WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 100, 5 August 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD.

END OF A .ROMANCE. AGED WIDOW AND YOUNG SUITOR. The sudden death of Mrs. Laura Steel in «i Chicago hotel last mouth is the sequel to a romance begun iu New Yorla few years ago, when the deceased, an cldeny millionaire widow, was sought j in marriage by Edward Laceetta, of Now | York. Newspapers of the emotional j type devoted long articles to the courti ship of the passionate Italian. Laceetta i presenting a bouquet to the elderly widow was one affecting picture, and Mrs. Steel writing love billets to Laceetta another. Suddenly the wealthy widow, awakened to the fact that Laceetta was .forty years younger than herself, and, aljhough she loved him dearly, she said She would not mar his future toy becoming his bride. Laceetta protested that age did not diminish the ardor of his affections, and that a future without the widow would be a life of solitude and despair. Mrs. Steel still declared that she must release Laceetta, and the latter promptly responded by suing her for £20,000 I for breach of promise. The suit was I settled out of Court on the agreement i that Laceetta should receive an annual | : income and £SOOO at.the lady's death, i Now it appears that Laceetta was - inI Chicago shortly "before Mrs. Steel died, j from apoplexy. He visited her at- the I hotel several times, and was' well received by his old fiancee. j A tragedy in which he figured really ■hastened her death. Laceetta arrived in ;' Chicago two days before her death, and .-called on Mrs. Steel at her hotel. Early •];jiext morning Laceetta was walking with man named Catalano, a Chicago ac'fiquaintance, when Catalano was shot and instantly killed by an identified Italian. Laceetta was arrested and held by the 1 police as a witness until after the enquiry into Catalano's murder. He sent word of his predicament to Mrs. Steel, and the physicians say that the shock Miss Selina Sutherland, who has been to the hotel after he was released, and found the lady in a semi-conscious conI dition, and she died in his presence. Over £SOOO was found in the possession of Mrs. Steel, and it is the belief of the police that Laceetta made an appointment with the lady to get his money in cash, and that information regarding the settlement got abroad. The po- - lice believe that, as a result, Catalano was murdered by the man who suspected Catalano and Laceetta were in possession of the large sum which Mrs. Steel had brought with her from New York. AH the Sherlock Holmes wrote to the papers giving their theory of the mysterious murder, and allegations, as usual, against that mysterious Italian organisation, the "Black Hand," were freely made. Mrs. Steel's fondness for Laceetta dated from the time when he was a member of an Italian troubador quartette,, and sang outside her house. Sue was 62 aaid I he 20 years of age. Laceetta sang love songs in a good tenor voice, and the I widow succumbed. ; CHOIR SINGER GETS A SALARY OF i £iooo. j _ ,' The highest-priced choir singer in the .workl is Corinne ißide* - Kelsey,. who receives £IOOO a year -from the First Church of Christ (Scientist) in New nine months in the year. In her .single 1 person she is the whole choir, and the entire appropriation for vocal music goes tw her. In addition, the outside earnings from concerts, it is claimed, bring her total income close tc £4OOO a year. ! For the singer with ambitions, the choir has usually been a stepping-stone. Girls with more voice than means have been glad to accept a church position for the chance of being heard,, with little more by way of salary than'compliments . and cab-fare. 'But Mrs Kelsey chose her field deliberately because of its freedom from the advantages of being inseparable from the theatre. She has sung in opera and knows. She was- born in Rochester, New York, but early went West and received the grounding of her musical education in Chicago. Then she went to New York for further instruction. To help pay for her lessons she sought a position in a church choir, and finally found one with the First Presby-. terian Church, in Brooklyn. Within a year she was a concert star. She resigned her position, and, putting - her earnings to still further study, went abroad. Merit and hard work won her a debut in London at Covent Garden in 181)8. To most young women it wouldhave seemed that she was on the threshold of her career. But Corinne Kelsey sat down to think over the situation. The beginner in opera, she knew, had a long wait for doubtful fame, certain competition with the 'best voices in the world, life without a home, and aill the whims of managers and jealousies of the profession to meet. So she decided she would go back to the old field she had left—the church—as a profession. It was a crowded field, tout not with voices of her quality. The well-to-do congregation of the First Church of Christ (Scientist) gave her the appreciation she craved, and had the means to gratify it. NEW ZEALAND FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. At Masterton recently a number of persons assembled at the District Hospital, when an in memoriam tablet was unveiled to perpetuate the memory of Miss Selina Sutherland, who hac been described as New Zealand's successor to Florence Nightingale. The tablet bore the following inscription:—" Who by her unswerving and self-sacri-ficing ministration to the sick and afflicted, and toy her touching appeals on their ibehalf, largely contributed to the establishment of the first hospital in the Wairarapa. '■lnasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren ye have done it unto Me." Reference was made by several speakers to the memory of Miss Sutherland, who was described!

