WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15249, 12 March 1913, Page 11

WOMAN'S WORLD.

l WOMEN OF TO-DAY. THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS. Two women were talking the other day over a cup of tea. One was old, her silver hair covered with a fine lace cap and frills of the same delicate texture ornamenting her old-fashioned black silk gown. The other was a modern young woman of the present day. " Yes," she was saying impressively as ; she sipped her tea, " Lucille has had a breakdown. She is under the care of a trained nurse and she isn't to be bothered by any worries for several months to come." "But what worries had she?" inquired the old-fashioned woman, looking puzzled. " Lucile has servants to do everything for her, a kind and generous husband, perfectly trained children, and a well-ordered bouse. What caused the x breakdown?" Nerves," answered her young friend. Nothing more definite could be had from her, for the reason that nothing more definite was the matter with Lucile. To the modern young woman of" to-day there was nothing very disturbing in the event. Her friends very frequently gave way to "nerves" and she thought nothing of it. But to the older woman there was a terrible significance in the affair. It was the third of its kind casually t mentioned to her in a week. And among her acquaintance she reoalled many cases of young women giving vtey to "the blues." A Habit of Complaint. "In my younger days," she said reflectively, " no married woman in my recollection ever confessed to " the blues.' Young girls sometimes got them after some provoking misfortune, but they (sometimes not too gently) were ooaxed out of it by their elders. When I look back on my own mother's life I can see that it had its full load of struggling and sorrow, tyit we children would have been as much shocked to find her refusing to take an interest in the things around her, as if she had suddenly ceased to wash her face. 'Giving in' was not merly despised, it was almost unknown. Another "point that I cannot help noticing in the modern matron is her continual lament when afflicted with poverty. ' I can't afford' or 'If only I had a larger income' are almost her commonest phrases. I know that she often uses them to display her utter lack of snobbery, but the old-time reticence on such matters was not necessarily inspired by false pride or hypocrisy. It was just a matter of good manners, and, I think, should be held so still, for the person .who is alwavs complaining that she is> poor is at least as tiresome as the one who cannot' have a headache without telling the world about ' it. ... •. The Duty of Being Happy. " Sometimes I think that this mistake begins in the nursery. Our nurses were regarded as stern, but just guardians, who kept us from making nuisances of ourselves. My seven-year-old grand-nice appears to believe that her nurse is a sort of private entertained whose business is to make her happy. Unless her character is exceptionally fine she will go on expecting somebody to make her happy all through her life. I Hear a great deal of ' emancipated' > talk among my modern young friends, but they would be very much surprised if I could make them realise that "the attitude of my own class in the old days seems to me more independent and more brave. For we regarded our , husbands as working partners—not as beings whose function it was to make its 'happy.' That duty, when we thought about it at all, we decided was our own.", CONSCRIPTION FOR : GIRLS. A NOVEL GERMAN SUGGESTION. A remarkable suggestion in regard to the education of girls, somewhat startling in i its originality, has been made by a lady writer, Helene Glaue Bultz, of Jena. It is neither more nor less than that the prin- , ciple of compulsory service, though for different objects, should be applied to the young women of the German Empire as well as to the young men. 1 The foundation upon wfhich the sugges--1 tion is based is as follows: Men have re- • oeived compulsory military training for l many years for the defence of the Fatheri land against external enemies, with splendid results both to the Empire and to the individual, therefore it would be good policy to thoroughly train young women 3 against : the eternal enemies of domestic 1 waste, disease, and infant mortality. It is > characteristic of the German writer that . . the peculiarities and preferences of the in- » dividual and of the parent are somewhat r lightly brushed aside in the supposed in- , teresta of the State; such obstacles are doomed to be crushed by the momentum *; of the State machinery. Field-Marshal > von der Goltz has declared that compul* 3 sory military training has given to Gerj many an orderly, punctual, and above all a self-reliant people—an asset of enormous value. This lady writer is optimistic . enough to believe that' the same result ' might be obtained from the compulsory t training of young women in domestio 3 science. A difficulty may be expected at - first in finding suitable teachers for this ) large army, as the number of female teacht> era in Germany is much smaller than in f Great Britain,'most of the teaching in the 3 elementary schools being in the hands of - men. It is not anticipated, however, that s this difficulty would long prevail. It is ea- i } timated that about 500,000 girls leave i school in Germany every year, and making * liberal allowance for delicate subjects and t others whose absence from home for twelve ■ months might involve some hardship, it is ■ believed that 350,000 young women might be called up every year to the inestimable advantage of themselves and the communs ity. , The Training. , After leaving school, in most cases a > girl would have several years in which to I choose some sphere of work and make her- . self proficient therein, and at the age of 1 eighteen or immediately after she would be . obliged to present herself at some selected institution to undergo twelve _ months' j training in some of the moat important ' subjects of domestic and social science. 1 It is suggested that six months should be . devoted to ordinary domestic training, a three month* to teaching the art of child t culture, and three months to the teaching 3 of the principles of sick nursing. The life s is to be simple, wholesome, and healthy; i all classes of society are to be treated alike - discipline and regular habits are to be s maintained; and though compulsion is the s keynote of the scheme, it is felt that the s result would be of incalculable value both 1 to the individual and to the State. Of. 7 course the cost of such a scheme would be - very great, although it is pointed out that - Germany already spend large sums in the r teaching of domestic subjects in a more or less casual way, all of which might without disadvantage be made to flow into ■ the great central scheme for the training i and equipment of all females and not the b selected few. The question of suitable prec mises would of course arise, though this i enthusiastic and far-seeing lady maintains • that there already exist in Germany over s 7000 suitable buildings, each capable of i accomodating forty to fifty young women, f A thorough and eminently practical edui cation is the object sought after, and she - maintains that a year spent in this way, 3 at a time when the mind is most impresi sionable, would qualify a woman for whatf ever position she was called upon to fill. 3 "The people's health is not merely the v care of the ' hausfrau,' it should be the , pride and joy of every woman." All wo- ' men do not marry, of course, but the i knowledge gained during this "Dienstjahr" 1 would be of service to all. The scheme is i boldly conceived; it is argued with much 1 force and originality, and appeals with i special emphasis to the German's passion I for uniformity and system in education, r Yet one wonders whether public opinion 1 is sufficiently ripe, or the necessities of the' * situation so great, as to bring. the scheme within the range of practical politic** ipjtZUHC; iv- "

i — ■ • r,- ■•?5 ! 2,000,000 MARRIAGE ABLE GIRLS. ' There are 2,000,000 marriageable women in France says M. Brieux, the well-known Academician and author of the play, "The Lonely Woman," which has aroused ao much comment. Writing bitterly on man's selfish conduct towards the fair sex. M. Brieux says that the modern girl realises that her fate depends on the man she manages to captivate, for her whole education aims as equipping her to compete to the beet advantage in the marriage market. Men of my age," declares M. Brieux, " realise that the young girl of to-day no longer respects us. Perhaps it is because their keen eyes have seen that we are not worth respecting." The modern girl, M. Brieux continues, is taught to be ladylike and learns dancing and singing, in order that men may propose marriage. She is also taught writing and spelling, so that her ignorance may not be too apparent. She is taught nothing else. A PRETTY WORK-BAG. A very dainty little work-bag can be made from half a yard of wide flowered ribbon. The base must be stiffened with cardboard and a tiny needle cushion covered with, the same material* be sewn in the centre. Convenient pockets to hold a thimble, small reels of thread, and other sewing necessities should be placed round the sides. This little bag makes a veritable treasure to be carried when travelling. ■