LADIES’ GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3614, 19 June 1923, Page 58

LADIES’ GOSSIP.

RELICS Or MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 4,n autograph letter of Mary Queen of Scots was lately fold at froth eh v s for *BO. It was Ihe property of ths Earl of Stratnrnore, father of the Duchess of York. At a rale in Scotland two collections of ornaments and other personal belongings of Queen Mary of Scots were offered. One comprised a large gold necklace, a tortoiseshell fan. a jewelled pendant with a miniature of Mary and her son (James VI of Scotland and James I of England), a pearl and enamelled pendant, a coffer, a silk handkerchief, and a reticule. The bidding r>n up to £420. at which price they were purchased by a Scotch agent, and saved for Scotland. The second collection. known as the Fraser-Tytler relics, comprised a pendant set with diamonds, rubies and pearls, said to have been given to >gueen Mary by Francis, Dauphin of France, on the eve of their wedding, and a watch with a shagreen case. These tvere purchased bv a New York agent, for fcn American client, at £IOSO and £619 10s respectively.

WORLD’S BEST SELLER AMONG BOOKS. The Bible is still by far the world’s best seller among books. Last year about 30 million volumes were printed and distributed by agencies throughout the world. Up to 1920 the Bible, or portions of it, had been published in 725 languages and dialects. ROMEO AND JULIET IN SIAMESE. The king of Siam has translated “Romeo and Juliet” into Siamese, and published it with explanatory notes. In the more poetical portions His Majesty has had recourse to Pali words—those of the old classical language of the country, but it is mainly in popular Siamese that maybe understood by everyone. VIRTUES OF HONEY. Before sugar from the sugar cane became the common sweetener honey was in general use. and it would be advantageous if it were more generally consumed now. It is very nutritious, and is absorbed without any effort of digestion. Tt al-'o has valuable antiseptic properties. If children were given honey 7 at meals to supply the natural craving for sweet food instead of being allowed to indulge freely in tooth-destroving lollies and chocolates their health would greatly benefit. fHJBA T C UNIVERSITY WOMPN. The small proportion of women graduates who mnrrv has been often commented on. Presuma-hlv higher education and the careers to which it opens the way tends to disincline a woman to matrimony. But recently a new reason has been advanced bv a distinguished woman graduate. It is that intellectual women are averse to marrying beneath their intellectual rank. A woman mav marry her social inferior, b.ut cannot bring herself to accept a man intellectually- beneath her. Of course the number of intellectually distinguished men still much exceeds that of women, but if this argument is valid they 7 apparently are not attracted in any special degree by intellectual women. INDIAN WOMEN ELECTED TO PARLIAMENT. Two women have been elected to the newly formed representative assembly of IRajkoty, a small but advanced native

Indian State. it possesses universal sip. rage and has a representative chamber of 50 members. Its ruler is noted for his enlightenment and liberal ideas. TABLE GARDENS. A Bond street florist has hit upon a novel and charming idea, observes the Sunday Express, ne has planted a miniature English garden in the sort of bowl in which one is accustomed to see those Japanese bits of landscape which- have become so popular of late. It reminds one of tile old-world garden at Kensington Palace, with its ' _ _ and sunken pool, with gold fish,Writer lilies, arid a swan. A frog sits pensively on the bank near a sundial, and a careless gardener has left a broom against the rustic arch. The trees are pine needles and grass, and the flowering shrubs, primroses, forget-me-nots, ar.d tiny white starry anemones grow in the rockeries. HINTS AMD SUGGESTIONS Do not wind artificial silk for knitting into a ball, but over a piece o.f cardboard shaped like a Ma.tese cross, and you will not be troubled with tangles. To remove stains from casseroles and aluminium ware, sprinkle borax on the dish cloth and rub. Never use soda to clean aluminium as it turns it black. To remove grass stains from linen or garments spread glycerine over the stains, and leave for two or three hours, then wash with lukewarm water. Repeat if necessary. . ... Freshen a stale loaf by 7 putting it in a steamer over a pan of boiling water for five minutes. Never soak coloured things —soap, wash, rinse, pull into shape, and hang out to dry as quickly as possible. To economise in coal, put a quantity of chalk at the back of grate. It gives out a splendid heat, and is almost inexhaustible. Marks on a carpet or rug caused by black lead can be removed by the application of a paste made of fuller’s earth and water. This should be left on the carpet for some hours and then brushed off. If hot water bottles and other articles made of india rubber are washed every 7 two months with water to which a little soda or ammonia has been added it will prevent them from perishing and getting hard. If a lump of soda is dissolved in the blue water on washing day it will prevent the blue from marking the clothes. When filling cake tins with cake mixture fill one with water; this will prevent the cakes from browning too quickly. Linoleum painted with shellac gives a brilliant polish without causing a slippery surface, and obviates the necessity of cleaning every day.