Zurich Herald, 1954-06-03, Page 6AN NE .141 1;?. ST
"Dear Anne Hirst: I am 23. I
Left my position to take care Of
my ill mother and the house but •
I grew so nervous that I became
111, and it was decided I'd have
to live somewhere else, A mar-
ried brother took me in, and I
Improved immensely, I would
have stayed there, but his wife
trade my life intOlerable — to
get rid of me, she admitted later,
"The more she hurt me, the
kinder I was, for I wanted her to
like me. I worked part-time in
an office, and helped her with the
housework and the children, did
my own cooking a n d laundry,
end my mother paid her for keep -
in b me there. But I was miser-
able.
MORE DISTURBANCE
"Circumstances made it pos-
sible for me to move into a down-
stairs apartment. My sister-in-law
resumed her persecutions, which
frustrated me so I had to give up
my job. I lived almost like a re-
clse. Mother forced .me to visit
a psychiatrist, but that only made
me more despondent.
"The situation is intolerable. I
am back where I started six years
ago, suffering physically, emo-
tionally and spiritually. I am los-
ing faith in mankind. All around
me I see others who are selfish
and mean, yet they are healthy
and happy; I have tried being
kind and good, and all I've got is
ill -health, unhappiness and an ab-
normal life. I cannot tolerate my-
self!
"I know you have no solution,
but I have to tell someone. Any
reply you give will be appreci-
ated. MISERABLE"
4860 10-18
itikkur, -74-efek4“,
ONE YARD 54 -inch fabric for
bolero! DITTO for skirt! No need
to bankrupt your budget for a
new outfit — just choose a lus-
eious wool remnant, sew this!
Couldn't be easier — diagrams
show you how few seams there
ere.
Pattern 4860: Misses' Sizes 10,
12, 14, 16, 18. Bolero, skirt in all
sizes take 1 yard 54 -inch fabric
for each garment.
This pattern easy to use, sim-
ple to sew, is tested for fit. Has
complete illustrated instructions.
Send THIRTY - FIVE CENTTS
(85c) in coins (stamps cannot be
accepted) for. this pattern. Print
plainly SIZE, NAME, ADDRESS,
STYLE NUMBER.
Send order to Box 1, 123
Eighteenth St., New Toronto,
Ont.
* Will you, a young woman Of
" 23, let yourself be defeated by
circumstances you cannot
* change? Trouble and confusion
* have beseiged you, but where'
is your backbone? Everything
" depends upon your will to Over-
* come these supersensitive ten-
" dencies that plague you. What
• you need first, in my opinion,
a is a guiding hand to point the
" way,
" I urge you to talk this over
" frankly with your minister. He
" can help you restore faith in
" yourself and your future, show
" you how to regain self-confi-
" deuce, and to give you positive
" assurance that we are not given
* burdens we are not able to
" carry. Regular church attend-
* ance and a firm belief in the
" power of prayer has brought
* peace to many a troubled soul,
"' and renewed their faith in man-
* kind. With your minister's help,
'" it should do the same for you,
" He can suggest activities
" within the church that will lift
" you out of yourself and open
" your eyes to the importance of
" friendship. You will meet some
'' people who are worse off than
" you; and in helping them you
* will forget your own difficulties
" and learn the joy of service
* and the satisfaction of feeling
* needed.
•" As to your sister-in-law, she
* is as she is. Certain tempera-
* ments can never assimilate with
" opposites, and it is up to the
* victim to make allowances and
* suffer without bitterness. You
" have made encouraging pro-
* gress toward that goal, and .if
" you build an armor about your-
* self her slurs cannot penetrate
" it.
* Perhaps your mother or your
" minister knows some nearby
" family who will welcome you
* as a paying guest; there you
* would share a normal affection-
* ate family life an you should
* make long strides toward a
* happier outlook on the world
* you live in, The idea may not
be welcome, but it is worth
" considering.
• Naturally, you will keep in
" touch with your physician and
" have the required check-ups to
* measure your improvement.-
"
mprovement." Meanwhile, seek help through
* faith. Cultivate an interest in
* other people, and if you will
* to, you can dig yourself out of
* this self-pitying slough into a
* useful and fuller life.
Peace of mind can be achieved
by renewing one's faith in her-
self and others, using one's will
power and trusting in prayer.
Anne Hirst's understanding can
steer you on the right course.
Write her at Box 1, 123 Eigh-
teenth St., New Toronto, Ont.
