WOMAN'S WORLD. WOMAN'S WORLD

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2688, 7 February 1916, Page 2

WOMAN'S WORLD.

WOMAN'S WORLD

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL 11

MATTERS OP INTEREST FROM /AR AND NEAR

[By Imogen.]

British and Allies' Relief Fund. J Mrs. Rolleston and Miss Litchfield t have received parcels of clothing for a the British and Allies' Relief from:— r Mrs. R. C. Kinvig, Mrs. W. Simm, s Mrs. J. Huuter Brown, Wairoa, t Hawke's Bay (2 parcels); Mrs. W. If. Massey; "West End School, New Plymouth; the Girls' Redeugh School; ]; 1 case, Red Cross Guild, Sanson; 3 r anonymous cases; 1 sack anonymous. A Y.W.C.A. Welcome. i The garden party which was held at j the residence of Mrs. Campbell, Kil- . birnie, on Saturday afternoon, to welcome Miss Birch, general secretary o{ ! the Young Women's Christian Association, after a long absence in Australia, ' was a well-attended and very enjoyable affair. The pretty shady grounds surrounding Mrs. Campbell's residence was a very pleasant place in which to spend the afternoon, and the lawn, encircled with tall trees, was completely sheltered from whatever wind there was. Mrs. Campbell received the ! guests, most of whom, in addition to board members, consisted of members and friends of the association. A guard of honour composed of the Hearth Fire Girls and girl members of the association formed an avenue through which Miss Birch and Mrs. Robert Pearson (president) had to pass. Mrs. Campbell's little son presented Miss Birch with a bouquet, and yet another one was presented the guest of honour by the youngest of the Hearth Fire Girls. On behalf of the association and the Board of Members, the president welcomed Miss Birch, making her speech very brief, as she thought it best that members should cach do their own welcoming. Miss Roughton, on behalf of hostel members, and Miss Thomas for the girls, also welcomed Miss Birch, as did a small representative of. the Hearth Fire Girls, whose welcome was the most spontaneous of all. Miss Birch briefly replied, and told her hearers how pleased she was to be among them all again. Competitions for the. best floral decorated parasol, the best floral device and the best decorated hoop attracted much interest, the winners being Miss Rose FincU for the first, Miss Violet Robertson for the second, and for the third (children's competition) Miss Alma Leeke. Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Pearson were the judges. Music was supplied by a gramophone, and by a string orchestra. Afternon tea was served on tables placed upon tho lawn, the girl members of the association assisting. Mrs. Campbell wore a black silk gown and hat to match; Miss Birch was in a cream net frock, with a wide navy blue sailor hat; and Mrs. Pearson was in cream, with a black and White hat. Mr. and 'Mrs.. Hugh Morrison (Masterton) are spending a few days in Wellington. Mr. and Mrs. Coradine, Mayor and Mayoress of Masterton, have been visiting Wellington to see their son before he left for the front. Miss Marshall (Island Bay) is visiting Hawke's Bay. Mr. and Mrs. A. Warburton and Miss Violet Warburton motor through to Wanganui to-day. Mrs. John Perry (Sulphur Wells, Masterton), and her daughters have been spending some time at Day's Bay. Dr. F. 0. Guthrie, of Paliuerston North, accompanied by Mrs! and Miss Guthrie, are visiting Auckland. Mr. and Mrs. J. M. H. Tripp., of" Christcliurch, returned to New Zealand by tho Rotorua. Mr. Tripp, while at Home, assisted with Red Cross work, and went to Flanders, from where he was subsequently invalided to England. Mrs. Marmaduke Bethell, Pahau Pastures, Canterbury, has roturned from a visit to the north. Miss Atkinson and Miss Gertrude ; Tewsley leave by tho Rotorua on a visit to England. The Misses Gabrielle and Constance ; Parker have returned to Island Bay ' after visiting friends at Eketahuna, j Xfauriceville, and Mastertop. ! By tho Ruahine Mrs. Rolleston re- " ceived a varied assortment of Toilet Specialities, including exclusive Face Powi ders. Prices, from 2s. Gd. to lfls. 6d. per r box. Solide, "La Reine," is. 6d. Imperial Hair Stain, Is. 6d. Absolutely reliable [ and easily applied. And a large consigni ment of the best quality Hair for. - Switches, Transformations, and all de- : signs of hair work. Every shade can be . perfectly matched. Private Tooms. 256 | Lamhton Quay—Advt.

