WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13470, 24 April 1907, Page 9

WOMAN'S WORLD.

IF YOU WISH TO BE QUITE CORRECT IN YOUR BEHAVIOUR.

Do not- rise when a gentleman is introduced to you, only do so when you meet for the first time one of your own sex.

Do not offer to shake hands on a iirst introduction.

Do not omit to return a first call within the week.

Do not seal a letter of introduction which you may give to a friend.

Remember that it is not necessity it you are walking in the street with one friend and stop to speak to another to effect an introduction between the two.

That cards should be left on a first visit and at the commencement of the season, a lady only leaving her own and not her husband's on an unmarried girl.

It is not necessary to ask for the lady of the house in returning a call after a reception, it is sufficient to leave curds. Dinner parties and balls, however, demand the former courtesy, whilst- all obligations may be fulfilled in the case of afternoon and gardell parties by leaving cards on the way out.

These are the ordinary rules ot" society, although, as with litis, except ions may be found. Thu.«, for instance, we should generally rise as an elderly man is introduced to us. When we have known of the person for some time, or are convinced they wished to know us, wo should shake hands. In the country, too, when house* are Jar apart, it is a forgivable- action it a little longer than a week is allowed to elapse between the receiving and returning of a call. But then rules of etiquette, like most, others, are based on common-sense principles, and we c;ui find that commonsense is one ol the best guides.

business girls who fail. The girl who takes up work as only a temporary occupation with her mind e\ci 011 matrimony. The girl who expects to begin at the top instead of slw.v'y ilirubine there. , , The girl who airs her grievances to others until she makes a nuisance of herself. The gill who is not thorough and conscientious about her work. '1 ne girl who keeps her eye 011 the clock fearful that she may give her employer a moment or two overtime. The girl who spends her night at parties, and arrives at the office in the morning weary and out of temper. The gill who talks over her employer's business outside the office. The girl who criticises everything and everybody. The girl who fails to remain womanly and afreets mannish qualities. The gill who spends her money upon clothes instead of good, health-bringing food. The girl who is never in time. The gH v let depends upon favouritism to advance 1 er instead of good, honest work. The girl who is indifferent and listless, and cannot even assume an interest in her occupation. The girl who feels herself above her position, and does not even condescend to fill it adequately. The girl who tells you wonderful things she can do, but never really does anything well. The girl who gets into the habit of thinking, "Oh ! this is so small and unimportant that it makes no difference how I do it!" The girl who is for ever "grumpy" over her work —who never puts her heart and soul in it—but who does it all in a grumbling manner, and is for ever thinking she is overworked. The girl who does not attend to business during office hours, but who is constantly talking of her amusements, dress, and home affairs. j. ENGAGEMENT RINGS. Tho important moment in which the bridegroom-elect slips upon the third linger of the left hand of his lady-love the outward and visible sign of their engagement is to the woman one of the supreme moments of her life. But few men are valiant enough to ."ally forth with the declaration of love upon their lips and in their pocket the betrothal ring. They usually leave the pleasant task of choosing the ring to a later moment, after due deliberation with the affianced one as to her taste in stones and patterns Our great-grandmothers were fond of receiving a triple band of gems, each separate though intended to be worn together, and each set solid with one type of gem. A ruby band, an emerald one, and a. diamond one made a favourite trio. Such rings are again being sold, but are far less frequently asked for than the newly modish gipsy ring, and the popular and effective crossover design, surmounted at the two ends by a single big j>eaii and a. diamond. Far more diamonds are sold than coloured stones for the ring of betrothal, though at present there are indications that the ruby and the diamond, symbolical of the flame and purity of love, are being rather widely chosen. It sometimes happens that a girl prefer* a bangle as her gage d'amour, riveted upon her wrist in such a maimer that it can never be removed without the jeweller's aid, and 011 rare occasions a -jewelled cross is chosen. Men wear bangles fixed upon the upper a,nil, far more often th.ia is generally supposed, and these are engraved inside with the name of their ladylove and the date of the betrothal. Such bridegrooms frequently approve also of the Continental fashion of wearing a wedding ring, and at the altar, after having married the woman of heir choice with the prescribed cirri* t, receive from her a, duplicate, which is unostentatiously slipped on, without, of course, any words being said, while the ceremony proceeds. THE NEWEST WOMAN. Man is 110 longer ashamed of his bluestocking sister as he was even ten years ago. He will cheerfully take her out or dine at her club. He has ceased to .scoff at the idea of woman possessing intelligence. not so much because she has beaten him 011 his own ground, but because. lie is more generous, less prejudiced, and less jealous than the men of the last generation. And Iw is entirely delighted with woman as colleague, friend, and comrade. This conversion of man from critic to admirer is one. of the smartest things that the Newest Woman lias accomplished. That man's attitude has changed is illustrated by the fact that " new woman" is no longer a term of reproach. THE ORIGIN OF CROCHET. Few people are aware how the art of crochet originated, and, like most arts, it owes its invention to nature. In. the early part, of the nineteenth century Mdlle. Riego, a French lady, was walking one day in the harvest fields. Her attention was struck by seeing the harvesters making a chain from the long straws, which they knotted together 011 the points of their reaping hooks, and when finished they tied the sheaves together with the. novel binding. Mdlle. Riego was ingenious enough to evolve the art of crochet from this idea; she procured a small hook and tried what she could do with a chain of cotton, and gradually, thanks to her artistic skill and unwearying patience, crochet, became a reality . Mdlle. Riego was very friendly with the nuns at the Black Rock Convent, Dublin, and taught them how to crochet the many beautiful designs she created, in which patterns of the finest antique laces were reproduced, and these patterns are still used at the convent, where the nuns have established workrooms where the crochet industry gives employment to many Irish girls. FOR GIRLS. Shut the door, and shut it softly. Keep your own room ill tasteful order. Have an hour for rising, and rise. Learn to make bread as well as cake. Never let a button stay* off 24 hours. Always know where your things are. Never let a day pass without doing something to make somebody comfortable.

