MOTHER AND HOME.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17349, 14 May 1924, Page 9

MOTHER AND HOME.

It’ is sometimes difficult to know where to keep our evening dresses so that they will not become creased or ; dusty, as they often do when hanging ' in a crowded wardrobe. To meet this difficulty it is a good plan to have made a large wooden box long enough to allow of a dress skirt being laid at full length in ifc, wide enough for three j dresses to He side by side, and deep enough to hold an evening cloak, beside the frocks, without crushing. The lid of the box should be made to , overlap, §o that not a particle of dust can enter. At the four corners underneath fix little castors, and a handle at each end. so that it is easy to pjsll the box out. Women who Jive in j small houses or fiats will find such a box very convenient, for it can be ( kept quite well under the bed, and as it can be pulled out easily for cleaning, and looks quite /tidy, even the most particular of women cannot object to it. I Women too Credulous.—How is it that almost every scamp, with or without a prepossessing personal appearance, 'can go about the country winning the affections of respectable women so successfully. A man arrested in London was discovered to have married four different women within a short period; and how many more he inveigled into a similar snare in other places may be left to the imagination. He was poor, not well dressed, not good-looking, and possessed of but small powers of conversation, and still he made love triumnhantly wherever he went to 6omo fair creature, and won her heart and hand, only to leave her in a rq,elancholy dilemma shortly afterwards. Can it he that women so fear the idea of the . position of an “ old maid ” that they i grasp at the chance of acquiring a i husband without pausing to estimate j his worth or 6tudy his character? : Whatever may the reason that women so readilv become the dupes of j designing men, it is certain that very j little pains are taken by many of j them to ascertain who and what kind of suitor he is. A woman neglects her | dutv to herself, to her friends, to her reputation, if she fails to secure some proof of a man’s sincerity in his representations, and his object, must be a sinister one if he takes offence at such a scrutiny, or attempts to place obstacles in the way of an arrival. o" her part, at a complete knowledge of his position and prospects. Nervous Cnuciren. —intelligent people are beginning to understand tjie importance of protecting tho nervous system in infancy, and the danger of a shock to childish nerves. As a rule, the quieter a baby is kept during the first yeqg of its lire, the better cbanco it has for a life of health and happiness. The fact that so large a proportion of the human family die in infancy is due largely to the folly of nurses and the ignorance of mothers. Over-bright babies do not commend themselves to physicians, who know that the first year of tho child’s life should be spent largely in sleep. The practice of tossing a helpless baby in the air, while it screams both with fright and delight. is a most dangerous one. There is told a story ct a precociously bright child, which evidenced .. delight when tossed bt a grandfather who was accxis- i tomed to play with it- every evening. 1 I The child trembled with delight when j the night’s frolic was over, but one evening the trembling passed into a J spasm—the first indication of one of j those fatal brain diseases against which ( medical science is helpless. Bobbed v. Shngled.—-A great contro- j versy is raigng among the owners, ad- ■ mirers, and critics of bobbed and shing- ; led hair. Some say that it adds to i beauty, others that it makes the most J beautiful girl plain-looKing. “It improves the hair,” say some. “It ruins 1

the hair.” say others. And so it goes on. Two things—whatever else can be said for or against it—are clear. One is that to have short hair,, whether it is bobbed or shingled, does not necessarily mean that it takes less time t<s do, for the girls I know with bobbed hair seem to spend far more time washing, brushing, arranging, and generally fussing with it than the girls with long hair. v Secondly, the girl who has her hair bobbed or shingled should be a girl, and not a woman over thirty, and she should take care to ascertain before she odes anything drastic if she has a prettily-shaped head. If she has [ she may seize the scissors boldly ; if ; not, bobbing or shingling is not for her. , Variations in Jewellery*.—Very little | other jewellery is warn besides beads, except the ever popular and useful i wristwatch, and perhaps earings to match the beads. Strings of pearls are, of course, much worn by those who can afford them, and it is possible to get strings of quite good imitation pearls, for it is only the very few who can afford to wear a necklace of real pearls. But when buying a substitute for pearls it is necessary to exer r cise care if they are not to look common. Brooches have quite passed out of fashion. If they are worn at all they are of a very simple character—generally a long straight bar. with one stone of an ornamental -scroll, of some kind in the middle. Brooches of butterfly wings ore the favourite to-day. Another popular fancy is to wear a lump of stone, possibly ivory or amber, or more butterfly wings, on the end of a long ribbon. It is a prettv and economical fashion, and one which is very becoming, too. [