WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 182, 31 January 1912, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen.") THE QUEEN AND INDIA WOMEN. Calcutta, December 11. The Queen-Empress, acknowledging the address presented by Indian ladies, said: "The beautiful spirit of your welcoms affects mo deeply, and I trust that those who meet me here to-day will themselves accept and convey to the sisterhood of this great Empire my warm thanks for their gentle greeting of sincere homage. I desire to assure you all of my ever-increasing solicitude for the happiness and welfare of those who live 'within the walls.' "The pages of history have set forth what splendid influences for good cam be brought to bear in their homes by the women of India, and the annals of its noble races are colored by acts of devoted fealty and magnificent service as thj fruits of the lessons instilled by mothers in the; hearts and minds of their children. "I have learnt with deep satisfaction of the evolution which is gradually but surely -taking place among the inmates of the purdah, and I am convinced that you all desire to 'encourage education among your children, so that they may grow up fitted to become useful and cultivated companions for their future husbands. "The jewel you have • given me will ever be very precious in my eyes, and, whenever I wear it, though thousands of miles of land and sea separate us, my thoughts will fly to the homes of India and bring back again and again this happy meeting and recall the love your tender hearts have yielded to me. "Your jewel shall" pass to the future generations as an Imperial heirloom, and shall always stand as the token of the first meeting of the English Queen with the ladies of India. I thank you for your congratulations and for the good wishes expressed by you towards the King-fmperor and myself, and join my prayers to yours for the strength, unity and well-being of the Empire."—Reuter.

ROYAL ROMANCE. ARCHDUKE ABANDONS COURT LIFE. Vienna, December 14. Another love romance on the part of an Austrian Archduke has caused the Emperor to interfere again. His Majesty has granted the Archduke Henry Ferdinand of Tuscany indefinite leave tf absence and Btopped his army pay. The Archduke is brother of Leopold Woelfling, formerly Archduke Leopold, Vho lost and rank arid title on account of a mesalliance, and of Mme. Toselli, iriio was formerly Crown Princess of : Saxony. Archduke Henry Ferdinand has a full share of the artistic talents of this branch of the Hapsburg family, and has made; a name for himself as a painter and etcher. More than a year ago he left the garrison at Ennis, where he served as a captain of dragoons, and went to Munich to devote himself entirely to aTt.

It appear sthat.he took this step without,asking formally for leave, and since theif he has not appeared at any Court function. In Munich the Archduke fell in love with a girl of a middle-class family whose name has not transpired, but whom, it is said, he desired to marry. As the Emperor refused his permission, the Archduke decided for the present not ttf follow the example of Herr Woelfling and Burg, and abandon his rank, but he refused to return to his military duties, and settled permanently in Munich to eontiaue his studies and remain near the lady of his affections. '

Under these circumstances he could ur>t be allowed to continue drawing army <>ay without subverting military discipline. He will be permitted to retain his revenue and his rank as archduke unless he actually contracts a mesalliance.

LOVE AND SCIENCE MADAME CURIE IN DIVORCE. Some weeks ago a Paris daily paper published an article stating that Madam* Curie, the widow of the great chemist who, with her help, discovered radium, had fled to Belgium with M. Langavin, another well-known chemist,' but unfortunately a married man. Immediately there was a great outcry about such a scandalous charge being raised against one who. had done so much for science and given up her life and energy solely to research. The writer of the article apologised most humbly for his indiscretion, and the rumor died' down when it came out that ->l;oe Curie and Professor fLangevin wore in Belgium as delegates, along wi l u othp; French savants, at a scientific conference to whieh they had been invited. But it soon became known that the wife, of Professor Langevin had brought rn action against him for infidelity ,tnd desertion, and bad named Mme. Curie as co-respondent. - This" actioV promised to lead to sensational disclosures. t What gives point to the whole affair is that Mme. Curie has just been awarded the Nobel Prize i for Chemistry, as the one who had done j most for that science during the year, j A Paris paper has just published several love-letters, said to have been written by Mme. Curie to Prpfessor Pange- ; vm, letters breathing human passion such as might have been written by any woman to her lover. These letters are said to . have been discovered by the wife of Langevin in a flat where the two lovers used to meet, and she intends to produce them and others at the trial.

