WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 130, 10 September 1910, Page 9

WOMAN'S WORLD.

1 DO WOMEN CREATE DISHONEST MEN? 'Many a man has taken the path that leads towards dishonesty as a result of his wife's influence; the bolting cashier, the swindling bank manager, the dishonest director—all these and many others are made into criminals by women. In short, if a man goes wrong, it will be usually found that there is a woman behind the scenes (says a writer in a London journal). The explanation is easy; a couple have an ample income, perhaps £6OO per annum. The wife demands certain things and gets them; she entertains, she is fairly lavish, she does not grudge expense—the money is always forthcoming, and she is perfectly contented. In going over bills, accounts, and: what not, she most certainly observes that she and her husband are actually living at a rate far over the £6OO, perhaps nearer £IOOO a year.

Where does the money come from? That is a question that does not, as a rule, bother the good lady—sufficient if she gets what she wants, and no questions asked.

The result? A husband fleeing to faraway parts, a wife left stranded in this country, a ruined home, and everlasting disgrace. Obviously the man must have known all along how things would end up, and doubtless on many occasions he will have quarrelled with his wife over her expenditure; tout in very many cases that does no good whatever.

Let a woman /but feel her head thoroughly in the way of handling money, and in nine cases out of ten the husband has got to keep up the supply, or exist in abject misery. Lots of men are cowards, and, rather than live in misery, commit acts that they well know will bring disaster and disgrace. The wife in many cases simply must be aware of what is going on. She is bound to know that the supply of money, far exceeding the income, cannot have been come by honestly. If a man draws an income of £SOO, and his wife is aware that she and her husband, live at the rate ,of £BOO per annum, what is one to think of that woman?

If the man is a swindler, so also is she; yet when all is discovered, she it is who gets the sympathy. The man is always blamed, never the woman. Of course, the man is to blame, but not one whit more than his wife, and in any such case it is only right that the woman should bear her fair share of the blame. In a lower social circle much the same thing occurs—the husband draws a small salary, perhaps two pounds per week; his wife has an idea that it can do wonders, and she launches forth. The husband learns that he is going to be very uncomfortable if this and that is not provided; he does provide it by taking a few pound's from his employer's safe. The result is a terrible scandal, usually followed by imprisonment, and the poor wife has sympathy lavished on her—how hard it must have been to have such a monster on the premises, and so forth. It is strange, but the fact remains, that stealing, so far as .the woman is concerned, only involves the taking of hard cash. Thus, if the butcher's bill is a sovereign short, a housewife won't tell the merchant; if the grocer omit 9 to enter a number of tilings in his book, the average woman will never dream of drawing his attention to the slip—no, she will pay what is asked under the circumstances, and think herself very lucky.

And even in the way of committing crime, consider the happy position held by ladies. Think of how easily they escape.

Somehow, there is a prejudice against branding a woman as a thief. If she is a lady of standing and in a position to pay for articles appropriated, the law has a ridiculous habit of calling her a "kleptomaniac." How seldom do you hear of a man getting off by pleading that he is a kleptomaniac? It would do a man no good so to plead; the average magistrate would consider it an aggravation of the offence, and give him a fortnight extra for his impudence. But when a lady stands in the dock, beautifully dressed in a taking costume, with a magnificent plumed hat on her head, and presses a dainty cambric handkerchief to her eyes, which handkerchief she removes from time to time to mutely gaze at judge and jury, what do we find?

The hearts of the good men and true harden against the ibrutal shopkeeper who has dared to charge the fair creature, the judge speaks in her favor, and, as a rule, she is liberated "without a stain on her character."

If she has stolen the goods, why, she is a kleptomaniac, but a thief never.

CONVERSATION.

Conversation is one of the blights of civilisation. People spend thousands of pounds in education, in books, in travel, in theatre tickets, and all in order to be able to carry on a conversation. As a consequence, the women talk -about cooks and clothes, and the men about weather and women. Conversation may be divided into chats, arguments, piffle and palaver, with gossips and quarrels as side issues. Conversations are fortunately forgotten as soon as they are over, otherwise people would Ibe so mortified over their inane remarks that they would seek new frienda every day, fearing to meet old ones.

The idea that when people meet it is necessary for them to talk has grown out of helpless self-distrust. Not over five out of a million say anything when they converse.

The art of conversation is a lost one, and the art of keeping still demands cultivation.

The trouble is that were we to try to develop the art of keeping still we should immediately begin to talk about it.

GOLDEN RULES FOR COOKING VEGETBLES. Be economical. Steam or boil potatoes in their skins. Lay all greens in cold water before cooking. Green must lie boiled in boiling water, with salt and soda. Boil greens fast with the lid off, and skim well. Drain well and servo hot. Throw water in which greens have been cooked outside the house if possible, no down the sink.

All root vegetables, except beetroot and onions, are scrubbed.

After peeling or scraning lay vegetables in cold water to kocp the color. The proportion of salt added to the water should be one tablespoonful to two quarts of water.

Before washing colored article, place them in cold water to which a handful or so of kitchen salt has been added. This will help to fix the dye.

Keep the inside of your oven scrupulously clean; have the sides, shelves and door scraped down and washed with hot soda and water &t least once a week.