HOME TOPICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13746, 11 May 1908, Page 3

HOME TOPICS.

THE: EMERGENCY CUPBOARD. . "What shall I keep in my emergency cupboard?" asked the young and inexperienced housekeeper. "When people come in unexpectedly to lunch and dinner I feci that I ought to have a stock of things to fall back on in my cupboard, but I never know what to choose." , " I will give you my experiences of housekeeping," replied a matron ot some years' standing, "as I have always found my emergency cupboard invaluable. "On one shelf I keep the ordinary preserves, such as marmalade, jams of different kinds, and currant jelly. Then I always have at hand bottles of preserved vegetables, such as peas, tomatoes, and string beans. The peas I find specially, useful, as they can be used for soups, salads, and vegetables. " I always keep at least two bottles of soup, at hand, and some canned chicken. Then J. have a tin of fancy biscuits, cheese, sardines, anchovies, and two tins of unsweetened' condensed milk and a packet of gelatine. In this way I can have a dinner or lunch at almost any moment, as I am prepared with soup, chicken, vegetables, cheese, biscuits, and gelatine for jelly. "In order to provide for my emergency j cupboard I keep a money-box, into which j I drop all my odd pennies on the day. I | spend little in housekeeping. Of course, I : keep my regular stock of groceries, hut some days I spend very little, and the surplus money goes into the money-box. " Immediately. I use up one can of soup or chicken in my cupboard I replace it, as an emergency cupboard is no use unless it is always filled, and therefore ready to fall back on at the desired moment." THE FEAR OF DULNESS. BY MRS. HUGH ADAMS. It is the fashion nowadays to find fault the fashion to declare that everything, from manners to morals, is on the down grade. The modern conversationalist prates with that monstrous inconsequence which is the art of modern conversation, ; of the decline and fall of society in general. and of women in particular. To such an extent has this calumny grown, that were the follies and foibles of femininity to be suddenly remedied half the occupations of life would be seriously interrupted. Sermons would be no longer preached, for there would be nothing left to preach about; the pens of the ready writers would be laid aside for.lack of subjects to discuss; the piquancy of gossip and the spice of scandal would suddenly disappear. In short, existence would be very dull indeed ! And dulness—according to the pessimist's creed of gloom— at the root of all the evil society is suffering from. For, falling into the company of one of those who fol- * low the fashion of denouncing the sex, and who believe that we are all in a very bad way, it was both instructive and interesting to learn that the point of failure that threatens, to bring down the walls of Jericho today is the fear of being dull. According to this expert's theory, women of every class are running after excitement in the hope of dodging the dulness of which they have been the victims so long. It is this bogey, this spectre of dulness, rather than the love of excitement, that lies at the bottom of the restlessness that has caused a revolution against domesticity, and which forms so marked a feature of modern society. ; * V" The result of this is an epidemic of overwrought nerves, hysterical crazes, disorganised digestions, all the 'other ills that femininity is heir to. It is the fear of dulness that drives womankind to , commit those numerous sins and omissions that have led to their being denounced as " social wreck- j ers," "destroyers of the nation's life," I " slaves of society," and numerous other uncomplimentary and censorious epithets coining of which must have given their critics such unbounded satisfaction. According to this latest theory, it has been the dread of boredom that has driven my lady to bridge, and .incidentally to gambling and neglecting her home duties. It is this that makes her life a rush and scramble from morning till night, and which has turned existence into a nightmare of telephone calls, taxi-races after time, broken engagements, profuse apologies, all of which are breathlessly rushed through at top speed as she dashes on, trying to keep pace with the whirl of trivial engagements, ever fearful lest she drops out of the race, and, being forgotten, sinks to that dull level of humdrum irxistence that condemned her grandmother to a life of tedious monotony and boredom, till, in sheer despair, she found refuge on the couch. There is, however, another side to the question which the denouncers of modern methods arc careful '. to . ignore. The tear of dulness may be wrecking our nervous systems, but it has spurred women on to greater strength and endurance. At any rate, it has not the deadly, damaging effectthat dulness had. For what can be more demoralising, more tiring, or more tiresome than being bored? Thanks to the added variety and excitement- of life, women of to-day are twice as strong and energetic as their ancestors ■vere. The amount that the modern woman gets through in her all too short day is nothing less than astounding. No longer is she left at home " resting," no longer is she reduced by sheer lassitude into sinking into premature old age or fading into a sickly, fainting specimen ot humanity, admired for her delicate constitution, her vapours. and her languors and other lady-like complaints. A new spirit has taken possession of the sex. • The fear of dulness proves an allpowerful incentive. The modern woman can spend whole days hunting or out with the guns. She can sail a boat, drive a motor, cycle, play golf, hockey, or tennis without showing the slightest sign of fatigue. But set that same woman down in the sombre surroundings of uncongenial companionship, condemn her to talk to a community ot people with whom she has nothing in common, and no words can describe the demoralising effect of the 'ennui she undergoes. A year or so of such treatment, and back she will be, a victim to dulness, spending her days on the couch like her grandmother-^a prey to the latest fashionable complaint. . And heaven help the woman who allows herself to grow dull! For nothing save her own individual efforts can raise her from her slough of despondency. Nobody is com- , ing to her rescue. She is too uninteresting to attract anyone's attention. She is shunned like the plague, for she not only commits the unpardonable sin of being dull herself, but— Dr. Johnson's dull friend she is accused of being the cause of dulness in others.