NOTES FOR WOMEN

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12249, 22 September 1925, Page 4

NOTES FOR WOMEN

OBITUARY MRS MARGARET McGOWAN MARCHANT, - Many old residents as well as more recent friends will hear 11' iill regret of the death of Mrs Margaret McGowan Marchant, of Hataitai, Wellington, who passed away on Saturday in her eightieth year, after a long illness. Mrs Marchant was a daughter of the late Mr Henry Blundell (senior), of Wellington, and widow of the Into Mr Nicholas Marchant, C.E., who died several years ago. In tho early days of the city Mrs Marchant was well known and appreciated as a singer, being one of the soloists of the Choral Society. Her kindness and helpfulness in good works were well known, and she was a valued Church of England meinber. The number of the early residents is gradually and surely lessening, and brings home to those of later day’s the fine character and high attainments,of those who came, as a great adventure, to New Zealand so many years ago. Mrs Marchant leaves the following members of her family:—Miss F. Marchant; Mrs O’Leary, wife of Mr O’Leary, of the State Advances Department; Mr W. MaTchnnt, retired Civil servant; Mr H. .E. Marchant, traveller, Sydney; Mr F. S. Marchant, electrical engineer, city corporation; Mr A. J. Marchant, shipping clerk. The interment, which was private, took place at Earori Cemetery yesterday afternoon, when the Rev. E. K. Fry, vicar of St. Maik’s, officiated MRS CTTMMING CLARKE. Mrs John Cuming Clarke died last week at the age of 91, and was interred at Purewa Cemetery beside her late husband, Major John (Aiming Clarke, son of General .Joseph Clarke, who was aide to the Duke of Edinburgh. Mrs Clarke was a daughter (Lucy Anne l’enelope Street) of the Attorney-Gen- . eral of Canada and granddaughter of j the Countess de Quintard. The Sultan ot Zanzibar presented her with a D.S.O. for bravery, she having stood on the deck of the warship along with Sir Harry and Lady Rawson during the bombardment of Zanzihar. Her eldest son. Gerald, was secretary .anil treasurer to the Sultan of Zanzihar at the time. He is still in Africa. He married Jean Campbell, fourth daughter of Robert Telfer Corbett, M.D FF.P.S.G. and J.P., of Hillhead, Glasgow.' Scotland, and cousin of Lord Rowallan. Another son, Alured, is in Rhodesia, and another son, Joseph, in Auckland, and two single daughters and one married in Palmerston. Mrs Gerald Clarke (Africa) is a sister of Mrs CorbettSeott, “The Manor House,” Epsom. COOKS FROM COLLEGE “ANN POPE’S” SCHEME DOMESTIC SERVANTS’ CHAMPION. An attempt to do for domestic ser- . rants what Florence Nightingale ' did for. nursing is being made in England by “Ann Pone”—rthe authoress of many articles on, £he servant problem, who described her aims and her extraordinarily varied adventures in her crusade in a recent interview. ‘‘Ann Pope” resolutely refused to allow her identity to -be made public. “You may say that I come from a wllknown family, and have been well educated. but no more;” she said. She is the sister of a man well known in the Diplomatic Service. .Sjhe.has been in her varied life , high school mistress, daily newspaper journalist, tocinl j worker, and for six years a domestic, j servant. • |

“The domestic problem is a psychological one entirely.” she said, “and its remedy will be found when cirta educated at the universities enter service. That time is coming: there is no doubt of it. Most valuable work in that direction is now being carried on T?y Professor Mottram at King*s College, London University. He is training women to apply science to household need*. “The new scheme of the Metronolitan Hospital Board, which is substituting educated women as kitchen superintendents and assistants at a salary of £2OO a year, with hoard and lodging, in place of ordinary cooks, is another sign of tho times. Domestic servants, on the other hard, have been deliberately told that their work is drudgery and, though this idea is (lying out. it is still responsible for keeping many girls from service. Many young servants are ashamed of their profession, and always pretend that they are not servants.

“X am convinced we shall in these days make no real nrogress until all those interested unite and form a ‘Xptional Housewives* Association.* such as the women, of Sweden organised directly they obtained the vote. They have a oentral office in Stockholm and branches in every district. The work need nob he expensive, as it might ho organised through the National Council of Women, but the association should bo strictly non-sectarian. non-party, and democratic. Members of other ascould be affiliated. *‘T think so much of domestic service that if I had my life over again I would matriculate at the London University at 16. taking physics, chemistry, *rd physiology as subjects’, and then take a place as scullery and kitchen maid, and work thus for a year or two. aiming at taking the degree of B.Se. in household and social science, hy three a t King’s College, Campden Hill.”

