LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2287, 30 December 1897, Page 43

LADIES' GOSSIP.

• . • Kissing is said to have been first " discovered " by the beantiful Bowena, daughter of the Baion king, Hengiafc. The innovation was immediately successful ; and the Eng- - lish became famous as '" the people ■irhb kissed. 1 ' Gradually the pleasing custom spread abroad; and when an-' 'Englishman visited foreign lands,' the mistress of each' bouse he stopped at, together with all her female attendants, kissed him on his arrival and departure, the- idea being that this waß our own method of signifying hospitality. Maybe this in a measure atoned for the discomforts of travel.

* . ' Outside meals are the feature of the modern restaurant in all the principal American cities. When the lanch hour approaches, all the busy city man has to do is to touch a button in the wall of his office. A boy in a blue uniform, with cap and buttons (a district messenger), answers the call, almost with the promptness of the slave of the lamp. An order may be checked off a dainty menu, or the lad may be directed to bring a 25 cent or a 50 cent meal, or a repast of a much higher price. In any case five minutes afterwards a white-capped, white-aproned waiter appears and lays out a dainty, smoking-hot meal, during the eating of which the signing of cheques and the glanciDg over of lettsrs, telegrams, and statements can be continued with the smallest possible amount of inconvenience.

• . ■ The height of luxurious travelling has been reached by the Czar and Czarina. The Empress's private car is upholstered in pale blue satin. The electric lamps are all in the form of lilies, and it contains writing and tea tables made of mother-of-pearl. The nursery is the next apartment, and is as comfortable and handsome as the same rooms in any of the Czar's palaces. There are dining roome and drawing rooms and several Bleeping apartments ; in fact this train is a miniature palace. The wheels are covered with Indiarubber tjres.

• , • In the South of France there are people who derive enormous incomes from the culture and sale of flowers. The district surrounding the Riviera is most notable for its marketable blossom?. Charming Cannes and the delightful districts of Grasse and Nice are almost exclusively devoted to fl-QWWi

Culture. Grasse is celebrated for its orange blossoms and jessamine. Nice produces a plenitude of lovely lilies and violets, while Cannes is renowned for its roses. Incredible though it may appear, more than two million pounds of flowers are exported from theso districts during each season. It is stated that the violet crop last year from the flower fields of the Riviera realised the collective amount of £10,000. • . • There are five European kings who do Hob dance. The quintette of wallflowers consists of King Humbert of Italy, the Austrian Emperor, the rulers of Denmark and Saxony, and the King of the Belgians. Oq the other hand, as if to partly balance the failings of masculine sovereigns, there are certain royal ladies who smoke. ■ . ' Handsome artificial diamonds are sometimes made by securing a thin slice of real diamond on to a foundation of fine glass. Others are simply pieces of cut crystal, on the back of which is a thin coating of silver. Imitation pearls are usually made of glass. ■ . • A steady correspondence goes on between the Czarina of Russia and her grandmother, Queen Victoria. It was the young Empress herself who begged the Qaeen to write to her, -in answer to her own letters, on an average once a week without fail. s • . r The following story is told of the Prince of Wales. H.R.H. was taking a walk in St. James's Park before breakfast when he found - himself . being followed by a welldressed bat crazy-looking old woman. Resolved to take no-notice of her, he continued- ' his walk until obliged to turn homewards. The Did woman immediately stood before him and curtseyed. The Prince -raised -bis hat and tried to pass on. " I have a grievance, your Royal Highness," began the stranger, as she spoke producing from her hand bag a roll of closely written parchment. "Acb, madam, these is not za first time I haf been taken vor ze Prince of Wales," was the reply in a gruff voice and with a strong German accent.. Aftei flashing a glance of deepest scorn upon him, the old lady put away her precious documents, remarking, " I have the honour to have known all the members of the Royal Family, and if my eyesight were not becoming defective nowadays I should not have made such an aetoundirg error 1 " • . • Lady Faudel-Phillips, the Lady Mayoress of London, has declared that it is one of her great ambitions to own-a different dinner service for every day in the year. At present .she possesses only about 130. Her collection is said to be a very valuable one. * . ' Some simple facts concerning colour will be useful to many when deciding how to dress for a photographic picture. Dark brown, dark green, and plain black materials, without gloss, will take a rich black colour. Dark leather, dark drab, scarlet, cherry, dark orange; crimson, and slate will take a very rich -drab colour. Violet, blue, purple, pink, andmagenta will take very light, and should be avoided in dressing for photographs. ' : . ■ The shawl of shawls belongs to the Duchess of Northumberland. It formerly belonged, to Charles Xof France, and was .manufactured entirely from the fur of Persian cats. Many thousands of cats' skins were utilised, and the weaving occupied some years. The shawl measures Byds squaie, but is bo fine that it can be compressed into the space of a large coffee cup. • . •/ It is said that when Lady Jeune first planned her schemfe of the Children's Happy ■Evenings Association she was generally laughed at by her friend?. One lady especially ridiculed the affair. Lady Jeune merely smiled at criticism, but when the association was working well she invited that lady to be present upon one evening. The critic was speedily turned into the admirer. " Ah, my dear friend," said Lady Jeune, " if no one had laughed at my scheme it would have been a sure sign that it would fail. Nothing worth doing is ever accomplished without ridicule." When Lady Jeune finds herself getting over-tired by her social or philanthropic engagements, she finds time for a long bicycle ride. • . • Many a regiment in the German army boasts a member of the fair sex for its honorary colonel. Thus Queen Victoria is colonel of the' Ist Regiment of Prussian Dragoons ; the Empress Frederick commands the 2nd Regiment of Hussars of the Garde dv Corps ; the 64th Regiment of Infantry of the Line is commanded by the Duchess (Margaret Louise) of Connaught ; the 12th Regiment of Dragoons has Princess Charles .of Prussia for its commander; the 24th Regiment of Infantry boasts the Princess .Albart of Prussia as honorary chief; the Rifles are under the Empress of Austria ; the

