Woman's World.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 124, 19 October 1914, Page 6

Woman's World.

ANTWERP IN WAR TIME A LADY'S LETTER. In a letter which has been received by friends in Wellington, a lady who is an artist and has known Belgium intimately for years, writes of Antwerp as it was when war first broke out:— ''We were awfully excited, as you may imagine," she writes. ."When war was declared against Belgium there was a panic—no shop would accept bank notes nor give any change. The men were all called on to serve in the army. On Wednesday morning, when we were, about to move house—our beds taken to pieces and all our goods and chattels ready for their travels by the cart that was to come at eight in the morning, we waited. For hours we waited! No cart came. All the horses had been taken for the anny. We stood on the

balcon- watching the soldiers flying up and down below. A'l the women were standing about at their doors and windows. The woman at the little shop next door was especially excited. All at once a squad of soldiers marched up and took charge of the' menage,-, in our street a guard was set at the door and great waggon loads of barrels of flour—some said powder—were brought up and stored there. ''The. next day, after wo had fina'ly mowil. we were told that M. de Barrv, of the well-known banking house, had been taken as a spy, his house confiscated, and he himself was to be shot. For ten years he had been acting as a spy in Belgium. He had had an underground passage built underneath his house for escape to another house near by. M. Edward de Barry (his brother) had run away on the night of Tuesday, but v.t afterwards heard that he was taken at the frontier and shot also. De Barry's two sons were also te'een and shot. Weber's, the great hotel in Antwerp, was seized and found to be one great arsenal. In fact, all the rich Germans (Malincrot, Lurcman, etc.) ■.■.■■• re in it. Oh! the horror of it 1 can no v.t tell!

"Next day I heard that Miss Knlilman, at whose place we had staved, had also been taken, hut when I rushed to her house I found it was not true, fiho had certainly been taken to prison. However, she was given her freedom. We advised her to leave, and she decided to give her great house to the Ri ! Hros- just as it was, and leave the country. We have heard nothing more, and do not know what has become of her.

"On Saturday, August D, wc were advised by friends to go at once to Inland whie we rcnltl. We decided tj do so, hut first r.r a )i called upon Lady Hertalep, the wife of the Consul, who was busy making shirts for the soldiers. She wniilnd me to stay and help her with the Red Cross English Hos pital she was getting ready in the great hotel belonging to Madame Furmeau, an old German lady, who had been expelled with the rest. We finished our packing at 11 p.m. that Saturday evening, and next morning at 5 o'clock w.' were up, and at 7 o'c'ock we left for Ostend, there to catch our steamer for ! Folkestone. Three times on the wsj we wore stopped by arnica soldiers, who' asked for our passports. Think of pass- ' port", in our beloved Belgium towns. Mv passport, nearly thirty years old, and covered with Greek, Arabic and German names, nearly lost me, for the soldier j examining it cried: Tela est Allemande:' I

'Yes!' I said, 'and half-a-dozen other languages besides. Tlien he let me go. Yon ace, he thought 1 might lie a fierman escaping with my sister. Antwerp, being in a state of siege, every (ierm-in and Austria, had been or was being expelled, except spies, who were shot. "At last we reached Ostcnd. TVrs all was calm. At the boat, soldiers, instead of the usual officials," recalled to in the grim reality of war. We had first to give our names, ages and addresses before going on board. A few minutes later we saw our beloved Belgian coast fading away like a dream, and leaving behind us ail we possessed to tile fortune of war.

BELGIAN WOMEN'S DKESS. In a recent book published on Bel-iun it is staled that most of the women <•««« well. ]„d,cd, the upper classes spend HMith on dress, and are extremely smart, and as rents, living and eduea-

1,011 ii: ' l; '"uxpcnsivp, t . VtMI a woman with a ■uio.li-rato income can afford to devote «• K»<»1 sum to her chiffons. This smartness in noticeable even in f'ic working gi rl9> wlloi t ,, ollgh thßJrwwa g are small, make their own frocks, nearly every (,'ir! having received instruction at tlic excellent dressmaking classes. The l«n.-ant women still wear the Happed cape, (he loose. Mouse, and the short, full, striped skirt, and probably would look nd.eu'ous in the coats and skirts of the ordinary Kn-lish woman. The babies too, an, not clad like a British baby' '"'t, after all. if the little garments ar-' Himpl.. and cosy, they should ho most acceptable. 1„ Sydney (according to an exchange) the kind-hearted women arc making up little kits for babies. For very young Uilbk , s t!l0 ]dt compriae3 twQ knitted or soft flannel vests', two Ion" flannels, two flannel binders, eight squares of a „ft unbleached twill two woolle,, jackets, and one hood. For u lc older babies the requirements are two knitted or flannel vests, two flannel petticoats, two knickers, two frocks, msqnares of unbleached twill, two pairs of stockings, and one hood _ A]fjo into kit should .be clipped one card of assorted safety pins, a packet of nccdlcS) twQ reels of Jfr. 30 cotton, black and white, a packet of tapeß. The

