WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 25, 24 July 1911, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by " Eileen "). WIFE LAUGHS AT HER DROWNING! HUSBAND Mr. Charles Pettit, a millionaire grain broker, was drowned under very remarkable circumstances (says a New York cable message published in the Sydney Sun). Equipped with a pair of swimming wings, he was teaching 'himself to swim in a private pond, in which there was not more than 4ft of water. Mr. Pettit had been disporting himself for some time, and hia wife sat on the bank laughing heartily at his antics. Owing to his contortions in the water Mr. Pettit so displaced the swimming wings that they slipped from under his arms) and travelled right down below his knees, with the result that he suddenly found himself floating feet uppermost. The tragic part of the affair was that Mrs. Pettit, not realising her husband's peril, but still thinking that this was one of his tricks, went on laughing at what she thought was a most grotesque spectacle, while her husband was slowly drowning. When, too late, assistance was summoned, and the millionaire's body wag taken out of the water, it was found to be lifeless.

CORONATION COIFFURES j There are so many peeresses who will require a becoming Coronation coiffure, and so few first-class professors of the hair-waving art, that Coronation morning will see some early rising in aristocratic circles (writes a London correspondent on June 9). It is estimated that there are not more than a dozen talented tonsorial artists for each hundred peeresses entitled to Abbey invitations, so that there has been an unexampled demand among ladies of title for their services. "You really must come, to Grosvenor-square early on Coronation Day to dress my hair," says a smiling and unsuspecting viscountess, dropping into some Bond street coiffeur's shop. "Will you send at seven o'clock?" ''lmpossible, my lady." replies the courteous manager with a shrug of his shoulders. "All our experts are booked up from 3.30 i a.m. Will 3 a.m. be too early for your ladyship to sit?" A few self-sacrificing peeresses, despairing of getting their hair dressed by the great artists, are even preparing to have their coiffures created overnight. This will necessitate their sitting up all night, for the touch of a pillow would work havoc in the delicate curl creations of the fashion experts. A fee of from one to two guineas will he charged for the Coronation coiffure, according to the style chosen. WHAT THEY WEAR IN PARIS.

A Melbourne girl in Paris writes:— "Would you like to know what is being worn in Paris just now—l mean what the sensible people wear, not the extremists, whose hats and gowns defy description! Before I dispose of them I must tell you that gowns which ogen up one pi le with the purpose of showing the ankle and even part of the leg: are actually worn by some women, and, strange to say, this vagary is passed even in the street without comment, while as for hats, they are either huge I or tiny, but in any case the trimming is I placed just wherever one would least] expeot to find it. For example, a sugarloaf crown will have no other adornment but a clump of lobelia, placed as if it were growing in the garden. Or two ostrich plumes may stand upright at the back of the hat, with a jewelled clasp, holding them in place. No ribbon or I tulle is used to introduce the scheme, j but the feathers or the flowers alone ornament the hat. Just now, it being the end of May, we all wear coats and skirts, and there is a perfect rage for black and white or grey tweeds, made with short coats and narrow-looking skirts, although they are really of fairly comfortable width. We cannot get away from black and white stripes, and hats, costumes, trimmings and even shoes and stockings are of the magpie variety. It may be interesting for you to know that chiffon taffetas has come back into favor, but only for coats and skirts; but then the Parisian notion of such is entirely at variance with English idea 3. They are as freakish as the hats, and that is saying a good deal. In the matter of lingerie, petticoats are now an unknown quantity. One rarely sees them in the shop windows; but, on the other hand, tight-fitting 'culottes' of lined satin or closely woven wool are displayed on all sides. I heard an old French lady the ether day deploring the new modes, and by listening to her I found that the expression 'when I was a girl' is just | as habitual to the French grandmother, as it is to the Australian one." i

AUSTRALIAN WOMAN MURDERED. SOUTH AFRICAN TRAGEDY. A Victorian woman was strangled at her home in Sea Point, South Africa, last month. The victim of the awful and mysterious tragedy was Mrs. Margaret Douglas Palmer, who, as Miss Douglas, was a State school teacher in Victoria. She married Mr. Thomas Palmer, M.A., L.L.8., of Melbourne University, founder of the South Melbourne College, and headmaster of Wesley College for some years, and went -with him to Capetown, where Mr. Palmer became a tutor.

The murder ,when the last flies left Capetown, was enshrouded in mystery. On the evening of June 2 Mr. Palmer and his son returned from Capetown to their home at Sea Point, and were muchj perturbed to find that Mrs. Palmer, whom they had left in the best of health, was missing. The only occupant of the house was a colored servant named Sophie Sylvester. She stated that she had been out for half an hour to buy some parsley, and that when she came back her mistress was not there. The house, was searched in vain, and then the groumds. Shortly before midnight one of the search party found the body of Mrs. Palmer lying behind a bush 20 yards from the back of the house. It was only when a post-mortem examination was made next day that it was | discovered that death was due to strangulation. The doctors found that there were marks showing that something had been wound tightly round the neck, and

there were finger-marks on the flesh, while the body was bruised. A subsequent search of the house revealed signs of a struggle in Mrs. Palmer's bedroom, where it is believed shef was strangled with a piece of blouse tied I round a rope, the body being dragged | into the garden afterwards. The colored t servant, Sophie Sylvester, was arrested and charged with the crime. Mrs. Palmer left four grown-up sons, the eldest of whom is said to reside in Australia. She was 53 years of age, a woman of literary tastes, and she frequently wrote poetry and articles for the Australian press. CASE OF MRS PROUDLOCK.

It was stated in the cables the other flay that the Sultan of Selangar had granted a free pardon to Mrs. Proudlock, who was convicted of the murder of a man named Steward, and was sentenced to death, the sentence being later commuted to life imprisonment. According to the stories in the Singapore papers, it appears that on the night of the tragedy Mr. Proudlock was dining with a friend, having left his wife at home. She, in accordance with her usual custom, was in evening dress. Shortly before nine p.m. a native servant rushed in and summoned Mr. Proudlock to return home. He did so, and was met by his wife in a wildly agitated state on the verandah. Mrs Proudlock, whose dress was torn and itained with blood, and who appeared almost demented, ran to her husband, crying, "I've shot a man." He questioned her, but she could only say, "Blood, blood," and "He ran, he ran." The husband followed her glance and went into the garden. There he found the body of Mr. StewaTt lying in the rain. There were six bullet wounds in the head and body. When his wife had regained her composure a little she said that Mr. Steward had called soon after her husband left. He asked if Mr. Proudlock were in, and made no sign of going when told he was out. She was only very slightly acquainted with Mr. Steward. As he did not depart, she talked to him of indifferent topics, such as the level of the river. The conversation turned to religion, and she rose to take a book from a shelf. At that moment, she I said, Mr. Steward rose, put his arm 1 round her, and kissed her. He turned off the electric light, and would not let her go. She struggled and called for the servants. No one answered. She fell against her husband's desk, and felt the butt of a revolver against her 1 hand. She clutched it and fired. Mr. Steward gave a cry and ran on to the verandah. She, not knowing (she maintained) what she was doing, followed him, and fired again and again until she lost sight of his white coat in the garden. A servant who heard the shots ran and brought her husband. The uvidence of the police and servants bore out in the main Mrs! Promllock's statements. Other evidenec showed that Mr. Steward had left some friends just before the tragedy, declaring that he had an appointment.