WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 271, 13 May 1912, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen"). I NOTES FOR WOMEN WHAT "HARD LABOR" MEANS. London, March 22. Apropos of the sentences of imprisonment with hard labor passed on 7(5 suffragettes who were concerned in the last great window-smashing campaign, an interesting article appeared in a dailv paper last week. From that it appears that hard labor treatment for men and women differs a good deal in favor of women. They are not, for instance, called on to suffer the punishment meted out to men prisoners between the ages of 16 and GO, who for the first fortnight of their sentences are made to sleep without mattresses. Another difference is that a woman's hair, except when ordered by a doctor, will not be cut oif without her consent. She also is not subject to the rule that orders that a man sentenced to four weeks' or more hard labor is to spend 28 days of that time in strict separation. Hard labor for women prisoners means that they will be set to work for six to ten hours every day on rough needlework—making mailbags, and various kinds of sewing, knitting, etc., washing, and scrubbing. So many suffragettes have been sentenced to hard labor that it is reported from Holloway the wardresses have "run out" of prison garb, and have had to allow , some of the prisoners to wear their own I clothes.

WOMAN RELIEVING OFFICER. | Miss Laura Leckonby has been ap-! pointed relieving officer of Helmsley Workhouse. WHAT WOMEN ARE DOING. j Exactly how practical a part patriotic j women may play in the civic betterment | of their country has been shown the world by what is known as the Auxiliary j to the Board of Trade in the American \ town of Framingham, where it is aciknowledged the women have "outdone the men." Among the good works for which the auxiliary is directly responsible are the following, which will inter- . est women enthusiastic about women's | excellence in local government. These j American ladies have instituted public playgrounds, they having opened the I first in one of the school yards, and also

set on foot a supervised playground in another part of the town. School savings banks have also sprung from their

suggestion, and gymnasiums and domestic science departments have been added to high schools on the advice and practical support of the auxiliary. The plans of the body for the coming session include a general spring-cleaning day proposed for the city, when the corporation carts will be plactd at the disposal of those citizens who want rubbish carted | away. Another idea deals with public bathing-places, which are, in this particular town, under anything but satisfactory management, according to the auxiliary members. Owners of private property round about the large bathing ponds have for long, it appears, given vent to bitter complaint as to the damage done wantonj ly by boys, who are allowed to run wild, without proper supervision, and with regard to whom no solution appears to I have suggested itself to the male mem-

I bers of the governing party. I WOMEN'S PAPER IN CHINESE. There has recently sprung into bein« a part.eularly enterprising wLen's o"» Ml m Chinee at Nanking, edited by an Amencan woman, who is the principal of' LT m T Bd 7 l for ohinese there. The venture sets out modestly to 4 n e nr UpP ° rt the Western teac «ng g ven Chinese women at the school bv placing before them (in, 0 f course, their j own tongue) the news and literature . of the world, and mainlv that concerning | lhe Women's Journal of Nanking. AN EMINENT DUTCHWOMAN Dr. Emma Sanders, a brilliant young i Dutchwoman, who is not only a journal »t wnter of fiction in German/ and of J critical and literary articles in five other ' h a gU TT geS ' the flrst woman o" the University of Amsterdam has bestowed the degree of Doctor of Laws is !l- P r Sent ,, aUgmentin " her studies'of social problems in Europe by visiting the New World. Her admiration for American women is blended with some very shrewd criticism of them, that will with'th fV h j? C ° me in with that fascinating specimen of humanity, so extolled by Max O'Rell, who said if he could change his state he would pray: "Make me an American woman!" This brilliant specimen of their own sex finds American women the most restless tilings on earth, "inside and outside"; full of ambition for culture and ideas, yet lacking, too often, purpose to ol ow these out. It is easy to interest her Dr Sanders finds, but difficult to make that interest permanent. A. Uttle spoiled she is from admiration, yet bv no means narrow and conceited, and not' very contented. This thorough nutshell criticism is ended with the candid advice: It is her beautiful mission to counteract the tendencies that have made America, in the eyes of other lands, the country of material superiority and spiritual inferiority.

