LADIES’ PAGE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 780, 11 February 1887, Page 4

LADIES’ PAGE.

Having appointed a lady to conduct this page, tee have to request that all communications upon domestic matters, dress, cuisine, dec. &c., be addressed to Madame Elise, of the New Zealand Mail.

MARGUERITE.

H m'aime—un peu—beaucoup= Passionement=pas de tout.

Bark-haired Marguerite, in concealing Nestling charms in bosom fair, Seeks the daisy for its healing In the rye field’s ripening glare ; From the daisy’s golden sun Plucks the petals one by one. Daisy, Daisy ! What say you. Is my lover false or true ? II m’aime. Clouds across the sun are drifting. Shadows fiex the virgin blue, Ugly phantom, doubt uplifting, Passion flowers reckless strew. Fields of darkening barbed spears Pre3S her breast with painful fears, Daisy, Daisy ! What say you. Is my lover false or true? II m’aime— un pen. Brighter sunlight, wanner gleaming. Flames her daisy with its bus ; Poppies stream her cheeks a’beaming, Welling pulses life renew. Cupid’s clover incense waft. Deeply by the maiden quaffed. Daisy, Daisy ! What say you. Is my lover false or true f II m’aime—beaucoup. Blazing noontide open flinging. Bare-armed nature to the sky. Drooping blue bells hymen ringing Through the bearded fields of rye ; Droning, buzzing, humming bliss, Burning, trembling, willing kiss. Daisy, Daisy ! Wbat say you, Is my lover false or true ? II m'aime—passlonement. Hark ! the rumbling thunder crashes. Darkness spread o’er bill and dale. Cleave asunder lightning flashes; Terror strikes the moaning gale. Hopeless, shriven, torment lashed, Driven to despair, down dashed, Daisy, Daisy ! What say you, Is my lover false or true ? II m’aime—pas de tout.

EVENING HYMN.

The night is come; like to the day Depart not thou, great God away; Bet not my sins, black as the night, Bclipse the lustre of thy light Keep still in my horizon ; for to me The sun makes not the day, but Thee. Thou whose nature cannot sleep, On my temples sentry keep ; Guard me ’gainst those watchful foes Whose eyes are open while mine close. Bet no dreamß my head infest, But such as Jacob’s temples blest; While I do rest, my soul advance ; Make my sleep a holy trance, That I may, my rest being wrought, Awake into some holy thought; And with active vigor rnn Mjr course, as doth the nimble sun. Sleep is a death ! oh, make me try By sleeping, i what it is' to die; And as gently lay my.head On my grave, as now my bed. However I rest, great God, let mo Awake again, at least with Thee ; And thus assured, behold. I lie Securely, or to wake, or die. _ These are my drowsy days; in vain I do not wake to sleep again ; Oh, come that hour, when I shall never Sleep again, hut wake forever ' —Sir Thomas Browne.

“SELLING OFF.”

