A Quiet Chat.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 999, 24 April 1891, Page 4

A Quiet Chat.

On ray desk lie at least a dozen letters from correspondents on at least a score of subjects. T cannot answer them better than by writing in a chatty manner on the points at issue. In the first place I am asked to give my opinion on noses, their shapes, and what they indicate. Well, I believe that noses which are sharp and long, especially if they are straight at the adge, denote cruelty and vindictiveness. If they are broadened at the nostril, the owner is inquisitive. If the outer edge is curved up from the centre, shrewdness and sensitiveness are indicated. A duinpty little nose shows want of tact and a generally indecisive nature; while a tip-tilted one has | always been a synonym for sauciness, mirth, and hotheadedness. We may stare unmercifully at the nose which seems to have taken upon itself the contract of securing all the attention its owner’s face ever receives, and yet who does not admire a big nose. Henry Irving, Buskin, and Mrs Sheridan, the wife of the famous Bichard, are notable in all their portraits for large, strong noses, and while it gives an almost over-decisive lock to the handsome woman’s physiogonomy, Buskin and Irving would appear insignificant if it were not for their prominent nasal organs. Two women I have lately written about, Mrs Edison and Mrs Barnum, each possess strong, well-built noses, not exactly prominent figures, but fleshy and large made. I have Mrs Edison's photograph in front of me as I write, and I notice that her nose widens at the nostrils, the latter being fairly wide. You girls who are engaged, listen to me for a moment. Boos the idea ever cross your minds of your real worth in the minds of the other men. As a matter of course you are all in all to ‘him;’ but do you ever tiiink that you are to the youth without ‘ intentions ’ what the bald-headed old husband is to the girl who wants to * talk with a nice man.’ ‘ Engaged girls are so contented,' was the exclamation of a restless young man at the sports last Saturday week. And then he went on to tell me liow much he enjoyed his friendship with one engaged some years ago. He declared that she patronized him from the lofty pinnacle of her good fortune, and he did delight to talk with her, just because she was so delightfully, deliriously happy.

When you are out shopping, and intend buying a new veil for the cold days that are coming on, pause a minute and reflect upon what lam about to say. TVhen purchasing, get more than three-quarters of a yard, because you can slide it about when it gets thin or worn, and an ugly little hole can be hidden in a fold on the side brim of your hat, when it would grin unmercifully at your carelessness if it had to corne directiy in the centre. Another thing, don’t tie the ends of your veil. Give them a twist, and tuck them beneath your hat, or under the trimming. Not only do veils last longer if fastened °in this way, but the drawn look of a well tied veil is out of the question, and it is much easier to remove and to adjust. When buying flannel for winter wear be sure and examine it well, instead of dreaming about other things, for it is really difficult to find that special and invaluable quality which washes to rights. The best plan is to send a small pattern to the laundress and bide her opinion. The nicest, softest qualities often develop a tendency to thicken up as liai-d as hoards ; and there must be the queerest substance or ‘ dress’ used in making up some of the flannel on the market, for it comes back from its first tubbing quite stiff and sticky, as though steeped in soap and gum. Manv washings does this take to become at all wearable again. The rage for gathered and puffed sleeves is so great that they have even invaded the precints of the decode e gown. This seems almost impossible, yet it is managed, and in such a cunning way as to defy detection if really done well. A* gown is made low-necked and sleeveless. Over the shoulders is fastened a tight-fitting silken strap, and on this strap is gathered a full, long sleeve which extends to the waist, and is there gathered in upon a baud. At first sight one is startled to see the high puffs standing securely upon the bare shoulders, and only the long graceful sweep of the sleeves frees one from the uncomfortable sensation that the wearer must be suffering tortures with the sleeves pinned into her shoulders.

Once upon a time it. was just a sin to cut up a valuable shawl and turn it into any other shape, but the widest latitude now prevails, and nothing of the kind is being saved in ancestral chests for the wear of future generations. Best old shawls are being knocked out at a rate that would make some of theii* original owners sigh in their graves if they only knew. Let us hope that they do not, for a sore trial it is for a careful creature of hoarding tendency to think her best-beloved belongings will be hacked like mere nothings by some heedless successor. Yes, the shawl is being used up smartly, softer varieties being cut and twisted ruthlessly for fronts of tea gowns, draperies, or anything else that strikes the owner’s fancy. I notice with sorrow that many of our girls m the public streets here get into the slovenly way of walking in a stooping style. Bye and by when they get ‘ set ’ women, they will have the disfigurement of being round-sliouldered. If you want to hold up your head well, my dear girl, get in the habit of walking about the house with a book—not too heavy a one—just on top of it, and you will be amazed to find how that slight incentive will cause you to hold yourself straight and to make you walk in a less jerky manner. When in Egypt some years ago I was much struck with the splendid carriage and poise of the head possessed by many of the poorer class of women. I saw lots of girls carrying jars of water, baskets of fruit, and other weights on their heads, their arms hanging by their sides. This gave them that queenly walk, the envy of many of their white sisters. My space is filled, and for this week I must close my quiet chat. Doka.