A LETTER FROM HOME.

Otago Witness, Issue 3993, 23 September 1930, Page 60

A LETTER FROM HOME.

By

A Wanderer.

(Special fob the Otago Witness.) Vanity Street.

LONDON, July 31. Having talked to you from time tc time at such length about the short evening wraps which are worn with the flowing flowered chiffon gowns, it behoves me to give you a sketch of one—which, with the aid of Stephanie, I do herewith.

One of the popular short evening wraps which are worn with flowered chiffon frocks. It is of black satin, introducing a most novel and attractive arrangement of fur "on the cape and sleeves.

The ensemble consists of a coat .of black satin, introducing a most novel and attractive arrangement of fur on the cape and sleeves. It is worn with a chiffon frock the length of which I

most heartily recommend to you as being an excellent compromise between sense and fashion. We are all of us, of course, frightfully anxious to sweep the floor in the sartorial as distinct from the domestic sense of that expression;, but if there is not a lot of money for a. lot of frocks, the skirt under discussion is the one for you. I don’t know whether it is really within my province to draw your attention to the lady’s ear-rings, since the artist 'makes no mention of them in her description, but I suspect they are those intriguing trifles composed of a cluster of enamel berries from which ultimately dangles a little jewelled piece of diamonds that may be said to convey the pleasing, if inaccurate, illusion of dew upon the berries. These ear-rings are not cheap—but then, you cannot expect to resemble Cleopatra for a small outlay! The hat sketched by Madeleine is a black Baku straw, trimmed with black and white ribbon placed plainly across the crown and round the brim. The chief charm about this hat is that the crown

A hat of black baku straw, trimmed with black and white placed quite plainly across the crown and round the brim. The chief charm about this hat is that the crown underneath the brim forms a most attractive line.

underneath the brim forms, as you will see, a most attractive line and enables the wearer to combine the severe with the picturesque. En passant this lady, too, exemplifies the vogue for highly ornate jewellery. Reflections.

If you have ever been in one of those chemists in the vicinity of, say, Piccadilly, you will realise that it would be a very remarkable request that rendered the suave dispenser at all nonplussed. Even so one would think that a casual demand, emanating from a harmlesslooking woman, to be served with “ dragon’s blood ” might be expected, in these days, to produce a bit of a commotion. Not so, however. The manager of one of those big stores is reported as confiding to a newspaper man that “ dragon’s blood ” is a harmless reddish powder, obtained from resin, and was in olden days used after the manner of cochineal in cookery. To-day—of all periods in history-—this powder is regarded as a love-philtre. And if we were inclined to question whether the modern woman would for one moment rely upon a potion placed in a cup of tea to restore the affections of her wayward lover, there is, to refute our doubts, the evidence of the proprietors of second-hand book shops who say that there is an extraordinarilv lively demand for curious works on witchcraft and sorcery. In nearly every case women have been the purchasers, which looks as if, by some form of reaction—not unexpected so far as I and my kind are concerned, for we have often predicted it—women have ceased' to rely entirely upon their own charms, and prefer to fall back upon the intangible charm utilised by the heroines of fairy tales. Is That So ?

Talking of men, women, heroines, and books, I am rejoiced to hear that Mr Michael Arlen is to give us another one—but, alas, not until next year, since it has first to be issued in serial-form in the States. It is to be called by the provocative title “Men Dislike Women: A Romance.” Inevitably we think of “ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” which is the only contemporaneous title that I know of; but this is by the way. It seems that the title came to Mr Arlen

as the result of a discussion; but he does not himself dislike the sex which

he draws so cleverly. One of Mr Arlen’s friends feminine gender, of course,— - suggested that men dislike women principally because they cannot do without therm There seems to be something in this idea, since alleged indispensability is the kind of thing some little fiend always tempts us to put to test. I only hope having constituted myself an Arlen fan—that he will keep up the standard he created when he wrote “ Lily Christine,” his last book which made nearly all his detractors and supercilious critics sit up and apologise. Meantime having finished the book, Mr Arlen, accommpanied by his beautiful wife, the Countess Mercati, has gone for a quiet holiday in the French mountains. It is no secret that Mrs Arlen did not altogether approve her husband’s earlier writing mood: but as marriage so definitely improved his style, she is doubtless one of his admirers now. The Street of Adventure.

This week we most certainly must put, on the list “ The Chaste Mistress ”( written by Constance Hagberg Wright and based on the romantic career of • Martha Ray who had been a great friend of the Lord Sandwich of her period, and was shot by a jealous lover, a record of the whole business having been handed down to us by Boswell. I have told you enough about the plot for you to be able to judge whether it is the type of thing that is likely to hold your attention as much as it did mine. And then, quite on the other side of literature, I should like to introduce you to “To Meet the King! ” and three other plays by H. C. G. Stevens. This book contains a set of four playlets, which for want of a better term might be described as psychic. One cannot do better, in this connection, than to quote the foreword which Mr Henry Ainley has written, wherein he says: “I marvel at the amazing skill with which the author avoids the ludicrous. His intention is so earnestly simple that it is impossible, even under the most adverse circumstances, for any one of these four beautiful episodes to miss fire.” Try This.

Meat Loaf sounds an intriguing dish, and for its manufacture you require 21b of minced beef, one cupful and aquarter of uncooked oatmeal, two eggs, one small onion chopped finely, 12 stuffed olives chopped equally finely, half a cupful of milk, salt and pepper to taste, three slices of bacon each cut into two pieces. First of all you mix thoroughly together the minced beef and the oatmeal, then add the well-beaten eggs, the onion, olives, milk, and seasoning. Form this into a loaf; cut the strips of bacon crosswise and lay them over the top, and bake the whole for one hour in a moderate oven. This, I understand, is a very popular American dish and was given to me by a Transatlantic visitor.