NOTES FOR WOMEN

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11651, 16 October 1923, Page 9

NOTES FOR WOMEN

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

Hostesses for the Community Club this week will be:—Momlay > Mrs G. McGregor, Tuesday, Mrs Dormer; Wednesday. Mrs J. Abel; Thursday Mrs Dunsheath: Friday, Mrs Middleton; Saturday Mrs W. A. Parton; Sunday, Miss Ford; Monday, Mrs W. D. Robinson.

Mr and Mrs J. Roberts returned from the south yesterday. M” and Mrs C. Holdsworth returned from a short visit to Christchurch yesterday Mr and Mrs W. H. Gaisford have returned to Oringi, Hawke’s Bay, from ix visit to England. Mrs Gordon Leech, Dunedin, is rhe guest of Mis F. Meadowcroft, Mount street, for a few days.

Miss Ethel Hume, Christchurch, and formerly of Timaru, is spending a few days in that town, and left yesterday for a holiday in Wellington.

Mrs A. Contessa and her daughter, * f Greynrouth, are visiting Wellington. The St. John Ambulance Association are having a grand concert next week in aid of their building fund. On Saturday afternoon, with hea-u'i-fully fine weather favouring them, ■he members of the Kelburn Croquet Club spent a very pleasant time on their Irwns on Kelburn Park, The sports committee, under the supervision of Mrs Gardner, had arranged a programme of interesting competitions, which were enthusiastically entered into, many excellent scores being put up. Mesdames Ferguson. Garner, Henderson, Hamilton, Hurst, Porkips, a-nd Watkins had verv kindly presented prizes for the competitions and at the close of the function Mrs Henderson, vice-president, congratulated the successful competitors on their achievements, and presented the trophies. The winners were: Miss Lempfcrt (break), Mrs Pollock (peg), Mr Watkins (angles), Mrs Henderson' (target), Mrs Moriah (French croquet), Mrs Waliis (golf crequet), Mrs Morrah (clock), Mrs Mcrrah very generously handed the trophy for the clock to the runner-up. Mrs Austin. .Opportunity was taken during the afternoon to remind members that entries for the Yankee doubles,‘the first event of the season, close on Saturday. October 20th. A memorial service for the late Mrs Kaye, president since its inception of the New Zealand National Field Committee of the Y.W.C.A., was held in the Y.W.C.A., Boulcott street, on Sunday afternoon. Mrs McClay, president of ,the Wellington Y.W.C.A., was in the chair. The other speakers associated with her on the platform . were Lady Luke, president of the National Field Committee, aad Miss (McLean, M'.!A., principal of the'Wellington Girls* College. Reference was made to the long life of service Mrs Kaj'e had given to, the many Christian activities operative in the community in. -which she lived,, and especially to the Young Women's Christian Association in the working out .of the purpose of which she had given unsparingly of her time and energy. Her loss was a great one, but the members the 4 Y.W.C.A. were thankful for the splendid example of her life, and for the solid foundations she had laid for the work of the Y.W.C.A. in New Zealand ;by her vision and enthusiasm. Mrs Findlayson spoke on behalf of the P.W.M.U., of the great inspiration Mrs Kaye had been to them for many year* in connection with the work of the union, and in her capacity as editress of their magazine. "The Harvest Field." , Mis Petit contributed a vocal solo, ! "Requiem/* to the service. ' There were a large number of women present, some personal friends of Mrs Kaye, and others representing the various organisations to which she was attached. Miss Maddison, of Glen-road, Kelbnru, left Wellington yesterday, on a .visit to Hastings, where she .is visiting her I brother, the Mayor of Hastings. The newest delightful touch on those already flower-like Organdies, with their lovely sweet-pea colourings, is a wreath of flat taffetas flowers or scattered flowers all over the skirt. The same blooms are used for the picture hat of organdie or crinoline that goes with these dainty summer frocks. That # the residential nursery .of the Women’s National Reserve Js doing excellent work is undoubted, but like a good many organisations of its kind money is urgently required to carry , on the good work. The.-executive of the W.N.R. has decided to hold an Oriental ball in the Town Hall-oh Labour Night, 22nd inst., at popular prices, to raise funds, and it promises to be a splendid success. Beyond the scope for dressing that a ball of this kind affords, it is promised that the lighting effects will be novel, and the music something special,' as a good Oriental programme has been picked out. Then there is a headdress competition, and a prize for the best paper dres»s. • Quite apart from the good cause a splendid evening’s enjoyment can be looked for. A wedding in which much interest was taken was that of Miss Beryl Tully, only daughter of Mr and Mrs Gilbert Tully, of Ihakara, Levin, and Mr Kenneth Biss, eldest son of Mrs Biss, ,of Wellington. The ceremony took place recently at St. Mary’s Church, Levin, the Rev. J. C. Davies officiating. The church was charmingly- decorated for the. occasion, a feature being a large wedding bell of pale pink Japanese, cherry and azalea, the work of Miss Nancy Wright. The bride, who was given away by her father, was in a graceful gown of cream satin broche, with a girdle of silver tissue flowers. The veil was wqrn with a circlet of orange blossom and silver leaves, one of the sprays having been, worn by tho bride’s grandmother, 71 years ago. There were three -bridesmaids, Misses May Lowe (chief), and Margaret and Betty Mackenzie, who wore artistio frocks of almond green crepe de chine, the tulle veils being worn with fillets-of-silver leaves. l Mr J. Biss was the beet man. A reception was held afterwards at Woodclyffe, where there were masses of lovely flowers, including pink Japanese cherry and white blossoms. Later the bridle .and bridegroom left by motor on their journey south, Mrs K. Biss travelling in a fawn three-piece costum> with touches of blue and hat on snite. Among the many guests were Mrs Biss, the bridegroom’s mother; Mrs Guy Tully, Miss Biss, Mrs D. S. McKenzie, Miss Coull (Wellington), Mies Toxword (cousin of the bride), Mrs Gow, Mrs Reeve, ?liss Walters (cousin), Mrs Thor.po (Wellington), Mrs Bevan, Mr a Neylon, Mrs Vickers, Mrs Swainson, Miss M. Bevan, Mrs Bark, Mm Kirkcaldie, Mesdames Wright, Denton, Bartholomew, Gorringc (2), Turton, Wilson, Adams, Rixon, Misses Wright (2), Kebbell (2), Gordon-Glossford (2), Fraser, Bartholomew (Feilding), Reeve, Bevan, etc.

