LADIES' COLUMN.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12583, 21 January 1905, Page 3 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

BEAUTY ASP- CLEANLINESS.

The thing to wish for is health. Finn muscles, a .healthy, glowing skiu, eyes bright with -energy and ambition—these make the foundation of .the woman beautiful. Careful, sensible, becoming gowning plays a large part, so dees the manner of hair dressing and- the thousand and one details of grooming, but health is the first requisite - and", by far the most necessary one. . "

Scrupulous cleanliness is as essential to health, as it is to one's good looks. The skin flakes off in tiny particles, and bathing assists this process. More-than this, dai'y bathing is decidedly beneficial .. The muscles are eniiv-enad, the blood, and. the flesh" glows and tingles, the result being a clearer mind and a refreshed body. The most , beneficial bath is the quick pne that-'is' over within three niinules. Such a bath isV a tonic. It is not neces-. sary to get into the tub. Merely go over the body speedily, bathing away the dust and secretions of the skin, rinsing quickly and rubbing briskly until' the skin fairly tingles. A hot bath is necessary not oftener than twice a week:'; If one is nerve tired, a hot bath just- before going to bed vill act as a soothing restful comforter.

CERTIFICATES FOR MARRIAGE.

A law has been parsed in Norway providing that in future any woman who wishes to get married must present to the proper. authorities a certificate showing that she is skilled in the arts of cooking, sewing, ' knittag and embroidering. There has been .for some time an agitation in Norway, the obj*ct of which - was to secure the passage of a law prohibiting those persons "who were in any physically defective, from .marrying and ordaining that marriage should, only be allowed to take place between, persons who could show diplomas of .sound health. Many -objections however, were '.raised, against such a law, and as a substitute the edict requiring women to be skilled, in the household arts has just been passed.- The young men of are jubilant .over this, victory, but the yonng wonipn are naturally wondering why no such certificated are to be required from men which shall prove that they are able to wives. For this reason they .consider that the new edict is unfair, an4-many Trill agree with them.

UNSELEISHNESS IN THE HOME.

Parental love is proverbially unselfish, and sS&ks the welfare of the child first. Whether this unselfishness is not carried to excess at^,,times let the records of ingratitude and the ill-treatment of those who have devoted their lives.-to their children answer. *'

But in the wisely-managed, well-ordered home this does .not- often happen. Here every child has its duties and' its responsibilities, and is taught from its eariest infancy that it owes some obligations to the family, the world, and to humanity. The family does not exist for it alone, but every member of' the little community is responsible for some part of of its -wellbeing. To properly fulfil the duties falling to their share,' every unit of the home circle, and especially the parents, should establish a degree of .unselfishness that ■will prove

helpful in every department of . the home life; but itflhould not lie carried-to excess in any particular instance. The main factor ■of victory over our own selves is to, attain the faculty of sacrificing ourselves to iothers. This is a difficult victory, and one that should'be taught the children, and not'left alone to the naturally self-sacrificing mother.

Too many mothers seem to take too seriously the thought of Stowell, " Selfishness narrows the soul, and its free and 16ngcontiaued indulgence degrades its VictifilS, and destroys all noble and generous sentiments. 1 '

Kindness and consideration for others should be among the earliest lessons of life. The child in its mother's arms •is not too young for such Lessons, and a thorough education in this portion of the , training . of Mir Jittlfe onfes_ jvill, Siivfe fliiicli i-ggret iil altSi- lifS, 4nd will do much towards elevating the sentiments and rising the standard ■of .the -home. And instead of the plodding, patient,'self-sacrificing mother; with selfish thoughtless, children, we will find the hopeful, helpful, happy family, with parents and children alike on the same footing of unselfish good_ coWradeshipj

RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR,

Don't get into debt. Don't live beyond your means. Don't let your chief ambition be to outshine your neighbours. Don't let your menfolk feel: that " there's n& plate. ~lik6 hbmS"==f6f di^c'eiiifbrt: Don't lei poverty, hard "work, or earthing dry up all your enthusiasm. Don't lie in bed too long in the morning. Don't let Sunday be the day of sloth, instead of the day of rest. Don't, if yolu are late -in tie morning yourself, blame everybody eke because, the clock is still going round. If you are down first, don't be disagreeably " superior all day. Don't forget to. jfiVe Something of your blessing to tlie poor. Don't forget to lay by something—however small—each week to the "Home Superannuation Fund."

Provide yourself with at least a decent umbrella towards that "rainy day." Remember that godliness in the heart makes godliness in the home. ; . . Choose for the Nei?^«ai« r 'gHck" it up in your and"toryl'to live up to it. . . • , , •

" BUT—."

