LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 81

LADIES' GOSSIP.

— The true way to success for the suffragists lies in the conversion of their own sex. , As long as the great majority of women remain apathetic and indifferent there does not seem much hope of a change. Once the women demand, the vote en . masse it would, be yielded to them next day. — " Bosaline," in Black and White. — The news that the health of ' Miss' Florence Nightingale, "the mother of nurses," who is now in her eighty- ; seventh year, is giving concern to her i medical advisers has aroused the sym- , ! pathy of the whol^nation." For many ! years past the ' lady whose heroic deeds as a nurse during the Crimean War stirred the hearts of the world, and led | a grateful country to vote her the sum oV £50,000, which she. devoted to the | founding of a Home -for Nurses, has led \ the life of a. recluse. .She -has always j.'disliked publicity of any kmd, and when it was proposed a short time ago to, place" a tablet on the house nea"r- Park lane in which she resides, in honour of her name, 'Miss. Nightingale immediately declared her intention of moving if- such an- idea should , be carried' out." " ' • "" , j — Throughout the Fatherland the Kaiserin is called " Die Frau," and'' undoubtedly she 'prides herself, on being a model wife and mother. She is the" devoted"* mother of six sons, " and watched .over them in their nursery with, tender, care and. devotion, and it is. said -sometimes averted the paternal cane. Her only daughter is now the Kaiserin's constant companion, _ - and the young princess ,is being brought up in •a, very simple'*and • womanly wayv At Cadinen. she' prepares her husband's" favourite, dishes with , her own hands, looks - after the poultry, " .and ,witb her * young * daughter spends 'much time about the dairy and the .farms, and is a frequent' -visitor .in. the ,< homes ~of. the factory workers, and a very'good friend to them, in times of sickness or trouble--—There is no prospect 'that the daughter born to the King and Queen of Italy a few weeks ago wifl^be'.without a-resting-place, for the royal palace is stocked with cradles, most of them, presents when the Crown Prince was born. Seventeen of them came from different parts of the world, one from Italian residents in New York, and another from the Argentine,' embroidered in Indian style with coloured, grasses. ' In "addition- there is a" sumptuous cradle presented_to the 'Queeit when little Brincess Yolande was born. ' The ( base is of bronze, 'delicately chiselled, and under 'the arch Romulus' arid Remus play i with • the traditional ,wolL Above stands an angel holding v a laurel wreath. The cradle is of sold silver^ surrounded 'with r shields of all the;, districts of Rome. — The tragic death of Lord Chesham in the hunting ' field recalls a - curious, hobby' 3*hfch" his daughter" indulged in a few years ago. This young lady, the Hon. Lilah Constance Cavendish, was one iof the belles of the Coronation, and she is now a. yonns laAy of 23, and, like ber mother and father, a., magnificent rider to hounds. - Miss Cavendish rented from her father a little farm on. his ' Bucks Estate, and she christened' it the Black Farm. People could- not understand why, until after a while they began *fo perceive that every animal and ".bird bred on the farm i was black. - The, cattle were black,-the j horses were black, there were black* sheep,black goats, black dogs, black cats, black j chickens— rblack everything! The enterprise was not very successful financially, ! and ' Miss Cavendish eventually threw it ' up. - t — There is absolutely nd' need to dread I advancing years 'if only one will advance j with them in dress, habits^ and customs. One's friends are getting along, also, andj all keep on together. But everyone-, and especially^ a woman, should grow old attractively; and not carelessly. ' To be too ' particular about- the neatness and detail of one's .clothes, that they* shall be per- - fectly-put together and' becoming, is. impossible. Too many women are* careless about this, and it makes* them look horrid. 1 On the other hand,' there is nothing' prettier in 'the world than" a sweet'and" dainty .old .lady, 'and if' her. character and niind are sweet as well,- she has more friends and deeper" admiration than ever fall to the lot of a' girl. To, grow old gracefully is. an art, ." and to - step into middle age successfully is, a triumpb.%. It is women, who-.do this of whom, one -hears others say she is "better looking than when she "was a gir.y.' or is " ever fo much nicer than when she was young." ) Every woman may be this by developing attractions which a girl can never have — The Reader. . ' —To doubt the existence of luck .(says a writer in the Ladies' Fieldy would not only be to deny the evidence of our e&Ts j and eyes in. daily life, but to rob history of half its interest and literature of half its fascination. In real life we all know | cases of good' and bad fortune which, if , they cannot be attributed to luck, cannot j be attributed to anything at aIL "To begin with, the"-- circumstances in which j we . are placed bav.e such an enormous j effect on our lives that the conditions under which we are born must be mere | or less a question of luck. -Over and o\er again we have all seen extraordinary "cases in which two women, starting under practically the same circumstances, .with the same advantages .of looks, birth, and opportunities, hVve - arrived, one at-ius-, qualified success, the other' at crushing defeat. Of course", it is true that a difference of character will account- for much in the respective success ~~ and -failure.. On- the other, hand, character In no, way I explains the malignancy of the evil fortune which seems -to. be ever lying-in wait for , some, or the, blatant success with which" j every, effort of others is crowned. ' Deep dowxrin our hearts we are all convincedof tha truth of tHe old saying that when.' things 5 are ,'afc their .worst they begin to -mend. Equally when fortune jias smiled on us for a while ,we await—this time with -morbid fear-r-the* turn, of the wheel

which we instinctively feel must overtake us in the long run. We cannot go jkt' winning for ever either at bridge or-m-. life. In, the meantime there. -is. notkjitg we cherish and hug like our luck,' nothing to which we make sacrifice so't'religious l ;, and more marvellous, than all", the superstitions we associate with it is the indeniable fact that' the more we trust in it the more will it justify our confidence. — Siamese girls are bright and smart .enough, as a counte of English ladies iecently discovered. They ..were in a tramcar in Bankok when a,, well-dressed JiKlc Siamese damsel ' entered. "Quite a pretty child that, isn't it?" said one of the English .ladies. But before, the other bad time to reply a r>-erry voice said : * ',' Oh, thank you so much. At home they call me- the ugly duckling,, because they say mv nose is too long- and prominent -for. a Siamese!'? The English lady at oiice became covered with eonrusion^and. ap'tiogetic; but the Siamese maiden , was "must' . gracious/ and yolunteered^-the • informant n, that she was ;t2; t2 "year's 'of age,!- and - v .ad; been learning- English for two year's? \VE'-w'. English children of her age could -h^ve-. shown a better s command -of ©ur^ovm language.— Manchester Guardian. < r "J*£ -*■ " ' , ■ \- ■ " "