LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3337, 27 February 1918, Page 51

LADIES' GOSSIP.

- The French of Science has solemnly anathematised the wearing of high heels by women aY a meeting at which the latest scientific apparatus was employed to demonstrate their evil effects. The attack (says the Paris correspondent of the Daily Mail) was led by Professor Queuu, who, by a combination of X-rays and kinema, films, showed that the fashionable nee! deforms the bones and muscles of the foot, affects the spinal column, and. interferes with the circulation. . "Wrens," is the name by which the new corps of women sailors which the Admiralty is to start [•will be unofficially known (says the Daily Express). The "Waacs" obtain their name from the initial letters of the corps title, and Women's Royal Naval Service needs a vowel of some 6ort to make i<> vocal. Soon we may see Jack Tar and Jenny Wren marching along the streets of "a British 'naval base." The uniform of the W.R.N.S. will be a copy of the ordinary seamen's wear so far as the jumper, collar, and neckerchief are, concerned. A «navy blue serge skirt, with boots and leggings, probably brown, like those worn by landing parties from ships, will complete the costume. Miss Emily de Quincey, who has died at South Kensington, was the daughter of the celebrated author of the "Confessions of an English Opium Eater," and the last survivor of his children. ,She was five years old when she lost her mother in 1837. She attended her father in his last illness in 1859, and had been his constant companion in the Edinburgh and Lasswade days. Some authors have been actresse's and others painters, and some, like Sylvia Lynd, have been both. At a very early age Mrs Lynd was a student at the Slade School of Art. Her landscapes, which show kittle towns with their roofs red in the brazen sunlight, and their streets, troughs of blue shadow, with the shining seas before them and hillsides chequered with cornlands and meadows behind them, have the faery charm of the scenery of dreams. Later' oh sho went to the Academy of Dramatic Art and acted for a time at His Majesty's Theatre. The technique of acting has plainly left its *mark on her verse, and had not Mrs Lynd_ been on the stage, she could never have written her novel "The Chorus," the story of a young girl who had to make her own way in the world, her chief assets being beauty and attractiveness, . which were dangers rather than helps. The Duchess of Norfolk provides an instance of a Scottish peerage that has been swallowed up in a more important English -title: she is in her own right Baroness Herries. Lady Yarborough and her sister, Lady Powis, are the holders of baronies in their own right thai henceforth will have no separate existence. The Duchess of Fife is Princess Arthur of Connaught. In the case of her son, however, it is probable that ho will be Duke of Connaught and Fife in due course, the peerages being equal. Lady Beaumont, who holds an English barony, is married to a future Baron Howard of Glossop, and here, again, the peerages will be amalgamated and both titles used, that of the lady having precedence becaus& of its age and the -fact that it is "of England," not "of the United Kingdom." Miss Bedells is easily the greatest English dancer. " She succeeded Lydia

