WOMAN'S WORLDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 186, 5 February 1912, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLDS.

(Conducted by "Eileen.") NOTES FROM LONDON A FRENCH PORTIA. London, December 13. Much interest—even amongst those who claim that our sex lacks the qualities needful for success in law —centred on a visit to England last week of Mdlle. Hele Miropowlski, the foremost woman barrister in France, who, for a year, was the only woman practising in the French Court, "it must been a severe blow to old-fashioned notions in this country to hear that the pretty young French advocate was the guest of Mr. Justice Darling, | and spent two hours with that promi-1 nent Judge in the King's Bench Division watching English methods of justice. J Women possess, Mdlle. Miropowlski, thinks, in a high degree, the' qualities necessary for a barrister. They are'prac- '. tical,. have plenty of common sense, understand,, peculiarly well, criminal children, and are often of a very logical turn of mind. Perseverance and p. wider selfcontrol than is ordinary is essential in a successful woman barrister. She does not think, it is interesting to note, that women are fitted to become judges. ONE WOMAN'S INTERESTS. Mrs. Harriman, widow of the wellknown American millionaire, is a remarkable woman manager. She now controls single-handed a street railway and lighting plant, a gold,mjne,-a dairy farm, an- 1 iroij mine, a blast furnace, a road-build-ing concern, and other minor projects, and has, so far, it is said, made a business mis judgment in none of them. • FEMALE MAGISTRATES. In France women lawyers may, under an important amendment \which has lately been added'to the former law, how act as fully qualified magistrates in children's cases.. , THE-GUILD OF PLAY. On the plea that "we have had too much of Samuel Smiles in this country, we need a little more of Puck," a sum of £25,000 is being asked from the British public for the erection of premises of their own for the Guild of Play—a wonderful institution that, for some time past, has brought color, joy, grace and youth to the poor children of that' very poor and» eminently gloomy district of Bermondsey. Here hordes of children—dirty, rough' little girls, many of them uncared for—are given one evening a week of real, jolly old-time fun, dancing, playing, singing and eating. Old English dances—those most graceful of measures —and sweet old English songs are taught these-grubby little people, and the main virtues of civilisation—cleanliness, brightness and gentleness—instilled, almost unconsciously, into their dull lives, through the medium of play.

ON GROWING OLD. Mrs. Creighton, widow of the late of London, made an excellent speech this week at the Farnham Corn Exchange on "Growing Old." To retire from active business, the lecturer told her hearers, should not mean becoming useless. Moral and intellectual provision must be made in order that the last years should not be wasted. A real delight in reading would make it easier for old people to cultivate a capacity to be alone, and many would find pleasure from their observations of mankind and Nature in old age. To keep up a real living interest in things on the world's great stage would make their lives interesting, not only to themselves, but to others. If the sorrows of life had weighed them down, they could at least try to keep their gloom to themselves. A serene old age was the fruit of long discipline, and revealed character, which could only !>e built up by live effort and belief in »oodness. s Such happiness came from 'ittle things—the beauty of flowers, sunshine'on the grass, sweeping clouds, the love of children.

LONDON'S NEWEST CLUB. The Three Arts Club was opened, on Monday by Princess Marie Louise, of Schleswig-Holstein, in Marylebone road, its headquarters. Dabblers in the arts will not be admitted, and members must ,have either achievsd some success or give promise of this by serious study, with the likelihood of winning fame.-. Advisory committees, representing tWarts, have been arranged for the purpose of giving advice and counsel to young student members. Both men and women are eligible for membership. There are about 80 bedrooms and cubicles, and many of the rooms have been named after famous workers in the art—Beethoven, Chopin, Lord Tennyson, Wagner, Katherine Coodson, Theodore Leshetizky, Lena Ashwell, Eva Moore, Sir Herbert Tree, Lewis Waller, Ellen Terry, Benson, Lady Bancroft, Joachim, Bensonian, Muriel Beaumont (furnished by her husband. Mr. du Maurier), and the Forbes Robertson room, which is the lounge, etc. WOMEN ARTISTS. Once again this year, as last, Sir Edward Poynter '(president of the Royal Academy) has been generous in his praise of the earnestness and excellence of the work done by women artists and sculptors. It is noteworthy that all the principal prizes in the painting school, with one exception, have fallen to women workers. Remarking on this on Saturday last, the president said: "The female students are in earnest, and work hard. ; The men are slack, and either do not know how to work or do not sufficiently care. The men, I suspect, are more under the influence of the 'spirit of the time,' and listen to that irresponsible chatter about genius being independent of study, and so become slack in their attendance, slack in their work in the school, and out of it." The gold medal and travelling studentship (worth £200) was won by a woman, the Turner gold medal and £SO scholarship by another, the Creswick Prize ( £25) and silver medal; the second prize (£10) for the de coration of a portion of a public building, and a bronze medal; the second Armi'tage Prize ( £10) and a bronze medal; the prize for a cartoon of a draped figure (£25) and silver medal; the second prize and bronze medal for the painting of a head from life; the silver medal for a set of three studies of drapery; and the Landseer scholarship in painting (£4O a year for two years) have all fallen to women students.

