WOMAN'S WORLD.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 305, 20 September 1919, Page 4

WOMAN'S WORLD.

(By Imogen.)

SOCLAL AND PEIWONAL

Miss Mac Donald (Waiiganui) and her sister, Mrs. are spending a few days in Wellington. At the Y.W.C.A. on Thursday evening Dr. Mackenzie gave an interesting lecture on tho nervous system fron a psychological standpoint. There was a large audience of women and girls. Dr. Arthur has consented to give the nest health talk at tho Y.W.C.A., Herbert Street, on Thursday. It has been decided to farewell Miss Florence Birch at the annual meeting of tho Y.W.C.A.. which takes place early in October. Miss Birch has "been'general secretary of the Wellington Y.W.C.A. for the past seven years. Miss Mary Tabart (Cliristehureh), a valued member of the Christcliurch branch of the New Zealand lied Cross, whose marriage to Mr. OrbeU is to take place shortly, was the guest of honour at a gathering held on Wednesday last, when tho presentation to her of a writ-iiig-tablc with a silver shield, suitably engraved, was made. Miss Irma Carou, hernelf a wellknown siuger and charily performer (daughter of the late M'. Leon Caron, for many years musical director anu composer for the lato Mr. «?'. C. "Williamson), was recently married in Australia to Mr. M. P. Adams, theatrical manager. Miss Cnron, whose mother was an operatic singer of not?, was educated in France, and, on the advice of the lato Alexander Guilnmnt (the famous French, organist and_composer), who was her father's master,' she was sent to the King's Conservatorium, Dresden, where she studied singing and all tho rudiments of music that go to make a finished artist. Mrs. and Miss Keesing have left on a visit to Auckland. The dance held in the Druids' Hall, Shannon, on Tuesday nighl, in aid of St. Patrick's Church, was a great success. The hall was beautifully decorated by Mr. John Curran and his committed of men, whilst Mr. Hally and Mr. Tom Moynihan left nothing to be desired as regards the floor. The music was excellent and was supplied by Mrs. Butler and her orchestra. The supper tables were prettily decorated by Mrs. Pickett and her committee of ladies, and a delicious supper was proMided bv the ladies of shannon. Messis. J. O'Jiegan and Mr. Moynihan made very capable and energetic secretaries, whilst Mr. J. Curran and Mr. J. Hemnnugscn acted avM.G.'s. At the monthly meeting of tho Alexandra Home, the following further contributions to the Greenwood Memorial were acknowledged:—Bishop and Mrs. Sprott. £5; Miss Barraud, .£1; Mr. AV. V. Barraud, £2; Mrs. C. Buxton. .£1; Messrs. Kilkcaldio and Stains, -C 1 It;.; .Messrs. George and Ken-ley, £2 2>.: D.1.C., «£1 Is.; Mrs. Coleman, 10s. Subscriptions to the home: Mrs. C. Buxton, £1. A bequest of £m from the trustees of the late Mrs. Morrah was received with thanks and gratitude.

Yesterday a meeting was held in Miss Gladys Campbell's studio in Hill Street to discuss arrangements in connection with an entertainment which Miss Campbell is getting up, and which is to take place shortly. Mrs.' E. Hadfiold was in the-chair. Mrs. A. Duncan, in referring to tho. entertainment, said that Miss Campbell was the first in Wellington to organise dance entertainments on so oxtensivn and so compete a scale, and she also spoke of the valuable help which Miss Campbell had given to patriotic work by means of her *>ntertainmcn(s. Now that she was giving one on her own account, she and others felt that it was but right that they should help in every way they could. The fo'f oiring committee wns set up to assist Miss Cnmnboll:— Mrs. W. F. Mnfsey, Lady Bell, Mrs. A. Duncan, Mrs. K. Hadfiold. Mrs. C. Earle, the Mayoress (Mrs. J. P. Luke), Mrs. .T. Dan Ting, Miss Tlnremirr. Mrs. Cruickshank. Mrs. Clifford, Mrs. T. Hunter. Mrs. Sinclair, Mr*. Murray Gard'ner, and Miss Massey. Miss Campbell intends leaving shortly on a vis.it to England, where she will attend Mrs. Wordsworth's Ctfllege and also study further tho Delcroze system of eurythmi'is, returning to New Zealand finally by way of America, whero she will see for herseJf American adaptations of Hie dunce*. Mi?s Campbell expects to bo back again some timo in .Tune. The committee decided to organise a sweet etnll in connection with the entertainment, the date of which will br, shortly announced. Marriage at Brooklyn. The marriage took place at St. Matthew's Church, Brooklyn, on Tuesday, of Miss Evelyn Howden, daughter of Mrs. Howden, Vogeltown, and Mr. F. B. Vance, son of Mr. and Mrs. It. Vance, of Seatoun. The ceremony was performed by the Eev. G. Dent, and Miss May Crengbl played appropriate music. Tho bride, who was given away by her brother, Lieut. 11. Howden, Ii.A.W., wore a frock of primrose crepe de. ohene, with an overdress of georgette and hat of the same 6ltade lined with heliotrope. She carried a bouquet of pink sweet peas and white cyclamen. Miss A. Howden, sister of the bride, acted as bridemiaid, and wore a frock of violet crepe de cliene and georgette with hat lined with a paler shade, and carried a bouquet of hdHotropo sweet peas and freezias. Mr. It. Wilson acted as best man. Tho bridegroom's gift to the bride was a gold wristlet watch, and to the bridesmaid a pendant.

