Evening Star Newspaper, April 21, 1894, Page 18

18 ANY PEOPLE USE the words fashion they were synony- mous, but, in the opiniaqn of this writer, they are not. It is doubtful if the French, who are supposed to give the world its fashions, would ure the terms as meaning the same thing. What we term “fashion” they call “la mode,” and what we should call they term “chic.” It may, at first glance seem a disinction without a difference, but there is certainly a difference. A woman may be fashionably dressed, and not have ®@ bit of style about her. On the contrary. she may have on a last year’s gown, and do her hair in the most antiquated manner, and yet have a style that will throw her Ficher sister's Paris-made attire in the Bhade. The distinction between these two words is that which marks the difference between the woman of cultivation and King Money's creature. Hence it happens that things spoken of as fashionable ai Rot always stylish, and vice versa. The latest fashionable thing in jewelry, for in- stance, is a metal throat plate. Silver and Gold. ‘When one looks at the masses of stuff made into things that pass for silver and gold, the thought comes, “Why press free coinage of silver?” or wonder that the gold Feserve ts vanishing, when the shops are brimming full of the cheap stuff that is called “sterling” silver, and “real gold?” Surely there could not be @ freer market India Silk. for the precious metals than women are making. They wear stiver trinkets till a Navajo Indian would feel out-shone in the very metal which he has helped to make attractive for personal adornment. A Navajo will wear seventeen silver bracelets on one arm, and the same number of copper ones om the other. The society ‘woman puts the same amount of silver into one bracelet, which is composed of seven- teen rings of silver, held together with a curiously-chased slide of copper. The Navajo wears exquisitely chased silver buttons on his leggins and moccasins, and the society woman makes cuff buttons, shirt studs, garter clasps, belt buckles and earrings of her silver. The Navajo wears @ big breastplate of silver, which is known as his “totem,” and which has chased upon it the legendary characters of his tribe. ‘The society woman wears the breastplate under her throat and at her belt, in the shape of barbaric buckles, and they do not mean anything, except that she has some money to spend, and the silver stuff will make as big a show for the expenditure as ‘thing that she can buy, it being the fashion” to wear silver. Fashioa and Style. It fs always fashionable to wear silver or- Raments in the Navajo country, but one could hardly aver that it is stylish at all times. So it is just now in civilization the fashion to wear throat laches of most gor- eous proportions, but they cannot be said to be always stylish. These throat buckles @re of gold and silver, and cost from twelve to fifty dollars. Most of them are base imi- tations of the pure metals, and seil for two and three doilars; but, whatever their cost, they are not pretty, and they are only a remove from being positively vulgar. Some of them are heavily crusted with imitation gems, on thi s ba combs and pins for the hair were made of exquisitely chased silver, or filigree silver; now the shop counters are covered with the fashionable stuff for the same Uses exactly, but made on a massive scale out of brass and “‘white metal.” All this straining after gold and silver ornaments is in imitation of colonial fashions, when sil- ver combs and buckles and hairpins were made of pure silver, and cost small for- tunes because of their beautiful workman- ship. They were so fine that they were mentioned in wills with a great flourish, and Were valued heirlooms. They bear about as much relation to the tmitation trash of to- as Stage diamonds do to the real. A ttle real gold or silver worked up in an @rtistic manner is always in good taste, @nd hence stylish. But the inordinate use of imitation gold and silver has driven wo- men of cultured tastes and style to aban- don the wearing of either, although they are ticketed as “fashionable.” Caprice of the Hour. Capes are the petted caprice of the hour. They are “all the fashion,” but one would have small regard for the truth who would @ay that they were all stylish. There are two or three reasons why they fail in this particular. Capes are long and short, full An Accommodating Gown. and plain, and for some unaccountable rea- gon the wrong capes get on the wrong peo- ple about half the time. The short cape, bree bouffant with ruffles and frills, is and style as though/ | an interest in any subject. woman look like a bag of feathers. The Plain cape should never be spread over Spare-bullt shoulders, and the tall woman should take to frills. But they won't. Not one in twenty will wear the cape best suit- ed to her, and before long the cape, handy as it is, will be relegated to the closet of cast-off clothes, because it has been over done and injudictously adapted to the ma- terials which just now go to make it. It was born to fit over the inflated sleeves and Was @ most useful garment at first. But it can hardly be said to serve any reasona- ble purpose whatever just now; it is not even pretty, and that is about the last stage for it. As long as it had any style about it it was safe, but it has got beyond that and is only an exeuse for a display of costly material. The foundation is the richest of silk, satin or velvet, cut in a perfectly cir- cular form. On this is adjusted rows of silk, lace, jet, ribbor iteel beads and fringe. One monstrosity that hangs in a shop win- dow here has all of these materials on it. It is finished up with a huge bow and long streamers of moire ribbon, lace trimmed and with a big paste buckle in the center of the bow under the throat. The stylish woman does™ot wear such a garment as this; she does not care to expend fabulous on ephemeral things, such as she Knows them to be. The cape that a woman of taste wears has a foundation of moire or bengaline or ottoman silk and some ruffies of fine silk lace, with ribbon ties and bows. It will be unobtrusive, but it will have style in every line. ‘The Paraso! Another caprice that takes the average woman clear off her feet is a parasol. There are some beautiful ones displayed, and they are of the most expensive fabrics, as well as of the