KELBURN CR6QUET CLUB

A PAVILION WANTED. Tho Kelburn Ladies’ Croquet-Club have been expecting the City Council will assist them to erect a pavilion at tho j Kelburn croquet ground, and it was announced yesterday that pirns have been drawn up for submission to a committee of the council.

NAVY LEAGUE DANCE

A meeting of the combined committees of the Navy League was held yesterday afternoon in the league’s rooms. Captain Chudley presided, and arrangements n'ere made for the dances to be given by the league to the officers and men of„H.M.S. Chatham and Laburnum next month. The first will be held m the 14th and the second on the 16th. Mr Darroch, secretary of the League, md Miss Dyer, secretary of the girls’ branch, were appointed joint hon. secretaries for the dances, and Mr Finch, hon. treasurer. It was deci.ded to have flags I**3 decorations, the arrangements to be left to tpr men's committee. Music was.arranged,- the Cabaret Orchestra to be engaged if possible. Mrs Bayfield and MissVan Rtavecen were appointed to act with M'* Darroch in furnishing ik© hall. Miss Dyer and Miss Morton were appointed to look after the programme, and Mrs W. Luke and Airs Middleton the tables f cr supper, the men’s committee and ladies’ auxiliary to be a floor committee. It was decided to Lend invitations to all who attended' the league’s dance last year also to announce that all Navy League members desiring invitations should apply nt vhe rooms. It was decided that tickets be available for invitation on November 7th to 9th. Aiiangemorits sis to time, committee room;-; dressing rooms, etc., were made, and a further .meeting is to be held at t>h© end ’of*'the' month to complete matters.

