FEMININE MATTERS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 513, 30 October 1912, Page 6

FEMININE MATTERS.

—— .WEDDINGS IN CHINA. In China, on the eve of 3 marriage, the relatives and friends of the bridegroom repair to h:r> home, where feasting is kept up through the night and until a late hour the following evening." The bride greets the dawn of her wedding day wttli a heavy heart. She must, leave her own home, and the parents, brothers, and sisters, whom she loves, and be taken to a home where she will be a stranger. Henceforth she must live among people whom as yet she has never seen, of whom until recently, perhaps, she never heard. After a slight repast taken with the members of her immediate family, the bride dons her wedding apparel. A Sedan chair awaits her at the entrance of the village. As an evidence of her reluctance to leave her ancestral roof, she is carried on the back of a woman servant from the door of the house to the Sedan chair. The bearers of the chair must be on their guard against the wiles and attack of the bride's companions, who seek to prevent her from being carried away. Before the chair walk the bearers of the bride's furniture and possessions. This wealth comprises divers articles. Sometimes empty chests and boxes are carried with the rest, so that the porters may be more numerous, and present a more imposing spectacle. When the families are rich, the bride's possessions are often splendid ; while often, in other cases, the train of porters is hardly more than a glittering show. In the rural districts, among the bride's train a buffalo may be seen. Throughout the empire it is the custom, among the rich, to have in the possession a little girl servant or slave ten or twelve years of age. It is arranged that the bride's party shall reach their future home about five o'clock in the afternoon. After making the round of the village or town, the bearers of the chair halt at the head of the street or road- where the bridegroom lives. The latter, clad in festive garments, comes forth to meet her. When he reaches the Sedan chair, he raps lightly with his fan on the door. The bride alights, and is carried by a woman servant to the bridegroom's home, where the wedding festivities are held.

OVERALL OF SPOTTED LINEN. Our picture shows the ever-use< ful household overall, made of blue linen, spotted with white. It is sleeveless. The front is cut in one

piece, while, for the rest, the bodice is gathered to the skirt beneath a band of its own material. The neck is cut square and the armholes are very roomy. Observe, too, the deep pocket that is a feature of the overall. SIX USES FOR LEMONS. No family should be without lemons. Their uses are almost too many for enumeration. The juice of a lemon taken in hot water on awakening in the morning is an excellent liver corrective, and for stout women is ! better than any anti-fat medicine ever invented. Glycerine and lemon-juice, half and half on a bit of absorbent cotton, is the best thing in the world wherewith to moisten, the lips arid tongue of a fever-parched patient. A dash of lemon-juice in plain water is an excellent tooth wash. It not only removes tartar, but sweetens the breath. A teaspoonful of the juice in a small clip of black coffee will almost certainly relieve a bilious headache. The finest of manicure aids is made by putting a teaspoonful of lemonjuice in a cupful of warm water. This removes most stains from the fingers and nails, and loosens 1 the cuticle more satisfactorily than can be done by the use of a sharp instrument. Lemon-juice and salt will remove rust stains from linen without injury to the fabric. Wet'the stains' with the mixture and put the article in the sun. Two or three applications may be necessary if the stain is of long standing, but the remedy never fails.. '5