"Bikini" Swim
Suits Are Old Stuff
Proof that more than 2,000
years ago young and shapely
women enjoyed displaying their
figures when they went for their
dail; swim has been found by a
party of archaeologists excavat-
ting the site of a prehistoric city
in India.
Their spades "surfaced" s won-
derfully graceful life-size stone
statue of a beautiful Indian danc-
er aged about twenty-two.
What do you think she was
wearing, ladies? A super -quality
bikini -style bathing costume far
more attractive than the most
exatic twentieth-century swim-
ming wear.
It was fashioned with thread
of pure gold and, despite the dust
of twenty centuries, it glistened
in the sunshine as the statue was
carefully excavated. Statue and
costume v -ere in a wonderful
state of preservation. The gold-
en "bikini" must be worth a for-
tune.
Said an official: "It would be
hard to' find a more fashionable
bathing costume even on the
"rench Riviera."
LIFE'S A SERIOUS BUSINESS, THESE DAYS
aP1,oto by :Rots $cultho,
On Graduation Day Five-year-old Larry Duncan is so happy
about graduating from kindergarten, he kisses Janice Bryan, 5,
a fellow graduate, "From her facial expression .it appears that
Janice isn't too happy about the idea.
r
f,,tillagr. to.
RONICLIES
�1 GER ARM
ewtdoi.Ctu D Clamber
"It is an ill wmd that blows no
one any good". No doubt wet
weather and delayed spring seed-
ing was one reason for the large
attendance of women - at the WI:
Officers' Conference h e 1 d in
Guelph last week. Another rea-
son would be that ' no ' one en-
titled to go would want.to miss
the Conference, especially as it
is one of those things that every
year, in every way, gets better
and better. One day Friday
- was all the time I .cou1'd man-,
age — but what k ;day`,;it was,
never a dull moment, except, for
the weather, and that, didn't
count.
No doubt you who Aire W.I.
members will -get a:; full, 'report
from your president at your next
meeting, but 1 would like ato 'give
a few of my own impreSeions.
The theme was ` Start; Where
You Are With What Yoa4Have"
=- excellent advice at 6 y,aevel.
The, importance oftr.* . x ,t ie'
handbook was particul: em-
phasized. And where be', er can.
you make a start .than from the
handbook? A properly conduct-
ed meeting is always interesting.
It is only when the business ses-
sion is allowed to drag 'that it
becomes boring. Mrs. Clarence
Hayes gave the how and why in
her report of the discu:,J on re-
ports held the previous day. It
is several years since I had heard
Mrs. Hayes but. I found her just
as interesting as always: Mrs.
Hayes, never pulls any punches.
She has a way of making, you
wonder whether you measure up
to what is expected of a good of-
ficer or W.I. member. Her ques-
tions and remarks actually be-
come a challenge.
An Edinburgh W.I. visitor
spoke briefly. She was of the
opinion that we do not have as
much fun at our meeting as they
do in the Old Country. NO doubt
she is right — so what can we
do about it? Pepped up busin- '
ess sessions would certainly pro-
vide more time for secial and
recreational periods. And the
"pepping up" process depends not
only on the president but on all
members of 'the branch,
When it comes to fun what a
time we would have if there
were even one member in each
branch capable of creating en-
joyment as does Padre W.A.
Young of the O.A.C. His ,spon-
taneous gaity as he leads the
community singing bubbles up
and spills over so that he car-
ries everyone in his audience
along with him. Actually there
may be W.I, members who could
do just that if they could forget
to be self-conscious and just let
themselves go, Ari if there is
fun and laughter in our hearts
was there ever a time more nec-
essary than now for sharing it
with our friends?
Miss Ethel Chapman was an-
other speaker whom everyone
enjoyed. There is never - any
lack of attention when , Miss
Chapman is speaking — and last
Friday was no exception: I have
heard her speak many times but
I think possibly this last address
was the best yet. It was 'sympa-
thetic, provocative, helpful and
humourous — a n d certainly
abreast of the times, Miss Chap-
man quoted this little verse from
"The Farm Wife" in oonnectiorl
with the one-time isolation of
Countrywomen,
"She never climbed a moun-
tain, she never heard the sea,
But always watched a wind-
ing road that ended aimlessly,"
Then added Miss Chapman •--
"The farm wife doesn't stay at
home any more watching the
road , . . she is on it — usually in
a good cause." The proof of that
statement was in the attendance
of hundreds of women' at the
Conference.
