WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 94, 17 May 1909, Page 4

WOMAN'S WORLD.

REMEMBER YOUR FIGURE. "That girl works at a desk," said «■ dressmaker to one of her customers, as she noticed a young woman with one hip decidedly larger than the other. "How do 1 know'/ Because her whole side i s out of symmetry. It is a pity that women who must sit a great deal do not take'paius to do it properly, "Now, one of your hips is larger than the other. Don't you always sit in a chair putting' that side first? "1 though so. Remember the next time you sit down to reverse the way you do it. It will counteract the unevenness of your figure if you keep it up. "Women should not only watch that they do not always,' sit in the same position, but that they do their work in opposite directions. " "If you cannot stand squarely on your feet, and persist in letting yourself lop on one hip; do be careful that it is not always the same hip." COLORS TO WEAR.

A red - faced woman often wears brighter red -in a dress so that her face < may appear less red. A blue dress will give yellow to the face. . A yellow dress gives hlue. But all thes'e results are altered materially by the intervention of white between the face and the dress. White intensifies color. If there is a tinge of pink in the face, white brings it out. If there is sallowncss in the face 'white accentuates it. It is for this reason that many women wear yellow instead of white at the neck, so that the yellow of the face becomes less conspicuous by contrast. THE CZARITSA'S WARDROBE.

The Czaritsa takes no interest wlutevcr iu her clothes, and though her costumes arc, of course, well made and of expensive materials, they never have anything remarkably distinctive about them, for the very reason that she cares so little about the matter. She does most of her shopping in Paris, but she does' it by proxy. Each season one of the ladies-in-waiting is commissioned to buy iu l'aris her gowns and her hats and all the other little details appropriate for the wardrobe of an empress, but many times when they reach the Czaritsa she discards them with the ex: pressiou: "Indeed that is perfectly lovely and very Frenchy, but it would never do for me at all."

For evcry-day wear her gowns arc alf of the plainest, but, of course, there are occasions when she must wear regal robes. Her Court costume is a magnificent creation of the richest satin, elaborately trimmed with heavy embroidery. Masses of the embroidery are used, while the corsage is laden with jewelled trimming. The buttons which trim this Court costume are each one of them worth a small fortune. They consist of a large pearl in a wonderfully artistic setting. Tile Czaritsa's pearls, which she wears with this costume, are famous the world over, Sometimes she wears drop-earriugs of matched pearls, which arc very valuable, and her dog collar and necklace and corsage ornaments, also of pearls, are almost priceless. The Czaritsa is always glad when the time comes for her to take off her Court costume; the long, heavy train is a burden to her. She always prefers gowns that are light in weight. Many of her dresses are of the lingerie order, consisting of lace and line cambric. Yet, on the other hand, she has many house-gowns and cloaks of velvet, trimmed with rave laces. I'erliaps, of all her jewels, she prefers a long string of wonderful pearls, which she wears very often. The string Is so long that she can wear it twice around her neck, and yet have the longest loop reach her knees'. The short loop comes to her waist-line, and is finished with one single pear-shaped pearl of enormous value' The Uirls' Own Paper and Woman's Magazine.

