THE LADIES' CHAIN Facts and Fiction for FemininitY

NZ Truth, Issue 854, 1 April 1922, Page 2

THE LADIES' CHAIN Facts and Fiction for FemininitY

(BY MARY B. CONTRARY)

•Strolling round Miramar last week "Mary" noticed that an old wormeaten house had been carted from the city, and was being re- erected. Surely, the civic authorities did not grant a permit for this! If they did it is a crying shame.. The old place is getting a coat of paint and later on will be sold at a tall figure to some unsuspecting person. It is a scandalous state of affairs and should be remedied at once. :r s: xt On Lambton-quay last week "Mary" noticed a smart matron m a handsome loose-fitting wrap, carried out m mole velvet, with broad bands of moleskin trimming the hem, collar and cuffs. It wag one of the most delightful garments seen this season, and was most becoming. : : .: : : : If ''Constant Reader" (Masterton) will ihend her postal address to "M.8.C." a trellis, pattern, with full instructions will be posted to her. ti s; if "M.8.G." paid her half-dollar and attended a, highbrow afternoon tea last week m aid of the ;"'free kindergarten Bcheme. A clever lady who is working .hard for the worthy cause amused the guests- by relating- her- experiences of kindergarten work over the other side. She related with gusto, how, m. Sydney, the Tivoli TheatTe was lent for a children's entertainment one afternoon. Besides toeing amused .from the stage the kiddies iwere. amused, internally by. being. provided with cakes and milk. Not too much milk," however, m case of-er little accidents. With a lively sense of their responsibilities m this respect, m regard to the nice plush seats m the theatre, the committee kept a watchful eye on the youngsters. Whenever kiddies showed any symptoms of restlessness they were immediately yanked out and taken round the back. The lady who tells the story relates that she observed one wee girlie wriggling about on iher seat very ominously. She naturally passed the word to the kiddie, but was emphatically assured that the restive one was "quite all right, thanks." The wriggling and restlessness still •continued, however, until, fearful for 'those highly-iupholstered seats, the teller of the story hauled the little girl out by main force and took her round to the back. Here the child was still em- . phatic that she was quite all. right, but the lady noticed that her little panties were down. When she questioned- the child why this should be, the little girl innocently replied that she liked the feel of the nice iplush seat she iwas sitting on, and the enjoyment was heightened when one wriggled! / ' v si tt Certain "smart" circles m Wellington are iwatchlng with considerable interest the antics of a well-known professional man. - Some time ago, at the time of the year when the sap begins to rise and the little birds feather their wigwams and young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of smoodge, this chappie paid two" hundred quid for a dandy engagement ring which he persuaded a nice little girl to accept. In the meantime spring has gone, and now m these more prosaic autumn days, rumor hath it that the chappie has discovered' that the only girl m the world for him is not wearing his expensive engagement ring, but is to be found m the person of the daughter of one of our leading business men who is chiefly famous for the oodles of hoot he has collected, and the tightness to which he hangs on to it. The doctor's dilemma, as described by Bernard Shaw, is reputed to be a pale circumstance compared- -with the fix the professional bloke now finds himself m. You can't very iwell hang your hat up to the daughter of wealth when there's evidence ,m the shape of an engagement ring sparkling-round the town. Meanwhile, as the diplomats say, active .. (pourparlers are progressing. And it. (will take a derned good •diplomatist, we should say,* to straighten out the tangle. t: :< :i The cow-bangers m this country are to have their tasks made lighter by the invention of- Mrs. Cook, of Ahuriri Flat, Otago. The invention is an attachment to be added to the present milking machines, and it claimed that it will do away with the necessity for stripping the cows, and which, of course, means a great saving of time, and time is money. Inventon has not been a strong point with the fair sex m the ipast, so it is doubly pleasing: to record the present soiccess. Mrs. Cook is a young woman who hails from England, and during , the war period she was attached to one of the . big hospitals m Birmingham. j: :: '■'• Apropos of the paragraph m this column last iweek arienf the widow woman with five children who is threatened with eviction by a greedy landlord, a correspondent writes suggesting that Col- Mitchell, M.P., might find a billet as charwoman m the Government Buildings for this distressing case. The correspondent claims that a vacancy could be made by dispensing with the services of a married woman with a husband m regular work. This woman, it is said, owns a large apartment house, does charing every morning at the buildings, and works as a barmaid for the rest of the day. If this is so, It is over the oddsj and "the authorities should take notice 1 of it. si :: » Passengers crossing the ' Rimutaka incline by rail cannot tout, notice that the engine sheds at Cross Creeks recently, destroyed by fire, are how being rebuilt. Considering that the. "Fell" engines narrowly escaped destruction, which would have meant the closing of the line, b'b this particular brand of locomotive could not be 'replaced, for months, "Mary" wonders if the Railway^ Department has seen fit, to reward the men, whose " fine work' wa's: the means' of saving the engines' ' Of course, money is scarce^" these days, but perhaps.-Mr.'McVilly*will see 'that the men get a (week's extra leave on full pay. i* s: :t ; The majority of readers of this column do not see eye to eye with all that the Salvation Army stands for; but everyone will admit that the Army does (wonderful work m many directions. Recently some of the newlyfrocked lassies have been, making house-to-house visits m Wellington, and the suburbs, requesting that they be allowed to pray with the inmates of the house. "M.8.C." questioned some of the lassies and asked hofw they were received. The girls had to confess that m very few cases iwere they allowed, to pray on the premises, but as a rule ithey were treated courteously. Of course,;: there ..were exceptions, and one of the latter category was a wellknown Jewish lady, (who likes to 'be thought" la- 1 leader m the best society. '"JPhi'S rude slammed the door m thefaoe of the. lassies/ when they made their .request.- By this' snub/ she showed just what sort of person' she is. The feelings. of the callers were.ridt thought of when sho gave them this summary clash of cold water. A real lady would be above such a method as was adopted by this battler for the upper strata of society.'.. ■'■ . .-"■_ . '

