Feminine Interests

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 478, 6 October 1928, Page 21

Feminine Interests

GIVE THE FAMILY A CHANCE! “LOVE MUST BE CULTIVATED" It is a long time since Mr. George Bernard Shaw delighted Youth with the theory that it was absurd to expect relations to love each other, merely because they were linked by ties of blood. Since first that Shavian gesture gave the cue to rebellious sons and daughters. Youth’s egoism has made such tremendous strides in the anti-family direction that perhaps G. 8.5., himself the soul of human kindliness, might be a little appalled to realise the effect of his whimsical gospel. The interpretation that Youth would seem to put upon it in these days is that relations, because they are relations, are necessarily and temperamentally anathema. Dating back much farther than Mr. Shaw is that admirable womanwriter, Mrs. Harriet Beecher-Stowe. who shared the same views as G. 8.5., in respect of family relationships. But how differently she expressed them! She was not at pains to be brilliantly humorous about it. With deep feminine sincerity and simplicity, she summed up the matter after her woman's fashion. "It is a mistake to suppose.” she wrote, “that relations must of course love each other because they are relations. Love must be cultivated, and can be increased by judicious culture, as wild-fruits may double their bearing under the hand of a gardener; and love can dwindle and die out by neglect, as choice flower-seeds planted in poor soil dwindle and grow single.” With the utmost regard for the scintillating genius of Mr. Shaw, I maintain that a dose of Mrs. BeecherStowe would do Youth more good at the present juncture. Youth is not old enough or experienced enough, or generous enough, to take Shaw neat, without getting a little intoxicated in the process. Youth is not big enough to perceive, behind the quips and sallies of his “sens du theatre,” the background of good citizenship that, to all who know him, gives G.B.S. his most shining aura. Youth translates the anti-family jest as an anti-social gesture that Mr. Shaw would be the first to censure. Admitted love is not always possible between'bloodrelatives; it does not mean that they must be treated with a gross dis-

courtesy, a colossal casualness, that would never be metecj out to strangers. If love is absent, if the feeling of alienation is there, then strangers of the heart they must remain. But let them at least receive the minimum of ordinary decent treatment which would be accorded to those outside the family circle. And queerly enough by virtue of that minimum of virtue, it is sometimes found that Love, real Love, will flower from the seed of everyday goodwill The closest links

that bind us to those outside the family, and that most blissfully satisfy out temperamental needs, would soon snap a,sunder if we put the strain upon them that we put on the family’s heartstrings when we are rebelliously “out of touch.” Give the family the same chance as strangers! They may prove a sounder investment for affection in the end, at a time when the loyalty of the clan is the last court of appeal for the stricken soul. —E.V.

THE WEEK-END SUIT CASE

One of the smartest women I know declared recently that she usually sets out on a week-end visit with only the clothes she stands up in, a simple evening dress, and her night attire. She is a firm believer in travelling light! Since the clothes she “stood up in” on this occasion comprised a beautifully cut frock in light-weight woollen material showing the modish geometrical design in a slightly darker shade of the same colour, finished with spotless, detachable lingerie collar and cuffs (two clean sets were tucked into the suit case); a coat exactly matching the shade of the design, lined with silk to match the groundtrork of the dress, and a neat little chapeau in which the tw-o tones were mingled, she certainly needed nothing more in the way of day clothes. The evening dress selected for this particular week-end was in soft taffeta —the new kind of taffeta that is almost as supple as satin and does not easily crush. This went readily into a very small space in the suitcase, leaving ample room for nightdress, dressinggown, bedroom slippers, evening shoes, stockings, brushes, creams and so on. Therefore, although the visit was to a smart country house, this woman was well equipped to face any sartorial emergency. It is an excellent plan for a girl of average means, who receives a good many week-end invitations, always to have one suitcase in perfect order; and always to keep a set of brushes and combs, a night-gown, a dressing warp and a pair of bedroom slippers clean and ready for packing on the shortest notice. It will save a lot of hurry and scurry at the last moment, and it will avoid the tiresome necessity of sitting up half the night before in order to wash, iron, repair and generally prepare the things needed for a “Saturday to Monday” visit. If you can manage it, the kind of week-end kit described above is well worth considering during the weeks when invitations are likely to come along. The tailored frock without the coat will be suitable for any daytime occasion; the coat can be slipped on for motoring, while the taffetas dress will be perfectly correct for a dance, a bridge evening, or just a family dinner-party. If tennis is to be included in the week-end programme, a thin washing silk frock will take up next to no room in the case. D.D.