WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18706, 12 May 1924, Page 14

WOMAN'S WORLD.

SOCIAL NEWS. Mr. and; Mrs. (J. ; A. ! : McMillan, who nave been on a motor..'tour, have returned to Auckland and are staying at Cargen.

Mrs. Trevor. Stringer, with her children, has returned Ito Auckland ' from ; Christchurcb, where she has been;;•; spending a few weeks holiday. /

«: The engagement is= announced of Miss Betty Ferguson, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. ;A. M. ' Ferguson • and Mr. Mervyn Reed, son of Mr. Justice and Mrs. J. B. Reed. ' . '- • ■

. , Among , the, visitors staying at Cargen are Mr. and Mrs. J. Cadigan, Mr. and Mrs. E. Milton, Wellington, Mr. and Mrs. S. Fitzherbert, ' Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Banks, Matamata, Mr. and • Mrs. Goldingham, Wanganui, Miss Horton, Hastings, Miss Mitchelson, Russell.

The gardening $ circle aof the Lyceum Club held a meeting last week at the club. The convener, Mrs. H. Horton, presided It was decided that the circle should meet on the first Wednesday of ; each month. Next month the members are to meet at Mr. Emslie's, nurseryman/Grey Lynn, to learn methods of pricking and planting out young seedlings : and pruning.

The first Indian woman barrister, Miss Mithan Tata, has just been admitted as an advocate at the Bombay High Court. Miss Tata, who is only 25 years old, is a member of the famous Parsee family, who were the pioneers of Indian industry. ■ She was educated at Bombay University, where she took her B.A. five years ago. She then went to England, and took her M.Sc. degree at Londotj University in 1922. Last January she was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn. Until quite recently it was doubtful whether a woman would be admitted to the Bar in India, but as Miss Tata says, " the attitude toward women in Bombay is a liberal one." Miss Tata's legal robes vpresent a picturesque blending of Eastern and Western apparel. <

There are 100 or more women in the Parliaments of Europe, writes Marjorie Shuler'in an exchange. They are as unlike, she declares, " as any similar number of women picked at random throughout the world might be." Arid a most exhaustive survey in many European countries has revealed to Miss Shuler " no formula to pass on to ambitious women of othar countries with the admonition: 'Take this. '"Follow it. You will get yourself elected to Parliament.' In a single Parliament there are women La Follettes and women Lodges. There are • women who started their careers as stenographers; at " least one began as a domestic servant; women who have gained political prominence through the high social or financial position : of their husbands ; women who have achieved success through their own sheer brilliance and ability. No two of them seem to have gone ahead by the same path no two of. them had the same qualifications or reasons for drawing •votes."

HOCKEY IN ENGLAND. In the last thirty years the game of hockey has been adopted by an increasingly large number of Englishwomen who are lovers of outdoor forms of recreation, and the - All England Women's Hockey Association provides the material from which the international teams are drawn, says a London exchange. The association was actually'•founded in 1895, with seyen clubs, in various parts of England, whereas torday \ there are 700 clubs. Although the rules laid down by the association are practically identical with those followed by men '•:players, mixed pby is not allowed. One .of the •; first rules passed by the Women's Association insisted ; that skirts on , r the % hockey field must be three inches off the ground, and that straw hats must \ not be worn! , Today the neat and convenient tunic nas been generally" adopted,- and is a great improvement on the earlier costume. The example of England has been followed in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Holland, Denmark, and America, all of which have now formed hockey associations for women. • The • game was taken out to America: in 1900 by enthusiasts in this country, and although the American Association ;; is; quite ; young, it is extremely vigorous., In, the American High School, as in the English Public School for girls, hockey has 'now become a" popular winter game. : The Americans, however, were. at one / time : out-of-date ' as ", regarded their rules iof play, and ? three years ago an English coach was • sent across ; the Atlantic 'to instruct them in the t most ? recent form of the game. ;As a sequel to this, ah <■ English *; touring : P team V visited A': the United States in 1921 and . defeated:, a picked American team. An ■•• ■• American team has also been on a previous occasion to England, but it was not at that time considered sufficiently good to play in the international matches. '

MOURNING CONVENTIONS.

When 'tie: .revolutionary , changes in custom which have been experienced during ;■ the last': decade come to be written down* the recorder is not- likely to omit the amazing disappearance of Victorian convention with : regard to mourning', says a London writer. Many people must have been struck by the fact that the amount of mourning to be seen to-day. is immeasurably less than at any period prior to the war. ■''■-/'■'■ -•'

This change has been brought about by two distinct developments in ; the' popularattitude -to mourning. ' Even before --i the war, public feeling .rebelled against the morbid custom that ordained that every member of a • household, including the servants, should wear black to ■ indicate their loss, while distant relatives, who, perchance, had only known the deceased person slightly, were expected to express their sorrow in the same way. In modern times mourning is, as a rule, worn solely by near relatives,; although half-mourning, in whichjblack can be blended either with white, ; purple,; or { grey, is frequently adopted by other members of the family. Mourning in the case of children has been discouraged to a very great degree, it now being common for children who have lost 'even a father or a mother 1 . to give no outward indication of their . loss. v Owing -to. the associations which black apparel must invariably have, it is possible for, it to develop any tendency to ) morbidity in the mind of 'an ordinarily sensitive child. At one time it was customary for a widow to wear, black for a year, and; then to pass into ' half-mourning for an equal length of time. The former period is now usually restricted to six months, while the adoption of half-mourning has ceased to be common. ■ Victorian widows would have .looked with horror on the modern disposition to replace the conventional : black crepe by flimsier materials, such as crepe de chine or marocain. v Although crepe is still worn by elderly & ladies,; its use has become so rare- that a West End shop, Y once v well known for its "mourning" departmentis asked for it," perhaps,-six ' times '"'■ in-a year. Of necessity, simple s morning fashions need not be dowdy, and it is perfectly, legitimate, for a young ; widow to lighten va % dress / with a white Peter j Pan collar or a coat with grey -or brown fur." , Itjistnot usual for a feminine fashion-to J basset ;ira ;:this r ;;butr English is not usual for a affecting fashion to set iia this country, but English PPHjion appears to be affecting the pract?c« of wearing "deep mourning which still exists on the Continent. V "-