"She's a dear, and we all like her so much, but"—-(on the but hangs everything) —"but she is really rather silly:in the way she treats, her best friends." "May is one of the nicest girls I know, but ■!" rEveryone has her but; .with some women the way they dress, with others the" way they sjpeak, with others that you can never believe a word thej;' sag-, with others thifc they arg so silly oyer thfeir love affairs. The but is always the spice of the conversation jand gives an. interest. We:may imagine we like our acquaintances for their virtues, but if they were all virtue and no vice we would have nothing to talk of. Also vices are- much more easily discovered than virtues. A speck of mud on a white garment attracts instant notice, and some cynic has said, "What a. dull world it will be.when we are all good." Of course, it would be a far duller world if we were all bad, but that does not moke an epigram. A genial philosopher, who heard several women discussing an absent friend, said afterwards that their passion for. virtue delighted him—tiiat. they were definitely distressed that Mary had been so unwise-as to dance with one man eight times at one dance, and drive home with him in a hansom, when it was evident to everyone that he had no intention of proposing. They were far more worried about Mary,, he said, and over the possibility of her making herself cheap, than they, were over their own deficiencies. Sue" friendliness musi abash the] angels.

DO WE EAT TOO MUCH,

Professor T. Clifford, Allbutt,. writing in the "Times,": says Professor Atwater and Professor C.hitteiiden have beein engaged.! ■for some time, and independently, upon, extensive researches into the value of. foods.; Professor Atwaterj J £pdS a number of healthy pe'rson%.nn'der circumstances as uni-. form as -possible, has .measured accurately the, intake of : food,: and as-accurately the output of waste and'work. In respect of such expenditure he finds that' much of it is upon an excess of food taken beyond the needs of the individual. It appears. | that such excess, -which, indeed, is notable in almost all healthy persons of good appetite,- does not escape (or not more than 4 per cent, of it), itiechanically and cheaply from body, but is elaborately absorbed, distributed, apd excrSted; to this circular process no little energy is uselessly- .dK verted. . In this -useless energy is chiefly wasted .by-the nitrogenous foods, ■which' are relatively, difficult to get rid of. Excess of starches and sugars are burned off in the lungs pretty directly, and at far. less cost. _ ' l Professor Allbut concludes : The animal which'has to hunt or seek for its food : has to undergo many a -wholesome interval of pining; the animal, man, or lapdog, whose food is brought to it without and direct search of its own, soon learns- to eat as regularly. Now eating is a pleasure, and ' appetite is a habit. -

FRESH AIR A STIMULANT.

" When you are ' let down,' " says a physician, " don't take . a stimulant. , Just brelthe. Put your finger on your pulse and get its rytmn. During eight beats draw in the breath, -breathing deep and low, and forcing the> diaphragm down first, then filling the upper lungs. Then exhale this breath during four beats af the pulse. Now, if you are. working with a piece of machinery, say a typewriter, what do you do to make 'it run more smoothly ? You don't put a lot more oil on it, and gum and clog it all up. : - You clean it first. You can best cleanthe blood by breathing. The blood passes through the lungs, and it needs and expects to find plenty of fresh air with oxygen in.it. - If it can't find perfectly fresh air, it needs more air which is'not perfectly fresh. It needs to be cleaned by contact with the air. Once in. a while" hold the lungs full of breath as long as you can without expulsion. In doing this you are . simply cleaning the blood. At the same time you are giving that'little fillip to the action of the heart and the nervous system which you thought you were giving | when you took the stimulant. In the latter j case .you didn't clean the machine. You j simply ran it a little faster and gummed it | up a little more. You can. get the'same results, the same feeling of exhilaration and of accomplishment, Iwithout taking the stimulant, and at the same time the machine will steadily improve in its running quality. Breathe the best air you can get, arid plenty of it. It is as necessary as food. The; heart and lungs act involuntarily. In hurried business life they become too involuntary. In that case—just breathe.""

READING FOR DAUGHTERS.

It is not uncommon for the first trial between, mother and daughter to be about what the girl may read, says Maria Theresa Earle, and what she may not. I take a very liberal view on this subject, for as a rule what the elders would think harmful the girls- do not understand, and interpret in a way that suits their knowledge and experience. For instance, the doubtful- passages in a Bronte novel orpoem of Byron's; these need not be explained any more than a mother thinks of going out of her way to explain certain passages in the lessons read in church. To my mind, the underlying principles about reading should be: Don't force girls to read what, they don't care about; don't prevent them from reading what they do care about; don't explain when they don'tinquire; and do explain, truthfully, when their curiosity is aroused and they do inquire. The same thing applies to life. Once a child is curious about any of the so-called mysteries of, life,that curiosity should be met and satisfied step by step: as it comes, but not aroused prematurely,* and children vary very much in these matters. With those precociously interested, there should be no" putting off with untruths. ' The whole beautiful process of nature unfolds itself easily enough if the. mother determines from the first never to evade "an apparent difficulty by telling, any kind of lie. The one thing to ensure is that a child gets its wanted information from a high-minded and intelligent source, not from a foolish or misleading one. It is sometimes difficult to find out the kind of books., a girl likes, and it is useless to provide books that- i bore her. Reading . should. supply a need —feed a hunger. Till this initial step is attained", reading is useless and no joy. j The book might almost as well be written in an unknown tongue. We have to provide the books which suit a child's attitude of mind, and which may cultivate such jmagiaatioii as it possesses.

once,

bination, he wished the Marine Band every-

success.

vice."