LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3313, 12 September 1917, Page 51

LADIES' GOSSIP.

There is nowadays quite a good opening in London theatre orchestras for girl violinists. Nearly half the Coliseum orchestra is composed of girls. The pay varies according to the theatre wad to the ability of the violinist j roughly speaking, it ranges from £1 10s to £3 a week. The work does not take up all a girl's time, but at some places, music halls especially, a good deal more of her time is required than at others. A recent marriage that has caused much interest is that of Lord George Wellesley, youngest son of the Duke and Duchess of Wellington, and the one-time Lady Richard Wellesley, widow of his brother, Lord Richard, who Avas killed in action in 1914. It is said that the couple for the future intend to live in Canada. The young bride, who is most attractive, is the only daughter of the late Sir Maurice Fitz Gerald, Knight of Kerry, and of Lady Fitz Gerald, and on her mother's side is a grandchild of Mrs Bischoffsheim. She has the pretty name" of Louise Nesta Pamela: Louise from the fact Till at she was sponsored by the late Duchess of Connaught, and, as for Pamela —the beauty of a Pamela Fitz Gerald, wife of Lord Edward Fitz Gerald, will go down to history. She, too, is Irish, and her old home, Valencia Island, off the coast of Kerry, has been called the "nearest parish to America." The new Lady George Wellesley has two children by her first marriage, the younger born posthumously. As a girl she had the best of good times, as her father, the late Sir Maurice, used to have a house called The SeveraLs at Newmarket, and she was often taken about by her grandmother, Mrs Bischoffsheim. Lord George Wellesley has been a captain in the Grenadier Guards, but joined the Flying Corps in 1914. He has been mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross. It was he who some years ago leapt over Putney Bridge and rescued a poor girl from drowning. Probably the principal concern of most new peers centres in the choice of a title. A Welshman who was raised to the peerage not long since favoured a name which looked very romantic in print, but he declined to submit to the mutilation that would occur in pronunciation by an English tongue. Latterly, many of the new peers nave wisely chosen to Tetain their old surname; but some new men cannot resist the desire_to attach themselves to old acres. It makes the Herald's task of creating a pedigree somewhat easier. Sir William Lever has made one of the happiest selections of a title we can recall. He has chosen to be known as Lord Leverhulme. The second part of the name is the maiden name of his late wife. A prettier compliment to a spouse has not been paid since the late Mr J. H. Choate was asked who he would have preferred to be other than himself if he had the chance. His reply was, "Mrs Choate's second husband."

Countess Helena Gleichen, who for a year ha e been in charge of the X-ray unit of the British Red Cross on the Italian front, has at last got a well-earned holiday. She is a cousin of the King, and on her mother's side is related to Lord Hertford. She belongs to one of the most gifted families in England, and her special talent Is for drawing and painting. Her pictures of horses show real talent, and she follows closely in the footsteps of Rosa Bonheur. Among her best works are a presentation Hunt picture of the V.W.H., "A Oat on the Skvlight," and a fine picture of the late Duke of Westminster's horses. She was educated at Mr Calderon's School of Animal Painting, and has exhibited in the Royal Academy.

Servant girls are becoming scarce in Japan, and are taking advantage of the fact. The province of Boshu is the chief provider of servant girls for Tokio; they come to the capital for six months or one year of service before going home to be married. Their employers are supposed to find them clothing and food, and to pay them about four yen a month; but these have since risen five or six yen. Still the demand is twice as great as the supply. So in the Japanese metaphor "the nose-breathing of the servant girls is becoming violent" ; or. in ordinarv English, they sniff at employment in families where there are mnnv children or many friends, or insufficient food; or where there are no gas . c toves, and they have to roughen their hands chopping firewood. Thev innuire as to their future master's profession ; they prefer bank employees to lawyers; and thev will not serve where there are scolding mistresses or querulous old people. Knifing* ?n Church. Women should not go about "gassing," but they should knit every moment of their spare time, so that soldiers and sailors shall not run short of warm scarves, gloves, and mufflers. This is the advice of the Rev. A. M. Mitchell, M.A., vicar of Burton Wood, England. In elaborating his anrumont that women could knit in church, he says : "Would it be very wicked to knit in God's House, to knit in the quiet peace of the open church? To knit, for the protection and necessary care of the body is Christ-like work, a corporal work of mercv. . . . "Better to knit for Jacks and Tommies in sermon time than to talk, whisper, laucrh, giggle, flirt, and misbehave, to judge our neighbour, to criticise hats, gowns, and fur coats—experiences not yet out of date in church and chapel. in sermon-time would mea.n a great saving of time, and a corresmondinfr increased output of warm coverings for hands and feet. Now we have said it—

Hims a in! Suggestions. To remove fruit-stains from linen, stretch the fabric over the mouth of a basin and pour boiling water on the stain. If eggs you are about to boil are cracked, add a little vinegar to the water, and they can be boiled as satisfactorily as undamaged ones.

