PINS AND NEEDLES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1508, 24 January 1901, Page 60

PINS AND NEEDLES

A tablespoonful of borax to a. pailful of the water in which flannels are washed will, as a, rule, be found to keep them soft and white. The Empress of Japan has from a child •been fond of literary composition, and it is stated tliat she takes much delight in writlng verses. A military authority has recently declared that the wives of officers and men hold the Victoria Cross in as high regard as their husbands do. A “somnambulist” race is now included in many ladies’ swimming club programmes. Each competitor wears a nightdress over her costume and carries a lighted candle throughout the contest. Tlie first woman to. obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Vienna is Countess Gabrielle von War-tensl-eben. She is thirty years of age. She was a Baroness von Andrian-Werburg before marriage, and her mother was the daughter of Meyerbeer, the composer. The countess’s speciality is philology. Ice melts fast in warm weather, and this is the best and easiest way to keep a block of it; Wrap it up tightly in a dozen or more sheets of newspaper, and then in a piece of dry flannel. The idea, is to keep the air from it as much as possible. Keep in the most cool apartment. Queen Margaret of Italy has, for her beauty of face and figure, long been known as “the Pearl of Savoy.” Her hobby is the collecting of boots and ' shoes and gloves of' royal ladies, and, amongst other rare specimens, she possesses a pair of shoes worn by Mary Queen of Scots. What to give for a wedding present is an eternal worry to not a few women with many friends. Some ladies have, solved the difficulty by always giving. the same thing, a. dressing bag, a triple mirror, a salad bowl, or what not. This in time becomes known, and as it is appreciated that your present is sure to be a particular article other people give something else. What is the record price for a single flower? From Austria comes an answer to l the query. A princess was president of a music exhibition on which a loss had been made. She accordingly organised a flower show, at which ladies of rank, including the princess, had stalls. One of her customers was the wealthy Baroness Reinlet, of Trieste, who, in choosing a pink, asked “How much may I pay for this flower?” “You, Baroness, may in your generosity fix the limit.” “llow much is wanted for the music exhibition?” “A 8000.” “I will give that for the pink,’’ said the Baroness. Lemon or orange peel can. be used for cleaning, preserving, and whitening the teeth. Spots upon velvet may be removed by lightly rubbing witli a piece of rag and a little'benzine. Wipe afterwards with a piece of clean rag, and, in order to revive the pile again, stretch tbe back of the velvet over some boiling water. A large number of the kid skins used in glove-making are so small as only to form one pair of gloves, and in some cases it takes two skins to make a pair. Calf skins provide two or three pairs of gloves per skin. Sealing-wax is just now' much used for

with a wick running through the stick, which is lighted and thus melts the wax. The flame is quite a small one, and the operation of sealing it in this way rendered considerably easier. Li Hung Chang’s wife, the Marchioness Li, is reckoned a great beauty, and she is also one of the cleverest women in her country. She must be considerably over fifty or sixty years of age; but she looks scarcely a day over thirty-five, and her toilettes eveke the admiration of all who see them. Her garments are calculated to be not fewer in. number than three or four thousand. Not the least extraordinary and varied part of her toilette is her hairdressing, which can be accomplished in at least fifty modes. There are many superstitions connected with marriage, and among the quaintest are the following:-—The bride who dreams ofMaries on the night before her wedding will be thrice blessed. The bridegroom who carries a miniature horseshoe in his pocket will always be lucky. The finding of a spider on the wedding-gown by a bride is considered a sure sign of happiness' to come. Never give a telegram to a bride or bridegroom on the way to the church. It is a sure sign of happiness to come. Never give a telegram to a bride or bridegroom on the way to the church. It ts a sure omen of evil. If during the marriage ceremony the wedding-ring falls down, the bride’s fate will not be an enviable one.