LANP AM) WAT IK 
Pebruarv 27, i(}'^ 
THROUGH THE EYES 
OF A WOMAN 
The One and Only Subject 
A MAN lioiiif liom the trout on a fow days' K-ave 
miiitlv luul one hittor cause (or iomi)laint. 
llf admitted tliat tlir imid in Flanders was 
nuiddi.-r than anv nuid tliat liad ever been 
known or imagined. He {,'••>"'<''' *'!''* ^'"" 
trenches at times were not tlie most comfortahle form of 
habitation, but tliere was one thing only that really roused 
him to wrath. . 
• What 1 can't stand," saiil he, " is tins nuessant war 
talk. You people talk of nothint; but war from the time you 
s;et iip in the morning to the moment you go to bed at night. 
\\liat Kitihener has said, what l-'isher is doing, why the 
lirand 
suppresse 
Duke retreated, whv this or that news has been 
(1 ; Zeppelins. Taubes. the new linglish gun. Joffre's 
spring plan of campaign, so on. anil so forth, every minute of 
the day. It's sickening! " Here he paused for breath, as 
may reasonabl\- be supposed, but shortly afterwards mfornied 
us "that the only people who ilid not talk incessantly of the 
war were the soldiers themselves, and that other folk had 
better follow their example. 
This may be and no doubt is (piitc true, but the 
question ne\ertheless remains : What else is there to talk 
about? Previous little in very truth. The point is : Had 
we at times better be dumb "than talk about the war and 
nothing but the war ? Personally. I am inclined to think 
we luul. .\nv kind of obsession is dangerous, but the war 
obsession is more so than most, as all will agree who give the 
matter half a moment's thought. The way in which even 
the mildest and meekest amongst us welcome with tierce joy 
the news of carnage amongst the enemy or a report that all 
the Kaiser's sons have been killed is a case in point. It is 
very natural, no doubt, but in quieter moments many of us 
will woiuler at the depths of ferocity which we have displayed. 
I'lvlings we never dreamt of possessing have been betrayed, 
and with blood and thunder for ordinary tea-table talk it is 
really no cause for wonder they have risen to the surface. 
The Practical Side of Things 
Since August even the least practical amongst us have 
attempted to become practical members of a practical nation. 
We have honestly tried to eschew vanities, and each woman 
in her way, be it small or vastly important, has endeavoured 
to be of some ptisitive use. Complete households, from the 
mistress to the scullery maid, have turned to with a will, 
and worked with fingers as well as with brains. There has 
been very little idling ; it has, in fact, been almost a com- 
petition amongst women as to who could be the busiest, and 
many have mapped out every moment of their day, grudging 
almost a minute of wasted time. And all has been governed 
by this one object of usefulness. The dilettante has been 
sternly banished from the scene, and no half-way measures 
welcomed. 
No clearer proof of the practical phase through which 
women are passing can be given than that furnished by the 
new skirt. This new skirt has been intimated for some 
time, but it is only now, when women are forced by the 
rapidlv approaching spring to pay-ome heed to their ward- 
robes, that its claims are being seriously considered. A 
delightful book has just reached me from New York, which 
has something to say, albeit very httle, upon the matter of 
clothes. It is written by Mrs. Beatrice I'orbes- Robertson 
Hale, the well-known feminist — though she is rather better 
known in .\merica than over here — and is called " What 
Women Want." 
Mrs. Hale, writing in June of last year, when tight skirts 
were still habitual, goes so far as to say : " I doubt if one 
can touch pitch without being defiled more readily than one 
can habitually wear a hobble skirt without being belittled." 
If she had been writing at the present time on present-day 
fashion she could have no such text for her theme. For the 
latest skirt is exceptionally full, and wide. It measures, 
indeed, no less than five yards round the hem, and it is 
exceedingly short, into the bargain. Such a practical skirt 
as this has not been seen for years, save for country use. 
Now we are invited to wear it at all times and seasons. 
