FEMININE FANCIES.

NZ Truth, Issue 169, 12 September 1908, Page 4

FEMININE FANCIES.

■ • . -—- — — - A horde of Savages hailing from the Hefty City of- the -{South, at the invita* tion of the Wellington tribe, came up to hold a korero at the social hapu. Again the local braves were m a quandary as to whether the occasion demanded that they should don their war paint or not- After much consideration they decided that it did, and the order went forth. But,' at the last.., moment, the ruling 'craves found that the visitors had left their glad rags at home carefully folded up m their respective drawers, m company with the cdoriferous moth ball. Again the ruling braves changed their minds.' But there was no time to let the commpn, of garden savaye, know, of the alteration, so the affair was a jriusical medley of glad and plain ragged . savage. In p.rder to 'save themselves from so much brain fag' m future, present scribe would like to humbly suggest they^ make, a fixed rule and keep to it. After the lciu there was a rnish matle by the visitors to catch the boat which leaves for the Holy City at 11 p.m., withithe result that some caught it, whilst oth 1 -. ers had to come back and : hunt up a whare wherein to pass the remainder of the night; ■ - / .. . ;■* ....^ ; . «.. ■.".\ '•'■'-. •■ ■ ; It seems that there is a screw loose somewhere m- the. management of the Technical School, for the chemistry students complain, that for the last four months !their time has been practically wasted, they , haying been without an instructor for .the whole of that period., Some two months ago . the students formed a.l deputation, waited ,on thedirector, informed him of the unsatisfactory state of affairs, and the director promised them, he would look into- the matter. The director may have looked into the matter but evidently saw no ;solution of the ■difficulty, for things went , on m the same unsatisfactory manner. Then the pupils, some •. of whom came from long distances, decided to put into black and white the grievance -they had previously delivered verbally' to the director. Thus urged, he promised to try and get a•, teacher for ,; the following week, or,: failing to do so, let them /know, to- save; them a useless Journey into, town.' Two more 'months have fled, and the director has neither found a teacher nor kept his promise re letting the pupils know. This . is a state of affairs that ought not to he allowed to go on. Of what use is a chemistry department m onir Technical School if there is no master to preside over it '/

The combined staffs" of the Defiance butter factories and creameries have presented ;butter monarch Nathan with ( a set of gold sleeve links and a massive gold chain and; pendarit, on which is an inscription referring to his approaching nuptials. In presenting and receiving the gifts both /master and men • poured the grease of flattery— no pun intended— on each other's heads and parted with hearty expressions of good will to each other. .

Its about time the parsons ceased iroin wrangling m the papers and let the leading public rest. Day after day whole columns are "devoted to the bickerings of the fire escapes, who, per this medium, hurl their wordy bombs into each other's camps. Each one quotes, and f com -the way they" twist the quotation to suit themselves one would think they read the Bible -with a private, key. Seeing that they have pulpits from which they can air their /views, ad. lib., we object to their windy discfJssions served up , for breakfast m the shape of the morning '.paper with tea and \oast.

The concert/ m aid of Mother Mary Aubert's Home-p roved a huge .success, the Town,-' Hall being packed to its fullest extent. The cause is one. which must necessarily appeal strongly lo all of us, yet it speaks well for the people cfWellington .that they respond. so well and willingly, for the winter peason\has been one long round of . charity-bazaars and concerts. You were a very clever , i:ersqii >jf you evaded the army of pretty girls who assailed you at the entrance and offered flowers and sweets for sale, and if you did your triumph was short lived, for you were only captured, by another corps, who held the fort of corridors and stairs, and, as a consequence you found yourself struggling along to your seat with a 1 box of sweets m one hand a-nd a bunch of flowers m the ether. The following ladies and gentlemen contributed to the programme': — The Liedertafel and chcrus of young ladies, Miss Lloyd Hassal. Miss Phoebe Parsons, Mrs Mitchell. Miss Beatrice Richmond, Mrs P. P. Wilson, iWrV'^'achemaiile, and Miss Ruby Macdonald i.Mr • Searle, Mr Clarkson, Mr A. Hill: Among these who assisted at the sale of flowers and sweets were : Miss Eileen Ward, Miss O'Comfor',, Miss Rubi Seddon, Miss Rose, and ' Miss Sqully. . -

