FOR WOMEN FOLK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 278, 3 May 1915, Page 6

FOR WOMEN FOLK.

" BY EILEEN."

• _ " Eileen " will be glad to receive items of interest and j value to women for publication or reference in this column. I I _-_-.___™_-—. !

A PAINFUL ASPECT 0? G-ER3IAN ISFASIY. When the last mail left England another very painful aspect of German infamy was being widely discussed. I.v the early days of the war, the German troops i:i Belgium were guilty of offences that would disgrace any nation, outrages upon woiiien and children taxing place in which cliicurs of the Kaiser's armies were themselves the leaders and active participants. There were in Belgium at the time numbers of young English ar.d French girls who were beieg educated in the convent schools. When (he war broke cut, the authorities deemed it wise to remove these 'children (f-:r most of them were under sixteen years) to a place of safety, and they were consequently entrained on the first stage of their journey to England. The German Army, rapidly advancing through Belgium, captured the greater portfan of the Belgian railways, and, incidentally, sundry trains al.-o, amongst them be-

iiig one containing these women and children refugees. Not one of the woman and very few, if any, of the children, escaped outrage, Herman officers themselves setting the example to their men, and these and other poor creatures were subsequently allowed to proceed to England, where they are now in a state of expectant motherhood. Naturally, so delicate a subject, all'ccting as it does the honor of the wives and daughters, and even the families of respecting, lawabiding, and God-fearing citizens,, has been handled by the press at Home very reluctantly. Some of the papers have, however, 'spoken out more freely than others, and the problem of what is to be done with the children born to those grievously wronged girls and women, is one to which a great deal of attention lui3 been given. The father of an English girl barely sixteen years of age, who was outraged by a German officer, has openly stated that he will not allow the child to breathe, and a Belgian priest who, by virtue of his office was called upon to minister to these hapless victims of German sensuality, has, in strong terms, denounced the iniquity of the oppressors, and counselled the destruction of the children at birth. Mr. Max Pembcrton quotes him, in the Weekly Dispatch of February 14, as follows:—"Yes, my sisters, for it is to you, and you alone that I desire to speak now in the name of the God of Vengeance and the God of Pity Who absolves. You will not wish to perpetuate the abominations of winch you have been the innocent and holy victims. The dregs of darkness must not appear in the light of day. Lot eac"h of you become the pitiless Ilercd of the opprobrious line which the infamous Ainalckites have raised up in their bloody paths. Proscribe, extirpate, exterminate without fcruplo the filthy and criminal tare 3 which would dishonor ouj dav the pure wheat of our plains upon which blows tuc breath of liberty." There arc said to be thousands of Belgian, French, and English girls and women who have been dishonored by Germans, large numbers of whom have taken refuge in England. The subject is a painful one, and it brings with it a problem the ethical aspects of which are being warmly debated. It is as well (au exchange . says) that New; Zealanders should know these things, dreadful as it is to have to relate them, for they Will then realise the truth of the statement that the Allies are fighting a scourge like cholera. ~._.*...,..

ROMANCE - OF BROWN FURS. A little romance of war time lias cropped up in the "agony column" of tile .London Times. It is comprised in two advertisements, as under; January 27. Drown Furs, —Ist-elass carriage, 2 p.m., Edinburgh to Euston; 23rd inst. —lf you can write anything like as brightly and interestingly as you talk, letters from you would be a God-send to the silent, admiring, respectful, but friendless khaki-clad eavesdropper when —as he soon will be—in the trenches. February 1. Khaki Clad, -whose message to Brown Furs appeared here, much regrets that it is impossible for him to answer-per-sonally the hundreds of kind people who profer their services in substitution for Jirown Furs. It is almost a tragedy—the lad in khaki calling piteously for one fair charmer, and scorning the oilers of hundreds of others. Let us hope that "Drown Furs " Ims responded to the appeal, and that the boy in the trenches lias been made happy. .FRENCHWOMAN'S THOUGHTS OF THE BRITISH.

The Frenchwoman's knowledge of England's part in this war'is very limited, and generally it U biassed by the particular set to which she happens to belong. The aristocrat believes that our aristocracy has given magniiiwntly, but that our masses are- not. y«t touched. The bourgeoise is fed with fresh stories for and against us by every wind that blows, and her opinions are as variable as the winds themselves. The woman of the people, is entirely dependent on her halfpenny newspaper, gossip, and the letters she g.sts from her men at the front who have come into contact with the English soldier. Of the three the woman of tl'ie people is the most inclined to allow that England is doing her duty, and doing it well, even as she is always the one in casual conversation to recall with gratitude the timely and courageous help of Belgium. She is less critical, less cynical, less suspicious of other people's motives than those of her compatriots who bring intellect to bear upon intuition; and although fihe, like- Frenchwomen of all

classes in these days, comments widely on the luxury with which the English soldier is supposed to go to war, she comments with more tolerance than the women to whom luxury has become a daily necessity.

'Uhe most fantastic stories of Tommy's concerts at the front are told by wo-n-en cf all classes in France; some ap-

pear to think that to lie brave a man -rust be dirty; others imagine that berainc an Englishman likes his tea and bacon he must be backward in taking his share of the fighting, and it is commor.iy believed that tv-.o English soldier travels with so much luggage that he needs two men to carry it for him.

The main cause of this attitude of ti'.e French women is their raperfect knowledge of England ai'.d England's part in the war. They know that we have sent an Expeditionary Force, and they know th-.t in comparison with the army France has put into the field it is but a very small factor.

