WOMAN'S WORLD.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2687, 5 February 1916, Page 10

WOMAN'S WORLD.

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

THE WOMEN WORKERS OF ENGLAND

THE LITTLE CROSSES

MATTERS OF INTEREST FROM AND NEAR.

[By Imogen.]

Welcoming Returned Wounded Soldiers. The Mayoral reception' which was lield yesterday afternoon to welcome tiie soldiers who arrived in AVellington by the Main Trunk express from Auckland on their return to New Zealand by the B-otorua from the front, was of a pleasantly informal nature. Owing to tlie fact that there was only a small number to welcome this time the reception was held in tho Council Chambers, wliicli had been made bright and attractive with flowers. Tho STayor nnd Mayoress received tho soldiers, and brief speeches of welcome were made by the Mayor, Sir Joseph AVard, and the Hon. W. H. Herries, tho Prime Minister on this occasion not having been able to be present. Tho Mayoress's Entertainment Committee provided afternoon tea to the soldiers, who spoke appreciatively of tho kindness and attentions which had been bestowed upon them at the different stations by people who had turned out to welcome them. Some of their num(>or bore evident traces of wounds, but on the whole they looked bronzed, cheerful, and well.

Soldiers' Appreciation of Leather Waistcoats. ' The Mayoress (Mrs. Luke) has received a letter from Major Gill, Officer Commanding the New Zealand Field Artillery Details (Zeitoun, Egypt), in which he acknowledges receipt oF a letter of . October 8, re 60 leather waistcoats sent to him for the use of the men under his command. "These vests," lie goes oil to say, "arrived safely at Alexandria and were forwarded to Anazc (tho lettor was written on December 22, 1915), where the.y would be much appreciated by our toys, as tho weather- there just .before Christmas was terribly cold. The other 18 cases of parcels mentioned, 6 cases being our share of Christmas gifts specially addressed to individuals, have "this day been issued under my personal supervision to those men who were' in camp, also sent to those vrho wore unfortunately in hospital. Tlieso goods reached us in good order and condition. All our men reciprocate your good wishes. Although late to wish you all a merry Christmas, we wish you a happy and prosperous New Year, and trust, before tho. year is out, we may be with our loved ones again, and bo able to express our personal thanks and appreciation of the affection and regard shown by the women of New Zealand to our boys at tile front. Please convey to tho ladies of your commitr toe (Countess of Liverpool committee) our sincere thanks for the gifts. ■ Tho Mayoress has received other private letters from soldiers in our Expeditionary Forces acknowledging receipt of leather waistcoats from the Countess of Liverpool Fund. C. Worth, of the Headquarters Staff at Alexandria, .wrote gratefully to Mrs. Luke for the present of a waistcoat' just received, and another letter came from a' soldier in the Bth Reinforcements (the latter having received their waistcoats just before leaving New Zealand),' saying that the weather had been very cold at nights, and the.y slept with their waistcoats on. Ho also said that if the women of AVellington could see how their work was appreciated they could not fail to be deeply gratified.

An Irish Mother—Ten Soldier Sons. The mother's record in this war is heJtl by Mrs. Mary Fury, of Loughrea, County Gahvay, Ireland. She has given ten sons to tho British Army. Five are deail in France. One lies in a hospital recovering from wounds. One is a. j>risonor ni Germany. Two remain fighting, and another is nursing a right arm shattered by a bullet. This is not "all of Mrs. Fury's fighting family. She lias a Mrs. Mary C'osey, Romford, England. Mrs.. Cosey's husband is one of Romford's 2000 fighting men at the front. Several weeks ago Mrs. Cosey supported her largo family of small children with the aid of two brothers-in-law. Now they have gone to the war, and she is struggling on alone.