frailest. Moire ts a favor- ite and is a good investment for wear, but is not Ikely to be the fashion for more than one season, so will be expensive for a@ slender purse, where things must be made to last two or more seasons. soft silks of black and colors have wid insertions of lace let into them and have Handles that are works of art, and cost accordingly. Such parasols are fit for nothing but dress parade, but there will be a few of them seen at the market in the morning, along with diamond solitaires. A fashion journal says: “A new fancy is to have only the lower half of the elght gores covered with transparent chiffon puffs and ruffles, while the center is of thick moire, large enough to protect the face from the sun.” So {it will be seen that fashion has lapses of sense at times and permits her devotees to do sane things occasionally. Black lace covers will be used on parasols, but they will fall over innumerable puffs of chiffon, and are also accompanied by big bows and rosettes of ribbon. Now that capes are so common that the adaptation of the style was served up in cotton crepon at a recent matinee the grand dame is demanding something new in the shape of a wrap, and it has come in the sleeveless jacket. By the way, there is a fine distinction in the difference be- tween a woman's jacket and coat. The coat buttons up from throat to waist and the jacket falls back unfastened. They are cut exactly alike. The big sleeves of | dresses require such enormous outside sleeves that the sleeveless jacket is quite a boon, for it saves a lot of costly ma- teriai. ‘The jacket is cut on the stylish lines so popular, and the trimming, which is most often of lace, falls over the arm in a short wing fashion, and the garment is left unbuttoned, so that the eiaborately trimmed bodices are fully displayed, and their freshness is not crushed out of them. A French freak of taste has ruffles made of piece lace with rolls of velvet at the edges. Some of the imported sleeveless jackets have triple lace skirts trimmed with rolls of velvet. Fashion decrees that the stiff shirt shall be worn this summer. Now, the stiff shirt is not pretty, and it is not comfortable, and if you don’t believe me just see how long it takes a man to get Into a neglige when he can do so with propriety. On some women the stiff shirt will be stylish. A trim, pretty young woman will look demurely sweet in one such as I saw last week. Now, mind you, I said a “trim” woman, and I further qualified it by saying “young and pretty.” It is one of the modifications of the omni- present blazer suit. The material ts black India, silk, and the skirt is made quite full, =. For Traveling. with gathers pretty equally distributed all around. The short jacket is of silk, and has a facing of black moire. The shirt is white linen, with a broad, smooth bosom, and is fastened straight down the front with three small silver studs. The collar is a turn- down, rather narrow, and Is attached; the tie is black satin, and is worn tucked in under the second button of the shirt. The hat ts the sailor, in black oilcloth, and has a band of black ribbon. I do not like the ollcloth hats; they are stiff and ungraceful, and so many have no more taste than to decorate them with violets and lace! One would as soon look for a bunch of carna- tions on the oilskin coat of a fisherman. Now, If some fat woman, with a forty-six bust, goes and copies this rig she will look like the mischief in it, and somebody will rise ug and say that I don’t know what is and what is not pretty. Or if a tall, angu- lar woman adopts it she also is going to be disappointed. It is hard to tell what an angular woman can wear and look well, but one thing Is sure, it ts not a stiff shirt. I think that the average woman, who is neither thick nor thin, or a little too much on either side of the line. can wear a blazer patterned after a silk and serge that a modiste has shown me. The simu- lated under skirt is of black moire, and the slightly lifted upper skirt is of serge. The waist is of soft India silk, and is quite full in front, with big, roomy sleeves, caught down to a wide cuff. The pretty jacket !s rather long on the hips, and has wide re- vers, faced with moire. It {s held to the Waist by a belt, and ts fastened in front with a silver buckle. The model is in hun- ter’s greea serge and silk, and !s handsome. A handsome and altogether stylish trav- eling gown js made with a flaring skirt, stitched at the bottom, and has a long, double-breasted, tight coat basque, with wide revers and enormous sleeves. It would look very well, indeed, in blue or the dark brown that is the rage just now. A sepa- rate waist, nandsomely made, would give one the same as two dresses, one for trav- eling and the other for visiting. BELL BALL. le Overburdened School Children. From the Ladies’ Home Journal. We try to teach too much, and so destroy the sensitiveness of the mind and render it less susceptible. It is not so easy to excite The child re- sponds languidly to our efforts to stimulate | him. We have given him more mental Fabulum than he can digest or assimilate, and he feels the plethora that follows re- pletion. Abandoning metaphor and stating the case In plain English, our school chil- dren have too many subjects to study and are required to spend too much time in Ptrely mental labor. As a result of this, | they cannot accomplish their work during School hours, and are forced to use the time which should be devoted to relaxation and recreation at home to learn the lessons of beauty,but it makes @ short, plump | that ought to be mastered at school. | Seemed to court the que: | daughter of an ex-Congressman who wants THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1894-TWENTY PAGES. WHAT IS A LADY? Senora Sara’s Chat on a Vital Topic of the Times. FALSE PRIDE OF WOMEN Silly Notions About the '‘Degrada- tion” ot Certain Kinds of Labor. DO NOT BE A DEPENDENT Written Exciusively for The Evening Star. ARA, WHAT IS A lady?” I was spending an hour with an old friend, a woman of high social position and considerable she had not had a dol- lar in the world. question made my leap into the,.past. Once upon a time I was teaching a class of small Arabs tn @ mission Sunday school and two of my young charges got into a dispute over the meaning of the word “lady.” “Nibsey” was quite positive that a