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Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2197, 7 August 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

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It is said that glycerine in its pure state should not be used for chapped hands, as it absorbs moisture from the skin, thus leaving it dry and liable to crack. When moderately diluted with water, however, glycerine is an excellent application. When the woman of the East fatiguei herself with the unusual exertion of thinking, she thinks of Christian women with contemptuous pity, because "the husbands have no love or respect for them, else they would not allow any men , but themselves to look upon their wives' faces." American children have instituted a novel form of social entertainment which they called a cat-party. Each little guest is requested to put her little dollies to bed and leave them there, but to bring her kitten in full dress A supper is served, at which nothing is allowed that the four-footed pets may not share with their small mistresses. A sponge will last a much longer time if it is never soaped. A piece of soft flannel should be used to rub the soap upon the skin and the sponge merely to wash off the soap and to sluice with the water. This will prevent the sponge from getting into the slimy state so frequently seen in nurseries. To clean them from general dirt and sliminess it is necessary to soak them in some strong acid (vinegar if no better is to be had), and then in hot soda and water. If this does not completely purify them they are worn out, and had better be burnt or thrown away. Common sponges keep clean the longest. Paris always rejoices in novelties, however bizarre or even hideous they may be. At present a green rose is all delightful to French lovers of flowers. There is, however, nothing new under the sun, and green roses are no exception to the rule. In his delightful little book, "A Year in a Lancashire Garden," the late Mr Henry Bright tells of one rosse in his garden of which he should decline to give a cutting. 4< It is so ugly that it is worth nothing except as a curiosity, and if it ceased to be a curiosity it would oe quite valueless. It is a green rose." Mr Bright got it from Baltimore. It is supposed to be a gratt from Rosa Indica (the China rose of England and the daily rose of America). A surprise of a most unpleasant char* acter was given the jrue?ts at a «elect private masked ball, held at the close of the Pari* Carnival, the correspondent of the London Times writes. One of the most conspicuous guests was a ma^k habited as a "familiar" of the Spanish Inquisition in the seventeenth century. A well-known young actress at last sati*fied the general curiosity by untying hi-* mask, when it appeared that he was M. Deibbler, the Paris executioner. As might be expected, he quitted the salon as soon as his identity was discovered ; but he had come on a genuine card of invitation procured by a Lidy, who for some whim wished to give the company an unpleasant burprise. Another instance of the growth of foreign competition. A Pariaau lady, representing a purveyor of French fashious, is on the road in the full character of a commercial traveller, and may be seen in many towns. A friend who has mot this spirited woman states that she is young, vivacious, and full of ihic % and on the last occasion she did not scruple to dine at the commercial table, where she i was accorded the seat of honour on the right hand of the president, and was the life and soul of the party, being a staunch upholder of the superiority of the French ! as compared with the English nation. Her lively sallies were much relished by ! the company preseut. Whether this | lady is the pioneer of a bevy of go-ahead "commercial" sisters I cannot say, but here is a new phase in the knotty proI blem of "work for women."