Health of Women and Children. The monthly meeting of the Royal Now -Zealand Health Society was held in the society's rooms on Thursday. There were present: Mrs. Cook (in tho chair), the Countess of Glasgow, Lady Stout, Mrs. Ponsonby, Mrs. W. Luke, Mrs. Fitchott, Mrs. M'Vicar, Mrs. C. Richardson, Mrs. Hosldng, Miss Ingles, and Miss Barnett. Apologies were received from Mesdames M'Lean, Anderson, and Harcourt, and Miss Cable. Tho nurses reported that the work in tho district had been progressing satisfactorily, and so far the summer illness amongst the babies had been easily coped with. Miss Barnett reported that two cases of baby clothes had been sent to England (382 garments), to Lady French, and 196 to Lady Hope, for the Officers' Families' Fund. Messrs. Kirkcaldie and Stains had kindly undertaken to pack and forward these cases. The society is most grateful for the excellent assistance the Girls' High School, Technical School, and Normal School have given to tho Garment Fund. A parcel has been received from Mrs.. Coradine, Masterton, also from Palmerston North, per Mrs. Porritt, and six hand-knitted singlets from Miss C. L. Richardson. Tho Sewing Bees will be resumed on the first Tuesday in March. The following donations have been received and are gratefully acknowledged by the treasurer: —Mrs. C. T. M'Leaii, £5; Mr. T. Kirkcaldie, £5; Mrs. G. Didsbury, £2 25.; Mrs. K. C. Morpeth, £1 Is.; Mesdames Silver and Muller. £1 eacll; Mesdames Watts, Soper, and Bell, 10s. each; Mesdames Wynn, Nicoll, and Allen, os. each; box at rooms, 14s. Tho Mayoress, as treasurer of the Victoria League, acknowledges the sum of £3 4s. from the Lahmann Health Home, Miramar, for tho fund for Russian prisoners interned in Germany. Miss Phyllis Fuller, who is entering lona College, Havelock North, as a student, accompanied her father by. motor to Napier. The engagement is announced of Miss Olive Boyne, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 11. Boyne, of "Te Whare," Terrace End, Palmerston North,. and Paymaster-Sergt. Fred. W. Webb, second sou of Mr. and Mrs. J. Costin-Webb, of Talavera Terrace, Wellington. Mr. Webb is leaving New Zealand with the 10th Reinforcements. It is anticipated that a large number of people will gather at tho residence of Mrs. Campbell, Duncan Terrace, Kilbirnio, to-day, the occasion being a garden party held in honour of the return to Wellington of the general secretary of the Young Women's Christian Association, Miss Florence Birch, after a prolonged absence in Australia. The girl members of the association will form a guard of honour, and there will be various floral competitions, while vocal and instrumental music will be contributed during tho If the weather prove unfavourable to being out-of-doors, the "\yelcome" will take place in Mrs. Campbell's house. Sister Blanche Huddlestono, who has been on the nursing staff of the military hospital at Samoa, is over on three weeks' holiday leave. She left AVellington on Wednesday to visit friends in the north.

By the Ruahine Mrs! Rolleston received a varied assortment of Toilet Specialities, including exclusive Face Powders; Prices, from 2s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. per box. Solide, "La Heine," 4s. Cd. Imperial Hair Stain, Is. 6d. Absolutely reliable and easily applied. And a large consignment of the best quality. Hair- for Switches, Transformations, and all designs of hair work. Every shade can be perfectly matched. Private ■ looms. 256 Lambton Quay.—Advt.

meeting or the Society for. the Protection ol' Women and Children was held yesterday afternoon, Lady Stout (president) presiding. There were present : Mesdames G. Ponsonby, A. Hoby, 'J- R. -Glasson, Richardson, and Miss rarJane. . A number of cases which had been investigated were reported upon, , others .were being attended to. The following subscriptions were acknowledged:—C. Smith and Co., Ltd., 10s.; Sharland and Co., 10s. 6d.; Bannatyho gnd; Co., 10s. 6d.; J. Smith and Co., R5 ; ; Mrs. Holmes, 55.; Mrs.. Gibbs,'ss.; Miss Holmes, Cs.; E. W. Mills and Co., £1 Is.; Mrs. J.,Duncan, ss.';'Lady Atkinson, ss. j A.H.T.j os.; Te'Aro. . Souse, 10s. 6d.; Storer and Meekj' 551,; : Jlev. Dr. Elliott, os. ; Mrs. Maudsley,' 65.; Miss Coates, 10s.; Mrs. H. Gilmer, 10s. ; Dr. Hay; 10s.; "Friend,"- lsi; .V.C., Is.; Briscoe and Co., £1 Is. Her Excellency the Countess, of. Liverpool has accepted the office of. patron-' ess of the Women's Branch of fne National Reserve. ' / . Miss Butts has returned to Wellington from, a visit to Hawke's Bay, where she ,was the guest of Mrs. Troutbeck. Contributions to their flower stall in Routh's Buildings, in aid. of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund, are acknowledged Miss Cooper arid Miss Moss from:—. Miss Dasent, Mrs. Shine, Mrs. ; S. Kirkcaldie,- Miss Davies, Miss -Hutchen, Mrs. Gordon, Mrs: E. C. Gaisford, Mrs. Chapman, Mrs. N. Kirkcaldie, Miss Didsbury, Miss Marchant, Mrs. Seed, Miss .Susie Duncan, Miss Brjstow, Miss Adams, Miss Skerrett, Mrs. G. Tripe.

