LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2660, 8 March 1905, Page 74

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— A movement is on foot in society in the West End 1 of London with the view of dethroning bridge from the supremacy it has acquired in the amusements of the rich. \lt is not merely that the pursuit of this game has led to excessive gambling and severe losses, but that it has done much to destroy the pleasures of social intercourse. After dinner no one talks. No sooner is the meal over than an, adjournment is made to the cardroom, and the rest of the evening is wasted in the distractions of bridge. Several ladies of high rank are taking up the question, and it is quite possible that the movement against the ravages of bridge may receive considerable support. It will require, however, a great deal of social influence and. pressure to abate, much less to destroy, the present passion for bridge. — Paris is agitated just now by a movement for the enlistment of Frenchwomen of good position as hospital nurses. Hitherto the duties of hospital nurses have been performed by Sisters of Mercy, who are often lacking in professional knowledge, or by lay nurses inspired with neither devotion nor sympathy. The visit of the Paris doctors to London opened the eyes of the French medical world to the superiority of the British hospital nurse, and now, says the Paris correspondent of the Pall Mall, Dr Lepage and others are exhorting the Parisian young women of the better classes to follow the example of their sisters across the Chanel. Prejudices have to be overcome, especially from, the tide of Catholic mothers, but the need for further avenues of- activity for women is apparently felt as keenly in France as in the United Kingdom, and it cannot be long before these prejudices will be overcome. The learned professions are open only to women of nxeans, the Civil Service posts in which women are employed are grievously overcrowded, and it is the same with the teaching profession, which is also miserably paid, with the exception of professorships in gills' lycees. "An assistant schoolmistress," says the correspondent, 'is passing rich on £60 a year if lodged in the- school premises; otherwise, her salary may rise to £72." — One who js in* the habit of attending social functions ol various descriptions is apt to become critical, perhaps 'hypercritical, upon the appropriateness of women's clothes 1 . The most beautiful toilette for oiie occasion may be the acme of bad taste for another ; and this, sad to say, is not recognised by all women. And, likewise, a costume that is elegant and

becoming to one woman is quite the reverse when worn by another. It is quite deplorable to see how many women will wear a garment simply because it is the "latest," with utter disregard to the unsuitability of colour or style to their particular individuality. Some women are incapable of selecting becoming attire, and seem to have no ideas on the mo3t important matters of detail and outline. Style and effect is obtained in several ways; but outline is really the chief factor in a successful toilette. One can obtain a rich, well-dressed effect with handsome furs and rich materials ; but they will rpt give a becoming or stylish appearance unless the wearer is suited and her best points brought out. A tolerably short woman, with wellrounded figure, good carriage, nice hair and complexion, might wear gcod clothes in the latest fashion, and yet destroy every atom of attractiveness she possesses. I have, in fact, met such. The wise woman is always attired appropriately for the occasion, and does not wear silks and satins when tweed or cloth would be mon suitable, and vice versa. The town girl dresses quite differently from the country one, and the latter seems a little underdxessed in town unless she has a special toilette for the occasion. On the other hand, the town girl is generally "over" dressed when she visits the country, for, if the visit is a short one, she does not think it necessary to get new things, and her ordinary attire will look .cry smart among the many serviceable gowns. — "Yetta," in the Liverpool Mercury.

— The trousseau of the future Crown Princess of Germany comes up for discussion by reason of the revival of the trousseau tax of fifty pennies per head (says London Opinion), which dates from the Feudal Ages, and is to be exacted from the population >f the Grand Duchy of Meck-lenburg-Schwerin. On the other band, the Emperoi and Empress of Germany are paid io disapprove strongly of the tax, which i.s not in ony sense a voluntary one, but a- statutory tax which renders people who do not pay ;t; t liable to the penalties reserved for those who neglest to fulfil their obligations to the Treasury. The trousseau, which is to corns chiefly from Berli, is to be both elaborate and unique, inasmuch a& it will include an evening dress from every European capital. Ireland is to contribute to it, an order having been given for some of the beautiful Irish laces which now figure in all trousseaus of importance.

— Our masculine critics (remarks a lady writer in a Home paper) are saying that at no time have women devoted more care to the art of improving upon Nature than at this present, when there is nothing that so seriously occupies woman's attention as the innumerable aids to beauty. With all my boundless admiration for the vast intellect of the sterner sex, I am inclined to think that they have made a huge mistake this time. Many " transformations " must be worn, or whence the success of the numerous hairdressers who supply them ; but, my dear brothers, not ninety-nine women -out of every hundred, as you charitably affirm, do so. As for pigments and other aids to beauty, they may be, and undoubtedly are, of greater variety and mere extensively advertised, but our beauties of tiD-day are no more thickly painted than were those of the pateh-and-powder period. It is so much easier to make sweeping statements than to think a matter out. If one believed this and the general run of articles on the modern woman, what a ridiculous and impossible creature one would bs forced to accept ! As a matter of fact, she is not nearly so vain or so silly as some delight to paint her. That her complexion does not bother her so much as it did even ten years ago may bo gathered from the fact that she no longer thinks it impossible to take the air w ; thout a reil and a powdered nose. If her hair is naturally straight she no longer feels compelled to curl it. This neglect of the art of improving upon Nature has brought its own reward, in the shape of improved- complexions and hair more like hair and less like a bird's nest.

— There can be no doubt (says the Practitioner) that the women of the upper classes in the present day take much more physical exercise than those of bygone generations : and this fact is often pointed to as a hopeful feature, as tending to the production of a more vigorous race. Yet some medical men hold that advanced muscular development is unfavourable rather than beneficial for married women — and probably the best course for adoption is the middle one. A moderate amount of exercise tends to promote health in all directions, while undue indulgence in athletics is bad for both man and woman.

• — Why Marriage Was a Failure. — •

He regarded children as a nuisance. He did all his courting before marriage. He never talked over his affairs with his wife.

He never had time to go anywhere with his wife.

He doled out money to his wife as if to a beggar. He looked down upon his wife as an inferior being. He never took time to get acquainted with his family.

He thougfit of his wife only for what she could bring to him. He never dreamed that there were two sides to marriage. He never dreamed that a wife needs praise or compliments. He had one set of manners for home andi another for society. He paid no attention to liis personal appearance aftex 1 marriage. He married, an ideal, and "was disappointed to fin<i it had flaws. He thought his wife should spend all her time doing housework. He treated his wffe as he would not Lave dured to treat another woman. He never dreamed that his wife needed a va. C^tion^ r&cfe&tioD, or changes

He never made concessions tio his wife's judgment, even in unimportant mattei's. He thought the marriage vow had- made him his wife's master, instead of her partner. He took all the little attentions lavished! on him by his wife as his by "divine right," and not as favours. He always carried his business troubles home with him, instead of locking them in his store or office when he closed.