BACK FROM TRAVEL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10916, 4 November 1913, Page 8

BACK FROM TRAVEL.

NEW ZEALAND WOMAN'S VIEWS

MRS 11. CROSS INTERVIEWED. Returned from a tour of Britain and the Continent of Europo, Mrs Heleno Cross was seen by a reporter yesterday, and in an interview she briefly described somo oi: lior experiences dining her travels, and punctuated h Q r story with comments on tlio changes sho had observed take placo m six years. LONDON TRAFFIC.

"As I had not been in Britain for six years," she tsaid, " I naturally expected to find great changes smco my previous visit, and the changes were particularly noticeablo in London. J.no extinction of tho old horse bus an tho almost cntiro use of tho ";otor- '> us was ono great alteration, lho tastoi locomotion has made a wondenul cml'erenco to tho traffic, for one has seldom to wait moro than a minute oi so before boing able to pass on one* way. Tho police forco is as wonderful as ever, and tho new factors in traffic are met by the forco .with the same precision that characterised it m the old days. The policeman in London is ready and willing to lend himself to any emergency. lhere was only ono occasion on which I was no. rrre'eted with absolute civility by a London policeman, and thao was' on tho day that Miss Freeman and I wen, to the ladies' gallery of tho House of Commons. HOUSE OF COMMONS. "It was a cold day and I was carryin f a large muff which was eyed with suspicion by tho policeman at tho gates and also by others further in. I suppose thev suspected that I was secretly carrving' a little hammer or a bomb. Having run tho gauntlet of several suspicious looks, and having been pelsonally conducted' on our way ".v a burly policeman, we were finally stopped near tho entrance to the ladies gallery and told to write our names in a book. So, feeling by this time the roal criminals that wo were expected to be, and feeling cowed and browbeaten at the idea that wo belonged to tho rebellious sox, we signed our names under the following statement: —'I undertake to abstain "from making any interruption or disturbance, and to obey the rules for the maintenance of order in the galleries.' I asked the attendant, an old man, if the signing of the do-ument prevented suffragettes making disturbances and ho said': 'Lor,' no, Mum. It don't, make no difference to them. They signs this and breaks things up immediately afterwards.' THE GRILLE. "Then we were graciously permitted to enter, and when she saw the closebarred ' grille,' Miss .Freeman wasted indignant. "'ls this what wo have como for? Surely, this is a relic of the Dark Ages,"' she said. " True, we couldn't look at the speakers, unless they were straight in our line of vision, and tho gallery was small and close; but it was Parliament nevertheless, and it was London; and you can't expect _ London to niove quickly in everything. The subject for discussion in the House that day was Home Rule, and the speeches were good, bad and indifferent, according to the speakers. Both Sir Edward Carson and Mr Bonur Law spoke well. It is amusing to hear tho ' year-year-ycar-year,' which is tho way tho individual members mark their approval of a speech, and it is distinctive, of the House of Commons.

HIGH COMMISSIONER PRAISED. ! "I heard our High Commissioner, tlio Hon Thomas Mackenzie, speak at several functions. Ho speaks _ exceedingly well, and is most energetic about everything appertaining to New Zealand. I notice that all classes of the public seem to know much more about our little country than they did some years ago. A fact that strikes me also most forcibly is that in all things New Zealand appears to be -"far more in touch with the Motharland than is Australia. New Zealand does not seem so self-centred, or she is more enthusiastic about the ties that bind her to the Old Country. England returns that interest, too," for, having been asked in several instances to speak about New Zealand, I had a most hearty reception, and found, also, that Britain has a very warm corner in her heart for little 'New Zealand. Never once did people fail to say to me: 'Oh, you come from a lovely country,' and they one and all knew quite a good deal about this land, where formerly they appeared in total ignorance of it. THE FRENCHWOMAN. "Women in England, especially in London, are encouraged to come forward as speakers—at least, I was, and so I conclude that others aro also; and I heard many good women speakers, English and American. Englishwomen have a great deal of power politically, though they have not the vote. As hostesses and as speakers, intelligent and cultured women have great influence, and, while I am on this subject, I should like to say that, to my mind, •of all women who influence men in the homo and family life, the Frenchwoman has the greatest power. In Paris, one sees her wherever one goes—as manager or shopkeeper. She is the head and spirit of business undertakings. Go into a restaurant and you eee Madame at the desk. Monsieur may be somewhere in the background, but it is the capable wife who looks after the business, arranges things according to her will, and succeeds in making and _ saving the family fortunes, and if yon go into a shop with only half an idea, of making a purchase, woe betide you, for the dame will coax and entice you with soft and gentle flattering phrases and you will find yourself leaving the shop poorer for having met the dame, but surer in that with a few clever phrasesi she will have helped you to a better conceit of yourself. The French indeed, know the fact that it is easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar.' " RAG-TIME CRAZES. Ragtime, according to _ Mrs Crofsa, has overrun Paris until it has become tiresome. The American syncopation repeated and reiterated became wearying. Another thing she noticed was that in all the places of amusement in Paris, the best items w?re given by English and American artists. The Russian dancers were all the rage both in London and on the Continent, IN EGYPT.

" One thing I noticed very forcibly on my journey to and from Britain," Mrs Cross went on, " was the general ' cleaning up ' that has taken place at the ports of call during the past few years. Colombo, Aden, and particularly Fort Said havo been improved wonderfully. It ia cs«y_ now to leave the steamer at Port Said, take train to Cais>, be ' personally conducted ' to the places of interest in that city and join your ship again at Suez. It is a rapid, but effectual way of seeing at least the pyramids and the sphinx. Verv many people avail themselves of the opportunity. In Egypt, Lord Kitchener is at the head of all reform, And he seems to bo liked and feared bv the Arabs and all that conglomerate mass of humanity which goes to mako up modern Egypt. The country is exceedingly prosperous, for land _ has risen to high values and the Egyptians and Arabs are rich. The signs of the French occupation' remain in the names over shop windows, in the money which is as mixed as the nationalities, and in the language spoken in the streets, but otherwise it is the present English occupation of Egypt which pleases the nations and Lord Kitchener at the head of the army, gives his command to_ a prosperous and generally contented people." MODERN FASHIONS. Turning to the modern fashions for women, Sirs Cross said that in Australia she had noticed that the "split skirt" and the "X-ray skirt" had been taken up. "It surprised mo, ilie said. " In London and in Pans

nono of the respgctable women indulge in suck extremes of fashion. Thoso extreme modes are left to tlie etago and to the women of the ' fast' sets. People in the Antippcles don't know this and thoy accept the extreme modes without being aware of tho fact that they are imitating the ' fast women, whan they wear sncli drosses on tho street. Tho 'split skirt' effect is adopted by some women in a reasonable way, with some material to fill in the opening, but tho ' ultra' effect-s would not bo tolerated by any but, the ' fast' women and respectable Australian and New Zealand women don't want to copy tlieni."