Then came Mrs. Ellen Fair-
clough, M.P. Hamilton. An ex-
cellent speaker and extremely
diplomatic. She trod on nobody's
toes. From her remarks it would
have been impossible to guess at •
h e r political affiliation. She
stressed the importance of fam-
ily life; of parents training their
children to form opinions. She
spoke of untrained thinking as
"a dangerous process"; that chil-
dren should be taught tolerance;
to approach problems of the day
with an open mind; to turn
youngsters out into the world
who had not been trained to
think was like sending a, person
out with a car without previous
lesons in driving.
R. B. Currie, Chief of Nation-
al
Defence and Welfare, spoke on
civil defence in Canada. Not spec-
ifically of bomb attacks and air
raid drills, but rather what wo-
men could do towards civil de-
fence in times of emergency, in
peace and war. To train them-
selves in mass-- production ' of
meals; in caring for 'those in
need of shelter and clothing. Mr.
.Currie, without being an alarm-
ist, left us with the impression
that, in this day and age, com-
placency was as much a threat to
our safety as communism,
And now a word about Miss
Anna P. Lewis. I sometimes
think we are inclined to take
Miss Lewis a little too much for
granted. The success of the W.I.
and the F.W.I.O. during the last
few years has been, to a great
extent, the result of the untiring'
leadership of Miss Lewis. Since
she took office in 1945 she has
had a great deal of heavy respon-
• sibility. In 1947 there was the
5 0 t h Anniversary celebration
and in 1953 the Conference of
the ACWW in Toronto, both maj-
or undertakings. So I think we
should all take our hats off to
Miss Lewis, Director of the W.I.
Branch and Home Economics
Service of Ontario.
"Wreck" Of Whale
Makes Grief
A -Plenty
When is a whale not a whale?
When -it's a wreck. That, at
least, is the conclusion reached'
reluctantly by the Receiver of
Wrecks at the Custom House in
Ireland.
Earlier this year, as the sun
was setting over Galway Bay, a
seven -ton whale was washed
ashore near Aughrisberg, Clad-
daghduff, in wild Connemara.
Nicknamed "Winnie," t :h e
whale was an object of interest
for sightseers for long enough,
until the local authority decided
it should be removed.
But that was easier said than
done. Winnie — all 70 feet of
her defied all efforts to cart
her away. Then the matter went
before a higher authority, and
the solution was left to the Gal-
way County Manager, Mr. C. I.
Flynn. But there was no para-
graph in the book of rules tell-
ing what should be done with
washed-up whales.
There was only one heading
under which. Winnie could be
classified. So now to the Cus-
tom House here has come a let-
ter stating that in due course an
order will be made directing
that "Form A" be served On the
Receiver of 'Wrecks recluiring •
him to dispose of the' carcase of
this particular wreck within *
time to be specified.
Soon Winnie will be gone —
together witih the wind that re-
minded people of her presenoe
when it blew in a certain direc-
Utz- lv '` Murder
Was Shq Guilty?
So many questions remained other child ,she had given a large
unanswered when Hannah
Dobbs was found not guilty —
so many might haveb een an-
swered had judge and jury
known what was subsequently
to be revealed.
Miss Hacker was herself a
strange woman -- sixty years
old, deformed, friendless, mean
to the point of madness, yet
rich enough for meanness to be
called eccentricity.
In the year 1878 she arrived
in London from her native Can-
terbury to become a lodger in
the house of Mr. Severin Bas-
tindofl and his wife at Euston
Square. Among the belongings
she took with her was a large
cash -box containing — so Bas-
tindoff declared later — a sub-
stantial sum of money in five -
pound notes.
On October 14th, a Sunday,
she was alone in the house for
some hours with Hannah Dobbs,
the Bastindoffs' attractive, twen-
ty -four-year-old servant.
By this time she was, for
some unknown reason, in
arrears with her rent, and on
Monday morning Bastindoff re-
marked on the fact to his wife
and said that it must be paid.
Without hesitating, the servant
Hannah offered to collect it, and
rushed past her master up the
stairs. In a few minutes she re-
turned holding a five -pound
note. Bastindoff gave her the
change to take back.
Later that morning Hannah
remarked to her mistress that
the old lady was offended and
seemed likely to move out. "In
fact," she added, "it's my belief
she's already gone. I haven't
heard her moving about in her
room."
Miss Hacker had indeed left.