"MARY JANE." A generation ago (says an Australian paper) the domestic, from the viewpoint of the bystander of, that timte, was a personage far removed from the limelight; a necessary and useful factor in the realms of domesticity. To-day the mighty have been lifted from the seats and the humble exalted, for Mary Jane is not only mistress of the domestic situation, but almost mistress of her erstwhile mistress, and her position as an independent economic unit emphasised as has never before been the case. It is reported that a Union of Household Servants is being formed in Australia. One of the earliest results of the movement lias been the gathering of information regarding the susceptibility of house-work-ers to ailments which others appear able to avoid. Cooks, it has been discovered, suffer from gastric disorders because of the too frequent tasting of the dishes they prepare. Anaemia is explained by the long stay in badly-ventilated rooms, and the rare walks in fresh air, as well as uy the insufficient ajnount of sleep. Rheumatic affections appear very common among servants, partly on Account ot frequent exposture to cold and weather without sufficient protection, partlv from working in unhealthy kitchens and sculleries. A frequent complaint is static flat foot, with varicose veins, while a great proportion of housemaids suffer trom nervous diseases, neurasthenia and hysteria. ANOTHER NOBLE WOMAN Those who can remember how Bismarck tried his level best to embitter the life of the wife of Frederick, the Prussian Crown Prince, with the Germaa

nation because he suspected her of English proclivities—as if an English Princess Royal could extinguish her love for the land of her birth—will read with satisfaction' and delight the splendid panegyric which Professor Von Bergmann passes on the devoted wife and truly noble woman who was the consort of Frederick the Noble. The subjoined pen-and-ink sketch pf the latter's dying hours ought to go a long way to dissipate now and for ever the calumnious reports that were circulated by the hirelings of the Iron Chancellor, and which for a long time were believed by the mass of the German people:— You should only see with what an expression she kisses her husband's forehead, eyes and hands. Next to the sick room is her salon, and I have

heard in the night how she has got up and listened at the door. Several times she has entered in her nightdress. "Didn't he cough? Is he not coughing too much?" And then, so that the patient may not see, she stands behind me or behind a chair, and watches his sleep. "I will go again, but you give me your word that everything is all right now." And this anxiety day and night for months past. The temperature of the room is regulated with a thermometer, all kinds of compounds of eau de Cologne and eucalyptus are sprinkled about. Every detail is done with her own hands. "Dear Mummy," wrote the great German surgeon in a letter to his own wife, "I, too, know the tenderness of a nursewife, and I am always reminded of 'it when I see this careworn woman exhausting herself in incessant attention to the patient. That is an expression of the inmost heart."

USEFUL HINTS. Mix the dry cocoa with a little castor sugar. This will prevent it from becoming lumpy. If a handful of common salt is added to the rinsing water it keeps the clothes from freezing until dry.. Bars of soap should be stacked up as children build houses of wooden bricks, so that air may be freely admitted to as much of the surface as possible. If new shoes lift at the heel, this can be easily remedied by rubbing a little soft soap on the heel of the stocking, or on the heel of the shoe. To brighten a mirror rub with a clean cloth dipped in a cream made of whitening and cold wateT, to which a few drops of ammonia have been added; polish well with old newspapers. To keep the breakfast hot for one, put the bacon or chop on a warm plate, cover with another warm plate, and stand the teapot on top. This will keep it hot for quite a long time. ■ *

To renew velvet cover the face of a hot flat-iron with a wet cloth; hold the wrong side of the velvet next to this cloth until thoroughly steamed, then brush the pile with a soft brush. After washing the hair it should hang down the back for a few hours at least. It is a bad plan to wash it at night, as sleeping packs the hair together tightly too soon after the shampoo.