By Hester birth. Though the world has congratulated Princess Juliana upon the arrival of her daughter there is little doubt but that a boy would have been more welcome. So it is with lesser mortals, and one finds folk of the most obscure families, and with the most commonplace of names, anxious to have boys, "so that th náme and family will not die out," but, what matiers it how many Robinsons and Smiths and what-nots die out, there are plenty of Jones and Browns to take their place.
In Shanghai we learn that all Chinese, down to the lowest coolies, have a more than usual eagerness at the present time to produce boys, boys, and yet more boys. Friends of mine employ a house-tailor on full time to make clothes for refugee children, and quite a lot of work is done for the many newly born who seem bent on arriving. It appears that, even among new babies, fashion dictates one form of jacket for a Boy, and another for a girl The boys jackets have numerous buttons while the girls fasten with a few. in a country where people afe accustomed to neglect their dear ones in life, but to give them a jolly good send-off, and wonderful attention when they pass on to the Great Beyond.
When one comes to think of it, there is something to be said for this Chinese bereaved one's foresight, for a coffin may be a useful thing to. have around the house.. Someone is sure to need it at some time or another. We can recall the case of the society woman in England many years ago who had her cofün made for a long time before she died, and bad it regularly polished. She used to take it with her on her travels, and report says, take her siesta in it each afternoon. We are not told if she provided it with a beauty-rest mattress, or if she were hardening herself for her long rest, but the story is said to be true, There is one point to bear in mind though, if any one thinks of doing similarly, and that is, that a coffin, like a suit of clothes, is something one may get too large for. Then, consider the unnecessary expense if one happened to be blown into small pieces by a bomb, or if one fell overboard while at sea. No, on second thoughts I shall spend my coffin money on a badly needed new gown, and trust to luck against the time when the sad (?) but certain event overtakes me.
Needs of the Living Like the wise people we are, we shall, instead' of preparing too well Kor death, try and do what we can for the living.
Lots of little boys and girls, who insist upon thriving despite the hardness of the world into which they have been thrust, find themselves Miss Kay Francis wears a tunic frock in belge and plack, rough crepe Her alligator belt matches the huge bag which she carries. without either parents, or any means of subsistence, but cold as is the world, there are kindly folk who give attention to the succouring of little orphan waifs, and among these philanthropists are the Shanghai women who help to support the Cradle in Route Winling and the orphans at St. Tichon's.
Incidentally, if it is one's wish to increase one's family without going through the usual preliminaries, one can do this by adopting a child from the Cradle, I am told. This matter of adoption has more than one thing to recommend it; one can choose the sex of one's "offspring" and likewise at it looks like before taking Most of us have to take what comes, and have the pain of noting our snub noses and freckles repeated upon a suffering descendent. (Who was it said something about," The tenth transmitter of a foolish face?"). Not so the parent of the adopted, Those interested might like to take a walk to the Cradle sometime and see the attractive children who really have "no mamma, no papa, no whiskey soda."
For the purpose of making as many garments as possible my friends have commissioned their tailor to make the jackets with few buttons, but at last he has protested, and he is backed up by the amah in the home. She has declared that she would sit up of nights and make buttons and buttonholes rather than have so many jackets made for girl babies. "Must make for boy," declare the amah and the tailor, "girlee, maskee, maybe plenty girlee die boy must keep."
So we women can take the fattering unction to our souls that until we are needed to become mothers of the race of men, we are only tolerated in this Vale of Te ars
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.