Youmay think that Mrs. Bas-
tindoff was not a very efficient
housekeeper, for she did not en-
ter the empty room 'until two
days later. She saw a stain on
the carpet, which was wet be-
yond the edges Of the stain, as
though someone had tried to
wash it out.
By May 9th of the following
year, 1879, the Bastindoffs had
a new lodger. He bought his
own coal and... asked for a space
to be cleared so that he could
store it. There was a large cellar
under the house, filled with
lumber that had accumulated
• over the years. Bastindoff em-
ployed men to clear a space and
behind some trunks they found
a decomposed body.
The police were called in, and
it was soon established that the
body was that of Matilda Hack-
er. It was identified by the de-
formed spine; a n d rotting
clothes added silent corrobora-
tion. Round the neck was a rope,
but whether this had been the
cause of death or whether it
had been used to drag the body
to the cellar could not be deter-
mined.
Mrs. Bastindoff recalled the
stain on the carpet, and even in
those early days of forensic sci-
ence it was possible to tell that
the stain had been made by hu-
man blood. It was considered
that Miss Hacker had been kill-
ed with a knife.
Soon detectives were taking
an interest in Hannah Dobbs.
They found the address to which
she had moved from Euston
Square, only to learn that she
had left long since, leaving her
trunk, and her rent unpaid. The
trunk was opened and among
her clothes were found jewel-
lery and and oddments that had
belonged to Miss Hacker.
She was traced, arrested and
charged with murder.
Further investigations strength-
ened the case against her Be-
fore she left Euston Square she
had given a book of dreams be-
longing to. Miss Hacker to a
child who lived nearby. To an -
broken cash-b'ox, Shortly after
October 14th. she had been seen
wearing a watch and rings
which had belonged to Miss
Hacker,
The evidence against Hannah
Dobbs at the Old Bailey in June
of 1879 was purely circumstan-
tial, and the chief witness were
the Basindoffs. For the defence
it was argued that a slight girl
could never have committed the
murder and then dragged st
heavy body down to the cellar
unaided.
Mr. Mead, who defended, also
made a great point of the Bas-
tindoffs' lack of curiosity about
the sudden departure of their
wealthy lodger. The jury gave
Hannah the benefit of the doubt
— and she was found not guilty,
When Hannah Dobbs was re-
leased she became """a popular
heroine, with a certain section
of the public. Among her ad-
mirers was a Mr. Purkiss, who
was the'proprietor of the `Police
News.' Before long this journal
published a pamphlet which
purported to be the true life -story
of Hannah. Among the allega-
tions cbntained in it was a state-
ment that Hannah had been the
mistress of Severin Bastindoff.
Bastindoff retaliated by in-
structing his silieitors to apply
for a High Court injunction to
prevent any further publication
of the pamphlet, in connection
with which he filed an affidavit
denying the allegation. Mr. Pur -
kiss was equally swift in his
action. He took out a summons
against Bastindoff for perjury.
Bastindoff appeared before a
magistrate and was committed
for trial.
The case was heard at the Old
Bailey before the same judge
who had tried Hannah Dobbs
for murder. The situation was
reversed: Hannah stood in the
witness -box and her late em-
ployer stood in dock. It was a
very different Hannah from the
drab figure who had pleaded not
guilty to murder, for she was
now fashionably dressed -and
full of confidence.
This was shaken a little when,
in cross-examination, she was
forced to confess that at one
time in her life she had been
convicted of theft
She had first net Severin Bas-
tindoff when she was a servant
in Torrington Square, and "fel-
low -servants described, how the
pair • had gone out together by
night. Even more conclusive was
the evidence of a Mrs. Carpen-
ter who owned a small hotel at
Redhill. Mrs. Carpenter identi-
fied the pair as having spent
the night at her hotel.
Severin Bastindoff was event-
ually found guilty of perjury
and was sentenced to twelve
months hard labour,
There the case ends so far as
the courts are concerned, Some-
body murdered Matilda Hacker;
somebody got away with mur-
der.
What is your verdict?
Anniversary fhe German Post
Office will soon issue this stamp
commemorating the 100th an-
niversary of Ottmar Mergen-
thaler's birth. He was the in-
ventor of the Linotype machine
which revolutionized newspaper
typesetting.
Who Won? -- This "Racetrack Nat,' fashioned of burnt Ieghorn
straw keeps the sun out of the eyes, all right, and also the pain•
ful sight of your hors. coming in last. "Emme," millinery designer;,
used rope to trim the summery creation,