Greyt'owfi Soldiers' social Room. ! The Greytown Committee has every reason to bo gratified with the result of their effort to get a room in where tho soldiers could feel they can go in and out. There is a billiard tabic, piano, and all the daily papers, and several English magazines, writing materials, and a dressing-room. Mrs. Hiorns, who had been visiting her sister (Miss J. Gifford Latirenson), returned to Wanganui last Thursday.' The Wairarapa men who belongs to tho Rifle Brigade (3rd and 4th Battalions) were presented before leaving by the Mayoress's Committee (Mrs. Coradine, Masterton) with kit bags containing various comforts and luxuries, all of which were greatly appreciated.

WAR REGISTER OF WOMEN

MOBILISATION OF THE GIRT ON [ GIRLS. In an oak cabinet- in a room at Strathray Gardens, Hampstead, are arranged some 1200 cards, each bearing the name of a university woman and particulars of her attainments, states the "Daily Mail." This is the war register of the Federation of ' University AVomen. "It will surprise some people to know that there are nearly 10,0 fIU women in this country who have passed through one or other of the universities," Miss ' Sargant, the compiler of the register, remarked to a "Daily News" representative. "We have now got detailed information with reference to about GOOO of them, and it appears that 1200 have time to spare, which they are anxious to devote to war work. Between 700 and 800 of these are women with degree, or the equivalent, who offer their whole time." ; Some examples of the sort of appointments that women on the register are obtaining are: — A post as draughtsman in an aeroplane factory, by a woman with knowledge of the higher mathematics. A position in the actuarial department of an insurance office, by another woman with special . knowledge of figures. Three supervisorships in munition factories, by women with' experience of social work. The Federation is looking forward to a demand for women to fill superior clerkships. The Headmistresses Association has been doing good work by supplying sixth-form girls as'clerks at 255. a week, and the time seems to be coming when older women of the same .class will bp required as seniors. "Among the obstacles we have encountered," said Miss Sargant, "is the fact that there is no demand for the part-timo services' offered by the 500 or so women who already have something to do. "Then there is the salary question. Some of the employers who have consulted the register have 4ield views on this point that may be described without offence as peculiar, and I have comejo the conclusion that, in the interests of the women themselves, and .also of the men whose places they are taking, there must be no undercutting. "The enthusiasm of these highly educated women is so * great that they would often work for next to nothing. Patriotic motives are inducing women of great attainments to accept a mere pittance. It is sheer waste of splendid material, which is of great value to the nation, for these women to take minor. positions at ruinous v/ags." . Although there is no desire to use the war emergency for furthering the women's movement, there can be little c'/iubt that this "mobilisation of the . Girton Girls," as it has been pictur- > csqucly called, will have important ef- , fects and l uses when the war is' over. 5

(Continued from Pago 2.)

EDUCATING DEMOCRACY

THE MOTHER'S TASK,

At the Instituto of the Hampstead Garden City, Lord Haldane, the lormer Lord Chancellor, made a speech, which, from the short reports which liave arrived, merits tho attention of the womanhood of this country. The report (says an exchange) states that, "after lie had pointed out that capital would bo much scarcer on this side of the Atlantic than before the war, ho said that unless wo did something to develop the British mind aud put that into the struggle of the future he would not answer lor the nation's safety and progress.

"As far as women arc concerned, the real interest of his remarks lay, however, in' his appeal to mothers. We shall bo face to face, he said, 'with the advent of democracy, andj let us see that we do our best to educate our masters before they can exercise their mastery over us. The ideal system begins, not with the children, but with the mothers. We need to see the terrible child mortality diminish. The training of mothers lies at the very foundation of that aim. Here, perhaps, there is a greater awakening that Lord Haldano-recognised as fully as it merited. The movement for establishing schools for mothers and baby clinics had made a fair beginning before the war, a lid the wise and farseeing women who have been associated with it have kept it to the fore, realising that now, inoro than ever, was tho conservation necessary of every valuable little life. "It was the school master, Lord Haldano argued, who was the real democrat, for lie could make every man and woman equal. Therefore, it was to be urged that mothers should pay the greatest attention to the education of their children. It is a subject about which, he insisted, the most serious warning must be given to the country, for without it calamity as great as this .terrible war itself'was in'store for tho country. And it is in regard to this very matter that tho average English mother is found manifesting tho utmost indifference. Do we not all know that to a very large proportion of those whose children attend the public elementary schools the attainment of the youngster's fourteenth birthday is tha most important event to be desired ? For, whether the Sixth Standard had been reached or not, school could bo left; the lad could run errands or attend a van; the girl could go into some unskilled occupation. In far higher social circles there has been no enthusiasm for education. - Proficiency in games lias often been placed far above learning. \

"In this country we have often spoken with more or less contempt of the German Hausfrau. _ Yet she, for all the limits of domesticity that we were wont to assign to her, has borno v no small part in the national discipline, the concentration to one purpose, that lias enabled Germany first to place her militarism, and, secondly, to build up the commercial power, upon tho scale that we now realise. The educational awakening of Germany began after tho war with France, and there are those amowr us who, fully 40 years ago, saw for themselves how thoroughly the system had been laid down, and how the younger women of that time threw themselves into the developments that came."

Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Atkinson have returned from a visit to Christchurch.

Mrs. M. B. Fisher has returned to Wellington from visits to friends in the south.

The ladies-of Paltnerston North have supplied Dr. A. A. Martin -with field dressings for the Ambulance Unit leaving there. Dr. Martin, in thanking them, said that the Field Ambulance will look to Palmerston North when it requires anything, and lie is certain the ladies there will supply it.

A RUSSIAN HEROINE

MYRA IVANOVNA THE INTREPID,

A correspondent of the London "Morning l'ost" translates the story of M.yra Iranovna from tlia war correspondent Kupchinsky's account in tho I'otrograd "Birzheviya Vcdomosti" : — Myra Ivanovna accompanied her brother, a military doctor, to the front. Small and weak, nervous, but extremely active when' there was work to bo done among tho sick and wounded, Myra Ivanovna astounded everyone by her power of endurance. Tho time came when the Germans outflanked the regiment to which she was attached, and poured a deadly fire into tho trenches. The ambulance near the lOtli Regiment was not brought to the rear, despite the instructions of the commander. It was descovered that Sister Ivanovna was employed there in bandaging the wounded. "Let the ambulance station go back," she said; "I shall stay here, where my hands are wanted."

Tlie doctors and the wounded officers appealed in vain—she would not retreat until her brother ordered her to do so. No sooner, however, was the ambulance posted in a new situation than she moved back to her former position with a few volunteers. At this time the enemy's reinforcements with machine-guns opened a deadly fire from some heights commanding the position, and Ivanovna was slightly wounded by a bullet in the left arm. She bandaged the wound herself, and, without saying a word, continued her work. _ Son it became apparent that the position of the regiment was a perilous one. Every moment tho strength of the enemy was increasing, and the Russian ranks had been decimated by their long exposure to heavy fire. Above all things it was necessary to strike a rapid blow, sharp and decisive; but officer after officer was brought in wounded, and at last word came that the commander himself had been killed. Men began to drop back from the front trenches. A perceptible feeling of indecision grew in the ranks. Soon would come that moment when,' in the flash of an instant, panic would spread. Wo read: Feeling that the men were wavering after tho Joss of their leaders, and actuated by indignant horror at the unequal fight, Sistor Myra Ivanovna drew a sword from the sheath of a dead officer, and ran from the station.'.Sho was followed by some of the wounded soldiers, who with tears in their ej'es, implored her to return, and even strove to detain her by holding her arms, but she freed herself.

Then, her eyes burning with excitement, she went forward. She was not alone, for tho soldiers were anxious to defend this frail woman who was leading them back to the trenches, her sword raised in the air.

The soldiers of the 10th Regiment were already wavering in the trenches, weakened as they were by the enemy's fire, and many of thera were anxious to leave when, at this critical moment, Sister Myra, surrounded by a group of wounded soldiers, with an uplifted sword in her hand, rushed toward the trench. At once thero was a resounding "Hurrah!" and the rifles of the exhausted soldiers commenced onco more their deadly clicking. For a moment Sister Myra bent toward the occupants of the trench, and they heard the word "Golubebiki!" (Dear ones). Then, rising to her feet, she ran forward, her sword flashing in the air. All the men followed her. But all the time the enemy machineguns were working, and, losing men with every step, the remnants of the company mado a wild dash for the enemy's trench, which they occupied after some furious work with the bayonet. The enemy fled precipitately, hut, in the recesses of the trench, on the bloody ground troddon by the feet of the eager combatants, lay Sister M.vra Ivanovna. Rough soldiers bent over her, and now that the . excitement of the fray was over they wept as they tried vainly to arrest the flow of blood from a wound in her throat. She was carried out of the fire, but before she had proceeded far another bullet struck her, ■ and she fell dead among the group of soldiers. Myra Ivanovna was -only twenty years of age. "A true heroine," writes Mr. Kupchinsky, "a type of the Russian woman who is guiding us to victory."