certain supercilious young teacher was not @ lady, and “Blackie” insisted that she was because she wore “dimuns,” and they were Proceeding to settle their differences in fis- tic fashion when I interfered; out of cu- riosity, I asked Nibsey what his idea of a lady might be. “Why—it's—a—woman—” and then he seemed to have reached the end of his de- scriptive vocabulary. That gave Blackie his chance and the young fiend chuckingly broke in with: “Course it’s a woman! A lady ain't nuthin’ but a woman wot's got a caridge an’ coachie, an’ dimuns, and hol’s ‘er head up so, jus’s tho! she were smellin’ of thinks she didn’t hanker ar’ter,” and he elevated his nose as the young teacher in question was in the habit of do- ing when she came into the malodorous dis- trict. Nibsey eyed him disdainfully. “Wot's yer givin’ us, chumpy? A lady wouldn't let on there was no smells around! That's what makes a lady. A lady is a woman wot's stowed up fine as silk an’ don’ need no trimmin’s to make folks think she’s real.” Blackie sniffed and doubled up his fist again, but I diverted the warlike demon- stration by asking Nibsey what constituted a gentleman. Here the incipient young phil- osopher was more at home, and answered me glibly enough, “He's a bloke wot don’t have to go ‘roun’ tellin’ folks who was his dad to git these two definitions might be improved upon, but the sentiment, never! It was this scene that was so vividly brought to mind by my friend's question; I told her the tale and she laughed heartily enough. “Oh, if I could only get some of the | ‘blooded poor’ with whom I have to deal see it In that light I could make it so much easier for all concerned. I have no patience in the world with these people who say indolently, ‘the world owes me a iving,’ and then fold their hands and make others slave for them, because it is against the traditions of the f: y for its members to earn an honest dollar by hon- est labor.’ Of course I inquired the cause of her present state of perturbation, since she fon. “Is it the a few dollars to buy flowers for her fath- er's grave, or a young widow who wants the loan of a few hundred until she gets a place in the ‘seed department’ at fifty a month and ten to go to the one who gets her the position Good Blood and Empty Pocket. “It is not quite that bad, though it ts serious enough. You remember Marian Peals?” I did very distinctly. She one of the models of the girlhood of my friend and myself, but had contracted a most un- happy marriage and gone from our ken for a score of years. “Well, the end to her lamentable union has been long in coming, longer than I an- ticipated. She is now a_ widow, helpless from ill health and penniless, with a six teen-year-old daughter, who is her onl stay in her lonely old age, and is a poor enough prop for the frai) but devoted mothe “Oh, don’t tell me that Marian ter is not her sweet self over ! cried, “it would be too cruel to pynish hei other sorrows!” “Sara,” said my friend, solemnly, “the girl s high bred and charming as her mother vas, but she is utterly lacking in what and terms ‘good horse s as helpless as a child so far as an useful knowledge is the ideas of a dau really red, and she has ntar of the gods! I them in the face. The daughter, Lulu, ex- to ‘go in office’ in government’ em- Do you know that term mak me I hear It so much that I can almost cl tell the story of each of them hy intuition. Why, oh, why, do women persis! auliing their lives ‘In office’ wh here are much better chantes ou “[ give it up.” “Tell me about Ma’ out of the maelstrom Would Not “Stoop.” “{ shall make the effort; but she told me that she would consider anything that I might do for her only a makeshift until she comes into her ‘office,’ which is far enough in the distance. She seems to think it the acme of human happiness to get a place in the government employ; yet I could Make her happy here and she would live a much more sheltered life. My little daughter has no nurse now, and I intend to give her in charge of Lulu, The duties will be light and I shail pay her a preposterously large Stipend because of Marian. But, Sara, I actually dread to encounter her! She came while I was out, and I fee! it in my bones that I will hear from her in an unpleasant way before the day is over. I do like to have pretty well-behaved girls about me, and I consider it an advantage to my little daughter. She is such an imitative little creature that she picks up the mannerisms and I somgtimes fear she will also adopt the morais of her nurses. I try to sur- round her with the best of influences, but my best plans will go off wrong. I have tried to assist several seemingly deserving girls recently, and if I thought that they were fair samples of the class I would waste no more time on them. That was what made me ask your definition of a ‘lady.’ I am continually being told that a ‘lady’ will not stoop to ‘manual’ labor. I have nev- er considered that a ‘lady’ could ‘stoop’ to anything. If a thing is ignoble a ‘lady’ would not do it. But no honest labor that has for its object the amelioration of human- ity’s needs can be ignoble, hence there can be no ‘stooping’ to do It. I have been in- terested in a young lady who had a place in the pension office, and who unexpectedly lost it recently. She had told me that she was so anxious to study and improve her- self, and I thought she meant it. She had no one depending on her, and should have had a tidy sum laid up to show for her sev- eral yeal work. Yet with the tears in her eyes she assured me that she had not enough money to pay a month’s room rent. I passed my tidy German nurse giri on to a friend who has been wanting her for a year, and offered this young lady a home and good wages to look after my daughter. “I kept her two weeks and then requested her resignation. She was careless and in- attentive to the child, and exercised no con- trol over her at all. out for an airing, because she Fnigns eet some of her friends whom she Wish to | keep in ignorance of her new occupation. | To those who did know her whereabouts, I promptly assured her. Can you keep her could not afford to have it known, you see, | that she had only ‘condescended’ to come, because she thought it would beva kindne: to me! That she did not care to be ‘bossed’ wealth, but a lady, if Her memory take a flying ‘em to loan ’im a nickel!” The language of | daugh- ini” I] with an undutiful child along with her} 402, the act of serving dull the edge of | nse!" she is | think it is criminal negligence that prompts a mother to rear a girl in ignor- ance of all the ations which can be so easily learned at home. I found Marian accidentally yester They are utterly destitute and tion stares | the would not take her and whom she received in my parlor with- out asking my permission, she sail :hat she was stopping with me ‘temporarily.’ She that I permitted her to play at being nurse for my child, but she could stain her lips with a premeditated falsehood. When I | told her that I no longer required her ser- | vices, she flew into a passion and declared around like a menial anyhow! I felt hu- miliated that I had subjected myself to such an ordeal, but I made one more effort to help one of the decayed gentry. Sara, the airs the next woman put on were simply exasperating. She did everything exactly as she was required, and was unvaryingly Kind to Erminie, but she had a habit of sighing that was as depressing as an cast wind, and she regaled us with her family pedigree, in season and out. She was in a mild way a kind of anarchist, but as she was really a gentle creature and not offen- sive, I put up with her vagaries, until I caught my smali daughter promalgating anarchistic doctrines to her doll. “ ‘Now, dolly,’ I heard her say, ‘you be Mrs. G— and I'll be nurse. Then in her mimic way I heard her say: ‘Yes'm, I’m pitty well iss mor'in’, and then with a sniff and one of the well-known sighs—‘but it’s a mos’ awful come down in the worl’ for me, you know. I has blood, and my fotes are the very best, an’ it cuts, deed it does, to be slavin’ for others when I ought to order! I fink the worl’s all upside down wiff money on top mos’ of the time, though I ain't namin’ no names!’ drawn sigh. “The power of mimicry and the strength of memory actually startled me. I raw more plainly than ever that my child must be in careful hands, and I did not choose that she should imbibe such ideas as that, so the new nurse had to go. Brown, the housekeeper, and myself have taken turns at standing guard over Erminie until I could find some one who would be a suitable companion for her. I am a crank about whom I trust my children to, some of my friends have told me, but habits are so eas- ily formed, and their force so hard to break, and a child's mind is so pliable that I dare not give into careless keeping the training of a soul that came to me stainless and pure. If in after years my little girl should go astray, I shall always be haunted by the fear that maybe I failed to care for her as tenderly as I ought. If, when her mind be- | sins to expand, I find that her tastes are not as refined as they should be, I shall know | surely that mine is the fault, because I | have not guarded and counseled her as care- fully as I should have doffe. A mother’s responsibility 1s a fearful thing. I have varied and absorbing duties, in which both church and society demand much of me, but I consider a mother’s duties paramount. Society can find another recruit, and the church another devotee, but my ‘laughter will have but one youth and but one mother. “Now, I think that Lulu will make a lov- able companion for Erminie. She has pret- ty ways, and, if she is not eaten up with false pride, I can't see why I may not keep her. On Marian’s account I mean to make | an extra effort. She will think me unkind, | however, for she must learn first of all that one can be a servant and yet not be a menial, and that it 1s mental and moral worth that make the difference between the two. Brown tells me that when she came this morning she had on a new spring hat and perfectly new white kid gloves! Yet Marian told me that they were behind a week with their board bill! There is a trait of character that must be suppressed at once. My daughter must learn first of all the great maxims, that ‘costly thy habit as they purse can buy,’ is one of the greatest.” Just at this juncture a slender girl came flying through the portieres of the morning m where we sat, and with a melo: matic cry and a really fine Delsarte sweep dropped on the floor and hid her face in the lap of my astonished friend. She pushed side almost rudely and jumped up. the matter?” she cried. “is and then another long said the young lady, wonder- jingly, turning a flushed, tear-stained face |toward my friend, “‘Erminie, oh, she 1s the Kttle girl whom I am to amuse! There is ncthing the matter with her, I believe, thongh I was too agitated to ascertain n she swooped down on my friend, had fallen back in her chair, and poured forth her tale of woe. urely you forgot to tell the housekeeper who I am,” \she remonstrated, and I saw my friend's |eves begin to twinkle. She actually brought me a nurse’s cap and apron! Why, I am a lady and could no more condescend to put on such a badge of servitude than I could fly, and 1 think jit was most unkind that you forgot to ex- plain to her that I am not one of the com- mon nurses, I am sure that you would not put such an indignity upon me if you had thought how it would hurt me. Oh, it is |fust a-a-wful,” and she broke down in a ‘torrent of tears. My friend's kind ey: |were full of pity, for she understood the | feeling of humiliation that was sweeping lover the girl, but back of the pity was a laugh, to which she gave hearty vent after she had rung for the housekeeper to e Lulu to her room until she was In a Imer frame of mind. will talk to you in the course of the y,” she said gently, as the sobbing girl | departed. “Things will look brighter for jyou after a while.” Then she turned to ith a shrug of her shoulders. “Now, what am I to do, Sara? Does civilization refine all the common sense out of us? Must I submit to having my child contaminated by familiar intercourse with who on the other hand shall I subject her to | the influence of a girl like that, who will give her false ideas of the worth of wealth? I am puzzled beyond measure.” Then, with ‘a sorry laugh, she added, “I don’t doubt that Miss Lulu would discharge me as her employer if she knew that it was in a nur: cap and apron that I first met Erminie’s father.” Callers came in just then and put an end to our talk and I have not learned wheth- er Miss Lulu has succeeded in impressing her self importance upon her benefactress