THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2531, 18 June 1909, Page 7

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

WOMEN’S ARTISTIC WORK. Formerly there were comparatively few handicrafts, except those of the .needle (says a writer in a Scotch paper) in which it was usual for women to be . employed, whereas nowadays it'may be •truthfully asserted that a very large proportion of the modern art-workers are women. For this, of course, art spools are to a large extent accountas well as the met that the varikonsf branches of artistic craftsmanship afford a field of light and congenial work, in which there is, perhaps, not such great stress of competition as in /most other callings. Take for instance the art of illuminating manuscripts by hand, which was so highly cultivated a handicraft in the days before printing. In those days, of course, it was for the most part done by, or at any. rate under the auspices' of, the monk's, as being the class generally endowed with a greater share •than anyone else of that knowledge and' •taste which are essentials in this kind of work. Modern illuminating, however, is, on the contrary, very largely in the hands of women. _ It is precisely the kind of work, requiring as it does .remarkable exactitude, neatness, and manual skill, in which women very ten excel, and is therefore being taken up by many women of culture and taste, who with the addition of the necessary special technical training, are thus enabled to turn these admirable qualities, to practical account. There is, indeed, an evor-growing tendency to direct women’s energies into some craft of this kind, which may be made lucrative if necessary. In the old days the lot of the “reduced gentlewoman” was .a horrible thing, and the difficulty of Mrs. Gaskell’s “Miss Matty” was one far from uncommon when the average female accomplishment of at all a technical kind w r as something absolutely useless, however laborious, in the way of fancy needlework or painting of flowers or fruit.

How different, for example, from the work of the Mid-Victorian and Early Victorian Eras is the art needlework done at the Royal School in. lxmdon in which H.R.H. Princess Christian takes so kindly an interest. Here the wonderful art of tapestry-making is brought back to the same high level of excellence which it occupied centuries r*Ao, when William the Conqueror’s Qjfcfeon and her maidens chronicled with +Afe ileedle the Norman’s victorious care§>r. Much artistic needlework is also done here for ceremonial robes; on the occasion of tbe Coronation, it will be remembered, Queen Alexandra’s robes were adorned with some of the magnificent embroidery which tbe school can turn out. Royal weddings also frequently furnish the students with opportunities of their skill; the trousseau d£ Queen Ena of Spain, it will be remembered, contained several examples; arid the long-remembered fancy dress ball at Devonshire House in the Coronation year also kept the School of Needlework busy for many months, turning out pieces of embroidery for historical costumes, which there would feef great difficulty in getting correctly copied elsewhere. A new branch of ilrte art of embroidery and painting is apparently that of producing processional banners, as witness the tremendous display on the occasion of the suffragists’ demonstration in London, when all the banners had been designed and executed by women. One of the leading exponents of the new revival of tapestry is not connected with the Royal School. Miss May Morris, sister •f the late William Morris, is possessed of great artistic taste and a mastery of the technical part of the art. Among her finest productions is a large tapestry replica of BotticelliV’Spring,” and anyone remembering the immense amount of detail and variety of subject in the original will realise what a difficult task it must have been to deproduee faithfully all these forms and colors in the medium of tapestry. The half-tone process of illustration has, of course, practically ousted the wood engraver’s' art in most cases. There are, however, still a few who endeavor to keep up the traditions of which Albrecht Durer was, perhaps, the greatest exponent of all time; and .amongst these one of the most able is Miss Clemenc© Housman produced many beautiful wood ’blocks for her brother, Mr. Laurence Housman, charming illustrations to his books, one so decorated being “The Blue Moon,” a volume of fairy stories.

HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. Pineapple Tapioca.— Required: Four tajblespoonfuls of tapioca, one pint of sfireddcd pineapple. Cook the tapioca u£til clear, but not entirely dissolved. Stir the pineapple into the tapioca, and sweeten to taste. Serve with clear or whipped cream. Vegetarian Rissoles.—Wash quarter •fa pound of lentils,, soak for a few hours. Cover with water and cook half an hour. Drain and mix with two •qpces of bread-crumbs, one ounce of butter, one .teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a sprinkling of mixed herbs, pepper, salt, and one egg. Form into balls, cover with bread-crumbs, and fry. Serve with brown sauce. Swiss Rolls (by request).—Required: One cupful of sugar, one cupful of flour, a small teaspoonful of baking powder, and three eggs. Beat the eggs f ( > r about ten minutes, add the sugar, and beat a little longer. Then put m the flour in which the baking powder has been mixed. Flavor to taste, then hunt well together. Turn the mixture into a baking-dish, and bake in a, quick oven for about eight minutes. Have ready on the table a clean cloth wrung out of cold water. Turn the roll -op to this, spread with raspberry jam, and roll up immediately. Dust with icing or colored sugar. Cottage Pudding.-’—Required: On® -pint of flour,, one egg, one cupful of .sugar, one cupful of sweet milk, three tablespoon fids of melted butter, ono teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, two teaspoonfuls of " balking powder. Sauce for the pxidding is made of one pint of water, half a •■Cupful of sugar, a piece of buttei ha t thl size of an egg, two tablespoonfuls raspberry jam ; bod, and thicken a '•Crißfvbnr Cheap Soup. —Besides being oHeap this soup is substantial and very nourishing. Take six large, mealv potatoes, two leeks, three , crushed tapioca, one ounce of buttei or dripping, a teaspoonful of sugar, one pint of milk, and one quart of •dunlin" water. Slice the potatoes and leeks into boiling water.. Bod to a So then rub through a sieve and put WV into the Stock. , Shake m gently Boil for ten minutes, add - -the milk anal dripping with thiTpepper *Hd salt, then bod up and servo.