Entertaining the Sailors, The final of the dances which havo been arranged by the Ladies' Auxiliary of tha Nnvy League for the sailors of H.M.S. j New Zealand was held in the Town Hall last evening, and, Kko its predecessors, it appeared to bo very much enjoyed. For this occasion it had bee:i intimated that fancy dress could bo worn if desired, and in consequence some of the dancers were to bo se.on in gay attire as courtiers, Indian ftajahs, pierrots, peasants, aa well as representatives of some of the Allies, etc., the bright colours standing out vividly among tho soberer hues of those in more ordinary dress. AH tho new dances that tho girls havo learni: during the stay of the sailors in port were rehearsed, and no doubt few programmes will be : considered complete without them for soma time to come. The Mayor (Mr, J. P. Luke), with Mrs. Luke, was present, and the latter, with Mrs. C. Baife, was in.chvge of the dancing arrangements. Several. members of tho Navy League, and also, of the Ladies' Auxiliary, were prcsont, and the Refreshment Committee was in charge of the supper. Much appiecintion on the part of tho sailors for the hospitality that had been shown to them during their stay in Wellington was expressed, ami also much regrot at, leaving. Matinee in the Concert Chamber. An excellent entertainment in aid of the Wellington Free Kindergartens was held in the Concert Chamber of tho Town. Hall yesterday afternoon, but owing to various other counter-attractions it was not attended so well as it was hoped would bo the case. The programme con- ! sisted largely of dance.i and ballets from ! the dance play "Tho Three Doors," . which had been produced in tho Grand j Opera House a few months ago by Mrs. . J. ITuiinull and Miss Campbell. Among ! the ikmce.s wei'e tho "Clothcs-horso Bullet.'"' by the Misses N. Phipson, ,T. Julian, and H. HnrnVicke; the fairies dance from tho "Midsummer Night's Drtam," by Miss N. Phipsoh; tho Spanish dance, by iliiss 11. Hardwicke; skipping ropo dance, 'by Miss J. Julian; Irish jig, '/,. CuiToll; Russian danoe, K. ITbyle; and too dance, by Mis.; E. Dick. Songs were sung by Miss A. Sullivan and Mr. Thco Tiesize gave a monologue. Deuciohs liniiiMiiiidn sweets were sold, council members being in charge of the stall, and it display was made of the pictures that are being disposed of by art union, for which each member of the audience received a ticket.. Mrs. Gill (president of tho council) and mcm'jcrs wore in charge of tho various arraiigemenls for the afternoon.

