THE LADIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1898, 19 June 1890, Page 37

THE LADIES.

Bt Alicb.

The world wu t»d— th« guden «n a wild, And mm, th» Hermit, righcd, till womw smiled. — CUHrutL.

ANSWERS TO OOBRESPONDKNTS. Cora.— We could not republish the verses. AgricoliA.— Thank you exceedingly for your very Interesting letter. I quite agree with you. Critics are not the world, but only one person ; and he was [as you say, unfair. To understand Longfellow there must be spirituality, and there must have been suffering. He appeals not so much to the imagination as to man's inner consciousness. The " firm and ample base " refers to that without which nothing can be built — that only which abides. I think he has ascended "tho bright mountaius of transport," but when he got there he did not rave of what he beheld, but in culm, intense joy opened his soul. " Feeling is deep and still," he tells us, and no one reading his " Evangeline " oould say he could not love and endure. He

has felt to the full all the anguish of long waiting, the'emptineas and loneliness of life wantingone not there— but his endurance is his strength. He is not of the earth earthy ; he leaves the footprints of an exalted soul behind him, recognising the deep meaning that he reads between the lines of life, and after much struggling writes :— "Thejstar of the unconquered will, He rises in my breast, Serene and resolute and still, And calm and self-possessed." His poetry always reminds me of a scene I once saw. It was night, and I was climbing a high hill. It was very rugged and toilsome, and to make matters worse we seemed to get into a thick clinging mist. At length, however, we emerged, and a lovely sea of billowy, silvary mist lay below and all around, upon which the moonlight, fell with a glorious radiance. We had gotabove tne tloud and the clear peaks above us rose into a purple sky. Longfellow was above the clouds. He knew they lay below, but saw the silver side, while toilsome

peaks higher, higher up remained yet to climb; buc the climbing led ever to a beauteous sky. Silvia.— Continue the baths and mix a teaspoonful of sulpttur in a cup of milk every morning. At night well wash] your face with milk and let it dry on. Iron rust powders will improve your blood,

and perhaps help the two things. Twbed. — I do not think it is oorreot to call a married lady the " belle of the ball." I think it properly ■ belongs to an unmarried lady. However, I will make further inquiries and let you know next

week. Efhb. — " Lizzie," Pahla, kindly sends the spider stitch, in answer to your query:— Oast on in 12's. First row, plain. Second row, thread forward. Knit two together; * purl three together ; knit one, purl one ; knit one, all into the next stitch. Repeat from *. Knit the last two stitches plainly. Third row, thread forward, knit two together. Purl the rest. Fourth row, thread forward. Knit two together ; * knit one. purl one, knit one, all into the same stitch ; purl three together Knit the two last stitches plainly, Go back to the

second row. Dressmaker.— The Queen is generally looked upon J^as the best authority on dress matters, but it is an , expensive j jurnal, costing £2 per annum posted. ': The Young Ladies' Journal (18s per annum) is a ' very good substitute, while Myra's Journal is also ; highly spoken of . There 1b a email colonial fashion journal, published by Madame Weigel, 99 Swanston

v Arcade, Melbourne. It you write ta her and mention the Witness Madame Weigel would no doubt [ send you a specimen copy, and if it would answer your purpose you could then subscribe to it. Though affording many useful hintß, it of course has not the variety of patterns, but the subscription is only a few shillings per annum. I do not gknow anything about Weldon's Fashion Journal. A. X.— Whole wheatmeal scones would be much better for a sick person than oatmeal cakes. The whole meal is obtainable now at moit grocers. The scones are made asifollowsi— Pint flour, two

teaspoonfuls baking powder, one teaspoon ful and a-half of salt. Mix into a soft dough with cold '. milk. Roll and cut. Bake in a hot oven 10 or 15 minutes. Use a good tabletpoonful of butter and rub it in with the fingers. The best made scones baked in a poor oven will be failures. They should bake from 10 to 15 minutes. The milk used should be very cold. Add the milk a little at a time and make it not too stiff. The amount used varies according to the flour. Flour having more gluten willl absorb more milk. It usually takes about one-half a cup of milk. Use as little flour on the board as These are nice made as twin bisouits. Cut Jin thick, butter, and put two to-

gether in the baking pan. J. B.— A " manicure" is a person who dresses finger nails, and keeps them in a shapely and presentable condition. In large centres of population persona devote their sole attention to this line of business, and hence the allusion to " manicure establishments " on page 37 of the issue of the sth. Biddy. — I am afraid that all you can do with kid gloves that are worn is to replace them with new ones. Will any reader please supply Biddy with a pattern for a shawl.