15th Infantry Regiment is commanded by ■the. Qaeen Regent of the Netherlands ; the 4th Grenadiers by the Duchess of Baden ; while the -Empress Alexandra of Russia ia colonel of the Dragoons of the Guard, and the Crown Princess of S»xe-Meiningen commands the 11th Grenadiers. • . • A famous actress of the present time confessed recently that she owes her success and fortune purely to her jealousy of another great actress's good looks. Not being endowed with extraordinary beauty herself, the determined to succeed on her fascinating histrionic merits alone ; and how well she has

done so half the world is now aware.

• . • All royal brides who are related to the Qaeen have a sprig of myrtle on their wedding day that is cut from a particular tree. This tree was grown from a slip sent from Germany for the bridal bouquet of the Princess Royal, and the tree it was cut from dates back to the time of the Crusaders.

. - Red, of which we shall see a good deal

durir/g the autumn, is, says a writer in a Home paper, always rather a difficult colour to wear unassisted by some other shade ;

vrhile, on the other hand, the choice of sach subjunctive colours is exceedingly restricted. Black, of course, white with reservations, and perhaps a very little pale blue are admissible with a very dull red, but not with the brilliant scarlets and crimsons which will " undoubtedly figure forth for out and indoor . use this season. It has been given the

inevitable Frenchwoman to discover that drab and red lie down harmoniously to-

gether, and in an autumn "model," composed of crimson crepe de chine, there is a second blouse-bodice of drab mousseline de soie, to which a square- shaped bolero of ivory lace, trimmed with steel and silver sequins, gives a last delicious touch of harmonious tinting.

• . • The average person believes that his nose is in the middle of bis face, and would, doubtless be much surprised.

at hearing that he was wrong," says a doctor. "Still, it is a fact that comparatively few noses are exactly straight, quite a large proportion being inclined either to one side or the other. In this connection a friend of mine, a dentist, once had a rather curious experience. Ho had made a set of teeth for a lady, who refused them on the ground that the middle tooth was out of line with the middle of her nose. An insinuation that the nose might be at fault aroused so much indignation that the whole affair nearly ended in the law courts. But, fortunately, at the last moment, her friends succeeded in persuading her that there was actually far more reason for the dentist's contention than she had been willing to admit."

• . • The qualities possessed by the ideal woman, according to the Countess of Jersey, are patience, tact, foresight, and unselfishness.

• . ■ A beautiful white satin dress, embroidered in French ribbon work, is being executed to the order of the Duchess of York by the Royal Irish School of Art Needlework, whence emanate so many exquisite pieces of Etitcbery. .• . • Some babies own very distinguished god-parents. There are twins in Harrogate to whom Priacess AHx of Hesse, now Czarina of Russia, stood godmother, and at Biarritz there is a lighthouse-keeper's ohild who has Prince Bismarck for his godfather.

• . • While the little boys ot Princess Henry of Battenberg and tiny Prince Edward of York were playing one day ia one of the palace courtyards the Princ9 of Wales noticed that one and all omitted to return a sentry's salute. His Royal Highness immediately called the children to order, and sent them back to the soldier to remedy the omission.

