LADIES' COLUMN.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13644, 11 July 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

CHILDREN'S NURSES. The society that is being formed by t he Roman Catholics for training educated girls as' children's nurses reminds one, writes Lady Violet Urenville, how very little the average young woman knows of her own health or of the bringing up of her baby. In no other protection but that of motherhood would it- be permissible to enter on responsible duties without any previous knowledge. As well might an untrained cbaul&ur conduct a party through the intricate traffic of the streets, as a..-young woman in perfcet ignorance gaily adventure, lieiself on tliO bringing up -'of a child. If the baby turns red in the lace, or cries bitterly, or looks ill and -pinched, she i.y absolutely a: » loss whait to do. She either si to and looks on helplessly or sends for a ductor to cure a trifling ailment with which she ouglil to know how to deal. FASHION'S FACTORIES. What Royalty wtar to-day the world copies to morrow. When a few years ago the German Emperor adopted tiie Ka-ser moustache tlie whole of the Fatherland, and every German barber 'in London, followed the Imperial example. King Edward,- too, is responsible for many of the prevailing fashions. It was be, for instance, who popularised the white waistcoat slip and the Ascot tie. Some yeais ago he startled even the most enterprising of West End . tailors by appearing at Mcot in a single-breasted frock coat and -white hat. He was promptly imitated, but the innovation failed to catcli on. The 6tage exercises a tremendous influence on modts and robes. * The linen doubiecollar, for instance, was introduced by Mr. Charles Sugden in a play at the Haymarket Theatre, and to him also belongs the credit of the new butterfly collar. the former design Mr. George Alexander founded the now famous "stand-up-turn-down" flannel collar. Mi-iH Edna. May's sel-ebrated - Salvation Avmy hat made fortunes for more than one milliner, while her hair was copied from factory to palace. The gilt tags which were all the rage in drees trimmings a decade ago were'made fashionable by Mitr> Marie '1 einpeat in Becky Sharp." BRIDESMAIDS. "In selecting bridesmaids," said a young woman who has recently accomplished that difficult task for her coming wedding ■j'it is not beauty that conn s so much as ' *tyle and carriage. Mutt brides take a great deal of pride in their bridesmaids" coeAumes and want them to show to the best advantage. It is very important that a. bridesmaid should walk well. The wedding ma rein s are more suited to grand opera sta'ges than Church aisles and while Ekfa's or Lucia's attendants can ,wa!k jirucefully to such music, "the mitt graceful of the girls is apt to sway and falter trying to keep time and step with the same strains. The beauty of a faultl>es frock from the statliness of a picture hat vanish when the wearer is awkward and obviously ill at ease. The bride herself is helped by her long train, her drooping head, and the leaning on her'father's arm before, and on her husband's after the ceremony, but the bridesmaid wears a short gown, carries her head erect, walks up and down beside another girl, and so lias her own grace alone to depend upon. A girl who walks well, whose- head is wpll . poised on her shoulders, and who.«e hair arranges well, makes a good appearance as a bridesmaid." WHAT PLEASES EACH OTHER. A reason there are so many failures in marriage seem* to' be that men and women do not understand each other. If one knew what pleased the other and so ordered their lives as to afford each other ,lhe most pleasure,, there would be but few. failures. Allow us to suggest some things which we have found to ba very pleasing to men and -women : It pleates a woman to be called a sensible little woman. It pleases her to be called a well-drett-ed woman. It pleases her to be told that the is fascinating. It pleases hpr to be told that she improves a man by her companionship. It pleases Iwr to depend on some man and pretend she is ruling him. It pleases her to be treated sensibly and honestly, to be considered and questioned, and not to be treated as a butterfly, with no head, no heart." It please® her to be loved and admired by a man wlk> is strong enough t" rule and subdue her and make his way her way—to lead her and take; care of her. It pleases her to find happine.'is in being; ruled by an intellect that she can look up to admiringly, and one to Vhum her own mind bows in reverence. It pleases a man to have a woman love him. It pleases him to have a woman's Mjft. gentle, magnetic hand alleviate the pain of an aching bead. It pleases, him to have a woman's harid smooth away the careworn expression and wrinkles from his brow. It please him to have a woman's strength to help him over the weak places in life. It ple.