CLEVER WOMEN

According to one doctor, the clever woman of 1923 puts just about twice as much activity into her day as her p-rand-motlier did. She housekeeps, nuras, golfs reads and inerrymakes. And 10, although it is delightful to he so versatile and alive, it is hardly surprising that these wide-awake women usually suffer from nerves in some degree, Tht‘> certainly "live” more than their placid, cow-like sitters, but they have to pav the'-,price. They become nervy; aiid unless, this state of mind and body is dealt with promptly, it can become a per manent find very ageing affair. A placul mind is invariably hidden under a plump, unwrinkled exterior; but a woman'.'Tvith a ..too-active intellect need not despair ©&■ remaining youthful and calm, if she takes care! Rest and sleep are two essential medicines for a nervy woman. Nine hours m bed at night is not too long, and, jf work forbids an afternoon sleep, she should train herself to sit after lunch for. five minutes with'eyes closed, body relaxed, and mind as blank as possible. Tf she' feels too "jurnpy” to sleep tit night, a warm bath, followed by a gla.ss of hot milk, sipped in bed. will have '■ a very soothing effect. And if she gets a chance, let her try taking a day ip bed; it' is a wonderful recuperative way of spending a whole day. especially if she attempts no more.serious reading thsp a light magazine, *and rests, with closed .eyes half the time.

C3LQURED TABLE-GLASS

Colour is becoming more and more a part of our daily life, and the days are gone when the table glass was invariably white (says an English paper). Blue, amber, green, and. ruby are finding their place on even the most formal dinner tables. That they must be of' high quality and good design goes without saying, for immediately they strike a decorative, note they sense to be merely drinkinff ..vessel* und become part of the scheme decoration, and there is nothing lesd attractive than badly designed glassware, especially if draw attention to-Itself by. being coloured! -

Old Bristol glass of a warm amber colour looks particularly well on the dining, table. Most good china shops show- beautiful designs in Venetian and put glass. Another dinner table innovation is the us© of, quaint Japanese lacquer Bouillon bowls."' 'These little wooden bowls, measuring, about .five and a half inches across* are-.of blapk lacquer lined with brilliant red. . Tliey are charming for use at luncheon or'an, informal dinner, and introduce a . gay and' unusual note. At first one believes, that painted wood is hardly .a .suitable material for soup bowls, but .they are- nevertheless . impervious to "heat, and food eaten from them will be -qpite untainted.

ONE-PIECE SUITS

There was never anything smarter for street wear in the whole history of fashion than the one-piece frock for spring wear, say a an exchange. ' Skirts for street and sports wear should measure from eight to ten inches from the ground, although fashion, is flexible at this point, and the length of one’r> skirt is largely a matter of - becomingness. One of the'smartest variations -of the one-piece' frock is the coat dress which is worn with another dross of printed silk underneath it. The printed silk frock ’is allowed to show beneath the hem and at the side opening. This is usually ; mad£ ,Mth'-short sleeves and. aperfectly plmr/*phtt : ern. since tho design of the material is trimming enough, and then the frock serves as a dainty gown for afternoon wear without th© coat. One of the most striking examples of this combination is a heavy red crepe coat dress worn with a gray, red and white printed silk frock underneath it. . Trimming is of quit© unusual importance this season. Tuokts particularly have again come into tlicir own. On© frock straight and on© piece again, and extremely simple to make, has rows of ‘ perpendicular tucks from the shoulder ! to the hem which ar© only halted for an* instant by a narrow string belt tied at the side. Front panels made in rows of tucks are ufied either on twill street frocks or on silk aftemocm dresses, and can b© used to make over last season’s clothe*? with quite astonishing success. Embroidery, particularly of the brilliant cross stitch variety, is well liked by fashion, and is used m daring colour on frocks of wool crepo or any soft material. Colours of special interest for spring wear aro Jin, beige, gray, brown, Lanvin green; and, of course, midnight blue for eitlier suits or one-piece frocks is always in favour.

