LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3274, 13 December 1916, Page 53

LADIES' GOSSIP.

Tho Executive Committee of the British Women's Patriotic League has passed the following resolution: —"That in view of the scarcity of sugar air the present time for legitimate household requirements come protest should be made by the women of the Empire against the manufacture of expensive sweets and iced and elaborate decorated cakes, which are abundantly on sale." The Press Association special correspondent, in a message from Salonika, says: —"It is only right to pay a tribute to the bravery and devotion of tho chauffeuscs of the Scottish Women's Hospital attached to the Serbian army, who take the ambulances as far as the cars can go along precipitous paths in order to meet the wounded, and are constantly risking life and limb in this dangerous work, which requires skill as well as nerve. Yet young girls perform tho journey sometimes twice daily, and often have to spend the night on the mountainside, as breakdowns are unfortunately too frequent in such bad country." Many links with the past are severed by tho death of Lady Ponsonby, widow of Sir Henry, who was Queen Victoria's secretary. She was daughter of one of the Devonshire families which " were at home when the Conqueror came"; and her mother was daughter of the Reform Earl Grey. No man played a more important part in the last phase of Queen Victoria's influence on public affairs than did Sir Henry Ponsonby, and Mr Gladstone left a touching reference to Sir Henry's ability and courtesy. Lady Ponsonby was a strong-minded woman, who filled a considerable place in London's social and literary worlds before they intermingled. —. Tho first woman naval officer to receivo a commission has just been appointed by the Wurtomberg authorities as second in command of 'a. small gunboat on Lake Constance (says the Geneva correspondent of the Daily Express). She will wear the full uniform of a lieutenant, including trousers and gaiters, and will take

a naval lieutenant's rank and pay. The special duty with which the gunboat to which she has been appointed is charged is that of protecting the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen from attacks by enemy aeroplanes.

—" Twenty-four women have been recently elected to the Finnish Diet, forming 12 per cent, of its total membership," says the Common Cause. "In Iceland, several women candidates are standing for election to the Lower House this month, and Mrs Briet Asmundsson, President of the Icelandic Association, affiliated to the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, stood last August for election to the Upper House. This, says Mrs Asmundsson, in a letter to Jus Suffragii, was the first political election at which women recorded their vote, according to the new Constitution of June 19, 1915."

—> Lady Dorothie Feilding, the Earl of Denbigh's daughter, is first on the Est of British women Military Medallists. The honour is awarded for her services with Dr Hector Munro's field ambulance. For months she tended the sick and wounded in the cellar of a house close to the Belgian trenches, until the situation became so dangerous that Lady Dorothie and her companions were persuaded to move. Ten minutes after they had removed their belongings a German shell crashed on the house and destroyed it. King Albert bestowed on Lady Dorothie Belgium's highest military decoration, the Order of Leopold, and she was mentioned in a French Brigade order for " giving to all almost daily the finest

example of contempt of danger and devotion to duty." A EHftV-rcnt Spirit Every day our men are leaving us to face danger, privation, and often to mako the greatest sacrifice of all, and we who are left behind find that the piffling quarrels and grievances we had nursed in other days now seem very contemptible and small when weighed against these bigger issues. Women who wait and women who mourn are breaking down the barriers raised by past generations, or waving aside coolnesses caused by their own disagreements, and are extending to each other genuine sympathy, help, and good cheer. Women who are working and suffering in one common endeavour' have no time to rake up pait differences. " Peace during war time," they are saying; and they are incidentally discovering un-dreamt-of virtues in their former antagonists. Life is more earnest for all of us in these days. Bigger emotions have quenched the petty differences, the unworthy aims, on which Ave often wasted so much time and energy. There are moments nowadays when we still feel inclined to retaliate, and to pen or speak some word that may hurt; but most of us ; are letting the moment pass, feeling that there is enough real pain and misery in tho world to-day without adding our personal quota. We are too busy to retaliate, for one thing, and for another we know that our attitude is one trait in a great silent movement to have done with tho petty quarrels for which women have • always been justly criticised.. We of the masses have but one real quarrel to-day in which we are concerned —the quarrel of our nation. And that is enough for us to be getting on with. (lints and Susfffestions. Tomaioes should always be skinned before being used for salad. To do this easily, placo the fruit in a basin and pour boiling water over it. Let stand, a

