ALICE'S LETTER TO HER READERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1926, 15 January 1891, Page 37

ALICE'S LETTER TO HER READERS.

There is a line in a child's prayer, " Pit} my simplicity," which all of us have heard repeatedly, if we have not said it ourselves. It requires thinking out well before one can decide whether it is a thing to be prayed against. In the days in which the lines were written the world- may have had need to be delivered from simplicity — truly not now, not at least in the modern rendering of the word. The childish lips that lisp the prayer very soon forget their early artlessness, for in a premature forcing house the young plants come to too early a bloom, and the question of the day regarding the children is not so much one of teaching " the young idea how to shoot" as h^w not to Bhoot, for those who are wise enough to lee how the plants Have been sprouting find much time required to trim before they can train.' The simplicity of a.child is its greatest charm— its little innocent ways and guileless talk full of quaint questioning and wonderings constitute it a thing to' be protected— a blessing, a never-ending source of pleasure, and all that is noblest and best comes at the clasp of a trusting hand, and the glance of questioning eyes. A line might be substituted in the prayer of many colonial children, "Pity my precociousness," for we have premature men and women by hundreds where there should be the arfciessness of a Child. " Premature men and women" is, however, scarcely the correct phrase to use, for a man andwomanmustbe the development by a gradual growth up to a certain standard, but'these world- wise children have not the discernment and experience of men and women, and therefore not their judgment, but by a too sudden acquaintance with evil become warped and disfigured and. neyer attain (I mean the "never" in the .common acceptation of the word) thY full perfection of a gradual growth. If it were possible that only those who loved children could have them to train the gradual outcome of this would be empty prisons and thinly-populated hospitals, for it is in the mind that all evil first originates, and not till this is fully grasped will the guardians of the young grasp the awful responsibility that lies in the fact that if .is in cultivating right thinking that right doing is brought to pass. It is in the first few years that the child is pliable. It is while its brain is free from impressions that the most lasting are made, and teachers, both secular and moral, know how much harder it is to unmake than make, and find that their best work is accomplished'when a clean page has been the starting point— when they have received the child in its " simplicity," That deadly 6rror that so many parents make of continuous blaming is cruel in its effects ; and just as hideous is the habit of speaking evil in the hearing of children. You may be the parent, but what right have you to rob the child of its birthright of trusfc and love? If the world has dealt hardly by you, and made you cynical and sour, have you then the right to leave the ugly marks upon the fair mind of your child and let it believe that mankind is not worthy of trust or affection, and that everything is a lie? We should cry out against the cruelty of binding a child so tightly in bandages that it could not grow — yet the mind of the children is often bound — or trained so lop-sided that it becomes impossible for it to grow straight. Just as plainly as we can see the prevailing wind in any locality by the ways the trees are bent, so can the prevailing attitude of mind of the parents be seen in the children. Do artful, suspicious, evil-minded children, who with their cunning, leering looks, are ever on the alert to see what is going on in their neighbours yard — do these come from the homes where the parents are open and candid, generous and charitable in thought, aotion, and speech ? Do noisy, disobliging, mischief-loving, and cruelly disposed offspring disgrace the home of order, where kindly deeds, and sympathetic, courteous consideration mark the hourly bearing of those who rule ? No "company manners" can hide the cloven foot, and the fitful efforts at good behaviour are easily discernible from the spontaneous outflow which is the natural outcome of good training. Do mothers consider what they are doing when they daily scandalise people in the hearing of the little ones? They are making wicked little old men and women instead of training children, and in the inevitable law of things it all comes back. Teaching them a daily distrust of others only fosters a distrust of the parents, who they with discerning eyes detect do not act better then others. This " simplicity" is not only the beauty of childhood, but of every age. It is not ignorance, for the greatest of men have been noted for their simple manners and singleness of purpose. Affectation is one of the sins of the age. It spoils half, and more than half, of our girls and women. What natural ability they have is strained to appear to advantage. Dress, manners, everything about some people is as overdone as it is possible to overdo it. Their language is far-fetched, often absurd, taking away entirely the charm from their speech. Many naturally charming and pretty girls render

