WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 361, 12 April 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

NOTES FOR WOMEN THE SUFFRAGETTES. London, February IS. There is some method in the present quiet attitude of the suffragettes. Mrs. Pankhurst, speaking at Bristol tuis week, said that suffragists found every reason to be satislied with their position. They had the Liberal Government put just where they wanted to have them. They had not abandoned their militant methods, but had only suspended them. It was only right to give a new Government a chance before beginning again. They did not want their claim for the removal of the sex disability mixed up with any Reform 'Bill. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SERVANTS. A new departure, and one that is likely to be welcomed, on the part of the County Council is their decision to award eighteen scholarships to domestic servants on the result of a competitive examination in plain cookery to be held nt the end of next month. The scholarships will entitle the holders to free lessons in household cookery on five full days a week for twelve weeks, free dinners during that time, and £5 for travelling and other expenses. MADAME CURRIE'S NEW DISCOVERY. Madame Currie, who deservedly enjoys the reputation of being the greatest woman scientist in the world, is now responsible for another discovery, which will add to her honor. Her latest research work is in connection with polonium, an element said to be 5000 times rarer than radium. A WOMAN " FREEMAN." Mrs. Sarah Anne Lees, on wbom the freedom of Oldham (Lancashire) has been conferred, has for many years devoted large sums and much personal service of a self-sacrificing nature to the poor and afflicted, and has presented to the town plots of land and cleared a large slum area. She is a Liberal member of the local Town Council, was one of the first women councillors in the country, and her name is the first on the Oldham roll. WANTED, MOTOR EXPERTS! "Wanted, for an Indian lady in Bombay, a lady's maid, who also understands thoroughly the mechanism of motor cars and can drive them as wen; must be young." So runs an advertisement in a London paper. A training school for ladies' maids should be an institution worth wandering through when the list of accomplishments demanded by mistresses in their maids is complete! FASHIONLAND. RIBBON MILLINERY. London, February 18. While "Chanteder" hats ha.ve queened the millinery world, a new little model has come over from Paris that is likely to become a favorite for many reasons. It is new. not necessarily expensive (compared with Chanteclers), and becoming to most people. Nothing but ribbon is employed, except, of course, the foundation straw, and all sorts of wonderful things are made, even imitation .plumes being created of pleated find rucked ribbon. The newest ribbons are, by this fashion, likely to be well advertised; some of these are of black velvet on one side, with a satin underside in some dainty tint. BEAUTY CULTURE.

No amount of warning, no hideous cases of failure in beauty culture, seem to deter the woman intent on "improving" herself, and Saturday's Daily Telegraph, in an article on "Figure Culture,'' remarks on the mad enthusiasm with which Parisia.il 'women are injuring their health in order to get thin enough to wear the fashion their couteriers dictate shall appear. "If I had known what agony I should have to suffer," said one of these victims to fashion the other day, "I should certainly have left my figure as Nature intended it to he." She then described the process to which she had been subjected, finding/her sole consolation in the fact that she believed herself to be a trifle more slim than she had been before spending her guineas on a cure through which she hoped to secure a slim and elegant form. She had twice been rubbed with some lotion that smelt strongly of turpentine; then she was left exhausted, under the impression that improvement would shortly be apparent. Next morning she was not merely seriously ill, hut her skin had broken out into a series of lumps and bruises. After a few days this passed away, and the rubbing was resumed. Her masseuse laughed at her, telling her that was to be expected of the process, and that it was nothing to what some of her clients underwent. One beauty had had her face entirely skinned in order that the wrinkles might he taken off. and the result was a complexion as soft as a child's. Another one had everv inch of superfluous flesh rubbed off until her figure emerged graceful and slim. REMEDY FOR INSOMNIA.

A well-known physician has recently given it as his opinion that people who cannot sleep at night would be greatly relieved if they reclined at a slight angle, their feet a little higher than their heads, instead of lying perfectly flat. "An important factor in the study of sleep," he says, "is gravity. When a person stands or sits up the action of the blood may be compared to an inverted syphon. It is my opinion that to lie in bed with the feet on a slightly higher level than the head is an excellent remedy for sleeplessness. In such a position the 'syphon' action of the heart is slightly assisted by gravity, producing a. soothing and (restful state of mind. Nothing, however, will induce sleep if the individual worries or thinks

