THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2488, 29 April 1909, Page 7

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

MERMAID .uACE

The Island ..of Burano, which is close to Venice, is famous for its lace manufactory, where nearly four thousand women are employed. In the fifteenth •century the headquarters of European 2aee-maki:ng were in V enice, aiuMietweon the years 1600 and 1700 the Venetian lace was'Unique in its delicacy and heauty. One of the most beautiful lace patterns us known as ‘ "Mermaid lace,” land has a curious story in connection it. A young sailor on his return td Venice from the South Seas brought a present of coral for his sweetheart, who was so struck by its beauty that she imitated it in a. lace design, which was so successful‘that ’Mermaid lace” is one of the most celebrated and -sought-after of Venetian laces. ’ Some authorities think .that lace making can be traced back to Biblical days, when Isaiah speaks, in chapter xix. 9, of “They that work is fine flax, and they that weave network,”' but others think that the use of lace only Mates as far back as 1469, as there is . a document. kept in the Cathedral of Ferrara which refers to the price., or mending and ironing lace, and in another document, also in the cathedral, mention is made to the division of property between two sisters, and several pieces of lace are among tlre : items. LADY DUDLEY AND THE NURSING PROFESSION. The Countess of Dudley, in opening a now nurses’ home, built and furnished at a cost of £10,500, in connection with the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at Camperdown, New Wales, said that was the first opportunity she had had of associating herself in a practical way with the efforts put forward in that State in the direction of a good and useful work, and she believed there were many such. She hoped she might, before long, be in close touch with those. Her Excellency added she had elsewhere close intimacy with nurses -and the nursing profession, and had had •an opportunity of watching their work. She knew’ of the strenuousness and the ■self-sacrifice and of the devotion with yyhl.ch it was performed in England, and she supposed it was the same in Neiv South Wales. Therefore she. would gladly identify herself with everything pertaining to nurses and nursing . ■ HOUSEHOLD RECIPES,; Curried Mutton.—Required: One pound of lean mutton, two ounces of butter or good dripping, on© tablespoonful of chopped onion, one tablespoonful of chopped apple, two teaspoonfuls of curry powder, three teaspoonfuls of flour, one teaspoonhu of -chutney, half a pint of stock, a little lemon juice, salt and pepper. Remove all skin and bone, and cut the meat into neat cubes. Melt the butter in a stew-pan, add the onion, and cook it for a few minutes without browning it. Next put in the meat and cook i it for about five minutes, then shake in.the curry-’oowder and flour, and cook them carefully. Add thei, stock - gradually, stirring it all the time,, then put. in the apple and chopped chutney. Season to taste. Put into a. casserole, cover it, and let its contents simmer very gently lor about an hour, or until the meat is perfectly tender. See that it is nicely seasoned, and add a few drops of l en } 01 ? juice. Serve it either in a hot dish or in the casserole. In the ‘ former arrange a . border of nicely-boiled rice round it; in tne latter hand the rice separately. The Boiled Rice.—Well wash about a teacupful af Patna rice in cold water. Have ready on >the fire a pan of fastboiling. salted water. Sprinkle m the rice, stir it briskly for a minute or so, then let it boil until it is tender, but the grains must not be broken. As soon as the grains are soft pour the rice into a strainer. Pour some fresh boiling water over it to rinse it well, then spread it on a clean cloth, and put it either in a slow oven or on a plate rack to dry. Stir it now and then with a fork. It is then ready , Snowballs.—Beat the yolks of three eorers, add three teaspoonfuls of sugar, and beat again, then add one quarter oip-'a teaspoonful of grated lemon rind and two cups of sifted flour. Knead the dou°L, then roll out’ quickly into a tilin’sheet and cut into circles with a biscuit-cutter and fry at once m deep fat until a delicate brown. Drain on paper, and roll in powdered sugar. A Dainty Trifle.—Out some sponge cakes in two, or divide some savoy fingers. Spread some raspberry or apricot jam on each slice. Place the halves in,: their former position, and lay the cakes in the bottom of -a. deep , glass disn. Flavor a cupful of milk with vanilla or ratafia, and pour it over them. Leave to soak for a couple of hours, spooning the milk up from time to time go that cakes, are well saturated. Make a cufitard with a pint of milk and two eggs, flavor with some essence as already used. Blanch a few sweet almonds. Let the custard cool, pour it over the soaked cakes, sprinkle with almonds. If desired, whipped cream can be piled up in the centre of the .. dish, and sprinkled over with- ‘hundreds and thousands.” "•