AT HOME WITH THE LADY EDITOR.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume IX, Issue 39, 24 September 1892, Page 964

AT HOME WITH THE LADY EDITOR.

E ' .-'e ■ 1 1 .•■ 1 ■-. • / ’ ■ . • ■: • ■' ' ■. , :. .■■-e --.e.i ‘A.cr are yewwiae uad ;; et wi tcriie - • " :'■.. ■ ; i-r'■'■■om fa the Ladg E-.iit&r. I quite icnagtned I aid come to the end c-f descriptions of novelties for afternoon teas. :-at necessity is the mother of invention, and I suppose, seemg afternoon, teas are a necessity of this ■ieeacs. new wih sth. te inventea for treat. Need I say that the lastest iiea eoraes from America? A New York woman who owns a number of ehoiee hereditary pieces of Lace, and who is cuire a connoisseur, has late.y been giving a • lace tea. so that she might show tier treasures to those desirous of seeing tnem. The invitation cards were designe-i to- represent a piece of point iaee. and in addition to the stated fact that Mrs was • At Home ' from three to six, the word “ Laees was placed in one eorner, waere ■ Masie ’ or ‘ Dancing' more often appears. The result was that nearly all the guests —in self-defence, perhaps, a&i also to make the whole affair more complete—introduced some of their choices: bits of lace into their toilettes. I nave «t»eh a delightful suggestion to make to people in comfortable circumstances wao want to view the teauties of this oxintry in a pleasant and easy manner. The Duke of Newcastle has built a large caravan to which he has given the appropriate title of the ‘ Bohemian.' The caravan is a good big one, an! will be drawn by a eoapie of strung dray .1 -es. It is much more rwxr.y than nsost caravans, -axed by a /.ever arrangement the dining-table is made to disappear un-ler the door when not in use, so that an extra *p«ee is provide! far the living room. There is a pianette and a typewriter, so modern comforts are not neglected, and the stove warms, as well a* ew-ks. wa-*n repaired. The Duke is an exeel.ent photograplier, tad in company with a teientific friend, the Duchess, a vale: and cook, intends to tour •■reat Bnt-un, taking photograph* and living a healthy, open air .ire. Such a land-yaen: would te paradise in New Zealand. I *i*a someone would make me a present of one. J eoald do without the pianette, the type-

writer and :ae stove. For tae latter. n»y useful liitie kerosene range would do admirably. Very little ■ Hvingn.o'.ti woa., be repaired in oar live y climate, an-i I should prefer to dispense wita the valet and eook. If any one of my remiers does take sued a tour, please send me a graphic account with pihotos or sketches. ♦♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ I w-veder why rise women of New Zealand are '-< - ■ a> little interest in the Chieagi Exhibition. There is a special sjaee devoted to woasea s work. The Baroness BurdettCoatts, who is very nearly eighty yeans old, says she is going there next year to assist a: the Congress. She is at the bead of the I*hLaaUuop«c Section of the English Women - Department- The Queen, who has knitted on aol o!f since she was rune years old, sends contributions of anitting and spinning, and the Princesses are all forwarding some of their own. work. I think Princess Beatrice is doing a bust of the Queen for this deportment. The question respecting the behaviour of a wife atHiexed • s .riLset. _us:.iu .:. s., pr. pcse-i :y s :: rresrcnf st:, nis produced some remarkably different opinions. Here are a few which have already arrived . ’ Leander ' writes : •On no neeonnt should the wife sacrinee her nos bar. ito her children. This is done far too often. When the first baby arrives, the young mother fusses tremendously over it, everything in rue house is upset by its presence. Perhaps the husband has come home, tired after his day's work in town. He wants his dinner. Baby cries. Off rushes the wife. “ Little Popseywopsy, did em' neglect 'em." or some such driveL Dinner "is disced, up. gets eoid. Hnsbaci naturally feels vexed. Wife reseats any mil! remark about strangling teas infant. More ralies come. H-:-use gets worse, becomes a perfect nursery. No p-eaee for the husband in an evening, babies take such a fearful heap of putting to bed, ani supper. Has ran i goes to club—only auiet place he can find—comes home .ate. Drinks a little. G ife says, “Oh : what a shocking example for our darling children. ~ Keeps them away from him. Husband har-iens. Drinks more. Wife iraws more a way from him, wraps herself up in the precious ■rhiidren- Maxes little or no attempt, beyond repreaehes, to bring her husband back to his family. He drinks still more. Ought she to leave him? No? a thousand times no : Sue has taken aim, “ for better, for worse, and the worse is largely her own fault She ough: to stick to him. come what may. Mrs 'M.E. says 'ln reference to your question, ■■should a woman .eave a drunken husband or not ?“ I weald say she should leave him. A woman has no right to sacrifice perhaps her life, tern-ats the life of one of ner little ones, to the blind fury ot an intoxieased man. She is responsible for she well-being of her children, and if the father neglects them, or is in no condition to l:->k after them properly, al. the more respscssibidsy devolves upon her. She must, therefore, do what she thinks rest for "heir welfare, even to the obtaining of a separation if necessary.' ‘ A. S. S.’ w rites - ‘The problem put before y-v-ur readers is a fearfully important one, and it requires mue_ earnest consideration to deal with it. Personally, Ido not think any w.oman has a right to fersake her husband. •• In sickness an-i in health." she swore to ding to him, and surely intemperance is a disease. She should, as far as possible, weep the children, from a knowledge of their father's eon-:;-ti«in. Soe should teach them to say, -‘ Poor Bather is ill, we must all be very kind to him. ' Who knows if the soft, persuasive toaen of baby angers may not gently draw him bae < to the paths of Health ? Is is dinieuit as the children grow older, to teaeh them to respect him. Our youths an-i maidens are apt to have stem iieas on what -’■■--■ , : .f people their parents sh>ald be. They sit in judgment anpronounce sentence where in olden times they would not nave dared to even whisper a tint to each other of their an. filial opiniotK. Or, on tae other hand, they are flippant, and .angt a: what ought to cause them grief and rer^,—e,-' sbame. btiii the mother must pursue her difficult ta=k of trying to keep up appearances before the children and servants. Perhaps, if she takes she elder boys and girls, when too old to be deceived by the excuse of illness/into her confidence, they may help her to smooth matters over. But in no case should she desert her husband, except perhaps, for actual cruelty and personal ill-usage.' ’ D. A. P." says : *lt is too frequently from faults ou both sides that married people disagree, and that a man takes -■;■ ■irinkirsg. If the wife were more conciliatory, if she made herself as agreeable to the husband as to the lover, if she drwsed to please him, sang to him, found time from her housewifely and motherly duties to see something of her h'isban-i, to read something over which they two could talk, to be interestei in his business, in short, to make herself necessary as a companion to him, and not forever to be chatting about the children and the servants, then a man wouldn't want to go off and drink. His sweet wife's influence would keep him straight. She must stick to him.' The wonderful charm which makes the wire more to the husband than al! other women, and the husband more to the wife than a.'l other men, is necessary to a happy marriage Plain, solid virtues are indispensable to the security tr.l ap p lness of a home : and it is a home you are -i Hiring ;,-. when you are di if ting into love.