WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 44, 1 June 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

MODERN WOMAN'S VIEW, Nowadays love is rather at a discount. No one can deny that as' far as women are concerned a wave of celibacy is sweeping across the land. Far fewer women marry now than formerly—they do not look upon matrimony as the one great good to be looked ahd hoped for—they turn their attention to other things and pursuits and get so interested, they forget all aooiit the little God of Love and Hymen's glowing torch. Cupid should be drawn as ■a little weeping figure in a corner with a broken bow and a blunted arrow—with his rose garland faded and dead. No one seems to fear his' powers any more, .and the poor wee god is finding himself quite neglected. Things arc getting so desperate that the community at largo is beginning, to get alarmed. " Too few marriages mean so many less citizens in the future, and what will Old England do without her stalwart sons and 'beautiful daughters? If men will consider women as' only made for their toys to pass an idle hour —to be lightly thrown on one side when broken and monotonous, or as a useful housekeeper without adequate wages, they must expect women to rise in revolt. , They have learned to assess themselves at their proper value, to realise the fact that they have lives of their own to live and souls to care for, and if they are not to be taken seriously they will not give themselves at all. Man is at least, poor dear, only a half-civilised creature. He is still struggling desperately to maintain his rights and high position in the world, ibut each day the fight gets harder, each hour his position becomes less secure, and he is 'becoming alarmed. The women are rising all over the country and claiming their true rights, and little by little they are gaining what is, after ail, only their due. The day of the subjection of women is over and gone. Marriage is the highest good that can fall to anyone's lot, if the man looks at things' the right way; but how seldom this happens! He will not make his wife his commas and dear friend—he will not share his sorrows, nor look upon her as a capable, reasoning :being; she must stay at home while he ranges far afield; s'he ha« her kitchen, and perhaps her nursery. "What more," he asks, "can any woman want?" Much more; and she has justice and right on her side. If lie works hard in the city she works equally" hard at home. He has his fixed hours for work, a woman's work is' never done; from the first thing in the morning to the last thing at night she is on the go—superintending, over-looking, slaving for her lord's comfort. He gets his days off for golf and ■ cricket; when does she have her davs off? And, after all, what is sauce for the gooste should also be supplied for the , gander. | If she could have a day off now and | then, free from household and domestic I cares, she would come back refreshed and invigorated to the weary monotonous grind once more. If he provides her with a home, she provides him with a housekeeper, a wife, and a nurse, and he takes it all grudgingly, without one word of thanks. [ j He has married her—that ought to i satisfy her. But does it? Men are selfish; they cannot help it, poor dears. They were made so at the start and will remain so until the finish, and never realise the fact. Their nupoj less attitude of stupefaction sit the revolt ■ of the women would be pathetic if it were not so ridiculous. I Let them come off their pedestal and ! indulge in a little more give instead of II all take, let them treat their wives as j more or less' reasonable human beings instead of as a necessary machine or a pretty doll. Let, them widen tueir ' wives' horizon and be interested in their pursuits, and then perhaps women will | take up the burden again and once more resume the yoke of matrimony ere it is | too late. In the meantime men are learning a very useful lesson. And that lesson is' that women can do quite well without them. Wihat a bitter pill for the poor men to swallow! One likes them so, one feels quite sorry for them. ''Love, love, softly he calls, Love, love, master of all, Mischievous Cupid with poisonous dart Man's at your mercy—for Love rules 1 his heart." —M.B. BABYLONIAN MARRIAGES. The oldest laws relating to marriage and divorce are set forth in the famous i code of laws promulgated by the great i Babylonian King Khammurabi, B.C. I{>3o. j In no civilisation of the ancient world I were the relations of the various mem•bers of tile family so clearly defined as in Babylonia. In Babylonia marriage was a purely commercial transaction, the ibride being a valuable addition to her father's wealth, and this is s'hown by the words used for bride, which usually mean, "sold." or "paid for." The ari rangement of a marriage was as much a ' matter of bargaining as the purchase of a slave or an ox or an ass. There was the price to be paid by the bridegroom—often paid in kind—to be arranged, and ; this was often paid in instalments, which : first had to be arranged, and next the marriage portion which she would bring ! with her had to be fixed. The marriage 1 portion, often a house and furniture and j some money, was inalienable from the wife, and on her death went to her child- ' ren, and should she die childless it returned to her father's house. AN ANCIENT CUSTOM. In accordance with a custom believed to have originated over 500 years ago, 21 aged widows of the parish of St. Bartholomew the Great, in the ward of Far-