General: q . „-p,, , <A .» .r^u and <«p., pi a yi n gj "P" -went misere. "W" led out of turn and "P" claimed that : he could not lose. Game played out and "P" scored his misere. Then claimed that "W" must pay the stake for the table. "W" paid his own, but declined to pay for the other two players? Who is right?— "Misere King." . . \ A.: "W" must pay 1 for ;all, /The rule is •simple and emphatic.^ It Beads: When a card is exposed by one. of the adversaries of a misere caller the cgfller can immediately claim the stakes/and is regarded as having won his declaration, the stakes being paid by the offender for himself and Ms partners. The misere player can claim the same penalty if a card is played out of turn against him or a revoke is made, or, indeed if any one follows suit out of turn. Q. : School boy crossing bridge. "Two I boys on horseback havdng a race dash on to bridge going same direction as boy. Boy jumps out of way of one horse and 5s knocked down and injured by second horse. Who is responsible for accident? ►— "Masterton." h A.: In the circumstances outlined either or both of the boys together are responsible to the person injured. The parents of the boys are not liable for .thedr children's negligence unless the children at the time were employed m and about the parents' business. , Q.: Person, purchases ticket" in certain I art union which, however,: "was never i drawn. Has he any claim on the promoters of the art union?— " Artful Union." A.: Would probably succeed m recovt tering the price of the. ticket if proved P Jhat ho draw took place, but perhaps best " cmirse would be to bring the matter un- ! dfer the notice of the Minister of Internal Aft'airs, under whose supervision art t unions are held, and he would Instruct ' tho police ,to act. b> Q.: Taken over distribution of coal for f private benevolent society; find I. am alL "Ways short when squaring up, through f not being able to give exact weight, peof pie bringing sacks of all sizes. Can you L tell me the box dimensions of a sack of [ coal; also quarter ton measurement?— I "E.S." (Wanganui). [ A.: Get a set of tested scales, as you f can put a greater quantity of small coal I In a given space than of large. Weigh the Ijnlscellaneous sacks before filling. A ■standard sack holds four cubic feet, and Fa, quarter ton measures ten cubic feet. I Q.: Retired civil : servant written to by I Fijian Government and asked if he would [ be prepared to relieve m Government Department m place of officer whom it was Intended to send to Queensland; Civil - servant ultimately goes, to Fdji, but is Informed, after a year's delay. ;that the officer was not to be sent to Queensland, and his services will not be required. Has he Rny claim for compensation for time Io9t: If so. against -whom and by what means? »—"B.C." /-■■; v A. : Whether there was a binding contract for service, or whether it was conditional on Fijian officer being sent to Queensland it is impossible to tell without perusing the correspondence. If the Tormer, then apparently you would have to proceed with' your; claim m Fiji and your petition would be , against the Crown, as head of the Government, not ' agadnst the head of the department. Not belner with the law of Fiji regarding such claims it is impossible to advise -what your exact : procedure should be. ■>••'.-.. ) ' •>; . ; i Q.: If man breaks off his engagement is the girl concerned bound by lttw to return , his engagement .ring?—- "Left In the Lurch" (Wellington). A.: No. 7*eplle9 In Brief! - "Widow" (Wanganui): Apply Commisffcloner of Pensions, Wellington. — ''Toiler" <Taihape): As employees of State they t ßro bound to carry and deliver letters

