LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2818, 18 March 1908, Page 89

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— Woman, 6traaagely enough, has rebelled against the tyranny of over cdothmg; but whether a vainly-di?e£Bed elimness be the reason or no, has refused to roll herself up in shapeless rolls of doth. She wears with impunity blouses of the kind/ justly dubbed " pneumonia," in place of her brother's many-folded chest covering, and has to a great measure discarded the very injurious neck furs, which made the -over-ooddled neck the most Bensative oTgan in the body to the effects of cold, when it ought to be as hardy as hands or face. The Tesult shows a ¥eond«rful improvement in feminine phjisiqxie of the generation, with which I the wool-muffled, fabric-weighted repr-e-1 sentat-ives of the sterner sex are by no means keeping up. j —Bo many men are now boldly declarl ing themselves on the side of woman's franchise that quite a new and amusing state- of things is to be observed in society. At every lunch and dinner party one bears an elegant young gentleman explaining to a somewhat bored and bewildered lady "why she ought to have, and especially why she ought to want," a Parliamentary vote. Gradually, no doubt, the "frilly" brigade will be won over to the Tanks of t-lie agitators, especially if the argument is put to them by one of their favourite "boys." These masculine suffragettes are doing an amazing amount of good' to the movement, for they are making a class of women think over this modern problem, who probably never thought before. — Ella Hepworth Dixon, in The Sketch. — The recent arrival in England of a I teautdful chow dog, which was brought . from China as a TNew Xear's present for Queen Alexandra from her equerry, Colonel Sir Henry Knollys, is a reminder of Her Majesty's great love for dogs. A beautiful royal dane is her favourite, although Sandringham Paul and Sandring- ' Pansy — a couple of bulldogs of the purest breed I—which1 — which have carried off many : prizes, are honoured with much of the ' Queen's affection. As an illustration of the Queen's love for her four-footed friends, it might be mentioned that in a corner of the garden of Marlborough House stand four gravestones. One of these is 43 years old, and bears the inscription, "Muff, the favourite dog of H.B.H. the Princess of Wales. Died 14th May, 1866, aged two years." In the 6ame grave- lies Joss, the Queen's favourite Japanese dog ; while near by ire the graves of Tiny and Bonny, the latter having been her Majesty' 6 favourite rabbit. —Dr Denslow Lewis, president of the Medico-Legal Society of America, chairman of the hygienic section of the American Medical Association, author, and sociologist, states that if -every year were Leap Year, and women could be brought to avail themselves of the tdme-honoured privilege of proposing to the men of their i choice, instead of waiting for the men to propose" to them, we should "be far along the road towards a regenerate society. There is no doubt, according to him, that fhe selection of the husband should really rest with the woman. In the an ; mal world it is invariably the female that chooses her mate, and only in the human race ie the right of selection arbitrarily given to the male. Women love physical perfection. With her right to select unquestioned 1 , woman would! pick out the man of her own physical ideal, woo him t with all the varied arts and fascinations at her disposal, and, nine times out of ten, get him. [ — The question is asked by a Mrs John Logan wlhether athletics have not coarsened young women. She considers that they have been a positive misfortune, morally if not physically, in that they have a tendency to make girls vncouth and bold, not to say immodest. Girls formerly took great pride in the delicacy of their skin, the softness and whiteness of their liaixLs, and the beauty of their arms and necks. Since the athletic fever broke out girls have pone in " the sun bareheaded until their hair looks as if it had been singed, their faces, arms, and hands are burned to a brown, i freckles almost covering their faces, while their manners are exceedingly mannish. I Their walk 36 after the style and swing I of sailors on shore : swagger sticks beinu ! a fad with many of them. Blushing and diffident young .girls, our authority tells us, are rarely seen and are unknown among the members of athletic clubs. They have lost all the sweatness, modesty, and femininity so charming in young j women, without gaining in health and ' strength, some of them having contracted serious maladies by over -exertion. To I golf and tennis they have added autoi iaobiling, and are surely destroying their nervous system by the excitement and strain of playing chauffeurs. — " Fluffy Ruffles " is the name that has been given to the newest American girl, that queer product of civilisation and nature, the straight -backed, slim, independent, game-playing, self-sufficing young woman who has evolved a personality for herself. She has copied the English girl in her love of exercise, the French girl has gingerly, and at a distance, copied her, and yet the three results are as different as possible. The English athletic is apt .to become heavy, masculine, and narrow-minded, the French girl is still tampered by generations of conventionality and want of activity, but the American girl is alive all over? she cultivates literature and art as well as games ; she is a visible mass of vibrant energy; she is restless, indefatigable, a law to herself, a well-balanced flirt ; 6he is pretty, practical, and knows exactly what «he wants. In fact, she is " Fluffy Ruffles," an epitome of ambition, strong will^ supreme health and development, j curi<^itr, and almost terrible vitality. — ' Lady Violet GreviDe, in the Graphic. — Concerning the opening of Parliament [ hy the King, it may be recalled that it is ' only since the beginning of tie nresent

reign that a Qaeen-eonsort bas ever ac-' companied the Sover-eign on 6uch an occassion. When the present King first proposed that Queen Alexandra should ride with him in her robes of State in the gold coach and! sit beside him while he performed tihe opening ceremony «t the Palace of Westminster, there was fiome demur, as several jDQismbers of the Cabinet did not quite approve of what they considered a startling departure from precedent. His Majesty, however, insisted that the Queen should accompany him, and finally carried his point. So short was the time between this decision andi the date of the opening that had it not • been for the united efforts of the ladies of the Royal School ai Art Needlework the embroideries required for thp upholstering of the second chair of State atoulcl not have been completed. There was naturally only one chair of State in existence, but the King insisted that another precisely the same should be provided for Her Majesty. | —An American diplomat of wide experience has been setting forth in the Saturday Evening Post of Philadelphia the reasons why marriages between American women and foreign husban^ls generally turn out so badly. He • writes with knowledge and considerable insight, and comes to the most unpatriotic conclusion tliat it is not always the fault of tbe foreign husband. The American woman plays her part in tlie breakng up of the home. The ill-success of these marriages is, to a great extent, caused by the fact that national differences aggravate the natural bitterness of the duel of sex. He say®—"My observation convinces me that ninny of the moßt notoriously unhappy marriages -of American women with foreigners began by some foolish little clash of individual theories resultang from early training along lines that were diametrically different one from the other. The spirit of mutual concession was absent from the household, and an interminable chapter of turmoil and dissension followed as the direct consequence." In one case' which he investigated thoroughly, tie case of an American girl married to a French nobleman, he found that the rook wliich was wrecking their happiness was the' matter of breakfast. She wanted to have an American breakfast of several courses at 9;- he wanted a cup of coffee and a roll, in bed, at 10. •