MATTERS Of /INTEREST FROM FAS AND NBA&

AOTEA CONVALESCENT HOME

AN APPPxECIATION. Yesterday afternoon a very pleasant and ii-.tcresting time was spent at Mrs. do Castro's residence, luftbiirn, a number of guests, comprising chielty relatives of the New Zealand Mounted Brigade in Egypt, having been invited to meet Miss MacDonakl, the originator of the Aotea, Convalescent Homo in Egypt, and her bister, Mrs. Macr'arlane. Songs and instrumental! music added to the pleasure of Hie afternoon, and after tea had been handed around (Mrs. C. Wilson, with a number of assistants being in charge of the arrangements), Mrs. De Castro made a brief speech, in which she spoke of tho splendid work done for New Zealand men m Egypt by -Miss Mac Donald, her sister, and tho other members of tho staff. Miss Mac Donald had had to face opposition in bringing her enterprise to a successful issue, but what Aotea had meant to tho men who'had had to faco so strenuous a. campaign without any of the alleviations that the men in. 'France had had, only they coui'.d to'.l. She herself had heard from many what a godsend the home had been, and, said Mrs. • De Castro in conclusion, "tho mothers of New Zealand owed a great debt to these splendid women who had managed it with such wonderful success. They had stuck to their task to tho very end, and their work had been constant unremitting." Very hearty applause greeted tho remarks of the hostess, and Mrs. Hine, whose husband, Major J. Hine, had seen much service with, the Mounted Brigade, tf.so added a few words on behalf of those members of the gathering who had had husbands or other relatives there, thanking Miss Mac Donald for the wonderful work dono for the men in Egypt. She also told of what one of the officers had said of tho staff at Aotea: "They had been mothers to the men, but sisters to the officers," the point of tho remark being that officers were not allowed to bo inmate's of tho home as the troopers were. '•'lt was impossible," concluded Mrs. Hine, "to imagino how our men would have got on without Aotea." In reply, Miss Mac Donald thanked Mrs. De Castro and Mrs. Hine on behalf of her sister and herself for the kind things Unit had been said to them, but what they had dono was all too little. They were alii immensely proud of the New Zealand Division, whose work had been splendid, and of all the troops that wero in Egypt they were, without a doubt, I (he best. It was perfectly true; the NonZealand Division stood by itself, and ono of their greatest pleasures would always be the remembrance of the time when they wore able to. do a little for the men. As instancing tho character of | tho mounted men, thoio was never any military guard placed on. duty at Aole«i, and it was llio only place in Egypt where such was tho ease. Miss Mac Donald went on to speak of the convalescent camp they had started at Ismailia. Aotea ha»l become very full, with 250. beds, and so this camp was started thai; more men euuld be looked after, she and her sister being in charge with 300 beds, nIM under canvas. A little away from them was the. New Zealand Details camp, with ; about 2000 men, and there were they two, the only women living among those men, who looked ijfter them as though they were their own sisters. Always, and at • every time, Hie men had looked after | then'i, and in return the sisters were very, , very proud of them, and the memories tint had been left with them. ' Very heartfelt api/.ause greeted Miss j MncDoimld's remarks, and she and her j sister, Mrs. MucFarlane (whoso marriago ; took place in Wanganui a little while ago) wero besieged with those who wished to add tlwir own personal thanks to them and appreciation of their work. Among those who wero present wrr.': ! Lady AVard, Mrs. J. Hine, Mrs. C. Brown, Miss Massev, Mrs. Cameron, Mrs. M-'Clure, Mia M. Hine, Mrs. Batten, Mrs. Hyunis, Miss Marks, and many more.

House Famine in Melbourne. 'J'hwe is something ljkc a famine in houses ill Melbourne at tho present timo. The scarcity of houses, combined with the aeuto domestic help problem, has placed a premium on the boardinghouse and the ilat. Hundreds of people have turned towards them in preference to maintaining u houso and coping with (lie umoy domestic. The solution of tho prob'Jcin is generally found in joining the vast army of "paying guests." Tho furniture of tho house is sold, a whito board goes, rip at the bottom of the garden, and in a day or two another suburban home has gone into tho market. In many eases - where the houso is _ a largo one, it is turned into a boardinghouseitself. Flats are snapped up hungrily whenever they are offered. Two rooms and a "kitchenette" that brought a week, ly rental of two guineas a year ago aro fetching twice that sum now. South Yarra and St. Kilda are being turned into great camps of "cave dwellers," snd big blocks of flats are going up everywhere. Melbourne is following London's example and rapidly developing into a eitr of flats. And unless houses become both cheaper'and more plentiful that development will continue. There is plenty of rather vague and unfounded talk about profiteering in rents, but the ver. diet on the shortage of houses may well be put as "dearth from natural causes." Miss Florence Birch will be the speaker at tho short service at the Y.W.C.A. to-morrow afternoon, when occasion will be taken to introduce Miss Fowler, who has accepted an appointment in conncct«u with the senior department of the Y.W.C.A. The usual social will take place at tho Y.W.C.A. to-night, when a happy time is expected, as girl members and their men friends arc invited to bo present. Miss Jennings will be in charge of the musical and games part of tho programme. The Dreadnought Club, under 'the leadership of Miss Saunders, will provide supper. ,