WOMEN IN REMARKABLE CHARACTERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7232, 19 October 1901, Page 3

WOMEN IN REMARKABLE CHARACTERS.

1 From Jockey to Swoop and Sexton. I la these days (if "progress and emauL-i- --; palion." when women-jockeys Ha.sh past i!ie i winning-post ahead of their male rivals, ; when they drive mail-coaches, tame " buckj jumpers," ply the fireman's hope and tixo, i dig graves, and perform many other duties ; equally alien, a.s mere man says, tf> their i sex. it is extremely difncult to find any j form of work of which men still r«l;iin a j monopoly. One of the most daring and skilful r'cfcrs of racehorses in America is Mi's Bagwill, who has nothing to learn about the art of bringing a, horse first past the post from j any of her rivals. As a girl of twelve, she •: astonished all who knew her by her fear- ; less and clever- horsemauMiin, and when j .she married an owner of racehorses she in- ' duced her husband, who was being cheated ! by his jockeys, to alloAV her to ride them herseif. So clever has she proved in pace-judging and getting the most out ,of her mount*, that she might, if the would, earn an i«» • come of several thousands a year by riding ; lor other owners. i One of the very best whips of either sex in America is Rose Sturgeon, who drives i the mail-coach between Andrews an<l ( Denio, in Oregon. Miss Sturgeon is a ; fair, pretty girl, little over twenty years of , age, who has been used to horses all her . life. j Her daily journey lies through one of ! the wildest, least-frequented districts in< Hie | United States, where it is no uncommon thing for passengers to be "held up." But Miss Sturgeon laughs alike at loneliness, weather, and danger ; for she carries a revolver and a brave heart. I "Afraid?" she says; "why, no! What 1 ever should Ibe afraid of? And as for the 1 wind and) snow and sleet, why, it's good j fun to come rattling through them as fast I as horses can travel." With such a spirit, what cannot the modern -woman dare and , do? ! But Miss Sturgeon's work is childish and commonplace compared with that of a cer lain young lady in Wyoming — Miss Allen, whose pleasing duty it is to patrol the country on horseback, with a brace of revolvers, in quest of cattle-lifters and outlaws generally. Miss Allen is a dead shot with the rpvolver, and has sa.ved her life more than once toy her cool head and quick aim. j Many enterprising women on the Continent and elsewhere make quite a comfortable living as chimney-sweeps; and among 'the tradesmen and others wi(o urn I entitled to display the Royal Arms in Eng- ! land are a woman chimney-sweep and a j woman mason. | Even the churchyard has been invaded by womesn in many places^. Perhaps th most interesting of these gravediggers was Mrs Steel, who used to ply the spade in a Sussex churchyard, with as much skill and energy as any male sexton, until she was sixty years of age ; amd who only abandoned it, when the physical labour became too i much for her, to tend the mounds and flowers on the graves she had dug. . In Japan, much of the hard labour of coding sj:eam vessels is done by women, and it is a common sight to see fifty or a hundred women at work, with an, equal number of men, coaling a ship in the pretty harbour of Nagasaki. The heaviest paTt of the work is usually assigned to these womew, many of whom are both young and pretty, andi that they retain the little vanities of their sex is proved by the fact that most of them wear gloves to protect their ihands. In the town of Nasso, in Sweden, the firfc brigade consists entirely of women, who number one hundred and fifty, and who axe as expert flame-subduers, and as daring as any fireman who wields a/m axe in London. