Some Suggestions

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16907, 5 December 1922, Page 10

Some Suggestions

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT. A PLEA FOR INTELLIGENT CONV ERSATIO N. (By ELIZABETH AITSTIN.) Can women talk? Or, ii : tiie question, stated in that way, is manifestly absurd, suppose w<init it like this— Do women understand the art oi conversation? l>o they prat men gathered together there is always endless talk, gossip or chatter- what ever you like to call it. But convert tion seems conspicuous by its absence One oi' the golden rules of real eon vernation is that it shall be general, wo that all may c-ontribute their share. Women, it is true, have one or two general topics, chief among them Iwhy., servants, the difficulties of housekeeping and the price of clothes. They all

take part in discussions of these themes with unwearying interest and vigour. But the result is hardly what Samuel Johnson or George Meredith would have called “ conversation.” It doesn’t produce anything new or witty or even worth while. Jt isn't an interchange oi thought. Each one, says her say liters her Jeremiad over the hardships <>i her lot, and theu waits for the others: to finish so that she can start again! Conversation, indeed! So few women seem to think whik they’re talking. Either they come out with stale vapid generalisations such u “ servants aren’t what they used tc be” or “Really, the price of clothei3 out of all reason ” —battered srnal change which has stood the wear ol years—or their talk is persistently atK intensely personal. When you pass two women in tin street or sit near them in restaurant o« theatre, isn't it nearly always a breath less “ So I told her it was quite out of the question”; “I think it’s not a matter for him to interfere in ” ; an;: so forth, the unending record of per sonal thoughts and deeds and sayings,

It wouldn’t matter much if their personal history were at all interesting or unusual. But, as a rule, the more a woman talks about herself the more commonplace she is. Her conversatio.i Vi like a roll of ribbon—-it can be severed at any point without spoiling the pattern. It hasn’t got one. I wonder if men are much better, after all. Before the “ frivolous” sex, of course, they talk * big ” about the state of trade and the shortcomings of politicians and the collapse of the Exchange. But when you catch them in their “off'’ moments, when the v* re putting on airs. I think they're tarred v. ith the same brush. “So ] told him that wasn’t my way of doing business. ’ ‘Yes, old man—an ex champion. Jis was—and I beat him hollow—his own game, too—at the net!” sip and chatter. But are they quite ! immune ? I wonder! THE CHARM CF THE CANDLESTICK. The decorative candlestick forms an important feature in the arrangement, of the room, for its slim shape ami fan tasttc ornament are . alculated to lend a distinct allure to any arrangement ill which it has been cleverly exploited. i Take, for instance. Mv Lady'., dress- , mg table. Assume that'she has pose! i in the centre a mirror framed eitho- | .in gold or iu red lacquer, and that tieglass top of tlic table covers n of old brocade. Place on either .-.id** of the mirror a tall candlestick hi air*, wood, garlanded with coloured 'mm po,” and you bare at once an 18th ceil j tury effect. Take the shell on which the exquisite ! photographic study oi to dav tiiuls i L . laid boxes. Flank the photograph with

a couple of brass candlesticks, and it once you have, as it were, placed it 11 - a. sort ot separate niche, giving it value aud dignity. Perhaps the must decorative mantel piece treatment is one in which the reel bricked fireplace is surmounted hv a shelf of unstained oak, furnished with a perfect bevy of old burnished candlesticks. Candlesticks of brass are side by side with candlesticks of pewter, and at the very end arc tiny sticks of bronze left from the days when, folk used tapers in the sealing of their mis Most decorative of all are the altar candlesticks with the triangular foot and the spike atop to take the thick candle of beeswax. Painted in mellow colours, and with a hint here and thero of the red that underlies the gilding these are admirable for bringing light into dark corners and may be adapted

to the needs of electric light with grea* effect. Standard lamps, wrought on the lines of these old Italian candlesticks, accord well with the decorative scheuK-s «>f t.--day. So do the sticks ot Persian design that follow closely patterns that have endured for countless centuries. These reproductiona arc usually sold, ready bored for electric flex, aud look their best when surmounted by a shade carried out in the same schema.—L. Gordon-Stables. DON’T WORRY. One of the commonest ailments in present-day medical practice is known, as “nervous dyspepsia.” Iu nearly every case, worry is at tlio root of the trouble. .Mental depression causes loss of appetite, diminished “ tone” in tue muscles of the stomach and intestines, and also a deficiency in the quality and quantity oi the digestive juices. Consequently. the stomach dilates. Halfdigested food undergoes fermentation and “blows up” the unhealthy organ with foul gases. Ocher symptoms quickly supervene, adding to the patient’s worries, and thus completes the vicious circle. But indigestion is by no means the only pi ice that has to be paid for worry. All the other muscles in the body, besides those of the stomach, lose their tone. The heart heats are interfered with by a rise in blood pressure, the freedom of the circulation is impaired, and every organ in the body suffers. Tt has been known for generations that consumption, and tuberculosis in any form, readily attacks those who are mentally depressed. This is equally true of exophthalmic goitre (which used to be a. rare disease, but is nowshowing an alarming increase, and of diabetes, gout and rheumatism, as well as of many severe kinds of nmemia. Experience has also shown that various forms of insanity arc traceable to prolonged anxiety. Probably the most serious sequel of all. however, is arterio-sclerosis—hard-ening of the arteries. This is a sure sign of decrepitude, quite irrespective of sex or age. “ V man is as old as his arteries,” and a woman is as old as hers. Now, a very frequent cause of ar-tcrio-sclerosis is a persistently high blood pressure, and this is one of tlio most invariable concomitants of a. worrying disposition. The import a nco of this connection between worry and premature old ago can hardly be ©Exaggerated. Tli>re is a volume of scientific truth, as well as of wisdom, iu the old adage, “ Worry kills.” BRUSHES FROM PINE NEEDLES. Useful little brushes for scouring saucepans can be made from pino needles. Collect a number of the longer kind of pine needle and bunch these together in such a way that the ends are evenly arranged. Thrust a stick about half-way down in tho middle of the bunch and attach it witli string.