They think that its exploits have been given undue publicity in comparison with that allowed their own army, and they are always being asked to recognise the superiority of English organisation over Freneli.

For this and for many other reasons the forging of friendship's links between the two nations must 'be difficult, and it lies with the women in both countries, if they would serve under their flags as well and as gallantly as the soldiers are serving it, to weigh their words, and especially their criticisms, when discussing the manners and moth 03 of the two peoples. IRKIDESCSHT IRENE

When Miss Irene Browne was play\ng in Sardou's play, " Diplomacy," with Julius Knight at Sydney, people' tu the audience —women particularly—noticed that her hair was a different color in different scenes. They won-ili-rod how she managed it, and some mid it was remarkably clever. All the lime, however. Miss Browne was blissfully unconscious of the effect. , WheTi it was pointed out to her she was puzzled. Mr. Knight said he had noticed it, and his theory was that when it was brushed hack Miss liiMWiie's hair was darker thnn when it was taken from the back and carried forward. That theory was ridiculed by Miss Browne. \

The scenic artist, Leslie Board, solved the mystery. It was the stage lighting. He demonstrated it at a rehearsal, instructing the man on the penh to put in a pale amber and ''spot'' Miss Browne's locks. Her head shone like a flume. Then by another combination of colors in the lens of the spot light he converted Miss I'.rcv, no into a chemical blonde —the de-' pravod kind of blonde. Next he made her a violet magenia; then a bricked. Mr. Hoard explained that the lights jn Miss Browne's hair had lent themselves peculiarly to the experiment he

[mvo. There are. three distinct shades that make the dull red mass that is her crowning glory. There is live ccp- ) er. there is red, and there are golden lights in Miss Browne's hair. By neutralising any two of these the third predominates, and by neutralising one only and heightening the other two mother effect is achieved,

PP.OVISIOHS FOR BLIND SOLDIEI4S. 'He King, the Queen anil tlic Prince of Wales arc all showing practical interest in the various schemes that are El'-ot for provision for those soldiers ■iii-.l sailors blinded in the war. A hostel is being opened in London almost p.t once, owing to the generosity of a Mr. Otto Khun, who has placed his beautiful house at Regent's Parle at the disposal of tile Joint Committee of the 'British Rod Cross Society and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, to whom a grant of .15000 lias been niai'a by the National Belief Fund, In the grounds will lie installed ail open-air rlnli, where those of the Mind lnen who wish to live in the country will be taught poultry culture, garden and farm work, ~ way-finding, marketing, r.iid s-porls and games. In u temporary hostel a nnniher of blind soldiers are already installed, and, with the aid of a number of cheery blind folk and others, are adapting flu in:elv»-s to their new'mode of life. A fund has been started for providing typewriters, writing frames, specially devised games, and other apparatus, and those wSo have motor-cars or facilities for taking' blind soldiers for drives (ir; being ask«l to come forward.

WHERE BOMBS FELL. Braintrce, the small but very important town in Essex, not far out of London, on which some of the bombs were thrown in the last German raid, has pained mere than she has lost from fc.ieign invasion. In times past she has welcomed Fleming, French and Dutch, whenever an entente or religious persecution provoked an exodus from the Continent. A large increase of alien population took place in the reign of Edward 111., when the Fleming* came to teach the English how to utilise their own wool. The French afterwards helped the villagers in the myscene..; of Bilk and crape. 'But for the ancient alien stimulus Braintrce nrght not have had the modern honor of making the Coronation robes of cloth of gold and purple velvet for King Edward and Queen Alexandra.

WOMEN DOCTORS HONORED. As they are now able to leave their Work at Wimereux and Paris (in which places they were heads of military hospitals under the War Oilice), Dr. Louisa Garrett Anderson and Dr. Flora Hurray have been asked bv Surgoon-'Gon-eral Sir Alfred Keogh, c f the War Office, to take charge of a new military hospital of 500 beds in England, which, it is interesting to learn, is to be opened next month, and to be stalled entirely, as were these in France, by women and women orderlies working under sisters. It is surely significant of the prejudice that still reigns that Cambridge University refuses to confer medical degrees on women graduates!

THE " BLUE CROSS " PRAYER. " Have you heard the Blue Cross prayer?" said a lady just hack from England. "We heard it for the first time at St. John's, Westminster, when Archdeacon Wilberfcrre preached on October IS. It is really taken from the Russian Liturgy of St. Basil, and wa3 composed by the Risliop of Caesarea in 370 A.D., so that it retains all the dignity that is so touching about ancient prayers. Here it is: 'And for those also, O Lord, the humble beasts who with us bear the burden and heat of the day, and offer their guileless lives for the well-being of their countries, we entreat Thy great tenderness of heart, for Thou hast promised to save both men and beast, and great is Thy loving kindness, O Master, Saviour of- tlia World.' " Here is another item of new:! she brings:—"The, final verse of the National Anthem, has been altered to suit the present times, and now reads: Lord, let war's tempest cease, Fold the whole world in peace, Under Thy wings. Make all the nations one, All hearts beneath the sun, Till Thou shalt reign alone, Great King of Kings." Shampooing, Hairdressing, and Twisting. Electrolysis for the permanent removal of superfluous hair. Switches, Toupees, etc. Ladies* combings made un to any design. Mrs. BEADLE, Ejrmont Toilet Parlors, Griffiths' Buildings, smt Carnegie Library.