AS SEEN THROUGH WOMAN'S EYES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXV, Issue XVII, 27 October 1900, Page 801

AS S EEN THROUGH WOMAN'S EYES.

The Temptations of the Domestic. The tale told at the County of London Sessions the other day by Selina Woolmore is too sadly familiar. She is a respectable domestic servant, "of attractive appearance," and on her “Sunday out” was approached by a stranger. She made and kept an appointment with him and—well, the conclusion of the story generally has one of two sequels, or a combination of them. In this case the plausible wretch, already a thrice-convicted criminal, only got money; and the girl, being apparently level-headed. has succeeded in getting him sentenced for fraud.

This is one phase of .the servant problem which must appeal to every human being of right instincts. Even the house wife who has to grapple with the vagaries and the independence of the domestic will admit that there is no adequate machinery for the latter’s protection against the rogue. She may have been brought up by religious parents, she may be thrifty and earnestly desirous of keeping a straight course. But she is still human and gregarious. She has to spend many hours in servitude, the conditions of which largely depend upon her employers, but almost always leave her convinced that she Ivelongs to another stratum of life. She is, therefore, obliged to find her purely human pleasures outside; and she is left to find them for herself. Is there any wonder that the casual scoundrel, seeking whom he may devour, secures his victim easily by going to the public streets. We are aware of many excellent institutions which seek to satisfy the servant girl’s craving 'tor love and sympathy and companionship; ami there are hundreds of mistresses who are genuinely concerned in the welfare of their domestics. But all t hese.efforts partake of the nature of missionary enterprise. There has still to be devised some plan of amus-

ing in a human way the servant who has not much time for personal enjoyment. who is young and healthy and has a natural eraving' for the ■society of the other sex- If she were encouraged to invest her savings in some institution which added substantially to it—every householder would willingly subscribe to such an enterprise —she would have no purse to waste on the specious scoundrel. Woman’s Charm. Woman’s charm depends to a very great extent upon the beauty of her facial expression. No matter how irregular her feaures may be, if she is the possessor of a beautiful disposition and depth of character, which are enhanced by the intelligence, sweetness and animation of her face, she will always be irresistible, and her powers of fascination will be infinitely greater than the possessor of a pretty, immobile countenance that smiles perpetually like an everlasting blue sky. or. what is far worse, a beautiful face spoilt by the traces of irritability and selfishness.

Every emotion leaves its mark upon the face in a remarkable manner, but probably nothing has a more pronounced effect than violent temper. It weakens the mental force considerably. the eyes lose their clear serenity which is so charming, and become dry and staring.

Pessimism, jealousy and discontent deprive the mouth of its mobility, and in time compress the lips to a thin line. Cynicism betrays itself by the effect it has upon the corners of the mouth.

Excessive brain work, too, is detrimental. for it contorts the features, tightens the lips, wrinkles the forehead, ami dulls the eyes; but, on the other hand, a certain amount of brain culture is a decided improvement where natural beauty is absent, for by it the eyes gain depth.

China’s Cruellest Fashion Freak. All who have the slightest knowledge of China have heard of the custom of binding the feet of Chinese girls, but few are acquainted with the painful process adopted to secure the diminutive feet which the Chinese prize so highly. It is nor known how this cruel custom originated, and the Chinese themselves seem to be uncertain as to when it was adopted, but tradition relates that a certain Empress of China, somewhere back in the twilight of Chinese history, was afflicted with club feet, and compelled all the ladies of the court to bind their feet, in the attempt to secure artificially the same deformity which nature had inflicted upon her. There are two distinct styles of binding the feet in vogue among the Chinese, but the process is the same in both cases, the different results being secured by the way in which the binding is done. The instrument used is a small roll of firm cotton webbing about two and one-half inches wide. This webbing must have no stretch or give to it, and is woven especially for such use. The process is usually begun when the girls have reached the age "of six or seven years, though in some cases where a particularly dianty pair of “golden lilies.” as the Chinese call these poor deformities. is desired, the binding is Iregnn as early as the third or fourth year. The foot is taken and all the toes except the great toe bent under the instep, which is thus forced up. When this has continued for some time and the foot has become quite pointed in shape and the instep considerably arched, the binding is extended and the heel and toes drawn together, thus preventing the growth of the foot in length. In the style of binding- in North China greater pains are taken to preserve the pointed effect, while in southern China the shortness of