The Civil Servants have an idea, so m' order not to lose it, they are fioing to lay it before the : next meeting of the Civil Service Association. The idea is that if they were paid weekly or fortnightly they, would be able to save more money, and m. the case of the family men with small salaries m particular, it would enable them >' to meet their liabilities much more satisfactorily, if paid at lesser intervals. On the other side. ; one of the- arguments against it is that some of the men m the Service do not do their best work for three or four days after treasury, and for that reason it is undesirable that pay day should be mere frequent. .Now, considering that the poor Civil Servant always has a grievance, it is, a relief to find that the other side also <has some reason to protest. How about paying them every Saturday, and so giving that section who feel tired for a few days afler treasury Saturday and Sunday to recover their normal condition. A week's end jollification cannot be" so extensive or prolonged as a month's end birthday. By so doing the Government would kill two birds with one stone— if that is possible —and ensure themselves even work all the time.

A stitch m time may save nine. — It would only be a sensible action of precaution if the authorities were to have Ihe garbage, etc., removed from Oriental Bay, and . the beaob. made clean and kept so. For if not, with the return of the warm weather we may also have a return of the fever which has never been quite stamped out during the whole of the winter, and we shall not only have decreasing birtli-rate *o deplore, but. m

all probability an increasing death-rate also.

To pretend to believe a thing at which your reason revolts, to stulliiy your intellect, this, it it exists at all, is the unpardonable sin. The dogma that a man without a 'belief m miracles is eternally lost, that everlasting life depends upon * acknowledging this, that or the other, self-reliance, self-control, and se.f respect are the three things that make a man a • man. But man has so recently taken on ' this ability to think that he has- not ; gctten used to handling it. The tool is • cumbrous m his He is afraid of it— this one characteristic that deferentiates him from the lower animals— so he abdicates and turns his divine birthright over to a syndicate. This combination, called a church, agrees to take care of his doubts and fears, and do his thinking for him, and to help matters along he is assured that he is not fit to, think for himself, and to do so would be a sin. No person of' normal intelligence can afford, to throw the reins ot reason on the neck of emotion and ride a Tarn 0' Shanter race to bedlam.— Elbert Hubbard. ,

Christchurch is about to sustain a musical loss m the person of Herr Benno Scherck, who has accepted the post of director of Mr J. C. Williamson's musical enterprises. In addition to being organist at the Catholic, Cathedral,, he was conductor of three musical societies. He leaves for Melbourne m a few days.

This week has been one continual- whirl of junketftings, at homes, morning and afternoon teas,, luncheons apd. dinner parties. F.'rinstance Miss 5 So-and-so >is going to Feilding .ifor a fortjiigblt's Thplulay an<l immediately Mrs &uch-arid-sfuch organises a morning tea; at^\V%iuch her friends can wish her bon voyaged It's nauseating to think af all these; extra meals thrown m, . so to speak, m addition to our regular i three meals per day. But it is a real harvest for the doctors, for nine women put of- ten. are m the doctors' hands, m " fact, that is one of ihe - chief topics of conversation at -these junketings. The doctor assumes a sympathetic air and says, "Your nerves are m a bad state ; you. miust be more carefur of yourself ; yours is a -particularly highly strung temperament. Do- you take tea?' Well, we must, reduce 'the quantity and take it weak." Mentally he adds**' "This is purely a case of an asinine consumption of sweet cakes and tea." The patient rushes off to another afternoon tea, 'when m answer to the query whether she takes- 'milk and sugar, she >says m a plaintive voice, "Thank you,, both ; but be sure thd tea is 1 Tveak, for my doctor says my, nerves^ are shattered, and I v must go >■; slowly. Deaf me," glancing at her watch, "I must be off, dear/ I've only just time to get round to Mrs Flutter's. She's givi ing a tea to her friend, Miss flighty, who is going to Sydney for. a holiday trip." And off she goes to drink more tea and to retail heir doctor's orders . x to another audience.

