THE WOMAN'S WORD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12910, 5 July 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE WOMAN'S WORD.

A PRETTY WATCH BRACKET. Time was when a watch was somewhat of a rarity, when one or two at most in a family was the average. Now almost every person possesses one, * more or less satisfactory. • A watch when it is not worn. on the person goes ever so . much better when suspended in a perpendicular position, or thereabouts. Some watches stop when laid down, and to put a watch on a cold surface in the winter, such as a. marble washstand or a china pintray, is exceedingly bad for it. Here is a 1 pretty way of dealing with the difficulty. It is made thus: Cut out an oval about 6in long and 4in wide in thick pasteboard,

or in two thicknesses if one is not stout enough. Cover, this with chintz to match the lied hangings or curtains, or in a plain material embroidered, done, of course, before the cover is made up. .Cut out a lining'for the back and seam the two together at the edges, which are hidden by a cord or twisted ribbon. A large hook, such as is used for heavy cloth capes, is affixed near the bottom or centre of the bracket, and sewn firmly on, covering it with buttonhole stitching, while a ring or loop of ribbon is sewn on to the top, to be slipped over a nail conveniently near the bed. This may be a pretty as well as useful bedroom etcetera. WOODEN LATCH FOR A DOOR. For the door of an outhouse, such as a tool-shed or coal-house, which does not need locking up, a good latch can be contrived entirely of wood. The sketch given shows how a block is bevelled off at each end so that it may be nailed on the door. It should be about a foot long and Sin wide. On the inner side, which will go next the door, cut out a piece all across to let the latch pass through. This must be sufficiently long to allow of the latch moving up 'and down, so if the latch is to be about 2£in wide, cut the slit at least five inches long, and then nail or screw the shaped piece of wood on the door. The block for the opposite jamb will be seen in the sketch to be thin at the top

end and very thick near the middle, to allow of a deep notch being cut in it to receive the latch. The thickness is bevelled off both towards this notch and towards the bottom of the block, and is screwed to the door jamb at each end. The notch should, of course, be opposite to the opening cut in the other block when the door is closed. The latch itself is a piece of wood about 18in long, wide at at one end, and tapering oft' at the other almost to a point. The broad end can be cut off at the top, as indicated in the sketch, as this looks better than leaving it square. When it is ready pass the latch through the opening in the block on the door and allow it to project over far enough to rest in the notch out

[in the block on the jamb. Then put a strong nail or screw through the end of the latch, but not too tight, as it should form a pivot for the latch, to work on. A hole drilled in the door under the latch enables anyone to open it from the other side. WIVES AND HOUSEWIVES. A good wife should be a good housewife, but & good housewife is not necessarily a good iwife. We know, according 'to the cynics at least, that the best way to a, man's love is through his digestive organs; and, bejthfe true or not, it must be confessed that a bad dinner is a trial to a man's affection, especially if often repeated. But no one with any idea about his own comfort likes the wife to be entirely merged in the housewife, the woman lie has chosen as companion and friend to be wholly given over to the work of the house without any time or thought for anything else. ■ The happy medium is what is wanted—the wife that is a sufficiently good housewife to make the daily ■wheels run well and smoothly, ami. yet one that has time to 'spare, at least for her husband, from her housekeeping cares. No man, likes to be set aside even for the things which make for his own comfort, and the woman who is always busy when her husband wants her, too busy to heed him, who is always occupied and must not bo disturbed when he would take her for a walk, is running a great risk of alienating his affections, and of making him seek his pleasure elsewhere than in her society. Many people have just resumed the oven tencur of their ways after the Easter holidays; now is the time to make a fresh start —just give a little heed to .the/ matter hinted at here, and it may be for the good of many most estimable women who yet are not quite living the best life possible for them because they are too wrapped up in "the trivial round, the common task."