the foot is so much desired that the pointed effect is almost lost and the feet become mere stumps. The excruciating |>ain endured by Chinese girls in the process of footbinding is impossible to descrilte. Taken young, while the feet are growing. they are bound and wrapped so tightly with the webbing that circulation is almost entirely cut off. and the bandage is left on just as long as possible, often for weeks, for it is a saving that every dressing of the feet loses a mite of daintiness. But the worst of it is that the torture is drawn out through a lifetime, for the binding can never cease. The seams and fissures caused in the feet by their distortion become sore, and often gangrene sets in and carries off the sufferer. In order to prevent this it is customary to powder the feet with saltpetre while, binding them, thus literally putting them in pickle to preserve them. The result of this binding is that all the weight of the body in standing is thrown on the heel and the foot loses the power to balance the body. A small-footed woman cannot stand still, but. like one on stilts, she must constantly lie stepping Backward or forward to keep her balance. It is strange how this cruel fashion freak has fastened itself on the Chinese women, to whom it has become the badge of respectability, and whose elegance and distinction are measured by the greatness of their deformity. The most. advantageous marriages are made by those whose “golden lilies” are the most ]>etite, and those otherwise undesirable become prizes if possessed of tiny feet. The custom is peculiar to the Chinese, for the Mongols and Mancinis have never adopted it; but so dear is it to the Chinese that the greatest Emperor of the. present dynasty, who successfully imposed upon the Chinese the wearing of the queue as a badge of subjection, did not dare to risk his authority in an attempt to stamp out the custom of binding feet, though he prohibited the practice within the limits of his capital at Peking. The work of missionaries is, however, beginning to make itself felt, and native societies are at last pressing to abolish this cruel and ancient custom. O O O O O The Girl Who Thrashed the Emperor. (Inly once in his life has the Emperor of Germany received a sound thrashing, and to his lasting chagrin his assailant was a little girl. The Emperor was ten years old at the time, and was engaged with his brother Henry in pelting a little French girl with pine-cones and any harmless missiles they could lay their hands upon. Each successful shot was emphasised by the cry: “Don't forget Sedan!" The only spectator of this cruel sport was a Hungarian girl, whose indignation was so great that she rushed at Prince. William and rolled him on the ground, pummelling him unmercifully, accompanying each blow with, “That’s for Sadovva!” At this juncture, however, the Prince’s tutor appeared and rescued him. The Hungarian girl later on in life married and eame to England. When the Emperor last visited this country the lady told the story of the memorable fight to a member of his suite, who repeated it to the Kaiser. “You don’t mean to say that tiger of a girl is here?” he said. “I really must see her!” Exercise. Exercise helps digestion. The daily quick bath aids the skin in its work of ridding itself of waste materials, Plenty of pure water taken between meals will keep the kidneys active and healthy, while a diet, in which fruit and vegetables predominate will have the same stimulating effect upbn the various organs of digestion. A cheerful. happy disposition is good for all beauty ills, while God’s good, fresh air will bring the poppy hues to one’s face quicker than anything else. To live correctly is quite ns easy n matter as to live incorrectly. The greatest kind of incentive for such efforts must be in the vitally important questions of health. While none of us hails the day of old age, we would certainly prefer to lx* nice, sw-eet. amiable, plump old ladies than grandmas of the fretty, dried up, shrivelled up, vinegary type. Don’t you think so?

A Veil Roller. This is a charming and useful toilet iicerwiorv, huil if daintily made will be a delightful present. Take a slender stick or bamboo alniut sixteen to eighteen inches long. Roll a thickness of wadding evenly round it till it is about three inches in diameter. (’over it with any pretty light-col-our silk, which may have the owner’s name embroidered on it. and finish the ends by drawing up the silk with a narrow heading. Nearly everyone has a favourite sachet powder, of which some should he scattered on the wadding pi »vious to covering the stick. Veils wound round on this roller will keep fresher than if folded or placed in a sachet or box.

At first glance you might think this a picture of the latest beauty to take the town by storm, but it isn’t. It is only a picture of the shirt-waist man as he might be; at least one of our artists thinks so. He says that the shirt-waist is one of the most delightfully cool and becoming garments that girls wear. Goodness only knows how he comes to be so well informed about it. But he thinks it is being carried altogether too far; and from the way some shirt-waist girls imitate masculinity they ought to have a complete costume such as he has indicated here. There are some men also whom a costume of this kind would become very well. The artist. I fear, is inclined to be cynical.

