LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3384, 22 January 1919, Page 56

LADIES' GOSSIP.

Miss Marie Corelli has been elected an honorary member of the American Red Cross by the London 'Chapter ExecutiveCommittee of that society. Bermondsey Food Control Committee have receiced a request from their lady clerks that they shall be allowed to have a day's leave once a month in order to do their shopping. Alderman Buhner said if they granted the request they would have the town clerk, borough treasurer, and engineer and their male staffs asking for half a day off in which to buy their hats and boots. The committee declined, to entertain the application. They had some curious Sunday laws in New England a few hundred years ago. A Boston captain came back in 1670 from a three years' eea cruise. His wife met him on the doorstep of his house and naturally he kissed her. But it happened to be Sunday, and for his " lewd and unseemly behaviour" the captain's neighbours reported him to be constable, and before the day was over he was put into the public stocks for two hours. On the same day two lovers were arrested in Boston because they "sat together under an apple tree in an orchard," which also was f lewd and unseemly behaviour " ! A practical exhibition of boot-repair-ing was given to members of the Rayne Womeni's Institute, Bain tree, by Lady Petre, who put patches on old uppers and soled and heeled several pairs -of boots and shoes, doing the work well. She said that since the war she had repaired all her own footwear and that of her family. She recommended cobbling as a very suitable industry for women. Lady Petre is the daughter of the late Major Boscawen and of Lady Margaret Boscawen. -Her husband, the late Lord Petre, died of wounds received in action in 1915.

MAKING OUR OWN WORLD.

For I'm in love with all the world Since I'm in love with you.-

So runs the new popular song, and it finds an echo in everyone's heart. Haven't you noticed how bright everything is when you are happy, how dull when things go wrong ? The world is a mirror, and reflects your spirits, high or low.

This truth should help His when troubles come our way. Remember that the world only looks so grey because you are unhappy, and when the clouds that have darkened your thoughts have rolled away you will, find the sun still shining.

Here is a story to illustrate the point. A girl quarrelled with her sweetheart, as a result of which her engagement was broken. Immediately the world seemed black. On her way to and from business she felt that everyone knew of the absence of the ring on her finger, and were pitying her—or else laughing at her. She hid herself from her friends, and those she met she imagined were not pleased to see her. The truth was that she was so full of her trouble that she brought a depressing atmosphere in every room she entered. Her friends had not changed, but she had. This.state of affairs is bad enough, but as surely as being in love with all the world when in love, so surely you can find a grievance against everybody when you search for it, and it is this mood that brings most misery in its train.

THE ART OF LETTER WRITINC.

The writing of really interesting and entertaining letters, of course, depends largely upon the personality of the waiters, even more than their environment. Some girls, who appear to lead quite ordinary and uneventful lives, can write most vivid and entrancing letters out of their apparently limited experience. Others, who live near big centres of national activity and who are "right in the swim", of interesting events, can scarcely describe them at all.

It is by no means a question of education, for some girls who are most deficient in regard to correct grammar, punctuation, or even spelling, can -write most spirited, entertaining, and picturesque letters, full of personal charm and that playful humour which holds our interest from the first page to the last, and makes us wish for a longer one another time. The great difficulty With young people seems to be in finding subjects to write about. It is strange sometimes to find how arduous a task writing a short letter may be to an intelligent girl or boy. The great thing is to write naturally; cultivate your descriptive powers in regard to scenery, street, and town happenings; give detailed accounts of your friends, especially new ones, the clothes they wear, and their characters as they appear to you; books you read, music you play,

etc. Try to describe things minutely, and cultivate your powers of observation in so doing. What interests you in the main, if it is pleasing, quaint, beautiful, or unfamiliar in any way, will also interest your friends if you write about it clearly and truthfully. BESIEGED BY PEERESSES. Now that the House of Commons has thrown the Members' Gallery open to women as well as men, it is interesting to recall some of the devices which women have adopted from time to time for the purpose of gaining admittance to the galleries of the two Houses. On one occasion the Duchess of Gordon appeared in the Strangers' Gallery of the House of Peers in male attire, and it is also on record that Airs Sheridan, dressed as a man, gained admittance to the Members' Gallery of the House of Commons in order to hear her husband speak. Parliamentary historians also tell us that in 1738, iri consequence of an order of the Lords closing the galleries of the Upper Chamber to ladies, a p6sse of peeresses and other society dames, led by the Duchess of Queensberry and the Duchess of Ancaster, besieged the lobby, played rat-a-tat on the door, and finally when the door was cautiously opened during a cessation of hostilities, hustled the attendnts out of the way and stormed the gallery, where they remained till the House rose, defying their lordships by applauding, and showing signs of dislike by " smiles and winks and by noisy laughter and contempts." HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS. When slicing bacon, place it with the rind side down, and do not cut through the rind. When the slices are cut, slip the knife under them as hear the rind as possible. Put a small piece of cotton wool m each finger of new gloves before wearing them. It is wonderful how it saves the fingertips. Stained or polished floors should never be washed with water. To remove- the dust wipe over with a soft cloth, and once a weekly apply a good floor polish. When making blue-water on washing day, add to it a little soda dissolved in hot water; this will prevent the blue from making stain marks on the clothes. To keep linen white, put a few pieces of camphor gum in your linen chest or drawer. It will keep the clothes a beautiful colour. To reheat a joint, spread the meat with plenty of dripping and cover the sides well with greased paper and bake for a short time. This will taste almost as good as freshly-roasted meat. Creaking doors can often be silenced by rubbing the hinge well with the lead of a pencil. If this fails, apply a little dripping. Save coffee grounds, dry them, add a pinch of carbonate of soda, and use on the knife-board instead of knife-powder. The mixture answers admirably. Rub any kind of stain on a white tablecloth with just a little kerosene before sending it to wash. If this* is done the stain will come out in the boiling. If tumblers become fixed, tap gently round with another tumbler and, like magic, they will come apart. If a glass stopper is fixed, tap round it with another, and it will be loosened. You will always have the. same result. The rule is, tap each article with another of a similar kind. For rusty curtain hooks, place them in a bowl and coyer with cloudy ammonia. Leave for half an hour, and then just stir them around with a stick. * The hooks will look like "new. If the points are difficult to put. through the fabric, push them into a bar.of soap, and they will afterwards slip in quite easily. It is importont to see that your umbrella is perfectly dry before rolling it up, otherwise the ribs will very soon rust and the cover will;rot. Sponge the umbrella well with strong tea well sweetened, and you will be delighted with the transformation. The tea restores the colour of the fabric, and the sugar stiffens it. Economising in Gas.—When lighting gas strike the match before turning on the gas. This saves more waste than can be imagined. A small yet great saving can be effected where gas cooking stoves are used if a small galley-pot be kept near at hand, and the match ends placed therein. Then, when a second burner Is required, take one of them instead of a new match.