LADIES’ ‘COLUMN.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144663, 24 April 1915, Page 5

LADIES’ ‘COLUMN.

OF LOCAL INTEREST. : BY . SISTER ARW. Mias Mabel Humphries returned omi Tuesday from Auckland. Mrs. H; Reeve has returned to I Wanganui, Mrs. J. R. Cruidkshank returned this week. ' ■ Miss Ada Morrison (Auckland) is the guest of Mrs. H. Weston. Mrs. Denny Brown has returned fromt her trip South.

Mrs. and Miss M’Beth. of Feilding., motored .through to Now Plymouth this week and returned on Friday. .

Mrs. Norman, Johnston has returned from Wellington.

Misses n. and M. Buckland (Anck- 1 1.-nd) are staying at the White Hart Hotel. ■ ,

Mrs. and Miss Harris returned to i Wellington on Friday. ;

Miss Dora Bedford returned from I, Auckland on Tuesday. | Miss Edna Greatbatch has returned j from Christchurch. Miss Monteath returned from Auck-j land by Tuesday's boat. j Mrs. Eainc (Foxton) is visiting friends : here.

Miss Vera Simpson is homo from Waverlcy.

Miss Menzics. who has been appointed French mistress at the Technical School, arrived this week.

Miss C!yn (Sydney), who is touring New Zealand, is tho guest of Mrs. Bcnaud.

Mrs. Quilliam has returned from Auckland,

Mrs. A. H., Colvile has returned from Feilding.

The engagement is announced of tho Rev. R. Ambury, of Wanganui East, to Miss M. Oxenham, of New Plymouth.

At. the opening of the Manaia golf links on Saturday afternoon a presentation of a gold brooch was made by Mrs. Bennett, on behalf of the lady members of the chib, to Miss Mitchell on her retirement from the ladies’ section of the club, after a period of six years. A most enjoyable dance was given at the East End Pavilion on Friday night by the ‘ex-campers.” Tho chaperones were Mcsdamcs Peach and Balham and Miss Wood, whilst the music was supplied by Airs. George, numerous extrne being played. The floor was again in splendid order. -

Mrs. J, Grant, cave a very enjoyable, card afternoon on Thursday, both bridgeand auction being played, the bridgePrizes being won by Mrs. Johns and. Irs. Ryder, and that for auction by Mrs. C. T. Mills. Mrs. Addonbrboke was, also-a'hostess at auction on Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Wilson . and Miss 'Browne being the prize-winners.

A very pretty choral wedding took place at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, this week, the parties being' Mr. Edward Charles Stanley and Miss Ruby Ethel M'Beth, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. M'Beth, of Stratford. The, church was crowded to overflowing by friends. The officiating minister was the Rev. C. Howard. Miss Middleton played the Wedding March, and the. choir sang “The Voice that Breath’d o’er Eden’’ prior to tho ceremony. The bride, who was given away by her father, looked charming in a white satin dress with cream silk ovorlsce, the latter having been used hy her mother, as had also tho veil. ' Tho orthodox orange blossom was also in evidence. The bridesmaids were Miss Gertie M'Bctli, of Marten (cousin of tho brido), and Misa Biddy Coleman. Mr. A. D. Stanley acted as best man. ,The bridegroom’s presents to the .bridesmaids consisted of cearl necklaces. At tho conclusion of tho ceremony tho guests were received by Mrs. A. M'Beth (who wore a brown tailor-mado,costume), at the Medina Tea Rooms.

Xho marriage took place at Whiteley Memorial Church, New Plymouth, on Tuesday, of Miss Alice Arnold, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. ,T. F. Arnold, of New Plymouth/ and lato of Dunedin, and Mr. H. Godfrey Waters, of Mount Peel, 1 Canterbury. The Rev. A. B. Chappell. M.A., performed the ceremony. The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a cream silk dress. with yoke and 1 sleeves of shadow lace, and the usual veil with 1 orange blossom, and carried a bouquet of roses, chrysanthemums, double cosmos and maidenhair fern. The bridesmaid was Miss MabeTOkey, who wore a dress of .cream silk spotted Eolino, trimmed with shadow lace and cream silk, and a violet satin hat. She carried a bouquet of violets and maidenhair fern. Mr. H. Blackman was best man, and Mr. G. H. White presided at the organ. After the ceremony a reception was hold at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Okey at Vogeltown. The bride’s travelling dress consisted of a grey tailored costume with tartan silk collar, and white felt hat trimmed with white satin and plume.