A BRILLIANT COLONIAL. Miss Rosine Lion, M.A., the first woman to gain the Sydney University gold medal for English verse, is at present on this side of the world, and is now teaching English and studying German in Berlin. A WOMAN CENSOR. Letters commenting on the appointment of the author of "Dear Old.Charlie" continue to pour into newspaper offices, and some writers, both men and women, urge that if a second censor had to be appointed it ought to have been a woman. It is claimed that there are many intelligent, broad-minded women writers eminently fitted to fulfil such a post, whose good sense and taste would be of great public service in the matter of licensing plays. A man's logic and reasoning powers, says one correspondent, may be very useful in trade and law, but when it comes to a question wherein sentiment plays such an important part—as in playwriting—women should ;have a voice in the matter. As Voltaire said: "All the reasonings and logic of men are not worth one sentiment of women." Mr. Israel Zangwill, voicing the same suggestion made by Mrs. Zang-

will, says: "The claim is bo convincing | the moment it is made that I can only j wonder at the habit of masculine monopoly which prevented such a suggestion | occurring of itself." j A WOMAN PHYSICIAN. After an agitation on the part of the Austrian Women Tobacco Workers' Union, a female physician has been appointed for the special consultation of the women tobacco workers of Vienna. ACADEMY MEDALLIST. | Miss Margaret Williams, of whose achievement in winning the gold medal of the Royal Academy and the travelling scholarship of £2OO it was recently reported, is the youngest artist ever to .attain this high distinction. LIFE-SAVING FOR WOMEN. There was incorporated a few weeks ago, in New York, what is known as the ' National Woman's Life-saving League, j with four women directors at his head. The objects aet forth in the charter are to encourage swimming among women and children, and the general adoption of , swimming and life-saving as a branch of i elementary education. WOMEN AS EXPERTS. Miss Louise M. Allen has been appointed seed expert for the State of Washington. It is interesting for those interested in woman's work to note tliat the seven stained-glass windows presented to the new Anglican Cathedral at Khartoum are the work of a woman— Miss Mabel Esplin. The coloring is rich and brilliant, and the ganeral treatment effective and distinguished: Miss Esplin is.als,o engaged on', three panels in white and gold for the altar of Christ 'Church Spitalfields, and the decorative work is said to be of great beauty. FIRST? WOMAN F.R.C.S. Miss Eleanor Davies Colley, who has achieved distinction in medical studies, has now added to them by gaining the blue ribbon of her profession, and is the first woman in the world to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. She entered the London School of Medicine for Women in 1902, and obtained the London M.B. and B.S. degree an 1907 and the M.D. in 1910. She has held the posts of assistant anaesthetist at the Royal Free Hospital, senior house surgeon at the New Hospital for Women in Euston road, and demonstrator in anatomy at the London School of Medicine for Women. USEFUL HINTS. If you are troubled with rats or mice, try the following remedy: Get some i plaster of Paris, and mix it with a good allowance of cayenne pepper, add water to make a jfetste, fill up the holes with this, and you will find that the pests will ! gradually disappear. The paste should I be used as soon as it is mixed, or it will harden and he of no use. To bring the whites of eggs up quickly to a froth, add two or three drops of lemon juice to them. It will froth up beautifully in a few minutes. To prevent clothes from freezing when they are hung out to dry in frosty weather, add a handful of salt to the rinsing water. When boiling potatoes, if you want to boil them quickly, never add the salt until they are half boiled. They take much longer to cook if the salt is added first.