as having indeed been a noble woman. She was always known for good actions done in a a quiet, unobstrusivc way. When any trouble needed alleviating, Miss Sutherland would not hesitate to ride over miles of rough country and freely give her time and attention to the case. In those days there were no hospitals or doctors, and she was an angel of mercy to a great many people in all parts of the district. When there was a demand for a hospital in the district some thirty-three years ago, the matter was left almost entirely in the hand* of Miss Sutherland, who rode about the district, collecting money for the purpose. Mr. Hogg, M.P., recalled the fact that Miss Sutherland had travelled about the Wairarapa on horses .which no other woman would attempt to mount, and crossed rivers that would make the bravest man hesitate. In 1881 Miss Sutherland went to Melbourne, where her work immortalises her memory. Her name in the Masterton district would not perish; everything that she had given was for the benefit of those in need. DOMESTIC SERVANTS. The Sphere, a week!; English illustrated paper, refers with consternation to the report that fresh offers are being made by the New Zealand Premier to induce young women to leave England and become 'domestic servants in the : Dominion. The paper says: "The dearth cannot be greater than it is in England, for it has become well-nigh an impossibility to get a good general, even giving assistance, a;:.I in a vast majority of flats there is no provision made for more than one servant, and few of tile mistresses who occupy them can afford more than. one. Recent enquiries at the 'London headquarters of the Y.WjO.OA. and G.F.S. elicited the information that they had not one on their books, and this though wages from £25 to £26 were offered. It is a serious problem this emigration of domestic ser-1 vants to our colonies when the Home Country sorely needs them." USEFUL RECIPES. Stewed Veal with (Haricots.—Required 1 : One tin or glass jar of stewed veal, one tin of haricot beans in tomato sauce, seasoning, two slices of toast. Open the vessels containing the beans and the veal. Heat the later gently in. a saucepan, and add to it about a third of the beans and' the veal. Seat the latter gently in a saucepan, and add to it about a third of the beans and sauce, or all if' the gravy and flavor of the veal seem in-l sufficient, though this is not usually the I case. Allow both to heat slowly, and I warm the remainder of the beans in an-1 other pan. When really hot, serve thej veal in a hot entree dish* if you have one; if not, put it on an ordinary one.: Add a (border of neatly-cut sippets of j toast, and shake over, if liked, a dus.t of finely-chopped parsley. The remain-j der of the beans can be served in a hoti vegetable dish, and over these also a slight sprinkle of green paisley is very effective. This makes an excellent meat course. N.B. ■— 'Veal r rabbits, ' steak, chicken and mutton are all put up m tins and glasses, so that one can get plenty of variety. A Simple Salad.—Required: A teacupfttl of cold potatoes cut in dice, a teacupful of haricot beans, or if any'cooked macedoine of vegetables, also procured in tins', a lettuce (if possible), bottled mayonnaise dressing: Cut the potatoes into neat' dice, and rinse the sauce off the beans with a little warm water, which can afterwards be used to add to stew or gravy. Mix the potatoes and beans together, heap them in a salad bowl. Put around a border of prepaTed leaves oi* macedoine of vegetables, and pour over enough salad dressing to just moisten it. This is nice to serve with cold tongue,, beef, etc. Fruit Croutons.—Required :One plain sponge or Madeira cake, one gill of. cream, half a dozen- pieqes of tinned peach or apricot, or- any other fruit, about a dozen glace cherries, a gill of the fruit syrup, castor sugar, and ' vanilla. Cut the cake into slices about two inches i thick, then stamp it into rounds the size . of the top of a claret jug. Then with a knife carefully hollow out some of the cake from the centre, so as to leave a fair-sized cavity. Pour a little syrup: over each case, so as to soak it slightly. Whip the cream stiffly, and sweeten and flavor it to taste. Cut the fruit into convenient pieces. Heap it up in the cases, put a heap of whipped cream on the top.. On this put a piece of cherry . or a few shreds of angelica and serve. Sardine Croutes.-MRequired: About eight sardines, or a small pot of sardine paste, one teaspoonful of butter, one hard-boiled pepper and vine- . gar, chopped parsley, slices of bread. ■ Stamp the bread into rounds the size of a two shilling piece. Fry these a light golden brown color in hot dripping or butter, drain them on pwer, and keep . these croates Hot. Skin, bone and mash|the sardines finely. They are, of course, more trouble than the paste. Melt the' butter in a small pan, and add the mashed sardines or paste. Add seasoning and vinegar, to taste.. Heat thoroughly, and put a neat pile of the mixture on each croute. Garnish, the heaps with lines of finely-chopped parsley, finely chopped 'white .of egg, and the yolk powdered through a sieve, This decoration must ■ be done quickly, or the croutes will get ■cold. Serve on a lace paper. Coralline pepper gives a pretty touch of red to»J this simple savory if you happen to keep, it by you. Potato Soup.—Required: One pound of potatoes, one small onion, one pint of : hot milk, one ounce of butter, one pint and a-half of boiling white stock (made from white meat —i.e., veal or chicken) or water, two sticks of. celery, half an ounce of semolina or small sago or crushed tapioca, salt, pepper. Wash, peel and slice the potatoes, laying- them in cold water directly they are cut to prevent them discoloring. Wash and chop the celery, peel and slice the onion, melt the butter in, a clean bright pan, add all vegetables, and turn them about in the hutter over the fire for eight minutes, but do not let them color in the least. Add the water and a little salt, and boil the soup gently until the potatoes are soft. Rub through a hair sieve with a wooden'spoon. Rinse out the 1 saucepan, pour 'back the soup, add the

milk, reboil it, and when boiling, shake in the semolina, stirring it all the time. Boil it until the semolina floats, and is 'quite transparent—probably about eight minutes. Then add the seasoning, and note if the consistency be that of good cream. If too thick add more hot milk. If too thin, either a little more semolina, cooking it again thoroughly, or else boil the soup a little to reduce it. Serve with toast or croutons.