For the Ladies.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 74, 9 December 1875, Page 7

For the Ladies.

Ladies should •knbw^th > at it is their; duty to make home not only "com-; fortabla" but pleasant, si]ch. r ai one. .as; the husband-arid the meiribers •of [-thej family- would delight to. go, tp, not onlyi to receive their meals and sleep over ; their nights, but- aW-i-to 'spend theiri leisure hours. *To accomplish. this 1 they should exert all: their , little .. arts and " wiles " in the arrangement of .household matters so as tp.preserve order and neatness. Little things . should • all : be used to produce effect. For example, flowers might be made to do a great deal. The love of them "is" universal!, but it increases steadily as' a nation grows in refinement and taste, until" at ! last no home is cbmplete"withbut ": these j ornaments. They furnish a cottage, ; they add grace to the mansion. A house without a garden, and a room ; without flowers, come to be equally abhorrent. The bride is decked with flowers. They are : -the 'favorite- gift from a friend, and the sick welcome nothing more- than their presence. And the last sad office is to deck the grave with flowers. They Come to be interwoven with joy arid sorrow.

How instantly one can detect a lady! or a gentlemen in a public conveyance,, or anywhere else ! How ? I can scarcely tell you. In the first place, there are refined and unrefined voices. The tone in which the simple word " thank you,'" is spoken, or the omission of it altogether,, may. decide the matter. We are aware that we are liable' lo be mistaken when we say this ; ; but for all 'that, we re-assert it. ..We: are aware We may be summoned to; your tribunal to define our idea of a lady or a gentleman; but we shan't come. We shall only deliberately stick: to our assertion, that we know; them at once, wheneyer, and whereyer we see 1 them ; and that we' are neither guided in our dicision by the presence, or absence, of fine clothes.-- There are certain- things, which , a true • lady or gentleman never- can do .; not . because they follow: any. arbitrary rules ih sucli matters, but without' any * > thought at all about it, and by an innate and instinc-tive-refinement. Just as a cleanly person, without taking any special care* will pass-through the street without contracting a stain of defilement, while a person of opposite habits,, plunges everywhere, . and, as if foreordained, i'i'n to 7 the mi re. However, . this •i s a :touchy subject for discussion, because •they, who have the least legitimate claims to either title, are they whose backs are always up, and on the eternal defensive, lest some one should imply by look, word, or, gesture, that they are not ladies or gentlemen. Nothing could be more ! absurd than the tests to which Lord Ghesteriield subjects this question ; and yet to many he is considered to this day the indisputable oracle on such matters. We have seen his . followers and disciples. Precious pieces of polished hypocrisy they are too!— with no more heart or soul than you could balance on the point of a needle, their greatest affliction in life being the intrusive presence -of a questionable fitting coat or inexpressibles ; while the artistic perfection of these garments, is with them, a mantle broad enough to cover any "gentlemanly." rascality of which the wearer may be guilty. One of the great sources of entertainment among the Turkish ladies, apart from the promenade, is the interchange of calls. No husband wculd dare, at the risk of making himself an< object of ridicule, to refuse his wife" . permission to go out with an old woman slave to a mosque, or to a female friend. Therefore it is not unusual to see at the house ofa lady of some rank; as maay as 20 or 30 visitors. They pass tbe time in gossiping, watching the slaves dance, listening to songs, drinking coffee or sherbet, and sriioking. The ordinary townspeople often -stay till after -supper, and light themselves home with lanterns. The womeri are | generally the first to learn arid -circulate news, 'i he men often visit one another but they are always : reserved. They speak with less restraint to their wives, and tell them, fer. their entertainment, ' what they have heard, and what they think of doing. The wives of the high functionaries are •• on "terms'- of close intimacy with other ladies, and repeat to them what their 'husbands have said ; in this way the news is spread abroad "With unheard-of rapidity. What is the whole duty of women ? — To dress—to sing — to dance-*— to play on the pianoforte— to gabble' French, and to preside gracefully at table! What. is .a man;?— A thing to waltz with— to flirt -with— to take one to thetheatre — to laugh at — to be married- to -—to pay oneVbills — and to keep one comfortably ! ?Wha't is life?— A polka . — a sohottische— a dance that one must whirl through as fast as possible ! What is ■ death ?— H'm— something that it's unfashionable to talk of — to whisper of — -to think -of-4-so the less ■ that's said about it the better.

