THE LADIES’ COLUMN.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 2502, 6 September 1890, Page 7

THE LADIES’ COLUMN.

By Vita CHIT-CHAT. An English journal records the fact that women have penetrated into clubland, hitherto «n especial stronghold of the stronger sex. Several of the best men’* clubs in London, such as the Wellington, the Lyric, the Ororvenor Gallery Club, the New Club, the Corinthian, and the New Salisbury have regular and frequent “ ladies* nights.” It is not recorded how the custom has arisen. The privilege of entering clubland seems, however, to have been voluntarily offered to London women. The innovation would Beem to imply that the clubmen became slightly tired of their own society, though they would profitably rather have died of futtui than admitted it. The various clubs vie with each ether in the entertainments they provide for the ladies invited by them, and these ladies are all, like Caesar's wife, above suspicion. Bachelors have thus an opportunity of returning the civilities they receive from London hostesses. The ladies who are invited thoroughly enjoy the novelty of the amusement, and*appreciate it the more as it is a direct compliment to women as a whole. It is an admission that, in spite of “ long dinners ” •Diced with masculine wit and masculine stories, tne club men, as Tennyson gracefully says—- • ilave missed the mignonette of Vivian place, The little heaith-flower ilia.” The innovation, trifling as it may seem, may do much good in giviug women a fresh field for spreading an elevating and refining infiuenee. Winter sales of furs, wraps, and gowns, are alrauly upon us, though the winter can only now be said to have fairly begun. The exceptionally mild season makes these sales more important than usual, for if we are to have any ■winter at all, it will be in the next two months. The winter goods must therefore be dis posed of at once, and bargains in furs, gowns, and millinery are very noticeable at the various establishments. Good straw hats of all the popular shapes and colours are to be had at Is. each. Wing's arc priced at Id. sterling, and pretty little birtfs, suitable for toques, are to be had for fid. each. New velvet bonnets are priced from 18s. 6d., and charming velvet toques forming a nest for petty flowers, are to be had for 15s. fid. apiece. A pretty toque at this price was of heliotrope velvet, on which were arranged clusters of violets. Children’s plush hats were on new from the small price of half a guinea, and the came sum could purchase a white cashmere, silk-lined opera-wrap. Bear boas were reduced -in price from three guineas to one, and minx boas were to be had for half a guinea each. Some charming hats for little girls are in coloured felt shapes, which are made with deep brims; these are turned up closely to the low crown, and are dented in several places, so that the shape itself becomes quite fanciful. Some wide ribbon velvet is the only trimming which is required to finish these chapeaux, and this is carelessly knotted and placed upon the crown. Others with wide brims, which slope to quite a narrow back, are turned up at this point to meet the crown, which is in -every case quite low. Some are finished with large stiff wings on either side, others with bows of ribbon or silk scarves ; the latter are very useful for trimming purposes, and, being soft, are easy for an amateur to arrange. Felt hats require very simple garniture; the brims ore either worn plain, or with a piping edge of velvet, consisting of one or more rows of piece velvet cut on the cross and turned in so as to form quite narrow bands. Deep borders of material for liniug purposes are not used at all juet now for finishing the brims of either small or extreme hats.

