LADIES' COLUMN.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 291, 21 May 1898, Page 6 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

CARELESS TOILETTE. A WEXJ.-DBESWD woman should scan her back carefully, by the aid of a handglass before leaving her room. It is strange how maDy ladies dress themselves as if they were paper dolis. Everything in front is well arranged and becomingly put on, while the back jseems quite a secondary consideration. Yet a neat looking Dack, with hair, neck-ribbon, waistband, bows, etc., all accurately and methodically placed, is almost attractive. It Beeirs hard to realise, on looking at one's reflection in a mirror, that the reverse of the picture is quite as much, if not more, seen by people in general. Tho hair should be especially studied at the back as at the front, with this additional reason for care that very few women possess a pretty nape of tho neck, with the hair growing tidily about it. A critical artist once speaking of this particular spot Haid : "It is the only place where nature shows hersolf a little careless, she is apt to leave it unfinished." So it is judicious to make art supplement nature at this pointy and to endeavour to make it attractive." THE MODERN MOTHER. It is to be feared that one remit; of the increased employment of women in wage earning industries, and of the delegation of all educational influence to the paid school teacher who teaches out of books rather than by example, is a gradual degradat ; on of those habits of personal cleanliness, of that particularity and carefulness about all that concerns the body, the hair, aud the clothing which even among the poorest distinguishes the well brought up child of the careful mother from the child cf the streets. A letter in the New York Medical Record from a medical man in Washington, reveals a condition of affairs which is a commentary on that emancipation of women which we are led to imagine has gone further in America than in other or more benighted portions of the globe. The Medical Inspector of Schools is quoted as haviDg, in January of this year reported on the prevalence of lousiness, or, as it appears in his report, " pediculosis," in Boston's public schools. In one school there were 756 children, all but 50 of them girls, and mostly from respectable families. Of the whole 756 children only '2OO, or 26 per cent; were free from vermin. But more unsatisfactory still was the fact that, when they were given a couple of weeks during the Christmas holidays in which to clean themselves up, it was found on their return to school that out of 509 of them whose heads were examined only 26 were free from nits. Such a degree of apathy and indifference on the part of the parents in the presence of a condil ion which would have excited the liveliest feelings of disgußt in a mother of the old school speaks ill, indeed, for the home training of both the mothers and the daughters of the present generation. —Hospital. WORDS OF WISDOM. •• Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are."—George Gleat. " The greatest happiness which we can feel in this life is that of comforting others."—Mm. de Genlis. " Our happiness in this world depends on the affections we are able to inspire." —Duchesse de Praslne. "Just do a thing, and don't talk about it. This is the great secret of success in all enterprises. Talk means discussion, discussion means irritation, irritation means opposition, and opposition means hindrance always, whether you are right or wrong,—Sarah Grand. " ONE MAN'S MEAT IS ANOTHER MAN'S POISOK" There is some truth in that old saying, rs there are so many fancies in food. There is always some variety of fish, vegetable or meat which some people refuse to eat. Tho apple, pear, strawberry, quince, bean, onion, asparagus, goose, woodpecker, deer, turtle and eel have all at one time or another been under the ban. The Jews would not eat pork, but it was highly prized by the Greeks and Romans. Mice are esteemed in China and some parts of India, while they are abhorred by the Egyptians and Greeks, because with them the mouse was sacred. The Thebans would not touch mutton. The Romans sneered at the Egyptians who would not cat onions, but themselves refused woodpecker stew. COOKING RECIPES. Madeline Cakes.—lngredients : Hb flour, Hb butter, £lb castor sugar, 2 eggs, a little grated lemon rind or essence of vanilla. Preparation : Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar and boat well; beat up one egg well, add it, an! beat the mixture for five minutes ; add the flour very gradually, beating well all the time, and add lastly (he other egg well beaten. Mix all thoroughly. Bake in well-buttered tins in a brisk oven until they are a rich, golden colour. Bote Iced Cake.—lngredients : The weight of 2 eggs in butter, castor sugar and flour, J-teaspoonful baking powder, the grated rind of half a lemon, a little milk. Preparation : Grease a shallow, square tin, beat the butter and sugar to a cream, separate the yolk from white of 1 egg, place the white on a plate, beat up the volk with the other egg and a little milk, add this and the flont alternately to the butter and sugar, beat the mixture well, and lastly add the baking powder and lemon rind. Bake from 20 minutes to half an hour in a rather quick oven. Icing for Cake—Beat the white of 1 egg to a stiff froth, add jib of castor sugar, mix well and beat for ten minutes; cut the cake in square pieces, ice each piece carefully aud place them in the oven to harden. Cream Tartlets. —lngredients : A,lb flour, soz butter. 1 egg, a few dropa of lemon juice, cold water. Make this into rough puff paste by chopping the butter and"flour together, put them into a basin, mix with the egg and a little water, adding the lemon juice ; roll out and cut with a round cutter to fit the pattypans, put a small piece of crust of bread in the centre of each, bake for 20 minutes. When done, remove the bread, fill with jam, place a teaspoonful of whipped cream on the top of each. Date Pudding. dates, {-lb breadcrumbs, Hb flour, Mb suet. 2oz. moist sugar, A-teaspoonful grated nutmeg, I teaspoonful baking powder, 1 egg. 1 gill of milk. Preparation : Chop the suet finely, remove the stones from tho dates, cut them into small pieces, mix all the dry ingredients together, beat up the egg with the milk and add them, mix thoroughly, pour into a well-greased basin, cover with a niece of buttered paper, steam one and a-half hours. Lemon Cheese Cakes.—Line some patty pans with short crust, then put a teaspoonful of the following mixture in the centre of each, and bake in a quick oven 20 minutes : Alb sugar, 2oz. butter, 1 egg, the rind and juice of 1 lemon. Put the butter and sugar into a saucepan, add the egg beaten, then the grated rind and juice of the lemon ; put the pan over the. fire and stir until the mixture becomes like honey. It must not boil, or the egg will cook. Always wash flat irons with soap and water before putting them down to heat. A teapot ought always to be washed and dried and left with the lid opon after being used. Finger marks on polished furniture mav be removed by rubbing a little salad oil on with a soft rag. i . Do not serve potatoes at tab e in a covered dish. They will absorb the steam aud become sodden.