THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13048, 13 December 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

LIFE WITHOUT LOVE. :,'*■■ Is is worth having? Well, hardly. We may not be sentimental. We may be the most matter-of-fact person in the world. Unless we are very crabbed and very foolish, however, we must appreciate,: the help love proves in all walks of life,. ' Without love would the tired mother care: to sit up and work for Iter little one—tend anu wait on the ailing childie all night? Without love would the lather be always anxious to get on in the world,, and be helped in his daily work by looking forward to the evening at home? ; • .- Most of us know the difference love makes in the countenance of the engaged girl and : man-. Certainly the knowledge of it changes their outlook in every way; whilst ■ love entirely alters the relations of a brother and sister. With it they are chums, and" take ail interest in all that concerns one an-1 • other. Without it they are as strangers"; probably, with the ordinary restrictions o) good manners removed. No. Even the most matter-of-fact among us must own that " 'Tis love that makes the world go round;" and certainly the unhappiest person in the whole community would be the one who was doomed to "life without lovo'' were it possible to find.any such. V A SOURCE OF FINANCIAL LEAKAGE IS MOST HOUSEHOLDS. • , Just at this* season during the last week a good many of us have been exercised in ' our minds in respect' of the monthly bills. One or two of the accounts we are called upon to settle are rather higher than we expected them to be, and sorrow is our por- . tion, also a resolve that the Christmas quarter shall be happier in this regard. And the easiestin fact the only way— bring this about is by careful watching of all our expenditure throughout the present month; by actually keeping account of our liabilities, as they mount up, and, of ,' course, lessening.them in time, if necessary, rather than waiting until they are out of hand. ■—■]. Thus in a good many households there is,. one channel of expenditure which might be narrowed did we care to check it week by week. Many of us use our gas quite irresponsibly, with the result that each monthly bill proves an annoyance, if nothing else. Yet were we to read'the meter, say, - " weekly, it is quite possible that we might .. keep our consumption a good deal lower without any real discomfort to ourselves. The reading is, of course, quite easy. - On the meter are three dials which, read from left to right, show the ten thousands, anu thousands, and hundreds of feet consumed. A reference to these will show! one without trouble how much gas has i passed through the meter altogether, the r amount last recorded on the card supplied by the company subtracted from' this grand ,: total being, of course, that for which, the consumer has yet to pay. " Few of us probably ever bother to keep' a record of our light bill in this way, but - it is certainly worth the trouble. It is al- ' most involuntary with most of us to spend < more carefully when we know exactly how „ our liabilities are creeping up, this tendency showing with regard to all household :as well as the personal expenses of most folk.. SHOULD MARRIAGE ENGAGEMENTS-

BE REGISTERED? ,- ;. We are a strangely happy-go-lucky; people, we Britishers, in many respects. : ' ; Let one party but contract to buy from, another a terrier pup, or rent a flat, or hire a yacht and the obligation is set down; in black and white, as a matter of course.': J But it is an altogether different matter when it comes to being engaged to be mar-, ried. And yet the one is of supreme importance, as compared with any of \ the others. -'

It is not so in other countries. In Franco • : the engagement is arranged, after much and anxious consultation, by the heads of the respective families, and deeds and parch- . . ft ments sufficient to fill an ancient muniment- i chest are signed, sealed, and / delivered!,-v Amongst the Jews, even here in England, the formal betrothal is almost as solemn •■_; and binding as is the subsequent marriage, ceremony itself. A Scandinavian maiden' who is engaged is looked upon as married,' V :-*■•'. and woe betide the man who casts envious ■ -j eyes upon her. Amongst the Hungarian, peasantry the "ceremony of engagement'* is a most solemn function, participated in by all the relatives of both parties to the ; : ! remotest degree of kinship. '* n '.',„...,- Only here in Britain are engagements of ,;-:" marriage entered into lightly, thoughtlessly, K and often clandestinely. Only here is a .._ , trusting and loving girl placed so completely',','" at the mercy of a lover, who may be constant who may not. ••••'. And if the latter, what remedy has she? None whatever. A breach of promise suit is, in 99 cases out of 100, worse than use- : , less a delusion and a, snare. It shows up the girl, and puts money in the pockets of ~ the lawyers. That is all. • ■ '. You do not credit this? .Very well. Lets ". - us take a typical case. . , '. ;, ■ 'A girl of the lower middle classes. be-'"" comes engaged to a young fellow in her own walk of life. He dallies with her during the best years of her life, the short, sweet ■->■'■' years during which her personality is attrac- \ ,; , tive to men, and then throws her over. <■ •; '■* Furious, she seeks a solicitor. If she ;.;;:■? possesses letters, and has £15 or £20 ready ' ; . in her hand to fee counsel, she may institute her suit, and may also— is a very dif-. ferent —win it. ' What then? The jury may possibly award her £50 damages. But let her nob; •• imagine that she will, handle this sum. •'.-''. Likely as not she will never see a penny pi] ■ '■'£[ it. It will be swallowed up by those cor,-;. "- morahts, the lawyers. •"'';"'-.- That is, if the defendant pays. Often/ !; " he does not, but sneaks abroad, or hides himself effectually in some other way. And' in such a case the unhappy plaintiff finds. herself not only nothing in pocket, but heavily mulct in costs into the bargain. A good deal of this injustice would be, remedied if engagements were formally registered, just as marriages are at present. The arrangement would also work well ire •_." other ways. It would steady the flighty , youth and the giddy girl. ~ It would check deception, fraud, and dishonourable conduct: And it would give the girl something to go* '"' t upon—her "engagement lines." - ' „%";;■ I'■ "