ringdon Without, attended St. Bartholomew's" Churcli on Good Friday lo ro.nve sixpence each, whieh they hud to pick off a gravestone. The custom is scaled to me the survival of a bequest left by t, lady for the provision of doles for widows over GO years of age, on condition that prayers were offered for her soul every Goqd Friday. Various persons have left small Minis to continue the gifts. The i-hurchyard can now be entered only by climbing a ladder. There were seven new recipients of the charity, owing to deaths of previous widows, and most df cliem were between 70 and SO year* of age. A public-house in Bow continues the custom of adding each year | oil Good Friday one bun to a collection, which now numbers 70, 'hanging in the premises. They are ill perpetuation of a hope entertained toy a former widowed occupant of the hous'e 70 years ago, that her absent son would return home from sea before the following Good Friday, but the hope has never ibeen realised. THE NEWEST IN WINDOW CURTAINS. Just as simple materials are the most desirable for the window curtains-, so t'lie simplest forms of hanging are the only ones allowed by good tas'te. The much bedrapcd window, with curtains looped this way and that, is not seen in any well-furnished house. The long inside curtains always hang in straight lines, and should never be looped back. If an opening is desi:,'d in the centre, then the rings are pushed further along the p ( ole, s'o as ' > !;-r;ve the necessary space all the way down, More often than not, says the Woman's Magazine, the long curtains hang just at the extreme edge of the window, the main portion being hung with short curtains or casement curtains. Even the long white curtains nowadays are really short. One seldom sees them touching the floor; and tJhis is' a good innovation, as the oldfashioned white curtain that had to lie some inches on the floor was a sad dusttrap. 'Many people prefer that the curtains shall extend merely an inch or two below the bottom of the window. This is a saving in material as well as in washing. GYMNASTIC BABIES. Gymnastics for babies is the lates't development of physical culture. A Berlin doctor has just published a volume in which he makes some novel statements | in regard to the physical training of children. Strength and good physique,'! as well as suppleness of limb and grace of body, are to be secured -by early gym- ] nastic training. This is not to be done' in schools or under the care of gymnas-j tic instructors, for children of the ten-' der age of from two to six years old are to be the scholars. A child, the writer believes, has no fear, and is easily encouraged to bold actions by the gentle guidance of father or mother, and so h a series' of remarkable illustrations he shows how the little one may be thus, cautiously and yet firmly, trained to; physical feats. There, while not vying] in any way with the dexterity of - the skilled acrobat, do much towards forming the. appearance of the movements of later years. BALL-ROOM ETIQUETTE. The success of a ball depends mainly, of course, on plenty of good dancers of both sexes being present, and in order to secure the best dancers of her acquaintance, a hostess should issue her invitations at least two, better still, three weeks in advance. If the dance is to -be a large one. the invitations will assume a forma] character (printed on cards or roiigli-eaged paper) and the answers will be expected a day or two later. These will also be formal, worded somewhat as follows: "Mrs D has much pleasure in .accepting Mrs. C- —'s invitation for Wednesday evening, the 23rd inst." Mus'ic is, of course, important to a dance, and good music must be provided by tile hostess—also a sufficiency of refreshments for the guests. As nothing of the sort can be handed round in the ball-room, a refreshment room is absolutely necessary, and this should, if possible, be on the sattie floor as the ballroom, in order to avoid the draught of the staircase. If the ball is a pretentious one, a fairly substantial supper will naturally be provided, but nothing on the table should require carving; fowls and other birds served should be cut up beforehand, and' held together by ribbons. The gentleman who dances' with a lady in the last dance before sup.per usually conducts his partner to the supper-room, attends on her while there, and escorts her back to the ball-room. SIMPLE REMEDIES FOR WINTER GOLDS. Winter brings with it many a hacking cough and more or less severe cold. When the cold is in the head and all sense of smell seems to be obliterated by an accumulation at the root of the nose, comfort- may be given by holding the face over a basin of almost boiling water and inhaling the steam through the nostrils; als'o by holding a sponge soaked with the hot water over the nose tor a minute or two at a time. A hacking and an attack of asthma are also relieved by steam. Hold the open mouth over a basin of very hot I water, when the cough is troublesome, so that the steam is inhaled, and this will have a very softening effect on the throat For severe attacks of asthma a steam kettle should ibe in constant use, so that the air breathed is moist. A mixture of honey and lemon-juice is also good as a night remedy to- stay an -annoying cough. The acid of the fruit nicely tempers the excessive sweetness of the honey. A more elaborate eougli mixture is made thus: Take a teacupful of linseed, two ounces of stick liquorice, sliced, and two ounces of plump dried raisins; put all into two quarts of soft water and simmer over a slow fire till reduced to nearly one half; then strain off and add, while yet hot. two ounces of brown sugar, or sugar candy pounded. Heat all till the

sugar is thoroughly dissolved. A wineglassful of this mixture should be taken warm on going to bed. or at any time \vhi l 7i the cough may be troublesome. tiargling a sore throat with moderately hot water often gives relief and helps to clear away phlegm; and in the case of a cold of any sort it is a good plan to take a few drops of oil of peppermint or eucalyptus 011 a lump of sugar. To loosen a cough rub the chest with camphor oil.