and parcels to which are affixed adequate postage. Complain "to local postmaster.--"Crib": There is no run; the cards read backwards, 4, 2, 10.— "8.M.A.M.": Next highest card- after the ace decides the winner. If the handa are even right through the pool isi halved. There is no distinction m < suits.— "Wager" : (1) No; (2) No.— "Knowledge": Yes, you can take action.— "J.D.B.": Write Commonwealth befence Department, Melbourne.— Sinn Fein": No record.— "W-G-": Not up to publication standard.— "Anxious" : First cousins may marry, but medical opinion Is strongly against it.— "Old Subscriber (Runanga): The ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition left the Barcoo on December 16, 1860. —Neither of -the leaders returned, both being starved to death.— "E.T. : II yo.u pot the red before scoring your, nominated cannon, you give three away.— "Constant Reader": .You are entitled to use either name. — "Constant Reader : No.— "R.M." (Gisborne): White acid is a very strong acid, with a sulphuric acid base. It must be carefully handled and kept. Consult wdth one of the big drug firms!— " Constant Reader" (Wellington): You can marry at any time. r— "Skins (Feilding): The curing mixture should: be applied once a day for a week to the skins, which should be tacked to a board fur downwards. Rub well to take put stiffness.— "Anxious" (Auckland): Apply Eduoation Department.— "C.W.": According to an old authority Winter really commences- on- June 21 (the shortest day), and Spring comes alongon September 28. — "A;S.": The hotel hours, for sale of Hquor m Australia are: Queensland, 6 a_m. to 11 p.m.; New South Wales, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Victoria, South Australia and West Australia, 9 a.m. to C p.m. — Place m hands of a solicitor.— "Anxious": Make another application m the usual way.— r "Puzzled": Apply Children's Welfare Branch, Education Department.—"A.Mcß.": Can't report. ex parte statements regarding court cases. — "Hoheppa Kerei" (-Ashburton) : "Truth" does not open its columns to attacks C;n any reMgious denomination or any fraternal order unless m the case of some grave and well-substantiated abuse.— "New Subscriber" (Stirling): "A" is wrong. The cards read backwards, 5, 5, 4, which does not constitute a run. — "J.J.": New York City ■ lies mainly on Manhattan Island, which is situated at the upper end of New York Bay. — "Mowhanga": Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind; full hand, 'flush, straight,, three of a kdhd; blaze (when played), two pairs, one pair. There is no priority m the value of suits. —"Whale, not Big Fish": Put afresh Jonah on your hook; the whale won't swallow the present one. — "Ajax." (Timaru): Hagiologists state that St. Patrick was born at Nemthur", which was situated at the Clyde end of the Wall of Antonius, -where Dumbarton now stands. — "J.W." (Southfield) : Sorry; np room.— "E.P." (Awakino): Cannot use without substantial verification. Why not lay the matter before the police?— "G.A.F.": Use salt if there is nothing else germinating m the ground. The best plan isfo cut away all the overgrowth, then when the seedlings begin to come through choose a hot day and run a hoe through them. The sun will do the rest.— »" Frank ": Your marriage is quite legal and you need take no steps m connection with the matter you 'mention.— "Poker": The hands are even. There ds no preference of suits. — "P.T.C.": If, you charged for admission to the picnic and then held a horse race you are liable for prosecution for. not having obtained a permit. The case is trivial, and you are not likely to hear more of it. — "Argument 1 / (Huntly): If nobody buys the blind man cannot draw. — "Ashburtonian": Think you have mis-stated your problem. You show fifty-two drinks on one side, representing 265, and fifty drinks on the other, representing 255. So the difference ns quite legitimate. — "J.McL." (Mbrnlngton) : vPublius Neutulus was a Roman scribe, who lived con-, temporaneously with Chrdßt. — "One Who