WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 115, 1 October 1912, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen.")

THE JAPANESE WAY.

It would be impossible to realise the' love and reverence in which the Japanese held their late Emperor (writes "Pippa" in the Australasian), unless one had actually been in Tokio during those last days of July, when he lay there sick unto death. We may read in the newspapers that his subjects were 'prostrated with grief when they knew that the Emperor was (lying, but we accept such statements with a pound of salt. But it is true, they were. To the Japanese the reigning Sovereign is no ordinary mortal; he is the Son of Heaven, and the whole Imperial family divine. And this Emperor had reigned for so long (45 years) that the majority of his people had got used to his presence and power in the land. . they "didn't think of him dying," to put it badly (and ungrammatically). Yet for 1 some years his medical advisers have known that his constitution was not of , the best, but the people, of course, did not know. His last illness was short, and for some days before the Emperor died the grounds of the Palace in Tokio were -thronged with his mourning sub-1 jects. When it became certain that ] the Heaven-born must die, the crowd grew greater and greater, people, flocking in myriads from all quarters to silently pray for his recovery. The day before the Emperor's death we were J motoring in Tokio, the capital, and ] thought of driving through the gardens' of the Imperial Palace, which is in the 1 ; town itself, not far from the famous; Ginza, or shopping street. The gardens of the palace, or rather palaces, for tliere are two, the main palace and the west palace, surrounded by a high stone wall built above a wide, waterfilled moat, are not particularly beautiful. The '"double bridge," held in high esteem by the Japanese, is an ordinary' substantial atone structure, with two arches and a balustrade. It leads over the moat to the palace, and is, I believe, only crossed by the reigning Emperor. The general public are allowed in the . grounds, but visitors are not admitted to ' the palace or to the gardens immediately surrounding it, unless, of course, on the occasion of the Emperor's birthday, when during the late Emperor's lifetime, a large garden party was always given J there. It was, therefore, through the j grounds without that we tried to go. t But everywhere, everywhere, there were I' people. People kneeling, their foreheads on the bare earth, silent, sad, and j still, murmuring prayers for the life of i the Emperor, and looking always toI wards the palace. One could scarcely walk through the throng; there were thousands and thousands there; indeed, mx companions, with feminine exaggeration, were sure they "were collected in millions." It was a pathetic and impressive sight. At night, a light shone from a window in the palace, indicating the direction the Emperor's head was facing, so they said, and it was towards I this spot that all eyes were turned. j When the news of his death was receivSed, the mourning of the people was intense, not loud and not with weeping, for the Japanese will not show their feeliings, and will not cry out in lamentation. I have watched the restraint put upon themselves at the funerals, perhaps by ] their best-beloved and dearest,'-by Jaj>- ] anese, whose eye were red and "face* ', swollen with tears shed in secret —yet they would scorn to weep in public. A girl of fourteen will not let anyone see her cry if her mother dies. ■ While the late Emperor's remains are unburied (until September 1.3), scarcely a sound will be heard in Japan. The people speak in "whispers. A lady of my aei quaintance, who was trying to buy a j gong in a shop in Tokio, took up the l i "hammer" ■with which to test its tone. She was stopped before she had time to commit such a crime as to unnecessarily cause a sound in grief-stricken Japan. There have been several cases of suicide —young religious fanatics who have performed harakiri in order to assist the passage of the Emperor's sou! to Nirvana. It is difficult for us to comprehend such fervor and enthusiasm, but to the Oriental mind there is nothing easier, for what is the sacrifice of one's paltry self when it may assist the Son of Heaven ?

USEFUL HINTS

Tiled hearths should be washed with soft soap and rinsed over with a little milk.

When steaming puddings and dumplings put a cloth over the steamer before putting on the lid. This "will present the moisture settling and rendering the pudding heavy. Picture glass should not be washed. To remove spots rub them witlua damp cloth wrung out in water to which a, • little ammonia has been added. Take special care that no water runs under the frames, and so on to the pictures. Muslin dresses.—lt is quite a problem to know just how to do up lawn and muslin dresses so that they will not be too stiff. Dissolve a tablespoonful of gum arabic in about three quarts of water, and use this liquid in place of starch. After the articles are dried sprinkle and iron as usual. Gum arabic will not stick to the iron, and gives the goods the stiffness and look of new material.

A faded carpet. —A carpet that is faded andj hardly fit for use may be utilised in the following manner: Remove all dust, and tack it on to the floor wrong side up and paint it. The first coat should be quite thick, and it is better to use yellow ochre for the first coating. The next two coats may he any shade desired. Let' the" first Coat -'dry thoroughly* before applying the second. A carpet 4 treated in this way will outlive linoleums.

To clean a porcelain kettle. —Fill it half-full of hot water, and put in a tablespoonful of powdered borax; let it boil. If this does not remove all the stains, scour with a cloth rubbed with soap and borax.