WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 72, 15 September 1911, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD.

(Conducted by "tiiieen"). STRATFORD. The new parish hall was opened last by His Lordship Bishop Crossley (Auckland) in the presence of a large number of .parishioners and others. The hall was beautifully decorated with flag*, ferns and quantities of spring flowers, and reflected great credit' on those who worked so assiduously to make the opening ceremony an unqualified success. The musical programme, was much appreciated by the audience. The opening item, entitled, "Pique ■Dame," rendered iby the Stratford' Orchestral Society, was -particularly well received. Miss Butler sang "May Dew." A very sweet duet, "Watchman, what ot the night?" by Messrs. Lewis and Wilson, was heartily applauded. Mr. Aldridge, who was in good "voice, sang "The Bandale-ro," if or which he received a well merited encore. His second item was "The Mighty Deep." A quartette, "Stars of the Summer Night," by Messrs. Lewis, Lauder, Wilkie and Wiison, was the gem item of the .programme, and; -was deservedly encored. The Orchestral Society's second item was "The Phantom Brigade." A duet, "Maying," by Misses Wilson and G. Black, was very well rendered, the voices blending sweetly. 'Sunset," a double trio, by Misses King, Jones. Wilson. G. Black, •I. Butler, and Mr. Wilkie was a pleasing item. A competition followed, called "The Fishes' Marriage." which caused much laughter, and was won by Miss iNanev Stuhbs, the second prizes going to Mrs. Wilkie.

Among tho?« present were: Mesdames IRaitkes, Crawishaw. Johnston, Chenchen, Tyree, Sole, Stubbs, Tarev. • Fookos, Young. Uob*on, Arden, Osmond. Porvitt, Cardale. Penn. Black. Cnnvshaw, King, Twiss, Richards, James; Misses .Tames, Butler (2). Worthington. Black, Hicks (2). Render (2), Johnston (2), J. Butler. Black (2), Movie, Henderson (Wanganui), Cameron, Sole, and many others. PERSONAL. The Rev. Robt. Hammond, of Sydney, is expected to arrive in Stratford early in October. (Miss Henderson, of Wanganui, is the guest of Mrs. Raikes. QUEEN MARY'S FAVORITE EXERCISES.

"Most of my pupils arc fond of the Queen Mary exercises, which are for making the figure symmetrical.'' A woman physical-culture teacher of London asserts that they are the exercises which the Queen takes every day. ''Fold your arms behind your back and walk around the room. Try to walk around a central object, such as a table, in order that you may not shirk the distance. Walk for twenty minutes, when you will have covered a mile, with your arms behind your back. Put your finger-tips on the shoulder seams of your gown. Walk half a mile with your fingers resting on your shoulders and with your elbows tossed back. Practise high-stepping." This exercise is said to be a favorite with Queen Mary. At first her physical-culture teacher was afraid to recommend it to her. But she requested an exercise for a graceful walk. "I am afraid you will not approve, your Majesty," objected the physical-culture teacher. "It is a high-stepping walk." The Queen laughed. ''l imagine I am getting the credit for being a stuffy sort of person," she returned. "But I am sure I could not object to an exercise that would develop the figure if one had not the time to walk." The exercise does for a woman in ten minutes what she could hardly accomplish in less than two hours if she were to go for a tramp. It can be taken in one's house as well as in a gymnasium. The foot is lifted with each step until it is on a level with the knee. The heel should be lifted straight up and the knee should be well bent. The-motion is as though one were going to step up a very high stair. This is the best exercise for making the figure grow. If one perseveres one ought to be able to add to the height at the rate of a quarter of an inch a montli until one has added three-quarters of an inch in three months. There have been cases in which a whole inch was added, but these are no longer considered good.

THE SUCCESS OF MARRIAGE. The girl who wants to make a success of marriage must not neglect the education of the husband. Many husband.* are lamentable failures without realising the fact. They fail in the majority of cases out of thoughtlessness, and the wife is very much to blame for the fact. Too much adoration is not good for any man; too much "running after" would spoil the most angelic husbands in existence. While a man has a right to kindly attentions which no wife ought to begrudge, it is never wise to overdo things. Husbands are apt to take the wife's hard work and trouble for granted and most married men fail in appreciation. Now, appreciation is the breath of life to the average woman. The girl who gets a judicious amount of praise and appreciation from the man she marries will cheerfullly work her lingers to the bone for him. Married life means hard work for the wife as well us the husband, and if both are blessed with tact that will enable'them to see when the other requires sympathy and appreciation it will go faf to make them "happy, though married." Of course, a man cannot be praising and admiring his wife all day. Often the most reserved men who lind it difficult to express themselves really admire their wives tremendously; but, at the same time, a clever woman can cultivate the bump of sympathy and appreciation in her husband to a great extent, and these qualities go a long way in the making of a "model husband." Another thing about a man is that he likes to be appealed to, and does not like it to be apparent that he is being "managed." And yet all clever woßicn manage their husbands, but they do it by sympathy and not by bullying or nagging. Do not forget, when he is sometimes obstinate and difficult, that a little coaxing will go further than insisting on your rights. If a girl takes care to make home happy and comfortable, to cook nice meals, and servo them daintily a man is far more likely to remain sympathetic and appreciative than when the bacon is spoilt and potatoes saltless. Above all, do not be stingy in kind words. It is wonderful how husbands and children will improve under kindness tempered with firmness. A STRANGE PENANCE. SOCIETY LEADER BECOMES A DOMESTIC SERVANT. Xew York. July 25. '•'Mrs. Catherine Porter," a servant in a Chicago family, who was killed by a motor-car, has been identified as .Mrs. Catherine Edgar, a. woman' of great beauty and high social position, who was the divorced wife of Sehvyn C. Edgar, a muMi-millifliiaire steel magnate, of St. Louis. The identification reveals a sad story of apparent remorse on the part of the woman, who a few years ago had wealth, as a recognised leader of western society,