i minute, and then drain. You will find ! that the skin will then come off without j any trouble. Heat plates before putting, hot cakes or I pies on them when first taken out of the oven. If a hot cake is put on a cold plate the under part will get sodden and heavy. If you want your grate to look very bright, rub it over with just a littlo tur- ; pentine, after blackleading and shining it. | Then polish with a soft duster. It will | look well for days. Save small candle ends, place them in a jar, and melt down 5 then mix with ; sufficient turpentine to make a soft paste. I Applied in the usual way this makes a I brilliant and economical polish for stained I floors, linoleum, etc. All baby-clothes should be made loose ! enough to enable the infant to move ! freely, and, of all things, they should j oati.~e no constriction of the abdomen. ' stomach, or chest. Babies often vomit 1 after being fed, simply because their binders are too tight. Tarnished articles of brass when washed in the water in which potatoes have ; boiled will become as bright as new. To prevent blue from streaking clothes, ' mix one dessertspoonful of soda in the : blueing water. When potatoes are inclined to turn black in cooking, add a few drops of vinegar to the water in which they are boDed. This makes them beautifully white and mealy. Brushe, and brooms should be washed periodically, and the handles thoroughly scrubbed, if unpolished. Dirty brushes

and handles give a slovenly appearance to any house. In packing bottles in cases for transportation, indiarnbber bands slipped over them will prevent breakage. A little cornflour added to the salt in tho salt-cellar will prevent it from hardening. Half a teaspoonful to two tablespoonfuls of salt is sufficient. To keep the sink drainpipe fresh, put a lump of kitchen silt over the pipe, but let it dissolve slowly. Cayenne pepper is excellent to rid cupI boards of mice. The floor should be gone over carefully, and each hole stopped up with a piece of rag dipped in water and then in cayenne. A little bag of sulphur suspended in a birdcage is not only healthy for the bird, but keeps away tho parasites with which some birds are infested. Take great care of the milk; unless you | have a very cool place to keep it, boil it | as soon as it arrive;'. Keep it covered with a clean muslin cloth. Folded newspapers should be kept handy ! in the kitchen, and these placed under j pots and kettles. If this is dono every I day when the pans are taken from the i stove no grease spots will mar the kitchen j table. Before putting away heavy -winter cur- | tain:; or hanging?! of any kind, clean them ; by rubbing them thoroughly all over with | bran made hot in the oven and applied j with a dry cloth. It ia a splendid way ! of cleaning, and most economical. Laundry Hints.—When using a mangle, work slowly, and better results will be obtained. Muslin goods should be ironed damp; silk should be almost dry. To stiffen silk, add a little methylated spirit i to tho last rinsing water. When ironing I table linen, iron parallel with the selvedge ! and not across the grain. Fold and press into creases. To make linen white, add a large handful of borax to the water. A teaspoonful of turpentine added to tho water in the copper will also improve the colour. To make a good carpet soap mix thoroughly the Following ingredients: One ounce of pipeclay, Aoz of fullers' earth, 4oz of carbonate of ammonia,

and one pint of ox gall. Apply with a sponge after tlie carpet has been well brushed. This will not only cleanse the carpet, but will also revive the colours. A second way is as follows: —Turpentine loz, whiting 2oz, fuller's earth 3oz, pearl ash 603. Rub the three powders smooth with tlie turpentine, then make into a paste with soft soap. Dirty wallpaper, if good originally, can be cleaned with dry bread. Rub from the top downwards, gently, an arm's length at a stroke, and begin tlie second round just above where the first finished. Cut th« soiled faco of the bread as required. This is not so extravagant as it sounds, for it may save you buying new papers. Window Gleaning. —To prevent windows getting dull after they have been cleaned add a few drops of kerosene to the water and clean in the ordinary manner. Tha windows will keep much cleaner and hava a crystal appearance; they will take a little longer to polish. Another way is to clean them in the ordinary way, and then take a clean, soft, dry duster and some common whiting (dry), and polish the windows briskly on both sides. Thif process will entirely remove the blue dullness, and will give the windows a clear, sparkling appearance, which is desirable. When quite finished, all traces of the whiting should be carefully removed. A third way is to add a little vinegar to the water, use a wet leather, and polish with a soft dry cloth or leather. Yet another way is to add two tablespoonfuls of liquid ammonia to the water beiore»the windows are cleaned, rub well with a soft duster, and polish with a very soft cloth; the dullness will be prevented, and a bell* liant polish is certain.