ALICE'S LETTER TO HER READERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1912, 13 July 1888, Page 32

ALICE'S LETTER TO HER READERS.

The weather in Christchurch during the past week has been glorious— slightly frosty nights with warm, almost balmy, days. There is, however, as I write an ominous change in the sky ; thick clouds are rolling up from ihe sou'-weat, and I imagine that another 2i hours will bring a downpour. If these soft days of sunshine continue the spring flowers will — misguided — put in an appearance, to be nipped in the bud later on — like people who, often misled by the genial smiles of new friends, put forth all their little sprouts of confidence and affection, which are perhaps checked a little later by an unexpected chill. I notice in some of the gardens late roses still linger, as though loth to depart, or as if vying with one another to be "the last rose of summer" though " blooming alone " in a garden where the deep-tinted chrysanthemums and holly berries give a warm touch of colour among the sere and yellow leaves. There is a dear little bush of variegated holly in the grounds of the police station in Hereford street. Such tempting clustres of bright red berries grow upon it, and so near the gate that I am afraid — only the bush is in the police grounds —that admirers of the beautiful would be tempted to help themselves. I gazed at it, but it was Sunday, and there was not one of the protectors of other people's property in sight, or I should have begged a spray.

A little farther down the street I was much amused at the 'comments three little girls passed upqn a lady walking by. " Ain't she straight ? " said one. " Yes," replied another; "they eat something to keep them as straight as that." I laughed at the idea, and thought, ""X es, plenty of good food when she was growing, my girl." How is it that girls get the idea that for every feminine grace of face or figure something must be eaten, the " something " being alum, starch, or some other blood destroying stuff. Search the pockets well, mothers, for when your girl | begins to look pale and bloodless in 9 cases out of 10* she is " eating something " to improve — as she imagines— her complexion. Eat less meat and plenty of grain food, cream, milk, butter, fruit, and vegetables, and you will do far more for your complexion than by eating any unwholesome stuff like raw rice or starch. A nice skin is always preferable to one like a dried barracouta, but it will never be'obtained by drying up the blood and scouring several times a day in soap and water.

I had a long chat the other day with Mr Brice, hairdresser, and while he gave my hair a delightful brushing he imparted some very useful hints for my readers. He said the cause of so much dandruff in the head nowadays was partly owing to the fact that ladies did not take a quarter of the pains with the brush that they did 20 years ago. The hair should be well brushed with a stiff -brush every day, and the skin well rubbed with the fingers to keep up a healthy action, and about twice a week a little pomade should be rubbed, into the skin, When the ladies used oils for the hair, he said, there was no denying the fact that such heads of hair were seen daily as woxild havetojbe searched for now; aud, however nasty it may have been in some respects, it certainly had the very desirable effect of keeping the head clean and promoting the growth of the hair. So Mr Brice strongly recommends the use of a little not enough to give the hair that unbecoming, oily appearance, so much to be avoided, but enough, well rubbed into the skin, to prevent it from becoming hard and dry. So much washing, he observed, was the ruin of tbe hair. Nowaday Jadies used, soap and water where once they used the brash,' and' i. constant washing dried every bit of the natural moisture from 'the hair, causing it to crack and discolour; I .am sure many of my

lady readers will be obliged to my informant for these bints, and for their farther, edification I may say he added that he is of opinion that fringes will not become unfashionable for a long time, as they are so -generally becoming, giving a soft look to the face. Some foreheads look anything but nice with the hair drawn away from them, it is only given to a few to look nice, irrespective of how they dress their hair. Was it Susan Nipper, in " Domby and Son," who used to draw her hair so tight back from her forehead that -it was a wonder how she ever closed her eyes ; or was it Peggotty, in " David -Copperfi eld " ? However, we need not go to fiction for people who have the knack of making frights of themselves. I was much amused when Mr Brice told me that ladies do the strangest things with the idea of promoting the grow of their hair. One had confided to him that she rubbed her head witn a raw onion, but her husband very properly objected, and luckily for her hair. Another has been rubbing kerosene on ; and nine years ago he said a man was travelling round showing a hairless horse, and he knew for a fact that it was -well rubbed with kerosene every morning to prevent the hair growing. So I would caution the reader not to rub the remainder of her hair off .with kerosene — a not very likely contingency, however. Many of ray correspondents have made inquiries from time to time with regard to their hair, and I am sure this information will be of assistance to them. Or c cannot do better than faithfully carry out Mr Brice's instructions, for he has had many years' experience. - i

