OUR LADIES' COLUMN.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 4539, 30 November 1889, Page 4

OUR LADIES' COLUMN.

Dear Mr Editor, —The other evening ivyoung ladv S3id to me, "If you do what I ask, dear Veronica, my friends and I will be eo grateful to yon. Wo shall never forget yoar kiudoes3." Tha word 3 were uttered in all sincerity, but, as I turr.ed away, X could not be!p thinking now little real gratitude one need expect: to find in this world.

Arrived at home, I took down the big dictionary nnd straightway turned up the word " gratitude.' 1 litre is the definition which rewarded my search--"Goodwill and kindness awakened by a fjvor rjcaived." Cin yiu im?::inp, Mr Editor, with how grim a emiie I c'oaed the pages of tho dictionary and restored it to its Bbplf?

Lit tbo readers of this column look back upon tbnir past lives and note down in letters of gold eve:y instanca of gratitude they can call to mind. I a idly K-ar their note-books will retain much of their prisllnn purity. BJt let me go EtiU farther, and jog their memories a little. Want of !hu mm ana woman to whom, at great inconvenience to yourself, yon lint monetary assistance In the days of thnir Eoro struggle ? 2so doubt you thought, with a glad glow of satisfaction, " thi3 man nnd woman wiii be my friends for life ; they will do me a good torn whenever an oppcr:unity occurs." Ha 3 your assumption been justified? Nay; when tho lime of your own tronblft arrived, wero not they found in the ranks against you ? Did they then remembir their promises of eternal gratitude? Not they ! you were no longer of use to them, and (pardon tho expre3ii»n) they chucked you overboard. What of the woman whose righteous cause you upheld when unfounded tcaadii, with its thou.»and tongue?, was buay with her cam:? Surely she, at least, rnnst have been grateful for yctir open championship at so trying a time. Surely she, at least, must Lava ever remembered you with grateful affection. Surely she, at least, would never permit your name to be lightly mentioned in her presecca. Has this been your experience 1 Ah, have you not found that at tho smallest, slightest wound to her vanity, she has turned and Btung tha kindly hand which upheld her in the day of her trouble, and that no epithet Is strong enough to her disapproval of you and your ways 1

Tell me of tha mm and womm wbo T e situations you have been tha means of retaining for them when they were about to lose them in consequence of carclcn cr culpable conduct. Wii&t cf them? Have they remembered tho trouble you took in the matter; howyonplesdedforthem; how many exensea you in their favor ; bow yon effered your own precious good name as guarantee for thuir future bebavior ? Ha 3 their goodwill been awakened towards you, or are they to be found planting the s;-crefc dsgzer in your heart ?

What absnt the poor rolaiion you have ao often assisted 2 Want r.bmn the old Bcaool-fellosr, It a j fortunato than yourself, whose family you have helped on in the world? What about the vtiijw whom you havn provided with a meaus o: livelihood? What cbcnt the bankrupt you have started afresh iu business' So doubt from e3ch cf them yon hoped to have received sweat and fjracion* thankfulness, buc have you met wilh it I

My own conclusion i? sbat'there ia very little gratitude to bs found ou earth, and that there is mnch truth in tho old ssyicg that "virtue ia its own reward." For certain it is that no one ever act 3 in a kind and generJU3 manner without experiencicg an interior glow cf trne pleasure which ia in itself a wonderful consolation, and which leaves behind it au indelible upward tendency in tho soul. The man or woman whose roicd ia centred In Half ia bound to earth by chains of adamant —the man or woman who responds to the divine command to do good to one another ia steadily rislcg to higher altitudes. Unaeifishne33 and generosity may never be rewarded by man. fcne they are bound to be rewarded by Ilesven.

I quote for my readers a few remarks upoa a now dress. " Said Mary," I declare this dress mikes ms loi>k five years younger. I;*a a lov>-, Sh3u't I cat the other girls out now ? The dressmaker said "Thank goodness that's done. Shb'j awful to fit." The younger sister said " Mary thinks she is goinc to got off now that she's got that frock." The bosom friend sald"Hnw very pisse that color make* dear Mary look. Sj trying, yon know." The housemaid 3aid "I shall take the pattern of that 'ere dress when she's oat of the way." Pjpi said, " Another bill for fallals ? I shan't pay it. Vfheo I was a young man, girls were taught to be sensible," etc. Amongst pretty name 3 for girls which might be brought into use is Vida, pronounced Veed*h ; it is tho feminine for David in the Erse language. Ladies, at Home, appear to ba going in more and more for athletics and gymnastics. Cricket has for some years back 1 been very fashionable, and now fencing bids fair tj become equally popular. The one thing needed to bring it Into fashion in England was a leader of rank, whose example others could foilow, and this want lias been snnpikd by Prioces3 Louise, Duchess of Fife.

