... By Frank W. Lane HAST thou entered into the treasures of the snow? The question is as old as the book of Job and reminds us that as long as man has been able to think he has been entranced by the magic of snow. What exactly is snow? It is the result of the crystallization of the water vapour in the air into geometrical forms. If a snow crystal is examined under the microscope it is found to ...

... N* OldJ^Tales Re- to Id Christmas Vsfith Charles Dickens Written and p TV/T,, 4.3 n ;q R y Illustrated by A1. IVldldllld, K.l. THE vicissitudes through which this unfortunate world has passed since time immemorial have had an inevitable influence on many of the traditional festivities, observed in their various ways, by all mankind. Wars, social upheavals, plagues and all kinds of calamities ...

... By Arthur Turner EXACTLY why Christmas should be regarded as the season for ghosts, and why more spooky tales are told in connection with Yuletide than with any other annual festivity, is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, many such tales persist, and modern science seems utterly to have failed in eradicating them. Christmas, it seems, is still the time to go wraith- hunting, and even in ...

... QHKlSTMtAS BOXIU^G Hunt down your white elephants. Pretty gee-gaws, mirrors, picture-frames; pictures, vases, evening bags, pieces of lace, unused make-up, book-ends. Give them to appreciative friends. Do not hoard any longer your adolescent prides of knife, paint-box, scout or camping equipment, satchel or haversack, that first manicure set. Someone must be of an age or mind to enjoy ...

... THE most common over-forty defect of the lovely English complexion is red veins, and the danger season for those veins is now on. Every woman over thirty who has prided herself on her rosy cheeks, who has never used much make-up because there was no need to improve on nature, should take a searching look in her mirror and make sure that the flush of rose is not beginning to separate into tiny ...

... UmlfallJ'1'* CWistmas Greetings -from f YOUR OLD FAVOURITES WILL COME BACK AGAIN Gyffla&ekA cjf 2¥awwttA 6/6^-euify AJnce IS 26 ...

... m-lrpB [A IaiNE Shell-patterned INI Laimf Leaflet No! luUttilUJ UKw{ 2155,' price 3d. or 4^. post free, so superbly soft so unbelievably Q pre- war'. It may be hard to find La Laine in the shops, but not impossible. Dept. LL 178, Nottingham CVS-L28 ...

... . WW From Father and Mother down to lovable little w Junior, all the family know and appreciate the W blanket warmth and sheet comfort of 1 MAO 01 A IJ I B Not easy to buy demands of the services I B must come first. I The range of VANTONA household Textiles f also includes Court Bedcovers Morning Joy Towels, Down Quilts, Ticks and Tickings I all bear the VANTONA Tab. mBl The VANTONA ...

... r-M -M f KG OF WIGHT CHWISTjSs^t^m By W inifred Lewis WAR Christmases have had their compensations. We made them do. Getting along without things was fun. Up to a point. Being with people who were far from those they cherished, helping them over, was satisfying. There were some good reunions too. I remember, gratefully, one Christmas Day with his unit, recalling our old Christmases, laughing ...

... - BY JEAN BURMP Editor Women's Department I. American women are mad about this soft, reactionary sleeve line. It is strongly feminine here, in a white moss-crepe dinner- dress of effective simplicity, with a cross-over, one-button fastening, a grey snake-skin belt. Marjorie Castle. 2. Imitating paillettes, pink plastic studs illuminate an elegant black crepe dinner- dress, cut on basque lines, ...

... C^Lriitnias Yl^jixture Y]otAs Before By Harriet Muir ,C) LAST-MINUTE CHRISTMAS PUDDING Chop 4 oz. of dried fruits; cream 4 oz. of mar garine and mix with 4 oz. of breadcrumbs, 2 oz. of flour, 1 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, 2 tea- spoonfuls of mixed spices, 2 drops of rum essence, and the chopped fruit. Finally add 2 beaten-up reconsti tuted dried eggs and 1 tablespoonful of treacle or ...

... I FOR THE I CHILDREN'S TEA PARTY I COFFEE DROPS Melt ½ lb. of sugar in ½ cupful of milk, adding a nut of marga rine and 2 tablespoonfuls of coffee essence. Let boil, stirring all the time, until, when tested in cold water, the syrup may be rolled into a ball. Remove, let cool, and when nearly cold, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes creamy and changes colour. Roll ...