“Ann Pope” has been a cook in charge of nine “fellow servants.** and .lias earned for herself the clmracter, “clenn, sober, and honest.” She has at times worked as a dnilv charwoman and in ©very grad© service. One of her former mistresses states that she was a most efficient cook, and beloved hy all the servants who worked with her. LAWN TMSTSEASON OPENED AT WELLINGTON. Tho lawn tennis season was opened by several clubs on Saturday, with tho usual refreshments and pleasant social gatherings. At Newtown, Sir John Luke, M.P., officially declared the courts open, the large gathering of visitors being welcomed hv Mr Redward. the father of the cl uh. Hataitai courts were declared open hv Mr H. R. Searle, vice-nresident, the president (Mr W. J. Gnudin) being at present in England. There was a> big gathering of visitors and, members. The club president (Mr J. A. Carpenter), in the presence of a record opening attendance, declared the Rosene "th courts open. Frien't'v "nmes marked the opening of tho “lelhurn Club, at which there was a large attendance.

A BACHELOR SAYS:

DEAR GIRLS! PLEASE DONT Wear those brilliant pink stockings which remind me of tinned salmon. Or, if you must, because fashion says so, caii’t they be real silk, and kept for frivolous occasions only'? Coat your arms and necks with liquid I powder which comes off you when we danoe together,' but won’t ever brush off me properly. Pat and comb your shingled heads at every interval at the cinema and the play. Turn me into a human retriever by dropping your bag, gloves, 'parcels and all your other fal-lals every time you get up or sit down. Forget to take the nicotine stain off your fingers. I don’t mind you smoking if you do it prettily, hut I do hate to see “tlie palp hands I love” stained mustard colour with tobacco juice. Use your puffs anil your lipsticks quite so obviously in public—or so lavishly in private, for that matter! Or am I asking too much this time? IS EGOISM ON THE INCREASE? (By R. B. Inch.) Whenever you find yourself attaching tho possessive “my” to anything, it is a good plan to stop and take 6tock of yourself. “Oh—are you going my walk?” said a ladj’ to me the other day. She then described all the beauties with such an air of proprietorship that 1 promptly took another turning. If the walk belonged to her 1 really felt I had no right to take it. Besides, I didn’t want tol Perhaps the people who talk aboHt “my house” as long as you will listen, are the most exasperating. Whenever I hear anyone use the, phrase “my bouse” I know I am in for n bad time. I know I shall have to listen to everv detail concerning that house. I shall he told the colour of the curtains, and of a wonderful contrivance in the din- | ins-room tiiat enables you to bake a | joint of meat without anyone suspectl ing its presence in tlie house. And then I shall lie tohl “you simply must get. one like it, yon must!’! Of course I don’t. It may he the best and neatest little gadget in the world, but I don’t want it. If I hail it I should he reminded of the lady who I told me -to get it—and I prefer not. “How do you like my hat?” Miss Egoist asks me. If I admire it, “Why don’t you get one like it?” she says. “I got this at P,usliby and Bellows — and so cheap. I’ll get you one next time I’m there. Yes. I will.” And she does! And I have to pay her for it! The wretched thing doesn’t suit mo a hit. But I have to wear it whenever she is about—otherwise there will be no peace. , Oh—these egoists I RENOVATION IDEAS i (By Mary Lovat.) Many a feminine economist is now surveying her wardrobe and wondering anxiously whether she can make her frocks last “a bit longer.” Of course she can. if she is clever enough! The, eheath dress -of Ottoman silk that has begun to look sndly crumpled can be given a new lease of life b,y | means of a deep flounce of coarse gui- , pure lace put on at a low waistline. | Add laco hems to the sleeves, and a ; narrow collar at tile neck, to bring all into lino. The evening dress of thin georgettethat has lost its freshness and hecome flabby, can he given new substance through tho addition of stripings of ribbon, applied from neck to hem. nt regular intervals. A length of piece silk cut into strips will serve the purpose. The frock of crepe de chine that has begun to look tired can be turned into a slip for wear beneath a simple o\e»dross of printed voile. Voile costs much less than chiffon, but looks almost ns well.

A fatigued silk frock enn ho revived by means of a velvet hem and sleeve binding. This material, being firm in texture, will improve tlie set of the passee silk and give it added substance, so that it will Inst for several weeks longer.

PRACTICAL. KNITTING HINTS To ensure tight and perfectly even side edges, it is essential to watch how yon begin each row. Be very careful about that first stitch. If working in stocking-stitch (alternate rows of plain anil purl), slip the first stitch of every plain row as though to purl, and then put the thread to the back 6f the work, ready to knit the next stitch. In tlie case of the purl rows, slip tho first stitch as though to Unit plain, then bring the thread forward ready for purling. This prevents the loose loops which are formed by slipping the first stitch in tlie ordinary way, and mnkes, much neater edges for joining. When working -n “mdsS-sytch,” always slip the first stitch as plain,-if a plain stjtcli, and as purl if a purl stitch,