-"6°s him to have a woman sometimes treat him as a big baby, to b" cared for, played with, fondled, kissed, and caressed. It pleases him to have a woman lead him in the way he wants to go. It pleases a" worthy man who tries to Wo good to have a sweet woman lead him m the way called beautiful." A woman can sink 1 a man to dismal depths or help him rise to dizzy heights. Her frown candepress him. her smile inspire - him. TUTTING AWAY FURS. Furs have been clung to more persistently at Home this year than usual, and instead of reserving only tlie f-tole or scarf and the furlined motorcoat- to form a link will if he departing winter. - everv warm garment- has so far been jealously kept off "the pension list-. When spring weather arrives late, however. peltry h*s less chance than ever against the moth scourge, which is a serious matter where valuable wraps are. concerned. If they are to be withheld from the furrier's care longer than usual, it is always a wise plan to give them as much open air as posisibTe.. hanging coats', muffs, and s'oke up at a wide-open window or outside on the ljne for an hour or two on a fine clear day when a strong wind is blowing. Sunshine and air are the preventatives of that: notwiths'anding the scent which leaks through the crevices of drawers and boxes. larvae have been deposited in the. pelt, and bare patches, skin, and flying particles of fur are all the reward which is to be reaped. Half the want of success i* due,' however, to niggardliness where the anti-moth specific is concerned. If camphor io used, fvveral substantial cakes are necesary in a large trunk, owing to the fact that it-«vaporat-"s readily, whilst in cases where inject powder is selected it must fiist be well-rubbed into the fur with a piece of coarf-e flannel, and afterwards sprinkled liberally between each layer. Even naphtha line, to be efficacious, must be employed in sufficient quantity, many people adopting the extra precaution of scattering pepper freely over and into the gar-ments-before laying them away in the naphtha-sandwiched layers. Starch is a well-known enemy of the moth, andan old-fashioned treatment of ■furs, which was in vogue long.before such «,a luxury as cold air storage was invented, consisted of making bags -of stout new calico, which were washed and then starched so stiffly that they alAcst "stood alone,". and .were then filled with the furs, a loop of tape'keeping the neck ; tight, jvhilst> camphor. inside and out - made &

treble fortification against the marauders. Brown paper, if leas dependable, is still efficacious, and fur stoles, if they are well aired, brushed, cleaned, arid rubbed with insect powder, and then wrapped up with a piece of camphor in tarred brown paper, such as that in which parcels are posted abroad, may bci depended upon to emerge in a i-atistactorv condition if the edgis are gummed down and sealed securely, and if they are given one good ailing about the middle Of the summer. The moth-proof case it?, however, the best retort for thice who 'ale lnippy enough to poesefs a box-loom. Any ordinary grocer's box may be "requisitioned, the wood being fimt scalded ii-side and out with boiling soap-suds, and thtn placed in the open air for a day; when it should be'nibbed over with a rag dipped in turpentine. A few sheets of tarred paper should suffice to line the box and leave about half a yard to overlap all round, while-four broad tapes should be nailed to the centre of each Side of the box, so that when the latter is tilled with i s load of : funs—well supplied with a reliable moth preparation—the tarred paper can bo folded over and kept securely closed by means of the tajA-s. If the lid is then nailed down firmly, and the box stored hi a dry place, no danger should overtake Ihe contents, even if it > fe found impossible to overhaul them during the summer months. Equal parts of oil of cedar, oil of cajeput, and oil of cloves can be used, with advantage,...instead of turpentine, in disirifec ing ■ the wood of the box in the.first instance, the spicy perfume with which it imbues deal, walnut, and even oak being a'eo helpful in preventing mo lis from making a nesting ground of chests of drawers where woollen garments are kept, iind which, even when in fairly constant use, are apt to run the danger of contagion. THE LOST ART OF GRACE. . We are living, in'~ah age of criticism—an age when it is the fashion to find fault. v Prominent among us are those who