LADIES' COLUMN.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 45, 21 January 1884, Page 3

LADIES' COLUMN.

WOMAN. One of the most hallowed and lovely and beautiful sights in our world is—woman at home, discharging, with all the meekness of wisdom, the various duties of wife, mother, and mistress with an order that nothing is allowed to disturb, a patience which nothing can exhaust, an affection which is never ruffled, and a perseverance that no difficulties can interrupt and no disappointments arrest.— J. A. James. Religion is indeed woman’s panolpy; no one who wishes her happiness would divest her of it; no one who appreciates her virtues would weaken their best security.—Sandford. INEXPENSIVE FURNISHING. With a little ingenuity |a room may be made to lodk pretty at very small expense. China matting on the floor, and muslin curtains to the windows are inexpensive, but

nothing could look prettier or more cheerfuf. Indeed, these materials are better suited to our hot climate than thick carpets and heavy handsome hangings. A quantity of pretty bright-colored chintry will not cost much, and may easily be prettily arranged. Boxes nicely covered with it will represent ottomans, and make comfortable seats, have seen home-made chairs manufactured of boxes or barrels, r and covered with chintry or cretonne, look as well and prove as comfortable ns handsome furniture. Brackets may easily be arranged in the corners of a room, and fancy-work or small pieces of pretty material tacked round them. Candle-boxes covered With some material; stuffed on the top, and ornamented in various ways, make capital stools. Dfessihg-tabiee may easily be made with suitable boxes, draped with chintry, cretonne, or ifinsHni It is the trifling accessories that make a room look pretty, rather than the solid furniture. There should be plenty of fresh flowers, well-arranfiduj in every sitting-room- Grasses and fems have a wonderful effect. By the way, grasses are flo’w more fashionable fof the decoration of the table than anything else, They are most effective yrhon mingled with flowers. Try the effect of flowers on the breakfast and dinner-table. A few little glasses and pots arc easily procured, arid, very simply arranged, will add life and cheerfulness to the scene. It is always worth while to cultivate th? little graces of life. They soften the harsh outlines, smooth over the rough places, and make the wheels run smoothly.

NOVELTIES. At a dinner-party recently, a novel Style fit decdi&tibn wd.s in the form of an immense Japanese tiiiibrelld; large enough to shelter the whole of the guests. The table was a round onej and the iiahdle of the umbrella rose from U bed of ferns in the centre, being beautifully deeorWd; Chinese lanterns were suspended here and there at the edge of the umbrella, to give light Id the guests. We are constantly needing receptacles for the ierriS jWhich abound near us, and which we bring home from our rambles or picnic excursions, EtdeUent fern-stands for the hall may be made by painting barrels brown or black, and ornamenting them either with painted flowers, £c„ or severing them with a trellis of leatherwork, Vine leaves and tendrils are suitable. The mania tor painting is so rife at present that few common objects are left unadorned. In a very pretty drawing-room not far away, a door was painted black, and sunflowers and lilies depicted on the panels. The mantelpiece was also painted black, with wreaths of yellow jasmine. The bellows was also painted and adorned with a yellow sunflower. In London a favorite article for painting on is a common three-legged cauldron, and numbers are'to be seen in fashionable drawing-rooms beautifully decorated, and containing a growing plant or fern. In painting qf this description, the ground-color is first on in common house-paint. When this is quite dry, the flowers are painted with tube-oils. When dry, the whole is varnished.. Every variety of pottery-painting is now practised by ladies. Plaques afford excellent ground for this description of art. In Melbourne, recently, an exhibition of pottery and china painting was held. The first prize for painting in oils on terra*cotta was awarded to a young lady, for an exquisite head, depicted on a plaque, the head being that of a young girl, with a branch of fruit-blossoms in the back-ground. Pretty wall-pockets can be made with Japanese fans. Arrange the fans one above the other, two forming the base, and three, with the handles shortened, ranged over them. Tack these on stiff paper, covered with satin or brocade. Run a fluting of lace round the fans, and adorn the handles with knots of colored ribbon. Cross tbe handles of the first two fans, and tack the pocket to the wall. Plush is much used in ornamenting rooms. Flower-pots are draped with it; bellows are covered with it, adorned with a bow of ribbon on the uppermost handle, and hung by the fireplace. HAIR. As new fashions of dressing the hair are rapidly gaining ground, a few remarks on the subject may be appropriate. For several years past the beauty of simplicity has generally reigned. People are still reluctant to alter the fashion of dressing the hair. The simple knot at the back of the head, the moderate fringe or smoothly-brushed-back locks have been almost universally becoming and comfortable. It seems plain, however, that the exigences of fashion may soon demand a change, and that smooth heads and simple knots may.beoome conspicuous by their un. frequency. Luther said: “ The hair of woman is her finest ornament. Of old, virgins used to wear it loose, except when they were in mourning.” Hair, as a rule, does not look well worn loose. It gives an untidy appearance, and such a display should onlv be permitted occasionally in the privacy of tne home circle. Howell says of women: “ ’Tis a powerful sex I They were too strong for the first the strongest and the wisest man that was ; they must needs be strong when one hair of a woman can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen!”