Mrs. Leach’B “ Family and Children’s Dressmaker ” has been sent to me. This last quarterly part maintains its customary high standard of usefulness and excellence, "it contains three cut-out paper patterns of children’s (J«hes, one of these being a pretty little girl’s cQrtume, and current notes on fashions of the day. A very useful part of this number is a chapter of practical illustrated instructions in dressmaking. This chapter is entitled ‘‘First Stsps in Dressmaking,” and contains much that wduld be useful to an amateur dressmaker. Tne price of the journal is Is. 3d., post free. Skirts are being made in very simple styles, and all the draperies are both long anu straight, hedging from the waist to the edge of the petticoat in unbroken Hues; when trimming is added it usually takes the form of a border, as, for example, several rows of ribbon laid round the skirt; panels may be introduced, or pleated when the drapery is opened either on one side or in front. Plain kilted or boxpleated skirts are very neat for morning gowns; they require to be nicely made and well secured with rows of tapes on the inner side to keep them from coming out of place. Tnin tweeds may be mentioned among the most popular materials for this season’s use. They are woven in many neutral shades, which are mostly traversed by a checked pattern, in which several tones of colour are introduced. WSollen fonle is another fabric which is well suited for making small garments, as it is very •oft and drape&ble, while thick rough serge is much used to form dainty sailor suits f«'* httlv beys and girls. HOUSEHOLD NOTES. Poultry-keening, says a writer n the Queen, s now so muen the fashion that doubtless many ladies are beginning to find out how difficult chipkens are to sell at remunerative prices, and tnfft the best way to ensure a profit is to use the birds for home consumption, thereby saving batchers’ meat. But tmoours poulet is as bad i perdrix , and the ordinary British I plain cook has no ideas with regard to her cdOking beyond roast chicken with bread sauce and boiled chicken with white sauce. Any variety is thankfully welcomed by the wekry family, and even such slight differ «fi£es as serving the roast chicken with watercress and without bread sauce, or garnished with sausages, or with celery sauce poured over the boiled chicken, will vary the monotony pleasantly. But there are many other methods of cooking chickens, which are both easy and wholesome, such as— Spitciicock Chicken. —Split the chicken down the back, and flatten it with the meat cropper. Put some butter in the fryiugpan, with some chopped parsley, shallot, salt, and pepper ; brown these, then add the chicken. A quarter of an hour before it is done take it out, and grill it over a gentle fire. It may either be ! bread crumbed or not, and may be served with bacon neatly rolled. Chicken Baked in the Austrian Manner. --Take a chicken about eight weeks old, truss wash it, put for a minute in hot water, then plunge into cold; then divide lengthwise and take out the breastbone, then cut it across t width, in order to have it in four parte, inkle with fine salt, turn the nieces in flour, them, and breadcrumb thickly ; then put u in plenty of fat —which must not be made tod hot—and bake a golden brown. The fat be well drained off, and the pieces of ehjeken should be served very hot, and garnShed with fried parsley. Country Captain. —Cut a fowl in pieces, and rub the pieces well with fine salt and curry powder; put them into a fryingpan with some diqed onions and butter, ana fry till well dORe. Be careful to-keep the fowl of a golden colour. Chicken with Tarragon. —Chep some tarr&gbn fine, and mix it with butter; put it in of the chicken, sow the latter up, and kUflg it for boiling. Put it in a saucepan, half it with water, add salt, carrots, two large onions, some bacon, a clove, a very little thyme, a tarragon stalk about 2in. long; let it boil, and keep the chicken very white. For •Wjiee, take some of the broth and reduce it to übe; then moisten with a little water and IjW more of the broth, thicken with baked ladd to it some chopped tarragon. ■ °Qur the sauce over the chicken when served, ■ garnish with tarragon. ■ Fowl with Rick. —Truss a fowl for boiling, ■ rib it all over with lemou j nice, put it in a sauce- ■ nearly cover it with water, add salt, HI* 16 ’ a * aure * loaf, one clove, three large Hwfc S ’ a earr °U and some fat baoon. Let it ■ «sil till done. Cook some rice in some of the ■ Woth, and 6crve it under the fowl. Garnish ■ slices of lemon. ■ .Fricassee of Chicken. —Cut the chicken in and leave them in cold water for two or ■ftf 66 hours to blanch, then strain off the water, ■r®* In a saucepan a piece of butter and a of flour, stir till the butter is melted, with a glass of water, add salt, white a pinch of grated nutmeg, a bouquet of and some chives. Add the pieces of aud cook three-quarters of an hour : them oat and thicken the sauce with yolks of eggs, and add some lemon-juice r. A quarter of an hour before this, « jrne little onion®, and the bottoms may be added. To keep the flesh chicken white, it must be rubbed with aud during the cooking the pan be eovci-ed with a buttered paper placed fricassee, inside the pan. pies can be made of fowls cut in ham, hard-boiled eggs, parsley, and and these pies are good either hot or The water in which a fowl is boiled always bo saved, as it makes an excellent for white soups, and any scraps left can V to the stock to strengthen it.