A DISTINGUISHED ARTIST. There passed away on Saturday Mrs Stanhope Forbes, whose Cornish'studies of fisher folk and others, and whose mediaeval pictures and charming illustrations of fairy tales have made her famous m New Zealand, as in all other parts of the world. It had been hoped that Mr John Baillie, who will probably be holding his exhibitions of pictures in the Dominion when this arrives, would have been able to take with , him somo of g Stanhope Forties's work, but her serious illness made the request impossible. Ever since her marriage i„ i BBO the arfc . t husband and wife have together superintended the now well-known Newlyn in art y f ° Unde ' l for st,l(k ' nts FEMININE FRILLS. Double collarettes are among the new neckwear. They are of the finest linen embroidered will, thread, and have scalloped edges. Smart hats of cerise taffeta, are faced with black velvet. Long jabots of dead white tulle are arranged to set off dark tailor-made costunics. Wine-colored ratine is made up into smart coats for children. Tiny buttons of scarlet and black trim gowns of many different colorings Brown straws with orange and black trimmings are smart for sprint Gauntlet-like cuffs of heavy embroidfeature me a s P ecial s P ri ng Elaborate blouses of white satin are almost covered with deep collars of black Black satin waistbelts enriched with embroidery ,n vieux rose attach themselves to many afternoon dresses bands !r g SWge COats stitch ed bands three or more inches deep appear as a hem finish. ' [l At the recent annual convention of women dressmakers at Chicago (US ) it was announced that this season's mil faerynoveltv would be tiny electric lighL /tH"' b0 ?° ratccl a small elleVS^s: ,I,re P r «-aland je V Shot blue and violet and very dark '

red taffetas costumes were seen at the Auteuil race meeting, but the really elegant woman favored black. Low shoes, with buckles and fine black , silk stockings, are the order of the day in London. This season the hair is to be worn closer to the head—a rather neater style than the riotous loose curl which @und favor last season. The third annual contost of the International Dressers' Society for the Maison Nicol Challenge Shield was held a short time ago, and the coiffure which carried off the prize was dressed over a French turban, loosely waved and plaited very broad. The small fringe on the forehead was a feature of the new style, and the plaits round the ears were distinctive also. Parisians are adopting both fringe and side plaits, but they are not very general in England. Amber as an article of jewellery and as a coloring for women's dresses is capturing popular fancy again. At the recent Courts many of the gowns were in the new satin damask in a lovely shade of amber patterned with gold threads. The last 18 months, says Mrs. Humphrey in The Lady, have introduced many innovations on the once indispensable white satin and lace, and wedding gowns may now be made of any white material. Eich brocades have become very fashionable, and share favor with more supple fabrics. The change is an agreeable one from the white satin, which proved so ! trying to brides whose complexions were not perfect. Widows may now wear pale blue, in addition to the lavender, cream color, and grey which once constituted their limited choice. •

A COURT 1. J [DENT. Upon an occasion within very recent memory the Hon. Arthur Walsh, His Majesty's popular Master of the Ceremonies, was beseeched to lend a lady a safety i pin, and she seemed to be quite annoyed J to find that he was not provided with an ample supply of these useful commodities. Precisely how many times in the course of a season the officials in attendance come to the rescue of the ladies who have sustained some trifling j damage to their gowns it is impossible j to say, but the older members of the Household recall the spectacle that the late Sir William Colville, the then Master of the Cerajjtonies, once presented as he vainly attachsa train to the shoulders of a lady who had had the misfortune to have if stepped upon while ascending the staircase. In the end the ; matter was adjusted somehow, and the { lady was able to pass the presence with-! out anything untoward taking place. i

Rarely a Court takes place but what I some member of the Household is of- j fered a "tip" for some little service ren- j dered. At one of the May Courts last '■ year one of the newly-appointed officials of the Lord Chamberlain's department, seeing a couple of ladies without a male escort vainly seeking for their car, volunteered to bring it round for them. He went out into Buckingham Palace Rpad, and ultimately found the car, which he had driven up to the entrance with what speed he could. After he had seen the ladies safely within it, he was both surprised and vastly amused to find a halfcrown pressed into his hand as his reward. The number of ladies who arrive at Court without the necessary ticket is positively amazing, and it is often a I matter of the grsatest difficulty to convince them that it is positively essential that these should be produced before they can be admitted. During one of the last Courts held by the late King Edward, a lady and her newly-married daughter drove up, and their tickets were asked for. After a lot of fumbling, the i elder lady produced two tickets and flourished them in the face of the official, | as though daring his right to challenge her immediate entrance. He looked at j them, and then returned them to her ) with a smile, adding that he feared they were not available. He was nearly with- | ered with a glance, and asked bluntly ! what he meant by such a remark. "Well, you see, madam," he sighed, "this is merely Buckingham Palace, not Daly's Theatre!" The lady had unwittingly handed him tickets for two stalls at that popular playhouse.—The Gentlewoman.