about everyday affairs. I will explain a good mental exercise of my own. ivvery night, when I go to bed, I transport myself to a beautiful South Sea island, and, surrounded liy lovely vegetation, commence digging that cave every night for the past twenty-five years, and I have never finished it, because after removing a few shovelfuls of earth I wake up—and it is time for breakfast." TO CLEAN BLACK SKIRTS. A hint which may be useful to some readers appeared last evening, and is worth repetition:—Lay the skirt as flatly as possible on a clean table, humove all grease spots with brown paper and a hot iron. Then with a sponge dipped in very strong coffee rub over the whole of the dress, paying special attention to the front and the edge of the skirt. When the whole of the skirt has been sponged, and is still damp, iron on the wrong side until perfectly dry. It is best to use an ironing-board for this process if one ig available. NEW FASHION FOR MEN. Embroidered shirts for men are the last thought of Fashion, and sweethearts and devoted sisters will be grateful for at last having some masculine garment on which to make a tangible show of love. Crewel-worked slippers, braces, and smoking caps have long been banned thankfully by men, and it will be interesting to see how they will take to shirts embroidered down the fronts, with cross-stitch of blue or red, or both, such as one West End shop is advertising now. HUNTRESS TO EDUCATIONIST. Thousands of feet above the sea-level, amidst the Himalayas of Little Thibet, in the heart of a region whereon no white had previously trod, stood a small camp. Unlike the ordinary big-game shooting expedition, it was under the leadership of a woman. Suddenly all is excitement, for one of the natives rushed in with the news that a red snow bear with a cub was in the vicinity. A few minutes later the intrepid huntress, armed with a light rifle, started out to' find it, accompanied by a single attendant to carry her sporting gun. There, is not much of the Hyde Park church parade about mountain hunting, so soon the couple were crawling over stony ground until on a narrow ledge with a wall of rock towering above a nice little drop of a few hundred feet they came face to face with the grizzly object of their search. The gun-bearer promptly bolted, leaving his mistress to her fate. Clinging to the face of the precipitous cliff, unable to shoot, she calmly awaited the savage brute's attack, expecting every moment to be her last; but, strange to say, the bear seemed staggered by the strange encounter, for after a few growls it turned tail and fled. Within " twenty-four hours bruin was tracked, and now the huge animal "stands at ease" in the hall of the sportswoman. The foregoing .is 'Only one little episode from the crowded adventurous life of Lady Constance Stew-art-Richardson, daughter of the late Lord Cromartie, and granddaughter of Annie. Duchess of Sutherland. Although a popular member of smart society, she belongs to the ever-increasing band of titled''women who believe in having an object in life. Keen on all sorts of outdoor sport, from swimming to driving four-in-hand, her pet hobby is the proper combination of physioal culture with the education of the young, and in order to raise the necessary to start a school where her theory can be .properly tested, she is appearing at the Palace Theatre in a series of classical dances.

'l'm very Scottish," said Lady Constance to a representative of the Scotsmaa the other day, "for 1 come from lioss-shire, and it is in my native place I intend starting my small school. I hope to commence by adopting five orphan boys. They will be brougat up on the same lines which proved so successful in the ease ot my own five-year-old son, for, in my opinion, the modem system of education is altogether wrong. What do you find nowadays? Either the average child become a bookworm, to the detriment of his body, or an athlete, to the detriment of his mind. Wherever you find two men of equal strength pitted against one another, say in a prize fight, the brainy boxer wins. Now, an important part of my scheme will be the training of the senses, such as touch, hearing, natural history, the power of observation, physical culture, "and kindred matters. An open-air life is closely associated with the above, so that my pupils' health will by force of ' circumstances improve correspondingly with their education. Nine is quite soon enough for them to be taught the three R's, by which time they will have a quick reasoning brain in a fine, healthy body. Mens sana iii corpore sano. I was particularly struck during my travels 'with the vastly superior intelligence of the average native up to the ajje of ten or eleven in comparison with our boys, although from then his intellect seems to cease developing at the same rate, due, I suppose, to the difference in brain power. This caused me to wonder what results might be achieved in our race, admittedly possessing a superior .brain capacity, were brought ud from infancy ureter natural conditions, instead of having, their little heads crammed with mathematics, music, foreign grammar, etc. A language picked no orally I have no objection to. I therefore determined to apply this to my own son, and the results have so far exceeded my expectations that I want other children to have the same .chance. Yes, I'm greatly in favor of the r Bov Scout movement, as in a small way helping towards a more rational training ;of our young. But I am just as strongly against parents packing off children of eight or nine to preparatory boarding schools at what I consider the most sensitive age —the very time when the little mind becomes filled with all kinds of quaint thoughts, which will only be confided to the parents they love. The most important factor in the furtherance of any enterprise is capital, so when faced with this problem my thoughts naturally turned towards some means of making money. Why not take advantage of the boom in dancing, es-