jor not. What is a Lady? And now I am back to my first question, t is a lady?” May not a servant be a y as well as her mistress? And why which is the stamp of the y—any more than does the idleness Z Se ? This age is too enlightened longer to a false standard of merit man is what she makes of he if. If her moral perceptions are not blunte if her heart beats in unison with the strides of woman's progression; if she keeps her mind free of contaminating heresies, | woma se and open for the seeds of knowledge to grow; if she seizes every opportunity for (advancement, and makes them when none . and if, ever and above n abiding faith in her own rmination to succeed arch [she will succe 1 no power cn can hold her back. Such a woman is a true lad 1 would rather put it, such a lady is a true woman, for I like the good fold Saxon te which means far icre | n the royal derivative. Once a lady always a lady, unless the undergoes severe and de- No physical or th | moral nature grading transformation. fi jor intellectual condition of a woman un- ‘jess she lets down the bars herself, and |that being a self-evident truth, why ail this moan about the degradation of man- | ual labor? All honest labor is honorable, jand all labor is honest that does not have | for {ts consummation the defrauding, in ) fact or in semblance, of another. The silly and utterly absurd notions that some wo men hold about the “degradation” of cer. | tain kinds of labor always makes me mad, j and, as Dick would say, “I fly the track and wreck the whole business” in my unseem- ly wrath, I went a few days ago with | Dorothy to see a friend of hers, who hag been stranded without means, and must needs work at once or accept charity in the shape of a home with friends, who cannot afford to keep her in idleness. She said she was willing to do “anything” to help herself. Would Not Cook. I found her capacity limited. She could cook till the viands she prepared would make you dream poetry; outside of that she was incompetent for any position, A lady friend offered her a place at thirty dol. ) lars a month as “cook,” where there is a | second cook to do all the work. She nearly annihilated me when I made her the propo- sition. She “had never been a menial and would not begin now!” Yet, as a matter of fact, she has been for about five years ccoking for her father, and got only he | board and clothes. She can speak a Mttle French and iess German, and so would not do for a nursery governess, because the lady who wants such a girl safd she could not afford to have her children learn a | patois instead of the proper expression, To | be called just a “nurse” was also something that this girl would not stand,so my friend, who pitied her condition, took her under the | nominal ttle of a “private secretary,” and she will take care of the children without Wearing a cap or apron! What.utter folly! | If women would only fling false pride to the winds how fast they would grow! How much nobler they would become; how in- finitely happier. True womanhood lies with- in. And no amount of gilding, veneering or draping will hide the deformity of a dwarf- ed soul. Neither will the filmsy rags of poverty bring disrepute upon one who is | worthy of esteem. The world’s history is crammed to the margin with the names and deeds of those who began at the foot of the ‘hill and reached its heights through progressive struggles. And there are not many names in Fame’s great temple of those who got there without effort. The woman who lays her hand vigorously on the work that she finds nearest when ex- tremity ts upon her will carve success out of fatlure. But the woman who wilts under the first whiff of the sirocco of misfortune. making no effort to help herself, and who declines to labor with her hands, when the lack of brains leaves her no other alterna- tive except to be ‘dependent,’ is deserving of the contempt of all womankind. Accord- ing to Nibsey’s definition and my own such @ woman “ain’t no lady.” SENORA SARA, menials of a low grade of moral ethics, or | ancial conditions can phase the spiritual | SUMMER FABRICS Light anc Airy Goods to Be Worn in Warm Weather. MANY NEW AND VARIED STYLES Cloth Suits That Look Very Fine and Fetching. CREPONS AND LAWNS Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. NEW YORK, April 19, 1894. The contrast between the bleak winds which rage in all djrections at once and the shop windows filled with the airiest of spring confections is more marked than is usual even at this time of year. The early coming of Easter and the misleading warm days preceding rather forced the season. It is with something of a shivery sensa- tion of pleasure that one stops to examine more closely some specially attractive ob- ject of summer attire or adornment, merely as a pretty thing to look at, but quite im- possible as anything to use—except in a fu- ture which seems too far away and dim to even consider now. ‘ New York has not a hint of spring in vegetation to help along the beiief that sum- mer is really coming—some day—so the imagination has no impetus from nature in what is generally the business of the hour in April, that is, spring shopping. A Bewilderme of Colors. Taking the matter on trial, however, and going into any one of the big shops, the be- wilderment of light, colors and gauzy fab- rics makes Itself felt before the outer door is fairly closed, and in the course of fifteen minutes the beautiful garments spread out to catch the roving eye have conjured up a whole summer of opportunities in which to display their charms, and before one real- izes it the unwary shopper {s committed and a choice is being made as to which is really the prettiest and most suitable for the coming warm season, which fs all a vis- jon of the fancy as yet. There seems to be a tendency in shopping just at this time to bridge over the spring proper, and ignoring the serviceable but less attractive wool gowns, which would naturally soonest come to use, to be led away by the fascinations of light silks, muslin and laces, and cotton fabrics of all kinds. The styles are pretty and graceful, the materials lovely, and the effects produced most charming. Lavish Use of Lace. Among the touches of novelty is the use of narrow Valenciennes lace on India ailk gowns, and waists sold separately from the skirts. The very light-weight silks are trimmed