WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13814, 29 July 1908, Page 9

WOMAN'S WORLD.

AN ALARMING REVOLUTION IN , . ... -, MANNERS. ,;' , When Mine. Patti. and Lady Bancroft publicly kissed Mr. William Ganz at the Queen's Hall '■~ the other day, they perhaps hardly realised the alarming nature of what amounts to a social revolution. Was this exchange of chaste', salutes the beginning of a " degringolade" in national manners? Shall we in future :' see the same , spectacles in our austere -sland as marked the return of Lieutenant Hobson to the United States after hi» exploits in the Cuban war.' Are our racial pride, our boasted reserve, our unassailable dignity to go by the board, and will Britons wear their hearts on their sleeves for daws to peck at, and submit to the public embraces of strange and enthusiastic females? iv ,» Hitherto, we have thought that to be kissed in public, and on both cheeks, was one of those untoward happenings' to which Royalty alone f is \ subject; but if this proceeding is to become a precedent, the lives of celebrities— of minor ones —will be full of perilous : surprises. There is no doubt that- with theTincreasing wear and tear of modern life the English are rapidly becoming well-nigh as highly strung iifi the Americans. -J We run after strange gods, and copy exotic peoples nowadays,-. and it may be that the vehement love-making of the Sicilian actors has left more than a passing impression on ..the stolid and inarticulate islander.—Ella Hey. worth Dixon, in the Sketch. " '" RULES OF CARD ETIQUETTE. The broad, general rules of card-leaving are as follows: —A married woman leaving cards upon another married woman leaves one of her own and two of her husband's. If the friend called upon is a iwidow or single woman, the visitor should leave her I own card, but only one of her husband's. In the case of the lady who pays the visit being herself single or a widow; she only leaves her own card. If ; she .be a widow with a daughter, the daughter's name should be printed below that of her mother on the latter's visiting-card. . Some • exercise the freedom of sex in the matter of card-leav-ing, and prefer to do or not to do it at their own good will and pleasure./: : Some people seem to be in : doubt if a card or cards should be left in the event of the lady called upon being found at home. The answer is, certainly not. Then, the question of ■■". sending in " cards . seems to disturb the minds of many. 'Oardsi should never be "sent in" except when a- call is paid on a matter of business. • 1.• Such occasion as: this include a visit to'a strange doctor or lawyer, a call to ask for the character of a servant, or to look Over a house, etc. . With regard to leaving cards after entertainments, the social law directs that they should be left after balls, dinners, parties, weddings, and garden-parties ,;bub never after teas or luncheons.— Herald. FRENCH DINNER-PARTIES. . A - French input!! is far shorter than an English one. Even a large dinner-party is not supposed 'to "last more 'than an hour, and consists of soup, entrees a "piece de resistance," chicken or game, a "'chaudfroid," salad, vegetables, a sweet, and dessert. -Savouries sire regarded as barbarous, except as liors il'ceuvre's, and cheese is"hardly ever served. ; Fish is by no .means an essential, and is, of course, never served with meat during the fasting season. ; Every man has four or five glasses. Large tumblers are planed, for those who mix water with their * vin ordinaire," of which . several .bottles, alternately white and red, are placed on .the table. -' . , . ■'•"" The dinner, however, starts with an'old ■' cru" of red wine, whose date is almost ' invariably mentioned by the butler. _ Then i follows a .white 7 :-wine, also a choice vintage, ! whilst '■ champagne and sweet wines gener- ' ally wind up the meal. /'" ' When dinner is finished, each - man -gives his arm to the lady he ha„s taken in, ■ andescorts her back to the drawingrociin. • After a few minutes' conversation, when coffee is served, men adjourn to the ; smokingrobm ,? in -those old-fashioned houses where smoking is not allowed in the drawingroom. Liqueurs are ; generally served there, and it often happens .that men remain longer*; in th's smokingrbom in France than our male kind waste over their wine,- . ' Those who do rot care for smoking are, however, at liberty to • remain >on in the draw in groom and lalk to-the ladies. -^ When the hour approaches for the breakup of the ; party, syrup, orangeade,; and lemonade are served in the drawingroom, and this is generally regarded as a hint that; it is time to leave, and adjourn elsewhere, except .in those houses where bridge^ ; is played, or where a few' friends have been asked to come in is "toothpicks," to make use of a French expression. I, i iir i ■ ■■■ ' TO CLEAN CHIFFON. . Chiffon should be washed in soap lather by carefully rolling and: pressing between the hands,. then rinsed in clean water and stiffened in gum ) water, the same ; proportion as for lace,' namely,r one tablespoon- \ ful to a-quarter cf a pint of water;'v > .-■'■ Roll in a cloth, to absorb. some of the moisture, but it. must not be too dry when it is ironed. To iron chiffon,' it must be, placed on the table wrong side .:up and ironed along;;the selvedge, as irouiiig-across.would displace the fibres and destroy appearance*'of the delicate jfabrij. . "•'," When the chiffon is ; being ironed, it ought to be held lightly up in front of the iron to i*emove the c?iinkkis that-are produced by washing and to make it quite even and smooth. ' DRESS ALLOWANCES. i In our humble c pinion, a girl is never too young to learn . the true value of 'money; and the only way to do this is to;, have the daily handling of it. . ' i We would have every girl by the time she attains her fourteenth year in yearly, quarterly, or monthly receipt of a dress allow- ! ance. It matters '; not how small it' is. In- j deed, it is a good plan to let a girl begin i buying her own boots, and gloves, and i hats.*-* : The two former, perhaps, do not allow much scope for ingenious economy,'except in I the way of having a second sole put on I after ; a* few months' wear, ' and avoiding, I where it is possible,- the wearing of newboots in wet, mudiy weather; and the useful stitch in time which saves nine where gloves are concerned. But with both these articles of apparel we would preach a strenuous avoidance of quantity in favour of quality, particularly where boots and shoes are ; concerned. Cheap—that is, relatively speakingpa tent leather and elaborately, brbgued! foot-gear is simply money thrown away. The patent leather, so-called, either cracks or becomes irretrievably dulled at ; the first touch of damp, and the poor, thin- paper soles are worse than nothing at all. Now, the same sum of money so uselessly laid out on these ephemeral possessions would have purchased a pair of excellent blacking leather boots, both prettily cut and well s made. *' And, although not: perhaps so attractive in the iirst instance, the charms they do possess aie undoubtedly more lasting. With gloveii'the- licence is a trifle freer, and it is frequently quite; possible to pick: up a good glove at a price out of all proportion to the quality." This is particularly noticeable in the lighter makes of suedes. It is the greatest delusion to imagine that cotton and silk " ; gloves are an economy. The first outlay is by no means the last where they are concerned. - / / -' Millinery is an expemive item if bought ready trimmed, and original millinery is a gift,: but at least eight girln out of 12 are blessed with sufficient intelligence to copy —and millinery, after all, is more or. less a matter of knack. 'i r An old hat should be taken to pieces, and trimmed again so as Do discover the art of making bows,. choux, etc. The twisting of one bow suggests another, and the lining of "brims neatly > and evenly as a question of patience and experience, and nothing more.