The Harvest Festival held in Christchurch in aid of the Belgians concluded on Saturday .last, Nurse Maude, the tramway candidate, : being elected Queen of the Festival by a majority of 22,049 votes. The winner polled-222,380 votes out of 1,522,562 purchased in tickets. The total amount raised reached the magnificent sum of £30,000. The magnificent vote, whereby Nurse Maude was elected Queen, and the general expressions'of approval ,that have greeted the result-of the election, are very tangible indications of the great respect felt for Nurse Maude by every section of tho community, and'strong evidences of the public’s appreciation of her self-denying and noble work. The'members of the Federal Club, to show that they yield to none in the city in their appreciation- pf what, Nurse Maude has. done, have contributed a sum close upon £2OO to be devoted to ;tho purchase of a motor-car for Nuwso Maude. For some years past, almost everyone in that city has seen Niirso Maude, bound on some errand of mercy, mounted on an ordinary push-bicycle. As often as not, Nurse Maude, was burdened with flowers or bundles, or some delicacies for her numerous charges. It appeared to Mr. W. S. Godfrey, one of, the members of the Federal Club, that a more up-to-date means of locomotion should be provided, and about a fortnight ago he initiated a movement amongst tho members of the club which was heartily taken up, with the result that contemporaneously with tho crowning of Nurse Maude as-Queen of the'Harvest Festival

the sum necessary for the purchase of a suitable car has been subscribed. It is 1 understood that the cor has been purchased, add will be duly presented to Nurse Maude at an early date.

WAR’S BEAUTY EXPERTS. Many Frenchwomen who have beer widowed by the war or have lost fath ers and brothers who used to'supperthem are now, taking lessons in mam curing,, pedicuring .and, hairdressing it order to be able to earn a living. At a well-known beauty culture in stitute in the Eue de Ilivoli there an now seventy-five students, most of then, women who six months ago.were subscribers bo establishments which sent their employees to them regularly to attend to their hands and feet. Professor Framer, the head of the establishment, says that.among his most recent pupils were a number of officers’ widows and young girls of gentle birth who have suffered reverses.of fortune. Manicuring is not a " complicated affair, but to be an expert pedicure it- is necessary to go through a course of anatomy and physiology of the foot and therapeutics. -To qualify in facial massage the pupil, must learn all about the muscles, bones and skin, and understand the circulation of the blood'in the face.

MME. JOFFRBThe wife of theFrenoh Oommandcr-in-Chief. like her gallant husband, dislikes publicity. In lier opinion, “the wife of a military man does not count,” which is another way of saving: “He ir everything; lam nothing.” She prob-. ably docs not quite mean it. for no Frenchwoman believes that she does not count. Mme. Joffrc was born in Paris. Her grandfather - was a notary at Corapiegne. and her father was a knight of the Legion of Honour. He was also a celebrated collector, and brought up his daughter in the cult of all things beautiful. To perfect her knowledge of the language of Shakespeare she came to England when she was a girl, and she afterwards spent two years in Germany. It need hardly bo said that sho never speaks German if she can help it. Mme. Joffro is tall, fair, alert and bright, like a woman of the smith. hut with the physical chsrarteristics of the women of the north. She is simple, natural and vivacious. She dresses tarry soberly, and the fashions tvhirh preceded the war are not. at all to her liking. She is very fond of her home, domesticated in her habits and has a restricted circle of friends.

MADAME CURIE AT YPRES. Madame Curie, the distinguished professor at the Sorbonne and joint, discoverer with her husband of radium, has been for some time working at the front at Ypres. She has a car fitted up so os to work hor radiograph apparatus. By its means portions of shelln are easily located in the body, and the surgeons find her assistance most valuable. POLITENESS IN THE HOME. It is significant to .observe how some men fail to know how to treat their wives and sisters when they meet them. It seems to them quite unnecessary to lift their hats, or to give their-nearest and dearest the courtesy they would freely; render to any woman'outside of the domestic; circle. This should not be, and the sooner a revolution is accomplished the better. The ablest and most persuasive treatise on the etiquette of the'home willnot be able by itself to, work the change, although it would be holpfnl towards that end. What is needed is the right training of boys and girls. Courteous behaviour should be enforced by parents in th». same way as other good qualities are taught. THE UNCHANGING SILHOUETTE. Despite the fact that some of the new skirts raeasui-e five, -and even sis yards round at the hem, the change in this year’s silhouette is not as drastic as this increase iiy width would suggest. Skirts of this .circumference are generally made of soft clinging materials, thus the appearance of narrowness is maintained. • Many leading dressmakers are bent on introducing a welldefined waist, but dresses are as full as ever on the hips, and the waistline has certainly not decreased in size, nor is there any probability that the wide, natural line will be ousted from fashionable circles, as long, at any rate, as the blouse effect rules in the scheme of the corsage. And it still rules. The. modish corsage of the moment, and there is every reason to predict its reign will last some months yet, is very loose indeed; it has long sloping shoulders, and the newest sleeves nro of the Bishop type. Very few afternoou or evening gowns have bodices made of the same materials as the skirts, although a little .in the form of folded-over pieces,‘or braces, is generally introduced.