■SILENT INFLUENCE

Influence is a strange tiling ; we can feel neither its coming nor its going. We awake some morning with renewed strength for our daily task. We had bee fretting beneath our burden. We had made up our mind that ours was a peculiar case of hardship and trial almost too grievous to be borne. And then we met a woman, brave, cheerful, alert—showing no signs of failure or defeat—a woman beneath whose burden, had it suddenly been lilted to our shoulders, we would have succumbed, saying, "It is too heavy; I cannot possibly endure ii.'' Yet this woman was carrying it as if it was a featherweight. " What heroism is hers, and what a coward 1 have been wo exclaim, and return to our home and to out burden, strengthened, uplifted, glorified. That woman has inspired us to better courage, to a greater strength : and yet she had not intimated by look or manner that hers was an unusual burden.

"'1 here ir, ii.. bush so small but casts its shadow," is an old proverb. 1 lie strength we ourselves have received should in turn be transmitted to others through our silent example of patient living ; or we may live our life on such a low level that lives touching ours may be weakened by contact. li we (limb we shall have followers; ay. and if we sink to a lower level we shall ill have followers. There is always someone leauy to imitate our example for good or tor evil. We can diffuse sunshine, or.we tan cast a shadow on the lives ot those we meet, and with whom we have contact, but we cannot be neutral. The meanest and smallest of us all have an influence over some life, therefore a great responsibility lies in the way in which this influence i* used. "He always has such a pleasant way of meeting people," a lady remarked of a gentleman who went in and out of a certain church, Sunday after Sunday, taking no active part in the affairs of the church, save to give a friendly handshake and a pleasant, greeting to everyone whom he chanced to meet. While, on the other hand, another member said that it made her glum for the day simply to pass a certain lady in tilt; street, as she looked as if she hated herself and everyone else.

in our homo, at 0111 business, in our social life, in our Christian life, we must exercise :i certain influence. Let us strive to use ours so that we strengthen, uplift, and cheer those whom we must, on life's pathway. Our very presence can influence for good or ill those who are near us, making them purer, nobler, and more unselfish, or the direct opposite. Let us constantly 'say tc ourselves, " Others are affected by what * am, and say, and do."