INTELLIGENCE TESTS

Before the Debating Circle of the* Pioneer Club last nigh* Miss W. A. Valentine, who has recently been appointed to make intelligence tests among' school children, gave a talk on this very interesting subject. Miss Valentine has been for some time in America studying and working along these lines, and she spoke of some of tile work in the schools there. In Canada they were doing some wonderful work in teaching music in the schools, and the parents’ associations were of great benefit. One way to keep up the. standard of living was to keep up the standard of the public schools. Miss Valentine described the beginning of the intelligence test, which was worked out by Binet, a French psychologist. Before that there was no known standard whereby children or adults could be scientifically tested, and in regard to children sorted out for it, it should be remembered that such tests were made not only to discover tho backward child, but the forward child, the child whoso intelligence was above normal. Another point was that appearance was often no criterion to a child’s mentality. The scheme of Madame Hontessori was really the outcome of work among defective children, said Miss Valentino. The scale of tests made by Binet gave certain points for children of various ages, 3, 4. 5 years, and so on, beginning with simple questions as to name, parte of tho body, etc., and advancing with tho child’s age. Unfortunately Binet died before ho completed his work, but others took it up, and in California especially a great deal of work was done. A certain revision of Binet’s scale was made in America and England, but in Europe Binet’s scale is substantially used to-day. The intelligence quotient was found by dividing the mental age of the child by its age in years. A child of ten should have tho intelligence of ten, but sometimes it had only eight, and it might have twelve. One New York psychologist *liad seated that the number of girls placed on probation from the courts there, 57 per cent, were defective. Another statement had been made that in similar cases a third were normal, a third sub-normal, and a third suffered from some nervous disorder. From this it could be seen how valuable such tests could be if children were sorted out in the schools and not giyen tasks above their intelligence. There were no classes for subnormal ehildi'en at preeant, but the speaker said she hoped ther© would be as the result of her work. A serious feature at present was that children were not attending school because they were not up to normal, and these children were getting no' education at all. Miss Valentine answered a number of questions bearing on the subject, and a very interesting discussion followed.. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the speaker.

EARLY SYDNEY

The "discovery” by Dr. Earle Page of Nelson relics in tho historic homo of the Ogilvies at. Yulgilbar has brought a reminder from Mr Henry Rawes Whittell, of Pennant Hills, that relatives of tho great admiral were among the early settlers of Australia, and! that he used his influence with Governor King to secure them appropriate grants of land (says the "Sydney Daily Telegraph”). In 1801 Mrs Robert Pitt came to Australia with four daughters and one son. Her maiden name was Mary Matcham, and she was a cousin of George Match&m, who married Lord Nelson’s youngest sister, Catherine, in 1785. Mary Matcham was the ancestress of the Wilshire, Faithful, Jenkins, Woods, and Whit-toll families, and her descendants in this country now number considerably over one thousand. Two »*f George Mate-ham’s children ceme to Australia at a later period. Tho grant of 2560 acres at Gosford to Charles Horatio Nelson' Matcham is still known as Matoham’s Grant. As settlement developed young Matcham moved farther out and took up sheep-farming near Yass. He died unmarried in that locality. Elizabeth settled with her husband at New Norfolk in what was then known as Van Dieman’s Land. A second grant of land, was made to her which she named Bronte, after the title conferred on Nelson by the Spanish Crown. A Tasmanian township perpetuates the name. Lieutenant Arthur Davies. R.N., was Elizabeth’s husband.

The Davies family subsequently removed to tho mainland, and, so far a? Mr Whittell has been able to trace them, they ultimately returned to England. . An interesting sidelight on life in Sydney and «tho back country in the ’thirties is furnished in tho subjoined letter, written by Nelson’s nephew, Charles Horatio Nelson Matcham, to his brother in England:—

Tho country has “or some time past been in a very disturbed state; gangs of armed felons have been roving about robbing and murdering wherever they went. My station hes been sacked (to uso a cant word), as well as the rest and property (valuable at this distance from Sydney) to a considerable amount taken and destroyed. We are now pretty quiet here, but in some parts they are disturbed a« ever. You will now see from tliis what difficulties we have to contend with, independent of the ordinary routine of affairs.

You me about Now Zealand. I very much fear our taking that country under our protection, os we call it, will involve us before long in a war with America, and above all with France. Our position in tho (ountry is very anomalous, and if, as they seem determined 1o do, these two> nations form settlements on the island, they will come so nearly in contact; with us ns to make it almost impossible to avoid a collision. They have both squadrons already hero, and seem perfectly prepared to obtain their ends either by fair or foul means. The fact is we have delayed too long to assert a claim on. the country; the time has now evidently gone by. We are miserably off for naval protection here; a well-armed privateer could any day raze Sydnev to the ground. There is a good story told of our present blustering Governor on this very point.

He was asked in Council what he would do in case a French frigate entered our harbour and conducted herself in the same manner the French are said to have done in come of the neighbouring islands? "Oh!" quoth he *'l could easily get a. thousand men to burn her." A few weeks after this live American ships of war were found ono fine morning anchored under the town, not a soul having known of their having come in during the night and without a pilot They really ought to think at Home of protecting thu; place, as they easily could do so by fortifying the mouth of tho harbour, which, is a very narrow channel.

Mrs Fccle.s has returned to Wellington after a visit to her mother in Auckland.