A new departure in hat-pins -has a miniature for its head. One of these is described by a writer as "a largish, beau-tifully-painted picture of a lady of the powed and patches time, covered with a convex glass and rimmed with gold. It secured the hat from the left front of the crown, and a blackbird stared permanently at it from the other side of the headgear." The Dutch have some quaint customs about bread and cakes (says a writer in Woman's Life). When a'child is bom, all the female friends of the mother go to see her, each presenting her with a tart for luck. Jn some parts of Holland, when a Suitor has advanced some way in his courtship, he brings a large cake under his arm. He places the cake on the tabic after the parents have retired. If the girl loves him. slit: replenishes the fire, the cake is cut, and they are engaged. If she does not make up the (ire, the disconsolate swain takes up his cake and goes away rejected. During his final day in Xew York before his departure for Africa, .Mr. Roosevelt called on .Mary Ledwith, an aged woman, living in an oast-side tenement, who nursed Mrs. Roosevelt when a baby. Mr. Roosevelt elimbed the tenement stairs, directed by the jnnitrcss, and the visit was so unexpected that the old woman greeted him with the remark, '•Oh, merciful goodness, I haven't had time to clear up." Mr. Roosevelt put his arms round her nock, and, kissing her, Said, "Never mind; I came only to sav good-bye." .Mary Ledwith cried, anil said, "Oh, I'm afraid you'll be killed. Do lie careful of those lions, cannibals, and thiugs in Africa." A lady gives one or two useful hints in the Argus on the means of distinguishing good wearing dress materials. In the cheaper varieties of tweeds, she says, it is not uncommon to find that the lighter-tinted elements of the fabric are chiefly composed of cotton, and as this soils much sooner than wool, the garment becomes prematurely shabby. One has to exercise special caution in considering all white cloths, or those with mixture of white. In this regard there is no better test than that practised by 'Custom-house officials. This consists of unravelling a sample of the stuff and burning a portion of the warp and wool. Then the presence of cotton is' easily detected, for the smell and manner of the burning wool is quite different from that of eotton or other mixtures. As the coming winter seems to promise popularity for rough tweeds, the above hints are worth noticing; but, in any case, goods with mixed effects generally wear better than plain ones. The wool has io be dyed before it is woven, while the iihiin-fnced ones are dyed afterwards. The trouble with self-colored fabrics is that they are liable to "cockle up" and spot with the first shower of rain. The best way to avoid such a catastrophe is to lay a damp cloth all over the material before it is cut oul. and iron it with a hut iron. This method also helps to prevent shrinkage, which is always to be feared with plain woollens more than with mixed colorings. It conjures up a hopeless picture, comments a lady in the Bulletin. One sees in fancy the kindly lady-mother in her home, with its '■beautiful board" (from which five governesses retired in disorder during a single year), and its culture and opportunities for physical development by means of useful" toil. On the surface, it is pleasing enough. But look closer. Its bosom warms and nourishes a viper in the form of the sixth annual governess. This person—l cannot bring myself to term her woman—draws the lavish stipend or honorarium of ten shillings per week. Yet is she dissatisfied. Nay, more; she is rebellious. Little liill has had his niusic-lesson (piano, harpsichord, and oboe); his sister Martha lias been heard her French verbs; the twins" have hearkened misunderslaudinglv to the basic principles of .surds; the flrcek and Latin compositions of lluAJamily have been corrected! evening approaches. The day's work of the governess, on its intellectual side, is' over. WliaPmnre natural than that the pampered creature should be desired to iwing an axe on the wood-heap for half an hour, and bruystonc the terra-cotl.a lions on the front porch as preliminary steps to cleaning out the fowlhousc. The suggestion is put to her by the ladymother. Lo! she sidesteps it. She sals that she is weary, or has homo letters to write, or advances any other paltry excuse of the kind that occurs to her contumacious mind. And so the billet of seventh governess yawns for another. The sort of thing—this seething discontent and arrogance and contempt of constituted authority tlial is becoming so manifest among the lower classes—is the

direct result of Australia not taking Mr. J. Cook's advice and going iu wholeheartedly for Anti-Socialism. "A Mother" errs in thinking that the fact of "other ladies" having "a say" in the Adelaide Register on the governess question is going to "put a period to such nonsense." Nothing but the return of Jlr. Cook to power with a large majority will be of the slightest avail to produce educated females who will train the intellects -f the young, and when not so eugaged, will cut wood and dig the garden, all for a fraction over one shilling per diem.

To a French woman (says Madame i'Perrot) it conies natural to be pleasant; to seek to put people at their ease and make them happy. It comes natural to her to cook and to manage a home. It comes natural to her to watch over her children. And the reason? It is because she in turn has been watched over and taught and cherished by her own mother. The French girl is encouraged to be natural, not to be afraid or ashamed. She is encouraged to think well of herself. In England, if a child falls down, it is told, "Don't cry. Be brave. Repress your tears." But it is good for it,to cry! It is bad to be repressed. In England, if one says, "How pretty the little one is," or "How (clever," everybody says, "Hush, do not let her hear." In France we delight to hear our children praised. It does them good. It is this constant repression, this forbidding of children to value themselves', that makes English women less lovable,, because less natural, than French women. They think it is their duty to he cold. They do not realise their power. That is one reason why m England love is not talked about, it is not thought "good form" to reveal one's feelings. HINTS.

The very best way to keep violets fresh is not to put them in water, but throw over them a handkerchief thoroughly wet, and set in a draught. Rub the edges of frayed collars or cull's with paraffin wax, tiieu rub with a handkerchief. A soft edge is thus produced, which 'will be found comfortable, and the fraying will disappear. When chopping suet for a pudding roll it a few times witOi the rolling-pin, then chop again. Much time will be saved, and no lumps will appear in the pudding. A useful white liniment can be made by mixing liniment of camphor twenty fluid ounces, oil of marjoram two drachms, solution of ammonia twenty fluid ounces.

Exercise should never be carried to extremes. After it a -person should cool by degrees, otherwise there is a great risk of catching cold. Hot water will often restore flowers' to freshness, even when every petal is drooping. Place the stems in' a cup of boiling water, and leave them until every leaf is smoothed out, then cut off the ends of the steins and put the bouquet into lukewarm mater.

' When filling oil lamps place a small lump of camphor in the oil vessel. It will greatly improve the light and make the (lame clearer and brighter. If you have no camphor add a few drops of vinegar occasionally.

Flaked soap is expensive to buy; but you can flake your own by .scraping down ordinary soap with a suet-scraper, These scrapers arc also useful for flaking dripping when ia the winter it gets too hard to be easily rubbed into flour when making pastry or cakes. Vegetables should on no account lie left packed in paper bags. They should be placed on a stone floor or on a cool shelf.