■ ■ The president of the Eastbourne Girls' Guild acknowledged • receipt of £2 12s. 3d. for the Guild's Serbian Children's ■ Relief Fund from Mr. J. B. Speed, and . being the contents of a "bottle moneybox". kept on his counter, and filled by' customers.;. .. Word' has been received in Welling- " ton of the engagement of Grace Sisley, who is;;attached to the'nursmr staff'of the Waltou-on-Thames Hospital, England, to Mr. J. Gill, of South .Canterbury, New Zealand. ... _ . Sister. Hooker, who was one of. the . . nurses on board the'ill-fated Marquette, ' and who returned to New Zealand on* , holiday leave by the'Willochra, is still suffering severely from the effects of -\ ; disaster, and is at present at the "ellington Hospital. Later, she will '■■ ■ . leave for the north. Sister Wright was : another of the-Marquette nurses, who •'returned.to the Dominion; She. Was ill 1 for a while with concussion, having been caught w T ith wreckage on the of the transport. ■ i " ; , Miss Florence Birch, general':, secretary of the Y.W.C.A., who. lias just returned from. .Australia, -will give; an ad -dress-to girls and; young women on ' p.m., at the club-rooms, Herbert Street. , A warm' welcome is. extended to all thos'e who will take,this opportunity, of attending the 'service. ' . and of staying to. the iea which follows. • Dr. and Mi\s. Fitchett,-who,returiied-to Wellington from a visit to Australia; ' • are staying at the, Hotel Cecil. '. In I '.the'course of a letter received by'a Wellington friend from one of the . nurses on board the Hospital ship' ... V.Marania, the writer speaks of tha''happy- - time which-the nurses, have, been,.hav- . on board. r, Every consideration; is • paid them, and they are .all feeling very fit au d- well.- , ;1 Two days were' :'pent in. Colombo, from which'place she'wrote, and .the, nurses made a point of-seeing ..... as much of the place: as they could. ; Sister Keith, who returned by.'the , Willcdhra, has gone to stay with ' -- Rotorua. , -• ■ 1 » -. Matron Campbell, who returned-to ' ' , New., Zealand from Egypt-in charge of tho soldiers-who arrived back by tho . Willochra, has been spending a few days' in: Wellington, and left-for Dunedin on Thursday night. - : According to one of the nurses who came over by the.-Wilpchra from' Egvpt, . the gifts which were :sent to the nursesstationed in .the hospitals there.by "the Mayoress's. Countess ofLiverpool Com- . .nuttee, were received 'by them on.. Christmas Eve,-a most appropriate time ,to arrive. . , , - , ' The Carriage took'-place'at'rhe' john' ' . ' Knox Church, Rangiora, of Miss- Effe • Buddo, daughter of the Hon. D. Buddo ■■ and Sirs'. Buddo, of Rangiora, to' Mr : • Thomas W. 8., Chapman, of Mt. Palm, t , Culverdon. Tlie ceremony was perform- 1 . ed by the Rev. Charles-Murray. (Syden- '• lism), and owing to the bridegroom ' leaving shortly to go. into.-ramp, ; the r wedding was a very quiet one. .-Miss' 1 Edith Cunningham, 1 of/: "Orui,"-- , ; .was' '» • bridesmaid, and Mr.'Harry Chapman' J the best man. ; ; :: t'o.

LETTER. FROM HULL. Writing to a, relative in Christchurch from Hull, under date of December 12, a lady says_ Ah, mo I 1 should like to die:fighting beside a New Zealand man. They are indeed heroes. Austin Harrison 1 , a brilliant writer, says in . the ''.'English Review" of our, colonials:—"To a man like Botha, wo raise our hats. To the Australians, Now _ Zealanders, • .and Canadians, and Indians, we think of them with a mighty lump innur throats. Their patriotism, their self-sacrifice, is beyond words. Their deeds will go down the ages emblazoned in golden letters."

Lord Derby's schemo is .fetching up the men, and the women of England are playing the game, filling up the gaps splendidly. The staff at the bank I am in is very thinned out. .Tho tramcars are nearly all now conducted by women, and women are now beginning to deliver tho letters. . We have women police, and the munition factories are full of women, and they are doing splendidly.

