WOMAN'S WORLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7014, 1 February 1901, Page 3

WOMAN 'S WORLD.

The Queen of Siam has a gold thimble made in the form of a lotus bud; with her name and the date of her marriage in, tiny diamonds, the gift being from the King. • London washerwomen, are being superseded by Chinese laundrymen, who are found to be more, careful and, more dependable in their . work than the Home-nJade article. The private railway saloon of Queen Victoria cost £6000. The curtains are hung upon silver poles, which are suspended upon small gilt figures, each costing 10 guineas. The car/pet cost £150, and ihe door handles also cost £150. . Lady supers are bo plentiful in London that about half a crown a night is the highest wage paid. ,One "West End manager is now offering fourteen shillings a week foj .seven performances, out of which the girls have to provide their own dresses. Another woman has a gold thimble that is completely encrusted with diamonds, which is said to have coat £200. The Princess of Wales has. a thimble which is an heirloom, in the Danish Royal Family; it is of gold with a design in blue enamel, studded with precious stones. These thimbles are, of course, for ornament, not for use. . The next Sydney winlter.is to be known as a "white winter." This^does not refer to snow in the air, or morals on ihe earth, but merely to women's clothes. White garments, in thick, warm materials, are certainly very . charming; but they are not being 'talked of on account of their . beauty, but because white is known to be '"Princess May's" favourite colour. - The Queen possesses at Windsor some of the finest specimens in existence of the superb Gobelins work. The magnificent set representing "The History of Jason" were designed at Borne by De Troy, and. woven under the direction of Cozette. The " Story of Esther and Mordecai " was also depicted by the same artist,, and tlthough over 120 years old the colour is practically unaltered. " News ■ ccmes from New York that chorus girls are now earning money by being models for the fashionable, millinery firms. The girls are smart and good-looking, and have no objection to being photographed in the latest headgear. Their photographs afterwards appear in the fashion journals. Some girla are also engaged to wear these hats in the streets in order to convert; ladies to the new fashions. In this way from 8s to 12s i 9 easily earned in . a morning without any trouble. Early last year Muss Agnes Slocum, the daughter of a Vermont (U.S.) farmer, heard that strawberries were selling in the Philippines at 2jdol (10s) a pint. Within a few days she was on. her way to >the islands, carrying •with her 500dol capital and a stock of strawberry plants. Her first letter home reported that she had secured two acrea of excellent land, and all her crop for the first season had already been engaged. She is bow a prosperous planter, being the owner of a strawberry farm of considerable dimensions. For the last two years it has been considered " chic " for women to wear everything of a certain colour. Princess May keeps to white, as far 'as possible, and Lady Warwick i.o turquoise blue. The colour that Lady Hopetoun. 'has adopted is Malmaison pink. Her Excellency has brought a great quantity "of clothes to Australia, in every one of which is . a touch of pink. Many of her evening gowns, tea-gowns, and even nightgowns are of the Malmaison shade. ,Of course, most of Lady • Hopetouh's dresses are made of thin materials, some specially-designed foulards being the most uncommon. The most nJagnificent parure of pearls that the present generation has seen belonged to Elizabeth, the late Empress of Austria, but their present whereabouts is enveloped in mystery. They became slightly discoloured some years ago, as the best of pearls will do at times, and the cure recommended was a return "to their native element. They were accordingly packed in a trustworthy coffer and lowered into the waters off the coast of Geylon probably. Here they were to remain for a certain period, the spot having been ' duly marked. Whether they have yet re> turned to earth history deponeth not." A fact that should increase the niarriage rate is that married' people live a great deal longer than those who remain single. Thia can be easily explained in the case of the average man ; he is Tentoved from the tender mercies of. a landlady "and her primitive notions of ...upon what sort of cooking -a human ..being can best sustain life.,.. His. wife stiidieshis comforts, bis jueals are not only eatable, liut served at regular hours, and she makes ; him a home in the sense that he has not known- since he left his parents' roof. It is no . -wonder that his life is lengthened by all this; indeed, it would be strange, if it ■ were otherwise. It'seemsi very curious that matrimony, with its many cares of housekeeping and all its attendant worries, should undoubtedly be the irieans of prolonging a woman's life. One would have imagined that the cares of husband and children and the worry of housekeeping would have been far more likely to ' shorten her lUys, but the fact remains •{hat it j is not so. 'it behoves » man. who wishes to prolong his lifo and live to a ripe old" age to take unto 'himself, a wife without further loss of time. .