* . * The King of Siatn was educated in his youth by an English governess named Mjs Leonowens ; hence the fluency of his English, which so greitly delighted the Qaeen when the two monarchs met. . When Mrs Leonowens arrived at Bangkok the present King's father Baid to her, to her great surprise: "I have G7 children, and you shall educate them, and as many of my wives as may wish to learn English. And I have much correspondence in which you must assist me. And, moreover, I have much difficulty in reading and translating Frenah letters, for the French are fond of using gloomily deceiving terms. You must undertake these, and you shall make all their murky sentences and gloomily deceiving propositions clear to me. And, furthermore, I have by every mail foreign letters whose writing is not easily read by me. You shall copy tbem in roundhand for my ready perusal." This was a small order — even smaller than the average English governess's share.

•.• The scientist who discovered in the human larynx the anatomical reason why woman has a soprano voice and man a bass one was a woman;— Mrs Emma Seiler. She was a German, born in Wurzburg. Left a widow with two children to support, Mrs Seiler resolved to become a teacher of singing, but suddenly lost her voice. Then she determined to find out why; also, to discover, if possible, the correct method of singieg, so that others might not lose their voices. For this purpose she s'tudtei anatomy, dissecting larynx afcer laryus. in the endeavour to find out why women's head tones could reach high C, while men had no soprano tones. At length her search was rewarded. She discovered under the microscope two small, wedge-shaped cartilages, whose action produces the highest tones of the human voice. She made her discovery public, and it at once excited great attention.

•.■ The Queen possesses a clock which was originally the property of Anne Boleyn.

■ . • A curious story iB told about , M. Tamagno, the famous tenor. About 10 years ago he was in Ohili, when he inspired the admiration of a beautiful woman, who one day sent him a gold cigarette case set in diamonds. Qa on 6 side it bore Tamagno's initials in emeralds, whilst those of the fair donor were on the other side in rubies. Report does not say whether they ever met in Ohili. The tenor,^ having terminated his engagement, left the country, and it was not till some time afterwards that he discovered his beautiful admirer was married and the mother of several children. Two years ago she lost her husband and decided to take up her residence iv Rome. In the month of February of last year she met Tamagno /at a ball given on the last day of the Carnival. After a short conversation with him she flew into a terrible passion, suddenly' drew a poinard from her corsage, and stabbed the tenor in the region of the heart. Fortunately the poinard happened to strike againet a solid body, which proved to be the very cigarette case she had presented to him, and which he always carried ~on his person.

Earache and Whooping? Cough.

There is scarcely any ache to which children are subject so hard to bear as earache ; but there is a remedy never known to fail. Take a little cotton batting, spread it out, place upon it a pinch of black pepper, gather it up and tie it, saturate thoroughly in warm olive (sweet) oil, and insert into the ear. Place a flannel bandage over the ears to keep them warm.

A specific for that troublesome and often dangerous complaint, the whooping cough, is as follows :

Mix well one drachm each of tincture of eucalyptus and glycerine. For a child of one year of age give six drops in a little water in a teaspoon every four hours. Add two dropa for each additional year of age— for a child of two years of age eight drops, and so on. Should a paroxysm occur between the interval of doses give half a dose. Keep the child warm, the system well nourished, and the bowels open, and with care in these respects and the early application of the above remedy the disease will not last over three weeks. Besides this, the debilitating illness is avoided.

Ailments of CMltlliood.

It is important that a person in charge of children should know the meaning of the signs of disease. An infant has only cries to express its sick feeling?. To one person these cries mean no more than that the infant has some ailment. To another, with more experience and better powers of observation, they point to the chest or head or ttomach as the cause of illness.

It is of the greatest consequence that children should have their eking kept

thoroughly clean, and especially so when suffering from diarrh osi. The pores should be well kept open, so that the fluid matter which is passing eff by the bowels and through the mucous membrane, or inner skin, may be diverted to the onter skin.

In the various rashes from which children suffer there is a general fear of washing the surface lest the rash be driven in. There is no ground for thip, due care being taken to avoid exposure and the water being warm. Only a email portion of the body must be sponged at a time, and immediately and thoroughly dried. The irritation of the skin caused by measles and kindred ailments may be greatly allayed by sponging with warm water.

A bottle of limewater should be kept in every household, especially where there are children. It is made by dissolving 4oz of lime in a gallon of water. Allow the solution to stand, after the lime is dissolved, in a covered vessel until clear, whenpour off the clear liquid for use. The uses it may be put to are innumerable, and it is valuable in all complaints attended with acidity of the stomach.

If good milk disagrees with a ohild, from one to three tablespoonfuls of limewater added to a pint of it will aid digestion and prevent flatulence ; it also counteracts pain from wind in the stomach caused by eating acid fruite.