How City Women Should Dress. No doubt many of our readers belong to the great army of women who nowadays take jiart in the fHeviseMs life of our cities. It is surprising what a small percentage of this class seem to know what is the most suitable anti economical style of dress to adopt, so it is ho|>ed that the following hints ami suggestions may prove useful to many.

To liegin with, besides lieing unsuitable, it is extremely bad form to wear trailing skirts, much trimmed bodices and hats, ami quantities of jewellery. Simplicity ami neatness should be ever the goal aimed at.

Blouses are a boon to the business girl, ami nothing is more suitable for her summer wear than those made of cotton or washing silk, simply made, in a shirt style for preference. Washing silks are to be thoroughly commended, for they are cooler than cotton, and come cheaper in the end, for they do not require so many visits to the laundry.

Never buy cheap shirts, for to do so is the poorest sort of economy. Three or four gooil ones, made of shirting, or any other equally reliable material. will keep their colour, shape, and hold the starch Letter than any amount of cheap, flimsy articles that crumple and wrinkk up after they have been worn for a few hours. Linen collars are not to be recommended for constant wear, as they cause the formation of ugly lines in the neck. A broad piece of ribbon or silk swathed neatly round the neck makes a comfortable neck gear.

It is most difficult to keep clean at this time of year, when windows are all open most of the day to sooty chimneys and flying dirt, which spreads itself ruthlessly over office desks and tables, so that when the arm brushes the desk the sleeve is quickly soiled. A good plan is to wear a half-sleeve of cambric, with a gathered heading at the wrist, and an elastic to hok. it above the elbow so that it will pull on and off easily.

|f You Doubt the Water. In travelling, or even when the city water shows signs that warrants suspuauu as to its purity, a few drops of lemon juice added to the glass before thinking lessens the threatened danger 11 out disease germs. An .English remedy, said to be infallible for the summer etnd, has lemons for its foundation. Peel and chop seven lemons, says the recipe, linn mid two quarts of boiling water and half a pound of loaf sugar. When cold mid the juice of the lemons and te-heat. This should be taken at night. If you have never tried saving lemon and orange skins to add to tne bath water do so. Not only will they impart to it a pleasant odour, but tonic properties that render it peculiarly cooling and refreshing. Courtship in an Oven. A baker of Nuremberg, in Germany, recently proposed marriage to a girt in a singular manner. Minna and Henry are their names, but as to their family names there is no clue, since the German papers which tell the story considerately refrain from pule fishing them. Minna had been keeping house for Henry for the. last few years, and gradually the two had very much fallen in love with each other. Minna, however, would have died sooner than let Henry know how she felt towards him, and Henry was equally bashful. Finally, he went for advice to an old woman in the neighbourhood who makes a living by telling fortunes, and she counselled him to go during the next full moon into the large kitchen where his bread was baked, and when the clock struck midnight to open the oven and look into it. She assured him that he would then see the face of his future wife.

Henry went home weli satisfied, not knowing that Minna had consulted the same old woman on the previous evening, and had been told that she would surely obtain her heart’s desire if she would only get into the oven in the kitchen a few hours before midnight

during the next full moon and keep her face turned towards the door. Minna did so, and thoagii the oven was uncomfortably warm she lay as still as u mouse until the clock struck midnight, when, lo! the door opened and before her appeared the wellknown face of her beloved Henry. Even then she hardly stirred, but stared at Henry, who, utterly amazed at the sight of her, speedily retreated, evidently under the impression that what he had seen was some ghostly vision. The old woman’s ruse, however, succeeded admirably, and In a fortnight from that memorable night Henry and Minna were made man and wife.

How to Infuse Tea. Mr J. Ferguson, who for nearly two generations has been a resident of Ceylon and a student of tea and its history, furnishes the following recipe for its infusion: — First. The water to be boiled should be fresh and pure, and as soft as procurable.

Second. It should lie boiied in a perfectly clean kettle, and not deemed to be Ixtiling until the water throbs and throws off steam in profusion. Third. First make the teapot hot, then pour into it the fresly boiled water; after this strew the tea—a teasj»oonful for each cup of tea—on the top of the water, when it will gradually sink. In this way the tea leaves will not be scalded and the fragrance will be kept at its best. The water should be used as soon as it boils, and not allowed to become flat by overboiling. Fourth. Maximum time of infusion to be five minutes.

Fifth. The infusion (not decoction) should be deeanted into another teapot first made hot for its reception. Prepared in this way (if a “cosy” is used), tea will remain hot and pleasant and wholesome for more than double the time it would were cold teapots used. Sixth. Do not use the spent leaves for a second infusion.