An Australian Girl’s Success.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 392, 18 December 1908, Page 2

An Australian Girl’s Success.

Some halt-dozen years ago a tad, slim, I dark-haired girl, who had made something of a name in her native State of Victoria as ’ an elocutionist, accompanied Nance O’Neil ; on a New Zealand tcur, and a little later on ‘ reached Loudon, After a time she got her foot on the bottom rung of the ladder of i Fame, and in a wonderfully brief space— : though not without a determine 1 fight—won her way tc the top. Her name is Alice Crawford, and in the Christmas nnmbar of | the "New Idea appears sn interesting inter* view with her, written and illustrated, by Miss Catherine Pritchard, another clever young Australian, who is doing literary work iu London. This is one of many bright features of the issue. Other notable illustrated articles are : ° How Royalty Spend Their Christmas,” “ How Sara Bernard Forgot Melba,” and M How neethoven Became Deaf,” There is an appropriate and useful talk, in which an expert conk gives advice and recipes for many dainty dishes suitable for the Christmas season, and an equally valuable article, in which readers are shown how to make a large number of uncommon Christmas gifts. On the fiction side there is an excellent collection of Christmas stories, the beat, perhape, being the amusing account of how a little Queensland aboriginal was sent as a Christmas-box. The tale ig humonrcusly told by Henrietta P. Serjeant, and capitally illustrated by Laurie Taylor. The editor diapenaea some practical advice about the purchase of gift-books for young and old; Dr Woods Hutchinson gives some clear and convincing instructions ou the rescue of drowning persons, and the Rev. Dr Hodges toils the story of the first Christmag, for tho benefit of tbe little ones.

Another chapter is a diverting story of a little boy named Bobbie, who was a constant problem to hia anxions mother, is given, and “The Flirtations of Four Australians in Japan ” keeps up its brisk narrative. The usual departments dealing with domestic, social and artistic phases of life are all given Christmas flavour, and maintained in their usual strength; whilst the review of the world of fashions is admirably done. A feature of tbe number that should be mentioned is tbe editorial campaign for the New Year, It is announced that there is stall another enlargement in the size of th’ New Idea (without more las of price), of which two main features will be the ineluaijn of. sixteen-page fashion supplement, and th numbst of free patterns in each issue will be increased from throe to six.

•kustrala-i m literatute has certainly made wonderful strides iu the last ten yea*?, for the Now Idea, as an example of magazinemaking for women will compere with the best home u»d household magazine in the world- The Christmas New Idea before u* is particularly well worth the niriest sixpence asked for it.