WOMAN’S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, 30 April 1921, Page 6

WOMAN’S WORLD

PERSONALS.

Mrs. Austin Bewley has returned from Auckland. Mrs. Jas. Paul, who has been visiting her (laughter, Mrs. J. F. Bennett in Blenheim, has returned to New Plymouth. Mrs. K. G. Smith is on a visit to Palmerston North and Wellington. * • • • Mrs. H. Greig has returned from a trip to Wellington. Mrs. C. Chilwell, who has been the guest of Mrs. P. B. Fitzherbert. returned to Auckland last night. Miss Constance Leatham leaves by mail train this morning for Auckland, where she will be the guest of her sister, Mrs. Trevor Simpson. Miss Kenderdine (Auckland), who hag been staying with Mrs. Keppell Archer, left on Thursday for Oamaru, • • « • Mrs. F. G. Evans, who has been spending some months in Auckland, returned to New Plymouth last'week.

Mrs. A. A. Bennett leaves on Monday on a visit to Wellington. Mrs. Swainson (Silverhope), and Mfrs. Mayer (Hunterville), who have been the guests of Mrs. J. Barthorp, leave for their respective homes on Monday. Mrs. Murdoch Fraser, who has been the guest of her daughter, Mrs. C. Williams, at Takapuna, returned this week. # • • • Mrs. Tobin, of Tauranga, is visiting New Plymouth. Mrs. Moseom Hempton, Wellington, is spending a holiday here. * ♦ • • Mrs. W. Grove, of Otaki, is on a visit to New Plymouth. Mrs. Devore .(Auckland),"is the guest of her daughter, Mrs. R. H. George. Miss Adie Haise, who has been the guest of Miss L. Shaw, has returned to Wellington. • • * • Members of the Victoria League are anticipating a pleasant time on Monday evening next. No doubt badges, etc., will be much in evidence, as each member is to represent a book. Mrs. G. Millar was hostess at a tea party last Wednesday afternoon for Mrs. C. Chilwell.

Visitors at the Criterion Hotel this week include Mrs. Fleming, Mrs. and Miss Jackson, Miss Petrie (Auckland), Mrs. and Miss Wood, Miss Williams (Wellington), Mrs. and Miss Austin, Miss Hewitt (Dunedin), Miss Crawford (Wanganui). Quite a number of farewell afternoon teas have been given, in honor of Miss Barr. Amongst rhe hostesses were Mrs. C. H. Burgess, Mrs. R. H. Quilliam, Mrs. L C. Sladden, while Mrs. Frank Wilson is entertaining Miss Barr and many of her friends this afternoon. On Thursday, the girls of the New Plymouth High School presented Miss Burrow, on the occasion of her marriage with Mr. T. Cork ill, with a set of fish knives and forks and a silver toastrack. ,

ENGAGEMENTS.

The engagement is announced ofi Mrs. F. E. Baume, of Auckland, to Mr. E. W. Kane, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Wellington,

WEDDING AT NIGHT.

Says Wednesday’s Auckland Herald: Unusual interest surrounds the wedding of Miss PhylJis Macfarlane and Mr. Philip Hanna by reason of the fact that the marriage will be celebrated this evening at St. Mark’s Church, Remuera, in the presence of a large number of guests. A reception will afterwards be held at the residence of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Macfarlane, of Gillies Avenue, Epsom.

POST-WAR HOSPITALITY

A feature of post-war hospitality in London is the absence of private parties. Instead, hostesses dine their guests at a fashionable restaurant, and then take them on to a dancing club (says an exchange.) No time is wasted upon devising a new dinner-table decoration, or the details of a menu. There is no taking up of carpets or moving of furniture. Instead, the guests are amused by a novel environment, such as the Italian roof garden at the Crafton restaurant, or the 'Embassy Cltfb, where miniature revues are acted during dinner. The Embassy Club is in Bond-street, and is regarded as'the very latest thing in London entertainment. It recalls the famous “Midnight Frolics,” given by the Ziefeld Follies on the roof of the Amsterdam Theatre in New York. The Embassy platform is on a level with the floor, and around it are placed the tables, so that diners can eat and see at the same time. The singers and dancers come from a raised gallery on one side of the hall, and down a short flight of stairs to the stage, in the centre of the room. Later, the guests dance themselves. The revels at the Embassy Club are novel, but they are quite “proper.” It is not a night club, but a dancing club, and membership is strictly limited.

DIVORCES.

A NEW ZEALAND RECORD.

During the year 1919 it became evident, from the reports of Supreme Court proceedings, that divorce cases had increased enormously in number compared with pre-war years. It now appears, from the official statistics published for the first time for that year, in the latest issue of the New Zealand Year Book, that the number of petitions filed for divorce totalled 675, and constituted a record. The figures for last year are not available, but will probably prove to be equally significant, but they will not be available until another year has passed owing to the extraordinary delay which occurs in preparing matter for the official Year Book.

Divorce petitions have been steadily increasing in number for a decade, but the total in 1913 was only 260, compared with 675 in 1919. Of the latter petitions, 326 were filed by husbands, and 349 by wives, and the bulk of the petitions related to marriages which had lasted between five and fifteen years. In 395 cases a decree nisi was granted, and during the year (including decrees nisi granted during the preceding year), 264 decreet ware made absolute.

