FOR WOMEN FOLK.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 July 1915, Page 6

FOR WOMEN FOLK.

j £'BY EILEEN."

i ''Eileen " will be glad to receive items of interest and J j value to women for publication or reference in this column. j I " —J

GERMAN WOMAN'S LOVE FOR BRITISH OFFICER. "I\HATE GERMANY." \ "I love him now-, I shall always love him. It is true that I 'Jiavo always passed 'myself off as an Englishwoman. 1 look upon England a/s my country. I hate Germany." The speaker was a German woman, and the story of her love for a British officer and how she sacrificed her liberty in order to. see him, was now revealed before a court-martial at Paris. Fraulciii Susan Fommcrich, aged thirty-six, a governess, horn at Dresden, appeared to answer a charge of false identification papers. The judges found her guilty on one count only, and sentenced her to four months' imprisonment, the exact period she has already been detained hut she must leave France and not return for ten years. Fraulein l'ommerieh, a frail, pretty little woman, entered the dock in charge of two municipal guards. She answered the President's preliminary questions in a low voice, speaking French with an English accent. When told to sit down she put her handkerchief to her eyes arid wept softly.

GERMAN WOMEN AS HOUSEWIVES. I German women are housewives, every one of them, in whatever grade of litn they may be found. In the richest German household the mistress superintends the kitchen and lends a hand to tn» cook. There are certain dishes which she always makes with her own hands, because her Fritz likes them so. She may boast 32 quarterings on her escutcheon, and be terribly -proud of her lineage, but she has no nonsensical ideas ■about its being degrading to put on a canvas apron, lard a piece of veal, make jams, or dole out with her own hands the prunes that are to be put into the potato stew. She keeps her best attire for Sundays, and makes it serve in a good many oi these festal days, for she does not follow fashion blindly- or in a hurry. On ordinary days she "Iresses with a plainness which would excite the contempt of a Frenchwoman. THE GRACE OF COURTESY. iA determination not to lose sight of courtesy in her dealings with her patients may survive the busiest day and invest the nurse who practises the gracious art with a nameless charm that shall at once exalt her above her JelloWs. To attain it, one needs to keep before one's miml the ideal of the patients being our welcome guests, and treating them accordingly. Let any nurse, a little weary with monotonous routine, try this for one day only, and she will at once perceive a' marked change in the attitude and 'bearing of her patients towards herself, a quick responsiveness that makes for friendship ajid kind feeling. Let her, intsead of entering' the ward in the morning with ardour look or sleepy yawn, without anygreeting to the patients or friendly word to the night nurse, make the initial effort of facing the ''petty round of irritatiijg concerns and duties with a kind face, and patience renewed with dawn." The I"jiiorning heart, eager to labor—eager to be happy," will 'be hers, and her brightness will at once he reflected in the faces turned towards l.er as she goes "blithely oi her business." j STRENGTH IN PATIENCE. Patience is really the capacity for and h ibit of enduring or suffering. ft is si own by the serenity with which we si limit to the r.nuoyanco caused us by o hers on the one hand, and is displayed ii a wider and deeper sense by the fortitude which one exhibits in all the eonci nis of life, in good and bad fortune. It is an unfortunate characteristic of u any onergtiv and really able, highn inded inert thai they cannot await the . bmo of tilings: they are impatient of 'il lay, -must needs see events result to 'ti eir liking at a. stroke, asi it were, and ' tl erefore their important efforts end in d sappointmenf to themselves and to o hers. Like the squirrel in a cage, they ii ake much movement, but no progress . Oi the other hand, there is occasionally 1) wight into high relief a patient man who grasps and .holds, in spite of the g eatest obstacles, a success so splendid tl at ids eiiilnrai.ee and the results of it n e an inspiration to the world. HOW A QUEEN HELPED. There are many ways of helping national industric; —talking about them, w ,-iting about them, and suggesting imp ovements in them, fiut the best way i> by giving away dimples. And this t e Queen of Belgium understood when some years ago she'revived the art of luce-making ill !»■ country. She wanted to raise the prestige of Belgian lace, which had groin too conventional in d 'sign, and she had suitable designs •ilawn and circulated amongst the lacen akers who wee known to be skilled a id had .come of familiies with long trail tions'of lace-unking behind them. I!e----ii g wise as well as kind, and knowing tat the good erlist is worthv of her h re. the Queen had a stanjlard rate of wages below which the -worker could not ■«). It was the young Queen's dream t'.at the beautiful Mechlin and Point de Flandre scarves and shawls would he as < v onderful in their war as the Severs e'liiia. and the Cohelins tapestries which France presents to sovereigns and nthcr h inored gucsls. ,S<> her Ma jest v bought ii uch of the korutilul work of her sublets, ad present ei! it to Queens- and to tie wives of Presidents when suitable occasions arose, and gradually the fame cf the new and lovely designs that !ooke- like '•(■olivol ■; i'lim bv fairies." to c ,;ote a poet's description of them, siread. I And then the war-broke out. and the industry receive-.! an almost fatal blow — . lint not quite fatal, for even in the T'.idst of the flennnn occupation the Relf inn lace-maker plies her needle when sie can get the thread. At: the recent exhibition <"f lh-Igian lace in eonuecliov ! villi the Women's Internalional Art ( lub, M. Paul I'-ninboUe. who himself ha,snuggled seme of the exhibits through the German line-, made a pica for these vorkers who still remained in their owe c-mutrv. lucif'eiitaliv, hj" ioo made f with the work thev-do. and their s::;l> / in the doing of it. and the remark of I M. Lambotte that if women used some t of their real htr-e in.-fead of putting it I bv they would do good to the workers f of all countries had cnsiilernWc point; Women who would never dream of wearing false jewellery will quite clieer- '■' fully wear imitation lace when the-real r luce, for trimming purposes both for II lingerie and .fecks will cost, 'but a little ! - aire, and will I"=' five to." s In---"- ! ■ -V ..!" fie CO -e important CN''ibi- ! - lion pieces h'nt -carry the traditions of I- luce-making into other countries. The 'i iwivrl iml" il- would give the workers the -melius ef le---iig the noce^-ancs • of life while waiting for the big reward- ' ' of their artislic v. oris.