At last England is awake, and niethinks Germany ..is beginning to realise this; hence hew silly peaco talk. And .they feel, too, that they have a mighty big tiling to face in .the spring, when England will be fully awake. Not till the Huns have been, made to suffer on their own.soil, in-their'.beloved Fatherland, the same horrors of war ,£hat they

have meted out to tho French, Belgians, Poles, and Serbians; should there bo any talk, of peace. -Then the terms ; should be dictated to.them.- : Tlie streets of Hull are as dark as pitch, there ,have been some bad accidents, but it-is wonderful how soon one gets used /to finding . one's way. We have to keep our windows darkened .and >vheii it is foggy we have simply to grope oUr way, and we are riot allowed flash' -lights: . '.Wo have not had many'alarms-lately..' .; .

THE GOOD-BYE TRAIN

SOLDIERS EN ROUTE FOR THE TRENCHES. A good euro for pessimism is to go to Victoria Station any morning and watch the; tumultuous departure of the trench train, states a writer in the "Dailv Mail." For months past the trench traiii used to leave at l.io p.m., in a tumult of good cheer and good luck that drowned the very shriek of the engine. But the tinn?-table has been changed, and it leaves much earlier in tiie morning. Tommy, in his lovo for old friends, still calls it "Old one-fifteen." He also calls it the "good-bye train" and the "Potsdam non-stop," but ho prefers "Old onefifteen," although jt leaves now at-9.50. There is an elderly inspector at the station who takes a fatherly interest in the women folk who stream through the gates to say the last good-bye. From months of experience amid these departure scones this kind old man lias , developed an extfaordinary gift of intuition; and with psychological exactitude can tell at a glance whether a Tommy is a husband, a sou, or a brother. "Hurry up and take your §ivcctheart along with you, else ■ he'll, miss the train," he was heard, to remark. "'Oiv do you know ho's my sweetheart?" snapped the young woman to whonrthe remark was addressed. "What cheok!" "I'm getting used to saying farewell to you," said'an officer to his wife. "Let's see, how many times have I gone to the front? Ah, yesl This makes the eleventh!" • • "I come every day to see the train off," said in old lady. "Wouldn't miss it-for worlds. My son is in T ho trenches and I promised him I would bo at the station every day. Then he would know' exactly where I was and what I was doing-" , .Women don't cry when the trench train moves. But the tears are gathering, and they wait till it has vanished round that awful bend cutside the station. Tho crowd that chcers tho men off. to the coast is naturally a crowd of women. And it is a curious thing that Tommy's wifo or mother always sees him off in her Sunday best. There was a-group of mothers, wives, r.nd sisters on the platform one morning seeing Sfmie of the Bennondsey boys off to the front. They wore large blue feathers and plenty of cheap jewellery, and threw confetti over ono of "the boys who wore ,a white silk bow in his cap. He had mado good use of his few days' leave by marrying.

There is a sort of unwritten etiquetto on the trench train that when the moment comes for the last good-bye- the married men shall have the privilege of leaning out of the open window, while the single men must do the best they can from behind bobbing shoulders or through the side windows. But there are some soldiers who have already said the last good-bye long before they march up the platform. You will find them in the first-class carriages—men with big responsibilities; and whose thoughts are divided between the trenches and those they have left behind. ,They are pretending to read the papers or the magazines they have just bought at the book- ' stall.: They turn the leaves over and over and back and forth, but their eyes can seo nothing. , This little bit of war drama, enacted daily at. Victoria—"a good deal better than I've seen it on tlie stage.'' as a porter, observed—is witnessed b.v hundreds of people who for countless reasons find it an irresistible attraction. There are tears, of'course, when' the curtain falls,,but they are not the tears of despair or hopelessness. ■

HIGH MARRIAGE RATE

RECORD ESTABLISHED IN SEP- ; - TEMBER QUARTER. The marriage rate' in England and Wales during the Michaelmas quarter of 1915 was tho highest recorded since the establishment of civil registration, amounting to 21.8. per thousand of the population. The next highest is 21.4 in the fourth quarter of 1865. It has already been pointed out that the rate for the second quarter of 1915 (20.9) is the highest recorded in any second quarter., The births in recent quarters show an increasing number of males; in the first quarter of this year 1032 males were born to 1000 females, in the second' quarter 1043 (to 1000), and,in the third .1055.

ON THE BATTLE PLAINS. "Wo make no apology for reprinting the'_ following article from 'Le Matin,' " says the "Dispatch." "It is of particular beauty, and the appeal it makes is too deep and universal to be confined to French readers alone."