make it their hobby to denounce the pleasures of society. In their eyes iife would be tolerable save for it 6 .amusemen s, for according to their theory it is the pleasure of society that pander to -the sins of society. Every new craze, that claims public attention comes under their ban. One and all alike, we are (old, have a contaminating. and a demoralising influence. For a lengthy period brigde was the great object of aversion persistantly attacked by this clique. .That- anyone could find innocent amusement in the game, or care to play it without gambling to such • an extent that it necessitated the mortgaging of their family fortunes, .and bringing everyone connected with them to irI retrievable ruin, seemed utterly incon- | ceivable. The popularity of bridge having : waned, and its evils hiving been exhaust : ed, they- next turned the searchlight of their displeasure upon public entertainments. An' amusement has only-to prove popular to come under their censorship.-""-To-day it k the dance of the moment which is causing them to throw up. their hands in horror, or to wonder wlwt society is coming to that it finds pleasure in such a performance. Witluut attempting to criticise the merits or demerits of the latent a'traction, it is surely an object of congratulation rather than dismay that society hw at length turned its attention to something that promises to popularise the long-neg-lected arts of • grace and elegance that form so great an attribute of beauty. The. s .udy of anything appertaining to deportment has. for so long been ignored that grace in ' any shape or form is lield of little or no account by the present generation of womeukind. The arts of grace and symmetry are forgo'ten. Tlie high kick, the cake walk, the two-step shuffle, and other more or less inelegant- forms of dancing have for so long reigned supreme, and passed muster for grace of movement, tliat an exhibition of feminine grace has come to be regarded in flie light of a novelty and a curiosity which is drawing half London to see and to admire. It is only to be hoped that, it will set the fashion for greater grace of movement and all those various shades of deportment which were counted so essential an attribute of feminine perfection by onr ancestors. Englishwomen of to-day may pride themeelvs upon being athletic, and beinc able to liold their own and excell 111 all ' manner of sports, but it is doubtful whether they can compete in either grace of movement or of manner wi li their grandmothers. It is the fashion nowadays to lauirh at the deportment class of yesterday, that taught- women to sit and to walk with grace and elegance, and to laud the hockey and cricket teams which form so important a department of the up-to-date girls' school. But under the hpw retrime feminine grace lias undoubtedly suffered. The fact its. the rwh and liurry of ni"dern life is not conducive to grace. The society woman of to-day makes no secret ■ of the fact- that fihe prefers to be considered smart rather tlmn stately. -Her proudest boast is that she "has no maiy-

ners." It is the fashion to adopt a free and 'easy style, a brusque independence, and an abrupt brevity of address, that is counted the sum total of smartness. . What one and all stem to forget- is that when all is said arid done, isniurtness is but the refuge of plain women and the greatest enemy of beauty. The pity is modern craze is setting its stamp upon modern socie y. • It is this that its answerable for that subtle difference that makes the exhibition of "Fair Women" of to-day contrast li.cs favourably with that other exhibition of " Fair Women" of Sir Joshua. Reynolds' and Gainsborough's days. The contrast is one that should prove a valuable leeson to the. would-be beauty, in cultivating the fbigottbn arts of grace there is "no need to cultivate 1 lie simpering extreme dullness and stupidity of the bread-and-butter miss. Women -yvould not be one whit less sprightly either mentally or physically because they paid some attention to the gentle aits of ieminine perfection. It is even conceivable that if the,example set by the latest form of amusement is turned into fashionable craze the crjjics may find that society has gained rather than lost by the exhibition. At any rate, if grace and elegance returned .to fashion we should be spared much that we suffer from to-day. We should find grace instead of shuffling in ballrooms ; we would miss the exhibition of the ~ golf and hockey stride in the drawingrtioms ; and we might'iav en in' time hope to . observe a softening aind subduing ,of the strident tones of the society shriek, which is the keynote of modern conversation.