WOMEN FARMERS.

An interesting interview with Miss Johnston-Scott, a Capetown lady, who has fanned alone in the Transvaal for seventeen years very successfully, is given in the Gentlewoman. About 5000 of the “1920 settlers” were arriving in South Africa., and she expressed the opinion that if they were land girls, or girl§ who had learned to work hard and intelligently during the war, they might do well in their adopted country. Referring to the oft-raised question of native labor as employed by women, Miss Johnston-Scott was most emphatic. There was no trouble where the natives were treated with firmness and absolute justice. They make excellent servants, and give no trouble. That was the experience of seventeen years, and Miss Scott did not know of any woman employers who had undue trouble. She mentioned Miss MacGregor, of Rusten- ’ berg, who was an orange grower. “She owns her orange orchards, and sells sixty tons of marmalade to the mines every season, besides her own retail trade. She has t.he plant, makes and solders her own tins, and does everything from growing the fruit to preserving, packing, and selling it all by herself with only native labor.” Flower farms and poultry farms are mentioned as being profitable and healthy work. It appears that a “Rondaveh,” a round hut, can be built by native labor from £lO to £3O in price, and these have the advantage of being warm in winter and beautifully cool in summer, so that dwellings do not present the usual difficulty.

Fashion is a very extraordinary thing, judging from statements in various wellknown British journals. “Eastern influences,” according to one, have resulted in some of the evening gowns being made with little trousers of gold tissue veiled in a hooped skirt of Mack lace or transparencies of tulle. These go by the refined names of “jupes culottes,” but are plainly and unmistakably trousers. A strange coiffure was made of foliage forming a fillet and chinstrap, decorated with a daisy over each ear. Another on the same lines had gilt grapes instead of the daisies. The unbecoming and uncomfortable-looking bandeau placed across the middle of the forehead appears to be a thing of the past. A Parisian Writer says that the henna-woman has also had her day, and the carmen woman is the fashion; there, fore it is “necessary” to go in for an expensive change of color in the hair. Another remarks that the “men’s beauty parlors” are as well patronised as those of the women! ' »

USEFUL HINTS.

A cold-water bandage will often banish a headache. j Knives not in daily uefe should be slightly greased with oil or vaseline. Use the sugar from candied peel to sweeten and flavor a rice pudding. Furniture cream is excellent for polishing the marble or tiles on a washstand. When sprinkling clothes use hot water, which dampens them more evenly. Fresh eggs rubbed over with butter will keep good for a considerable time. The juice of raw potatoes is excellent for removing stains from the hands and from woollen fabrics. Save the water in which rice has been boiled, and use it instead of starch to stiffen delicate lingerie. If bacon is soaked in water for a few minutes before frying, it will prevent the fat from running. A vigorous rubbing of the frying-pan with soft paper before and after use will ensure perfect cleanliness.

A cork djpped in paraffin is a splendid thing for removing rust spots from metal of any kind. The juice of half a lemon squeezed into a glass of water and drunk unsweetened is an excellent remedy for biliousness.

Vinegar added to the cleaning water will help to keep flies off windows, mirrors, pictures, etc. Before boiling a piece of bacon, soak it for twelve hours in cold water. If this is done it will not waste in cooking. Always hang beef or mutton a few days- before cooking. It will be much more tender. When removing stains by artificial means, always do so before the linen is washed. Washing and boiling serve to give stains a firmer hold.

When a piedish or anything used in the oven becomes burned or discolored, rub with a piece of waste emery-cloth or with powdered bath-brick. To improve the flavor of old potatoes and prevent them from turning black, add a little milk to the water in which they are boiled. To remove a scorch, cut an onion in two, rub the scorched part with it and soak in cold water. The mark will disappear in a few minutes. A coat of paint put on the outside of a dustbin will prevent it from rusting, and make it easier to keep clean, besides improving its appearance. If soup is too salty do not waste it. Slice a raw potato and drop it into the liquid. Leave it for a short time and the salty flavor will disappear. Always wash glassware, forks and spoons first, and greasy dishes last of ajl. Never allow knife handles to be covered with the water; it loosens them.

Chopped suet is useful for replacing eggs in milk puddings. Sprinkle a little on the top and the pudding will be rich and creamy. • To avoid chapped hands, dust them over with oatmeal every time you wash. Imperfect drying is the most frequent cause of chaps. The best way to cook macaroni is to drop it into boiling salted water, stir, cook till tender, and then drain after pouryig cold water over it. To take .away the disagreeable flavor that some imported bacon contains, soak each rasher in slightly warmed vinegar and water for five minutes before frying. Candle-ends should be placed in a jar, melted down, and mixed with enough turpentine to make a soft paste. This will make an excellent polish for linoleum.

Wet umbrellas should be stood upside down to dry. This allows the water to run out of them, instead of into the part where the silk and ribs meet, thus causing the metal to rust and the silk to rot.

If a navy-blue serge costume is looking shabby, sponge it with a cloth moistened with vinegar. Make sure first that pfe” dye is a fast one, as you cannot depend on serges nowadays. When you have sponged it iron it on the wrong side with a moderately hot iron. Floorcloth should not be washed very often. Rub it over every day with a rag on which the faintest suspicion of oil has been poured, and it will seldom need any other treatment. Paraffin does excellently, if you don’t mind the smell.