April 17, 1915 
LAND AND WATER 
THROUGH THE EYES OF A WOMAN 
By MRS. ERIC DE RIDDER. 
A Cross-Examination 
" W' 'W' 'Y HAT are you supposed to write about ? " 
% M / asked Cecilia, as the train having shriekingly 
% /^ / run througli a seemingly endless tunnel, 
^U W emerged at last into sunshine and peace. 
' * Cecilia and I were week-end visiting bound 
together. 
This was the sort of question that could only be counter- 
questioned. 
" I mean," she said, in reply to my query, " that I should 
never be surprised if I were to find one week you had devoted 
a whole paragraph to the 
best way of button-holing 
flannel petticoats, or to the 
making of a cake without 
flour, sugar, butter " 
"If you can give me 
such a receipt," said I, 
breaking into this without 
delay, " -I will not only gi\-e 
one paragraph, but two to 
it, if indeed I do not devote 
the whole article to such a 
splendid invention. Every- 
body would clamour to read 
it. Perhaps, though, this 
cake wouldn't need cook- 
ing ? " 
" Don't be so silly," 
snapped Cecilia, whose 
temper railway travelling 
never improves. " You 
know quite well what I 
mean. If you do not write 
about cooking, I should say 
that was the one thing you 
did not write about." 
Personal, ^th Due Apology 
" It is a general arti- 
cle," I said, without much 
brilliancy, but with more or 
less accuracy. 
" Very general," said 
CecUia, whose temper stUl 
seemed ruffled. 
" To tell you the truth, 
my dear," said I with a 
praiseworthy attempt at 
explanation, " my article 
often seems to me, myself, to be a humble imitation of the 
Walrus and the Carpenter, who talked of many things." 
" There are some ideas for you," said Cecilia, who can 
never resist an A/ue quotation. " You have not yet 
talked of ' shoes, and ships, and sealing wax, of cabbages, and 
kings.' " 
" I could write pages upon shoes," said I, thinking of the 
fuU short skirt of the moipent, and its demands upon foot- 
wear. 
CecUia said nothing, but — perhaps unconsciously — put 
forth a small foot, perfectly shod in darkest brown crocodile 
leather. 
" No," I said, following out my train of thought, " it is 
on account of the war, were it not for that it would be a 
dress article. As it is, it's a mixture, because there seems 
so much else to write about as well." 
" I have got a few new clothes to show you," said Cecilia, 
who was rapidly becoming good tempered again. 
" You are quite right though," she went on magnani- 
mously. " There is heaps more to write about, perhaps that 
explains your mixture article." 
" The mixture article," I said, " exists for the mention 
of anything of interest to women. For that reason the 
letters that arrive asking for mention of such and such a fund, 
or such and such a work, are always very welcome." 
" They receive attention," quoted Cecilia. 
" Always," said I, " and generally the written word." 
" Then," said she, * ni future I shall expect a full account 
of everything to which I lend my valuable patronage, or " 
But the threat, if threat it was, was lost in the bustle of 
arrival at the station of our destination. 
On Atmosphere 
That night after dinner, and before the masculine element 
had emerged from the dining-room, conversation turned on 
Ccfyngnt, Madame Lallie Charles VISCOUNTESS CURZON 
A new portrait of Lady Curzon, who is renowned for her beauty and 
charm. Her husband. Lord Curzon, is serving on the (^ucen 
Elizabeth^ our latest and finest battleship, in the Dardanelles 
the subject of atmosphere. The different atmospheres to 
be found in different houses, the varied atmospheres in various 
shops. An American girl who had just crossed the Atlantic, 
and narrowly escaped shipwreck through a German submarine, 
gave us her views, which were well worth attention. She 
outhned the difference there is between a second-rate shop, 
and one of assured reputation. It is one which apparently 
strikes the American mind very sharply. Every woman 
listening knew what she meant. In some places the customer 
is almost forced to feel that those who serve pay but a minimum 
of attention, and that only because they are paid to do so. 
it is here, of course, 
where all the better class 
shops score. Their staff is 
trained to study custom- 
ers, their whims, and their 
ways, and to gain the 
knowledge quickly. It is 
always pleasant to go to a 
shop where one is recog- 
nised, and given a full 
meed of courteous . atten- 
tion in consequence. It 
flatters everybody's vanity 
to feel no mere unit of a 
shopping public to be 
dealt with as quickly and 
expeditiously as possible, 
but a customer whose visit 
is valued. 
The Clothes We Need 
It is the personal note 
in business that pays, and 
in the fair American's 
opinion, with Cecilia as 
seconder, this is the rea- 
son why the Regent Street 
House of Peter Robinson 
has made its huge suc- 
cess. The atmosphere is 
admirable here, the trained 
attention as perfect as pos- 
sible. " You always get 
well looked after there, and 
they seem to know by in- 
stinct what you want," 
said Cecilia, coming into 
my room to say good- 
upstairs to bed. She was 
night, after we had gone 
wearing a satin wrapper in a lovely shade of geranium pink, 
which set off the pale gold of her hair. 
I learnt that these wrappers are to be bought in different 
colourings at this Regent Street house for the modest price 
of 29s. bd. They are really delightful garments, and just 
the thing needed after the long days so many are spending 
iust now engaged upon some charitable work or another. 
ft is the greatest relief to slip out of a street suit into something 
soft and clinging. These wrappers have a roll back collar, 
and drape from one side to another beneath a cleverly finished 
fastening, but they are of sufficiently simple design to serve 
excellently as dressing gowns. 
Lingerie, of course, is always a feature here, and at present 
there are some unusually fascinating nightgowns to be secured. 
They are of finest French lawn, embroidered by hand in a 
bold, yet dainty floral pattern, and marvels of cheap- 
ness for I2S. bd. A fine edging of lace outlines the neck 
and prettily rounded sleeve, and the quahty of all the 
fabrics used is so fine that the moderate price is doubly 
amazing. 
And the next morning, when the girl from the States 
appeared in one of the best cut crSpe de Chine shirts it has 
ever been my fortune to see, I was not surprised to hear 
this hailed from the same address, and that 15s. grf. had been 
its purchasing price. It was made of that good-looking 
heavy weight crepe de Chine which always appears to advan- / 
tage, and has duplicates in black and all colours. Amongst ( 
the primary features are a semi-militaire collar, and large/ 
pearl stud fastenings, and its other advantages can be seen 1 
in Peter Robinson's catalogue. Much praise also is deserved 
by an art silk sports coat in every colouring, cut with the 
requisite fulness for the new skirt, and pouching prettily 
at the back over a tasselled girdle. And the price is but 
33s. 6d. 
2,7 
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