RED CROSS ANNUAL BALL

ELABORATE PREPARATIONS A VALUABLE SOCIETY. _Elaborate preparations are being made in connection with the annual Red Cross ba.ll, to be held at the Town Hall on Friday. 25th instant. Their Excellencies, Sir Charles and Lady Alice Fergusson, as patrons of the society, have signified their intention-of being present. With no other support than what accrues from membership subscriptions, donations and proceeds forthcoming from entertainments, etc., the society by dint of hard loyal and patient endeavour, has built up an organisation which is ready to function in national epidemio or disaster. During the recent infantile paralysis epidemic, in response to a call from the public hospital sixty-nine. members from the Red Cross nursing detachment gave voluntary service at the hospital. Each year a series of free public lectures are given hy members of the B.M.A. The spirit of Health Week campaigns is taken up by the society, and the fullest co-operation given the promoters of the fine movement. Classes in home nursing, first aid. hygiene and sanitation, are carried on continuously throughout the year, over a thousand students being trained in those important spheres annually.' Cases of hardship and families in indigent circumstances are thoroughly investigated by Vie Red Cross nurses and relief promptly given. There are one hundred and twenty cases of blindness m Wellington district, and through the agency of the Red Cross these have been registered, and particulars of their economic circumstances tabulated. Representatives trained in first aid attend the various sports fields and render assistance in accident. Through the thoroughness of its instruction and the numerical strength of its students, the Red Cross is building up a potential force in tho community, efficient and ready to function in any emergency. Through the junior Red Cross movement a high standard of oygiene, desire for useful service to others, personal pride, loyalty with an international outlook and all other attributes which go to build up complete citizenship, are inculcated in our youth. This valuable society has, therefore, undoubted claims on the support of the public which, it is hoped, will be freely given.

SIMPLIFIED DRESS

DISAPPEARANCE OF DETAILS. President Coolidge recently remarked in public that, whereas a few years ago over lOJyds of material were needed for a ladv’s dress, she can to-ilay he sufficiently and fashionably clad in one-third of that length (says the London “Daily Telegraph”), fie did not refer, apparently, to the increase of width in most modern fabrics, but to the fact that, with the more exiguous standard in the silken, woollen, or cotton suhstanoes used, there has been a corresponding elimination of detail in the making up pf all items of attire. Indeed, the reduced quantities of fabrics in the'weaving of which much women’s labour is involved, and the disappearance of-“seam, anil gusset, and bahd,” tUcka, hems, and gatherings, are a factor not to be wholly overlooked in the statistics of female unemployment. 'Jake, first, the dress itself in one of its most popular manifestations. It is,quite straight up and down. The neck is cut round or in a “V” shaped opening, and thus is avoided all riie work that in the past was put into a close-fitting collar, with its stiffening and shaping. A bygone generation demanded that the waist should he shaped to the figure and the corsets, and rigidly held there hy a series of lengths of whalebone, each of which had to be encased in the mnterial Used for the lining, and then carefully and accurately stiched into place. Nowadays there is nothing to suggest even tlie place of a waist-line. The knitted costume has carried tho process of simplification yet further. For the skirt or the coat-froek the material is woven in tubular form, and, in regard to the latter, tlie shaping out for the sleeves is very quickly done on the still-favour-ed “Magyar” lines. A coat may involve a couple of side-seams and 3 little machine stiching, hqt what is that in comparison with the complicated cuts of days gone byl Fashionable underwear has altogether cast out of the trousseau tho separate garments of the past. One wondered how a woman put them all on. One of the latest devices to save work is to use the finer tubular stockinettes for nightdresses.

THE QUEEN OF SONG

(By Helen Sevrez.) I In her shining silver gown she had conquered all the town. . . She was I lovely as a picture said t.he crowd. And , her lilting, thrilling voice, made each manly heart rejoice! But the Gorgeous One was most remotely pAudl They never could make out, what tlm lady was about. . . Ehe seemed to hold her independence dear! Though rich hostesses implored her, and' declared how they adored her, the “lady of the voice” would disappear. . . lief devoted young handmaiden, with most, glorious bouquets lnden, could ne’er be bribed to tell where bird had flown 1 Though there almost was a riot, she kept madame’s courtiers quiet, with a genius almost equal to her own! But inside the small two-seater, with Madame—the lovely creature, her eyes alight with tender love nnd pity—wns stored tho hothouse glory, and then quite another story was enacted in the heart of the grey city. There vanished like a spell, she whom worldings knew so well. . . . The regal Queen of Song was now revealed —fulfilling childhood’s dream, where she reigned as queen supreme of the little ones whose pain her magic healed. So now you know the reason, why the idol of the season, is never found “At Homo” to fashion’s throng. . . . Only white-capped nurses, listening, with eyes that can’t help glistening, know the woman who’s the children’s Queen of-Song!

A Wanganui resident who recently returned from a visit to the West Const of the South Island stated that owing to the importation of timber from America several mills on the West Coast have had to close down, thus causing a large amount of unemploy ment. The coal mines also were in practically the same plight as the timber mills. aB one mine in particular, whose coal was reputed to nave the highest calorific value in New Zealand, was only working two shifts a week owing to I&ck of orders.