Now is the time to spend money to advantage, and to invest any spare cash you may be fortunate enough to possess ; for is it not the season of sales, and are not all the linendrapers making “alarming sacrifices’ for the benefit of all and sundry, not excluding themselves ? Go where you will, you meet the announcement in large letters, “Selling Off!” why, even the erstwhile wholesale firms are infected with the philantrophic mania, and offer goods at any amount per cent reduction on prime cost. liake it that every woman, and for the matter of that, every man too, likes bargains, by which term is generally understood the purchasing of goods at less than their market value, rather than real value; and it is at these periodical sales that a good pennyworth is obtainab’e for your penny, if only you understand the art of buying profitably, not merely spending money for spending’s sake. It is not profitable to buy what is not likely to be wanted for a long time; but where there are children almost everything in the way of drapery “ comes in.’’ . The reason of these sales is mainly the fact that fashions change so quickly that the class of goods in favor during one season is old-fashioned by the next, and so is depreciated in value, but for children s wear they are just good, and the point is that you can get a really good article at the price of an inferior oue. Wardrobes are different now from what they used to be, when a handsome dresß. was bought to last for years, and no thought of its becoming old-fashionqd interfered with the pleasure of wearing it. Now it is wisest to have few clothes and wear them out % it is useless to have best dresses put by for occasions. When starting on a bargain hunting expedition be sure, firstly, of the amount that you can afford to lay out ; and then of the things you require, and do not give way to the temptation of buying articles because of their cheapness. A good deal of judgment has to be exercised when shopping, but having that judgment a house-mother may take advantage of cheap sales, and give her daughters and herself many a pretty piece of personal adornment, which otherwise they would have to do without. Naturally, 1 have taken a turn round the shops to see what was to be seen, and I found the reductions in most departments very real—millinery, mantles, costumes, and the heaps of things coming under the category of “ fancy ” being particularly cheapened. I saw some lovely jerseys at temptingly reasonable prices, although they maintain their title to popularity ; indeed, if anything they are more in favor than ever, and certainly they are worthy the notice of ladies who may possess skirts too good to be discarded with their worn-out bodices, while fashion is accommodating enough to permit of - the upper part of a dress differing from the lower. The variety in jerseys is something wonderful ; vest fronts of every conceivable shape are to be seen. One jersey was especially pretty, it had loose fronts, beneath which was a long plush waistcoat ; the fronts could be fastened with clasps at the waist to make a change; plush collar and cuffs made this bodice very dressy. Beaded and braided specimens are much liked, a 3 they smarten up a toilette. Some of England’s best dressed women are wear'ng bodices made of silk stockingette, with three box pleates back and front, and a belt round the waist. They fit perfectly, save a dressmaker's bill; a red or black one is made to answer for several skirts. But beware of the cheapest kinds of jersey jackets ; they are to be had as low as six shillings, and, as you may guess, are anything but well cut; and only fit the slimmest figures. A matronly person must give a higher price if she wishes to appear to advantage ; still a very suitable bodice can be had for thirteen or fourteen shillings during the sales. For smartening up a half worn dress nothing is more useful than some form of ' waistcoat. A very simple, yet effective one, can be easily made out of a good-sized square silk handkerchief, such as are exhibited in every draper’s window, gathered loopely at the neck and more closely at the waist, the lower edge turned up underneath toward the waist, and secured by a couple of pins. Or, a vest can be simulated with a soft white muslin kerchief gathered at the throat, forming a plastron of folds to the bust; two or three buttons of the dress must fasten over it, and the remainder allowed to fall below the bodice, like a waistcoat. Such pretty summer costumes are being shown, it seems really as if the best things have been kept till the end of the season, or rather had not reached the colony in proper time. This is particularly observable m children’s dresses, of which, till the present time, there have been very few obtainable. Cream and white muslins are well suited to the warm weather; large sashes of colored foulard or washing silk are mostly worn with them, and are wide and long enough to reach the hem of the skirt, so forming a sufficient trimming to a plainly made frock. Many frocks are made with merely pointed tunics in the front, which can be ironed without unpicking, for the less re-making and re-arraDging after washing, ’

the better for mamma. The best way of making the bodices is to cut them without linings, and just gather them front and back with a running tape, making the bodice long enough to pass below and beneath the skirt band.

Smocking has become very fashionable for children's frooks. Do you know what smocking is ? It is just the ornamentation to be seen to this day on the ploughman’s and carter’s smock frocks in out-of-the-way English villages. The fronts or yokes are formed of lengthwise tiny pleates, fastened at regular intervals to imitate honeycomb, hence the term “Hodge Frocks” given to the dainty little garments that have no other resemblance to John Ploughman’s Sunday dress than is afforded by ithe ornamental pattern executed with colored silks. The honeycombing being perfectly elastic the sleeves can be made straight, for although the smocked cuff closely clasps the wrist, it stretches easily to allow the hand to pass through. On the bodice the embroidery represents a yoke or breastplate, or else a series of Vandykes. Another pretty little child’s, dress is the “ Marguerite." The bodice buttons behind, extends low over the hips, and has a deep overskirt, caught up high on the left side by a silken cord and tassels, or by a pocket suspended by cords. The sleeves are puffed at the armholes ana elbows, making a charmingly quaint costume, particularly adapted for party wear. Elisk.