To clean windows quickly moisten a rag with kerosene oil, and rub well over ths glass. Leave for some minutes, then polish with a clean dry cloth. You should never starch your cotton voile blouses. After washing, dip in a solution of gum arabic (a teaspoonful to three-quarters of a pint of water), roll up in a towel, and iron while damp. The blouses will look like new.

A piece of fine mesh wire (netting wilL if fastened inside the bars of a grate, save the coal and keep the cinders from falling over the hearth and making it untidy. Nails used in bathrooms and kitchens on which damp cloths and towels may be hung should be painted with enamel, so that they do not leave rustv marks. Newspapers cut as finely as possiblo mako a good filling for cushions. Stockings> if ravelled, can be used to mako mats and rugs; they can also be used for the inside of ironholdcrs. To remove scratches from furniture rub with a mixture of turpentine and linseed oil, in equal parts, and polish with a good furniture cream.

Tarnished Brass. —If brass fire-irons or stair-rods are very badly tarnished, try rubbing them with a piece of flannel dipped in vinegar, and then polish with metal polish. This makes them look like new.

Whenever you are using up cold meat or fish of any kind, it is best to bind the mixture together by using a wellbeaten egg—or the yolk alone can be used. Failing this, milk is a good substitute. Remember that cold cooked food always needs well seasoning with pepper, salt, and usually some kind of good sauce. White wings cam be f cleaned very effectively by covering them quickly with powdered magnesia, and folding them away in white paper for two or three days. Then take them out and shake tha magnesia from them, and you will find that the wings look quite fresh and clean again.

Window blinds which have become dull and dusty with age may be considerably freshened by means of acoatang of linseed oil. Any old brush may be used with which to apply it, the blind being first scoured with soap-suds, and then dried before the oil is laid on.

Nothing freshens up the house so much as the smell of lemon or lavender. You can buy oil of lavender or oil of citronella, and add it to your furniture or floor polish. Oil of citronella is especially good to use about the house in the summer, as flies hate the smell of it, and keep away. If you want your oilcloth to look bright, and yet last a lev. Mme, never use water on it. To clean it. rub it with a flannel dipped in turpentine to get out stains. Then shave half an ounce of beeswax into a cup, and stand it in a cup of boilinsujgrater. Add a saucei*ful of turpenCastile soap (shaved up), and a few drops of oil of citronella. Whip this until it begins to get stiff, and then put it in a pot. A little of this rubbed into the oilcloth not only brightens, bub preserves it, and freshens un a-stuffy room, wonderfully. It is especially good in an invalid's room. Spring-cleaning Hints. — To remove whitewash from carpets, damp the spots with a mixture of a teaspoonful of ammonia in one gallon of warm water. When carpets are faded, sprinkle salt slightly damp, and brush with a carpet broom. To take grease out of a carpet, apply spirits of turpentine with a flannel. Wash all furniture first with vinegar, then apply a good polish. Cracks in furniture should be filled in with beeswax. Soften the beeswax until it becomes like putty, then press it firmly into the cracks, and smooth the surface over with a thin knife. Sand-paper the surrounding wood, and work some of the dust into the beeswax. This gives a finish to the wood, and when it is varnished the cracks' will have disappeared. Putty used in the same way soon dries and falls out. Here is a hint which_ will be found useful at spring-cleaning Take sufficient flowers of sulphur to give a golden tinge to about li pints of water. In this liquid boil about four or fiye bruised onions, or some garlite. Strain off the

liquid, and let it stand till it is cold. Then take a soft brush, dip it in the liquid, and wash any of the gold frames that require restoring. When it is dry, the gilding will be as bright as when new. Wash marble with soap and water, and rub with a soft cloth and sweet oil to give final polish. To clean wallpaper, save a white loaf until a week old. Cut into convenient pieces, begin at the top and rub down lightly. Do not wipe up or across. Do this very lightly, or the dirt will be rubbed in, not out. Newspapers will give as brilliant a finish to window glass as chamois.

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