Irish people are proverbially cl: vct acd inventive, and it has been reserved for Miss Donegan, a native of the Emerald Isle, to Invent a mode of painting in dull oils on textile fabrics which can be applied with the greatest ecccess to silk, satin, leather, and almost a:>y kind of material, as well as to wood and looking-glaßc. I: is called Perpotm Fresco, and has the merits of never caking off and of resisting friction, so that it is peculiarly suitable for home decoration. Full directions are published with it; th.; painting i 3 very easy to do, and but little knowledge of art isreqoired by thoso who undertake the execution of Perpatua Fresco. By the bye, talking of painting reminds me that Miss Dansey, as evidenced by three beautiful placques which were on one of the stalls at the Catholic bazaar, still continues to improve in artistic taste, carefulness, and skill, and gives promise of one day becoming a painter of whose reputation we Oamaruvians will be proud. To her and to all other careful workers, I wish every success. Few things are more deliehtfol than to Bee onr young people patting forth earnest effort. Mrs Harrison, the wife of President Harrison, is bored aaiiy with numerous letters from persons of he; own oex. Some of them beg for a piece of one of her dresses for a cwzy quilt, for a tress of her hair, or for a contribution to some charity, while others givo ber all manner of advice on subjects in which the writers are little fitted to advise. My readers will see there aro Mrs Mentors everywhere.

Amongst tho fashionable hats of the day are larga ones of grey atr3w, atviiahly trimmed with grey laco and pale red poppies ; millinery hats of pretty shades of serpent green, long greea feathers and ospreys, and loops of shaded green brocaded ribbon; and tcqaes of fancy golden green straw, with yellow roaes covered with pale green tnllc. A novel wedding fancy was recently Inaugurated by a fashionable bride in New York. She carried an unusually large bouquet, and, jnst before leaving for the honeymoon, she untied her fiowere, which proved to be compoEed of eight separate posies fastened with different colored ribbons. Each of these was presented to a bridesmaid, and one of the bonquets concealed a wedding ring, the possession of which would indicate the next bride. The Catholic bazaar, which closed tbis day week, was a great financial succees, the money realised being over a hundred pounds beyond expectation, What par-

ticularly pleased mo at this bsziar was tha car 9 and finish.bestowed upon ihe articles , far ea'e. One becomes eomewhat nccus- [ tomei to tha slighting phrase, " Ob, its [ gocd enough for a baziftr." Batevidently . no triable, no care, no energy was apared , by tho Catholics cf Oamara and t'noir j frienda to make their baziar completely „ euccjoafal and highly creditable. And 1 [ think, Mr Editor, you will allow I was not far wrong when I stated that no bstter , display of work had ever been shown in ! Oamaru. I fally intended to describe [ some of the principal articles, but experi- [ enced much difficulty in deciding which to came; where ?.U wcra so excellent, particularising became unnecessary. | A lady, while engaged in the pursuit of , her domesiic duties, encountered a mouse In tho flour barrel. Mo3t ladies, under . similar circumsfcancoa, would have uttered | a few fchrieks and sought safety in flight; ! but thi3 one possessed more than the . ordinary degree of courage, She summoned the man servant, told him to get the gun, call tho dog, and station himself ,at a convenient distance. Then she : c'.am'oerad upon a cluir, and commenced ' to punch the flour barrel with a pole. J Presently tha mouse made its appearance, \ nnd started across the floor. The do» at r onca went in pursuit. The man fired and thi> dog dropped dead. Tne lady fainted, and fell off the chair. The man, thinking ! she was kiiicd, and fearing he would be nrrcs'.ed for murdor, disappeared, and has not been seen since. The moose escaped. I was present at Mr Lincoln's able entertainment on Thursday evening, and have ever siuca been greatly exercised in • m'nd. Th 9 question which disturbs my : peace concerns his facial expressions and life-like imitations of human beinas and animals. Touching the former, I can only conclude that he mu3t have spent boars Dafore hi 3 mirror. And with re- ! gard to the latter, I most say I wonder in ' whose house he lodged, or how it happened that the neighbors, whose peace ha must have broken frightfully while imitating the equeal of the operatic singer, the baying of tha midnight dog, or the refrain of tho agitated hen. Tho very perfection of his mimicry represents hourß upon hnnrs of practice, but unless he retired for that purpose to a " lodge in soma vast wilderness." I cannot understand how he attained it. At all events, hia neighbors could not have laughed as heartily as did his audicnca on Thursday night. Tbo recipes for the week are as follows : Duchees Soup.—oibs shin of beef, 4 carrots, 4 onions, 1 head of celery, 3 quartß water, and a little seasoning. Cat everything up fine, and put on in a saucepan wUh cold water; boil gently for two hours, then thicken with 2.Z3. arrowroot or cornflour, color with soy, boil up again a few minutes and strain into a tureen. The tureen should contain 2.Z3. lean ham very lightly cooked and chopped very fine. Pepper and salt to taste. Pound Cake.—Beat lib butter to a cream, and add lib sugar, lib flour, lib dried and c : eaned currants, lib stoned raisins, |lb chopped candied peel, the juica of half a lemon, and the yolks of four eggs. Beat all well together. Whip the whites of the eggs, and to3s in lightly. Bake in a buttered tin for one and a naif hour*. I am, dear Mr Editor, Tours truly, Veronica.