Ladies' Column.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2044, 18 March 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Ladies' Column.

Advice to the tiirls.

(jlirls, if your skin be dark, be satisfied to be in the category, of the nut-brown maidens, if for no other reason than that “the leopard cannot change his spots.” Let the sun kiss the dusky cheek and add to it the ruddy glow that belongs to'the dark skin, and which the rouge-pot cannot supply. Of course you can’t change your features. But you needn’t trouble yourself much on that score. Some person has said that if our Mary could put some of her beauty of feature into real, every-day prettiness she would he loved where she is now admired.

The towering-nosed maiden among the proud daughters of the Nile was the beauty of Solomon’s day, as was the woman with no nose at all in the time of Tamerlane. In the land of the free there is no standard of beauty on the nose question. The Australian nose is a type all to itself. But at all events your nose is a foregone conclusion, and all the sleeping in clothespins to pinch down the too prominent nostrils or stroking with the lead pencil to subdue the obnoxious bump, is so much labor thrown away. But when it comes to the mouth the would-be beauty has a mure promising subject to deal with. Although the shape of the feature cannot bo altered, if the lips be kept fresh and the teeth in perfect condition, very much is gained. If the spot where love seals its vows bo of an exaggerated size, don’t be constantly on the grin, as that keeps the muscles on the stretch. Cultivate a classic repose of feature. Keep the mouth shut when asleep, for more reasons than one. Don’t snore. Never bite the lips to make them red. or for any other reason. Bathe them occasionally in water, with a little dissolved alum or borax, and apply glycerine and tincture of benzoine. This will keep the lips fresh looking. The only harmless way to keep them red is by contrast with the teeth, which should be milk white.

A good tooth beautifier is powdered sulphur, which is also an excellent tooth preserver. This may bo used daily. For occasional use, say once a week, the following is good : Pumice stone, one ounce ; bicarbonate of soda, ono-half ounce ; powdered talc, one-half ounce. Fresh looking lips, clean, white teeth, and a breath like sweet frankincense, aloe, and myrrh will make up for many a deficiency in feature.

If the ear be big and obtrusive, a loose arrangement of the hair or a few curled locks brushed careleesly back will help the objectionable organ wonderfully. Never comb the hair tight'back from an ugly ear.

As for the eyes, bettor leave them alone. Trimmed lashes often refuse to grow again. Dark eye-brows and lashes are a great promoter of beauty, and if your's happen to he lighter than your hair, especially if that is red, 1 think you might just touch them lightly wills a sponge dipped in black walnut bark boiled in water with a little alum, or apply simple walnut juice. The eyebrow may he given a slight arch and the fine, line so much sought by simply pinching the hairs together between the lingers several times a day.

Hut it is through tho complexion that you have tho greatest scope, for beautifying. If every pore in your skin is stuffed full of “ lily-white,” you must expect those dreadful pimples and horrid black specks. To the girl with the ugly skin I say, you must take a two or three mile walk every day ; you must wear shoes big enough for perfect comfort, and it the skin bo thick and oily, you must eschew fats and pastry. In tho spring it would be well to try the sulphur remedy, and at the same time you may rub sulphur in a little glycerine on the face at night, washing it olf in warm water and a few drops of ammonia in the morning. A little camphor in the water will remove all shine. And remember, girls, all face powders arc snares and delusions.

Amusements of ChildrenCheek anything approaching brutality in your children’s play : teasing animals or insects, fastening crickets or grass-hop-pers, or bumblebees or butterflies, to little waggons made for the purpose, catching fireflies and putting them under tumblers, etc. In the former case the insect nearly always loses a leg (a thing which the child coolly grows to regard as an accident over which he has no control), and in the latter case, out of the hundreds caught by children yearly in their cruel sport, hardly one comes out unscathed, hardly one is able to fly as it did before it was crushed between careless, thoughtless, ruthless little lingers. The children do not seem to bo cruel, they “are only playing,”but the fact of the cruelty remains the same. Still, if parents will point out to the little ones the wrong of it all, their little hearts will be moved to pity and repentance, and the cruel sports discontinued. Is these no innocent play you can think of for a strong, healthy boy 1 No play but to torture animals? Can he not run, jump, leap, climb! If you are at a loss what to do with your children, provide them with some amusement that shall tend toward the useful, (five them carpenter’s tools, or a hammer, some nails, and some wood, and toll them you want a box. See if they don’t take great interest and pleasure in making it. (five your girls dolls, and plenty of them; let them play “auntie come to sec,” or anything else that is innocent. Give your boys toys, but always with a view to something good. A child's tastes are much earlier of development than most people believe, and a microscope is often as much a source of amusement to a boy as a toy engine, will cost no more, and bo an everlasting good.

Accomplishments of German Girls, As a matter of course, thpy take their share iu household work ; this does not prevent their being frequently very accomplished, often excellent musicians; but it does not prevent a great deal of restlessness and vague discontent. A young man who marries in that class knows that he may reasonably expect his bride to be a good housewife. If he is in the upper middle class, for instance a shopkeeper, his wife often keeps the accounts of the shop. I have wondered at the close attention to business details shown by women who might have expected to be spared such exertions; but I was assured they preferred to be thus occupied, partly iu order to save for their children. It seemed to mo that the master and mistress in most shops were on friendly terms with their assistants, who were permitted to rest at intervals during tho day in a room behind the shop.