Every skirt is short and full, whether it be for day, afternoon, 
or evening use. It will be delightful to move unshackled 
once again, and, to quote Mrs. Hale once more, by this gain 
in freedom our " accoutrements gain in sanity." 
(CmdiHMrf «■ pafi Sit) 
PERMANENT COAL. 
A Clever Invention. An Inexpensive Appliance. 
Suitable for all Coal-Grates, which Saves 
Scuttles upon Scuttles of Coal. 
An exceedingly clever invention by a North-country scientist I.kls f.iirlo 
rovolutionise ;xll existing ideas of coal consumption. 11 .s suitable or gratis 
or all kinds and sizes (including kitchen raiiges). and only costs 3/-. "r 3 «> 
p(>st frt^'. 
No Alteration In Appearance of Fire. No Treatment 
of Fuel. No Special Installation, or Henewal. 
Thi- Incaiuioscent Fire Mantle is a device of special design and com- 
position fuUv protected bv Palenl. wliicli is simply placed in the centre ol any 
grate 1. scicntUicallv utilises the heat euergv created by the combustion 
of the coal, which, inste.id of flving up the chimney, as is the case ot the 
larger ix.rtion of such energy in ordinary grates, is made to bring the maiille 
to incandescent heat. Thus there lies in the centre of the hre a white hot 
m;iss which may Iw termed eierlasting coal, throwing oil more I -at tliaii 
coal alone can give, yet absolutely unburiiable. and as good at the end i.l 
twelve months a. it is the first day. The appe.trance of the lire is 111 no way 
altered the m.^nlle is completelv covered bv the surrounding coal, and its 
presence cannot l)e detected. .No I.vstallation, .\i.tkkmion, ok M-ECiAt. 
Trkatment of the Fuel or the Grate is NECKssAKy. There is no 
recnrring expenditure of anv kind ; when once yon have purchased the tiie 
mantle at its modest price of 3s you can enjoy for ever a lieautifiiily bright 
and hot fire at an enormous s.aving of coal. The mantle is placed into the 
gr.^te with exactly as much -and no more— trouble than it is to put on a 
lump of coal. It requires no attention or care of .-inv kind. 
Remarkable Test Figures. 
As the result of a recent strictly supervised test upon modern grates, it 
was found that the average consumption of co.il per grate la the ordiii.-»i . 
grate (eight grates were experimented uiH)n in this particular test) was 34 lb 
of coal for a period of n hours. On the following day one ol the new hre 
mantles was pl.-iced in each of these same grates, and the coal consumptioit 
per grate for a period of I2j hours was then found to have been reduced 
to iglb. 301., wnilst the hea"t was greater. 
Saves Its Cost In a Few Days. 
The price of the Incandescent Fire Mantle is 3s. (3s. 6d. post free), 
which small sum is saved back in a few days. The mantle lasts for an 
indefinite time and can be used in grates of any size, pattern, or construction. 
On account of the proportionate saving in postage, two mantles can be 
dispatched post free to anv address in the kingdom on receipt of 6s. 6d.. and 
three for only 9s. At this' time of enforced economy, and with the additional 
danger of the present high coal prices rising still further, the great saving 
eflected bv the Incandescent Fire Mantle should not be neglected Orders 
and remittances to be addressed to The Incandescent Fire Mantle Syndicate. 
(Dept. 28). 9 Station Parade, Queens Road, London. S.E. 
■nil 
aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiR 
§ Are you Run-down s 
H When your system is undermined by worry or over- work g 
When your system is undermined by worry or over- work 
25 —when your vitality is lowered— when you feel " any- 
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SS least exertion tires you — you are in a "Rim-down" 
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S with nttf health— »*•:<• strength— JJ^tf vigour and nrw ■ 
■J life. Will you try just one bottle? ■■ 
B Begin to get well FREE. S 
5 Send for a liberal free trial bottle of ' Wincarnis '—not a mere tasta |0 
Wm bin enough to do you gooa. Enclose three penny stamps ito pay B| 
1* postaso^- C01.EM.\N & CO. Ltd.,\Vaij, %Vinc.irmsWorks,Notwicll. Wm 
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314 