[quickest way to knit a little vest is to ■ cast on 76 stitches, and rib for three j inches; then do 90 rows of plain knititing. Reduce then for the shoulder. 'Knit 24, cast off 28 (this is the neck), land knit 21. Work backwards and for- , wards on these 24 stitches, reducing one j at the neck and each other row until the stitches are reduced to H. Do 14 rows, jand then increase in the same way until you have got hack to 24. Now toreafc off the wool, and join on to the other side, where the other 24 stitches have been waiting. Make the other shoulder in the same fashion, then knit the 21, cast on 28, to match the 28 cast off on ; the other side, knit the 24 of the other i finished shoulder, and you are back again to the original 76. Finish the side to match the other, and then sew up. 'Hound the sleeves and neck crochet a : scolloped pattern, and then run ribbon lor a soft tape through the neck to draw it up. " TOO COMMUNICATIVE."

I A French journal, the Petit Parisian, I has a curious and rather amusing inj stance of the discretion of the military !authorities at the present moment. A .young Parisian woman received at her ; house a letter, on the envelope of which jshe recognised the handwriting of her ; husband, now serving at the front. She . J eagerly tore open the envelope, only to ! find that it was empty, but in the corner of the envelope, in a hand quite unfamiliar to lier, was written the laconic imessage: "Madame, your husband is [ quite well, bift lie is too communicative.'' ' The young wife understood that her ; husband's letter must have been intercepted by the military authorities. , ! EXPERIENCES IN LONDON . I ■ ] A London correspondent, writing shortly after the war broke out, says: "It took a lot of courage to remain , calm under the prospects of prices in , food rising, so we were told, to such a . height that only the well-to-do could afford to buy. I shall always remember [ an episode which occurred this morning at my local grocer's. I went to make a small purchase, and to the credit ot Englishwomen I can say that with very

few exceptions all were satisfied with providing for two or three days' needs. Suddenly a very luxurious car drove up, and a woman alighted, and pushed her way into our midst. In the most insolent manner imaginable she called over our heads a very lengthy order; her accent at once proclaimed her a Gorman. Her order included the most expensive luxuries, and at a rough calculation must have amounted to a. sum close on three figures. She opened her handbag,

and took out a roll of notes to pay. By this time one's wrath had risen to its full. A woman standing near me turned to one of the assistants, and said', T)o you intend to deliver that order?' Thcra was no reply for a moment. Then the German lady laughingly turned and answered, 'Why not? 1 can pay!' showing us her roll of notes. This was intolerable, so 'I took the matter up, and in a few words told the assistant that if that order, were fulfilled until every other customer had an equal chance of 'purchasing goods to last at least three days, not only would a boycott of the js'hop result, but that a raid would follow and his business ruined. I felt I had 'j every woman—and we were a goodly i number—at my back, and one was fighting only for a principle. Jt is rather gratifying to know that the order was : never fulfilled, even though ready money iwas offered." "THAT AWFUL WOMAN!"

j It happened in the days of liis Si.larjsiiip at Cairo that a lady of considerable social influence but little discretion | resolved, in the interests of a yoiin.j .soldier, to make a direct appeal to K. | Himself. She besought a personal i:ijtorview. The Sirdar excused himself, j Nothing daunted, the ludy presented i herself at K.'s ollieial quarters at a time I which usually claimed his attendance in .the daily routine of business. K. posficrt an officer on guard wiLh strict injunctions. Twice the would-be intrud -r jwas induced by this look-out man to believe that the Sirdar hail escaped her. Accordingly she timed her next visit for a more promising hour. The watchman again stood in the breach. "How (tore you tell me ho is not here!" she. gasped. '-You shall not slop me!" And jbofore the surprised odieer could muster jsullicient resolution to bar the way the i enemy had rushed the position with a .wild rustle of silk petticoats and parasol iat the charge. I Down the passage went the attack, | and with unerring instinct into a room at the end. Here, lo and behold, was a ( tall man engaged in some ablutions and 'garbed in a deshabille of shirt and | nether garments who, with the genius | of the great general that he was, at ;oi;ce took cover behind a table and a 'couple of chairs. The avenger of Cordon afterwards acknowledged that but ;for tlie furniture zareba lie must have jbeen lost. But help wa.s at hand, and 'by a aeries of masterly operations the .siege was raised. It was, perhaps, the .closest shave the great child' lias ever had, and long after, when reference was jmade to this terrible adventure, K. | would observe witfi uplifted hands and I eyes, "That awful woman!"