WOMAN'S WORLD.

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 72, 18 December 1917, Page 2

WOMAN'S WORLD.

MATTERS OF INTEREST FROM FAR AND NEAR

(Bt IHOOBH.)

. SOCIAL AND PERSONAL Wedding at Damievirhe. A quiet wedding was celebrated at the Catholic Church, Dannevirke, on Wednesday afternoon, when Mr. J. W. Wilson, of AVangamii, was married to Miss Margaret Feiernbend, daughter of Mr. V. Feierabond, of Makotuku. The Rev. Father Bowe officiated. The bride wore a gown of embroidered white silk voile, with a tulle veil -worked with true lovers' knots, and arranged over a coronet of orange blossoms. Sho carried a pretty shower bouquet, the gift of hor cousin. The bridesmaid was Miss Mario Feierabend, sister of the i-kle, who wore a frock of pale blue silk and a laco hat, and carried a boiujiwfc of palest pink sweet peas ami rosos. Mr. Morphew, of Palmerston North, was best man. The reception was held at the Trocadcro, the arrangemonts having been carried out by Mrs. Burridge. The tables were prettily decorated with pink and mauve sweet peas. The bride and bridegroom left bj train amid showers of confetti and rost leaves for Palmerston North; th( former travelling in a navy blue tailormade costume and pale blue hat.

Wellington Red Cross Shop. A meeting .of the Wellington Red Cross Shop Committee was held in tho Concert Chamber of tho Town Hall yesterday afternoon, and in the absence of Mrs. J. P. Luke (the Mayoress), on account, of an accident sho has recently mot with, Mrs. W. Nathan presided. Mrs. Firth explained that owing to Mrs. Luko being unable to bo present at the meeting, which was to have been the annual ono, it had been decided to postpone it until next year, and to hold the monthly mooting instead. Regrot was expressed at.l-ho cause ot Mrs. Luko's absence. ' . ' Mrs. Firth moved that tho comni ttee express its gratitude, to all who had helped in any way with tho shop during the year that had just ended, and that all organisations that had offered to tako a day during the cominc year be thanked. This was earned. Mrs Firth stated that the shop in which they had carried on their operations had now been vacated and tlmt she had written to Mr. lurkaldie to secure if possible a lease from Februarv 11 of the shop just opposite tho old one. She was waiting a reply. Mr T Bus!- read n statement ol receipts and expenditure in connection lh tho Bhopfor the. past twelve

months. For the first six months o the year receipts to -ho amount ct had to bo taken an amount or W- for to say what was to be done with U"s a S' discussionfollowed, and it «n finally moved by Mrs. Nathan that an necessary Mrs. Moorhousc seconded thtS"tion s winch »u earned, the amount of £30, which was over, to be lit in hand for whatever needs m,ght nvisn in tho meantime. , It was decided to hold another meeting on January 21.

Mrs Guv Beece and Miss Leslie R ee^ofkpanui;) Christcburch are visiting the former , ; mother, Mrs. A. Wylie, Palmeraton North. Mrs Abbott, representing the- Scottish Women's' Hospitals, has arrived in Wellington from Sydnoy. The sugar shortage receives a enri- " sidelight just now m » ce . rfcilin town Wuth Vales, where prize drawta» for some charitable object or_ nnothei arc continually borag orgamsed nUendbus Bab .has been found f tickets for a drawing in which tho prizes are three parcels of sugai. Writing to a Wellington firm from Id? \™e distribute nil gifts goods G I jews' harp."

Colour for Shell Shock. Ouo of tbo newest developments in the treatment of soldiers suilwing from shell shock is the cultiratioii of a colour schomu. At a private hospital for ottiaers, Mi: 11. Kemp l'rosser lias designed a ward in winch the predominating colours aro representative of snriii"tinie—elm gold of sunshine, thu blue of tlie sky, the fresh green of tho, trees. The browns and reds or autumn, suggestive of decay, are absent because the idea of the desiguor is that tho spirit of life may be embodied in tho very atmosphere. Tho ward coiling of firmament blue, Dig pale «reon rugs white borders, tho green and white bed covers, the mauvo and white em-tains, basins and soap disbes aro all most effective; but it remains to bo seen whether tho dazzling .yellow walls-used as tho prototype of sunshine—will produce tho i desired effect on the nerve-shattered patients. Tho hospital contains in all fifty beds, there being six largo wards and a number of cubicles. Dress Rules for Women Clerks. 'V welfare supervisor' in one of l tho Government offices in London has issued orders to the women clerks tor the proper observance of the rites ct dross. For example:— Workers may not dress their hair more than onco a day. . ( They may not change their blouses after luncheon. They may not wear, white shoes ana S To'say that the supervisor is unpopular is to say the least of it.

Mrs Abbott will visit the Pioneer Club'this afternoon, and members -ii\A friends should hear much that is interesting of the wonderful, work done by the Scottish AVomon's Hospital Unite. Mrs. Abbott is staying at the Midland Hotel. i___

DR ; BEDFORD'S SERIES OF MCE LECTURES

"THE WOMAN."