The affection that links together man. and wife is a far holier and more .enduring passion than , the enthusiasm of young love. ' It may want its ; gorgeousness- it may want its imaginative- 1 ch&racter/lbrit it is far richer and holier, and more trusting in its attribute.?? Love-in f -weuT6bk"^i*rns witji a steady and.jbxilliant flame, shedding a benign influence upon existence,; a iriillibh times' r m6re T - precious' and delightful than the cold dreams ;of philosophy. „ .- ■

A man ( h ad^.i^g^er^lXa.^~s^^|2!^'t"ornH i »tied.-.to~Hs..nM^ sea , -J-han. to promise * - to" marry a girl arid tb'eri^ refuse. ' ' The'"'*whole"cbiintrys turns out to hunt him, and he is gene- j rally left to grow up with the trees. ;'

Most of pur fair readers have a decided "aversion to '- that - part of their j duty whiohfails: under?tke: ".patching*: and darning " denomination. Theyj are of opinion that '• a -rent may be';!the ! accident of a day, a darn premeditated, poverty." But if they only knew how pretty a well-executed piece of repairs looks, when you see in its warp and 1 woof the bright threads of economy and independence,^ ; and . womanly , thrift! crossing and recrossing one another,; they would lay aside embroideries and ! crotchet work, and take up, instead, the mendiDg basket.

It is to be feared it is too frequently the case that children and very young peoplo are utterly wanting in gratitude to their parents. They may, and generally do, love them sincerely and devotedly, and may even be willing to sacrifice themselves for them; but it never occurs to them that they have anything for which to be grateful. It seems so much a matter of course that all g*ood- things should flow to them from their parents, that they never give a thought to the source whence they are derived. Ib is not till the parental hand is 'withdrawn by death, that they discover how much they owed to those Who are no more ; how : much they miss the tender care that can no more assist them.

A good woman is one of the greatest glories of the creation. How do the duties ;of a good wife, a good mother? and a worthy matron, well performed dignify a woman ! A good woman reflects honour on all who had any hand in her education, and on the company she has kept. A woman of virtue and of good understanding, skilled in, and delighting to perform the duties of domestic life, need not fortune to recommend her to the choice of the greatest and richest man, who wishes his own happiness.

If girls will kiss, let chem perform the ceremony as if they loved it. Don't let them sneak about the thing as if they ware' purloining cheese, nor drop their heads, "like lillies u'erspread with rairi." Oh the contrary, they should do it with an appetite, and when they let go, give rise to a 'report that will tnake^the old fjlk think somebody is firing a pistol about the house.

If you wish to cultivate a gossiping, meddling, censorious spirit in your children, be sure when they come home from church, a visit, or any other place where you do not accompany them, to ply them with questions concerning what everybody wore, how every looked and whnt everybody said and did ; and fi you find anything? in all this to censure, always do it in their hearing*. You may rest assured that, if 3*oll pursue a course of this kind, they will not return to you ur/1 iden with intelligence ; and, rather than it should be uninteresting, they will by degrees learn to embellish in such a manner as shall not fail to call forth remarks and expressions .of wonder from you. You will, by this course, render the spirit of curiosity— which is so early, visible in children, and which, if rightly directed, may be tbe instrument of enriching and enlarging their minds' — a vehicle of mischief which shall serve only to narrow them.

I have lived solitary long enoug-h^ I want somebody to talk at, quarrel with, then kiss and make up again. Therefore I am open to proposals from, young ladies, and widows of more than average respectability, tolerably tame in disposition, and hair of any colour than red. As nearly as I -can judge of myself, I am not over eighty nor under twenty-five years of age. lam sound in limb and on . the nigger question ; am very correct in my morals, and first-rate at nine-pins ; .have a regard for the Sabbath, and never drink only when invited. Ani a domestic animal, and perfectly docile when shirt buttons are all right. '. If I possess a predominating virtue it is that of forgiving every .enemy whom I deem it hazardous tb handle.' Money is no object, as I never was; troubled with any^ and never expect to be. — Advt,

The following . beautiful, chemical experi ment mayb e easily performed by a lady, to the great astonishment of a circle at her tea table .:— Take two or three leaves of red •. cabbage, cut them iritb small- pieces, put them into a basin and pour' a pint of boiling water upon then. ;' let if stand an hour, then pouHt oft. into: a decanter. Jt .will be a fine blue... .colour?" Then take four wineglasses; into oneput' six drops of strong vinegar ; into another Six drops of solution, of .soda, j: into a third .a. strong- solution, of alum>' and let the fourth remain empty. The £Tai&es niay-, be prepared some -'time before, and a few drops ! of colourless licjuid that. have been, placed in therif will 'not' be noticed ;• fill up the gl asses * from . the decanter,- an d the liquid poured into the glass ; containing; the acid will become 'a 'beautiful, red ;- the.glass containing . the.!. soda will become a fine green '; that poured; into the empty one^wili remain 'urich'ariged. By adding a little vinegar to thegreen it will immediately to red, and on adding a little solution of soda to the. red it T^UliQssumeiarifina: green, thus showing the action of acids and alkalies on; vegetable hues.- -