MUCH-TRAVELLED WOMAN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22355, 28 February 1936, Page 4

MUCH-TRAVELLED WOMAN

TWENTY COUNTRIES VISITED • A STUDENT OF PEOPLE "I have visited 20 different countries in the past 10 months and have come to the conclusion that there is nothing in the world more interesting than people," said Mrs. Gregory Moss, of London, who arrived in Auckland by the Mariposa, and who will leave tomorrow by tho Wanganella for Sydney. When she returns to London after visiting Australia Mrs. Moss will have been abroad a year. Being a woman and keenly observant, Mrs. Moss has been particularly interested in tho women of the world, their manner of living, dross and racial distinctions, with which her widely-spread tour has brought her in contact. France was Mrs. Moss' first country in her tour, -and there, in the bewildering pageant of fashion matched with vividly picturesque shabbiness, the daytime beauty of tho Louvre with the night glitter of Montmartre, sho saw the Frenchwomen at home. Whether her clothes were of the most fashionable or of tho poorest, tho Frenchwoman, said Mrs. Moss, wore them with a grace unmatched anywhere else in the world. She was vivacious, sparkling with an air of interest and gaiety, both home-loving and fond of pleasure, artistic and yet with an unexpected cominonsense, especially in money matters. Frenchwomen were excellent managers and business women. Mrs. Moss said the favourite word of Spanish women was "to-morrow," and none did more than necessary in a day. They dressed neatly, but in very vivid colours, with a gay flamboyance thet matched their vividly intense natures. The Spanish women were very conventional, indifferent housewives and wholly delightful company, fond of music and dancing. From Barcelona the tour took Mrs. Moss to Genoa, thence to Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice in rapid succession. Sho thought Venice by day, although picturesque, was not lovely. At night, however, it sparkled with a brilliance that was intensified by the reflection of lights on the water. Italian women in their youth were most attractive, dressing with a gay taste and possessed of a joy of living. They were at once quick-tempered and affectionate, adoring children with a carelessness that was easily quickened into . desperate alarm in the case of sickness or accident. Among the poorer people the homes were often slovenly, but always happy. Italian women were intensely musical and found their careers in their homes rather than in business. The Viennese were the world's romantic women, with high ideals and definite conventions, continued the speaker. Intelligent, artistic, with many interests outside their own home life, they com-

bined eager curiosity with a love of beauty in all things. Independent, yet charmingly natural, they were, in Mrs. Moss' opinion, the combination of the best qualities of all women of all nations. In Germany, however, which she visited next, the women, although making a definite attempt at independence, were not so successful. With an admirable flair for management and learning, highly intelligent and, where it was possible, brilliant violinists and pianists, they were discouraged from developing their capabilities in this direction. They managed their homes with quiet efficiency, were proud and hospitable and brilliant conversationalists. Denmark, clean and green and smoothly efficient. • delighted Mrs Moss with its country quietness. Referring to her visit to the East. Mrs. Moss said the Chinese women were more businesslike than the Japanese. The Japanese possessed a quiet and simple dignity with which tbev combined daintiness, domesticity and a love of the beautiful, a sense of humour and charming manners. The happily-haphazard tour took Mrs Moss from Japan to San Franciscq, through tho United States and Canada, and from Vancouver to Auckland. In all her travels, she said, she had never found tho equal of the American woman for success. Success in public life, home life, business, art, and even in pleasure, seemed to be the outstanding feature of tho brightly efficient American woman.