Over-eating of sweetmeats, that bane to childhood, will sometimes uause acidity,, for which this is a sovereign remedy. A tabJespoonful for a child of two years, increasing with age to a gill for adults, is an ordinary dose. It a child should accidentally drink scalding water or any hot liquid, administer immediately, a teaspoonful at a time, equal parts of limewater and cod-liver oil. Givß it slowly, so that the healing mixture trickles down almost of itself. This not only heah the injured parts, but supports the strength of the child as food would until nourishment can be taken.

What is Your Pet Fart?

It is said that every person has some curious fad as regards saving money on trifles. People otherwise lavish are most unaccountably stingy over some insignificant trifla. I know a lady, otherwise unduly generous as regards her income, who grudges every match used in her household, and a gentleman of means whom I knew was equally grasping over wax tapars, which he kept under lock and key when not in actual use. A rich Scotch lady spends nearly £300 a yaar on her dress, and yet will be put to any discomfort rather than buy a paper of pins. String, too, is another saving to some people, who will painfully spend any length of time in untying the smallest scrap, so that it. may not be wasted, when they will waste thousands a year on their table or their pleasures ; while others are lavish in everything else but soap, wh'ch they dole out in a niggardly way to their households. Girls, Jlavry a Shy Man. Girls may always rest assured that if a shy man shows indications of affection for them these indications are but slight evidences of a really great affection.

A shy man is never insincere, and he simply cannot flirt, because he is naturally so full of feeling for others that he cannot indulge happily in a pastime which may result in much misery to some yousg lady.

Giils sometimes despise the shy man, becaus9 it occurs to them that he is a physical coward. And women, no matter what their station in life, their education, or their depth of feeling, unanimously, and as a sex, abhor the man who is a coward. This creditable feeling is the result of much un justness to the shy man. Shyness is the outcome of an overwhelming sense of one's own inferiority. The shy man, though he is thus so retiring in manner, is always, without exception, braver than the blustering man who in the trivialities of life has things so much' his own way.

Lord Roberts, the hero of Candahar, is a shy man ; so were Nelson and Wellington. There have been big men wearing a Victoria Cross on their coats who when introduced to a little girl in a ballroom have flashed scarlet under their tan, and have shifted from foot to foot like overgrown schoolboys.

When a shy man wins a girl's affections he really thinks he is the luckiest man on earth. Of course, he ought to think this, but some m^n only say they think it.

Therefore, girls, do not laugh at the shy man, for when you get to know him you may be eorry you laughed.

Household Hints. '

White belts, shoes, gloves, and dresses should never be allowed to get really dirty. No amount of cleaning will then restore their snowy purity.

Parisian corsets every season find more and more English buyers. Some of the biggest houses in the French capital issue special English catalogues and pay carriage one way.

Too much washing is apt to make the hair harsh and dry. At bedtime the hair should be unfastened and thoroughly brushed, and then plaited loosely. Hair that is regularly brushed night and morning will keep clean and glossy, and require less frequent washing.

It is always unwise to deceive a child as to the taste of medicine, and the best plan is to explain that the medicine must be taken — say that if it is swallowed quickly it will taste less, and promise a scrap of chocolate or sugar afterwards if this is allowed.

To tell a child that castor oil is nice before it takes it is to make it doubt your word in other matters.

It is most important that medicine should be given in the exact quantities ordered. It is b6st measured in a graduated medicine glass.

Milk — especially buttermilk — is a good lotion for the 1 complexion, and may be used freely to bathe the face in.

Almond oil is beneficial to a dry skin after washing. Very little soap should be used on a dry skin.

Lanoline cream, which is considered an excellent emollient. for the skin, may be prepared as follo.ws : — Get half a pint of lanoline and half a pint of pure oil of sweet almonds. Pat a tablespoonful of the lanoline on a china .plate, and add an equal quantity of the almond oil. Mix together thoroughly, and add from half to a teaspoonful of tincture of benzoin till the paste becomes of the consistency of very thick cream. This should be applied at night. To Keep the Hair in Carl. — Dissolve 4os

of gum arabic in Boz of water. Strain this through muslin, and gra dually drop Cologne or lavender water into the clear liquid, enough merely to .keep the liquid from spoiling. Moisten the hair with this before putting it up in curling pins.

False Teeth. — Remember that nothing alters a face or makes yon look so much older as a set of artificial teatb, not to mention the discomfort of them or the pain in the beginning; so take good care of your teeth, as being one of the most important parts of your system.

Djn'b depend entirely on soap and water for cleaning the hands. Have a small brush to scrub them, a cake of pumice stone to remove stains, and some borax to whiten them.

Veils should be frequently removed, as they collect dnst, which is very harmful to the complexion.

The eyebrows should be cared for as particularly as the hair, and should be carefully smoothed every day.

A mixture of cream and ink is good for keeping kid boots or shoes in good order.