pecially since I had been passionately fond 01 it. ever .since a child. J was also encouraged to do this by the success I achieved 'when performing last year at *jji<» Hotel Plaza, Xew Vork, in aid of charity. I'm parctiealiy self-taught, except for a few lessons from Madame Cavakmi. I arrange my own dances, which are set to music ranging from Greig's 'Au Printemps' and Beethoven's 'March Funebre' (Sonata op. 20) to Waldtcufol's 'Bonne Bouclie Polka.' Even the Greek costume I wear has been >made at home from my own design. Do I practise much': Every day, for although I keep myself lit with gymnastics, swimming, etc., I always put aside two hours for my dancing, usually doing my various gestures and steps before a mirror. Isadore Duncan I admire tremendously. To my mind she is the most artistic of all classical dancers. All her movements are perfect saudies. Then, how wonderful Ruth St. Dennis is in her Eastern dance-s. I remember an Indian telling me that he took her for one of his countrywomen. My favorite sport? Well, I've rather a, soft side towards shouting, for you got right away for civilisation when out after big game. All personal pleasure has to stand aside in the meantime for the sake of the children, and I trust my humble efforts may see the commencement of a new era in education which will produce a real Britisher both mentally and physically." WOMEN PHILANTROPISTS. , Mrs. Josephine L. Newcomb, of New Orleans, is said to have given a larger amount to educational 'charity during the last twelve months than any other woman in the United States. She bequeathed £300,000 to the Sophie Memorial School of New Orleans. She had ■previously given £200,000 to the school, which is a memorial to her daughter, who died at the age of fifteen. Miss Helen Gould gave £30,000 to the Girls' College in Constantinople. Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt gave £200,000 for sanitary tenements, and is supposed to have given h'.lf a million to a home for crip- , pies at Chappaqua, New York. Mrs. 'VRussell s:,age gave CoOO.OOO to schools and colleges, £GO,OIV> for the relief of aged women, and £?.',000 for an industrial home at Lawrence, L.I. Elizabeth F. Noble, of Mansfield, Mass._, left £IOO,OOO to humane and anti-vivisee-tionist societies; Mrs. Sarah Morris, widow of the Chicago beef-packer, left £BO,OOO to a hosnitai for children; Mrs. Sarah Todd, of Carlisle, Pa., left £150,000 to a home for aged women; Lady Cook, formerly Tennesse Claflin, of New York, gave £200,000 to the cause of woman suffrage; Miss Helen Frick gave a playground to Pittsburg; Miss Edith Bockefeller MeCormiek gave £40,000 to . beantifv Lake Forest, 111.; and Miss Caroline Phelps-Stokes gave £60,000 for negro schools and tenement houses. A MIXED CLUB. The movement to establish a combined club for men and women in Sydney comes as somewhat of a shock to those of us who are still "early Victorian," writes Ariel in the Sydney Morning Herald. To some such minds it brings picture only of cigarettes and whisky hottles. Yet we never.imagine that the lady 'who stays at 'big hotels lives in the bar or the smoke-room. If we look at the development of this idea in the Mother Country we shall see that more than half the clubs in London to-day are open to both men and women. This innovation has come, perhaps, within the last eighteen years—a long enough period to prove the success or failure of such a venture. And it has been followed with success also in Birmingham,; Manchester, all the large country centres, as well as in Scotland and Ireland. It has become rathe- the rule for the newer clubs in all big cities to admit both men and women as members from the start. But tha growth of mixed clubs has not in any way interfered with the older institutions, the purely men's or purely women's cubs, nor even with ! «stablishment of new ones on these lines. These still have their proper place in the nation's growth. The mixed club is, however, considered by its promoters as a legitimate need, and more because or" the unlikeliness of men and women than by reason of their similar interests and occupations. Here is neutral ground, where the woman can learn the value of the man's point of view, and man the woman's—lessons that must he learnt where men and women both take part in the management of public affairs. And better far neutral ground of club than drawing-room of hostess for the "heroically zealous!" The advantages of a city i club for country and suburban man and woman arc admitted.- These would remain in a mixed club, 'where the first essential to success is separate apartments for men and women. But there ■«s common ground, too. Here lies the family advantage. Husband and wife may enter together, dine there together, privately or with other club members. Will the elub attract its members more and more to city life ? The clubs to-day are somewhat blamed for that. But the "mixed," it is contended, works rather in the other direction. Many families who now give up comfortable suburban homes for city flats, when their daughters arrive at the age of theatres, balls, and parties, would prefer to use the convenience of a mixed club, for late nfghts in town. For the "mixed," like all up- . to-date clubs, must be residential. The separate clubs might fill this want. But not so fitly. There is still inconvenience in father and son going to one of the city clubs to sleep, mother and daughters to the other. The effort to establish the first mixed olub in Sydney has 'been in progress for some time.