THE LADIES’ WORLD

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2404, 20 January 1909, Page 7

THE LADIES’ WORLD

THINGS IN HARMONY. Some people appear to have a particular knack of choosing just _thc one wrong thing in their endeavor to lend effect to their rooms (says a writer in the “Lady’s Pictorial”), and it has often puzzled me why, when they are so specially anxious to have their rooms as pretty as possible, they should select something which they are sure not to like, and then, try to remedy the mistake when it is too late. Prevention is always better than cure, and a few hints on. things to be avoided may prove helpful to those who are contemplating any change in furnishings for the coming season. With self-colored walls it is a safe rule to choose patterned materials for curtains, and upholstered cluiirs, whereas if the wall-paper is of hold design nothing looks so well as hangings of plain cloth, serge, or velvet, but these may be trimmed with border bands of floral tapestry,' antique braid, or lace if required. Many people confuse monotony with harmony, and in. trying to achieve on effective decorative result strive to “match” carpet and hangings with the wall-paper, and will oven;go so far os to buy small ttable-lcov'eirs and lamp-shades of the some color, which must necessarily spell failure. For instance, a while ago I called on a friend who had just smartened her drawing-room by supplying all the chairs and sofas with fresh cretonne covers. I have .always been glad that she did not take my opinion of the result, for it was anything but flattering to her idea of taste. The walls were a pale yellow, and the carpet a very light fawn ground with yellow and faint design, and with these she hod .actually chosen a buff-colored cretonne, patterned with yellow daffodils. Anything more uninteresting I could not well imagine, and mentally I re-covered the chairs with a prpttv green ground cretonne, where .graceful trails of old-fashioned flowers, in softly subdued colors, including mauve and yellow. w;ere carelessly arranged. Then with soft mignonettegreen curtains brimmed with mauve floral borders, t-ogetfiier with tablecover and a cushion of two of mauve silk on the chairs and settee, I could picture the room in a more refreshing aspect, and longed to be able to put mv thought-s- into effect. Contrasts are generally desirable, even in such small matters as cushions, and I frequently notice that settees of a. patented material are often rendered ineffective by competition with cushions of a much-patterned material, whereas a perfectly plain contrasting color for the cushion cases would add materially to the effect. For library, morning-room, or hall sitting-room' lounges, plain velvet cushions .arc most effective and long enduring, whilst the softness of the velvet’ makes them exceedingly comfortable and restful. These may appear very unimportant trifles, but they make all the difference in obtaining an effective ensemble, and careless treatment of details, such as lamp-shades., sometimes spoil an otherwise good effect. A.FEMININE MANIA. Numberless women have a perfect mania- for “keeping things.” “Thrift,” they call it, and are inclined to preen themselves on their foresightedness in saving what may “come in bandy.” “Rubbish, ’* men of the bunily scornfully dub the odds .and ends that their womenkind treasure from year to year. And rubbish most of these precious savings are; nerve-racking rubbish that makes housekeeping a burden and moving a tragedy. If only women never began putting aw'ay bits of lining, three or four buttons, scraps pf lace and embroidery, gowns that Rive, become slightly baerr numbers,, half-worn hat trimmings, men’s faded shirts and threadbare coats —but the hoarding spirit once acquired, its links arc tough.

USEFUL RECIPES

Bread Sauce. —-Two ounces of breadcrumbs, one small onion, one-third teaspoonful salt, a dust of cayenne, i:i quarter pint milk, a quarter pint cream, a quarter teaspoonful ipepper. Boil the onion in the milk' 15 minutes, strain the miilk over the crumbs, add the cream >and seasoning, and simmer slowly 10 minutes. Serve at once.

Pressed 1 Chicken. —Pressed chicken is an excellent hot-weather dish. Singe, clean, and disjoint a good-sized f ofvl; put in a kettle, cover with (boiling water, and simmer slowly until the flesh drops from the bones. When half-done, add a high seasoning of salt, white pepper, and celery salt, and one small onion stuck with two cloves. When sufficiently tender, carefully remove skin, bone, and fat, and shred the meat in good-sized pieces. lHard-boil two or three eggs, and cut them in thin slices. Remove the fiat from the pot liquor, boil it down to one cupful, and moisten the meat with this. Thickly igreaso a mould with soft butter, and make >.i pattern round the sides with the egg whites and yolks. Now carefully fill with the chicken mixed with the remainder of the eggs, packing it down well. (Cover with a -plate, set a weight on it, and put aside in a cold place for at least twelve hours. Mince Pies. —There are a great many different recipes for mincemeat, but I hero give directions for making a good mixture (without including a lot of superfluous ingredients, such as grated ox tongue, etc.), which I can highly recommend to any housekeeper, at the same time reminding her that mincemeat greatly improves by keeping two or three months to thoroughly mature it. 'Take lib of seeded naisins, cleaned currants, peeled apples, chopped beef suet (freed from skin), 7oz of brown sugar, 6oz of candied peel (mixed), the juices of one lemon and one orange, and the grated zest of two lemons. Pass the raisins, apples, and mixed candied peel through the mincing machine, add the chopped suet, juices of lemon and orange, grated zest, some pudding spice to tasto -and a tablespoonful each of rum, brandy, and cherry wine. Mix thoroughly, put m stone jars, cover with bladder and keep in a cool place until wanted. Line some patty pans with thin puff paste, full in with mincemeat, cover with a thicker piece of puff paste, end bake a nice straw color. Pressed Tongue. —■Wash the tongue, nut on to boil in warm water with rhwespoonful of salt, and » « peppercorns and allspice. Boil gently

till tender. Take up, (let it cool a little, then peel off the skin and remove small bones at tlio root. Roll the tongue round, and place in a clean cake tin about Tin in diameter, with a plate on top.. When cold a knife must ho passed round the edge and the tongue turned out. If very firm, the bottom of tin may need dipping in warm water. KEEP THE PIANO OPEN. I was talking to a piano expert the other day (writes a housewife) and he told me that many people make a very great mistake in thinking it necessary to the good of their instrumerit to keep it religiously closed, when it is not being played on. On the contrary, he said,, it- ought to be always left open, unless, of course, 0110 was shutting up one’s house and leaving the piano unplayed on for some weeks. • He said that the shutting up of the niano causes the keys to turn yellow, as all ivory will turn yellow unless kept in a strong light.