ABOUT WOMEN.

Evening Star, Issue 4075, 18 March 1876, Page 2 (Supplement)

ABOUT WOMEN.

Kissing among ladies is going out of fashion in America. Refined American women, an American journal tells us, have given up a custom which h§s been so much ridiculed., .

■The reign of false hair is over, and it is said that Parisians are already arranging their own locks either in plaited or twisted coils round the head, or in artistic curls at the back of the neck. Twenty-six thousand six hundred and sixteen Motmon women have lately united in a petition to the Congress of the United States asking for a repeal of the law that denies to-them the privilege of concubinage. No more melancholy commentary upon the degradation of woman in a state of civilisation could be made.

The French pstpers report that a young lady, daughter of M. Benoist, principal of the school of Fontenay-le-Comte (Yend6e), has just passed a brilliant examination for the degree ot Bachelor of Letters, at the University of Poitiers. Among twenty-two candidates, she obtained the first place for French dissertation and for Latin composition, and the second for Latin version. She was warmly congratulated by the dean. An elder sister is said to have already obtained similar honors. The title “ bachelor, ” as applied to a lady, is somewhat incongruous, and as “ spinster ” would hardly do, it will become necessary, if many more ladies go up for degrees, to invent a new set of academical affixes instead of 8.A., M.A., &c. ‘ The curious effects of a stroke of lightning are related by the Chicago 1 Sunday Press.’ Four people sitting in a room were rendered insensible by a lightning flash, which cut in half a locust tree outside. On their recovery one of them, a young child, was found to bear on its body the imprint of a whole tree, limb, and branch, and leaf, and even the severed portion being distinctly reproduced. These marks were not permanent, but grew fainter day by day, and in a month’s time had entirely disappeared. . We have heard of a similar casa in Servia, where a whole landscape was thus imprinted on a man’s body.

The ladies are not, we hope, losing sight of the fact that this is leap year, nor neglecting to avail themselves of their ancient privileges. A form of celebration has been inaugurated in some parts of the States, which is calculated to become even more popular with" the bachelors than the famous spelling-bee. Its celebration is thus described in an American exchange;— “On Friday night of January 28, the town of Merced was enlivened by a leap-year calico and neck-tie party. The affair was a grand success. The novelty of the thing was the ladies inviting the gents and paying all ex-, penses, oysters included—-the ladies escorting their partners to ‘ oysters and wines for two, my boys.’ Another novel and interesting feature of the evening was five young and pretty misses acting as pages, furnishing the gents with lemonade, etc., without any ‘ stick ’in it. Very few of the ladies broke the rule by coming to the party in other than calico dresses. Some of the dresses were very tasteful and pretty.”