The Columbia Rink here is in the Tuam Street Hall, built originally for the Salvationists. By the courtesy of the management I have been enabled to be" present on several occasions, and there has always been a good attendance, for rinking seems as popular in Christchurch as in Dunedin. The ladies were well represented, and' several rinked gracefully. I saw the first race of 'the season, which created a good deal of excitement. There is a very large rink irr the course of erection in a' central position. I hear that in Ashburton there has been a rink carnival, and that some very effective costumes were worn, one notably so — "Winter" — in which irost and snow were well represented, with little robin red breasts perching here and there on the costume. I saw a costume in the street the other day which I could not decide whether I liked or not. It was of black velvet, ■ made with long straight draperies, and three small folds across the hips, and tailor-made bodice. Where on a serge dress the draperies are braided at the bottom of the skirt and on the bodice, it was worked in steel beads, which glinted and gleamed in the sunlight. With it was worn a pretty stringless bonnet of black velvet, with no trimming save steel ornaments, Two other dresses of bright red, perfectly plain as far as trimming was concerned, I thought looked very nice when first I saw them. It was a dull, grey day, and the wearers were walking together in the oak avenue leading to the Botanic Gardens. The trees were bare, or garnished only with a few withered leaves. As they came slowly along the wintry avenue these bright gowns were very effective, and made just the touch of colour an artist would have introduced in such a wintry scene. An hour or two afterwards, however, I met them again in the city, when the sun had come out, and among the unartistic surroundings of butchers, fish* mongers, and grocers' shops they looked garish and loud. What a pityonecannotalways choose one's situations to suit one's costumes. In the snow how pretty, contrasted with its whiteness, scarlet is,'but in the sunshine — No. Oh, dear me ! real life is often anything but picturesque, and I know that' many of you, my dear friends, read the Ladies' column of your newspaper as a child does a chapter from a fairy tale, imagining the bright scenes you never see. And as I write I try to keep these shadowed lives in my memory, and while I endeavour to depict the gaieties, at the same time I try to remember the trials and anxieties of the hard-worked wives and mothers ; and if at any time I should help any such, even a little, it will certainly make me glad. In many a home the newspaper is read in the brief rests of a busy day, when cares and troubles are crowding thickly in, and the united efforts of many workers are not in vain if the readers come to regard the paper as the friend which has always a laugh or a word of cheer ready for them. The mother nursing her baby as she reads can find somewhere in its pages a word of advice or help for her ; the man who loves a joke can laugh at will ; the man to whom sentiment is a byeword, can con at his leisure those serious pages compiled for him ; youths and maidens and little children all have their part and portion. But to go back to the dresses. One of the handsomest sealskin jackets I have seen this season was that worn by Mrs Ehodes the other day, and Miss Rhodes looked elegant in an extremely pretty ahade of brown cloth made perfectly plain. With this she wore a high' brown ' straw hat with brown ribbons and a gold wing. MrsCoxon also wears a rich tailor-made costume of brown. Mrs Anderson makes aprettypicture in a cloak of cardinal tourists' cloth, richly trimmed with grey fur. With this she wears a high hat to match. Her mother, Mrs Buller, looks extremely well in a very handsome and perfectly-fitting mantle of purple velvet, with a purple bonnet to match.' I saw Mrs Baker, of Ifendaltown, in an extremely handsome silk of an exquisite shade of pale blue, draped with a plaid of dark and light blue. Her jacket was of sealskin, and she wore the daintiest of little stringless bonnets to match the dress. Mrs Sfcrachey has one of ,the newest cut fawn tailor-made gowns with one of the lovliest fur-lined cloaks I have seen, made in the newest Home style. • The cloth is of dark brown, and the sleeves- long, bell-shaped, almost reaching to the bottom of the cloak, and lined like it with a rich light fur. A pretty stringless bonnet completes an exquisite costume. A costume worn by a young lady whose name I do not know I thought very neat. It-was of a small black and white check in silk. The" dress was made with long plain draperies, and over it a cloak of the same material- as the dress with a hood of black satin. A small togne of the check was worn with it,,. I presume it was a half -mourning costume. .:v . - . It is a treat ,to revisit the Musen&v « -There is a week's study in it at least, ..&iu : j«lias