One cannot help admiring the (healthy, ro§y-cheeked, dear/eyed hockey girls? and it makes one wish that more of our girls would go m for ganles of this kind. They ' dress themselves neatly and tastefully and yet do not give one the impression of spending too much ■ tifl^e ' over " their ' toilettes, That they love ;a pretty, gown as well as other girls 1 I've not the slightest doubt, but they do nol devote : the whole pf.their time to, dress. s ;' -.puring the recent drapery I sales one sees women and ; girls looking haggard and i cross aid tirejl ' after two or three hours turning over the bargains,, and buying what they do and do not want, because it is cheap. As if , anything was cheap thkt one does- not ' .want. The shops are crowded and they jostle and push and get' ; worn' out m the close atmosphere. .How much better it > would be if they went for a long walk m tjhe sunshine or played! tennis or hockey, or any of those : games .An which 'the limbs* are exercised and strengthened. Better for themselves, and, incidentally for the world, m general., ..-'.,.

"The Step-mother" at the Opera House is about the worst step-mctner we've ever seen. She evidently thinks with Solomon, that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. Certainly Danny is m no danger of being spoiled,; b|ut it is a miracle he should have held out so long under the treatment. Miss Beatrice Holloway' as Danny was at her bestr-as she always is m, boy parts— and m the scene wherein she discovers her mother is dead, she carries the whole of her . feminine audience with, her, suppressed sobs being heard from, all parts of the house. Miss Ida Gresham is not at all convincing as the Step-mother. She is utterly unsurted to the part. Mr Eustace Leicester, though he has a fjne stage appearance, seemed to be quite out' of his element m the part of Captain Bristow, and slurred a great many of his speeches. Mr C. R. Stanford gave a clever portrayal of the inebriate tramp who has recolfections of having once - been a • gentleman, -Mr Carey did good work as Abraham Wiggins, ,a sleek rascal with an undercurrent of cunning humor. Miss Madge Dickenson played Clara m r> uch a manner that one longed to box her ears for the naughty little imp she was. Miss Mabel Russell made an interesting invalid. Mr Coapes 1 work was miles better as the old age pensioner than as the detective. Miss Alice Deorwyn and Mr Uojughlan kept the fun going well all the time. To-" night the Co.-npany put on "The Fatal Wedding." /

A Sydney friend writes me that as she was seeing a friend off by the Union boat, a very amusing incident occurred. There were a great number of people assembled on the wharf to see the boat go out, and just as the gangways .were abojut to be drawn up, a steward rap along and shouted to the crowd, "Now then, it's your last chance this trip. Any more ifor God's Own bit of dirt *" This raised a , general laugh, and someone m * the crowd said, "Three cheers for (Jod's Qwn Country," and it was given with a hearty goodwill both' by those on the wharf as well as those on the boat.

An expressman, m a letter to tho "Evening Post," waxes indignant at what he considers the injustice of the Oity Corporation m allowing ,parce's weighing over 141bs to be taken on the tramcars, and says that it is not fair to the expressman, who has to pay a license every year to carry goods and luggage, 'for them thus to take their living from them. t think the expressmen have a great deal to blame themselves for m this respect as they are often very exorbitant" m their charges. A lady staying at the Empire Hotel sent her dress basket per the express to the Manawatu Station, and was charged 2s &d. On the return journey she brought it back with her on the ear without any trouble. Mo one wants tp drag their parcels about with them if they can get them taken reasonably. Once the expressmen realise 'this their grievance will l»}\ve ceased to exist.

"Now, 111 tell you- why -1 wouldn't so into the restaurant and have a cup a! colfee with you while we were waiting lor the train. I didn't like the way you asKed me. Not half an hour before you said to Mr Puffer, 'Oomie, let's set a cigar,' and away you went holding his arm, and not giving him a chance to decline. When we met John Handy on our way to luncheon you said (r iJust m time, -John ; come, take luncheon with us; 1 " And then .to-night, when we had to wait an . .hour for the train, you turned to me and saul m a questioning way, 'Would you li*c a cup of coffee ?' ' And "1. did. want it ; i was itired and a little hungry, but 1 would have fainted before I would ha*e acce. ted such an invitation. In effect, you said to me, 'If you want a cup of coffee— l« r you really want it-r-1 will buy it for you." Why didn't yoir fnvjte .ms'- heartily as ym: invite men ?" Why didn't you- say, 'toir.<\ let's get a little coffee and soineihinp;,' and take me straight away- with you?" Indeed, if men would only act towards their wives as heartily, "cordially and frankly as they do towards the men whom, they meet, they would find cheerier companions at home than they do at the,, club.— "The Leader."-