It appeared that .she had been governess in a family at Jfichelstown, Ireland, in 1'906, and that she had then made the acquaintance of a captain in the British Army. The couple were very much in love with each other, and would have been married hut for the woman's nationality. They parted, and Miss Pommerich came to Paris, "became governess with a German'family, and then joined a French family. After the outbreak of war Miss Pommericb. aslced for a week's, holiday, saying she was going to London, but instead of doing so she went to Havre and then to Rouen in search of her old sweetheart. Unsuccessful in her quest, she went to Switzerland, and in the meantime her enjployers received an anonymous telegram .accusing her of espionage. The police were informed, and she was arrested. The principal evidence against her was a letter to the prisoner from a German officer, written since the beginning of the war, asking information concerning "B or B"; all 'expenses would be paid, said the German, wiho gave details of hove the reply was to be sent to disarm suspicion, j

There was a dramatic scene in court, when .she told her story about the British officer. "I- loved him," she saijl simply; "I love him 'now; I shall love him always. It is true that I hav,e passed myself off as an English woman. I look upon England as my country.-. ;'I hate Germany." As she said this slie struck the rail with her clenched fisj;. "I went to Rouen and Havre to try to find Captain . I could not bea^r the thought that he. might be killed at the war and I never see him again. I would rather he a spy for France in Germany than be a German spy in France." iJlaitre Philippe addressed the court for the defence. Taking the evidence as one would take a bundle of sticks, he broke it piece by piece. At the beginning of the trial the crowd in the court were swayed by the report read by the prosecuting counsel, and tlioir voices rose like the hissing of an angry sea. After Maitre Philippe had spoken and the. court retired to consider its vefdiet, no one. doubted what that would he. It was the lightest one, possible.

-Miss Prtiinierich will be removed to a concentration camp, but there is no morequestion of punishment for her. . FRUIT FOR THE COMPLEXION. >i i ; As every woman desires to have a good complexion, she should rcmcmbeV that the benefit to her skin from any' cosmetic or lotion is not to be comparffl' with that to be given by the use of fruit.' This should be eaten as a staple article 1 of diet, and not as a luxury or delicacy. Grapes and apples are amongst the most nutritious of fruit, and these generally agree with even the most delicate. A baked sweet apple with cream is both nuti itious and good for the skin- Strawberries -enrich the blood and contain' a large percentage or'iron. Oranges and lemons are of great value in improving the complexion, and a couple of oranges eaten before, breakfast will often clear, a muddy skin. Those who suffer from. acidity 'should not eat acid fruit with farinaceous food. Fruit, such as plunW should be thoroughly masticated, ami" the skin of raw fruit should never. Ij?" eaten. o j,