thus, very narrow bias ruffles edged with the lace being the accepted way of combining them. the ruffles are also used, instead of the deep lace or silk frill which has already been so popular. Sometimes «three over- lapping ones, with a lace edge heading to the upper one. On other waists the ruffles continue to the collar, making a full yoke of ruffles, but only very slight figures can wear this style and have it becoming. The dresses are lined throughout with thin lawn, and are lightness and coolaess | personified. Organdies and muslins of all kinds are | simply fascinating in their lovely coloring and the attractive ways in which -they are made up. Insertions of lace put the skirt in rows still seem to be the fa- vorite trimming, the whole skirt being thin accordion plaited, siving a particularly pretty effect. The waists are usuaily trim- med similarly, and the sleeves are varied, some being plaited and then puffed, with and without insertions of lace, or puffed enormously without the plaiting. | or velvet stock collars and crush belts are on almost every one. Other silk gowns, taffetas with dots or figures in them or bayedere or lengthwise stripes, are much trimmed with the heavier laces in ecru tints and often with black satin ribbon as additional accessories, two wide ribbons sometimes extending down each side of the front breadth, tied in a large bow at the bottom of the skirt. The lace continues to be put on in berth: shaped effects, and the sleeves are rather larger than even the winter styles. Crepons {n very heavy crinkles and beau- tiful shades, trimmed with lace, generally | combined with black satin ribbon, make | the prettiest of wool gowns and are as elaborate as silks. Simpler Fabrics and Styles. Coming to simpler fabrics and styles, the pretty cottons are almost without number. Duck in colored and white, linens in soft art shades, Galatea cloth, cheviots and | pique are all made in the so-called tailor i styles, with coat and skirt, sometimes waist- coat, though more often a blouse waist is | the third garment of the suit. | i | Around the shoulders, outlining a yoke, | around | Ribbon | where the coat meets over the bust, or with two or even three smaller ones, often covered with the dress material, though Sometimes of pearl white or smoked. A coat shaped like this looks equally well buttoned or left open in the negiige style, So much affected by women these past few summers. The Very Newest Things. Among the very newest things for gowns are the grenadines in all silk and silk and wool, both in black and black combined with a color. These come in double width this season and many of them have a bayadere stripe, while others have a moire antique design, with also the usual variety of dots and perpendicular stripes These range from $2.50 to $4 a yard in price and are among the prettiest goods of the spri Color is so rampant this year that black is not so prominent as it is some seasons, though it is always popular, and, in thin materials, very much worn in summer by well<iressed women. The parasols, which have been making such butterfly displays in the shops, are particularly lovely and airy creations. Chif- fon and lace insertions are seen on many of black or white, while changeable effects of every imaginable description and color make very charming effects. A decided novelty is the trimming of dark blue para- sols with deep frills of white chiffon, a pleasing combination, both for looks and comfort, for the dark silk is restful as a shade for the eyes, and the white frills give it the delicacy and lightness so desirable for wear with summer gowns. White watered silk is much used, with either white chiffon frills or lace insertion, or both. Very styl- ish coaching parasols have the natural wood sticks, with big bo tied to them of the same gay or somber silk as the cover- ing. For use with cotton gowns are charm- ing parasols of Japanese crepe in blue and white and other coloring, and also clotted muslin covers of either white or with tinted flowers on a white ground; these have sometimes Geep frills of the same, some- times with lace, and are lovely accessions to an airy summer costume. —_—*- MISPLACED SENTIMENT. Doing a Task Well is Doing It Honor- ably. From Harper's Bazar. We heard the other day of a young wo- man whose circumstances obliged her to seek employment. She was’ a mistress of the dainty art of handsewing, and as at present there is a demand for dainty work of this kind, exquisitely done, she had not far to seek a market for her labor. The home in which she and her dear ones lived was dependent upon her success in the line for which she had ability and in which she had opportunity. A lady anxious to employ the girl sent for her, with the intention of giving her a hb- eral order. To her surprise, on entering the room where the young woman had been shown, the lady was greeted by eyes swim- | ming with tears, trembling hands, and a | voice aquiver with eager protestation. “I | am so afraid,” the young woman hastened to say, “that you will not know that I ama lady. "I never was brought up to do any kind of work. My father wes a rich man, and I had people to wait on me, and lived in a house as nice as this. I never expected to | have to work for my living.” ‘The scene might have been pathetic had it | not been absurd. In a way it was pathetic, for it revealed very clearly the inherent weakness and the false pride of a char- | acter such as this girl displayed. In a dem | ocratic country, where the millionaire may | be the grandson of a day laborer, and where the grandchildren of millionaires occasion- ally are day laborers, it is absurd to the | last degree that the accident of poverty or wealth should come to the front at all 4s a factor in cases like this. ‘The girl had not ceased to be a lady—if | we attach to the word “lady” the meaning happily given to it by Hamerton, namely, “a woman in a high state of civilization”— because it had become necessary that she should earn her bread by honest work. Her ladyhood was not touched, did not enter at all into the transaction. ‘She should heve been as dignified, should have felt as inde- pendent, in receiving work as the other did in tendering it. The feeling that one kind of work is nec- essarily more honorable than another is en- tirely opposed to the self-respecting thought | of American