All this is very well, hut we wander what Martin Luther or Howell would have thought of a woman with green hair. The Daniel Rosetti type of beauty, most popular last season in Paris, demanded this singularity. The hair is dyed the most delicate and lovely shade of green known, which is Nile green, and arranged in a pyramid on the top of the head. We are told that the complexion to go with this hair must be a delicate cream and white, the eyes must be black or brown, and the eyebrows dyed to match the heir, White floating gowns of some airy, gauzy material must be worn with this style of beauty. The true secret of preserving the brightness and softness of hair lies in frequent brushing. It should be brushed thoroughly for ten minutes morning and evening, and carefully jlaited before retiring. Sea-water is said to lave a strengthening effect on the roots of the hair. It should be often washed, putting a little soda in the water. For grev hairs appearing before their time, Ayer's Hair Vigor is quite the best thing known. It is harmless and free from grease and in many cases has the effect of restoring the hair to its natural colour. It is not a dye, as, used alike on brown, light, or black hair, it has the same restoring effect and need not be often applied. According to the latest fashion, the hair is drawn up to the top of the head, waved and arranged in three or four curls held in place by ornamental pins. The same fashion was in vogue some fifteen years ago, just before the age of chignons. ARMENIAN MARRIAGES. In Armenia boys aud girls are betrothed from their cradles, or even before they are born. It is no uncommon custom for married women to make a solemn compact one with another ; thus : “ I solemnly promise that if I, Anna, have a son and you, Maria, have a daughter my son shall marry your daughter,” and vice versa. The other contracting party as solemly accepts and the arrangement is made. At the birth of the children the betrothal is ratified by a priest and binding on the children. Both boys and girls are marvellously precocious. A girl is looked upon as an old maid at 16, and if she be unmarried on her 19th birthday she will remain so all her life. Women are grandmothers at six or seven and twenty. The ceremony of betrothal, when the parties are of any age to speak of lasts three days, during which both families are given up to festivity of every description. At the closing hour of the fetes, the father of the girl rises and says solemnly: “ Lo! I have done with the maiden, I give her to Mr. So-and-so naming his neighbour. The neighbour rises and says that he will give her to the next man, who repeats the form, until she has been given all round the room. The last guest rises and says : “ Lo 1 in the name of her father and mother, I give this maiden to Samuel,” naming the bridegroom. Then hand-kissing goes all round, the priest is brought in to give his blessing, and the whole party join in a song of jubilee. Presently the doors and windows are thrown open and beggars rush in from the street to receive the gifts presented to the poor on such occasions. The actual wedding may take place at any time within two years of the betrothal cere-

• stony and is signalized by fetes held at both houses. Only women and children attend at the house of the bride. The marriage rites are exceedingly long and intricate. THE LADY FBEEMASON. The only female Freemason on record was the Hon. Mrs. St. Lager, the daughter of an Irish Viscount. Her husband was the Master of a Lodge of Freemasons, holding their meetings at the Doneraile Arms Hotel, in Doneraile, County Cork, Ireland. The landlady was a tenant of Lord Doneraile, Mrs. St. Leger's father. This young lady (Mrs. St. Lager) was gay, curious, and vivacious, ready for any ridiculous schema, however daring, and a general favorite with the tenants of her father. In the largo room where the meetings of the Lodge ware had. there was a great. oldfashioned clock, with a mahogany cnee soma six feet in height and two in width. Mrs. St, Leges-, having tailed in persuading her husband, Who was older and graver than she, to enlighten her as to the secrets of Freemasonry, determined to find them out for herself, She induced the landlady to conceal her inside the clock, We can imagine that When she found her, self shut up inside the musty, fusty, old machine—--when she heard the Masons assembling, and knew that escape was now impossible—when she heard them begin their mysterious .rates, her courage began to evaporate. 'I fancy the young lady spent a terrible half-hour. However that may be, suddenly a sound like sneezing broke upon the ears of the astonished brethren. The Worshipful Master drew his sword and ordered a search.- They searched under the tables and in all the cupboards. Simultaneously K rush Was made for the old clockcase, It was burst open, and the fainting form of Mrs. St. Leger fell forward into the arms of her astonished husband. She was in.«ensible--partly from mingled feelings, and partly from the effects of the close atmosphere of the old olock.caae, On recovering consciousness, and, after a long discussion, she was sentenced to be initiated compulsorily into the mysteries of Freemasonry. She was a sadder and a wiser woman ths remainder of her life. tbicyoleTfob ladies. A young lady in Melbourne rides at the head of one of the bicycle clubs, accompanied by her brother. She wears the colors of her club, a pretty shade of grey, Her costume is a plaited flounce round the bottom, a plain, neat hat and a grey gossamer veil tied over her face. It is said that no spectator can find fault with this mode of travelling for ladies, although a prejudice, which is being rapidly overcome, may exist against it in some quarters. The following is given as a suitable dress; a plain skirt of dark woollen material one-and-a-half yards in width, long enough to touch the ground when standing, lined up about fifteen inches with washleather ; an all-round jacket, either Norfolk or with narrow plaits back and front, with belt and watch-pocket; sleeves buttoned to wrist; gauntlet gloves. The jacket should not be tight. Eight yards of single-width material are sufficient. Shoes are more comfortable than boots.