Kyasht at the Empire, and on it 9 wide stage won many triumphs with her jrare joyousness and her perfect art. Phyllis Bedells was a pupil of Mile Genee's uncle, the' famous ballet master, but she had many lessons from Pavlova, too, and the Russian dancer had a very high opinion of the little English dancer's gifts. The sacrifices a dancer makes to art are often drastic. She had all her pretty brown hair cropped for a ballet at the Empire, where she - had to wear a short wig, and found it top hot to dance in. Now she is letting her hair grow*again. In the intervals in her dressing-room Miss Bedells lies on her couch knitting -woollies for the troops. She is the quietest and most retiring of all well known stage favourites, and feels the war very deeply. Her fiance, Captain Macbean, is out in Salonika, and all her time /goes in doing what she can. to help in "carrying on" at home. Superstitions. ;? Should two teaspoons get into your saucer by mistake, it signifies you will married before another year has passed. To cross a person upon the stairs brings - ill-luck. When going to an engagement festivity, always wear a tiny sprig of evergreen. If you drop a knife, it; means that there is a letter in the post for you from one. you lovp. . v If you drop the scissors whilst, engaged ' upon a dressmaking enterprise, your garment will be very successful. When glasses ring, it means ill-luck for those at sea. Be sure you stop them at once, as this averts the bad luck. If your right ear itfhes, it is a sign that someone is speaking well of you; but if your left ear should itch, it means that someone is speaking scandal. Should you hear a>\ sudden singing noise in your ear, repeat the first letter of the alphabet which comes into your mind. This is the initial of your future lover's Christian name. It is unlucky to start any dressmaking enterprise on a Friday. Something is sure to go wrong:-with it if you do. If you find silver money, it is a lucky sign, but to find copper shows that something unfortunate will happen to you / before the day is done. Never jkeep money you have? found. It is not lucky. On Hoarding Clothes. ; • It is folly "now a days to be always" adding to one's stock of clothes, and accumulating a collection of half-worn garments. A French lady, talking of clothes to a girl friend, was much wiser. ■ "One costume, chic and of the moment," was her advice. No "doing oyer" all one's things at once. - One really smart hat. one "knockabout." Everything worn right away, and-no. hoarding of made-up things. "Buy a length of material, a piece of fine lace, or a bit ..of good fur,. and you will _ have something worth hoarding, , cherie,*' she said; and then went on to remind her. young, friend how comparatively few garments are provided in the trousseau of even a rich French girl. Instead; all her relatives, and even the bridegroom, give her lengths of silk and linen, furs, laces, and embroideries. You simply can't have a lot of things going at the same time if you areirt well off enough to give them away "when" they are put of date. "One costume of the most chic" is worth half a dozen , hoarded back numbers. If you do let yourself go, let it be, in plenty of fresh neck adornments'—the, little frivolities of the moment that date you "to-day." And, if you wear veils do see that they are immaculate. Hints and Suggestions. '' Never allow woollens to dry close to a them distance from the heat, or shrinking will result. ■ .. < ' : ' A great many people do not realise that the insides of windows actually catch more dirt than the outside. Try rubbing, them inside every day with a clean cloth; and. you will find that they will not require washing nearly so often. Bran is invaluable for cleaning purposes. *Buy a pennyworth, heat it in the oven, and rub it into the soiled fur .with" the hand. Imitation ermine will look like new; after a cleaning of this kind.

To clean a. watch-chain dissolve a little sal ammoniac in wine, and put the soiled; 7 ' gold into it. This thoroughly cleanses the gold and makes it quite bright. Potato peelings should be" dried in the ; < oven and used for lighting fires. Lesß wood will be required. To keep spoons and forks bright, after washing them put them to stand a minute or two in a jugful of very tt clean, , soapy water with a dash of ammonia in it.

Mildew stains are sometimes a source of great trouble, and arei difficult to remove unless you know just the right way. Bub a little soap over the mildew spots, and on top of this a little chalk and lemon-juice. If the garment is then put out in the sun for a couple of hours and afterwards washed in the usual way the spots, will disappear. When papering a damp room the following hint will be useful. Take half a pint of alum - and half a pint of gluesize. Dissolve both together in a pail of boiling water, take off the old paper and wash the wall once or twice with the solution • when dry the wall can be papered. No damp will ever show through tho solution. Faded black material can be restored in the following way: Buy two pennyworth of sliredded quillai bark and boil in a gallon of water for. 10 minutes, strain off, soak the material in' this liquid for a couple of hours, then wring and dry in the air. Slightly damp, and iron on tho wrong side. Instead of darning large holes in socks or stockings in the ordinary way, try this, as it eaves both time and wool: Make the edges of hole neat and even

with scissors, then -with a fairly coarse Steal hook work all round the edge in single crochet stitch y and continue v in rounds until the centre is reached and the- hole is entirely filled in. Finish off in- the usual way, pulling wool-tightly through the last stitch. This makes a beautifully smooth, neat darn which scarcely shows and does not hurt the feet. ~ It is impossible to'keep the sink from getting greasy at times. ' When this is the case, scour it down with some kerosene, and then wash it well with hot soda . water. Finally rinse the sink down with plenty of cold water. If you find onions indigestible, put them, after peeling, into a basin of boiling water to which ordinary washing soda has been a-dded in the proportion of one teaspoonful to a quart. Let stand for 10 minutes, then drain, and cook in any way you like.