women. to cne’s hand—whether it be painting pic- | tures or washing dishes, scrubbing floors or | making cake, writing poetry or designing | embrotdery, selling goods or nursing the | sick—it makes no difference. It is the doing of a task thoroughly and well that is the | honorable thing, and the girl who performs | her work perfectly, finishing St as it hould | be, with no loose threads, either literal or metaphorical, fulfilling all her duties patient- ly and serenely, is as truly in her right place and is as worthy of honor and respect as the most exquisite woman who rides in her carriage. In point of fact, many of our busy wo- men of wealth could, at a moment's notice, change places with their cooks or seam- stresses, and do the work these do surpass- ingly well; nor would they be in the least ashamed of it. Brains and cultivation tell in all departments, and she who explains herself and apologizes when seeking for work proves only that she is stupid and not in touch with the period. oo —___ TO PRESERVE THE SKIN. Cold Water is a Perfect Cosmetic When Properly Used, It requires considerable courage to take a cold morning bath in winter, but there can be no doubt that it is highly beneficial. In thinner cottons the crepons are in beautiful colors, in stripes, in plain, deli- | cate shades, and with a woven dot in the more expensive qualities. Ckevio is the name of a new cotton, with a satin stripe in natural effect, alternating with one composed of stnail flowers, either in one color or of the so-called Dresden ‘style, combining various gay little blossoms \in the same stripe. | Timities are prettier than ever, and their | |aame is legion as regards design and col- jors, and there are aiso zephyrs, ginchams | jand cambrics, with which “everybody is | | familiar. | | Cloth suits there are in abundance, the leoat and skirt being the accepted version, | | with shirt waists of silk or cotton, vests of | pique or cloth, mull or chiffon being added, according to individual fan Dotted musiin was somewhat worn last |year for vests. This season many ready- | |maie ones are seen, with crosswise inser- tions of lace, or with just the muslin gath- ered full into a velvet or ribbon collar. To Vary the Vests. Girls with any ingenuity may vary these | vests indefinitely, for they take very little material and are easily cut and made at | home; or they may do as one girl did last | year, and drape one pretty square or scarf | of silk or embroidered stuff, pinning each time, and so getting new effects with each | adjusting. Turkish work on silk was very effectively used In this way, and In gold-colored silk on white, with a gold belt buckle, toned with almost ary costume. The coats to the new suits vary consider- ably in style, and particularly length. The | skirts are often added at the waist line | still, and the back is flaring, giving the full fluted plaits of the winter. Among the prettiest of the wool costumes ig a cheviot of grayish tone, barred with a darker thread, to give a small plaided ef- fect, the skirt full and moderately flaring, perfectly plain, and lined with dull pink changeable taffeta silk. The coat is of medium length, rather short, indeed. With full back, large mut- ton-leg sleeves, and large revers in fron the coat barely meets in front at the wai: line, with a large button on each.side, cor ‘ered with the cheviot, and is intended to leave open, displaying the vest beneath, in | the old “blazer” style. The coat is cut all jin one, which is prettier than with added | ‘skirts, and is lined with the same silk as | the skirt. It is very light in weight, light | in color, and about the prettiest model for | summer in a wool outing costume. Ex- actly the same thing unlined is ten dollars cheaper in price, but neither looks nor hangs as well as the other. A Handsome Costume. Another costume, much more expensive, The best authorities upon the treatment of the skin and muscles tell us that there is rothing better than clear water for giv- ing firmness to flabby tissues, and a single trial is enough to convince any one of the positive virtues that dwell in this simple invigorant. Wash the face with warm Water and it will feel soft and relaxed, as if every muscle, hung loose from its support; then quickly bathe it with cold water and it will at once regain its firmness and solidity, says the Delineator, The woman who bevitually uses warm or hot water upon her face gill bitterly regret it when she awakens to the fact that the Whatever work comes | HOUSEHOLD CHAT anter for Housekeepers. FOR THE PARLOR AND THE KITCHEN Matters of Interest to Men, Women and Children. SOME POINTERS FORALL Written Exclus:vely for The Evening Star. If you want @ stopper for a bottle of acid or any substance that would naturally call for a glass stopper, because of the danger that the cork one would be eaten up by the contents of the bottle, take the cork and steep it in vaseline. It will then be im- pervious to acids of any kind, and no action of chemicals will decay it It will, in fact, be as good for all purposes as @ glass stopper. ee ee If you have an old straw hat that you want to make do until you can get a new summer hat, take the trimming off the hat and dust the straw perfectly. Take « half cup of clear cold coffee and a clean black | cloth and wash the straw, rubbing it vigor- ously until it seems to be pretty well wet through. Then lay the hat on a fiat sur- press it over that. Then put your wire back in the edge of the rim—if it had one— and bend the hat in the shape that you desire to have it. You can change the shape entirely if you like. If the crown is too high, take out a few rows of close to the brim, where the trimming cover it. And if the brim is too the present fashion, put in a few straw taken from another hat, ora buckram; it will be covered by ming. Then get some good sh that is all the average polish is good and give the hat three coats of the liq: blacking, waiting for each to dry. You be astonished to see that your straw *e paniliial en apply the polish without removing the trimming. If your black kid gloves look ana white where the coloring has worn off, rub them with a little liquid shoe polish It will not rub off on your clothing after it is ary, and may be renewed as often as you like. If perfectly new black gloves the seams, and you can’t make the girl take them