\~£W ' V GAMES FOR THE SICIC EQQM-. " What can I do, mother?" asks the sick £? Mid, tired and fretful with lying in bed and wearying! for some amusement to distract his thoughts. "Can't you get met, something to play with?. I'm tired of my own toys and want something new." ■' . How gladly mothers and nurses welcome some new idea whereby they can offer even half an hour's amusement to the sick child. - So many little "ones are compelled to lie down all the time that it requires some ingenuity to contrive a plaything for them. v ' ° , A" animal game which may help" to brighten an hour in a sick child's day is as follows: —A ' ! dark' tablecloth •is • suspend* cd on a string so that the child's eyes can easily rest upon it. -The mother must, cut out a number of animals in white paper - and pin them on to the cloth' so that thet 1 appear to be walking round, or geihelwlry' amusing themselves. If the- pictures aW done in coloured chalks so much"the' better for the child, and the ' little sufferer can ■ have the '■ further pleasure "of directing 'the ; arrangement "of "the animals on the'sheet.',; : Another entertaining game' for . a eick"child is'., the ■ fascinating amusement of cnt v ting out paper figures in tfw ioxm of dolls.' or furniture in any shape that may be fancied by the child. ■ The figures „maV either be ' cut from illustrated magazines or the mother may instruct '.the child; lieK' self in the art of fashioning the dolls froff : tissue paper. This is a game which affords intense pleasure to the little ones, arid; a smal : - table to stand by the bedside forms pail $ of the necessary equipment .to hold the paper figures. ■ SPANISH. WOMEN, t" ,'• >L Spanish, women, says the Ahglo-Amerl« can, have very - little - outdo6r? amusement.; The bicycle is v just beginning; to ■be ■• ad-. ; ; ; mitted, but, under ? protest. '<»;; The young women love, their Queen next ;. to - pretty* - frocks i and glittering ; fans and bright rib- > bons. They flock to the : shows in .thebull rings, and laugh and cheer at the'-' hoiTibl.3 spectacles. The - favourite resort for th«'grand ':• senoras is San. . Sebastian,' • and the lives some of the careless. Spanish ■women of fashion lead there during • the: summer are '.. said to somewhat scandalise;' the' "unco guid." g There is scarcely a pretence at propriety, or "even ordinary conventionality. As* in • Prance a majority: of thei young girls in the / best families are educated in the convents. Their greatest accomplishment is embroidery, 1 and they sit and sit at their knitting until ™ TO uv? a " comes along, and marries them.. Uub life is unknown. Marriageß are cele-, brated very .early in life;-and; but; few. people ; who ■ get weary of these early al.liances ever go to .the trouble and formality of getting a divorce. The- un? happy couples simply divide up the household things and live the balance of them lives the best they can. ~-■-• -,■