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. Honey should bo kept in 'the dark, or it ■will granulate. The bees, knowing this, always work in dark hives. For a -sore -tfliroat, 'try a frequent gargle of salt and water. If a little is awa-llowed it ■will «illay -the irritation, cleanse the throat, and do no -harm. Vinegar and yeast should never foe kept in stone jars, for there is <&n acid- in i ! h«n which attacks the glazing, and' mixing with it ' has a poisonous property. \V£ien Boiling Meat. — 'Boiled (ham, tongue, or beef should be cooled in. the waiter in which it ■was boiled, and 1 this makes it inoisfc and tender, j and improves 43i« flavour. Clean brushes irtth lukewarm water and * 1 1 little ammonia. Ifc is best io clean two ■brushes at I'he same it-ime, as they can be rubbed together. Let iiem dry in the 'hot sun. To Keep .Buttons on in Mangling.— When mangling clothes fob© burtons should be put between folds of material. If this is done care- ! fui'.y the mangling Trill not injure "Mieni in the least. Equal parts of Scrubb's ammonia, ar.d turpentine -will take paint put of clothing, r.o matter how dry and hard it may be. Saturate the spot two or ! three times, then wash out i n soapsuds. A .Remedy for 'Hoarseness.— procure -a lemon ar.d! bake it as you won..- an apple. Then 'Squeeze a little of the heatened «nd thickened juice over Jump sugar and eat some occasion-ally. I Soiled black garments may he cleaned by i sponging with clear black coffee wiih an equal quantity of -water added, and a teaspoonful each of ammonia and alcohol for , each pint of liquid. ! To Cleam *he Piano-case. — Turpentine and sweet oil, Jwulf and half, is «. capita! preparation- to use in 'brightening and cleansing the case of a piano. Apply with a soft rag, and ' polish with chamois skin. i To Set the Colours in Shirt Blouses. — Soak coloured linens aud prints in strong salt and ■water for an hour before washing. This will set ifha colours, and if the goods are hastily , washed, not boiled, a.nd' aro dried in 'the I shade, they will not fade. | To keep a room cold in hot -weather shade 'the -window from the sun, 'and 'throw up the skbTi as far as it will go. Cover the opening •with a thick cloth -wrung out of cold water. If .the cloihi ;be constantly kept damn The air ' passing through it will be wonderfully . cooled. i Baili Buns. — Take 'two pounds of flour. 't>he pcH of two lemons gratod finely, (half a pound of butter mel'ied in a teacupful oE milk, one tablespoon fill of yeast and tJirsc eggs. Mix , thoroughly, then add half a pound of sugar ! (castor), mix again, then lot. -stand' to rise, and 1 afterwards form into buns. ; A Safely Travelling pecket. — Chamois safety ■pockets for the woman voyjger will lie found most useful 'and convenient lor tho preserva--I'i-on of her valuables. Tlioy arc rnncle wi't-Ji an inner compartment faston?d wiih ft clasp for jewels, and aro suspended by straps from a stout bolt, and should be worn under the skirt. i Cucumber Wash.— Take, one largo cucumber, ; peel, and cut in.to ra'Jhev small pitves; he»i slowly in «, double saucepan till you can strain, I or instead of heating you may squeeze in a i Ipmon-squeezer to extract the juice. Add io the extracted juice one-third as much alcohol and one-third elderflower water, and bottle for use; shake bqfo-re using. , ' To 'Wash Black Mute-rials.— Make a lather i by adding a tablespooiiful of soup jelly and two level teaspoou-siul of powdered borax ' i-o a gallon of water of about UOdeg. 'Sonse i ihe material up and down in this, dr.iwing it. through your hands, but. not rubbing it. Rinse in. two lots of clear lukewarm water, I and hang in the shade (without wringing) till | nearly dry. Pull each piece into shape when ! 'har.gijig on the line. Iron- on> the wrong side ' when nearly dry, and continue ironing till j ' quite, dry. I To Wash Chamois Gloves.— First make a; ! nice lather with hot water, soap, and ;i little ! ammonia,; it should lie about OS or 1 00 dc- : -grees. Put the gloves in this, leave for a few minutes, and then squeeze tliein in die suds ] [ till they aro quite clean. If there nrc v special. y j ■ dirty patches it may bo necessary to rub a. > '. little more soap on "them. Rinsa in slightly j ! soapy waiter of the same temperature, ■and J ' dry in the open-air, giving tliein an occasional j , rub as they dry to prevent, thorn from setting ; : stiff. j | To Cure Chaps.- -If your hands are inclined] to chap you should never wash them in cold j wator during tho winter, and at the first sign ] of a chap you should fio the finger up in a bit of rag spread with bcracic ointment, which J

