. round, face; but, in either instance, the shape of the face must be perfect. An oblong face permits the choice of two styles, either quite low upon the neck, or midway between there and the top of the back of the head. Fringes should never be heavy, though a high forehead is improved with light curls about the brow, while a low forehead demands the pretty dressing a, la Pompadour.