LADIES' COLUMN.

Waikato Argus, Volume VI, Issue 419, 8 April 1899, Page 2 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

INDIVIDUALITY IN WOMEN. Nowadays when the New Woman—the honer-t, hard-working, truth ..peaking Now Woman -is so much to the fore, tho lack of individually in women is by no means so great a lick as it was soma years ojro But even now, in these later and enlightened days, when a woman is ex i peeled to have a mind of her own, and not to be a mere reflection of her nearest male rolative, very many women bide the light of their individuality under tbe bushel of coventionalism. In ordinary conversation I do not think five women out of six would let you have a glimpse of ther raal characters; they allow thpmsdlves to fall into tho commonplace mould, and, particularly in their intercourse with men, drift into light, graceful, but meaningless chit-chat. The man following the woman's lead, and appraising her onlv at the value she thus places on herself, "responds by compliment and banter, and thus is established a kind of Bhell friendships, hollow and fragile, through which the real nature can very hardly penetrate. Mod, even reserved men reveal their individuality more readily than women besausM they do not suffer from self-con-sciousness to the same extent. Men (fortunately for them) have never yielded so great a subjection to that serfdom of " what people will think,' the yoke of which women are at last throwing off. A little while ago women were not expected to reveal strong individuality, and we all of us feel a certain shrinking fiom doing anything unexpected, and so, perhaps, laying ourselves open to the damning cburge of—eccentricity. I fancy that perhaps very young girls and some older commonplace girls, too, think that any show of individual thought and feeling may interfere with their matrimonial chances, and the banter and " smart " conversation are more attractive to tbo masouline mind than to eerious discussion. This is a poor compliment to the masculine mind, and to any who hold this erroneous opiniou I would siy : No man worth the having perfers to wed a woman whoso individuality is nil. Let it not bo though'., however, that I advocate an unvarying gravity ; by all means bo gay and light-hearted, and indulge in banter and those airy nothings •0 dear to the soul of youth in season, but do not hido the best and noblest part of youreelf from all eyes but your own, for remember the children of the world are quick to judge by what they Bee -and by that alone. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. Old putty in window-sashes may be easily removed by rubbing a hot iron ever it. Dirty matting may be cleaned with saltand-water, whilst alcohol removes stains from it. To clean brass trays, rub thoroughly n ith a slice ot fresh lemon, wash in clean warm water, dry, and polish with a soft chamois leather. A sick-room hint.—When making a mustard plaster mix it with melted lard till j"st thin enough to spread. Done in this way, it will not blister the skin. Dirty white skin rugs can be cleaned with a sponge and naphtha ; but great care must be used, as naphtha is highly inflammable. When the fingers are stained in peeling fruits, preparing green walnuts, or in similar ways, dip them in strong tea, rubbing them well with a nail brush, and afterwards wash them in warm water and the stains will dhappear. Ironing Tablecloths.-When ironing tablecloths never move the iron across from side to "side, but from end to end. Ironing across pulls them out of shape, and they do not lie flat on the table. To cloud a glass for the sake of protection purposes, as in a bathroom; and yet to preserve the light, may Se done with a solution of Epsom salts and vinegar, applitcl with a brush. This should give a frosted look, that becomes durable if gone over at once with white varnish. Polish for brown boots.—Dissolve one ounce of beeswax it» half a pint of turpentine by placing it in a cool oven. When cold, rub a little on the boots, and polish with a soft duster. If tightly corked this will keep for months. To Jmake marking ink.— of silver joz., dissolve in seven fluid drachms of distilled water; mucilage, snz to be afterwards added. A good permanent marking ink may be made by dissolving plantiunm in a mixture of three parts of hydrochloric, and one of nitric acid, letting the solution continue till the acid can dissolve no more The liquid must then be diluted with water and caustic potash; sugar and gum must be added. Table linen looks best when marked with white linen thread in satin or damask stitch. This h far better for the purpose than ink, as well as more elegant.

Carpets and Dirt.—lf you must have a carpet, the ouly safety is to take it up two or three time 3 a year, instead of once. A dirty carpet literally infects the room. A very general an i excellent plan now adopted is to have two feet at least of stained boards round the walls, though best of all would be the polished floors of foreign houses, all the carpets being loose aud movable And if you consider the enormous quantity of organic matter from the feet of people coming in which must saturate it, this is by no means surprising. In any schoolroom or ward much inhabited, a smoll while the fljor is teing &coured quite different from that of soap and water is very perceptible. It is the cxhalatioa from the organic matter which has saturated the absorbing floor from the feet and breath of the inhabitants.

RECIPES. Grilled Beef.—Eight slices cold roast beef, 3 teaspoonfuls made muptard, 1 of pepper. 1 tablespoon ful of Worcester sauce, 1 small onion sliced aud fried. Mix the mustard, pepper, sauce and onion together. Cover the slices of meat on one side well with it, and grill for five minutes. Serve very hot. Tea Cakes.—Two pounds of flour, half a teaßpooniul of salt, quarter of a pound of butter or lard, two eggs, one ounce of German yeast. Mix the salt with the flour and rub in the butter, soak the yeast in a little warm milk, beat the eggs and add them to the yeast, stir this into ttie flour, and add as much warm milk as will make the wholo into a smooth paste ; knead well, and let rUe in a moderately warm place, form into cakes, aud phce in round tins ; let them rise again before putting them in the oven, and bake 20 minutes. This quantity is sufficient for tight cikep. Savohry Caki-s.—Take any scraps of cold mutton, chop fine with a dice of onion and a sprig of parsley, put in a Mew pan with a teaspoonful of flour, poppir, and salt to taste; mix with it enough stock to make it moist (not too much"so), cook gently, stiring continually toon make some pancakes, omitting the sugar, put a spoonful of mince into each pancake, roll up neatly, servo in a pile with fried parsloy. Chocolate Biscuist.—Rub together a quarter of a pound of flour, two ounces of two ounces* of butter. Take ab uFhalf an egg, a very few drops of essence of vanilla ; knead and roll; then cut out and bake on a buttered bakingsheet in a slow oven. Put in the oven to soften a small cake of Cadbury's Chocolate, and when it is soft, take it out and . place it in a very little boiling water. Take half an ounce of butter and half an ounce of flour, and blend both together well over the fire ; add rather le?s than two tablespoonfuls of chocolate. Stir untill it boils, and is rather thick. Add sugar and vinilla to taste. Dissolvo a quarter of a pound of icing sugar with as much boiling water as will bring it to a nice consistency ; beat well, mix the chocolate just prepared, aud spread over the biscuits with a knife dipped iu boiling water. I