teasponful .into half a pint of water and well rub the roots of the hair with the solution every day. It is strange that the hair should be neglected as it is, when it is a woman's most beautiful adornment. This carelessness is allowed to develop while a girl is young, and the one thing of all others that is indispensable to a beautiful head of hair— brushing,|is dispensed with almost entirely. Mothers of little girls should be very particular, and insist upon 10 minutes' vigorous brushing every day. By keeping the scalp entirely free from dandruff, and therefore in good working order, that glossy, clean appearance which is so beautiful is obtained? Our grandmothers had far better hair than we have, as a rule, and a hairdresser who had had many years' experience attributes this to the fact, that they washed it less often. The new modes of dressing the hair necessitate a „ fluffy appearance, and to bring this about the hair is kept free from oil — not only that applied, but also the natural oils of the head. The latter are not allowed to remain, because hair will not crimp or "friz" well, when it is oily. There can be no question that the fluffy appearance of the hair is far more becoming than the old one of parting it in the centre, and plastering it down with oil — unless a woman has a perfectly shaped head and forehead, .which only a comparatively few have the good fortune to possess. The illustration of this is daily seen in the fact that many in our midst do not look nearly so well since they have combed their hair off the forehead ; ' and so well recognised is the fact that a careless arrangement of the hair about the brows is much more becoming that the fashion will be a long time in dying. The golden hair that is obtained by bleaching is likely to die a natural death if it becomes generally known that all the preparations used are poisonous, and that cases have been known in which the acids have > penetrated the skin, and caused inflammation of the brain. All hair bleaches are harmful, and if their use is persisted in they do serious injury to the hair, if the injury stays there. We all know how much prettier white hair is than iron grey, and how pic*

themselves completely unpalatable" by their study for effect. Everything is an exaggeration; and then they wonder that some girl with not a quarter of their gifts but none of their artificiality should be liked so much more than they are. The men complain that " the girls all eeem so much alike." Surely there is diversity enough of character and disposition if they were trained, with courage enough to be themselves ; but one pattern is held up, and as best they may they fit themselves to it. Social topics are very scarce. A few private parties vary the monotony, inter- 1 larded with picnics to the waterfalls, &c, where the same people go over andover again. ' Perhaps the fact of H.M.S.Curacoa being in | port will cause a little stir, for ladies are always anxious to show hospitality to offioers and officers to return it. The Sounds trip is drawing near, and the first trip to the Lakes took away about 100 holiday makers ; so that those who have not the good fortune to be out of town' are feeling rather aggrieved. The Benevolent Institution children were invited to see " Uncle Tom's Cabin " one night last week; and very awful they seemed to think a portion of it, judging by their countenances. When Uncle Tom was being flogged they looked ready to cry for him. It seems almost unpardonable to meddle with a story like "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the manner in which the dramatisers of this version have done, and I feel sure Mrs Stowe would not like to see the liberties that have been taken with it. The story is almost unrecognisable, although the entertainment is a capital one. Several correspondents have been inquiring about the hair, cne of whom says she has lost the Witness in which the recipe was given. If I felt in a disagreeable mood I •might suggest that should cut out the recipes they think will be of use and gum them in a recipe book, but as I feel extremely amiable I won't say anything at all about it. I presume this correspondent refers to the instructions re the acetio acid. They were very simple. Put about a

turesque it looks while the face is still young, and I have read that a strong solution of ammonia will bleach the hair effectually if persevered in, and that it has the advantage of being harmless. Those whose hair is too bright to come within the list of beauty can darken it gradually by washing it with water in which a lump of borax has been dissolved. This is often done by unsuspecting mothers and nurses, because it softens the hair so beautifully, and the fair hair of the child is gradually darkened. Consequently those who have hair of too bright a hue will do good in both ways by using borax. The habit of using soda in the water is a very bad, one, for although it brightens the hair for the time, it makes it dry and brittle. The nicest soap with whioh to wash the hair is barilla ash soap ; it makes it soft. The chief end to aim at is the keeping of the scalp in good working order, and those who find the hair falling off will overcome this by using the acid solution as previously advised, care being taken not to have it too strong. After using the acid, rub in a little of the very best olive oil.