FABRIC FOOTWEAR. With the. shorter skirts, footwear becomes a matter of the first importance, and neatness and trimnees in hosiery and boots and shoes will be essential, or the effect of the smartest toilette will bo spoiled. Leather becomes dearer and scarcer every day in consequence of the needs of the immense armies now in the field, and in order to keep prices as low as possible manufacturers are using a good deal of cloth, silk., satin, and brocade for the tops of women's boots and shoes. Skins, too, of snakes and other unlikely reptiles and animals are. successfully manipulated and substituted for leather. Snake skins make excellent golf, boots and shoes, and are said by those who have tried them to wear very .well. Indoor ■ shoes made for • this season’s wear are almost exclusively of velvet, satin, and fabrics of various kinds. An attempt is being made to introduce the heelless shoes for home wear. They are kept on the feet by moans of narrow satin ribbons passed round the ankle, and look well on small and dainty feet. ' . . USEFUL HINTS. A spoonful of marmalade. added to prunes while stewing gives them a delicious flavour, and is convenient if a lemon is not at hand. Steel fittings on .kitchen stoves which .have become, brown through the heat of tho fire should be rubbod over with a rag,dipped in vinegar before cleaning in the usual war. Salted meat requires longer boiling than fresh.. Put it into cold water, quickly bring it to the boil, tben let ifrl simmer. Allow longer time than for flesh meat, ns the fibres will be harder. Tar may be removed from the hands

by rubbing with the outside of fresh orange or lemon peel and drying immediately. The volatile oils dissolve tar so that it can be rubbed off.

Cayenne popper is excellent to rid cupboards of mice. The floor should be gone over • carefully and each hole stopped up with a piece of rag dipped in water and -then in cayenne pepper. To clean a navy serge dress, brush all dust thoroughly out, then dip a fairly stiff brush in hot water and mb well into the serge. Iron on the wrong side, and the suit or dress will look like'new.

Scotch Shortbread. Halt-pound good butter, lib. flour, Jl-b. caster sugar. Method; Heat butter and sugar to a cream and sift flour slowly, working into a nice dough. Knead this into bake-pans. l-}in. deep. Bake slowly to a Jight brown colour. To Harden a Hair-brush,—Wash the brush well in hot water to' which a dessert spoonful of ammonia has been added. Then dissolve a large piece of salt in some cold water, and dip the brush in it several 1 times. Leave it in the oppn air to dry,’and it will be found that the. bristles got quite stiff again. Cutlets Without Eggs.—To prepare bread-crumbs for cutlets without eggs, ■ dip each cutlet first in a.soup-plate full of milk; then roll in cornflour,' and then dip in bread-crumbs. The cornflour; • gives the cutlet, jin' frying, .the nice goldcn-brbwiTpolo'ur of the egg and bysad-efumb mixture. This may be used also.for frying fish..

■ Orange Jelly.—Wipe and cut up roughly 21b. of bitter oranges, - lemons; and lib. of sweet oranges, .putting aside the pips. Cover the fruit with twelve tnmberfuls of cold water and allow it to soak for twenty-four houra. Put on the jelly-pan and allow the .fruit to boil for two hours; then strain through a jelly bag. To each pint of too liquid (two breakfast-cupfuls) allow lib. of preserving sugar. ' Boil until it jellies when rested on a plate. The pips should be just covered with boiling water and allowed to stand for twenty-four hours. They are then strained, and the juice is added to the last boiling of the fruit. ; . Though the superior flavour of potatoes boiled in their skins is generally acknowledged, the practice is often avoided because of the trouble of removing them when cooked. The advantage may be, however. ' secured without paying the .price by a very simple method. For if. after washing them clean, a narrow paring is taken off 'entirely'’round the centre of each, potatoes boiled or steamed in the ordinary way are easily slipped from opposite halves o' skin. Ginger Sponge'.Without Eggs.—Two breakfast-cups of flour, one small cup sugar (soft), one teaspoonful soda, two teaspoonfuls ground cinnamon, two teaspoonfuls spice, two teaspoonfuls ginger. two large tablespoonfuls golden syrn, ill), butter, one small cup of milk. Method; Place the flour, sugar, spico and ginger into a dish and mix thoroughly, then pour into it the golden syrup, butter and milk (which nave been previously placed in an enamel saucepan and dissolved) and stir together. Bake in a moderate oven’ for one hour.