"Weep not, mothers, for around the solitary crosses that mark the graves of your hero 'sons all France in arms keep watch. •

"Leave for a minute those trenches and earthwork's. Let your gaze wander a little from the firing' line. Look there in that orchard or there, in that copse, or yet again on that crest. See one, two, three, twenty little mounds. On every mound a wooden cross, and on every cross a little 'khaki or red cap. The orchard is full of them; the copse is studded with them'; the bro>v of the hill is fringed with them. "Now cast your glance towards those two soldiers sauntering along with their pipes in their mouths, or watch that cook hurrying along with the soup.. "Suddenly they come before the little mounds ami they stop abruptly. At once ,tho smokers take their pipes from their mouths and the cook lays the pot upon the ground, and at once, silently, solemnly, reverently, each right _ hand goes up to each forehead in the military salute. .

"It's only for a moment; the tribute to the great dead is paid, and then they go on their way again. "Along the whole battle line from the wooded mountains of the Vosges down to the sand dunes of Belgium every single sector lias been placed under a separate officer, whose sole duty is to.identify and collect matter concerning every one of those little mounds'.

t "Not a single piece of information is allowed to slip' by uncatalogued; each cross lias its own humble chronicle all written down and indexed and 1 catalogued. •

"Each tragedy once chronicled is then copied-in duplicate, one always accessible in case additional information should

crop up, and the other deposited at the nearest-headquarters. 4 "Nothing is omitted which could possibly afford a clue to the dead hero's identity—name, surname, regiment, and rank, and then each grave given a number corresponding ta'tne document. : "Often the number is burnt on with ' a red-hot bayonet for fear by any chance the rain or the mud should obliterate the mark.' In a word,- every chance of error is reduced to a minimum. "Suppose, then, after the war a family, English, or French, or Belgian, wishes to trace the Bacred soil where lie so many buried hopes. All they will have to do -will be to address themselves to the civil authorities of the town where all the plans will bo gathered together, and they may obtain information as detailed arid as complete as if they had themselves been present upon theso terrible battlefields, and will be 'guided to the lonely grave, be it lost amidst some forest or hidden amidst the quarries, or simply one of a forest of similar ciftblems upon some open field. "It is holy ground, each little humble grave—ground which was 'not bought by gold or by work, but by the man's own blood that has mixed with the dear earth that gave him rest there just where he fell. / "Is it not all'marvellous? Whenever, too, some poor corpse is discovered 1 during the course of the nocturnal patrol along the front of the trenches, outside the lines, there is no rest or respite till it is brought back to' safety and to love —often at the cost of yet another new corpse in the rescue. "Could any parent do more ? The soil of France is the French soldiers' birthright, and they feel as if the dead could not sleep the great sleep if German feet moved above the heads of their comrades, and so tho chaplct of miracles goes on, each corpso making another hero. "Weep not, you mothers, you wives, .you daughters, though tho days seem long and sad away from those spots of sacred soil whither your sorrows would bid you rush and mourn.

"No; weep not, but rather rejoice in your glory, you mothers and wives, and when the day conies, as come it must, when you will clasp those, crosses to your bosoms before you take the eacrcd soil away—tlicy will seem light crosses indeed, for in that dav all four suffering!. will have vanished before the strength of mm jax."-

labour paper for women

On January 1, 1916,' the "Woman Worker," a. new Labour paper for. women, appeared in London, under tbo editorship of Miss Mary Macartlnir and Miss Susau Lawrence. Its aim will be to. set up wliat the ivomen are really thinking, their hopes, their struggles, and their amusements, and to express how the great national changes affect 'them in the intimate practical details of their, daily lives. The "Woman .Worker" will be published monthly. ' Miss Gladys Campbell, who lias taken her diploma for dancing and calisthenics in London, and was a pupil of the famous Mrs. Wordsworth, Queensbery Hall, London, W., resumes her school classes the first week in March.' Her other classes do not begin till April. Miss Campbell teaches ballroom, fancy, and national dancing, as well as physical culture and fencing; Debt Collector: "Is your master at pome?" Servant (curtly): "No, he isn't." Debt Collector (suspiciously): "But I can see his hat hanging in the hall." Servant: "Well, what's that got to do with it. One of my dresses is hanging on the line in the back garden, but I'm not there!" ' Prevention is better than a cure, therefore use "SYDAL" (Wilton's Hand Emollient) regularly, and avoid having chapped hands and lips. If it is too late to "prevent," then you can "cure" with the same preparation. Buy a Jar to-day fcom your Chemist or Store, Is. [ 6d.—Advt. Washing Hats and Man-o'-War Hats for Boys.—We have reduced prices for a few days in these two lines, and would recommend your inspection of what we offer. Geo. Fowlds, Ltd.—Advt, ■ Ladies, when passing, see the smart show of 2s. Cd. Ties at Price's, 54 Willis Street,—Advt.