LADIES’ COLUMN.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXII, Issue 42748, 15 July 1905, Page 3

LADIES’ COLUMN.

{CHEERFULNESS- • »' ' ■■■ . These are certain virtues suitable to certain seasons just as there are certain frocks suitable to certain moodsOne cannot imagine a woman attired in a delicately-hued crepe de chine suffering from a fit of depression. There is a certain shade of brown which it is'equally impissable to as sociate wi;h gaietj, and one can quit' uncerstand why the monks of a FranjCiscan Order clothe themselves in it for it is a hue of repentance and often the tone people adopt wheu the reluctantly slip into middle age. Show me a man’s friends, and I will tell you the manner of man be is,” goes the saving and “ Show me a woman's clothes and I will tell you the manner of woman she is,” could be applied with as much truth, I thiuk. for often dress reflects on our temperament. Certain moods are inseparable from certain occasions. One cannot be anything but languid, drifting down a harbour on a yacht on a hot summer day, or anything but energetic, selling at a bazaar with, the eye of a Souety re* porter upon one. I might go on indefinitely showing proper moods for various situations, but alt leads up to my text, which is, that there is only one mood necessary to support one through the dulness of an enforced residence in the country and that is cheerfulness. I admit all the difficulties for attaining such a mood but none the less I am convinced of the necessity of jt. When it is not raining it is I blowing a gale, and if by any chance for one day, it is neither, you can comfort your soul with the thought it wili probably be both to-morrow. Every body has a pet worry, and I think a special order of merit should remain cheerfol under all circumstances. The world does not get more cheerful as it grows oldei and yet there is no virtue which tends more towards social popularity.

Of course one is not always cheerful when they appear so. It is ofien a form of social politeness, just like appearing interested when you are bored to death. The professor of a really light-hearted nature is such a rarity when found, he or she find themselves at once in universal rrqupst. Their influence is seeu at all function s , where gue ts who had previously repiesented so nr ; ny animated tombstoni grow facetious under the spell of tbiir high spirits. A really happy Lear ed nature does far more good to humanity thau liaif the philanthropists in the world, but those endowed with such are lew and far between.

There are some houses which effect cne perceptibly the moment one enters One feels like laughing directly they cross the threshold of some and in others an unu : terable depression seizes you when the door is opened- In cheerful houses the atmosphere of friendl.ness seems to extend to the very doorstep—houses where one does not go to air one’s best frocks but one’s best brains, secure of finding recognition and that atmosphere of cotnpre- . bending sympathy which is like a forcing house for the wits, and where things, more than people, are the subjects of conversation. Visitors are not lussed over, but a>e paid the greater compliment of being admitted into the ordinary home life, where simplicity in conjunction with refinement are the ruling spirits. In the colonies one often meets educated people capable of taking an intelligent interest in things from both a social and domestic point of view, nothing being done merely for show or pretension, which makes us realise that if we were simpler in ourselves and in our ways, we should not only be happier but find life worth living after all. One must turn, though from the homes of cheerfulness, to those which alas ! ar not so rare ; the depressing abodes of people who show their gentlehood, not in pleasant speeches and ia kind acts, but in idle chatter of the imaginary delinquencies of their acquaintances, subjects infinitely more congenial to the majority of scandal-mongers. It is pitable to think that half the scandals originate by foolish gossip among affectionate friends who are not particular about accuracy, but invariably -‘Don’t quote me.” There is no need to. None of their acquaintances require t be told who invented the gossip. It sobvious To return to the most congenial topic, one often sees the people most liked in this world are either the most beautiful nor the most cleverest, and {cannot but wonder what the particular attraction is which distinguishes them and it will generally prove to be their cheerfulness. Modern life, with its rush and over-wrought nerves makes genuine light-heartedness an increasing effort, and one c innot help but see that it is a gifr. withheld from the greater part of .the inhabitants of this c*ituary.