back, touch the spots wit a tiny bit of black paint, such es comes the little tubes. If you take @ pair gloves back they are doctored that and put on sale again. Part of the outfit of a glove counter is a case of assorted colors of oil paint tubes for that very pur- pose. 28 © w © A good rule for women from fourteen to forty to follow is to not kiss friends on the street. After long separation it may be permissible, but on the whole the is apt to wonder how much of the affection displayed to be seen of men ever genuine. A real lady never makes herself conspicuous by over-zealous dis- play of either wrath or pleasure, es ee Why is it that a man will spend five minutes brushing his shoes and trousers to free them from dust, yet never gives a thought to the almost disgusting collection of dandruff that whitens his coat collar and shoulders? By the way, if the average man had sense enough to wash his own head with soft water and borax, instead of permitting every barber that gets hold of him to try experiments on his head with the last dandruff eradicator, he would have more hair to experiment on himself, and his coat would lose a large portion of its ornamentation. ‘ ee ele When you put the stoves away for the summer give them ea good coating oil, end they will not collect rust their retirement, and will be more easily blackened in the fall. . é 8 be to learn how to stand erect, but a work of time, 80 it is easi to gown conform to the deformity. make your own gowns, or if see that your dressmaker makes at least an inch shorter in she does in fron enough to touch = the — “gy the right length around dress. gown. The best way correct est 3 iH tisaeieze i their skirts and bodices part the back In the most agera and often they fail to meet Put a belt on the inside of the belt line and fasten tt middie and two side back it with two hooks ii tH g i iy ite ti best ieee He if Vis tissues have been so greatly weakened that nothing will restore their vigor and smooth the wrinkles. If properly taken, a cold bath ts not as startling as one would expect. Few women can endure a cold plunge, and most ad- vecates of this morning tonic never tm- merse the body unless they are very strong or very fleshy. To take a cold bath, first lay upon the floor an old rug or strip of carpet that will not be injured by a wetting, and fill the howl with cold water. Bathe the hands, arms and face, Gouse the shoulders and chest, and then introduce the feet one after the other, and douse to the knees. Each part should be dried thoroughly as soon as bathed, and then rubbed vigorously until the skin is warm and glowing. The entire operation will not require more than eight minutes. The woman who bathes in this way is sure to have a good appetite for breakfast and to feel at peace with all the world. Cold water properly used is a per- fect cosmetic for the plain woman, for it will brighten and clear her complexion; it is also an elixir for the woman who is pre- maturely old, a tranquilizer for her who is nervous or irritable, and a fine tonic for the busy woman whose strength is not quite equal to the many demands upon it. Bathing of every description has always been a prominent factor in the toilet pro- cesses of famous beauties. Some mis- guided souls argue that the face should never be washed with soap, but surely a | surface that is so constantly exposed should | be given as thorough a cleansing as any other part. soap will not injure the most sensitive skin, and if it is applied twice a week at night, being applied by means of a flannel wash cloth, the face can be kept perfectly clean. The proper time to ‘cleanse the body is at night, and two or | three warm baths a week, taken just before retiring, together with the cold bath every morning, will contrivute greatly to the average woman's health. A hot sea bath at night is luxurious, and it is row possible te purchase a prepared however, is of pale fawn cloth, which is double faced, the under side being an ex- quisite blue. This is made with a plain underskirt and long overskirt raised on one side, the blue showing in the graceful folds of the drapery. The cloth is very firm and the raw edge is left as a finish to the overskirt and likewise to the short cape which completes the costume. The cape has a monks’ hood with the blue side of | the cloth as lining, this color showing | Plainly, too, as the cape files back in walk- ing. A strap of the cloth at the throat and one large pearl button is the only fastening. The coat basque is quite short and double-breasted, with rather flaring skirts, and is closed with smaller pearl but- tons than the one on the cape. This is unlined, the cloth being very firm and the = color showing like a lining every- where. Double-breasted coats are seen in many of the costumes for early spring, but as Warmer weather comes that style will be tco oppressive, so almost all the Nghter weight gowns have coats in the open style, sometimes cutaway, with one large button sea salt that will render an ordinary bath a very good imitation of sea water. Rock \or dairy salt cannot be successfully used in this way, as it does not dissolve readily _and does not form the right sort of brine. Society women loudly extol the virtues of Turkisk and Roman baths as beautifiers. | These baths open the pores and thoroughly | cleanse the skin, the steaming being par- | ticularly beneficial. It is said that the frequent fogs of Great Britain are the | cause of the charming complexions which | are a national characteristic of the English | race; and steam or vapor baths penefit in | the same way. It is very unwise to bathe | too long or too vigorously, as the fatigue | that is sure to follow will counteract what- | ever good may accrue from the bath. ———+o-—___ ‘Where Whiskers Go Better. From Puck. Circassian Princess—“The bearded lady's going to shake the museum business.” india | Rubber marzied?” Circassian Princess—“Nope. She's got an engagement as a populist lecturer.” most Man—“Going to git i i i iil g Hy a ‘ tile petal : elie! as j i Fi i 3 af : a i in it ie ba ; 3 opportunity to stir a tiny bit of ei, answer every purpose. ing to sweeten “clabber” think that you can make it for the coffee, for you can't ‘ou don’t want to batch of . F E f iss Ei a [ He | i i H i i “f ¥ F E t 5 5 Hi ; ili F F A i i : f c & ii : z 8 i f ti the dampness side of the cloth,