«ny chemist will niako up for you. Put onone of the indiarubber finger-stalls, and keep it on i.iil the place is quite healed. The advantage of these rubber stalls is that they can bo washed when you wash your hands without being injured. Thin ones cost Id or 2d each, end a thicker malic Ad. An Old Beamy Kecipe.— -Take half a. toacupful of fine, oatmeal, ar.'d gradually stir il into a pint of boilir.g water, using n double .'■Aurepan. for the purpose, \o prevent any •pocsi- | bili'.y of burning. Let boil' till eiear-looking ; then strain through a. cloth, bc-il again, and I once more strain. To this add enough rose- j water •;„ mukci it pour easily, and about- an ounce, of glvcfirine. Tins may" be perfumed in any way you iike, and is reci-.mmrnded to rub into Ih'n'skin )o prevent roughness. Bottle, and shake, well before using. Keel Wash for Bricks.— Put, loz o; glue in a pail containing three quarts of water, »n<l gently lira: it till the slue is dissolved, then add "107. oi a'.um. Mix together. .Vb of Venetian ml and ioz of Spanish brown. Gradually pour the liquid on lo the powder. I stirring it well to make it smooth. Be sure tha>t the. bricks or hearthstones are quite clean, and then put. on the colour wi'.'h a large flat, brush. The colour may be varied to suit indivlvltral we by -adding or diminishing the quantity of red or brown. Hice Bread.— Simmer slowly over a gentle fire a pound of rice in thr-.»c quarts of water til! the. rice has 'become perfectly soft an:l the water is cither evaporated or absorbed by -the rice; le,. it 1-e-orne coo!, but- rot co.tl. and mix it. thoroughly with four pounds of flour. Add to it a little salt and four tabiespoonshtl of yeast, knead it thoroughly, and let it ri>-9 before 'She tire, make it uj) in-to !oavps wi'ih a iiulc* of "the- fAcur, which tor the purpose must ho saved from -.ho four pounds. Baka it rather a. long time. H-amover stew is a rno£fc dainty dishy. Taka 3lb of the thin part of the flank of breast of veal, cut this into short lengths; cut two or three slices of pork small and mix with the veal. Put into an earthenware jar, scatter ovor a few mixed herbs and four or five carefully peeled shallots. Cover all with tepid water, containing two tenspoonfuis of lemon juice. 'Simmer very gently in the oven for two and a, half hours. When done, take -out the meat and arrange it on a, dish, thicken and colour the gravy, adding a good teaspoonful of chopped capers and « dusting of parslly. Serve very hot with forcemeat balls. Taking Out Stains. — Ordinary fruit stains csmmioU hold out against boiling water. Obstinate ones require more persuasion. Oxalic acid, 3oz to a pint of water, should bs kept on hand for this emexgency. It. must he plainly labelled and placed -where- careless han-ds" cannot reach it. The stain* are thoroughly wetted in the prepara-tioii, then placed over tho steam of a Tjoillns keuu«, or in the sunshi'E*, until they disappear. They must ; be Avatched with 'careful 'eye, for action of •the acid must not .continue a second after -the spots are gone. An application of urnnrotnia. I and a thorough rinsing will prevent mischief. 'Ji.ld'ew is .'the result of carelessness; but it I is not uncommon- in a large household. It will sometimes yield to sunshine and- leiflon 1 juice ; but. not always. As a last resort theTe is the solution- of chloride oi liree — ona tablespooniful in four quarts of cold 1 water. The linen nmßt be 'thoroughly rinsed in clear water after the mildew disappears, or the threads will weaken under' ths powerful in- J fluence of the chloride. I