and was one of the most brilliant women of St. Louis. Her husband secured a divorce from her a few years ago, and was given the custody of the child. Mrs. Edgar disappeared immediately after, and no trace of her was found until, by chance, the dead body of "Mrs. Porter" was identified as that of the former wife of the steel magnate. "Mrs. Porter's" employer says the woman 1 always acted mysteriously, but she wits a good servant, and was especially valued because she seldom wished to go out..

Whenever she did, she veiled her face heavily, apparently not wishing to be recognised by any of her former' friends. She never had any visitors, and was sad and taciturn. It is presumed she took up the life of a domestic servant as penance for llie court proceedings against her. NEW YORK SOCIETY FIGHT. WARFARE OVER THE LEADERSHIP. Who shall lead America's "upper ten" —Mrs. Mills or Mrs. Drexel? This is the vital problem, according to despatches from the fashionable Newport, Rhode Island, that now vexes the partisans of both aspirants to the position once held in New York fov Mrs. Astor.

Since the death of the latter, the "upper ten'' socially has been somewhat disorganised, and in various sections, each with a different chieftain, but all lacking tike authority enjoyed by Mrs. Astor, who for years reigned in New York as society's queen.

Neither Mrs. Mills nor Mrs. Drexel seem particularly excited by the social warfare,, and it" is believed that they deplore that friction should exist; but their partisans are lightly bravely, and by the time the Newport season is over, it is expected that one or other section will ery "Hold, enough!"

Advices from Newport represent Mrs. Mills and Mrs. Drexel as amiably chatting together, but their partisans are just as divided and irreconcilable. The battle-cry of the Mills party is exclusiveness. while the Drexelites advocate expansion on democratic lines, not decreasing the number of the socially elect, but infusing fresh blood into that body.

SPRING CLEANING. SOME "DOXTK" FOR THE MARRIED HOUSEKEEPER. Despite the fact that the hedgerows have been talking of spring for the last four weeks, it has been too early for spring in the house. Prosaically enough, until the time for (ires is coming to a close, it is little good arguing that the arrival of crocuses, primroses, and gold-cupped daffodils heralds in a new season, and the housekeeper, who begins her spring by rule, begins it when she may legitimately start on her annual campaign of housecleaning. In fact, the domestic mind has to concentrate itself on whitewash, varnish, and soft-soap before-we can contemplate the hedgerows with any complacency, whose green shoots have been watered by August showers. Housekeeping is full of maxims. To begin operations without any very clear idea, except the most obvious one that the entire house requires overhauling, usually ends in the chaos over which comic writers practice their humor at the worried house-wife's expense. There is, however, a '-don't" for every "do" in spring cleaning, and if these'are considered beforehand, much of the discomfort and misery of the yearly upheaval is avoided.

Don't begin operations in every room at once.

Don't enlist the cook's help within reasonable distance of meal-times. Neither the workers nor the home-comers do well on cold food.

Don't allow the charwoman to carry out her own thorough methods of reform in the special sanctum of the master of the house. No charwoman ever yet had respect for papers or pipes. Don't forget to label legibly the different home-made polishes and stains. Don't forget to send curtains and chintzes to the cleaners a few days before beginning work. Otherwise when the rooms are ready, matters will be at a standstill for want of the furnishings. Don't lay fresh beaten carpets and rugs until painters and plumbers have finished their work.

Don't attempt to start operations until the sweeps have swept every chimney.

Don't forget to wash the floors of inhabited rooms as early in the day as possible. Wood flooring dries slowly at this time of the year. Don't forget to turn out rooms which face 'each other at the same time if possible. This enables a thorough draught to curry off the dust.

Don't take down glass-covered pictures and leave them .standing against the wall. Trailing cords form pitfalls, and pitfalls broken glass. Don't let splashes of paint harden on polished floors or glass. If wiped away while soft, they will disappear at once.

Washing and scrubbing mav achieve a great deal, but it is the little finishing touch in everything which makes a success of the great spring cleaning. The army of mops is considered of littte use which is not followed by a battalion of creams and polishes) leathers and beeswax, which will put the last shine on everything in the house. For floor polish there is an excellent old-fashioned recipe which is just as useful to-day as it ever was. This requires two ounces of beeswax and half an ounce of white wax, dissolved in a pint of turpentine for twenty-four hours, and then added to half an. ounce of shredded Castile soap previously melted in half a cupful of boiling water. This should be rubbed over .polished floors with a piece of flannel.