•Yesterday evening, in the Y.M.C.A Buildings, Or. Bcdrwd, of Otago Uni vcrsity, gave the secoiKl lecture of tin series iviueli lie is giving upon matter: affecting tiio welfare ol'tlie race. Or this occasion, his lecture wae upon the subject of '"4,' lie Woman." Misi M'Lean presided and associated ivitl her upon the platform were Mrs. Pear 6on, president of tho Y.W.C.A., anc Mr, korsley, president of the. Y.M.O.A In his opening remarks Or. Bedforr stated that lie was not a medical doctor and consequently he had based some of his statements upon facts presented by those who wero. Women lie considered, had a right to that protection which, the men of the community could give them. Ono of the outstanding facts about social purity was to be found in the statement that nc man could live to himself alone. Ir spite of himself his influence permeated those ahout him, and so if a man or woman ,\vas suffering from disease it affected others in some form or another. The diseases that afflicted men through impurity of life were almost always communicated to women. Home life, family life, should bo sacred, nnd he could not conceive greater happiness coming to a man , than that brought him by a happy home life, in lvlijich fchero . were little children

around him: A sacred family life wa( the foundation of a nation's greatness Not infrequently the altar to which s young.girl was brought on her wed ding day turned out to be nothing but an altar of sacrifice. In far too niaiij cases the door of matrimony was the door to debility, to diseases of a terrible nature. They were inevitable i; these diseases were in tlio home, li was our duty to look at these fact? sqiuyely, ascertain their nature and their effects and set ourselves to remove them. It had been said that i» per cent.' of childlessness in married life was due to the effects of these diseases. Sterility destroyed nations, destroyed happy homes, and ruined the health of innumerable women through jio fault of thoir own. The conscience of the community needed to be aroused and a healthy sentiment created so that the evils could be grappled with and overcome. With so.many men daily being killed and maimed in this war, it was more than ever necessary that our man-power and woman-power should be conserved. Power of mind, body, and spirit were the greatest things that anyone could possess, and it was our duty to keep the body and the mind, the vehicles of the soul, as strong and vigorous as possible. The power of alcohol, to lessen the resistance of the body to these disease germs was emphasised by the speaker. Alcohol and social diseases were very closely connected, and the former had the power of quickening germs that had. long been dormant in thq body. The close connection between mind and body was touched upon by Dr. Bedford, who said that as a rule tho body could not be brought to ruin without bringing in the mind too. Mind, bodj', and spirit were not separate, and what affected one impinged upon the others. There :ould be no greater tragedy than tho mind reduced to impotence. Social diseases were great factors that lpade for insanity, and our mental hospitals were largely filled with men and women brought to mental incapacity through their own sins or tho sins of .ithers. Tlie diseases of tho body affected the moral powers to the extent that they lisul an impaired instrument through which they had to express themselves. Dr. Bedford was convinced that ehivilry was not dead, indeed, the war had shown that it was not, and ho tvas sure that if an appeal were mnde to the spirit of chivalry to exercise those restraints that would ensure the lenlth of tho community that appeal ivould bo answered. It was the duty )f men to realise their responsibilities ind seo that they did nothing that vould impair t'i" Imolth; the cau.icit", the strength, the happiness, and the iloom of life of the women they loved. Flie speaker was of the oninion that hero was far too much indulgence to sickness. Half our sickness was duo :o our own fault, and instead of pity :he lash of castration should he de»lt nit. Preventable sickness was tho greatest sin that man rmild commit igainst God and against himself. A hearty vote of thanks to ths lecturer was given at the close of the iddress.

WOMEN AND THE WAR

SERVrCE CHEERFULLY RENDERED IN ENGLAND. Instances multiply of the cheerful spontaneity characteristic of the manner in which women in England 'have taken up duties which fall to '.lieir lot because their husbands or brothers are at the front or at munition work's. In the poorer districts many woman and children suffered great hardship because coal hawkers refused to make delivery at. the price fixed, and there was neither a man nor a woman strong enough to carry coal from the nearest depot. In,an article published in the "Cornhill Magazine" Edith Sellars tells how relief was brought to "scores of little children sitting in rooms where there was not even a cinder" at a time when "everything was fiozen." A woman whose Heart was moved by the sight went to Rio manner of a coal company, but was told that coal was delivered only by the ton. Ho suggested that the local authorities should buy coal wholesale and deliver it in small quantities, and she shouldered the task herself. The coal was paid for by her, and the company agreed to deTiver it In bags tiach containing 2 cwt., provided that not loss t,han a ton was taken by tenants who iiveu close together.- "By nightfall she was already established as a retail dealer; not only mid she secured her coal supply, but-also her customers." There was fire on hearths where there had been no fire for weeks. She conducted lier business on strict business

lines, with, as the chronicler relates, "no touch of the charitable about it"; fut, as a matter of fact, the urbanising work which she did was charitable in a high degree. • Her customers paid for the coal at cost price, and hf-r only reward was the satisfaction which she found in helping flic needy. At the end of six months she had forty-seven customers on her list. Most 'of the fiends of families were women whose husbands were at tlio front or wcro away_ engaged in othnr wnr service. The inmates of the forty-seven houses numbered 180, of whom 117 wore children. Only two of the customers failed tn pay ; and only one really tried lo evade paying, but the "force of public opinion was too strong for her,"' and she eventually settled her account. The practical philanthropist and patriot who provided all this reliof is ine of •many thousands of women in !sngltind who are playing their part in the war without a thought of the "industrial conscription of women."